This year marks three decades since one of the weirdest superheroes of all time made his debut, Mike Mignola’s Hellboy. The demonic owner of the Right Hand of Doom has gone on to worldwide fame thanks to a pair of iconic movies by Guillermo Del Toro, but it all started in the pages of Dark Horse Comics back in 1994. At this year’s Comic-Con in San Diego, Dark Horse will celebrate their signature character’s 30th Anniversary with several incredible exclusives, which you can preview right here:

Hellboy Seed of Destruction #1 30th Anniversary Convention Exclusive Variant

This is a special edition of the first issue of Hellboy that depicts his arrival on Earth in the midst of WWII, the return of his adoptive father from a failed Arctic expedition, and Hellboy’s first encounter with Mike Mignola’s infamous frog monsters. Dark Horse has printed this special edition of Hellboy: Seed of Destruction #1 as uncolored line art, and it features an updated line art cover, a bonus section with more than 20 sketches, and digital codes for Seed of Destruction #1-4. This is a limited Edition of 1500 copies for $25.00 and is limited to 5 copies per person per day.

The Goon, Hellboy, and Usagi Yojimbo Anniversary Print

Mike Mignola, Stan Sakai, and Eric Powell each draw their iconic characters in this exclusive print, painted by Powell. This poster measures 18 inches x 24 inches, with a limit of 300 units. The gorgeous commemorative piece showcases three of the comic book medium’s most enduring creator-owned heroes. To grab this one, it’ll set you back $50.00.

Hellboy 30th Anniversary Pinfinity Set

The augmented reality Pinfinity set features three detailed enamel pins depicting Mike Mignola’s iconic artwork. These include Hellboy 30th Anniversary, Crowned Knight Skeleton, and Giant Robot Hellboy. Fans can explore the legendary comic series like never before. All by scanning the pins with the Pinfinity app to unlock comic pages, animated content, and more. The price for this set is $40.00.

Hellboy Letterpress Print Sets

Click To View Gallery

Dark Horse has partnered with The Press Room in Austin, TX on a run of specialty crafted Hellboy Letterpress Print Sets. This bundle of five (5) 4-inch by 6-inch prints features black and white Hellboy illustrations by Mike Mignola. Each is printed on an original 1955 Vandercook 219AB press, on heavy 100lb cover stock. Limited to just 666 sets, this gorgeous collection comes complete with a hand-numbered, letterpress printed, red belly-band. The price for this Letterpress set is $40.00.

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In 2021, the animated series Arcane, based on the popular video game League of Legends, debuted on Netflix, and fans and critics went wild. As is the case with many series that debuted on a streaming service, it was denied a physical media release. Until now, that is. The series will finally get a definitive, limited-run Collector’s Edition, 4K UHD, and a Standard Edition SteelBook Editions. There’s also a Blu-Ray Standard Edition, and on Digital Download-to-Own. All editions are currently available for preorder.

So what can Arcane fans expect? The limited-run Collector’s Edition is presented in a rigid clamshell box featuring original artwork. It contains all nine episodes presented in 4K resolution, mastered in Dolby Vision HDR. The edition also contains all episodes on standard Blu-ray discs. In addition to the full series, the set also has brand new exclusives to the Collector’s Edition.

This includes a double-sided poster featuring artwork from Piltover’s “Progress Day.” It features one side defaced by Jinx, six art cards with Powder’s illustrations, Caitlyn Kiramann’s map of Piltover, and an expansive dice set containing a Hexcore-inspired d20 die, seven liquid core resin dice inspired by Hex crystals, a protective pouch and decorative dice box. This set is limited to 6500 copies for North America.

The 4K UHD SteelBook features a stunning Jinx-themed outer package, containing the full nine-episode series presented across three 4K UHD discs. There’s also an additional Blu-ray disc containing over three hours of bonus features. The Standard SteelBook edition arrives in a Vi-themed outer package, containing the same nine-episode series and the same accompanying bonus features across three discs.

Click To View Gallery

The Standard Blu-ray edition presents the series and bonus features across three Blu-ray discs. Both versions of the SteelBook edition and the standard Blu-ray edition drop on October 8, 2024 from Shout! Studios. Bonus features on all physical editions include exclusive conversations with key creative talent and writers. Also, numerous scene breakdowns from the animation staff at studio Fortiche, “making-of” videos, and more. Arcane will be available in North America starting September 24, 2024 on digital download-to-own platforms.

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“In Brightest Day, in Blackest Night. No evil shall escape my sight.” The Green Lantern, the protector of Space Sector 2814, has said that oath for decades. As a character, Green Lantern has been a mainstay of DC Comics since 1940, with many different heroes wielding the emerald Power Ring. Soon, DC Studios will tackle a Green Lantern TV series for HBO, simply called Lanterns. So now is the perfect time to take a deep dive into the many decades of Green Lantern comics from DC. And to help you choose, we present to you the ten greatest Green Lantern comic book runs of all time.

10. The Green Lantern

by Grant Morrison and Liam Sharp

Grant Morrison is one of the greatest writers in modern comic book history, having written definitive runs for DC’s Superman, Batman, Justice League, and Wonder Woman. While we can’t say their Green Lantern run is a truly definitive run for the character, it definitely contained many interesting moments. In 2018, Morrison took on Green Lantern Hal Jordan, for a new ongoing series simply called The Green Lantern. The intricately detailed artwork for almost the entire run was provided by UK artist Liam Sharp, doing some career-best work.

Morrison, in their usual way, wanted to get weird with it. They focused more on Hal Jordan than the cast of thousands of the previous few years of GL mythos. In Morrison’s portrayal, Hal Jordan is an ordinary guy, just one whose mind expanded after years of experiencing cosmic incidents, death, and rebirth. Not everything lands in this run, as sometimes Morrison gets too esoteric for their own good for a Green Lantern title. But some of the ideas, and especially Sharp’s artwork, make this one to check out if you love Green Lantern.

Issues in Grant Morrison’s Green Lantern Run:

The Green Lantern #1-18, Blackstars #1-3 (2018-2021)

9. Green Lantern War Journal

by Phillip Kennedy Johnson and Montos

Even though he’s DC’s first African American superhero, there are too few instances where John Stewart headlined a solo Green Lantern title. The first time was the short-lived, yet weird and brilliant Green Lantern: Mosaic back in 1992. But in 2023, DC gave John another shot at a solo ongoing title, in the excellent Green Lantern: War Journal series. This book comes from the creative team of writer Phillip Kennedy Johnson, and artist Montos.

This series featured John Stewart attempting a quiet life on Earth, hoping to retire from the hero car. But soon, John is forced to wear the Power Ring once more when a deadly mystery emerges. This series reconciles the contradicting versions of the character. Was he the idealistic architect from the ‘70s, or the hard-nosed Marine from the 2000s era Justice League cartoons? Well, why not both? Sadly, this book is ending after just 12 issues this year. Yet the 11 issues we did get so far were pretty fantastic and worth your time.

Issues in Phillip Kennedy Johnson and Montos’ Green Lantern War Journal Run:

Green Lantern War Journal #1-12 (2023-2024)

8. Green Lantern Corps (vol. 1)

by Steve Englehart and Joe Staton

In the early ‘80s, Green Lantern comics were stuck in a rut. Hal had left Green Arrow behind and became a solo act after a decade. Yet aside from the back-up Tales of the Green Lantern Corps from a young Alan Moore, nothing about Green Lantern as a comic was very exciting anymore. DC decided to retire Hal and replace him with John Stewart for an extended period, and later Guy Gardner. But even that didn’t increase sales significantly. So with the events of Crisis on Infinite Earths, DC decided to change things up big time. Green Lantern would become a superhero team book.

With issue #201, Green Lantern became Green Lantern Corps. On writing duties was Avengers and Batman veteran Steve Englehart, with stylized art by Joe Staton. After the events of Crisis, the Guardians departed this reality, leaving their Corps members to chart their own destinies, abolishing space sectors. A group of Lanterns led by Hal Jordan became a team, including John Stewart, his alien wife Katma Tui, Guy Garnder, the alien chipmunk GL named Ch’p, and a brand new Lantern named Kilowog, who would become a fan-favorite. This run proved the GLC as a team book could work, even if the series only lasted 24 issues. For some reason, this series isn’t collected today, an oversight DC should correct right away.

Issues in Steve Englehart and Joe Staton’s Green Lantern Corps Run:

Green Lantern Corps vol. 1 #201-224 (1986-1988)

7. Far Sector

by N.K. Jemisin and Jamal Campbell

This limited series was written by sci-fi author N.K. Jemisin, and illustrated by Jamal Campbell. It focused on an entirely brand new hero, the Green Lantern Sojourner  “Jo” Mullein. And yes, she’s another Green Lantern from Earth (really, that’s like ten Earth Lanterns now. Enough DC!) A former military officer and ex-cop, Jo has been recruited by the Guardians of the Universe to keep the peace on a planet in the furthest known reaches of known space. She even uses a special Power Ring that slowly recharges on its own instead of needing to recharge with a battery.

The story of Far Sector starts as Jo Mullein becomes a cosmic detective, investigating the first murder victim in 500 years on a distant world. Unlike most G.L. stories, Far Sector actually remembers that the Green Lantern Corps aren’t really space soldiers, they’re actually space police. And in space and on Earth, policing, and what it means to those with no power, creates complications. This is a relatively recent series, released in 2020. But it’s a fantastic standalone story that deserves a lot more attention. Thankfully, Sojourner  “Jo” Mullein has since been incorporated into the larger DC Universe.

Issues in N.K. Jemisin and Jamal Campbell’s Far Sector Run:

Far Sector #1-12, 2020-2022

6. Green Lantern: Emerald Dawn

by James Owsley, Keith Giffen, Gerard Jones, and M.D. Bright

After the end of the Green Lantern Corps, there were only two Green Lanterns on Earth again—Hal Jordan and Guy Gardner. Guy was in the popular Justice League International series, but Hal Jordan, the OG, was without a home. So in 1989, DC decided to give Hal Jordan’s origin story a modern, post-Crisis update, with the limited series Green Lantern: Emerald Dawn. It was a testing ground to see if Hal was popular enough to headline an ongoing series again. The book, by writers James Owsley, Keith Giffen, and Gerard Jones, with art by M.D. Bright, was an instant hit, spawning an immediate sequel, and eventually a new ongoing series.

This six-issue mini-series added important new elements to Hal’s backstory, like the fact that he wasn’t all that perfect and upstanding before becoming a Lantern anymore, struggling with many personal issues before Abin Sur’s Power Ring chose him. These problems included prison time for a car accident that he caused while under the influence. Emerald Dawn also introduced the idea that future arch-villain Sinestro was Hal’s trainer as a GL, something that remains a facet of his story to this day. The art by the late M.D. Bright is the right mix of modern and classic, making this still a fun read today.

We should note that one of the three writers on Emerald Dawn, Gerard Jones, is a convicted criminal charged with fairly horrible crimes, which is likely why the series has remained out of print.

Issues in Keith Giffen, James Owsley, Gerard Jones, and M.D. Bright’s Green Lantern: Emerald Dawn Run:

Green Lantern: Emerald Dawn #1-6 (1989-1990), Green Lantern: Emerald Dawn II (1991)

5. Green Lantern (vol. 2)

by John Broome, Gardner Fox, and Gil Kane

The foundation for everything we know and love about the Green Lantern mythology is firmly rooted in the Silver Age stories of writers John Broome, Gardner Fox, and artist Gil Kane. Yes, a Golden Age Green Lantern existed before during WWII, Alan Scott. Yet it was these 1960s stories that defined who and what Green Lantern really is as a concept for the rest of time. In 1959’s anthology title Showcase #22, they took the name Green Lantern and built a whole new sci-fi mythology around it. With a new lead hero, Hal Jordan, rooted in the Atomic Age space race of the day, Green Lantern as a series was much better on the second try.

During this iconic Silver Age Green Lantern run, they not only introduced Hal Jordan. They also introduced the entire Green Lantern Corps, the Guardians of the Universe, Sinestro, and so many other concepts that remain to this day. Yes, the characterizations of the characters are often bland and one-note. There’s an undeniable goofiness to it all. That was just the era. Not to mention, Hal’s adventures and adversaries are way too Earth-bound during this time. But the imaginative storytelling and Gil Kane art will win you over. Even if it would take a later generation of writers to truly make Green Lantern great.

Issues in John Broome, Gardner Fox, and Gil Kane’s Green Lantern Run:

Showcase #22-24, Green Lantern vol. 2 #1-60 (1959-1960)

4. Green Lantern Corps

by Peter J. Tomasi and Patrick Gleason

Everyone cites Geoff Johns’ epic run on Green Lantern as peak superhero storytelling. As well they should. But during the Johns era, the companion Green Lantern Corps ongoing series from writer Peter J. Tomasi and artist Patrick Gleason was often just as good—sometimes even better—than the flagship book. After the successful Green Lantern Corps: Recharge mini-series, DC took a chance on an ongoing GLC series again. This series almost totally takes place in space, with Honor Guard Lanterns John Stewart, Guy Gardner, Kyle Rayner, and others taking center stage.

In addition to the Earth Lanterns, exciting new characters like Sinestro’s replacement GL, Soranik Natu, were introduced in this series. When Green Lantern Corps was read simultaneously with Johns’ main Green Lantern title, it all felt like one epically large cosmic story when read together. Although Watchmen artist Dave Gibbons wrote the first couple of arcs, Peter J. Tomasi takes over for most of the rest of the run. Throughout all of this, you get the gorgeous artwork of Patrick Gleason. That alone makes this run an all-timer.

Issues in Peter J. Tomasi and Patrick Gleason’s Green Lantern Corps Run:

Green Lantern Corps vol. 2 #1-47 (2006-2010),

3. Green Lantern/Green Arrow

by Denny O’Neil and Neal Adams

By the end of the Silver Age, American comics were changing. More college kids than elementary school children were reading them. The stories themselves started to deal with more mature subjects and complex characterizations—especially at DC’s rival Marvel Comics. So in 1970, DC tasked young writer/artist duo Dennis O’Neil and Neil Adams, who also reinvented Batman, with reinventing Green Lantern as a socially relevant series. And they brought on Green Arrow as a co-lead, creating one of the comics’ best bromances. Green Lantern officially changed to Green Lantern/Green Arrow with issue #76.

During O’Neil and Adams’ “Hard Travellin’ Heroes” run, Hal Jordan represented conservative, establishment America. Oliver Queen’s Green Arrow was recreated as an almost hippy, hyper-leftist superhero. The two were oil and water, and they traveled America facing the issues of the day, like racism and drug abuse. Even Manson-like cults! Sometimes the writing was a bit preachy and on the nose, but the artwork and dynamic storytelling from O’Neil and Adams always sold it. This run saw the introduction of John Stewart, another reason it’s a milestone series. Hal and Ollie would remain partners for the entire ‘70s. Yet it was the O’Neil/Adams run that is the gold standard, even still.

Issues in Denny O’Neil and Neal Adams’ Green Lantern/Green Arrow Run:

Green Lantern/Green Arrow #76-89 (1970-1972)

2. Green Lantern (Vol. 3)

by Ron Marz and Daryl Banks, Paul Pelletier

In 1994, the comic book industry took a giant hit when the so-called comic book crash happened. Sales on once-popular franchises like Green Lantern, which a couple of years prior had three titles and a quarterly, were in freefall. So DC gambled. As a result of events during their Death and Return of Superman storyline, Hal Jordan lost his marbles, killed what remained of the GL Corps, and became the villain Parallax. All in the mere span of 3 issues. Only one power ring remained, and it went to a twenty-something slacker in a Nine Inch Nails t-shirt. And with that, Green Lantern was reborn.

In 1994’s Green Lantern #50, the last Guardian of the Universe gave out-of-work artist Kyle Rayner the last Power Ring, and he shaped himself into the universe’s last Green Lantern. A total 180 from Hal Jordan, Kyle was more like the readers—young, relatable, and more interested in art than airplanes. Ron Marz took on writing chores with Daryl Banks on pencils, and together they created a hero for the ‘90s that remains a fan favorite. Kyle had Spider-Man levels of average-guy superhero soap opera, all while trying to live up to a legendary legacy. Marz wrote the first issues, during much of which Green Lantern was once again a backbone of DC’s publishing line. Hal returned a decade later, but Kyle’s run as GL is undeniable.

Issues in Ron Marz’s Green Lantern Run:

Green Lantern vol. 3 #48-125 (1994-2000)

1. Green Lantern (vol. 4, vol. 5)

by Geoff Johns, Ivan Reis, Ethan Van Sciver, Doug Mahnke

When it comes to Green Lantern comic book runs, few would argue that writer Geoff Johns‘ nearly ten-year run on the title is the GOAT. When Johns came on board for GL in 2004, the character was in a downturn. Kyle Rayner was still the main Lantern, but the series had lost steam after a decade. Especially without Rayner’s creator Ron Marz at the helm. Hal Jordan had gone from villain to dead to the ghostly hero the Spectre. The Corps was disbanded. It was a bit of a broken franchise. Writer Geoff Johns fixed all that almost overnight, starting with the blockbuster mini-series Green Lantern: Rebirth.

In Green Lantern: Rebirth, Johns and artist Ethan Van Sciver re-energized the series by bringing Hal Jordan back from the dead, as well as his main rival Sinestro. They also created a plausible explanation for Hal’s turn to the dark side a decade earlier, creating the fear entity Parallax, which we learned possessed Hal. During the Johns run, alongside artists like Ivan Reis and Doug Mahnke, they expanded the Green Lantern mythology like no ever had before. Together, they created some of the best ongoing superhero yarn-spinning of the last few decades.

During his tenure, Johns created the Sinestro Corps, introduced the concepts of the Emotional Spectrum, the other colored Lantern Corps, like the rage-fueled Red Lanterns, the Third Army, and maybe the peak of the franchise, Blackest Night. This mini-series introduced the zombie-like Black Lantern Corps, made up of the animated corpses of dead DC characters. Geoff Johns’ run on Green Lantern was so epic, that no writer since has ever been able to top it. For a brief time, Geoff Johns turned Green Lantern into DC’s second-biggest franchise after Batman. And it will be a long time before its light goes out in the hearts of fandom.

Issues in Geoff Johns’ Green Lantern Run:

Green Lantern: Rebirth #1–6 (2004–2005), Green Lantern vol. 4 #1–67 (2005–2011) Green Lantern vol. 5 #0–20 (2011–2013) Blackest Night #0-9 (2009-2010)

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Twelve years ago, DC Comics made the boldest publishing move in its history with the New 52 relaunch. That relaunch/reboot, while initially successful, ended up as a missed opportunity. Now, DC Comics is looking to start a new publishing initiative again with DC All In, only this time, they’ve seemingly learned from the mistakes of the past. The classic DC universe will remain, with a new, edgier universe existing alongside it. This was all announced by DC writers Joshua Williamson (Superman) and Scott Snyder (Batman, Dark Nights Metal) in a special announcement video, which you view below:

Snyder is part of what they are calling “Absolute DC.” This will be an adjacent universe featuring reimagined takes on DC’s biggest characters, starting with Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman. This resembles Marvel’s Ultimate Comics line from the early 2000s. Snyder himself will write Absolute Batman, which looks to feature the most jacked-up Dark Knight we’ve ever seen. Unlike the New 52, this new universe will coexist alongside the current DC Universe, which will continue with new creative teams or new storylines for their existing titles. The classic universe will not get a reboot again.

Another difference from Marvel’s Ultimate line is that while the DC Absolute titles will be their own universe, they will tie-in to a greater storyline connected back to the classic DCU involving Darkseid. As Snyder explained, the main DC Universe is a world predicated on “Superman energy.” This was something made explicit in the mini-series Doomsday Clock. Meanwhile, the Absolute Universe is a “wild world” composed of “Darkseid energy.” Certainly, the looks of the Absolute versions of the DC trinity look much darker and edgier. The heroes of this new universe will be underdogs. They’ll have to be “tougher and more resourceful” than their counterparts, according to Snyder.

Absolute Batman

This series is written by Batman legend Scott Snyder, featuring art by Nick Dragotta. In this iteration, fans will be introduced to a version of the Dark Knight that doesn’t have the money, mansion, or butler of his core-line counterpart. Readers will quickly find out what makes this the “Absolute” version of Batman when the debut issue arrives at participating comic book shops and digital retailers on Wednesday, October 9.

Absolute Wonder Woman

For Diana, there is no island paradise, no sisterhood to shape her, nor a mission of peace. So what is the purpose of an Amazon warrior in this new universe? Eisner Award-winning writer Kelly Thompson and breakout artist Hayden Sherman reinvent her from the ground up in Absolute Wonder Woman #1, on sale October 23.

Absolute Superman

Writer Jason Aaron (Thor) and artist Rafa Sandoval join forces to present a new Man of Steel with the launch of Absolute Superman #1. This Superman has no family, no Fortress of Solitude, and no home. Will he still stand for truth, justice, and a better tomorrow in this new universe? Readers can find out when Absolute Superman #1 hits participating comic book shops on November 6.

DC Universe Ongoing Series

All of this begins in October, with the DC All-In Special. The special will be an 80-page flip book. It contains one side drawn by Wonder Woman artist Daniel Sampere, and the other by artist Wes Craig. The other side of the book will be from the point of view of Darkseid. The seeds for all of this will begin in DC’s current summer crossover event, Absolute Power. The special will reintroduce Darkseid “As he should be, the greatest villain of the DC Universe,” according to Snyder. This will culminate in the much-anticipated return of a new Justice League, formed by Superman. The regular ongoing DC titles will get new creative teams, or new jumping on points for fans. Arriving first in October are the following:

Superman

Superstar artist Dan Mora joins Joshua Williamson in a new story arc spinning out of Absolute Power. One of Superman’s most lethal enemies returns. The Man of Steel and Superwoman (Lois Lane) must now deal with the return of the rampaging Doomsday. But how long will Lois’s newfound powers last? And as if Doomsday isn’t trouble enough, another one of Superman’s greatest enemies lurks in the shadows: the Time Trapper.

Action Comics

Another one of DC’s foundational titles goes weekly beginning in October! “Death of the Phantom Zone” spins directly out of Absolute Power and Batman/Superman: World’s Finest. Writer Mark Waid and artist Clayton Henry plunge Superman into the Phantom Zone to prevent an otherworldly horror from laying waste to Metropolis. In the second story, “Supergirl: Universe End,” Eisner Award winner and Zatanna: Bring Down the House writer Mariko Tamaki and artist Skylar Patridge take Supergirl to the farthest reaches of space. All in pursuit of a mysterious threat only she can handle.

Batman

Chip Zdarsky, Jorge Jiménez, and Carmine Di Giandomenico are back with a vengeance with a new story arc, “The Dying City. It features an unexpected turn from the Riddler, a mysterious new superhero named Commander Star, and the shocking murder of one of Gotham City’s greatest citizens. Batman ships twice monthly in October.

Detective Comics

Following “Gotham Nocturne,” another of DC’s most historic titles gets a new creative team in the form of superstars Tom Taylor (Nightwing) and Mikel Janín, and a new story arc, “Mercy of the Father.” Years after the tragic murder of Thomas and Martha Wayne, a ghost from Gotham City’s past has been lying in wait to strike at Batman ever since that fateful night in Crime Alley. This story will result in major changes for the Dark Knight, and things may never be the same again.

Expect more announcements for new creative teams for the classic ongoing DC titles at Comic-Con, as well as for the new series in the Absolute line.

Originally published July 17, 2024.

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Although Star Trek: Discovery will soon end with season five, a new live-action StarTrek series will arrive to replace it. After years of rumors, Paramount+ has officially announced a series order for Star Trek: Starfleet Academy. This show will follow an all-new class of Starfleet cadets. And we’ll get to see students coming of age in one of the most legendary places in the galaxy. Alex Kurtzman and Noga Landau will serve as co-showrunners. Gaia Violo wrote the series pilot. The series will begin production in 2024.

Star Trek: Starfleet Academy Series Casts Its New Cadets

In the latest piece of casting news for Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, the series has cast two new actors to play the role of cadets in the upcoming show. Karim Diané (One Of Us Is Lying) and Zoë Steiner (Significant Others) have joined Star Trek: Starfleet Academy. For now, all we know is that they play “cadets.”

The series also found three additional new cadets. Kerrice Brooks (My Old Ass), Bella Shepard (Wolf Pack) and George Hawkins (Tell Me Everything) will join Diané and Steiner to play the newest cadets in the Star Trek universe.

Right now, we don’t know any more about their individual characters than that. But since the series is all about “a new class of Starfleet cadets as they come of age in one of the most legendary places in the galaxy,” we bet they’ll be very important. We can’t wait to learn more about these Starfleet Academy characters soon.

Paul Giamatti Joins Starfleet Academy as the Series’ Villain

Paul Giamatti has also come aboard the cast of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy. Giamatti will play Starfleet Academy‘s villain. A release shares, “Giamatti will play the season’s villain, a man with an ominous past connected to one of our cadets.” Very ominous indeed.

Giamatti will be a recurring guest star.

Star Trek: Starfleet Academy Casts Holly Hunter as Its Captain

In an exciting turn of events, Star Trek: Starfleet Academy revealed that it has cast Holly Hunter as the captain and chancellor of Starfleet Academy. A release reiterates that, “The series will follow the adventures of a new class of Starfleet cadets as they come of age in one of the most legendary places in the galaxy.”

Co-showrunners Alex Kurtzman and Noga Landau share, “It feels like we’ve spent our entire lives watching Holly Hunter be a stone-cold genius. To have her extraordinary authenticity, fearlessness, sense of humor, and across the board brilliance leading the charge on STARFLEET ACADEMY is a gift to all of us, and to the enduring legacy of STAR TREK.”

Star Trek: Starfleet Academy Synopsis

You can read the official description of the new Star Trek: Starfleet Academy series right here:

Star Trek: Starfleet Academy will introduce us to a young group of cadets who come together to pursue a common dream of hope and optimism. Under the watchful and demanding eyes of their instructors, they will discover what it takes to become Starfleet officers as they navigate blossoming friendships, explosive rivalries, first loves and a new enemy that threatens both the Academy and the Federation itself.

Paramount+ also released a special “recruitment announcement” from the legendary institution itself:

Admission is now open to Starfleet Academy! Explore the galaxy! Captain your destiny! For the first time in over a century, our campus will be re-opened to admit individuals a minimum of 16 Earth years (or species equivalent) who dream of exceeding their physical, mental and spiritual limits, who value friendship, camaraderie, honor and devotion to a cause greater than themselves.

The coursework will be rigorous, the instructors among the brightest lights in their respective fields, and those accepted will live and study side-by-side with the most diverse population of students ever admitted. Today we encourage all who share our dreams, goals and values to join a new generation of visionary cadets as they take their first steps toward creating a bright future for us all. Apply today! Ex Astris, Scientia!”

The mention of the Academy opening up for “the first time in over a century” suggests the new Star Trek: Starfleet Academy series will be a spinoff of Discovery. We learned in recent seasons that because of a terrible galactic incident, the Federation was reduced to just a few worlds by the 32nd century. But by the end of Discovery season three, Starfleet began the climb back, and the Academy reopened.

Recently, Doug Jones seemed to confirm this, noting of a possible Star Trek return, “It would be a character by character, case by case, kind of a thing. Just as an actor in general, if I’m presented with a story I want to help tell, a character that I would really love to play, you know, it’s a case by case thing. So yeah, never say never, yes. And if Saru were to be invited back to another, let’s say Starfleet Academy, that’s the right timeline for him, he could do. I’m absolutely game to do so.”

Many fans crossed their fingers and hoped that Starfleet Academy might take place in the post-Picard timeline. We would have loved to see characters from The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, and Voyager as instructors. But it seems more likely we’ll see characters from Discovery instead. We do also hope the new Star Trek series won’t be completely Earthbound. It would be amazing to see cadets training on starships, as we did in The Wrath of Khan.

Star Trek: Starfleet Academy Release Date

Speaking to Collider, Executive Producer Alex Kurtzman shared Starfleet Academy is  “halfway through the writers room now” and preparing to film this summer. He additionally noted, “It could end up not airing until 2026. We don’t know. But by starting [shooting in late summer], just building the sets alone is a massive endeavor, then six months of shooting, then six to eight months of post.” The publication additionally notes, “While he confirmed they ‘haven’t started casting the kids,’ it sounds like some of the adult roles have already been filled.”

A recent article from Variety additionally notes that “this summer, the first Star Trek YA series, Starfleet Academy, will start production on the largest single set ever created for Star Trek on TV.” The article also describes “plans for the series’ central academic atrium, a sprawling, two-story structure that will include a mess hall, amphitheater, trees, catwalks, multiple classrooms and a striking view of the Golden Gate Bridge in a single, contiguous space. To fit it all, they plan to use every inch of Pinewood Toronto’s 45,900 square foot soundstage, the largest in Canada.” But rest assured, the article notes, there will be starships. Although since Starfleet Academy “is set in the 32nd century, an era so far into the future Kurtzman and his team need to invent much of its design language.”

Star Trek: Starfleet Academy will likely debut on Paramount+ sometime in 2024 or 2025, but we guess 2026 is also on the table.

Originally published on March 30, 2023.

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The final episode of The Acolyte teased several things we know are playing an important part in Star Wars lore. The biggest was the reveal of who is almost certainly Darth Plagueis, the Sith master of the future Emperor Palpatine. The other big status quo shift was Osha (Amandla Stenberg) becoming the titular acolyte for the Stranger, also known as Qimir (Manny Jacinto). Even with these big reveals, we have many questions. Specifically, we want to know whether or not the Stranger is a Sith, or one of the Knights of Ren. Perhaps he is the very first Ren. And how do the dark-side-powered Knights of Ren even connect to the Sith Order, if it all? Maybe the finale of The Acolyte just gave us a clue.

Darth Plagueis Reveals Himself in The Acolyte

On the mysterious planet where the Stranger resides, we see a mysterious dark side figure literally lurking in the shadows. He silently watches as the Stranger talks to Osha, attempting his dark side seduction. The general assumption, based on descriptions in non-canon Legends material, is that this was our first on-screen appearance of Darth Plagueis the Wise. His look appears very similar to his appearance as a Muun in Legends, specifically the James Luceno novel, Star Wars: Darth Plagueis. So what’s he doing there? We have some ideas.

One theory we have is that he is the true Sith master, and the Stranger is his apprentice. “Always two there, no more, no less.” That’s the creed of the Sith “Rule of Two.” However, this rule is always broken. At some point, the Sith apprentice takes on their own student, and overthrows their master, starting the cycle over. In The Clone Wars, Count Dooku started training Asajj Ventress, but when she grew too powerful, his master Darth Sidious/Palpatine commanded him to kill her. He wasn’t allowing any threat to his power to exist.

Was Darth Plagueis the Master of Qimir/The Stranger?

Our feeling is that some time after being the Padawan learner to Master Venestra Rwoh, Qimir (or whatever his true name is) became the apprentice of Darth Plagueis, following the rule of two. But also, at some point, instead of trying to kill his master and replace him, he merely abandoned the Sith creed. He still obviously uses the dark side of the Force, and has his Sith training, but he may no longer consider himself a Sith Lord. That doesn’t mean that Darth Plagueis isn’t keeping tabs on him though. Especially if he knows his former pupil is on to something when it comes to a pair of mysterious children born of the Force on Brendock.

Does the Stranger Connect the Sith and the Knights of Ren?

We think that The Acolyte is showing us the origins of not just the Sith who will rule the galaxy with the Galactic Empire a century later, but also the origins of the Knights of Ren. Many things in The Acolyte have hinted at The Stranger having a connection to the Knights of Ren. The least of which was the use of John Williams’ Kylo Ren theme in association with Manny Jacinto’s character. And Leslye Headland certainly didn’t deny a Kyle/Qimir connection to us at all.

If the Stranger was the former Sith apprentice to Darth Plagueis, that means Plagueis would need a new one eventually. Who is to say a potential second season of The Acolyte won’t give us a significant time-jump? We may see an older Osha and Qimir starting the Knights of Ren together, while Plagueis makes his move on seducing a young Palpatine to the dark side. That’s certainly a story Star Wars fans have been waiting to see (in canon) for decades now. And Headland said she knows how The Acolyte connects directly to The Phantom Menace.

And yes, even with a time jump, we could see the same actors playing Qimir and Osha. Qimir already hinted that he was a Jedi “A long time ago.” That means he may be far older than he looks. As Palpatine told Anakin in Revenge of the Sith, “The dark side of the Force is a pathway to abilities some would consider to be unnatural.” It’s very possible one of those unnatural abilities in unnaturally prolonged youth. If there is a season two of The Acolyte, it may finally connect the dots between Darth Plagueis, the Stanger, Osha, the Knights of Ren, and ultimately, the Emperor himself.

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Netflix is about to get a heavy dose of AMC programming, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The network has signed the dotted line on a new deal with the streaming giant which will bring several of its most popular shows to Netflix starting next month. These include the first season of The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon, and all eight seasons of Fear the Walking Dead. Also included are Interview with the Vampire season one and Mayfair Witches season one. Other shows on the list are Preacher and Into the Badlands. In total, 13 AMC series will drop on Netflix on August 19. You can see the complete list of series below:

A Discovery of Witches
Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire S1
Anne Rice’s Mayfair Witches
Dark Winds
Fear the Walking Dead
Gangs of London
Into the Badlands
Kevin can F*** Himself
Monsieur Spade
Preacher
That Dirty Black Bag
The Terror S1
The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon

The Walking Dead: Dead City season one and The Ones Who Live season one will follow suit. Both release on Netflix on Jan 13. 2025. AMC notes that the shows will be available commercial-free, even on Netflix’s ad tier. AMC and Netflix have a long history together. It was streaming on Netflix where Breaking Bad truly became a cultural juggernaut. The fallout led to massive ratings for its post-Netflix seasons. Mad Men also got a major bump in its final seasons thanks to exposure on Netflix for its earlier seasons. The Walking Dead also got an incredible boost via the Netflix effect, also helping to make it a significant pop culture IP.

This new Netflix/AMC deal has an end date, with the “curated” series only available for one year. However, if any of these series get ratings bumps on AMC thanks to all of their Netflix exposure? Then it would not be shocking at all to see this deal extended further. Earlier this year, several AMC shows appeared on Max, but that was designed as a mere “pop-up,” and not an indicator that AMC and Max would partner up in a larger sense. We’ll have to wait and see what the future brings for AMC and Netflix going forward.

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For some time, it was believed that voice-acting legend Kevin Conroy’s last performance as Batman was going to be the recent Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League video game. Luckily, before his passing in 2022, he recorded one more performance as the character that made him famous. This was for the animated film Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths Part Three. The scene was only a minute or so long. But we got to see Conroy’s Dark Knight fight Mark Hamill’s Joker one last time. Conroy’s dialogue is eerily prescient, as if predicting it would be his last time ever playing the Caped Crusader. You can watch Conroy’s final Batman performance down below: Try not to get misty-eyed watching it.

The scene above is but one example in the film of the villainous Anti-Monitor’s anti-matter wave destroying universe after universe. This is a direct reference to the classic Crisis on Infinite Earths comics from 1985 that reshaped DC Comics continuity. An event that would continuously happen over the next forty years. This three-part adaptation of Crisis (the second after the Arrowverse adaptation in 2019) also features other notable cameos. Appearances from other famous animated DC universes from across the decades. We won’t spoil which ones for you, You’ll just have to watch.

A nice touch fans of the DC Animated Universe will notice is in orbit of the Earth right after the Batman scene is the Justice League Watchtower. The very same one from Justice League Unlimited. That’s because the Earth we see destroyed in the anti-matter wave is Earth-12. That’s the designated home to Bruce Timm’s various animated shows. These include Batman: The Animated Series, Superman: The Animated Series, Batman Beyond, and Justice League Unlimited. This brief scene is a final farewell to an animated universe that remains beloved by DC Comics fans everywhere. Other new DC animated universe will no doubt appear, but Timm’s DCAU, and especially Conroy’s Batman, will forever be the blueprint.

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George Washington “G.W.” Bridge is a character that first appeared in Marvel Comics’ mutant heyday of the ‘90s, although he’s a regular non-superpowered human. All signs indicate he will make his MCU debut played by The Boys‘ Giancarlo Esposito in Captain America: Brave New World. But who is this gray-haired badass who can hold multiple gigantic guns just like Cable does? Here’s the Marvel Comics history of G.W. Bridge.

G.W. Bridge Debuts in X-Force #1

G.W. Bridge has the distinction of debuting in X-Force #1, which is still the second biggest-selling comic book of all time, behind only 1991’s X-Men #1. Artist Rob Liefeld and writer Fabian Nicieza co-created Bridge. They portrayed him as an African-American man, a bit on the older side, who was a Vietnam War veteran. In that first appearance, he had since become an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D, with the rank of Commander. Bridge preferred the name “G.W.” or just “George,” thanks to the fact that his full name George Washington Bridge embarrassed him since childhood.

Bridge Is Both Ally and Enemy of the Mutant Cable

When Cable took command of the New Mutants and turned them into X-Force, S.H.I.E.L.D. tasked G.W. Bridge with keeping tabs on them. This was due to a somewhat complicated past that Bridge had with X-Force’s leader Cable. Years earlier, G.W. Bridge was a member of the mercenary team that went by the name the Six Pack. This team was put together by a time-traveling Cable. He not only hired Bridge for the team, but also future X-Men like Domino.

The Six Pack took on all kinds of jobs, but their primary goal was to stop Stryfe, Cable’s clone who had followed him into the past. Although the Six Pack broke up with many members at odds, Bridge eventually patched things up with Cable, and was an unofficial liaison between X-Force and S.H.I.E.L.D. In the years after S.H.I.E.L.D., he also battled the urban vigilante Frank Castle, a.k.a. the Punisher. Bridge was married, but the supervillain Basilisk tragically murdered his wife Sandy. Fridging is a real dick.

G.W. Bridge’s Powers and Abilities

George Washington Bridge has no known super powers to speak of. However, he has formidable combat skills and is a military strategist of incredible efficiency. However, it’s possible he might have some kind of power that we’ve been unaware of until now. A villain named Microchip killed him, and he later returned to life, with his mysterious resurrection unexplained. Is he a mutant too? Or was the Bridge that died merely a Life Model Decoy? Seeing as Bridge worked for S.H.I.E.L.D., we’re leaning towards Life Model Decoy.

G.W. Bridge in Captain America: Brave New World and in The MCU

We’re not entirely sure what role G.W. Bridge will play in Captain America: Brave New World, or in the larger MCU going forward. He might be taking over Nick Fury’s role in S.H.I.E.L.D., now that Fury is off in space. Or maybe he’s part of a mercenary team tasked to take down Sam Wilson/Captain America (or the Red Hulk). Since he has much comics history with mutants, it’s possible he has a role in the upcoming MCU X-Men movie. Bridge is both an ally to Marvel’s heroes as much as he’s an opponent, so it’s anyone’s guess what role he’ll play within the MCU after Brave New World. Regardless, we know Esposito will absolutely slay this role, whether he’s a good guy or a bud guy version of Bridge.

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Before Hugh Jackman’s long-awaited return to Logan in Deadpool & Wolverine, it’s a good time to revisit some classic tales of Canada’s most famous superhero, who turns 50 this year. Wolverine has maintained a solo comic title since 1988, with various mini-series and specials before that. But which runs are the best for the self-described “Best he is at what he does?” Our criteria for picking a top ten run is that the series has to feature Logan in a lead role, or have the name “Wolverine” in the title somewhere. Although a couple are technically team-up series, and one’s an X-Men book. However, the iconic mutant hero is front and center in each one.

10. Greg Rucka

with Darick Robertson, Leo Fernandez

Writer Greg Rucka is famous for writing definitive runs on Batman, Punisher, Wonder Woman, and many others. He also had a relatively brief run on Wolverine, which brought Logan into grittier territory than he’d been in for some time. In this run of issues, illustrated by Darick Robertson and Leo Fernandez, Logan takes on human traffickers, crime lords, and has a rematch with his mortal enemy, Sabretooth. Rucka also reinforces Logan’s friendship with his X-Men teammate Nightcrawler during his time on the title. This run doesn’t get as much attention as some others on this list. Yet it’s a solid run that deserves a revisit, and a spot on the greatest Wolverine runs ever.

Issues in Greg Rucka’s Wolverine Run

Wolverine (Vol.3) #1-19 (2003-2005)

9. Jason Aaron

with Chris Bachalo, Nick Bradshaw, Ramon Perez, and Pepe Larraz

Jason Aaron first gained fame for his years-long run on Thor. But he gave Logan a massive status quo change in his Wolverine and the X-Men series, where he turned the gruff loner into a headmaster for a school of mutant kids. After the death of his beloved Jean Grey, Cyclops and Wolverine have an ideological schism, splitting the team in two. As a result, Logan ends up taking charge of the newly named Jean Grey School as its headmaster.

All of this leads to many hilarious stories where Logan has to suddenly not just think about his own needs, but has to become a mentor to dozens of kids. While most Wolverine books rarely lean into comedy, Jason Aaron’s book is often hilarious. And it all blends with the mutant melodrama extremely well. As good as Aaron’s writing is, it’s complemented by some incredible art. Pencilers like Chris Bachalo, Nick Bradshaw, and others brought their A-game. Technically, this is an X-Men title, but since “Wolverine” is in the title and is front and center, we’re counting it.

Issues in Jason Aaron’s Wolverine and the X-Men Comic Run:

Wolverine & The X-Men (2011) 1-35, 38-42; Wolverine & The X-Men Annual (2011-2014)

8. Walter and Louise Simonson

with Jon J. Muth and Kent Williams

This one’s a bit of an oddball book, because it’s a title Wolverine shared with another X-Man, and many don’t remember it these days. Havok & Wolverine: Metldown is still an incredibly fun read, even today. Back in 1988, the X-Men were laying low in the Australian Outback meaning for a brief period, Logan was teammates with Cyclops’ brother, Havok. X-Factor and Thor writers (as well as spouses) Walt and Louise Simonson decided to put Wolverine and Havok together, caught up in an adventure when the two are on vacation in Mexico.

This story runs through a four-part Epic Comics mini-series, with gorgeous mixed media artwork from Jon J. Muth and Kent Williams. This story is very of its time, dealing with the partial meltdown of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in 1986, which we find out was actually an inside job that went out of control. (Yes, the “meltdown” in the title is literal). The whole thing was a plot that was actually concocted to trap the X-Men! Who knew? This story also has the wildest hair Logan has had in any comic series to date. That detail alone makes it an underrated gem.

Issues in Walt and Louise Simonson’s Havok & Wolverine: Meltdown Comic Run:

Havok & Wolverine: Meltdown #1-4 (1988)

7. Chris Claremont

with Al Milgrom

After the massive success of the 1982 4-part Wolverine limited series, it was inevitable there would be a follow-up. But writer Chris Claremont didn’t just want to do a Wolverine II. Instead he teamed up the grizzled Canadian mutant with the X-Men’s youngest member, Kitty Pryde, for a six-issue mini-series with artist Al Milgrom that takes the pair of X-Men on an adventure to Japan. This mini-series deepened the friendship of Logan and the teenage Kitty. Logan teaches his young protégé about the way of the samurai as they fight the ninja Ogun. Nowhere near as great as the first Wolverine mini-series, especially without Frank Miller’s art, however this storyline had a profound effect on the characters of both Logan and Kitty going forward.

Issues in Chris Claremont’s Kitty Pryde and Wolverine Comic Run:

Kitty Pryde and Wolverine #1-6 (1985)

6. Mark Millar

with John Romita Jr. and Klaus Janson

Fans have always wanted to see Wolverine fight his fellow heroes in the Marvel Universe. Well, in the first Mark Millar run on Wolverine, which lasted 12 issues under the Marvel Knights imprint, it finally happened. In this story, Logan gets brainwashed by Hydra and the Hand, becoming a living weapon for the notorious ninja clan. Throughout this storyline, Logan has to fight SHIELD agents, his fellow X-Men, and other Marvel heroes like the Fantastic Four. The storyline, which features premium summer-blockbuster action from writer Mark Millar and John Romita Jr., shows the heroes of Marvel racing to try to deprogram Logan before it’s too late. This run took place in Wolverine Vol.3 #20-32, and it collected as Wolverine: Enemy of the State.

Issues in Mark Millar and John Romita Jr.’s Wolverine Run:

Wolverine (Vol.3) #20-32 (2004-2005)

5. Paul Jenkins and Joe Quesada

with Andy Kubert and Richard Isanove

It was Uncanny X-Men writer Chris Claremont’s belief that Logan was far too popular a character to have his mysterious backstory ever fully explained. Claremont believed maintaining the mystery behind Wolverine’s backstory was key to his popularity. That edict lasted until the year 2000, when Marvel EIC Joe Quesada decided that if Marvel Comics didn’t tell Logan’s origin story, then Hollywood was going to. They beat the movies to the punch in a 2001 mini-series plainly titled Origin.

Quesada hired Paul Jenkins to be the mini-series writer and introduced and confirmed many bits of information. We learned that Logan’s real name is James Howlett, and he was the wealthy son of a Canadian plantation owner back in the 19th century. This finally confirmed just how old Wolverine really was. Jenkins cleverly reveals the genesis of Wolverine’s name Logan, his predilection for redheaded ladies, and so much more. What could have been a disaster ended up as a gorgeously told and tragic story, not done justice at all in X-Men Origins: Wolverine.

Issues in Paul Jenkins, Joe Quesada, and Andy Kuberts’ Origin Run:

Origin #1-6 (2001-2002)

4. Barry Windsor Smith

When Wolverine became a star in Uncanny X-Men, writer Chris Claremont didn’t even reveal that Logan’s claws were a part of his actual body, and not just his gloves. He eventually revealed that his claws were part of an adamantium exoskeleton grafted onto his entire body. Logan wouldn’t let anyone know just how he got them. The answers finally came in this 12-part story in the anthology Marvel Comics Presents back in 1991, a milestone year for the X-Men brand, in a saga written and illustrated by the legendary Barry Windsor Smith, titled Weapon X.

This storyline details how the government’s top-secret Weapon X program captured a feral Logan, treating him like a test subject animal in order to create a living weapon. The art by Barry Windsor-Smith is next-level detailed, and his writing isn’t too shabby either. The hearts of readers everywhere broke for Logan, as his body and mind shattered thanks to the torture. The story’s main antagonist, Dr. Cornelius, is instantly a memorable villain, even if this is his one standout storyline. Hollywood has adapted or referenced this run in projects like X-Men: The Animated Series, X2, X-Men: Origins: Wolverine, and X-Men: Apocalypse. But the original is still the best.

Issues in Barry Windsor-Smith’s Wolverine Run:

Marvel Comics Presents #72-84 (1991)

3. Chris Claremont

with Frank Miller

No one at Marvel anticipated that Wolverine was going to be the breakout hero of the new X-Men series. By the early ’80s however, it was clear he was the star of the show. So in 1982, Marvel Comics decided to finally give Wolverine his own mini-series, written by Uncanny X-Men writer Chris Claremont, with art by Daredevil artist Frank Miller. This was only Marvel’s second-ever limited series, and became an instant runaway hit. Having two creatives from Marvel’s two top-selling titles made this series a must-have for comic book readers at the time.

This all-star creative team gave us a story about Logan journeying to Japan, his subsequent battles with the Yakuza, as well as the ninja clan known as The Hand and his doomed romance with Mariko Yashida. The art by Miller is kinetic and exciting, and unlike anything readers at the time were accustomed to in mainstream comics. Clocking in at just four issues, this story is a tight “one and done,” even if it did have a huge impact on Logan as a character going forward. This story is the main inspiration for the 2013 The Wolverine film.

Issues in Chris Claremont and Frank Miller’s Wolverine Run

Wolverine (Vol.1) #1-4 (1982)

2. Mark Millar

with Steve McNiven

Similar to Batman with The Dark Knight Returns, one of the ultimate Wolverine stories takes place in a possible dystopian future, where our hero has to contend with the mistakes of his past and return for one last fight. Written by returning writer Mark Millar and drawn in requisite detail by Civil War’s Steve McNiven, the story takes place in issues #66-72 of Wolverine in 2009. Titled “Old Man Logan, ” this saga is set in a future where superheroes are outlawed, and Logan lives on a remote farm away from civilization. He’s haunted by his past where the machinations of Mysterio forced him to kill all his fellow X-Men, believing they were the enemy.

Trying (and failing) to kill himself, he never popped his claws again, letting the Wolverine identity effectively die. But as always, one last mission calls, a chance for redemption. If Mark Millar wrote an excellent Wolverine thriller with Enemy of the State, he wrote the definitive Wolverine saga in Old Man Logan. The story is filled with cameos from Marvel characters, with special emphasis on the Hulk and Hawkeye. The themes of this run of comics helped inform the movie masterpiece Logan, but this story is a comic book masterpiece in its own right.

Issues in Mark Millar’s and Steve McNiven’s Wolverine Run

Wolverine (Vol.3) #66-72, Wolverine: Giant Size Old Man Logan Conclusion

1. Larry Hama

with Marc Silvestri, Mark Texeira, and Adam Kubert

Chris Claremont may have defined Wolverine as a member of the X-Men, but former G.I. Joe writer Larry Hama is the writer who really made Logan shine as an ongoing solo hero. Hama wrote Wolverine’s first ongoing series from issues #31-118 starting in 1988, then the tie-in Age Of Apocalypse miniseries Weapon X #1-4. Hama’s artistic collaborators were some of the most iconic artists to ever draw Wolverine, including Marc Silvestri, Mark Texeira, Adam Kubert, and Leinil Yu.

Hama’s run was so great throughout because he touched on every aspect of Logan’s character. We get traditional superhero yarns, spy stories, mutant espionage, ninja tales, and a battle or two with Wolverine’s mortal foe, Sabretooth. Hama wrote Wolverine for over six years, even during his bone claw phase, longer than anyone outside of Chris Claremont. And he certainly left his stamp on the character. This is the Wolverine run that all the others try to live up to.

Issues in Larry Hamas’ Wolverine Run

Wolverine (Vol.2) #31-119 (1990-1997)

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One of Marvel Comics’ most powerful villains is making his debut in Captain America: New World Order, taking on Sam Wilson. The Red Hulk, who is exactly what his name suggests, will soon throw down with the Sentinel of Liberty on the White House lawn. But the character who became Red Hulk, General Ross, has been around since 1962. Here’s the topsy-turvy comic book history of the Red Hulk, and what it means for his MCU future.

The Red Hulk’s Origins (as General Thunderbolt Ross)

Long before he was ever the Red Hulk, General Thadeus “Thunderbolt” Ross was a thorn in the side of the Incredible Hulk. He first appeared in The Incredible Hulk #1, and thus, is a Stan Lee and Jack Kirby creation. From his inception, Ross has been portrayed as a gruff, trigger-happy member of the American military. He was a product of generations in his family serving in the military, going back to the Civil War.

Ross was the military attache of the gamma bomb project in New Mexico that turned scientist Bruce Banner into the Hulk. He resented that Dr. Banner, a scientist, was given the final say over the project over him, a decorated officer. Ever since, he had a single-minded obsession with capturing the Hulk. All of this is made more complicated due to the fact that his daughter Betty was the love of Banner’s life. If any villain ranks at the top in the Hulk’s pantheon of adversaries, it’s Ross.

General Ross, the Hulk’s Arch-Nemesis

In the early days, Ross was described as a veteran of World War II, now an Air Force General. He was excessively jingoistic, and hated the scientist Banner for being a “weakling.” He despised that his daughter was enamored with him, hoping she’d marry a military man. When Banner became the Hulk, he would do anything and everything to bring him in. He allied with outright villains like Abomination and the Leader, essentially committing treason, all in an effort to defeat the Jade Giant, who he saw as a manifestation of his failure. Ross was in charge of one effort to bring in the Hulk after another, heading up Operation: Greenskin, operating out of Hulkbuster Base.

The Death and Rebirth of Thunderbolt Ross

Ross spent years using his military muscle to to try to stop the Hulk, but to no avail. At one point, Ross even merged with the energy being Zzzax to try and stop the Hulk himself. His most heinous act came when he came to Bruce and Betty’s wedding with a gun, intending to shoot Bruce Banner, instead shooting Banner’s non-powered friend, Rick Jones. He finally realizes he has been wrong about Bruce all these years, and helps him fight a mutant threat with the last of his Zzzax powers. He dies in his daughter Betty’s arms, finally giving the couple his blessing. In the Marvel universe, however, death is rarely the end.

Ross is first brought back to life by the gamma-powered Leader, where he becomes his puppet. Eventually breaking free of that control with some alien help, he returns to his position in the U.S. Air Force. For many years, he remains a background character. He even becomes friends (to an extent) with Bruce Banner, until his beloved daughter seemingly dies from gamma poisoning, due to her proximity to the Hulk. His hatred for the Hulk then resumes unabated. It was 45 years after his creation, however, that Ross went through his biggest transformation as a Marvel character, when he became the Red Hulk.

The First Appearance and Origin of the Red Hulk

The Red Hulk first appeared in Hulk #1, back in 2008. This Red Hulk was the creation of writer Jeph Loeb and artist Ed McGuinness, with the intention of giving Hulk a true physical equal. The true identity of this crimson doppelgänger to the Hulk was a mystery to the readers, which Marvel teased out for a long time. Red Hulk came for many of Hulk’s usual foes, killing the Abomination and Wendigo, all proving he was just as strong as the green guy. He even took down a SHIELD Hellicarrier. Unlike the Hulk, who often displayed limited intelligence, Red Hulk was smart and cunning from the get-go. For two years, the true identity of Red Hulk was a secret.

How the Red Hulk Got His Powers

In 2010, in Hulk #23, Marvel revealed the truth about the Red Hulk. The supervillain M.O.D.O.K. had given General Ross the powers of the Hulk, using the organization Intelligentsia to create a new Super Soldier Program, recreating the accident that gave Banner his powers. Although previous stories had shown Red Hulk killing General Ross, as a way of throwing readers off, they eventually revealed that Ross was an artificial Life Model Decoy.

Why Is the Red Hulk Red?

M.O.D.O.K. combined gamma radiation with cosmic rays to give Ross powers, which gave the Fantastic Four their powers. The cosmic rays portion of the process made Ross turn red and not green, as it superseded the gamma part of the equation.

Is Red Hulk Stronger than the Green Hulk?

The Red Hulk’s powers are nearly identical to those of the Hulk. Unlike the green Hulk, however, Red Hulk can also emit heat from his eyes. While the Banner Hulk gets stronger the angrier he becomes, Red Hulk’s body temperature rises with his anger, creating heat that rivals that of the Human Torch. He has the power to absorb different types of energy, including gamma radiation. This extra power comes with a downside, though. Unlike Banner, Red Hulk can never revert to his human form, as it would instantly kill him. Because of the cosmic rays in his creation, Red Hulk has, in the past, had the ability to absorb the Power Cosmic from Galactus, even if it was for a temporary period of time.

Is Red Hulk a Villain or Hero?

In his earliest appearances, the Red Hulk was definitely a villain. Aside from murdering Abomination and Wendigo, he fought both Hulk and Thor. Eventually, he reformed, and became something of a hero again. He joined the Avengers, upon Captain America’s request, and later, the Thunderbolts. The team is not actually named after “Thunderbolt” Ross, but it was a nice coincidence anyway. He has (mostly) fought on the side of the good guys ever since.

General Ross in the MCU

In the MCU, William Hurt originally portrayed Thunderbolt Ross in The Incredible Hulk. He reprised the role for Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame, and Black Widow. He was portrayed as a military general in The Incredible Hulk, in much the same capacity he had in the comics. For later MCU films, he was Secretary of State, and someone who sought legislation against super powered operatives like the Avengers. Despite his conflict with the heroes, he was last seen at Tony Starks funeral in Endgame.

President Ross Becomes the Red Hulk in Captain America: Brave New World

For Captain America: Brave New World, Harrison Ford is stepping in for the late William Hurt. He is now President of the United States, seeking to get Captain America as a government operative once more. We don’t know how or why, but it seems like President Ross will eventually become the Red Hulk in this film, probably with the cooperation of the Leader, a returning Tim Blake Nelson from 2008’s The Incredible Hulk. At some point, Hulk will take on Captain America himself. Harrison Ford is expected to return for the movie Thunderbolts as well.

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Star Wars and Star Trek are very different sci-fi franchises. However, they share more than a few key similarities. Both have giant galactic governments made of hundreds of worlds. The Klingons in Star Trek and the Mandalorians of Star Wars have similar warrior culture traditions. One other thing modern Star Wars has leaned into in recent years is that the Jedi are extremely similar to Mr. Spock’s alien race, the Vulcans. That’s especially true ever since George Lucas fleshed out what the Jedi were truly like during the prequel trilogy. Now with The Acolyte, we’ve seen the Jedi at perhaps their most Vulcan-like.

When audiences watched the original Star Wars trilogy, we only ever saw two fully trained Jedi Knights—Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda. Both were in exile, decades after their order had fallen. So neither character really explained how the Jedi were meant to behave. The term “knights” suggested to most viewers that the Jedi were probably dashing, romantic knights in the Arthurian tradition, and not warrior monks in the Eastern sense. With the release of the prequels, however, we started to see the Jedi in large numbers. We learned that not only were they warrior monks, we also discovered how much they were like Star Trek‘s Vulcans.

For Star Trek’s Vulcans, Emotional Detachment Is Key, Much Like Star Wars‘ Jedi

In Star Trek, our reference point for Vulcans as a species was usually Leonard Nimoy’s Mr. Spock. We also saw other prominent Vulcans in the original series, like his father Sarek. Over the years, we met Lt. Saavik, Tuvok, and T’Pol. Throughout many movies and TV series, we learned these pointy-eared aliens actually had very deep emotions, only they learned to suppress them. Simply put, their emotions got in the way of their mental disciplines and adherence to logic, hindering their ability to mind meld and use their other psychic powers. They can only achieve these powers through total serenity, bypassing all emotion. Their genetically identical (and passionate) Romulan cousins couldn’t access the same powers, because emotion rules them.

Mental Discipline and Training Is Crucial to Both Vulcan and Jedi Alike

Vulcans undergo intense emotional training as small children, just as Jedi do. As adults, Vulcans also go through different disciplines and rituals to purge remaining emotion. Spock goes through the Kolinahr discipline in Star Trek: The Motion Picture, although he fails to purge his emotions. Those who do so achieve a higher status within Vulcan society. In The Acolyte, we see Torbin partaking in something called the Barash Vow, where they go into deep meditation. Despite their logic, the Vulcans are very tradition-bound, and function in temples of different varieties. In these temples, we often see them wearing hooded robes. The Vulcans and Jedi definitely share an aesthetic.

In Star Wars, we learned that for Jedi to truly access the Force, they must let go of emotional attachments. That’s why the Jedi Council forbids those in the order to marry or have children (with few exceptions). Although Jedi don’t totally suppress all emotions, they do crack a smile and make jokes here and there. Especially younger Padawans, who have not achieved knight status. Most Vulcans don’t even do that. But the Jedi are otherwise cold and aloof, seeing their emotions as an impediment, not a strength. The Jedi live a sparse lifestyle, essentially as monks in the Jedi temple. Vulcans in Star Trek also believe owning things for the sake of it is “illogical.” Vulcans, like the Jedi Knights, are pacifists, but both have superior fighting skills if need be (see “Amok Time” from the original series). Of course, to the Jedi, fighting skills are far more important.

Both Vulcans and Jedi Have Incredible Mental Powers

There are big differences, however. Jedi and Vulcans have mental powers, but Vulcans need physical contact to make a psychic connection, or mind meld. They can’t just read thoughts from a distance, or command people to do things by merely thinking it, like the Jedi do. Vulcans can marry, even if their emotional attachments are very limited. It’s more about procreation and perpetuating the species, hence all the arranged Vulcan marriages. The Jedi are not allowed to have children, with rare exceptions. The biggest difference between the Jedi and the Vulcans is the most obvious—the Vulcans are a race, while the Jedi is a religion composed of many races.

Vulcans Are the Glue Holding the Federation Together, Like the Jedi Are for the Republic

Yet the Vulcans are the backbone of the Federation, providing the organization with logic and guidance. The Jedi served the same function for the Republic for generations. In the recent seasons of Star Trek: Discovery, we learned that the Federation falls apart quickly without the Vulcans. And we know what became of the Republic without the Jedi, despite their failings. Without a doubt, it was never intentional for the Vulcans and the Jedi to become so similar. Nevertheless, it’s remarkable to see how much the Jedi have paralleled the Vulcans over the last few decades of both franchises. May the Force be with the Jedi, and may they also live long and prosper.

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In episodes three and seven of The Acolyte, we get extended flashbacks to the childhoods of Osha and Mae (Leah and Lauren Brady) on the planet Brendock. We see they were the only children raised by a coven of female witches, led by Mother Aniseya (Jodi Turner-Smith), who seemingly “created” them via supernatural means. It seems Aniseya’s partner, Mother Koril, carried the twins for her, but the how and why remains a mystery. These witches, whose sigil is a white, dotted circle painted on their heads, view the Force differently, referring to it as something no one can wield. Instead, they view it as “a thread that can be pulled.” Although they never name this coven, they are certainly not the first Force users, primarily women, who use the term “witch” to describe themselves in Star Wars.

The First Force Witches in Star Wars Canon

The notion of Force witches began decades ago in non-canon Star Wars lore. “Mind witches” bedeviled Luke Skywalker in Star Wars comics in the early ’80s. However, the most famous Force witches first appeared nearly thirty years ago, in the Legends novel The Courtship of Princess Leia. That 1994 book by Dave Wolverton dealt with Han Solo and Leia’s marriage after Return of the Jedi, and was the first introduction to the Nightsisters of Dathomir, not to mention, the planet Dathomir itself.

In Legends lore, the Nightsisters were founded by an exiled Jedi, some 600 years before A New Hope. When this female ex-Jedi was exiled to Dathomir, she trained Force-sensitive women on the planet into a coven of witches, neither Sith nor Jedi. A handful of Expanded Universe merchandise even showed what the Nightsisters looked like. Some of this later informed their in-canon looks later on. However, by the time of Star Wars: The Clone Wars, George Lucas decided to canonize the concept of witches innately powerful in the Force. He largely tossed out the backstory of the Nightsisters in the novels and made his own.

The Nightsisters in The Clone Wars and The Mandalorian

In the Clone Wars, they eventually reveal Count Dooku’s dark side apprentice, Asajj Ventress, a primary villain in the series, was a Nightsister from the planet Dathomir. During this prequel era, the Nightsisters channeled the dark side of the Force into something akin to magic. They felt their power most strongly on their homeworld. So they rarely, if ever, left Dathomir. That changed when the coven came under the sway of Mother Talzin, who collaborated with Darth Sidious during his climb to power. In fact, Talzin gave her son to Sidious to train as a Sith. That child grew up to become Darth Maul.

In the Clone Wars episode “Massacre,” we witness the genocide of the Nightsisters, orchestrated by Count Dooku and General Grievous. Almost all of the Nightsisters die in this brutal attack. Even when the Nightsisters cast spells to resurrect their dead as warriors, they all fall in battle. We later discover that at least two girls survived the genocide. One was Asajj Ventress, and the other would grow up to become Morgan Elsbeth. Elsbeth (Diana Lee Inosanto) would first appear in season two of The Mandalorian, as a warlord steward of the planet in the New Republic era. She’d later play a central role in Star Wars: Ahsoka, where they further explored her ties to the Nightsisters.

The Great Mothers of Peridea

In season one of Ahsoka, Elsbeth returned, as we learn that the witches of Dathomir actually originated in another galaxy, on the planet Peridea. Members of their sect traveled to the main Star Wars galaxy, presumably via Purgill, thousands of years prior. There, they established an offshoot clan of Nightsisters on Dathomir. Although they massacre the clan on Dathomir, the descendents of the original witches still live on that planet. Morgan is attempting to jump to another galaxy to find her master, Grand Admiral Thrawn. When she finds him, he’s not alone. He’s accompanied by several Great Mothers on the planet. The Great Mothers attempt to help Grand Admiral Thrawn return to his proper galaxy.

The Witches in The Acolyte Are a New Breed of Force Witches

So does the coven in The Acolyte have a connection to the Nightsisters? They don’t seem particularly dark-sided so far. Mother Aniseya mentions that the coven was exiled to the planet Brendock. But exiled by whom? This is pre-Empire after all. The Nightsisters on Dathomir seem to more or less co-exist with the other clans, as we saw in Tales of the Empire. Perhaps they singled out Mother Aniseya’s clan for unknown reasons, forcing them to leave Dathomir. It’s possible they fought the Nightsisters with light-side magic, and lost, leaving them no choice but to flee.

The Acolyte showrunner Leslye Headland explained several key differences between the coven on Brendock and the Nightsisters, telling Nerdist that these witches “basically want to stay out of everyone’s way and aren’t grasping for any sort of power. They’re not getting involved in any kind of political skirmish or any war movement. That would be the last thing they would want to do.” In short, they just wanted their own little piece of the sky on Brendock, hoping no one from the Republic would discover them.

Similar to the Nightsisters, there seems to be a visual component to the use of their powers. When the Jedi or Sith use the Force, it’s invisible. When the Nighsisters and the coven from Brendock invoke their powers, there’s a visual element to it. We see it as a green mist for the Nightsisters. And for the coven on Brendock, it’s more like vibrations in the air, like ripples in the water. According to Headland, “The Nightsisters utilize magic exclusively. With my witches, it’s a bit of a hybrid. They’re definitely dabbling in the Force and calling the Force by a different name. They’re trying to cultivate their sensitivity to it without having to be trained by the Jedi.”

Having more than one coven of witches in the Star Wars galaxy makes sense, however. Other cultures would perceive the Force differently, and wield it in different ways. The galaxy is a big place after all. Although we see this coven destroyed, we have a feeling they are not the only coven of similar witches in the galaxy. Or maybe even on Brendock. We are sure to learn more in the remaining episodes of The Acolyte.

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Yes, we may have to wait a long two years (or more) for Denis Villeneuve’s Dune Messiah. However, we won’t have to wait that long for new content based on Frank Herbert’s epic sci-fi masterpiece. The new HBO original series Dune: Prophecy is currently in post-production, with a premiere set for this fall. Now we have a first-look photograph from the set of Dune: Prophecy, featuring Emily Watson as Valya Harkonnen, ancestor to the diabolical Harkonnen family we saw in the original Dune films. Does this mean good guy Harkonnens? What’s the universe coming to? You can check out the photo of Emily Watson in full costume, as well as read the official synopsis for Dune: Prophecy, right here:

From the expansive universe of Dune, created by acclaimed author Frank Herbert, and 10,000 years before the ascension of Paul Atreides, Dune: Prophecy follows two Harkonnen sisters as they combat forces that threaten the future of humankind and establish the fabled sect that will become known as the Bene Gesserit. Dune: Prophecy is inspired by the novel Sisterhood of Dune, written by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson. 

So you thought that The Acolyte and House of the Dragon prequels were very far removed from their parent series timeline-wise? Well, Dune: Prophecy has them both beat now. And by quite a bit in fact. Ten thousand years is a very long time to go back for a prequel. This series has to be setting some kind of prequel record in that regard. Joining Emily Watson in for Dune: Prophecy are Olivia Williams, Travis Fimmel, Jodhi May, Mark Strong, and Sarah-Sofie Boussnina. Alison Schapker serves as showrunner and executive producer for Dune: Prophecy. The series recently changed to an HBO original series, despite its original intention for the Max streaming service.

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

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We are nearing the finish line for The Acolyte, and the narrative has revealed several truths. The many layers of cosmic mystery continue to peel away. One thing fans have been wondering about since the third episode of the series is whether or not the twins, Mae and Osha, thanks to their unique births and sizable Force prowess, are as powerful as Anakin Skywalker. He was the Star Wars saga’s “Chosen One” after all. Anakin was a vergence in the Force, only as a sentient being, not a place.

Well, The Acolyte creator and showrunner Leslye Headland confirmed for us that the twins are not as powerful as Anakin Skywalker. When we asked Headland about the notion of the twins’ singular consciousness split into two bodies, why would such a thing make them stronger via “the power of two?” Why not be weaker if they’re two halves of one whole? Here’s what Headland had to say on the matter:

I think it’s both. The girls are guinea pigs. They’re patient zero for this sort of power. It didn’t work perfectly. Therefore the girls on their own can never be as powerful as Anakin. Their full potential together has yet to be explored. They’ve been separated too long.

The suggestion here is that together, the two could be as powerful as Anakin ultimately becomes. This might make them “a Dyad in the Force.” That’s how they described Rey and Kylo Ren in The Rise of Skywalker. A Force Dyad is two beings that share the same Force energy. Separate, they are still strong. But together, they had enough Force power to rejuvenate an emaciated Emperor Palpatine. With Mae and Osha separated, first at birth and then later by circumstances, they can never be as powerful as Anakin Skywalker. So for those of you worrying that Vader’s status in the Star Wars saga is now diminished thanks to The Acolyte twins? Now we know that’s just not the case.

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“A vergence in the Force.” It’s a term we first heard in The Phantom Menace, when Qui-Gon Jinn described young Anakin Skywalker as a vergence in the Force to the Jedi Council. Because of this fact, Qui-Gon believed it was absolutely imperative that the Jedi must train Anakin. And we heard the Star Wars terminology, “a vergence in the Force,” used again in episode seven of The Acolyte, “Choice.” We learned that sixteen years earlier, Master Indara’s team of Jedi on Brendok, including Master Sol and Kelnacca, viewed the Star Wars planet as a vergence in the Force and that the Jedi Council sent them to investigate this potential phenomenon.

The Acolyte Introduces a new “Vergence in the Force”

On The Acolyte, Master Indira described a vergence as “a concentration of Force energy centered around a location.” Thanks to a hyperspace disaster a century earlier, chronicled in the High Republic novel Light of the Jedi, the Jedi thought Brendok was lifeless. But its ecosystem was actually thriving, leading the Jedi to believe that this remote Star Wars world was a vergence in the Force. Master Sol elaborated, saying a vergence could create life, such as they see appear on Brendok. “Nothing could be more important to the Jedi,” said Sol. When Torbin learns that the Brendok coven created the twins Mae and Osha on The Acolyte, he says that could only happen because of a vergence. He says the twins are living proof of a vergence on Brendok.

Other Vergences in Star Wars

Brendok is not the first location Star Wars implies to be a vergence. However, it is the first time anyone uses that specific term. In The Clone Wars animated series, the world of Mortis was such a place. As a Force ghost, Qui-Gon explained it to Obi-Wan, telling him that Mortis is “a conduit through which the entire Force of the universe flows.” That world was the home to entities that were avatars for the dark and light side of the Force. The Clone Wars also describes Dagobah in terms that suggest that the planet is also a vergence in the Force, which is why Yoda chose it as his home during his exile. But here, the vergence is used in a whole new way in the Star Wars series.

A vergence in the Force surrounding a person was a new Star Wars phenomenon in The Phantom Menace. Mace Windu seemed shocked a vergence could even form around a person when Qui-Gon presented him with young Anakin. But on The Acolyte, we encounter a different kind of named vergence. This time, the vergence is a place, one that can be used by Force users to heighten their own powers and to literally create a specific kind life. Interestingly, life that ends up being very powerful and attuned to the Force.

The Acolyte‘s Vergence is a Star Wars Location, Not a Person

The Acolyte showrunner Leslye Headland confirmed for Nerdist that the vergence is not Mae and Osha. She said plainly, “The girls themselves are not a vergence in the Force.” And added, “They needed…again, however they got here…the act of creating them was going to need amplification. Therefore, we came around to the decision that the vergence was on Brendok, and that it would remain mysterious. So that way, if we went back there in future tellings of the story, we could uncover a little bit more about what is actually there.” The twins were created on Brendok because the Star Wars planet itself was a vergence.

What Could This New Vergence From The Acolyte Mean for Star Wars?

In The Acolyte, Qimir (potentially a Sith, or something else dark-sided) is looking to manipulate an unusually strong Force user for his own benefit. First Mae, and now Osha. Maybe he knows they share a consciousness. In The Acolyte, we see the tug of war over a prodigy in the Force play out a century earlier than it will over Anakin. But since we know the Jedi survive another century into the prequel era, we also know this plan will fail for the Sith. However, when Darth Sidious discovers a vergence in the Force, which is a living being, that plan will work. But Star Wars: The Acolyte certainly begs the question, what if the wrong hands knew a vergence of the Force could create Force-sensitive life?

We’ll have to wait and see what role this new vergence plays in The Acolyte and in the greater Star Wars universe.

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DC Comics characters are going to have a big presence at Comic-Con once again, with tons of exclusive items featuring the World’s Finest heroes (that’s Batman and Superman, by the way). Among the items is an exclusive “Fusion” Superman/Batman Funko Pop! vinyl, straight from the pages of World’s Finest, a vinyl soundtrack commemorating 35 years of Tim Burton’s Batman, and a pair of posters showcasing Bruce and Clark from superstar artist Jim Lee. There’s even a Batman Returns poster for those of you who still worship Michelle Pfeiffer’s Catwoman. You can check out images and details for each SDCC exclusive down below:

Funko Batman/Superman Fusion Pop! Vinyl Figure

The combined willpower of Batman and Superman has brought the ring of Green Lantern to them, which fused the two heroes into one: Pop! Batman/Superman Fusion! Complete your Batman/Superman: World’s Finest collection by welcoming this exclusive hero to your DC lineup. The vinyl figure is 4.55 inches tall. Customers may purchase up to one piece per household. This composite hero is $14.99.

Batman – Original Motion Picture Score LP + Graphic Novel Box Set – SDCC Exclusive Batstripe Vinyl

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Mondo’s Batman – Original Motion Picture Score returns as a collector’s box set, featuring new vinyl variants bundled with DC’s Batman ‘89 comic book, a brilliant continuation of the story by screenwriter Sam Hamm, Joe Quinones, and Leonardo Ito. The box set comes in a newly designed clamshell with artwork by series artist Quinones and Paolo Rivera.

Of course, the soundtrack boasts Danny Elfman’s iconic score conducted by Shirley Walker, liner notes by John Takis, and original art by Killian Eng. The colors on the vinyl give total Prince “Batdance” vibes. This exclusive vinyl soundtrack is limited to 1,000 copies, split between in-person (booth at SDCC) and online. There will be 600 in-person copies, and 400 online copies. You can snatch this one for $55.00.

Batman Returns Poster

Celebrate the ultimate power couple, Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle, in a poster honoring Tim Burton’s Batman Returns. Penguin (Danny DeVito) and Max Shreck (Christopher Walken) also appear. This Booth exclusive features art of Batman (Michael Keaton) and Catwoman (Michelle Pfeiffer) by Dan Hipp, measures 24″ x 18″, and is an edition of 215. MSRP is $60.00.

All-Star Batman and Robin, the Boy Wonder #1 Poster

This poster features the cover art from 2005’s All-Star Batman and Robin, the Boy Wonder by iconic artist Jim Lee. This series was a collaboration he did with The Dark Knight Returns‘ Frank Miller. The poster measures 24″ x 36″ and is printed on silver foil paper. It arrives in an edition of 265, and will set you back $80.00.

Superman #205 Poster

The Man of Steel never looked more ready to take on the bad guys than on the cover for Superman #205. This 24″ x 36″ poster features the art of DC publisher Jim Lee. It arrives printed on gold foil paper, in an Edition of 265. Like Lee’s All-Star Batman and Robin, the Boy Wonder poster, this one is also $80.00.

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Call him Qimir. Call him “The Stranger.” But Manny Jacinto’s dark side warrior from The Acolyte has captured everyone’s attention. And not just for being the sexiest (and most naked) bad guy in Star Wars history. Although that helps. We may not know if he’s a Sith, or a Knight of Ren, or what. But we do know that the sinister-looking lightsaber-proof helmet he wears is already iconic. And now, fans can have one of their own with Hasbro Pulse’s Star Wars: Black Series The Stranger Electronic Helmet. You can check out several images in our gallery below:

Click To View Gallery

This officially licensed roleplay item is based on The Stranger’s helmet featured in Star Wars: The Acolyte, and the design features Welcome Light FX. Fans and collectors can soon go full dark side and wear this highly detailed sculpt themselves. The Stranger helmet includes padding for an adjustable fit for most head sizes. Of course, you can just choose to display it, right alongside your Darth Vader, stormtrooper, or Mandalorian helmets. One thing we’ve learned, the Star Wars galaxy has no shortage of is badass-looking headgear. The Stranger replica helmet sets you back $99.99, with a limit of just three per customer.

In The Acolyte, we learn that The Stranger’s helmet is made of a substance called cortosis, which is resistant to lightsaber blows. That’s a deep-cut reference, as the metal first appeared in a Star Wars novel many years ago. It’s similar to beskar steel on The Mandalorian, which is also lightsaber-resistant. While it’s safe to assume that this replica helmet is not made from any alien exotic metals, and instead just common Earth plastics, it doesn’t make it any less cool looking. So join the dark side, and head on over to the Hasbro Pulse site and pre-order this incredible replica helmet.

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The trailer for Agatha All Along just introduced us to several new witches to join Kathryn Hahn as the titular Agatha. Among them are Patti Lupone, Aubrey Plaza, and Heartstopper star Joe Locke as a male member of the coven. From the moment they announced his involvement, rumors ran rampant that he will play none other than the Young Avenger known as Wiccan, a character who also happens to be the son of the Scarlet Witch (more or less). Wiccan has become a major Marvel character since his 2005 debut, one of its most powerful magic users, and one of its most prominent LGBTQ heroes. Here’s everything you need to know about Wiccan before his (very probable) MCU debut in Agatha All Along.

Wiccan’s Young Avengers Marvel Comics Debut

The first thing to know about Wiccan is that his name wasn’t even originally Wiccan. Debuting in 2005’s Young Avengers #1, this new teen hero, created by Allan Heinberg and Jim Cheung, originally teased the character as related to Thor. Billy Kaplan’s hero name was Asgardian, and the creators led readers to believe he had ties to the God of Thunder. However, Billy had ties to another famous Avenger instead, Wanda Maximoff, a.k.a. the Scarlet Witch, and to a certain extent, the Vision.

Wiccan, the Son of Scarlet Witch and the Vision

The true origins of Wiccan actually go back to ‘80s Marvel Comics. This was when husband and wife Avengers the Scarlet Witch and the android Vision left the team. Wanda and Vision moved to the suburbs and started a family, after Wanda gave birth to twins, William and Thomas. After a few years, they revealed that Billy and Tommy were only magical constructs, a mystical creation of Wanda’s. She subconsciously created both children from lost fragments of the soul of the demon Mephisto. They were never truly “real.” They eventually disappear, with the witch Agatha Harkness wiping Wanda’s memory of their existence. This was all loosely adapted in WandaVision.

Nearly two decades later, the Scarlet Witch nearly decimated the Avengers. This was in the 2004 event Avengers Disassembled, which saw Wanda lose control of her power. In the aftermath, the Vision activates a protocol to recruit new young heroes as the next generation of Avengers. Among those heroes is a teenager named Billy Kaplan, who could wield potent magical powers. At first, his spells allowed him mainly to fly and create lightning. So he emulated Thor in his superhero career, naming himself Asgardian. When he met the other Young Avengers, the gay teen hero met and fell in love with Teddy Altman, a.k.a. Hulkling, a teen Skrull who emulated the Hulk. Billy soon changed his codename to Wiccan.

How Can Teenage Billy Kaplan Possibly be Wanda Maximoff’s Son?

Billy Kaplan believed he was the eldest of three sons born to doctors Jeff and Rebecca Kaplan. And he was, in a manner of speaking. His soul, however, was the transposed soul of Wanda’s child, also named William. Whether he was the actual reincarnation of Wanda’s child, who somehow went back in time and was reborn to another family, or if he was the soul of Wanda’s son who took over the existing body of teenager Billy Kaplan, all remains a mystery. One prevalent theory is that the real William Kaplan died, possibly in an accident. Then the soul of William Maximoff “moved in,” retaining all of the original Billy Kaplan’s memories. This remains just a theory of Wanda’s however.

Wiccan Finds His Twin Brother, Speed

As a member of the Young Avengers, Wiccan’s powers grew rapidly. He had similar reality-altering, chaos magic powers as that of his mother. This fact scared many other heroes in the Marvel Universe. Billy eventually found his soul twin Tommy, now Tommy Shephard, the super-fast hero called Speed. He joined the team as well, and eventually, Billy and Tommy went on a search for the Scarlet Witch. They eventually found her, and she confirmed they were indeed the reincarnated souls of her lost children Billy and Tommy.

Wiccan’s Magical Powers

Wiccan has incredible magical abilities which allow him to warp reality, similar to his “soul mother,” Wanda Maximoff. Wiccan’s spells work by stating intent, focusing on that outcome, and making it happen. If he says “Iwanttolevitatethiscar,” he merely has to repeat that over and over, focus on levitating the car, and it happens. Among the spells Wiccan has cast are tracking spells, teleportation spells, illusions, concussive blasts, telekinesis, and astral projection.

Wiccan Becomes the Demiurge, and Prince Consort of the Kree-Skrull Alliance

Over the years, Wiccan’s powers have grown. The Asgardian Loki believed him to be something called the Demiurge, a reality warper with nearly godlike powers. Loki was correct in his assertions, as Billy eventually evolves into Demiurge status. As the Demiurge, he had the power to view the past, present and future, as even alter the universe at will. He eventually relinquishes the power to remain mortal, believing it would corrupt him. Doctor Strange himself has called Billy Kaplan one of the most powerful sorcerers on Earth, and believes he will eventually assume the mantle of Sorcerer Supreme.

Wiccan has stayed with his boyfriend Teddy through thick and thin. The pair served together on teams like the Young Avengers, Idea Mechanics, and the Guardians of the Galaxy. Eventually, they joined the proper “grown-up” Avengers squad. After many years of courtship, Billy married his longtime boyfriend Teddy Altman/Hulkling, who is the ruler of the Kree/Skrull Alliance. He became Prince Consort, and Court Wizard of the Alliance.

Wiccan in the MCU

How they will portray Wiccan in the MCU on Agatha All Along will no doubt be very different from his comic book appearances. We know Joe Locke is part of the witches coven from the trailer for the series, but that’s it. We also know the young actor who played preteen Billy on WandaVision and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is obviously not playing him. So how can this be Billy Kaplan/Billy Maximoff?

Our best guess is the MCU is going with the “transposed soul” theory for Billy (and eventually, Tommy). We think the soul of Billy Maximoff took hold of Billy Kaplan’s body, after the hex on Westview fell. Perhaps Billy Kaplan “died” in some kind of incident, and Billy Maximoff’s soul took residence. He might not even know what he really is. Hopefully, with The Marvels teasing a Young Avengers project, we’ll see Wiccan suit up as a hero before too long. We’ll have to wait and see when Agatha All Along premieres on Disney+ this fall.

The post Who is Wiccan? The AGATHA ALL ALONG Character’s Marvel Comics History, Explained appeared first on Nerdist.

We’re going to have to cancel our visitor’s pass for Gotham City’s most notorious mental hospital. Via Variety, we’ve learned that the Max streaming service is not moving forward with the proposed Arkham Asylum series, which was formally announced back in late 2022. This would have been the first Batman-centric series set in James Gunn’s new DCU, not in The Batman universe, like the upcoming Penguin series. Antonio Campos was developing the series, which originally began as part of Matt Reeves’ universe, before switching gears. Apparently, DC Studios and Warner Bros. have not ruled out another take on the Arkham Asylum series in the future.

This series has gone through several permutations since 2020. Originally, it was a show about the Gotham P.D. That evolved into a show about Arkham Asylum itself, where Gotham City’s most mentally deranged criminals reside. So basically every Batman foe not named Catwoman or Ra’s al Ghul. Creators like Terrance Winter and Joe Barton came in to develop the project, but both left over creative differences. The last iteration from Antonio Campos was described as a “horror movie or haunted house that is Arkham.” That sounds pretty cool to us.

If we were to guess why they’ve stopped development on Arkham Asylum, it might have to do with the DCU setting. If DC Studios has yet to introduce their Batman, how do you introduce his main villains first on another series? Whoever the director may be for Batman: Brave and the Bold might want a say in who will play their version of the Joker. Or Poison Ivy, or any other famous Arkham inmates. More than anything, this may be the hold-up on progress for Arkham Asylum. However, we think an Arkham-based series will see the light of day at some point. We’re just going to have to wait a bit longer.

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It usually takes some time for an animated Disney film to get a live-action film adaptation. But according to the Mouse House, they’re bringing the beloved 2016 film Moana into live-action. This film was meant to hit theaters in 2025, but now, the live-action Moana movie is coming on July 10, 2026. That actually works, considering it will be the tenth anniversary of the original movie. Production on the movie will begin in the fall of 2024. The Moana live-action movie has even released cast information, including for its new Moana actress, Catherine Laga‘aia.

The Live-Action Moana Movie Casts Its Moana and Other Characters

A release from Disney reveals, “Catherine Laga‘aia will be voyaging to Motunui and beyond as the adventurous teenager who sails out on a daring mission to save her people in Disney’s upcoming live-action Moana.” Laga‘aia notes,  “I’m really excited to embrace this character because Moana is one of my favorites. My grandfather comes from Fa‘aala, Palauli, in Savai‘i. And my grandmother is from Leulumoega Tuai on the main island of ‘Upolu in Samoa. I’m honored to have an opportunity to celebrate Samoa and all Pacific Island peoples, and to represent young girls who look like me.”

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Joining Laga‘aia are “Auckland, New Zealander John Tui as Moana’s no-nonsense father, Chief Tui; Samoan-New Zealand actress Frankie Adams portrays Moana’s playful and strong-willed mother, Sina; and Rena Owen, who hails from Bay of Islands, NZ, was cast as the revered Gramma Tala. Previously announced, Dwayne Johnson, who voiced larger-than-life demigod Maui in the 2016 animated version of the film, will reprise his role.”

Moana is directed by Thomas Kail,

Dwayne Johnson Returns to Live-Action Moana

Yes, this live-action Moana will see one of its original stars producing and starring. And yes, that star is Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, who played the part of demigod Maui in the original film. Johnson tweeted the official announcement of his return to the world of Moana, which you can watch right here:

The Walt Disney Company and Dwayne Johnson also released this statement on the new, live-action iteration of Moana:

I’m deeply humbled and overcome with gratitude to bring the beautiful story of Moana to the live-action big screen. This story is my culture, and this story is emblematic of our people’s grace and warrior strength. I wear this culture proudly on my skin and in my soul, and this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to reunite with Maui, inspired by the mana and spirit of my late grandfather, High Chief Peter Maivia, is one that runs very deep for me. I want to thank my partners at Disney for their strong commitment to this special endeavor, because there is no better world for us to honor the story of our people, our passion and our purpose than through the realm of music and dance, which is at the core of who we are as Polynesian people.

Auli‘i Cravalho Will Not Return in Live-Action Moana

Auli‘i Cravalho, who voiced Moana in the animated film, is also one of the producers. She shared on Instagram in May that she, however, would not be reprising the role of Moana. Cravalho said, “As an executive producer on the film, I cannot wait to help find the next actress to portray Moana’s courageous spirit, undeniable wit, and emotional strength.”

What Is the Release Date for the Live-Action Moana Movie?

The live-action Moana will arrive in theaters on July 10, 2026. It will begin production in August of 2024.

Originally published on April 3, 2023.

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Star Wars is not the sexiest franchise in the universe. Not to say there are not sexy people in it. In fact, almost all the leads of Star Wars live-action projects are pretty darn hot. (Lookin’ at you, Chewie). But if “sexy” means “showing skin,” well… the galaxy far, far away often comes up short in that regard. (Star Trek, on the other hand, is all about the sexy. You should check it out). However, episode six of The Acolyte took a big right turn into sexy town, and we can safely say that the fans are all about it. And it all centered on our hunky dark side warrior, Qimir (Manny Jacinto).

After the end of episode five, Qimir takes the kidnapped Osha (Amandla Stenberg) to an “Unknown Planet,” where he strips down to nothing, and takes a dip in the ocean. Osha is supposedly unconscious during all of this, but she wakes up and sees the whole thing. And sexy Qimir lets her know that he knows she’s watching. The camera makes sure to show off his glistening wet muscles, stopping short of showing any actual nudity. Although, the episode makes it a point to let us know that this dark side warrior definitely lets Osha see the goods. Even if we, the audience, were robbed. As far as we can tell, this is the first implied full nudity in Star Wars in almost 50 years. Well, better late than never we say.

Has Star Wars Ever Implied Nudity Before?

Of course, Star Wars has shown some skin in the past. Rather famously, in fact. In Return of the Jedi, in Jabba the Hutt’s palace, we had his Twi’lek dancer Oola gyrating while wearing a very revealing outfit. Of course, Princess Leia as Jabba’s prisoner had Carrie Fisher in a metal bikini that left very little to the imagination. It was an outfit that signaled the sexual awakening of many. However, it stopped short of anything too racy for a PG movie. Natalie Portman as Padmé in Attack of the Clones had a creature shred her top to give her a Britney Spears bare midriff, which kind of counts too.

Years later in Revenge of the Sith, a very buff Anakin Skywalker wakes from a nightmare about his wife Padmé, and we see his sweaty, chiseled bare chest. They made it a point to linger on Hayden Christensen’s shredded body. In The Last Jedi, Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) lets Rey (Daisy Ridley) see him shirtless in his quarters, and she tells him to put his shirt back on. Possibly the first time Star Wars nudity, or partial nudity, makes another character uncomfortable. Of course, all stop short of actual nakedness.

Has Star Wars Ever Had a Sex Scene?

There’s “sexy,” and then there’s “sex scene.” We can safely say that Star Wars is even more chaste in this regard. Sure, we know that Anakin and Padme did the deed, because Luke and Leia are proof. Same with Han and Leia, because Kylo Ren/Ben Solo came from somewhere. But audiences were only ever allowed to see kisses between these characters. Anakin and Padme are only shown in bed sleeping in Revenge of the Sith, with Natalie Portman in a nightgown.

The first real implication of a sex scene in Star Wars was in Andor. In episode two, Cassian’s friend Bix (Adria Arjona) drops by for a booty call with Timm (James McArdle). And in the morning, she gets out of Timm’s bed and dresses herself. It’s clear that the two had a romantic rendezvous, but the audience didn’t get to see it, only its “morning after” aftermath. Even the franchise’s most adult entry, Andor, pulled its punches in this regard.

Is Qimir in The Acolyte Episode 6 Star Wars’ Sexiest Scene?

We are actually going to make a bold declaration, and say Qimir’s nude dip in the ocean, where he emerges to Osha and shows off his naked bod, is Star Wars’ sexiest scene. Everything about it is coded as “seduction.” We even have Qimir lustily saying the words “desire” to Osha when trying to sell her on the dark side. We can’t think of a scene in any Star Wars that has leaned into sexy territory more than this one. Heck, we barely see Pedro Pascal’s face in The Mandalorian, much less bare biceps. Hopefully, The Acolyte, and Star Wars in general, leans more into sexy in the future. Why have all these impossibly attractive heroes and villains if you’re not going to lean into it from time to time?

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Nicolas Cage has played many roles in his storied career, including some famous horror roles. He’s been a guy who thinks he is a vampire (Vampire’s Kiss), to someone who definitely did not like bees (The Wicker Man). And, more recently, he starred in the cult film Mandy. Now, he’s finally playing a serial killer, in the upcoming film Longlegs. The upcoming film is from director Osgood Perkins, who comes from quite the horror pedigree himself. His father was Anthony Perkins, the iconic Norman Bates in the Psycho franchise. You can check out the trailers for the upcoming serial killer horror film from NEON Films right here.

The movie centers on Lee Harker (Maika Monroe) a fledgling FBI agent, who is attempting to crack a long-unsolved case of a serial killer. Eventually, the investigation becomes more complex, when they uncover some occult evidence. We glimpse a book about the Nine Circles of Hell in the trailer. Eventually, Harker discovers that he has a personal link to the killer (Nicolas Cage), and has to race against the clock in order to prevent another murder from happening.

Longlegs also stars Alicia Witt (The Walking Dead, Twin Peaks) and Dear White People’s Blair Underwood. Nicolas Cage is producing via his company Saturn Films.

Despite suggesting a horror film that connects to spiders, the tagline for the film says in a very cryptic way “You’ve got the teeth of the Hydra upon you.” So it looks like we’re seeing some Hydra ancient mythology that connects to this particular mystery.

We’re a sucker for a good cult-themed horror story like True Detective: Night Country. A story that has ties to some kind of mythological being.

The poster art for Longlegs says “The Man Downstairs is Coming.” It appears this mysterious man will arrive in theaters on July 12.

Originally published on February 5, 2024.

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Interview with the Vampire ended its second season, concluding the events of Anne Rice’s first novel. In the series finale, the conductor of the titular interview, Daniel Molloy, (Eric Bogosian) publishes the interviews as a book and goes on a press tour. During a stop on an Atlanta news show, the host mocks his book, and laments how this once respected journalist was now “a Bigfoot hunter, tracing the bloodline of Jesus.”

This was, of course, a jest at The Da Vinci Code, and the conspiracies that proliferated after the book’s success. However, it might mean more, as Jesus is actually a character in Anne Rice’s Vampire Chronicles. And in a potential future season, we could see the Vampire Lestat drink the blood of Christ. We don’t mean metaphorically in a church either. We mean the actual blood of Jesus, some two thousand years ago.

The Vampire Lestat Meets Jesus in Memnoch the Devil

The event in question occurs in Anne Rice’s fifth vampire novel, 1995’s Memnoch the Devil. This book came out at the peak of Lestat-mania, right after the release of the 1994 feature film Interview with the Vampire. In fact, the VHS rental of Interview had a video message from Rice promoting Memnoch the Devil. The novel was a huge bestseller in hardcover, but was a departure from the period vampire melodrama of earlier books. Instead, it focused on religious themes. Vampire Chronicles fans still remain divided on it.

After the world-shaking events of book three, The Queen of the Damned, and having his body highjacked in book four, The Tale of the Body Thief, Lestat is at his most powerful. A being who claims to be Satan approaches Lestat in New Orleans. Only, he hates that name, and much prefers the name Memnoch, the Devil. He wants the “Brat Prince” Lestat at his side, thinking he’d make a perfect lieutenant in his ideological battle against God, and takes him on a trip through history. Memnoch then displays all the religious atrocities done in God’s name.

Lestat Was at the Crucifixion (Or Was He?)

At one point, Lestat actually encounters Jesus at the crucifixion. Jesus offers Lestat his blood, which he consumes. Lestat emerges into the present day with the Veil of Veronica, proof of his religious experience. The Vampire Armand became so moved by this, he immolated in the sun in front of a crowd as “proof” of the miracle (Don’t worry, he gets better, and he even gets his own book). By the end of the novel, however, Lestat isn’t sure if what he experienced was real or not. He suspects it was. Lestat loses his marbles at this point and becomes catatonic for the better part of a decade. Several novels in subsequent years focused on other vampires in the series.

Could we ever get to this controversial moment in Rice’s story? Memnoch the Devil is book five in the series, and Interview with the Vampire showrunner Rolin Jones has recently said recently he’d love to get to potentially eight seasons. If each book constitutes two seasons of television, then seasons seven and eight could adapt Memnoch the Devil. Perhaps by that point, the world will be ready to see Sam Reid’s Lestat meet a fictional Jesus of Nazareth.

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When James Gunn’s Superman hits theaters next year, it might for a moment feel like you’re seeing more than one Man of Steel up on the screen. That’s because, as reported by Variety, the son of the late Christopher Reeve, Will Reeve, shot a cameo scene for the Superman film this week in Cleveland, Ohio. Will Reeve, the youngest of the late Superman star’s three children, is the spitting image of his dad. So it’s sure to be a touching moment when he and David Corenswet share the screen in the DCU movie. Will Reeve is actually a journalist and ABC News correspondent, so his Superman cameo will fittingly be that of a TV reporter who meets the Last Son of Krypton.

Locals caught the filming of many scenes from the Superman movie, including Will Reeve’s appearance on set. In the past week, we’ve seen David Corenswet in costume on set, not only as Superman but also as Clark Kent. This version of Clark has a curly mop of hair and thick glasses. The Clark Kent disguise actually makes us believe that people would believe that Superman and Clark are two different people. Also spotted on set is Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane and Nicholas Hault as Lex Luthor. We’ve also seen Mister Terrific (Edi Gathegi), wearing his comics-accurate costume. But seeing Christopher Reeve’s son appear in the Superman production is definitely a very fun surprise.

Aside from the upcoming James Gunn film, Will Reeve will appear, along with his two siblings, in the documentary Super/Man. This new film chronicles their late father Christopher Reeve’s rise to fame as Superman, which led to three sequels. His acting career came mostly to a halt after a near-fatal horse-riding accident in 1995. The incident left him paralyzed from the neck down. Christopher Reeve would become an advocate and spokesperson for those suffering from similar injuries until his death in 2004. It’s safe to say his son’s appearance in Superman will be a more fitting tribute to Christopher Reeve than his CGI recreation in The Flash. Super/Man releases later this year, and Superman hits theaters in July 11, 2025.

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Mark Waid and Alex Ross’ 1996 mini-series Kingdom Come is one of the greatest and most influential comics from DC. The painstakingly crafted tale about an elder Superman and the Justice League facing a new generation of amoral heroes became a massive hit. Comics fans still feel its influence today, including in James Gunn’s new DCU. So the timing is right for a new documentary on the making of this classic comic, The Legend of Kingdom Come, which we’ve learned about via The Wrap. You can check out the first teaser trailer for director Remsy Atassi’s film, right here:

DC Comics expanded on many of the themes and visuals of Kingdom Come in other media over the years. First in the comics, then later in things like the CW Arrowverse. In fact, the Superman ‘S’ shield designed by Alex Ross for Kingdom Come? It’s now the same one we see in James Gunn’s Superman. In a statement, director Remsy Atassi said, “The Legend of Kingdom Come documentary will be an exploration of the mad, relentless dedication that goes into producing this stunning art form – and what it takes for an artist to achieve greatness.”

Both Kingdom Come writer Mark Waid and artist Alex Ross will be interviewed extensively about their seminal creation in this documentary. Among the other creators interviewed are Spawn creator Todd McFarlane and Batman: The Animated Series writer Paul Dini. This series came at just the right time in the comics industry. In the mid-90s, violent antiheroes ruled superhero comics. DC’s Kingdom Come asked the question, “Is the world just too dark now for old-fashioned heroes like Superman? It’s a question that James Gunn’s new Superman film will likely pose as well.

The pre-Kickstarter launch page for The Legend of Kingdom Come documentary is online here. Fans can sign up now for alerts on the film and details about when the crowdfunding campaign goes live later in 2024. A Legend of Kingdom Come panel is also taking place at Comic-Con in San Diego this year.

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The finale of Interview with the Vampire season two had quite the twist, as a flash forward showed the audience that the Vampire Armand (Assad Zaman) had turned the reporter Daniel Molloy (Eric Bogosian) into a vampire, some time before or after published his interviews with Louis and Armand as a book. We don’t know exactly how and when this happened. It seems to be an act committed more out of spite towards Daniel than love. However, Armand making Daniel a vampire on Interview with the Vampire does have its origins in Anne Rice’s Vampire Chronicles series of novels.

In the novels, Daniel Molloy doesn’t even have a proper name until the third novel in Rice’s series, The Queen of the Damned. In the 1976 novel Interview with the Vampire, the young reporter was simply referred to as “the Boy.” At the end of that first novel, he ran off, with Louis’ tapes in tow, hoping to find Lestat. In book two, The Vampire Lestat, we find out that the boy had the recordings transcribed and published as the book Interview with the Vampire. A recently reemerged Lestat discovered that his name and much of his life was put on public display for mortals, passed off as fiction. Yet we never learned what became of the young reporter until Rice’s third novel.

“The Story of Daniel, the Devil’s Minion, or the Boy from Interview with the Vampire“ from Queen of the Damned

In 1988’s Queen of the Damned, we learned in Part 1, Chapter 4, a chapter called “The Story of Daniel, the Devil’s Minion, or the Boy from Interview with the Vampire” that the anonymous boy went searching for Lestat after his fateful interview with Louis in San Francisco in 1973. We also now had a proper name for him—Daniel Molloy. Lestat was slumbering at the time of Daniel’s search, and he didn’t find the undead French aristocrat. Instead, the Vampire Armand finds Daniel while he searches for Lestat, during a time when Armand made New Orleans his home. No other vampires lived there, as Lestat had long ago gone to sleep. Armand had “cleaned out” the city of any younger vampires. No one else dared to call New Orleans home at this time, as it was Armand’s territory.

Scanning Daniel’s thoughts upon encountering him, Armand discovered this young mortal boy knew his name, and his true vampiric nature, and became fascinated. He began stalking him, and no matter what city or country Daniel ran to, Armand would find him. At first, he casually threatened to kill him if he ever published his book. Yet he continued to allow him to live for his own amusement. Then something unexpected happened. After years of cat and mouse, Armand came to actually love the mortal Daniel. Even so, he constantly refused to give him the Dark Gift, no matter how much he begged.

Daniel, Armand, and the Night Island

Many years into their relationship, Armand decided to become “incalculably wealthy.” Using his knowledge of where old ships with treasure lay at the bottom of the ocean, he recruited Daniel, who now saw himself as “the Devil’s Minion,” to help him procure wealth. All while he was asleep during the day. With this fortune, Armand, with forged documents Daniel helped him create, purchased an island off the coast of Florida. Armand turned it into an entertainment and shopping paradise that came alive only after dark called The Night Island.

Armand and Daniel lived at Night Island for years in the Vampire Chronicles. Daniel had everything he wanted from Armand, the finest clothes, the newest cars, all except the one thing he wanted most—to become a vampire himself. However, when Daniel’s life was in danger, on one of the many instances when he would run away from Armand, the 500-year-old vampire gave him what he wanted at last, and turned him. As Armand feared, however, making Daniel a vampire would only serve to drive a bigger wedge between them.

Daniel and Armand in AMC’s Interview with the Vampire

All we know from the AMC Interview with the Vampire series is that sometime after Daniel reveals to Louis the truth about Armand, and how he planned to let his Paris coven execute him along with Claudia, he turns Daniel into a vampire out of spite. (Or so Louis says.) But when did this happen? We don’t know yet. Do Interview with the Vampire‘s Daniel and Armand engage in a relationship similar to the one they had in the books? There doesn’t seem enough time for that intense love/hate relationship to have happened offscreen. Unless there is one further wrinkle to Daniel and Armand’s story that Interview with the Vampire is waiting to spring on us.

We know from episode five of season two of the series, that Armand encountered Daniel back in 1973, interrupting Louis almost killing Daniel. Not only encountered him, but very nearly killed him, and erased his memories of the event. Yet he clearly had a fascination with Daniel, and Interview with the Vampire leaves space for the possibility that the pair had a relationship decades ago. One that Armand then wiped from Daniel’s mind. After all, there is a limited series AMC announced called The Night Island. Could this series, at least in part, involve Interview with the Vampire‘s Armand and Daniel and their relationship? There are lots of ways this story could go for Daniel and Armand, and we’re eager to see how Interview with the Vampire tackles this fan-favorite pairing going forward.

The post The Book Inspirations Behind the Armand/Daniel Vampiric Pairing in INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE (And What ‘Devil’s Minion’ Really Means) appeared first on Nerdist.

Fans of Anne Rice’s vampires are gleeful with anticipation with the official confirmation that Interview with the Vampire season three will showcase Lestat (Sam Reid) in full rock star mode. Since that confirmation, fans have wondered just what Lestat’s music will sound like in season three. Will it be 2000s-era Nu metal, like in the movie Queen of the Damned? Thankfully, that seems to not be the case. In a post-season two finale discussion with The Los Angeles Times, showrunner Rolin Jones dropped hints as to what musical stylings they are going for. And it’s a wee bit more glam. Here’s what he had to say:

Lestat becomes a rock star. Let’s start there. We’re going to do a lot with that and are excited about potentially working with Daniel Hart who’s done the music for the first two seasons. We’re going to try to beat Hedwig and the Angry Inch and Rocky Horror. We’re about to try to make a little pop masterpiece.

Hedwig and the Angry Inch and Rocky Horror are two musicals leaning heavily on glam rock, even though they came out decades apart. Yet both have a gender-bending quality, definitely rock, but leaning into humor and camp in their songs. That is perfect for Lestat, who is known as the “Brat Prince” by other vampires. The Nu metal sound of Jonathan Davis of Korn for Lestat’s band in 2002’s Queen of the Damned is very heavy and self-serious. Aggressive, but not seductive. Not how most readers imagined Lestat’s music would sound like in the books.

In Anne Rice’s second undead novel, 1985’s The Vampire Lestat, the titular vamp awakens from a decades-long slumber in New Orleans. Although many things awakened him, one final thing finally brought him out of the ground. This was the rock music of a local band who lived near the cemetery where he slept. This band, called Satan’s Night Out, enraptured Lestat. First, he revealed he was a vampire to these young mortals. Then, he agreed to fund their band with his considerable wealth, with himself as lead singer.

By forming a rock band, Lestat decided to outdo his fledgling vampire Louis’ revelations to the world about vampire existence in his confessions (now a mass market book called Interview with the Vampire) by one-upping his former paramour with his own revelations, via songs, music videos, and a nation-wide tour. This was in 1985, an era when someone could conceivably take over the world via MTV. His songs do more than enrage the vampire nation, they also awaken the very oldest vampires in existence. Hopefully, we’ll see all of that play out, glam rock style, in season three of Interview with the Vampire.

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In the Game of Thrones franchise, it’s hard to know who to root for sometimes. Even our heroes find themselves morally compromised people. But you know who are the only non-malicious characters in A Song of Ice and Fire? The actual dragons themselves. They just want to fly around, eat sheep, and they only do bad things when humans tell them to. As a way of honoring these very good babies, the folks at Diamond Select are releasing a new Legends in 3 Dimensions bust of Caraxes, Daemon Targaryen’s dragon from House of the Dragon. You can check out images of this incredibly detailed bust down below in our gallery:

Click To View Gallery

Here’s the official description for the House of the Dragon Caraxes bust from the folks at Diamond Select:

Dracarys! Your friends will be breathing fire with envy when you show them your bust of Caraxes, the mount of dragonrider Daemon Targaryen! Measuring approximately 12 inches tall, this bust is insanely detailed, and rests atop a dragon’s egg base. Limited to only 1000 pieces, this resin bust comes packaged with a numbered base and a numbered certificate of authenticity in a numbered full-color box. Designed by Joe Allard, sculpted by Sandro Luis Sampaio.

In George R.R. Martin’s world, the Dragonkeepers considered Caraxes to be the fiercest of all the young dragons of the Dragonpit. They even gave him the fearsome nickname the “Blood Wyrm.” Caraxes isn’t the largest of the dragons in Westeros, as he’s about half the size of Vhagar, the oldest of the Targaryen dragons. None of that kept Caraxes from being one of the deadliest dragons in history, however. You can pre-order this incredible House of the Dragon bust for the price of $250.00 now. Diamond Select is expected to start shipping the Caraxes bust sometime in the first quarter of 2025.

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Interview with the Vampire‘s second season is officially over. The AMC series now heads into Anne Rice’s second vampire novel, The Vampire Lestat for season three’s contents. This season of Interview with the Vampire gives us a finale makes a big change to the narrative of the book. And it is a change that some longtime fans might find themselves shocked by. It’s a fairly big alteration to a pivotal moment in the novel that alters the relationships of Lestat (Sam Reid), Louis (Jacob Anderson), and Arman (Assad Zaman) as we head into future seasons.

Interview with the Vampire the Novel’s Ending

In Rice’s original 1976 novel, vampires Claudia and Madeleine are executed by the Paris coven for the crime of killing Claudia and Louis’ maker, the Vampire Lestat. Or at least, for attempting to kill him. Louis is given a lighter sentence for the same crime, however. (Perhaps it is a worse sentence, depending on how you look at it.) Louis is imprisoned by the coven members inside a locked coffin. That coffin is placed within the walls of the catacombs under the Théâtre des Vampires. He’s meant to die excruciatingly slowly, perhaps over several years, all while going insane from his lack of blood sustenance.

However, in the climax of the novel (and the 1994 film), Paris coven leader Armand rescues him. He tells Louis he could not prevent the execution of Claudia because she’d broken too many laws. Yet he exerted his power over his coven enough to rescue his beloved Louis from eternal imprisonment. Louis then takes revenge on the entire Paris coven by setting fire to the Théâtre des Vampires. Later, he takes a scythe to vampire Santiago, the coven’s second in command, ending his undead rival for good.

Louis then leaves Paris with Armand, both now free of the machinations of the coven. The pair wander the world for decades. Louis eventually confronts Armand with the truth—he knows Armand allowed the Paris coven to murder Claudia. He denied the truth to himself for years, but now realized Armand orchestrated Claudia’s death and his rescue (and the subsequent revenge against the coven) as a way of securing Louis’ companionship.

The film tackles this in a slightly different manner. Louis (Brad Pitt) tells Armand (Antonio Banderas) that he knew he was behind it all immediately after the events took place. Louis then wanders the world alone, and we never discover what became of Armand afterward. Now, the Interview with the Vampire AMC series presents a third version of these events.

AMC’s Interview with the Vampire Season Finale Modifies the Original Ending of the Book

In the series, Louis is freed from his coffin prison, when Armand feeds him his blood, giving him the strength to break free. We never see who the vampire rescuer is, but Louis insists that it was Armand. Louis remains too starved and out of it to really care. The rest of the events transpire much like the book, as Louis takes his bloody revenge against the entire Paris coven, burning the theater to the ground. He then leaves with Armand, who takes credit for rescuing Louis.

Louis knows full well that Armand betrayed him, along with Claudia (Delainey Hayles), and Madeleine (Roxane Duran). But he believes they forced Armand to cooperate, thanks to a coup within the Paris coven masterminded by Santiago (Ben Daniels). Rescuing Louis was Armand’s way of making amends for letting the coven abduct them and force them into a public court spectacle. The two flee Paris together, apparently staying a couple for decades.

But Daniel Molloy (Eric Bogosian), via his Talamasca contacts, discovers the truth about what happened decades ago in Paris. Despite appearances, Armand was not an unwilling accomplice in what the coven did. He didn’t just write the kangaroo court/mock trial play. He absolutely directed it. He was perfectly willing to sacrifice Claudia, Madeleine, and Louis to death in order to save his own skin. His vampiric underlings were revolting against him and he needed to prove himself to them (again).

In fact, it was not Armand who saved Louis from death. It was his maker Lestat. Lestat used his telepathy to force the mortal audience to give Louis a different sentence than death. Louis always believed Armand did this. Once Louis took his revenge on the coven and slaughtered them all, Armand happily took credit for saving him. With the threat to his own life gone, he now had everything he wanted. But Louis’ true rescuer was none other than Lestat.

This revelation enrages Louis in the modern day, who beats Armand by throwing him around their Dubai home. He later goes to New Orleans, where he tells Lestat that he knows the truth now. This is all a pretty big change from the original narrative. We always knew Armand was willing to sacrifice Claudia to remove her as an obstacle to his being with Louis. But, in the series, we now know he was also willing to let his beloved Louis die to save his own life. Once the coven was no longer a threat, he took credit for Louis’ commuted death sentence. Louis introduced Armand as “the love of his life” in season one, but it is actually his maker, the Vampire Lestat.

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The second season of Interview with the Vampire has ended, bringing a close to the events of the book of the same name that inspired it. But the show’s creators, Rolin Jones and Mark Johnson, have already said a third season tackles The Vampire Lestat, Anne Rice’s second chapter of The Vampire Chronicles. This was confirmed in AMC’s official announcement for season three. Yet the season two finale actually hinted at more than just book two in the future. There are hints for elements from book three and beyond. Here are the biggest things in the season two finale that tease what the future may hold for Louis (Jacob Anderson), Lestat (Sam Reid) and the other eternally sexy undead.

The Vampire World Exposed

One of the central conceits of Anne Rice’s Vampire Chronicles is that each novel in the series is also a book in-universe. Daniel Molloy’s interview with the undead Louis is published as Interview with the Vampire, and most of the world at large consumes it as historical fiction. But those in the vampire world, and in the Talamasca Order? They know that it’s all true, and that Louis has exposed the world to their secrets, breaking their highest laws.

In book two, The Vampire Lestat, we learn that Louis is Public Enemy #1 in the undead world for giving the interview, and the end of season two suggests that scenario is already in play. Vampires all over the world are already threatening to tear him apart for his crimes. In The Vampire Lestat, the vampire community declares war on Louis and Lestat for revealing their secrets to the mortal masses. It looks like that fight is certainly coming in season three.

Interviewer Daniel Molloy Becomes a Vampire

One of the biggest changes to Rice’s overall story in season one concerns the reporter, Daniel Molloy (Eric Bogosian). In the novels, the young reporter published his interview with the vampire Louis in the ‘70s. He then enters into a long and twisted affair with the vampire Armand, which lasts for a decade. He becomes his human familiar, but Armand continuously denies giving him the Dark Gift, no matter how much Daniel begs for it. All of this occurs in book three, The Queen of the Damned.

Armand finally makes Daniel a vampire while he’s still a young man, when he thinks he’s near death, in the novel Queen of the Damned. With Daniel growing to old age in the series, many believed the Armand/Daniel relationship would never play out in the series. But in the season two finale, we flash forward some time, and learn that Armand (Assad Zaman) did indeed make Daniel into a vampire. The how and why remains a mystery, but it seems that we might see the twisted story of Daniel and Armand from Queen of the Damned play out in season three. Especially as Eric Bogosian is confirmed as returning as Daniel.

The Arrival of Akasha, the Queen of the Damned

One of the most important characters in Anne Rice’s Vampire Chronicles finally gets a name-drop in the season two finale. When Louis goes to say his seemingly final goodbye to Lestat in 1940s Paris, after the execution of Claudia (Delainey Hayles) by the Paris coven, he and Armand threaten to kill him with the Fire Gift. (In other words, mentally set him on fire). He tells Armand that it won’t work, even fire won’t kill him, all because he has “the blood of Akasha” in his veins.

So who is the mysterious Akasha, you may ask? She is one half of a royal pair of vampires known as “Those Who Must Be Kept.” The other is King Enkil, her consort. The reason they must be kept is because as the first vampires, the bloodline of the entire race comes from them. If they die, the entire vampire race dies too. The official season three announcement mentions the inclusion of “Those Who Must Be Kept” in the upcoming continuation.

Akasha, in Rice’s vampire mythology, is the first vampire, over 6,000 years old. The mother of the vampire race, Akasha was an ancient Egyptian ruler, who became the source of all their power. Her husband Enkil actually was only the second vampire made, and so the power truly lies with Akasha. She first appears in book two, later playing a central role as the titular Queen of the Damned. The late Aaliyah played her in the 2002 movie of the same name. With season three adapting The Vampire Lestat, it means our first glimpse of the undead royal in the flesh. A queen who has sat frozen like a statue for millennia. Start your casting guesses now. Who will fill Aaliyah’s crown?

Armand’s Treachery Exposed

In the season two finale, reporter Daniel Molloy finishes his interview with the vampires Louis and Armand. He reveals the bombshell information to Louis that evidence he uncovered suggests Armand didn’t save Louis’ life in the trial of the Théâtre des Vampires as he’s believed for decades. It was his maker Lestat that did. Lestat telepathically influences the “jury” to give Louis a sentence of banishment instead of death. He later secretly helped Louis escape his torturous imprisonment in the walled-up coffin.

Louis becomes enraged at this revelation, that Armand not only fully orchestrated Claudia’s death, but also his own, all in order to save his own skin from his own coven. Only when he was out of danger from the coven did he take credit for Lestat’s actions. In the novel, Louis realizes that Armand was ultimately responsible for Claudia’s death decades later. Instead of making a fuss, he quietly leaves him. In the series, however, this revelation comes in the modern day, fracturing their relationship. In the books, Armand then moves on to seduce the interviewer, Daniel Molloy, and establishes a billion-dollar vampire lair called the Night Island. With Armand’s duplicitous nature revealed, we may see these aspects of the story play out now.

Lestat the Rock Star

Louis sees Lestat (Sam Reid) again, for the first time in decades, at the end of season two. He encounters Lestat singing to himself and playing music in a rundown old shack in New Orleans. This occurs right as a hurricane is about to hit. He quips to Louis about “practicing to go on tour.” Now, that may seem like a joke, but in The Vampire Lestat, the 18th-century bloodsucker becomes a bonafide rock star, an internationally famous performer with stadium tours and music videos, all depicting vampiric history. And in the official season three announcement, they confirm that Lestat is putting together a band to go on tour. Even the announcement image features what look like stage lights.

When his progeny Louis tells his story and has it published, Lestat feels the need to one-up him. Not only does he tell his (far more expansive) backstory, he also tells his story on stage and MTV. This was the ‘80s after all. Since the series takes place in the modern day, the notion of a vampire rock star seems very dated. It already seemed dated in the 2002 movie Queen of the Damned. But who knows? Maybe this series can make that aspect work. We already know Sam Reid can sing. It would be a shame not to see him rock out in some capacity. We’re very curious to see what the future holds for this bold TV adaptation of Anne Rice’s vampiric universe.

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In the pages of Marvel Comics, Victor Creed, a.k.a. Sabretooth, is Wolverine’s biggest rival. The Joker to his Batman, if you will. He’s the worst-case scenario version of Logan—an animal-like mutant, who is almost impossible to kill, a true psychopath with no redeeming qualities. Despite this, he’s worked for and against Wolverine and the X-Men over the years. Thanks to appearances on X-Men: The Animated Series, X-Men: Evolution, and in the live-action films, Sabretooth has become iconic. Now, Sabretooth returns for one more bloody tussle with Logan in Deadpool & Wolverine. Here’s everything you need to know about Wolverine’s most hated enemy.

What Are Sabretooth’s Mutant Powers?

Sabretooth has very similar powers to his main rival, Wolverine. He has razor-sharp claws, regenerative capabilities, including an extensive healing factor, and animal-like senses. He has enhanced agility, speed, stamina, and strength. Similar to Wolverine, Creed’s healing factor allows him to age very slowly. Although his true age remains a mystery, many believe him to be well over 150 years old. As a side effect of Creed’s powers, he suffers from an unquenchable bloodlust.

Over the years, he’s asked various psychic mutants to help alleviate his murderous tendencies with a telepathic soothing balm he calls “the glow.” But even that hasn’t ever fully stripped him of his murderous nature. Eventually, Creed would get an adamantium skeleton of his own like Logan’s, although it would come and go. Even without his powers, Creed remains one of the most skilled hunters and trackers in the Marvel universe, undergoing training by organizations such as Hydra, SHIELD, Weapon X, the CIA, and many others.

Sabretooth’s Marvel Comics History and Relationship with Wolverine

Sabretooth didn’t first appear in X-Men comics, however. He first appeared in the pages of Iron First in 1977, as the martial artist’s intended primary antagonist. Created by writer Chris Claremont and artist John Byrne, Claremont shifted Sabretooth over to the pages of Uncanny X-Men, where he developed a long-standing rivalry with the similarly-powered Wolverine. This began in earnest when Mister Sinister recruited him into his Marauders, and he helped slaughter several Morlocks during the Mutant Massacre. From that point forward, they presented Sabretooth as Logan’s primary nemesis.

The source of the Logan/Creed animosity is still a question. Some believe Sabretooth simply hates that there is someone out there with a similar skill set. Others have suggested that their animosity stems from incidents that happened to them while part of the government’s Weapon X project, and several murders of Wolverine’s loved ones he committed. However, some of those incidents are thought to be implanted memories now. The prevailing belief is that Creed simply hates that Logan won’t unleash his feral nature. He disdains Logan’s moral compass, something Sabretooth totally lacks.

Sabretooth Is X-Men Enemy and a Member of the X-Men

Despite his truly amoral nature, over the years Sabretooth has been part of several teams. Aside from Sinister’s Marauders, he’s been a part of the terrorist Brotherhood. There, he worked under his former lover Mystique. The pair have a child together, the human-supremacist leader Graydon Creed. Sabretooth has also been part of the X-Men, during a time when Professor X thought he might cure Sabretooth of his sadistic tendencies. They also forced Creed to work with the government-sanctioned X-Factor for a time, before breaking free of their control. In the recent Krakoan era of X-Men, one of the few mutants who did not agree to the “no killing humans” rule was Creed. So for a time, the X-Men imprisoned him within the island itself.

Sabretooth in the 20th Century Fox X-Men Movies

There are two contradicting versions of Sabretooth in the Fox X-Men films. The first was played by wrestler Tyler Mane. He worked for Magneto’s Brotherhood of Mutants in the original 2000 X-Men film. He tussles several times with Wolverine, although there is no indication that he knows Logan from a previous life at all in this film. The two fight atop the Statue of Liberty, a battle where Wolverine soundly defeats him. In the first X-Men, he barely has any lines. His personality is blank outside of a few mean snarls.

2009’s X-Men Origins: Wolverine introduced us to a totally different version of Sabretooth, played by actor Liev Schreiber. This version was Logan’s half-brother, who fought by his side for years. Eventually, they have a falling out, becoming bitter enemies. Although Marvel writers once toyed with Sabretooth and Wolverine as relatives, it never happened. So this is a complete Hollywood invention. Not only does this Victor Creed not visually match the one in the comics, but he also seems totally foreign to the one in the original X-Men film. Very little ties these two characters together visually. Perhaps the first glaring notion that there was no real continuity at work in the Fox X-Men universe.

Which Sabretooth Appears in the MCU and Who Plays Him?

We now have confirmation that Sabretooth will appear in Deadpool & Wolverine, and have a rematch with Logan (Hugh Jackman). We see the two prepare to fight in the wasteland we believe to be the Void from Loki in a recent trailer. The version in the film is clearly Tyler Mane, the original version from the first X-Men film, from nearly 25 years ago. There are rumors that Liev Schreiber’s version of Victor Creed from X-Men: Origins will also appear, so maybe we will get an answer as to which version is the “real” Sabretooth at last. We’ll know for certain when Deadpool & Wolverine hits theaters on July 26.

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Jennifer Hale has enjoyed an incredible voice casting career for over three decades, with titles in her impressive resume ranging from games like Mass Effect and Halo, to animated shows like The Clone Wars and Avatar: The Last Airbender. Her most recent high-profile role is taking over the part of Jean Grey for X-Men ’97. We had a chat with Jennifer Hale about returning to the role of the mutant telepath, a role she’s played in different iterations over several years, and guiding a newer generation of voice actors via SkillsHub.

Nerdist: You took over the role of Jean Grey from Catherine Disher, who played her in the classic X-Men show. But she is still part of this universe, because she plays Val Cooper. Did she give you any advice on playing Jean? Or did you guys even record together?

Jennifer Hale: We actually didn’t record together. But I took great inspiration from her original performance, and then was guided by the team as to exactly how they wanted to update all the different elements to bring the character to a modern audience.

A lot of the original X-Men cast returned, but both you and Ray Chase stepped in for Scott and Jean. Did you two bond at all at being the new kids, for lack of a better word?

Hale: Absolutely. It’s such an honor and a responsibility to step into a role like this. The great thing about Jean, and a lot of the Marvel universe, is I have great respect for all my peers, and one of the things about that is a lot of us share these roles. I’m not the only person to have played Jean. I’ve played other roles in the universe. I even played Rogue in various projects. And to be able to be Jean in this project really feels like winning the lottery. It’s kind of awesome.

This isn’t your first time at bat with Jean Grey. You played her in Wolverine and the X-Men, the X-Men anime, and in several different video games. Did you approach playing this Jean differently, or did you think of Jean as more or less the same across the Multiverse?

Hale: They’re all inspired by the same source material. The truth is, when I step into any role in any project, I am 1000% in service of the production and writing team. What does the team need? And one of the really, really cool things about the team on X-Men 97 is a huge number of them grew up watching the original show. They were fans, which is really exciting. And now they’re working on the show.

Of course, you didn’t just play Jean in X-Men ’97, you also played Madelyne Pryor. She might have started out as just a clone of Jean, but became her own person by the time we get to Genosha. Were there subtle differences in how you approached Maddie over Jean? Besides just getting to be almost a Disney villain when she was Goblin Queen?

Hale: Absolutely. There are distinct differences between Madelyne and Jean, and obviously, the Goblin Queen has her own lane. But yeah, very much. And that’s where I really rely on our voice director, Meredith Lane, and on the team, because having a good voice director on hand like Meredith allows me to just drop in and fully be in the moment, and not worry about whether I’m slowly migrating out of the lane that is Madeline back over into Jean. And I know she’ll guide me back in if I happen to step a little too far one way or the other.

The love triangle between Jean, Scott, and Logan has always been a huge factor in X-Men lore. And in this season, things got a little heated when Jean kissed Wolverine, in a moment when she and Scott were having problems. That’s further than the classic cartoon ever took things. How do you feel about finally giving the fans that moment?

Hale: Oh, I think it’s great. But I want to know how the fans feel about it. That’s what I want to know. I want to know what it meant to them, because that’s ultimately what we do it for, right?

Jean in the original series was almost a cliché, the way she was always fainting even though she was an Omega-level mutant. X-Men ’97 finally dropped weak Jean and showed her at full power. Were you happy that Jean finally got to let loose and show off in this series?

Hale: I was absolutely thrilled. I mean, come on. The general evolution of the way women are written now is so much better than it used to be. So much more fun. We actually get to be full human beings. We get to own our power, take our power, and quite often run things

X-Men ’97 teased the arrival of Phoenix for much of the first season, and in the finale she finally arrived. The comics have different interpretations of the Jean/Phoenix dynamic, but I’m wondering how you see things between them? Do you play it as the manifestation of Jean’s power, or an outside force that possesses her?

Hale: Jean is a channel for so many things. She’s kind of the voice of the heart of the people around her. She’s a channel for ultimate power to come through, and I think that is often my experience as a performer. So I think that’s the lens that it went through for me. Jean is a channel for the ultimate powers to move through her.

Of your many voice acting roles, which is one that is nearest and dearest to your heart?

Hale: Honestly, the thing that’s nearest and dearest to my heart is the diversity of characters. I’ve been able to play the sheer variety of roles, gives me so much.

Speaking of sheer variety of roles, you have this incredibly long resume of voice acting going back, what, 30 years, and that’s both cartoons and video games. You’ve taken a lot of those skills and you’re extending it to the next generation via something called SkillsHub. Can you explain what that is?

Hale: Yes. SkillsHub, it is a site where actors at any level can come and learn about voice acting, take the career they’ve got, and create real longevity and momentum. It started out with me just wanting help with auditions. I just needed 10 minutes with someone I trust. I didn’t need an hour of coaching, or a class. What I wanted was this calendaring system I had in my head to become a reality. And my sister said, “You need to meet my friend Bill, he’s amazing.” He built the site. He’s actually the guy who puts the stuff together, programs everything, and makes it happen. And the three of us run it.

It’s evolved into a site where it’s gone from me calling 20-something of my friends who are working actors, voice directors, and casting directors to help out people like me, other voice actors. We have a ton of free stuff. I personally, have written out these paths that are step-by-step career assembly instructions for a dozen different career paths through the voice work. And we have free stuff for members. We’ve got classes. Everything you need is right there. And now we have almost 90 coaches. We really have an incredible community.

All episodes of X-Men ’97 season one are now available on Disney+.

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Star Wars isn’t Star Wars without a few adorable aliens who look like critters you’d want to buy at a pet shop. And The Acolyte is no different. In episode four, we meet the latest “soon to be a cute toy on your shelf” alien. This is Bazil, a Tynnan tracker. The Jedi utilize Bazil’s tracking skills to find the Wookiee Jedi Kelnacca on the planet Kohfar. In the grand Star Wars tradition of old, Bazil is an actual performer in a suit. Hassan Taj, who operated R2-D2 in The Rise of Skywalker, is inside the costume. It’s a suit brought to life by ILM’s creature and droid FX creative supervisor Neal Scanlan.

Tynnans are one of the earliest non-George Lucas-created Star Wars alien races. The Tynnan species are anthropomorphic otter/beaver-like beings. They first appeared in the 1979 Legends novel Han Solo’s Revenge by Brian Daley. Lucasfilm officially canonized them in the 2016 novel Catalyst, tying into the events of Rogue One. And no, Han Solo did not punch a Tynnan in that infamous piece of artwork from the ’90s. That was an Selonian queen from the Han Solo novel Assault on Selonia. Totally different otter-like aliens. It’s a big galaxy out there, lots of weird and wonderful creatures inhabit it.

When designing Bazil, Neal Scanlan made sure he had a more prominent snout to sniff out clues with. Bazil also wears a visor and helmet, all adding to the sensory deprivation he requires to focus on the investigation and block out the noise of the outside world. Scanlan told the official Star Wars site, “Bazil was very sensory, so he would obviously smell and hear things probably better than using his eyesight. The idea of having goggles was that he would then sort of go inwardly and become the tracker.”

In episode five, the Star Wars series sets Bazil up to play an important role in future episodes. It seems only Bazil can tell that Mae and Osha have switched places on The Acolyte. After finding Pip in the woods, Bazil can clearly tell there is someone new among the Jedi who shouldn’t be there. He may yet save the day.

Although Tynnans are more like beavers and otters, they definitely have a mouse-like quality too. Since he’s a tracker, which is another way of saying detective, we have to wonder if Bazil drew inspiration from Basil, the titular lead of the animated Disney classic The Great Mouse Detective. For the record, there actually is a mouse-like alien race in Star Wars. In A New Hope, we see a member of the rodent species Chadra-Fan in the Mos Eisley Cantina. Although, that Chadra-Fan ordering drinks was decidedly less cute than Bazil. All we know is Bazil is an adorable new addition to the galaxy, and we must protect him at all costs.

Originally published on June 18, 2024.

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Like any good long-running fictional universe worth its name, the MCU has a metric ton of iconic objects throughout its 16 years of films and TV series. Of course, there are obvious things everyone knows, like Cap’s shield, or the Tesseract. But the MCU has many other objects we all want on our shelves too. Even if they are smaller versions. Thanks to the folks at Fanhome and their new subscription service, we can now turn your home into something of a Marvel Cinematic Universe Museum.

Fanhome specializes in subscription-based collections and models, and is bringing a collection of iconic replica items from the MCU to fans and collectors with the launch of the Marvel Movie Replicas collection. Among these items are Doctor Stange’s Eye of Agamotto, plus helmets for Loki, Iron Man, Cap, Black Panther, Ant-Man, Star-Lord, and Spider-Man. There’s an Infinity Nano Gauntlet, and even Thor’s mystic hammer Mjölnir. You can check out images of the first Marvel Movie Replicas in the collection in our gallery below:

Click To View Gallery

Produced from the Marvel Studios Movie archives, the’ve recreated the replicas in this collection with incredible detail. Each one is based on original production materials and constructed from metal and ABS plastic components. Throughout the subscription, collectors and MCU fans will deepen their knowledge about all these artifacts with an informative magazine that comes with each month’s shipment. You’ll be able to go behind the scenes with Marvel creators like Matt Fraction, Salvador Larroca, and Brian Michael Bendis.

At various stages throughout the subscription, collectors also will receive exclusive gifts from Fanhome. Among these are three full-color frame-worthy posters from Marvel (60x80cm / 23×31 inches), a ceramic mug with the Marvel logo, a light-up miniature of Tony Stark’s ARC Reactor, and a miniature metal replica of Thor’s hammer (15cm / 6 inches). Fans that upgrade to the Marvel Movie Museum Premium Subscription will receive several exclusive Iron Man helmets as well. And we all know that Tony had a lot of variant Iron Man helmets. For more information and sign-up details, click here.

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Fans have been waiting for a first look at Bruce Timm, Matt Reeves, and J.J. Abrams’ new Batman animated series. Now, we finally have our first trailer for Batman: Caped Crusader, which debuts on Prime Video on August 10. The new series is a period piece, set in a version of 1940s Gotham City. They’ve reimagined all the familiar villains, with some harkening back to their Golden Age DC Comics roots. Our new Batman/Bruce Wayne is Hamish Linklater. You can check out the first trailer for Batman: Caped Crusader right here:

The trailer showcases the distinctive animation style of Bruce Timm, who of course was one of the men behind the iconic Batman: The Animated Series over thirty years ago. Batman’s look harkens back to his earliest comic book days, in black and grey, with larger pointed ears. He almost looks like he stepped off the cover of Detective Comics #27 from 1939, his first appearance. We also see Catwoman (Christina Ricci), wearing her old school costume, which was a purple dress with a green cape. The Batman: Caped Crusader trailer gives us flashes of several other famous Bat-villains, like Two-Face, Clayface, Firefly, and a totally reinvented Harley Quinn. You can even see the Penguin, briefly.

The trailer for Batman: Caped Crusader also gives a lot of screen time to police detective Renee Montoya, who will play a prominent role in the show. Interestingly enough, Montoya was first created for Batman: The Animated Series, similar to how Harley Quinn was. Refreshingly, there is a distinct lack of Joker in this trailer. Probably the creators involved feel he is too overexposed right now. But we can’t imagine we’ll never see the Clown Prince of Crime on this series though, or The Riddler. Batman fans are just going to have to be patient.

Batman: Caped Crusader drops all 10 episodes on August 1.

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Interview with the Vampire is close to ending its second season soon, and thus, closing out the events of Anne Rice’s original novel. So what will a possible third season entail? Well, even though the show’s name is Interview with the Vampire, it’s actually adapting elements of Anne Rice’s entire Vampire Chronicles saga. And that’s a whopping thirteen books. According to series creators Rolin Jones and Mark Johnson, season three will tackle Rice’s second undead novel, The Vampire Lestat. Here’s what Rolin Jones recently told us at the Interview with the Vampire season two premiere:

The next book was the one I wanted to do. So I hope I get a shot at it — The Vampire Lestat.

At the time, season three didn’t have an official greenlight, but Deadline recently announced that Rolin Jones had signed a new deal with AMC. And that made us think a greenlight for their anchor Anne Rice’s Immortal Universe show was imminent. And we were right: Interview with the Vampire has now been renewed for season three. There was a dash of The Vampire Lestat in this season, with episode three in the form of the flashback of Armand (Assad Zaman’s) first meeting with Lestat, but we’ll be heading into the book full force next season.

Season 3 of Interview with the Vampire Will Officially Be Based on The Vampire Lestat

A synopsis for season three of Interview with the Vampire reveals that we can expect The Vampire Lestat in full. It shares:

In season three, resentful of the perfunctory portrayal in the trashy bestseller “Interview With The Vampire,” the Vampire Lestat sets his story straight in a way only the Vampire Lestat can—by starting a band and going on tour.  Gabrielle. Nicholas. Magnus. Marius. Those Who Must Be Kept. They join Louis, Armand, Molloy, Sam, Raglan, Fareed and others we can’t tell you about yet on a sexy pilgrimage across space, time and trauma. No Auto-Tuning. No Trigger Warnings. All Feels Amplified.

More About The Vampire Lestat

Anne Rice’s second vampire novel The Vampire Lestat was published in 1985, nine years after Interview with the Vampire. Interview was initially a cult hit that took years to build into a classic. Yet its sequel was an instant best-seller, truly spawning a franchise. Rice took the original novel’s villain, made him an anti-hero, and greatly expanded the vampire mythology. In book two, through Lestat’s eyes, we go back in time to Renaissance Italy, the Roman Empire, and ancient Egypt. The scope is much bigger, so it will be interesting to see how Rolin Jones tackles it in a series.

One potential problem fans might have is that Louis, played by Jacob Anderson, is a very minimal presence in book two. The bulk of the events of the novel take place before Lestat ever meets Louis in New Orleans. One remedy for this problem could be Louis interviewing Lestat about his past, instead of Lestat merely writing a memoir, as he did in Rice’s novel. Thus, the name Interview with the Vampire still makes sense, and Jacob Anderson could remain in the series. Anderson’s Louis going from interviewee to interviewer would be an interesting twist for sure.

Originally published on June 17, 2024.

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We sadly lost Alex Trebek in late 2020, after a valiant battle with cancer, but his legacy will never be forgotten. Jeopardy! host Ken Jennings has announced that the U.S. Postal Service will issue a Forever stamp honoring beloved former host Alex Trebek, who hosted the show for a whopping 37 seasons. All of this celebrates the remarkable legacy of America’s Favorite Quiz Show, which began airing in 1964. You can check out images of the new Forever stamp right here:

The grid of 20 identical stamps evokes the collection of video monitors that form the world-famous Jeopardy! game board. Written on the stamp is this prompt: “This naturalized U.S. Citizen hosted the quiz show Jeopardy! for 37 seasons.” (Yes, the American TV icon was actually born in Canada). On the bottom of the stamp upside down, it shows the correct response: “Who is Alex Trebek?” On the stamp panel there are relevant category headers at the top of each column of stamps.

The stamp also features a photograph of Alex Trebek with a portion of the iconic Jeopardy! set behind him. Antonio Alcalá, an art director for USPS, designed these commemorative stamps for the U.S. Postal Service. They will issue the Alex Trebek stamp in sets of 20. As Forever stamps, they will always be equal in value to any current First-Class Mail stamp. Outside of Wheel of Fortune and a few others, almost no game show has had the longevity of Jeopardy! So it’s nice to see both show and host honored. Presales for this special Alex Trebek commemorative Jeopardy! Forever stamp are now up at usps.com.

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Deadpool & Wolverine is almost here, and the fandom couldn’t be more excited to see “Marvel Jesus” and his adamantium-boned buddy team up at last. While we still don’t know many things about the film, the trailers have given us some rather large clues as to the plot. And we think those clues hint strongly that Deadpool & Wolverine will lead directly into Avengers: Secret Wars, the final chapter of the MCU’s Multiverse Saga. What we do know is that Logan and Wade are trapped together in Void, the repository of dead timelines first seen in Loki. We also know that they’re fighting X-Men villain Cassandra Nova.

In that Mad Max-esque Void, there are several known mutants from the X-Men films, like Pyro and Sabretooth. This is the first MCU project that officially canonized the Fox X-Men films as part of the larger cosmology, much as Spider-Man: No Way Home did for the pre-Tom Holland Spidey films. So we think it’s all leading up to a classic X-Men reunion, probably fighting the Avengers in Secret Wars. One thing we feel confident in saying about any of these Multiversal mutants coming our way is that the Wolverine from Logan definitely won’t be resurrected.

Deadpool & Wolverine to Feature Zombie Logan? Probably Not

Marvel Studios is leaning hard into the Multiverse right now. Therefore, we know that Jackman’s arrival means they are not going to undo Wolverine’s death in Logan. As it stands, that movie felt disconnected and in its own universe, even from the original X-Men films. After all, the events of Logan don’t really line up with the restored future we saw at the end of Days of Future Past. So with the Multiverse Saga in play now, we think that Logan can remain its own thing. Whatever version of Wolverine we see in Deadpool & Wolverine definitely won’t be the same one who died in Logan. They won’t dig him up and Frankenstein him back to life, so to speak. We think the integrity of James Mangold’s film is safe.

A Deadpool and Wolverine Road Trip?!

In the past, Ryan Reynolds has said that his original plans for Deadpool & Wolverine involved a “Rashomon-style road trip with Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine.” We feel that is probably still the case, only with a Multiversal bent this time. One particular scene in the trailer of Logan and Wade jumping through a mystical portal, very similar to that of Doctor Strange’s portal, suggests it is. To us, that indicates they’ll be reality-hopping together, at least part of the time. We honestly believe that with Hugh Jackman coming back for Deadpool & Wolverine, he’ll stick around for one more outing afterward, and it’ll be Avengers: Secret Wars. And maybe he will bring some of his fellow X-Men with him.

Deadpool & Wolverine Will Lead to an X-Men Reunion

Problematic director aside, the original X-Men films still matter. Their success paved the way for Spider-Man and eventually the entire MCU. And Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige himself has a bit of a sentimental soft spot for the first X-Men movies. They were his first on-screen credits in a Marvel film after all. That’s why he included Patrick Stewart in Multiverse of Madness, and Kelsey Grammer’s Beast in The Marvels. Those films started him on the path that led him to become head of Marvel Studios. So before the inevitable reboot of Marvel’s mutants, which is on the horizon, he might want to pay homage to the ones who started it all. It’s just a question of which X-Men make the cut. We know several confirmed secondary mutants already. If they’re in this, some of the main team must be coming our way, too.

Is Deadpool & Wolverine a Prelude to Avengers: Secret Wars?

If the upcoming Avengers: Secret Wars follows the comics in even the smallest way, it will see the introduction of Battleworld. In the comics, that was a patchwork planet made out of the remains of several realities. But each of those realities became slightly different (or sometimes very different) when merging into Battleworld. So one of those realities could be a version of the Fox X-Men universe. It doesn’t even have to follow the continuity (such as it is) of the Fox X-Men films, because they have recreated it as something new. As we stated, we know that a good chunk of the film takes place in the Void from Loki, the repository world of dead realities. Could the Void simply become Battleworld in Secret Wars?

Given all that, we could still get the original actors back in their roles. Meaning we could get a proper send-off for not only Hugh Jackman, but also Halle Berry, Anna Paquin, James Marsden, Famke Janssen, Kelsey Grammer, and Patrick Stewart. He recently hinted broadly as to his return. We think he knows something he’s not sharing with the rest of the class (of Xavier’s School).

Could We See Costumed X-Men at Long Last?

Kevin Feige was one of the few true Marvel Comics fans on the set of X-Men, according to Hugh Jackman. In fact, Jackman has said in interviews that Feige snuck him Wolverine comics to his trailer, on the sly, as comic books were forbidden on set. And he also fixed Logan’s hair to be more comics-accurate. Now that he’s in charge of the whole enchilada, we knew he couldn’t resist finally putting Jackman in a comics-accurate costume. So if any of the other original X-Men show up, we think this holds true for them as well. Imagine if we see the 2000s cast, flying into action as the X-Men: The Animated Series theme plays? We’re losing our minds over it already.

Now, maybe Jackman’s return to play Wolverine really is “one last time.” But given his comments in the past about how fun it would be to be part of the MCU someday, we have a feeling that Deadpool & Wolverine is almost certainly not the end quite yet. And the X-Men might stand next to the Avengers and the Fantastic Four in battle before it’s all said and done.

Originally published on September 28, 2022.

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Two titans of the comic book publishing world are coming together to celebrate one of the medium’s most celebrated characters. They are also celebrating one of its greatest creators. Dark Horse Comics and Marvel are teaming up for The Art of the Amazing Spider-Man by John Romita, coming in Fall 2024. This oversized hardcover showcases several essays on Romita’s interior artwork, as well as covers. It also includes original art scans from the Marvel Comics archives. Aside from Peter Parker’s co-creator Steve Ditko, Romita is the most influential artist in Spidey’s publishing history. You can see the cover for The Art of the Amazing Spider-Man down below:

The Art of the Amazing Spider-Man is the first of a new collaboration series and imprint between Dark Horse and Marvel, called Bullpen Books. This follows up their Marvel collaboration with The Art of Marvel’s Spider-Man 2. This new line of deluxe art books will honor the works of legendary Marvel Comics characters and creators. Spider-Man and John Romita are but the first of many. We expect to hear additional details about other books in the series very soon. Here’s what Dark Horse Comics’ John Lind had to say about this new Bullpen Books series:

Our initial projects will concentrate on exploring the extensive artistic and design legacy of Marvel Comics, including the substantial contributions made by its iconic creative teams. Combining the incredible depth and content within Marvel’s art archives with Dark Horse’s exceptional design and production will offer fans unparalleled editions of this material.

Meanwhile, Dark Horse President and Publisher, Mike Richardson shared:

I grew up with the Marvel characters and their creators from my earliest days, so I’m very excited about this new collaboration. We’re very excited about working with Marvel to highlight some of the greatest art and artists from their extensive library. I’m sure these books will be a special treat for comics fans everywhere

The Art of Amazing Spider-Man is available for pre-order at your local bookstore, comic shop, and various online retailers for a price of $59.99. This oversized (10” x 14”, 200-page) in-depth art book arrives in bookstores on October 15, 2024. It arrives in comic book shops one day later, on October 16, 2024.

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Fans of Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire, be it the novel or the film, knew the current AMC version was barrelling towards one horrible event since the show began. That is the death of the child vampire Claudia (Delainey Hayles), and her newly made vampire companion Madeleine (Roxane Duran), at the hands of the vengeful Paris coven who operates the Théâtre des Vampires. It’s a heartbreaking moment in the novel, and the series did it justice, while tweaking a few details. Here’s each medium handled Claudia’s executionm in the novels, film, and ultimately, in the second season episode “I Could Not Prevent It.”

The Death of Claudia in Anne Rice’s Novel, Interview with the Vampire

In Rice’s 1976 novel, when the Paris coven discovers that Louis and Claudia broke the Great Laws of the vampires by attempting to murder their maker, the Vampire Lestat, they capture them and hold them in a sort of trial for their crimes. Their star witness is Lestat, who survived their murder attempt in New Orleans years prior. Lestat eventually discovers his progeny fled to Paris, and follows them there. Once the coven discovers that Louis and Claudia broke their laws, they capture them and put them on trial. Of course, it’s trial with a predetermined verdict.

When the coven deems them guilty, they execute Claudia, the chief architect of the crime, and her new companion Madeleine, via murder by sunlight. They leave them alone in a well, until the sun rises and burns them both to ash. The sun rises, and all that remains of Claudia is a tattered yellow dress, covered in ash. The coven gives Louis a different punishment, as they bury him alive within the theater in a locked coffin, meant to slowly drive him mad, and eventually, starve. In the book, all of these events take place in the late 19th century.

How the 1994 Film Version of Interview with the Vampire Handled Claudia’s Death

In the film version, the trial is nonexistent, and the Paris coven merely proceeds to the verdict—guilty. The coven leaves Claudia (Kirsten Dunst) and Madeleine (Domiziana Giordano) alone in the well, with the sun rising and burning them to ash. However, in the film version, both Claudia and Madeleine burn together and their bodies form an ashen sculpture. A sculpture that collapses into dust with the slightest touch. It’s a visually striking effect, but one made just for the film. Claudia’s dress does not survive the sun any more than Claudia does in director Neil Jordan’s big-screen iteration.

Claudia and Madeleine’s Death in Interview with the Vampire on AMC

In the series, the Paris Coven captures Louis, Claudia, and Madeleine. Their kangaroo court trial is actually a matinee performance at the Théâtre des Vampires. The human crowd watches the spectacle of suffering, as the court deems each vampire guilty for attempting to murder Lestat. The coven only gives Madeleine a special dispensation, as Louis made her after the murders. However, she chooses to die with Claudia. Louis is buried within the walls of the theater catacombs. This is after the “jury,” a.k.a. the crowd of mortals in the theater, are telepathically manipulated to give Louis a different sentence than death — exile. Did the Vampire Armand (Assad Zaman) save Louis’ life? Did he plant the exile verdict in their minds? That’s the assumption, as that is what occurs in the book and the film. But perhaps the series will go down a different route.

Instead of executing them in a well, Claudia and Madeleine are murdered on stage, in front of the horrified theatergoers. She threatens to come back from the afterlife and murder each and every person in the audience. The vampire Santiago (Ben Daniels) then opens a skylight that only hits the two female vampires on stage with rays of sunlight, as they writhe in agony and turn to ash. Lestat (Sam Reid) watches, with tears in his eyes as the vampire child he created, and later condemned to death, burns away to nothing. Just as in the novel, all that remains of Claudia is her yellow dress.

Claudia’s Original Fate

The original ending of Rice’s novel had Claudia live, finding happiness with a group of vampire children like herself. But Anne Rice’s editor believed the novel called for a tragic ending. And she was right. So Rice rewrote the entire second half of the book, with Claudia’s death as the emotional climax of the novel. It’s easily the moment Louis’ tragic tale hinges on. Claudia never comes back to life in later novels. Yet she remains a haunting presence in the minds and hearts of Louis and Lestat for eternity. We imagine that in Interview with the Vampire the series, this will remain the case.

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The first season of Star Wars: Andor ended in 2022, and fans have been patiently waiting to learn the fate of its lead character, Cassian Andor. Well, not his ultimate fate–we saw Rogue One, we know how it ends for Diego Luna’s rebel hero. But we are still dying to know how he got from where we left him off at the end of season one of Andor to the determined rebel warrior of Rogue One.

Although we haven’t heard any news about Andor in quite a while, a few new pieces have popped up. The first comes from Diego Luna, who told the audience at ACE Superhero Comic Con 2024 that more characters from Rogue One will appear in Andor season two.

Luna said, “I can tell you, Rogue One is coming, so there will be characters there that you will recognize. There will be cool stuff. For those who love Rogue One, this season is going to be very special. And it’s going to be fascinating to go straight to Rogue One after watching this second season, because you will see Rogue One from a different perspective. I promise you that.”

One character we did not expect to see again was Director Orson Krennic as played by Ben Mendelsohn. Previously, the actor said Disney had not contacted him about being in the series. However, The Playlist recently interviewed director Alonso Ruizpalacio, one of season two’s directors, who spilled the beans, unwittingly, it seems.

The Playlist details, “[Ruizpalacio] said directing episodes of the series was a treat, especially directing heavyweight actors like, ‘Stellan Skarsgård, Forest Whitaker, and Ben Mendelsohn,’ presumably not realizing he was revealing something of a spoiler (and sorry to blow up your spot).”

The director also confirmed he’s directing the last three episodes of season two, which nicely coincides with another tease from a cast member. Star Adria Arjona recently highlighted how season two would work in terms of time jumps. She shared, “In between every three episodes, there’s a year, and then there’s three more episodes, then a year, and then three more. So, you’re seeing the evolution of these characters through such a large span of time, and I’ve never done that.”

Here’s everything we know so far about the upcoming second (and last) season of Andor.

Andor’s Season Two Plot

The end of Andor’s first season saw Cassian finally embrace becoming a true fighter for Luthen’s cause. All putting him one step closer to the character we first met in Rogue One. Showrunner Tony Gilroy has confirmed that they will split up the second season into four three-episode installments. Each of these three-episode chapters would cover a 12-month period. A year that is crucial to the development of the Rebel Alliance.

In Andor season two we’ll see how Cassian met his trusty droid buddy K-2SO. We’ll also visit the Rebel Base on Yavin IV, a location familiar well-known to viewers of A New Hope and Rogue One. We also expect that early on in season two, Mon Mothma and Cassian Andor will finally meet face-to-face. Thanks to set photos, many fans believe Queen Amidala’s homeworld of Naboo will play a role in the second season as well. Ultimately, season two will cover five years, dovetailing right into Rogue One’s beginning.

Behind-the-Scenes

Andor season one creator and showrunner Tony Gilroy returns for season two, closing the chapter on Cassian’s story. Directing episodes in the second season are Ariel Kleiman, Janus Metz, and Alonso Ruizpalacios. Kleiman is directing six of the 12 episodes overall. Tony Gilroy, Dan Gilroy, Beau Willimon, and Tom Bissell are the known writers for the second season episodes. Delays from the SAG-AFTRA strike and the WGA strike caused the series to delay shooting for months. But shooting commenced as soon as the last strike ended.

Andor’s Cast

Of course, Diego Luna once again portrays our titular hero Cassian Andor. Joining him once more are Stellan Skarsgård as Luthen Rael, and Genevieve O’Reilly as Senator Mon Mothma. Benjamin Bratt is said to join the series in an undisclosed role. Rogue One actor Forest Whitaker returns as Saw Gerrera, as does Alan Tudyk as the droid K-2SO. Ben Mendelsohn is rumored to return along with other as yet undisclosed Rogue One cast members.

Even though it appeared his days were numbered by the end of season one, Andy Serkis has hinted that he’s returning as former prisoner Kino Loy. Also returning is Kyle Soller as Syril Karn, Denise Gough as ISB agent Deedra Meero, and Adria Arjona as rebel Bix Caleen. Faye Marsay (Vel Sartha), Varada Sethu (Cinta Kaz), Elizabeth Dulau (Kleya Marki), and James McArdle (Timm Karlo) round out the cast for season two.

Andor’s Release Date

Although originally announced as returning in the summer 2024, thanks to various delays, it now looks like Star Wars: Andor’s second season won’t arrive until 2025.

Originally published on January 16, 2024.

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When you think of iconic horror movie actors, you think of names like Boris Karloff, Christopher Lee,, Jamie Lee Curtis….and Robert Englund. The man responsible for bringing slasher icon Freddy Krueger into our nightmares will now share an honor with those other horror legends. Englund has announced via Twitter that he’s receiving a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at long last. The beloved actor will receive his star in a ceremony taking place sometime in 2025.

Robert Englund became a household name playing the dream stalker in Wes Craven’s original A Nightmare on Elm Street. A film that turns forty this year. Yet he has a long and storied career outside of Freddy. As he detailed in the documentary about his life, Hollywood Dreams and Nightmares, he was a working character actor for years. Long before his breakout role in the sci-fi mini-series V. A year after V, Craven cast him as deranged serial killer Fred Krueger. This was his career-defining role a part he would play in six sequels and the crossover Freddy vs. Jason. He also starred in films like Phantom of the Opera, Hatchet, and most recently, on season four of Stranger Things.

Will his Elm Street co-star Heather Langenkamp, who played Nancy Thompson, present him with the honor? We kind of hope she does. It would perhaps finally facilitate an on-screen legacy sequel reunion between the two. So many legacy sequels have come out for horror classics like Halloween, The Exorcist, and others over the past several years. Ever since, the fans have been clamoring for a “one more time” visit to Springwood for Robert Englund, especially after the less-than-beloved A Nightmare on Elm Street remake from 2009. In any event, we are just thrilled that Robert Englund is finally getting his flowers.

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The tortured process of bringing a Blade reboot to life at Marvel Studios has been something to behold. Blade was first announced at Comic-Con in 2019, when Oscar winner Mahershala Ali stepped onto the stage to announce he would portray the Daywalker. Since then, it’s gone through multiple screenwriters, different production start dates, several release dates, and two directors. Yet Marvel has revealed very little about the film in all this time, aside from the basic info we already knew from comics and previous movies. Now, an article in The Hollywood Reporter has revealed a few key characters of the MCU Blade.

One of the main reveals is that the film would have featured two characters from the pages of Marvel Comics. The first was Blade’s daughter. We presume this is Bloodline, who first appeared last year in the comics. Named Brielle Brooks, she also has a thing for slaying the undead, just like dear old dad. Although a recent creation, the idea of Blade having a daughter goes back a few years. Marvel announced a series about Blade and his daughter in 2015, Back then, her name was Fallon Grey. That series never happened, and Bloodline came about seven years later instead.

Pearl and MaXXXine star Mia Goth was the other major comics character, the villain Lilith. In the comics, Lilith Drake is the daughter of Dracula, and has fought Marvel’s supernatural heroes many times. In the film, she would have wanted the blood of Blade’s daughter. Considering Blade began as a supporting character in Marvel’s Tomb of Dracula comics, it makes sense for him to fight someone related to the King of the Vampires in the MCU. In actual mythology, Lilith was the first wife of Adam, and the supposed source of many vampire mythology. Marvel Comics had their own take on the character, which likely inspired whatever Marvel Studios was working on.

It’s unknown if either of these characters will survive into the latest Blade draft from writer Eric Pearson. One of the first MCU Blade scripts took place in the 1920s, with the most recent one taking place in the modern day. Some characters from earlier scripts might not make the cut, if and when this movie goes before the cameras. Blade currently has no director attached, so it’s certainly not making its 2025 release date. In its article, The Hollywood Reporter notes, “The new plan [for Blade] calls for the script to be written over the summer and then go out to directors.” Hopefully, Marvel Studios can finally crack the code on Blade, and give us Mahershala Ali slicing and dicing the undead. This shouldn’t be the hardest movie in the world to get off the ground.

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M3GAN was the surprise horror hit of 2023, creating an instant icon in the dancing killer robot doll. So it came as no shock when they fast-tracked a sequel, M3GAN 2.0. Now, a spin-off of M3GAN is on its way as well, as Atomic Monster, Blumhouse, and Universal are developing SOULM8TE, a new film expanding on the M3GAN universe. SOULM8TE releases in theaters on January 2, 2026. Described as a throwback ’90s style erotic thriller with a technological twist, Kate Dolan will direct the film. The original script is by Rafael Jordan, with the story by James Wan, Ingrid Bisu, and Jordan. 

According to the official description for SOULM8TE, the story centers on a man who acquires an artificially intelligent android to cope with the loss of his recently deceased wife. In an attempt to create a truly sentient partner, he inadvertently turns a seemingly harmless robot into a deadly soulmate. In short, it sounds like it’s Fatal Attraction meets Short Circuit. And we’re totally here for that. We’re not entirely sure how much the world of this movie will actually connect to M3GAN, although we are hoping we see her pop up in some capacity. M3GAN 2.0 will arrive in theaters first, on June 27, 2025.

We hope that SOULM8TE is the kind of campy fun that M3GAN was, only with a more R-rated adult skew. Back in the ’80s, and especially the ’90s, the erotic thriller was one of the top genres at the worldwide box office. Movies like Basic Instinct enthralled audiences everywhere with their sexy suspense stories. Ok, so they were a little ridiculous too, which is why we still love them. Maybe for today’s audience, the only way to truly bring the genre back is to have an erotic killer robot. Universal Pictures’ SOULM8TE hits theaters on January 2, 2026.

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The new animated series Batman: Caped Crusader sounds more and more interesting with each new reveal. The 1940s-set noir superhero show comes to us from the all-star creative team of Bruce Timm, Matt Reeves, and J.J. Abrams. Now, we finally have a voice cast revealed. Via The Hollywood Reporter, we’ve learned that Midnight Mass star Hamish Linklater is our new Batman/Bruce Wayne, and iconic Wednesday and Yellowjackets star Christina Ricci will portray Catwoman/Selina Kyle in Batman: Caped Crusader. The series, set to debut on Prime Video later this summer, has also dropped a voice-cast announcement video. You can check out that video right here:

They have also announced several other actors for the show’s period accurate first season. Among them is Jamie Chung (Sucker Punch) voicing a new take on Harley Quinn/Dr. Harleen Quinzel. She is now a character introduced independently of the Joker. She’ll also have a romantic relationship with detective Rene Montoya in the series. Meanwhile, Diedrich Bader will voice Gotham D.A. Harvey Dent, and eventually, the villainous Two-Face. This is a role reversal for Bader, who voiced Bruce Wayne in Batman: Brave and the Bold, and other animated projects.

Other voice actors cast in currently unknown roles include Minnie Driver, John DiMaggio, McKenna Grace, Jason Watkins, Paul Scheer, Reid Scott, David Krumholtz, Haley Joel Osment, and Toby Stephens. Among the villains revealed for season one thus far are Clayface, the Gentlemen Ghost, Natalia Knight/Nocturna, and Onomotapia. No word yet on iconic Gotham baddies like Joker, Riddler, and Penguin. Below is the official series description for Batman: Caped Crusader from Prime Video:

Welcome to Gotham City, where the corrupt outnumber the good, criminals run rampant and law-abiding citizens live in a constant state of fear. Forged in the fire of tragedy, wealthy socialite Bruce Wayne becomes something both more and less than human—the Batman. His one-man crusade attracts unexpected allies within the GCPD and City Hall, but his heroic actions spawn deadly, unforeseen ramifications.

The entire 10-episode season of Batman: Caped Crusader will drop on Prime Video on August 10, so we will hear Hamish Linklater and Christina Ricci soon.

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Iconic actor Donald Sutherland has died at the age of 88 after a long illness. The sad news arrives to us via Deadline. With over 200 film and television credits to his name, Sutherland became a household name in the ’70s. All thanks to films like The Dirty Dozen, M*A*S*H, Klute, and the suspense classic Don’t Look Now. The Canadian-born actor also starred in movies such as JFK, Backdraft, and Pride and Prejudice, to name a few. Donald Sutherland capped off a legendary career with a villainous turn as President Snow in The Hunger Games franchise. Of course, he’s also the father of another iconic actor in his own right, Kiefer Sutherland. We’re very sorry to hear about the death of this legend.

Donald Sutherland was born in 1935 in New Brunswick, Canada. At 20 years old, he departed Canada for the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. Not too long after excelling there, he began appearing in several horror films with the iconic Christopher Lee. His big break in film came in 1968, starring in the blockbuster war movie The Dirty Dozen. He soon became one of Hollywood’s most in-demand actors. He starred in serious dramas like Ordinary People, and raunchy comedies like Animal House, proving his versatility. Sutherland also racked up an impressive list of sci-fi and horror roles, like the 1978 Invasion of the Body Snatchers, The Puppet Masters, and as Buffy Summers’ first Watcher in the original Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Thanks to his outspoken views about his opposition to the Vietnam War, Donald Sutherland found himself on a CIA watchlist in the early ’70s, right as he became world famous. None of this hurt his career, though. Aside from his acting roles, in his later years, Sutherland became a blogger for The Huffington Post, chronicling the 2008 Presidential election. Despite his incredibly impressive resume, somehow, Donald Sutherland never received an Academy Award. However, the Academy granted him an honorary Oscar in 2017 for his lifetime of work. However, Sutherland won several Emmys and a pair of Golden Globes as well. Sutherland is survived by his wife, Canadian actress Francine Racette, and his five children. Although Sutherland’s death is sad news indeed, few are likely to forget his storied career.

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Superman & Lois’ upcoming fourth season will officially be its last, according to news we saw at The Hollywood Reporter. The series, which premiered in 2021, has been one of the best iterations of the Man of Steel mythos ever. Tyler Hoechlin as Clark Kent and Elizabeth Tulloch as Lois Lane instantly won over the hearts of DC Comics fandom. But with The CW changing ownership, their programming is undergoing an overhaul as well, with fewer scripted shows. The final season of Superman & Lois will release as a part of The CW’s 2024-25 schedule and will arrive in the fall. Its official release date will be October 17 and it will premiere with a two-hour release event.

In a statement, The CW’s Brad Schwartz said the following:

“Over the last three seasons, Superman & Lois redefined both the superhero genre and family drama as Tyler, Elizabeth and the entire cast effortlessly portrayed these classic characters with new layers of depth and complexity that had never before been explored in the Superman universe. We are grateful for the years of hard work and graceful storytelling from the show’s writers, producers, actors, and crew, as well as our terrific partners at Warner Bros. Television and Berlanti Productions. As Superman embarks on his final flight, the team is leaving us with an absolutely epic 10-episode must-watch-every-minute farewell to one of the most legendary CW families ever.”

The end of Superman & Lois shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone, for many reasons. With James Gunn launching a new DCU and Superman: Legacy in 2025, he probably wants only one iteration of Superman in live-action. He also wants one consistent DC Universe across film and TV. This means the old Arrowverse (of which Superman & Lois is technically a spinoff) must come to an end.

The cancelation of Superman & Lois marks the true end of an era. Since 2012, after the debut of Arrow, producer Greg Berlanti launched a staggering 11 DC Comics-based shows. These include The Flash, Supergirl, Legends of Tomorrow, Black Lightning, Batwoman, and for Max, Stargirl, Doom Patrol, and Titans. The last two were Gotham Knights and Superman & Lois. We just hope that knowing the show has an endpoint in advance will allow the writers to craft a fitting finale for the Kent family.

Originally published on November 2, 2023.

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Nearly a century ago, Universal Pictures invented Hollywood’s cinematic horror film genre with their classic monsters, Dracula, Frankenstein, the Wolf Man, the Mummy, and many more. And they all remain icons of horror cinema and Halloween to this day. Now, Universal Studios theme parks are finally giving these iconic classic monsters an immersive themed land of their own as part of the new Dark Universe, coming to Universal Epic Universe at the Universal Orlando Resort. We’re excited to share details and concept art for the attractions and themed areas of this creeptastic portion of the park, which debuts in 2025. Below you can see the “bat’s eye view” of the land in all its Transylvanian glory.

Universal Epic Universe’s Dark Universe Land Celebrates the Universal Monsters

Dark Universe is one of the five immersive worlds featured in Universal Epic Universe. This new land will envelop guests in monstrous adventures across various attractions, shops, restaurants, and character meet and greets. Dark Universe blends the iconic stories of Dracula, The Wolf Man, Frankenstein, and the Bride with a new generation of monsters. The new monsters coming to Dark Universe include Dr. Victoria Frankenstein – the great-great-granddaughter of Henry Frankenstein, who has continued his misguided experiments. As guests venture through the ravaged village of Darkmoor, they’ll encounter the characters and subjects of those experiments. All within a first-of-its-kind theme park environment. Concept art of the eerie Darkmoor village can be seen below, as well as the Universal Epic Universe’s Dark Universe attractions:

Click To View Gallery

Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment

One of the rides we know is coming to Dark Universe celebrates the Universal Monster, Frankenstein. It’s titled Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment. This state-of-the-art dark ride takes guests deep into the catacombs of Frankenstein Manor. There, Dr. Victoria Frankenstein conducts her twisted experiments. In a vain display of her genius, she invites guests into her laboratory to witness a demonstration of her ability to control monsters. Yet her plans go awry when her attempts to control the most dangerous of monsters, Dracula, fail. Dracula unleashes a horde of enraged monsters. Guests are then thrust into an intense ride through the darkness. There, they try to evade the grasp of The Wolf Man, The Mummy, The Creature from the Black Lagoon, the Brides of Dracula, and others.

Curse of the Werewolf

Deep in the woods that sit on the edge of Darkmoor, guests will find Curse of the Werewolf. This Universal Epic Universe Dark Universe ride is a spinning family coaster inspired by The Wolf Man. Guests will enter the encampment of The Guild of Mystics. Here, Maleva, the guild’s all-knowing seer and leader, will greet them. She warns them that they bear the mark of the werewolf. Guests then board a wagon and venture into the forest – racing to escape the werewolves before they become one themselves.

The Dark Universe’s Darkmoor Makeup Experience

Guests of all ages can become fashionably monstrous as they don elaborate face paint and temporary tattoos at Darkmoor Monster Makeup Experience. Here, monster makers have converted Dr. Pretorius’ infamous old lab into a parlor to continue the spirit of his demented experiments, and skilled artisans use their talents to transform guests’ outer appearances so they can showcase their fandom for the Universal Monsters as they traverse the Dark Universe land.

Meet the Universal Monsters at Epic Universe’s Dark Universe

There’s always someone…or something…looming in the shadows of Dark Universe – including Universal Monsters eager to meet and greet everyone, from kids to adults. Among them are Dr. Victoria Frankenstein’s Monster and the alluring Bride of Frankenstein. Guests will also encounter other unusual inhabitants roaming the eerie village, like Frankenstein’s servant, Ygor. In addition, The Invisible Man, an eccentric monster hunter, and a talented musician will regale guests with songs in this Universal Epic Universe land, not to mention tales of the classic Universal Monsters stories.

Dining and More at Universal Epic Universe’s Dark Universe

The Dark Universe will also feature Das Stakehaus, a vampire-themed dining hall, the Burning Blade tavern, inspired by the burning windmill from The Bride of Frankenstein, and Dr. Lacey’s Cottage, where the Frankenstein Monster once found a friend, and now is home to all sorts of treats. You can check out concept art images of those in the gallery above.

There’s already a link for merchandise from Dark Universe for monster fans who can’t wait to experience it for themselves. Dark Universe and the rest of Universal’s Epic Universe will open for business at the Universal Orlando Resort in 2025.

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The Targaryen civil war has begun in earnest in season two of House of the Dragon. While the people in this conflict are all varying degrees of “terrible human,” the dragons are innocent in all this. They just want to breathe fire and eat some sheep. Now, there’s a new way of showing your love for the precious dragons of Westeros. Kross Studios has revealed a new set of collector’s watches and egg cases, inspired by House of the Dragon. The six latest collectors sets pay homage to the dragons Arrax, Silverwing, Moondancer, Seasmoke, Vermithor, and Sunfyre. These complement and complete their dragon-inspired series. You can check out images of these exquisite collector’s timepieces below in our gallery:

Game of Thrones – House of the Dragon Collector’s Set

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Each of these House of the Dragon collector sets pays homage to a specific dragon from George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire saga, capturing their unique essence and terrifying presence. Previous unique collector set editions, all currently sold out, were dedicated to Balerion, Viserion, Viserion Ice Dragon, Drogon, Rhaegal, Syrax, Caraxès, Meleys, Vaghar, and Vermax. The crafted dragon egg sculpture is in resin, and comes hand-painted by the renowned French workshop Leblon Delienne. Each egg, inspired by the appearance of its corresponding dragon, serves as a nest for the watch. 

The central feature of each set is a central floating tourbillon watch, designed by Kross Studio’s founder Marco Tedeschi. The House of the Dragon watch and its tourbillon, suspended beneath a sapphire crystal dome, reflects the aesthetic codes of House Targaryen, from its 45mm, grade 5 titanium case to its intricate movement. They’re not quite Valyrian steel, but the closest thing to it in our less exciting and dragon-free realm. For more information and pricing, head over to the official Kross Studios website.

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