15 Actors Only Your Boomer Dad Could Name

Every generation has its movie stars. While younger audiences can instantly recognize today’s biggest celebrities, there was a time when entirely different names dominated theater marquees, television screens, and magazine covers. Many of these actors were household names throughout the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, yet have gradually faded from mainstream conversation.

Ask a boomer movie fan about them, however, and you’ll probably get an enthusiastic history lesson. These performers headlined major hits, won awards, and built loyal followings long before the internet existed. Today, they’re the kind of stars your dad remembers immediately while younger viewers draw a blank.

Robert Urich

Robert Urich was a familiar face throughout the 1970s and 1980s thanks to shows like Vega$ and Spenser: For Hire. Older viewers remember him instantly, while many younger audiences barely recognize the name.

James Garner

James Garner combined charm and toughness in projects like Maverick and The Rockford Files. He was one of television’s most dependable leading men, though his fame has faded somewhat with younger generations.

Lee Majors

As the star of The Six Million Dollar Man and The Fall Guy, Lee Majors was once everywhere. For many boomers, he remains an icon of 1970s television action.

Richard Chamberlain

Richard Chamberlain became famous through Dr. Kildare before dominating television miniseries like Shōgun and The Thorn Birds. He was once a major star whose name younger audiences rarely hear today.

Robert Conrad

Robert Conrad built a devoted following through The Wild Wild West and Baa Baa Black Sheep. His tough-guy image made him a television fixture for decades.

James Arness

Best known as Marshal Matt Dillon on Gunsmoke, James Arness spent twenty years starring in one of television’s biggest westerns. Many younger viewers know the show more than the actor.

Michael Landon

Michael Landon starred in Bonanza, Little House on the Prairie, and Highway to Heaven. Few actors dominated family television for as long as he did.

Pernell Roberts

Though overshadowed by some co-stars today, Pernell Roberts became famous through Bonanza and later Trapper John, M.D.. He was once a very recognizable television leading man.

Efrem Zimbalist Jr.

Efrem Zimbalist Jr. was a major television star through series like 77 Sunset Strip and The F.B.I.. Modern audiences are more likely to know him through voice acting work.

David Janssen

David Janssen became television royalty thanks to The Fugitive. The show’s success made him one of the most recognizable faces of the 1960s, though his fame has diminished over time.

Chad Everett

Chad Everett found success as the star of Medical Center. During the late 1960s and 1970s, he was one of television’s most prominent leading men.

Barry Sullivan

Barry Sullivan appeared in numerous westerns, crime dramas, and adventure films. He enjoyed a lengthy career but is now largely remembered by classic movie enthusiasts.

Doug McClure

Doug McClure starred in westerns like The Virginian and became a familiar television presence. He’s also remembered as the inspiration behind several affectionate movie industry jokes.

Darren McGavin

Darren McGavin starred in Kolchak: The Night Stalker and numerous television productions. While some know him from A Christmas Story, his earlier fame was much larger.

Robert Culp

Robert Culp was a television staple thanks to I Spy and later The Greatest American Hero. He enjoyed decades of success but is far less discussed today than during his peak years.

14 Video Games that are Virtually Impossible to Play All the Way Through

Playing video games is meant to be a relaxing, joyful experience. People get home after work and get ready to unwind in a virtual world. Completing every achievement, requirement and difficulty setting in a game, though, can feel like getting home from work to start your second job.

These following games in particular have a reputation of being grueling, grindy, or just miserable experiences to try and do everything in. Some can get to be outright impossible, either due to multiplayer requirements or simple lack of time. If you pick up any of these games, explore them with a casual mindset.

Yakuza Series

Finishing the story is one thing. Achieving true completion in a Yakuza game means mastering minigames like Mahjong, shogi, gambling activities, and dozens of side objectives that many players never fully understand.

Silent Hill 3

Silent Hill 3 predates the achievement era, but completing everything is brutal. Unlocking every costume, weapon, ending, and bonus feature requires multiple playthroughs and highly specific performance requirements.

Dark Souls III

Several achievements require collecting covenant rewards originally designed around online multiplayer. For players tackling the game years later, the grind can become far more difficult than defeating any boss.

Call of Duty: World at War

The campaign’s Veteran difficulty is legendary for a reason. Endless grenade spam, pinpoint enemy accuracy, and brutal checkpoints make simply finishing the game a challenge, let alone earning every achievement.

Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain

The zoo collection sounds simple until players realize how many animals must be captured. Some species are rare, region-specific, or easily overlooked during an already massive open-world adventure.

Halo: The Master Chief Collection

With more than 700 achievements, Halo MCC is a completionist nightmare. Players must conquer speedruns, multiplayer challenges, LASO campaigns, collectibles, Easter eggs, and some of the hardest tasks in gaming.

Super Meat Boy

Many players finish Super Meat Boy and feel accomplished. Then they discover achievements requiring entire worlds to be completed without dying, transforming an already difficult platformer into a test of near-superhuman precision.

Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time

Crash 4 is notorious for demanding perfect relic runs, hidden collectibles, and brutally precise platforming. Many fans consider earning full completion more difficult than finishing most modern action games.

Batman: Arkham City

The Riddler trophies alone are enough to break some players. Add combat challenges, campaigns, and difficult training objectives, and Arkham City becomes a much larger commitment than its story suggests.

Lost Ark

Lost Ark overwhelms completionists with collectibles, achievements, islands, rapport systems, cards, and progression mechanics. Reaching true completion requires an extraordinary investment of both time and patience.

Assassin’s Creed Series

Many modern Assassin’s Creed games are technically easy to complete, but the sheer volume of collectibles, repetitive side activities, and map-clearing objectives turns 100 percent completion into an endurance challenge.

Celeste

Simply reaching the ending is only the beginning. Completionists must tackle B-Sides, C-Sides, golden strawberries, and some of the most demanding precision-platforming challenges ever designed.

The Binding of Isaac: Repentance

Unlocking every character, item, ending, and achievement requires hundreds of hours and countless successful runs. Randomness ensures that even highly skilled players cannot guarantee steady progress.

Diablo II

The legendary Holy Grail challenge asks players to collect every unique item in the game. Given the rarity of certain drops, many players spend years farming without ever completing the collection.

13 of the Craziest Fan Celebrations After a World Cup or Soccer Win

Following your country’s performance during a soccer match can be thrilling, and if your team wins, you want to share that excitement with others. Since the team represents your country, and in all likelihood you’re living in said country, sharing that thrill is as easy as walking out the door.

Soccer has a contagious effect, with crowds gathering on the street and turning a regular day into an impromptu holiday, with celebrations going all throughout the night. These celebrations can sometimes be dangerous, but all is fair when the pride of the country is on the line.

Argentina’s 2022 World Cup Street Takeover

After Argentina defeated France in one of the greatest finals ever, millions flooded the streets of Buenos Aires. The crowds became so massive that the team’s planned victory parade had to be altered for safety reasons.

Italy’s Euro 2020 Celebration

Italy’s victory over England sparked enormous celebrations across the country. Fans packed city squares, climbed monuments, waved flags from balconies, and transformed major streets into all-night parties.

France Wins the 1998 World Cup

When France won its first World Cup on home soil, millions gathered on the Champs-Élysées. The celebrations became one of the largest public parties in modern French history.

Spain’s First World Cup Triumph

Spain’s 2010 World Cup victory unleashed celebrations that lasted for days. Streets across Madrid filled with supporters as fans celebrated a championship many had spent generations waiting to see.

Argentina’s 1986 Maradona Mania

After Diego Maradona led Argentina to World Cup glory, celebrations erupted nationwide. His status as a national hero reached legendary levels as fans treated the victory as a defining national moment.

Senegal’s 2002 World Cup Run

Senegal’s stunning run to the quarterfinals sparked celebrations that felt like a tournament victory. Fans flooded Dakar’s streets after each upset as the team exceeded every expectation.

South Korea’s Red Tide

South Korea’s remarkable 2002 World Cup performance inspired enormous public gatherings. Millions of supporters wearing red packed city centers, creating some of the largest fan crowds ever seen.

Morocco’s Historic 2022 Run

Morocco became the first African nation to reach a World Cup semifinal. Celebrations spread far beyond Morocco itself, with huge gatherings across North Africa, Europe, and the Middle East.

Leicester City’s Premier League Miracle

While not a World Cup moment, Leicester City’s 2016 title celebration deserves mention. Fans celebrated one of sports’ greatest underdog stories by filling streets and turning the city into a giant party.

Germany’s 2014 World Cup Victory

Hundreds of thousands gathered at Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate after Germany defeated Argentina. The celebrations became even bigger because fans had also witnessed the historic 7-1 semifinal victory over Brazil.

Brazil Wins the 2002 World Cup

Brazil’s fifth World Cup title triggered celebrations from Rio de Janeiro to São Paulo. Streets filled with music, dancing, fireworks, and fans wearing the nation’s iconic yellow jerseys.

Greece Wins Euro 2004

Greece’s improbable victory at Euro 2004 produced celebrations that stunned Europe almost as much as the tournament itself. Fans poured into Athens and other cities, celebrating one of the greatest underdog triumphs in soccer history.

Argentina’s Welcome Home Parade

The most chaotic part of Argentina’s 2022 celebrations came days later. Millions packed roads and highways to greet the returning team, creating crowds so large that helicopters were eventually used.

15 Actors Who Earned Their Reputation in the Horror Genre

The horror genre can be considered one among many others, but people tend to see it as a lesser cousin of thrillers and dramas. But many popular actors today trace their roots to it, a genre that has its doors open far wider than many others, often being the stepping stone to greater heights.

And it’s not like many of these performers got stuck in horror, since they’ve shined in things like comedies, dramas, family movies and even voicing animated characters. We will always remember them, however, as the horror icons they once started as.

Jamie Lee Curtis

Jamie Lee Curtis became Hollywood’s most famous “scream queen” thanks to Halloween. Her performance as Laurie Strode helped define the slasher genre and established a horror legacy that continues decades later.

Robert Englund

Robert Englund earned genre immortality by portraying Freddy Krueger in the A Nightmare on Elm Street franchise. Few actors are as closely associated with a single horror character.

Bela Lugosi

Bela Lugosi’s portrayal of Dracula in 1931 helped shape the image of cinematic vampires for generations. His performance made him one of the foundational stars of horror cinema.

Boris Karloff

Boris Karloff became a horror icon through films like Frankenstein and The Mummy. His performances established many of the genre’s earliest and most enduring screen monsters.

Vincent Price

Vincent Price’s voice, presence, and performances made him synonymous with horror throughout the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. He remains one of the genre’s most beloved figures.

Christopher Lee

Christopher Lee spent decades terrifying audiences, most notably as Dracula in numerous Hammer Horror productions. His towering presence made him one of horror’s defining stars.

Barbara Steele

Barbara Steele became a cult horror legend through gothic classics like Black Sunday. Her striking appearance and willingness to embrace dark material made her a genre favorite.

Peter Cushing

Peter Cushing built an extraordinary horror résumé through Hammer Films, frequently appearing as Van Helsing, Baron Frankenstein, and other memorable characters that defined British horror.

Tony Todd

Tony Todd’s portrayal of Candyman created one of the most recognizable horror villains of the modern era. His commanding presence elevated every horror project he joined.

Kane Hodder

Kane Hodder became a fan favorite by playing Jason Voorhees in multiple Friday the 13th films. Many fans still consider him the definitive version of the character.

Brad Dourif

Brad Dourif gave life to Chucky through his unforgettable vocal performance in the Child’s Play franchise. His work transformed a killer doll into a horror icon.

Lin Shaye

Lin Shaye spent years appearing in genre films before becoming a horror star through the Insidious series. She has since become one of modern horror’s most recognizable faces.

Sid Haig

Sid Haig achieved cult status through Rob Zombie’s horror films, particularly as Captain Spaulding. The character became one of the most memorable horror villains of the 2000s.

Danielle Harris

Danielle Harris built her reputation through Halloween sequels and numerous independent horror productions. Her long relationship with the genre made her a modern scream queen favorite.

Bruce Campbell

Bruce Campbell’s performance as Ash Williams in The Evil Dead franchise made him a horror legend. His blend of comedy, action, and horror created one of the genre’s most beloved heroes.

15 Movies We Don’t Think Anyone Actually Remembers

We like to think that we are knowledgeable in movie history, that not many details escape our eagle eyes when it comes to the history of the medium. But as decades pass and we grow distant from the movies of old, our memory can get somewhat fuzzy. Do we really remember all the movies that were released in the past?

No, of course not, we don’t have unlimited memory. That brain space is better used for remembering loved ones, or future projects. As such, we doubt anyone can remember the following movies, at least not off the top of their heads. These are the films forgotten by time.

The Last Chase

Released in 1981, The Last Chase imagined a future where private automobiles were banned. Despite starring Lee Majors and Christopher Makepeace, the film has largely disappeared from popular movie conversations.

The Legend of Billie Jean

This 1985 teen drama developed a cult following but rarely gets mentioned today. Helen Slater stars as a runaway teenager who unexpectedly becomes a symbol of rebellion.

Split Second

Rutger Hauer battled a monstrous creature in flooded future London in this 1992 sci-fi horror film. Despite its unusual premise and memorable atmosphere, it remains largely forgotten outside genre circles.

Runaway

Long before modern fears about artificial intelligence, Runaway featured killer robots and high-tech crime. The 1984 thriller starred Tom Selleck but never achieved lasting mainstream recognition.

Night of the Comet

A comet wipes out most of humanity in this quirky 1984 science-fiction comedy. While beloved by cult movie fans, it remains surprisingly obscure compared to other post-apocalyptic classics.

Cherry 2000

Set in a strange future, Cherry 2000 follows a man searching for a replacement android companion. The 1987 film mixes science fiction, romance, and adventure in ways few remember today.

Brainstorm

This 1983 science-fiction film stars Christopher Walken and Natalie Wood. It explored technology capable of recording human experiences, but its troubled production often overshadows discussion of the movie itself.

The Final Countdown

A modern aircraft carrier is mysteriously transported back to 1941 in this 1980 science-fiction film. Despite an intriguing premise and a devoted fanbase, it rarely appears in mainstream discussions.

Solarbabies

Roller-skating teenagers battle an oppressive regime in this unusual 1986 science-fiction adventure. Despite featuring several future stars, the movie remains one of the decade’s strangest forgotten curiosities.

The Black Hole

Disney’s ambitious 1979 science-fiction epic arrived between the success of Star Wars and the explosion of 1980s sci-fi films. Today, it is often overlooked despite its impressive visuals.

Enemy Mine

This 1985 science-fiction drama tells the story of two enemy soldiers stranded together on an alien world. Critics have reassessed it positively, but many modern audiences have never heard of it.

The Manhattan Project

Released in 1986, this thriller follows a teenager who steals plutonium to build a nuclear bomb for a science fair. The premise alone deserves more attention than it receives.

Ice Pirates

Part comedy, part science fiction adventure, Ice Pirates offered a deliberately goofy take on space opera storytelling. It has developed a cult audience but remains largely forgotten by mainstream viewers.

My Science Project

A mysterious device from a military base unleashes chaos in this 1985 teen science-fiction comedy. Once a frequent cable television staple, it has largely faded from public memory.

The Philadelphia Experiment

Based loosely on a famous conspiracy theory, this 1984 science-fiction film follows sailors accidentally transported through time. It enjoyed modest success but is rarely discussed today outside cult-film communities.

15 Actors Who Looked Middle-Aged at 25

As we grow and mature, our body changes like the seasons, although we never go back to the beautiful spring days of youth. Well, actors need to be able to mold themselves to play multiple roles, with some of them looking like teens when well over their thirties.

The opposite effect does happen to some performers, them looking far older than you’d expect. This lets them get more mature roles at an earlier age, or even play the same character in an ongoing franchise for several years. If you look a certain way at 25, you can count on that look to work for several years to come.

Wilford Brimley

Wilford Brimley became the poster child for looking older than his years. During the filming of Cocoon, he was only in his early fifties, yet many viewers assumed he was already a retiree decades older.

Steve Martin

Even in his twenties, Steve Martin’s prematurely gray hair gave him the appearance of someone much older. It eventually became part of his signature look and helped define his on-screen persona.

Patrick Stewart

Patrick Stewart began losing his hair as a teenager and often looked significantly older than his actual age. By his mid-twenties, he already projected the authority of a seasoned veteran.

Larry David

Old photographs of Larry David are legendary online because he appeared middle-aged even as a young comedian. His receding hairline and serious expression made him seem decades ahead of his peers.

R. Lee Ermey

Before becoming famous for military roles, R. Lee Ermey already looked like a career drill instructor. His stern features and commanding presence often made him seem older than he actually was.

Gene Hackman

Gene Hackman entered Hollywood later than many actors, but even his early performances carried the look of a seasoned professional. He rarely appeared youthful, even during his breakout years.

Dabney Coleman

Dabney Coleman seemed born to play authority figures. Thanks to his mustache, hairstyle, and demeanor, he often looked like a middle-aged executive long before reaching middle age.

Walter Matthau

Walter Matthau’s distinctive face made him appear older almost from the beginning of his film career. Audiences frequently assumed he was older than he really was during his early successes.

James Gandolfini

Even before The Sopranos, James Gandolfini had the appearance of a man carrying decades of life experience. His rugged features made him seem older than many actors his age.

Philip Seymour Hoffman

Philip Seymour Hoffman possessed a maturity and gravitas that often made him appear older than his years. Even in early roles, he rarely came across as a typical young actor.

John C. Reilly

John C. Reilly looked remarkably similar throughout much of his career. Looking back at his early films, many viewers are surprised to discover how young he actually was at the time.

Brian Dennehy

Brian Dennehy’s large frame, mustache, and authoritative presence helped him land older roles throughout his career. He often appeared more like a veteran father figure than a young performer.

Stacy Keach

Stacy Keach’s strong features and deep voice gave him an older-screen presence from an early age. Even when young, he projected the image of an experienced and worldly character.

Fred Dalton Thompson

Before politics and television fame, Fred Dalton Thompson already looked like a veteran statesman. His appearance and demeanor frequently led audiences to assume he was older than reality.

Dennis Farina

Dennis Farina’s years as a police officer translated into a naturally mature screen presence. Even in relatively early acting roles, he looked more like a seasoned detective than a newcomer.

15 Actors Who Really Can’t Play Sports

We’ve seen sports stars try to act in the past, and it’s clear why they didn’t choose that career path: it wasn’t for them. The same is true for actors when trying to play a sport, most of them are simply not cut out for it. But we judge them more harshly because it’s part of their job to convince us otherwise.

You’d think that part of the casting process in any given movie is making sure that your actor can at least look the part. Well, sometimes a certain actor just needs to be in a film, either due to contractual constraints or marketing strategies. This is how you end up with lists like this one, where we point at their performances and laugh.

Keanu Reeves

Keanu Reeves is beloved as an action star, but his quarterback performance in The Replacements has often drawn criticism. Some football fans felt his throwing mechanics looked awkward compared to what they’d expect from a professional player.

Dennis Quaid

Despite being athletic in real life, some baseball fans have pointed to Dennis Quaid’s pitching scenes in The Rookie as occasionally looking more like an actor performing baseball than an actual major-league pitcher.

Mark Wahlberg

Mark Wahlberg played Vince Papale in Invincible, but some viewers felt his age and movement made it difficult to fully buy him as a professional football player competing at the highest level.

Charlie Sheen

Charlie Sheen’s performance in Major League remains entertaining, but baseball fans have long noticed that his pitching delivery occasionally lacks the fluidity expected from an elite professional pitcher.

Wesley Snipes

Wesley Snipes starred in Major League, but several baseball observers have noted that his batting and fielding scenes sometimes reveal a performer acting athletic rather than a naturally gifted ballplayer.

Matt LeBlanc

Matt LeBlanc starred as a baseball player in the family comedy Ed. While the movie is remembered more for its chimpanzee co-star than athletic realism, LeBlanc never quite looked like a convincing professional ballplayer.

Tom Cruise

Tom Cruise excels at action sequences, yet his baseball scenes in War of the Worlds are occasionally cited online by fans who feel his throwing motion looks surprisingly unnatural.

Michael J. Fox

Michael J. Fox’s basketball scenes in Teen Wolf became iconic, but even supporters of the film admit the athletic action was never the movie’s strongest or most convincing element.

Freddie Prinze Jr.

In Summer Catch, Freddie Prinze Jr. played as an elite baseball prospect. While charming in the role, some viewers felt his mechanics occasionally looked more Hollywood than professional sports.

Tobey Maguire

Tobey Maguire portrayed jockey Red Pollard in Seabiscuit. Although praised for the performance, some racing fans felt he never entirely shed the appearance of an actor playing an athlete.

Robert Redford

Robert Redford’s baseball drama The Natural is beloved, but some critics have noted that his age during filming occasionally made the supposedly elite athlete seem less convincing physically.

Brendan Fraser

Brendan Fraser starred in The Scout as a baseball phenom with impossible talent. While charismatic, some sports fans felt the athletic sequences struggled to match the extraordinary abilities described by the script.

Dean Cain

Before acting, Dean Cain actually played sports at a high level, yet his baseball scenes in The Broken Hearts Club have still been criticized by viewers who expected greater athletic realism.

Woody Harrelson

Despite starring in the basketball comedy White Men Can’t Jump, Woody Harrelson’s athletic credibility was frequently part of the joke itself, with much of the film built around the assumption that people would underestimate him on the court.

Chris Pratt

Chris Pratt starred in the baseball drama Moneyball as real-life first baseman Scott Hatteberg. While the performance worked dramatically, some baseball fans felt his swing and overall on-field movement looked more actorly than genuinely professional-athlete level.

Every Game Release Is Avoiding GTA 6 Except Two Pop Culture Giants

Grand Theft Auto VI has the presence of one of those cliché high school bullies that, when they walk down the hall, you quickly get out of their way in fear of being shoved into a locker.

As hyperbolic as that may seem, it’s clear game studios have felt the looming presence of Rockstar Games’ GTA 6. Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy producer, Eric Chort, even went as far to say “GTA is like the ogre, it’s the biggest one” in an interview with Eurogamer. According to Chort, that presence has led “all the studios in the world” to adjust their release plans and avoid going anywhere near the game’s November 19 launch window.

As a result, a batch of games is set to release in a crowded six week period during late September through late October. At first, it’s almost laughable to think some of these games are at risk. Marvel’s Wolverine? A new Silent Hill? Call of Duty 4? But if you know anything about the wait for GTA 6 and the fans that have been doing the waiting, it all makes sense.

One notable moment that could shed some light on that…devotion…for those unfamiliar is a post from r/GTA user Remarkable_Bag3785. Back when fans were expecting a May 12 trailer launch date, the user posted: “I can’t stop thinking about May 12th. Flashes of Jason and Lucia constantly pop into my head. It’s almost like I can feel and talk to them. ‘We’re coming tomorrow, don’t worry buddy.’ Tomorrow is the day we’ve all been waiting for. Be ready guys cause it’s gonna be a fricking movie.”

That “fricking movie” trailer never came and still hasn’t. One can only hope that Remarkable_Bag3785 got some well-deserved sleep that night.

Upcoming promotional content and info about the game aside, who is it then that decided to take GTA 6 head on? Who could possibly dare to rival such a behemoth of a release with their own?

Barbzilla.

That’s Atari’s Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee Remastered and Barbie: Rewind, to be clear. Both remakes are currently set to launch on Nov. 3 and 12, respectively, and appear to be the only releases daring to share a window with GTA 6.

Now, if there’s anything to be said about the success of a certain Barbie and destructive force collab in the past, this bold move from Atari may very well give GTA 6 a run for its money. Well, sort of. While it’s obvious to anyone that Rockstar’s long-awaited release will be earth-shattering upon release, Atari is looking to tap into pure nostalgia, which always snags the interest of gamers if done well.

That said, Atari’s confidence raises an interesting question about whether launching alongside a juggernaut like GTA 6 is a guaranteed losing move. While most studios are standing clear, and understandably so, there could be a chance for nostalgia-driven or even indi e titles to carve their own spaces by simply appealing to players looking for something different or less mainstream.

How Barbzilla will fare against the mighty ogre in November remains to be seen. As of now, it’s shaping up to be one of the more entertaining clashes of the release calendar, even if the outcomes feel fairly predictable.

Jason Momoa Has One Non-Negotiable Demand for a Lobo Movie

The big-screen debut of Lobo in DC Studios’ upcoming Supergirl is one that has been long-awaited (seriously it’s about fragging time). But this version sees the cigar-smoking alien space-biker in a more tempered state than usual. Fortunately for fans, Jason Momoa has promised that any solo movie for The Main Man himself will be strictly rated R.

In a Collider interview, Momoa confirmed he had discussed a possible spinoff with DC Studios heads James Gunn and Peter Safran saying, “It’s all I want, and I promise—I’m just going to put this out there right now—I do not have any interest in making a Lobo PG-13 movie.”

When asked about whether Lobo would still appear in other DC projects, Momoa kept things open-ended but firm about his own priorities for the character, adding that “If they want me, I’ll be there. But if I make a solo movie, I’m not doing it unless it’s rated R.”

Momoa’s insistence on an R-rating makes clear that he cares about the character, which makes sense considering it’s the actor’s dream role. It also fits pretty naturally with how Lobo has always been portrayed on the page.

Since his creation in 1983, Lobo has established himself as one of DC’s most iconic and chaotic characters. Created by Roger Slifer and Keith Giffen, he hails from the planet Czarnia, a world he infamously wiped out himself for the hell of it. Lobo is no villain, though, acting more as antihero. He is a freelance motorcycle-riding bounty hunter who takes jobs for cash and helps out if it suits him to be precise.

Power-wise, Lobo is just as extreme as his personality. He has superhuman strength, is incredibly hard to kill thanks to his regenerative healing factor, and has genius-level intellect (in matters of destruction and violence, that is) to boot.

It’s really no wonder why Momoa would want to handle such a larger-than-life character so carefully and, more importantly, so faithfully. It also makes financial sense considering the success of other comic characters getting R-rated movies that allowed them to truly shine, like Wolverine, Deadpool, and the Joker in their respective 2024 movies.

DC’s upcoming Clayface is also reportedly being developed as a more mature, grisly take on the character, with an R-rated approach that leans into body horror and psychological tension rather than traditional superhero spectacles. It’s another clear sign that DC is increasingly open to letting certain stories live in darker spaces when the character calls for it, which allows for Momoa’s condition for Lobo to be easily met.

If DC is willing to take risks with characters like Clayface, there is real room for the Scourge o’ the Cosmos to be seen in his full, unrestrained glory in the future.

With all that in mind, Lobo fans around the world can breathe easy knowing that DC’s arguably (but not really) most unhinged and unruly character will be able to swear, rip people apart, and be generally strange and off-putting to his heart’s content in the hands of Momoa.

But for now, we’ll have some fun seeing The Last Czarnian on his best PG-13 approved behavior…whatever that looks like…on June 26.

Doctor Who Will Survive its Return to the Wilderness (And Be Better For It)

The death of Doctor Who has been greatly exaggerated. Yes, the show’s been put on a hiatus of indeterminate length, showrunner Russell T. Davies and his production company Bad Wolf have been removed (or stepped down, depending on how descriptively kind you’re feeling), and we have no idea when it will return. The previously promised Christmas special has been canceled — and may have never existed in the first place? — and it feels increasingly unlikely we’ll ever find out the answer to that Billie Piper cliffhanger that closed season 15. Things definitely aren’t great right now, and it’s fair to be upset about that. But, despite the rampant catastrophizing that it feels like almost every entertainment and industry outlet appears eager to engage in, there’s also every reason to still feel optimistic about the show’s future.

Granted, that’s not necessarily easy right now, given, well… everything. After all, Doctor Who fans have been going through it for the past year, as the BBC and Disney hedged their bets about the show’s future, Ncuti Gatwa departed the TARDIS much earlier than anyone expected, and one of the worst season finales in recent memory ended with an awkwardly plotted surprise regeneration/Hail Mary twist that was clearly never meant as its original conclusion. The much-ballyhooed Disney deal collapsed, and months passed with no word on the forthcoming holiday special we were all assured was coming. Heck, American viewers still haven’t even gotten to see The War Between the Land and the Sea! It’s been a whole lot, and Christmas literally getting canceled is just the icing on top of a particularly horrid cake.

But things aren’t as bad as they seem — or as some seemingly want them to be. First of all, the show hasn’t been canceled. It’s been put out to “competitive tender,” the fancy name for the BBC business process that will see various interested production companies bid to take over the making of the franchise, hopefully bringing new voices and new perspectives along with them. For what it’s worth, the corporation still seems remarkably firm in its commitment to the show and its audience, and has been since the post-Disney meltdown started. It seems… let’s just say, unlikely that that commitment has suddenly drastically changed, or that this restructuring is a secret, nefarious plot meant to sink the show rather than to find a way to stabilize it.

But Whovians, in general, are a melodramatic bunch (and I say that with all love, as I also spent some fairly significant time last week staring into the void in despair). It’s human nature to assume the worst when something you love is threatened, particularly after a year’s worth of speculation, frustration, anger, and repeated disappointment. It’s also true that no one involved in this mess has exactly covered themselves in glory, and outgoing showrunner Russell T. Davies now insisting that the Christmas episode he literally spent months teasing somehow never actually existed isn’t helping matters either. (Dude, just take the L! It happens!) But at the end of the day, maybe this is all just so much evidence that a completely fresh start is exactly what this franchise needs.

The fear there, of course, is that any brief pause to course correct will somehow once again spin out into the same kind of extended wilderness period that followed Sylvester MCoy’s Seventh Doctor run, a genuine cancellation in all but name. But, that’s probably a lot less likely than many think. Today’s television landscape is vastly different than the one that the show faced back in the 1980s, and Doctor Who is no longer a niche little British children’s show that could. It’s now a genuine global product, and a brand that goes well beyond a simple television program, with international distribution deals, extensive licensing agreements, and an endless stream of merchandise. (How many TARDIS-themed items are in your home?) A CBeebies animated series is still in development and Big Finish seems to be releasing more Doctor Who audio dramas than ever. In light of all this, there’s almost no way that the flagship series stays off the air for more than a few years, tops. But it can and probably should look quite a bit different when it does return.

Doctor Who, after all, is a series that is predicated on change. Doctors regenerate, companions leave, and enemies are vanquished only to reappear in occasionally upgraded or more colorful forms in the space of less than a season. It’s only right that the show itself does too from time to time, in ways that go beyond actors and title treatments. Let’s hope the show can find a way to take this opportunity to embrace this opportunity for a fresh start — thoroughly.

Look, the franchise owes a massive debt to Davies: he’s the man who brought the show back in 2005, returned to shepherd it through its 60th anniversary, and (unfortunately, rather disastrously) tried to turn the Disney partnership into a Marvel-style shared universe when everyone feared the BBC itself might collapse. But he’s also been taking it on the chin for months for a string of developments that aren’t entirely his fault. Recency bias seems to have convinced many that the Gatwa era was a complete failure, despite the fact that many of the same people bemoaning the (admittedly terrible!) “Wish World”/“The Reality War” two-parter had been hailing some of its episodes as among the best of modern Who. (See also “The Story & the Engine”, “73 Yards,” “Dot and Bubble,” “The Well,” and “Boom”.) But at this point, we’re all beating the same dead horse into the ground, which is perhaps the clearest sign possible that what Doctor Who needs most is an infusion of new blood.

After all, not only has Davies himself been showrunner twice, both Steven Moffat and Chris Chibnall, who helmed the show from 2010 to 2017 and 2018 to 2022 respectively, penned episodes during his run. (Chibnall, of course, wrote for Moffat’s Who as well.) Granted, those men have very different styles as writers and storytellers — both from Davies and each other — but they’re all essentially members of the same extended family, and have been part of the fabric of modern Who to varying degrees pretty much since the revival started.

In light of that, maybe it’s not really all surprising the show got a bit stagnant and overly wrapped up in its own mythology, and has struggled to find a way to appeal to audiences who weren’t already fully caught up on and invested in the franchise. Let a new team take over, one that owes no loyalty to what’s come before. Shake things up. Bring in writers who’ve never written for Doctor Who. (Maybe even some who grew up watching the revival.) Create new enemies and put fresh spins on old ones. Acknowledge the Doctor’s past without allowing the show to be paralyzed by it. (Something the RTD 2.0 era promised but never fully managed to do.) Embrace the idea of a true franchise regeneration, which gets the show back to the basics: A weirdo two-hearted alien exploring the stars in a blue police box, and reminding us all that being human is stil the greatest adventure of all.

It’s undeniable that this sudden hiatus sucks, and a world with the promise of no new Doctor Who in development is certainly a darker and less magical place than the one we all inhabited last week. But this isn’t the end. Like the Doctor himself, this franchise is a survivor, and it will bounce back as it always has. We’ll see each other again, and likely sooner than anyone expects. Don’t believe me? Trust the Doctor instead: “Everything ends, and it’s always sad, but everything begins again, too. And that’s always happy. Be happy.”

Spielberg and Ford Fought George Lucas on the Worst Indiana Jones Sequel (and Lost)

It’s no secret that Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull faced resistance from star Harrison Ford and director Steven Spielberg on the long road to its 2008 release, and that George Lucas’ insistence that aliens could be a viable plot device in the movie was a big part of that resistance.

Lucas had been pitching Indy vs aliens since the 1990s, and after various writers had worked on scripts for the belated fourquel, David Koepp’s screenplay about Indy reuniting with Marion Ravenwood from Raiders of the Lost Ark and discovering he has a son while searching for an alien skull in Peru finally took Lucas’ idea from seed to fruit. But even Koepp admits he took the job with “some trepidation,” and a new oral history of Spielberg’s movies reveals more of the behind-the-scenes battle among the director, Lucas, and Ford.

Noting that Crystal Skull was a “tough production” for cinematographer Janusz Kamiński, Lucasfilm’s former president Kathleen Kennedy recently told Vulture that “Steven was struggling with that movie. Harrison was struggling with the movie. They didn’t want to do a Raiders movie that involved aliens, and they kind of got into a fight with George about it.”

Lucas noted that he had wanted Crystal Skull to be “kind of a War of the Worlds sort of thing,” but that Ford and Spielberg both said they weren’t going to do another sci-fi film, with Spielberg already having dabbled with alien shenanigans in 1977’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind and 1982’s E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, and Ford having already done Lucas’ Star Wars trilogy and Blade Runner. Still, Lucas was convinced that a fourth film in the franchise would be the perfect opportunity for everyone’s favorite fedora-wearing archaeologist to do something different. “I said, ‘Steven, this is perfect because it’s the 1950s, when flying saucers were a whole thing,’ but he said ‘no.'”

Eventually, the pair compromised, with Lucas suggesting that the aliens might be from another dimension instead, though that aspect of the movie was somewhat lost in the execution. “Steven put that last shot in, where they get into a flying saucer and take off,” Lucas explained. “He was rationalizing it by saying, ‘Well, they’re going to another dimension. They have to get there somehow.’ I said, ‘It looks like a flying saucer.’”

It’s hard to argue with him there. Crystal Skull’s interdimensional beings both look like traditional grey-faced aliens and set off on their journey in a saucer-shaped ship through a portal. Lucas got his way in the end, which ultimately convinced Ford that a fifth movie in the franchise was necessary.

“They ended up all of them doing what George wanted to do, which was probably the right thing,” Kennedy added. “But Harrison and Steven were not 100 per cent on board. That’s why the movie, out of the four that Steven made, is the weakest. And that’s why Harrison was so deeply committed to [Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny]. He didn’t want [Crystal Skull] to be the end.”

Gladiator Is a Movie for Women, Argues Russell Crowe

If you’ve ever watched Letterboxd’s Four Favorites video series on social media, you’ll be more than aware that a lot of men really love Ridley Scott’s Gladiator, which remains understandable in a decade where “my Roman Empire” has been trending.

Scott’s crowd-pleasing, awards-hogging, fist-pumping action-adventure flick explores themes of honor, courage, loyalty, and brotherhood, and its central character, Maximus Decimus Meridius (portrayed by Russell Crowe), remains true to his principles and fights for something greater than himself until he becomes a true “soldier of Rome” in death.

The 2000 epic also has a really strong fan base among women, and that’s by design rather than accident, argues its star. In a recent appearance at the Taormina Film Festival (via Deadline) Crowe explained that Gladiator is actually a movie for women, not men.

The actor contextualized his conclusion by discussing the battle he once had with the movie’s studio over its eagerness to get Maximus involved in more sex scenes as Gladiator’s story played out.

“I just kept pushing back. I said, ‘This is a story about a man who’s avenging the death of his wife and his child. There cannot be a moment on that journey where he stops and has sex with somebody. It doesn’t make any sense… that destroys the journey,’” he said, adding, “They fought me, they sent me letters about it and everything, and I just stuck to my guns. Luckily for me, Ridley, even though he would have loved to write a sex scene with me and Connie Nielsen, he agreed with me back then, and that that was the moral core of the film.”

Russell Crowe talks pushing back on studio pressure for sex scenes in Ridley Scott’s ‘Gladiator’ and says ‘Gladiator II’ failed to ignite audiences in the same way as the original film because it lacked a “moral core” – Taormina Film Festival pic.twitter.com/Yh7iQ7cmk2
— Deadline (@DEADLINE) June 13, 2026

Calling Gladiator “really old-fashioned” and noting that the studio didn’t really understand why they were shooting for that vibe, Crowe felt his pushback was justified after seeing so many women turn out for the movie upon its release. He also voiced his opinion that Scott’s underwhelming sequel, Gladiator II, “destroyed” the first film’s moral center.

“On the surface, Gladiator is a movie for men, but if it was a movie for men, it would be about revenge,” Crowe explained. “But it’s not about revenge. It’s a movie for women because it’s about vengeance, and this is a subtle difference, but it is a difference. I needed the character to stay on that track. So for them, in a second movie to destroy that moral center, it’s very interesting because the second movie barely took the same box office that the first movie took but that’s 20 years later, and when you apply how much of a change there’s been on the value of a dollar, they failed, and they failed because they didn’t understand why it was successful, because it had a moral core.”

In the decades since its release, Gladiator has arguably proven to be popular with people in general (at least those unconcerned with historical inaccuracies) often ranking highly on lists of the greatest movies ever made.

Widow’s Bay Creator Reveals the Show’s Origin Story

In the wake of Widow’s Bay’s much-deserved season 2 renewal on Apple TV, series creator Katie Dippold has been discussing the horror-comedy show’s evolution from script to screen.

Dippold, who accidentally became internet famous a decade ago after posting an image of herself dressed as the Babadook at her friend’s Halloween party (which unfortunately “had more of a grown ups drinking wine vibe”) revealed to Deadline that Widow’s Bay originally had more of a Parks & Recreation spec script vibe, rather than the deft mix of comedy and geniune scares we’ve come to know and love today.

“I wrote [Widow’s Bay] as a spec script for Parks & Recreation, but that version was much jokier,” she said. “It was more comedic, and I think it gave a good idea of my sense of humor. But I don’t know that I would have watched that show, because I think it could have felt more like a spoof, and as a horror fan, I just wanna be immersed into the island.”

Dippold added, “I wanna feel like I’m in New England. I wanna feel like I am isolated, and I wanna feel like I could go explore this island and find all the little nooks and crannies and terrifying little spots. That’s my dream, but I’m strange. So, that’s sort of how it started.”

Widow’s Bay follows Mayor Tom Loftis (Matthew Rhys) as he comes to accept that his New England island town is suffering under a pact once made between its founder and a demonic entity, but not before he’s been successful in his efforts to turn it into a trendy tourist destination. Loftis and his colleagues at the Mayor’s office are then subject to a range of horror tropes as they try to break the entity’s curse, including visitations from a local sea hag and a slasher killer called the Boogeyman. Against all odds, these encounters are both terrifying and hilarious.

Dippold told the outlet that her efforts to capture the show’s delicate balance of laughs and frights began at an early age.

“I would say the initial spark is a feeling I’ve been trying to capture ever since childhood—I always talk about going to this this boardwalk in New Jersey in Long Branch,” she explained. “Once a summer, I would go with my family, and when I say I was way too young for it, I mean I was like 6, and this place was lawless and terrifying. But I loved it. I was just so giddy, the anticipation of going in, and I would scream and I would laugh.

“And then once we left, I’d run out screaming, but then I would immediately want to go back in again. It was almost kind of a dangerous excitement. I used to get into all sorts of antics when I was young, me and my friends going to check out the abandoned house and then running off, and I just love that feeling because you’re so scared, but you’re laughing so hard, and I just wanted to get that feeling on television. So, that’s sort of where it started.”

Widow’s Bay concludes its first season on Apple TV on June 17.

15 of Our Shortest Celebrities

Hollywood has a way of making everyone look larger than life. Between camera angles, carefully staged photographs, and larger-than-life personalities, it’s easy to assume many celebrities are taller than they really are.

In reality, some of the biggest names in entertainment are surprisingly short, often standing well below average height while still commanding enormous attention on screen, on stage, or in the public eye. Their success proves that charisma, talent, and confidence matter far more than a few extra inches. These celebrities may not be the tallest stars around, but they’ve built careers that tower over most of their peers.

Danny DeVito

Standing at roughly 4’10” (147 cm), Danny DeVito is one of Hollywood’s most recognizable short celebrities. His height has never limited his career, which spans decades of acting, producing, and directing success.

Kevin Hart

Kevin Hart is often listed at around 5’2″ (157 cm). The comedian regularly jokes about his height, turning it into part of his public persona while becoming one of entertainment’s biggest stars.

Kristen Bell

Kristen Bell stands about 5’1″ (155 cm), making her noticeably shorter than many leading actresses. Despite that, she has built a career spanning television, films, voice acting, and Broadway.

Reese Witherspoon

At approximately 5’1″ (155 cm), Reese Witherspoon is considerably shorter than many audiences realize. Her commanding performances and producing success have helped make her one of Hollywood’s most influential figures.

Bruno Mars

Bruno Mars is generally reported to be around 5’5″ (165 cm). His energetic stage presence and massive catalog of hit songs make him seem much larger than his actual stature.

Salma Hayek

Salma Hayek stands around 5’2″ (157 cm). Whether appearing in dramatic films, action movies, or red-carpet events, she consistently projects a presence that far exceeds her physical height.

Seth Green

Seth Green is often listed at about 5’4″ (163 cm). The actor, writer, and producer has enjoyed a long career in film, television, and voice acting despite being shorter than many co-stars.

Lady Gaga

Lady Gaga stands roughly 5’1″ (155 cm). Her elaborate costumes, towering footwear, and larger-than-life performances often make audiences forget how relatively petite she actually is.

Martin Scorsese

Legendary filmmaker Martin Scorsese is around 5’3″ (160 cm). While he may not be physically imposing, his influence on cinema is enormous and continues to shape generations of filmmakers.

Ariana Grande

Ariana Grande is widely reported to be about 5’0″ (152 cm). Her powerhouse vocals and global popularity have made her one of the most successful pop stars of her generation.

Emilia Clarke

Emilia Clarke stands approximately 5’2″ (157 cm). Many viewers were surprised to learn her height after seeing her command armies and dragons as Daenerys Targaryen on Game of Thrones.

Daniel Radcliffe

Daniel Radcliffe is about 5’5″ (165 cm). Although audiences watched him grow up as Harry Potter, many are still surprised to discover he is shorter than the average leading man.

Jada Pinkett Smith

Jada Pinkett Smith stands around 5’0″ (152 cm). Her confidence and screen presence have allowed her to thrive in action films, dramas, and television throughout her career.

Patton Oswalt

Patton Oswalt is generally listed at about 5’3″ (160 cm). His successful career as a comedian, actor, and writer demonstrates how little height matters when it comes to talent.

Kylie Minogue

Kylie Minogue stands roughly 5’0″ (152 cm). Despite her small stature, she has spent decades as one of the world’s most successful and recognizable pop stars.

Steven Spielberg’s Alien Movies Are Really a Lifetime of Telling Us His Dreams and Fears

Steven Spielberg believes in UFOs, UAPs, and whatever else you might want to call the strange lights in the sky. The so-called “alien movie” is almost as old as accounts of unidentified flying objects, with The Flying Saucer coming out just three years after Kenneth Arnold coined the term based on what he claimed to see outside his plane’s window. Yet unlike many of the filmmakers of his parents’ generation, Spielberg has sincerely believed the truth is out there ever since he first took up the cause and a camera.

And he’s spent his career using the little space guys as a muse to discuss his vision of the world, and himself, as much as any sort of boogeyman or stuffed animal. In the same way that a Carl Foreman Western could be about more than just the bad men coming on the 12 o’clock train, a Spielberg alien flick is often better concerned with the humans.

His first (and I’d argue best) UFO feature is of course 1977’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Taking its title from the research of real-life Project Blue Book scientist J. Allen Hynek, the movie was rife in the real accounts and theories of the day about unidentified objects allegedly flying over the heartland. Yet as spectacular as the film’s vision of alien encounters were, the picture was still very much rooted in the 1970s New Hollywood movement Spielberg came up in. Like Jaws before it, there’s a naturalist’s concern with characters in the film, as well as anger, resentment of authority, and a maniacal belief in one’s talent and vision being secondary to nothing.

Famously, Richard Dreyfuss’ Roy Neary abandons his wife and children to go on a starship cruise into the unknown with little gray men after he ignores the naysayers, the skeptics, and his own wife. Just as many Americans became disillusioned in the shadow of Watergate, Nixon, and Vietnam, Roy stopped buying the “official story” and valued the truth—and perhaps his own individual satisfaction—over everything else.

It’s no secret Spielberg had a complicated relationship with his own father. He even made a movie about it late in life via The Fablemans. That (apparently misplaced) apprehension colors Roy Neary, just as it shades the entirely absent father figure in the director’s next alien flick, E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (1982). If Close Encounters reflected a young man’s indifference to parenthood and marriage after his own unhappy childhood, E.T. was that same man reluctantly remembering the joy of childhood. Spielberg’s said more than once that making E.T. with a young Henry Thomas and Drew Barrymore prepared him to be a father.

It also reconfigured an entire pop culture that in the 1980s shifted and moved in response to Spielberg’s own inclinations. For a time, he was the maestro of the American zeitgeist: Walt Disney, L. Frank Baum, and Willy Wonka all rolled into one. And whereas in the ‘70s this reflected a sense of disillusionment, in the ‘80s it became wholesome, family-friendly, and incredibly merchandisable. While there was never a sequel made to E.T., much of pop culture in that decade could be considered the film’s progeny.

In the years and decades since ’82, Spielberg has been more aware of that influence—and perhaps eager to hold onto it or renew it as time passed. If 1998’s Saving Private Ryan was a successful command to honor and even lionize what became known in the same year as “the Greatest Generation,” then his return to alien iconography in War of the Worlds (2005) was an attempt to use familiar sci-fi trappings like H.G. Wells’ novel (and the 1953 movie that is a personal Spielberg favorite) to express a profound sense of mourning and grief after 9/11.

Not so subtly, War of the Worlds taps into 9/11 imagery to express despair and fear for America enduring the same kind of existential, refugee nightmare that so many of Spielberg’s ancestors knew on another continent and in another century. The film is also one of the filmmaker’s darkest and angriest, making for grim bedfellows with Munich in the same year, which was a thinly veiled reaction to War on Terror overreach.

Spielberg has spent much of the last 20 years continuing to use his films to try to speak with his audiences about what’s on his mind, be it a belief in our Better Angels during the Obama Years via Lincoln, or a clarion call to protect the press during the late 2010s as pressure on the First Amendment from a different White House intensified. The cinematic bard has used his movies to speak with us, and increasingly ever on matters of greater collective, civic importance than one man’s mad need to be proven right on the top of Devils Tower. The trick is do the audiences still listen? Do the younger ones even know who Spielberg is?

We’re about to find out this weekend with the release of Disclosure Day, a film that continues a filmmaker’s dialogue through the greatest metaphor he knows: aliens. The film is his fifth about UFOs (or sixth if you count Firelight, which he made as a teenager). And it’s as much or more about how humans react to each other learning we aren’t alone in the universe as it is the actual disclosure that aliens exist.

If War of the Worlds was full of dread of the unknown, Disclosure Day literally begs us to treat the stranger with wonder and curiosity, as opposed to suspicion and hatred.

“It’s a bookend to Close Encounters in that that movie came out in ’77,” Disclosure Day screenwriter, and longtime Spielberg collaborator, David Koepp told me. “The ‘70s were the era where we started to say, ‘Gee, I don’t know, do you think the government might be lying to us?’ Cut to 2026 where we know the government is lying to us. Of course they’re lying to us! They lie about everything.”

Nonetheless, the screenwriter, like his director, is asking for a moment of comity and trust to return to the audience.

“It feels so terribly precarious right now and divisions are so sharp, wouldn’t thinking about things from the other person’s point of view help?” says Koepp. That includes the little gray men and the folks who chase them.

15 Iconic World Cup Moments Even Non-Soccer Fans Should Know

We’re all feeling the soccer spirit with the World Cup fever going all around the world, even if this is the first one you seriously think about watching. The event, happening once every four years, has already had its fair share of legendary moments, from incredible saves to questionable moves.

To know what to expect when watching the greatest at their best, we’ve compiled the most iconic moments of the World Cup’s history, since they are basic know ledge for any soccer fan. While many of these moments were made by players either gone or retired, they still mark a precedent for what to expect from their respective countries.

The Hand of God

In the 1986 quarterfinal against England, Diego Maradona punched the ball into the net. The goal stood, and his later description of it as the “Hand of God” became soccer folklore.

The Goal of the Century

Just minutes after the Hand of God goal, Maradona dribbled past five English players and the goalkeeper before scoring. Many still consider it the greatest goal ever scored at a World Cup.

Zidane’s Headbutt

The 2006 World Cup final took a shocking turn when Zinedine Zidane headbutted Italy’s Marco Materazzi in extra time. It was the final match of Zidane’s legendary career.

Brazil’s 7-1 Collapse

Host nation Brazil entered the 2014 semifinal expecting glory. Instead, Germany scored five goals in the first 29 minutes and won 7-1 in one of sports’ greatest upsets.

The Miracle of Bern

In the 1954 final, underdog West Germany defeated heavily favored Hungary despite trailing 2-0 early. The victory became one of the most celebrated moments in German sports history.

The Impossible Save

England goalkeeper Gordon Banks somehow stopped a powerful header from Pelé during the 1970 tournament. The save remains one of the most famous in soccer history.

Pelé Announces Himself

At just 17 years old, Pelé scored six goals in the knockout stages of the 1958 World Cup. The tournament launched one of the greatest careers in sports.

The First Golden Goal

During the 1998 World Cup, the golden goal rule was still in effect. Fans became fascinated by the possibility that a single sudden-death strike could instantly end a match.

The Vuvuzela World Cup

The 2010 World Cup in South Africa introduced much of the world to the vuvuzela. The constant buzzing sound became nearly as memorable as the tournament itself.

Iniesta Wins It for Spain

In extra time of the 2010 final, Andrés Iniesta scored against the Netherlands. The goal secured Spain’s first World Cup title and became a defining moment for a golden generation.

The Suarez Handball

In 2010, Luis Suárez deliberately blocked a goal-bound shot with his hands against Ghana. The controversial play helped Uruguay survive and remains fiercely debated.

Roger Milla’s Corner Flag Dance

At age 38, Roger Milla led Cameroon on a remarkable run and celebrated goals with a dance by the corner flag. The celebration became instantly iconic.

The Maracanazo

In 1950, Uruguay stunned host nation Brazil in front of nearly 200,000 spectators at the Maracanã Stadium. The defeat remains one of the most painful moments in Brazilian sports history.

Messi Finally Lifts the Trophy

After years of near misses, Lionel Messi captained Argentina to victory in the 2022 final. The triumph completed one of soccer’s most celebrated careers.

The Greatest World Cup Final

The 2022 final between Argentina and France featured dramatic comebacks, extra time, a hat trick by Kylian Mbappé, and a penalty shootout. Many regard it as the greatest final ever played.

15 of Horror’s Most Helpless Victims

In horror movies, we see characters deal with unspeakable terrors of varying degrees of power, most of which we wouldn’t want to have to deal with. Since these aren’t action movies, the characters don’t have tools to properly fight back, but some plots give even less to their protagonists.

These are, from what we could see, the characters that were doomed from the start. Don’t consider this a spoiler: not all of these movies end with the main character perishing. But even when they win or survive, it feels more like luck or circumstance than anything they could’ve done on their own.

Christine Brown

Christine spends most of Drag Me to Hell desperately trying to escape a supernatural curse. Despite consulting psychics and making sacrifices, she never truly gains control over her fate.

Katie

Katie faces an invisible demonic force that grows stronger every night. Traditional defenses prove useless, and the entity’s influence steadily removes any chance she has of escaping.

Carol Anne Freeling

As a young child trapped by supernatural forces, Carol Anne has virtually no ability to defend herself. Her survival depends entirely on the efforts of adults trying to rescue her.

Danny Torrance

Danny possesses psychic abilities, but they offer little protection against the horrors surrounding him. As a child trapped with an increasingly unstable father, his options are severely limited.

Regan MacNeil

Regan spends most of the film possessed and unable to control her own actions. She is arguably one of horror’s most helpless victims because the battle occurs entirely within her.

Rosemary Woodhouse

Rosemary slowly realizes that nearly everyone around her is manipulating her. Isolated, dismissed, and deceived at every turn, she struggles to find anyone willing to believe her fears.

Sally Hardesty

Sally spends much of the film running, hiding, and screaming as she faces overwhelming terror. Against Leatherface and his family, she possesses almost no means of fighting back.

Barbara

Barbara enters the zombie apocalypse in a state of shock and remains largely unable to influence events. While others attempt survival strategies, she becomes increasingly overwhelmed by the situation.

Suzy Bannion

Suzy finds herself trapped within a conspiracy she barely understands. Surrounded by witches and hidden dangers, she spends much of the story trying to uncover threats she cannot directly confront.

Jay Height

Jay becomes the target of a supernatural entity that can never be reasoned with, stopped permanently, or escaped forever. Once the curse is passed to her, every decision becomes a temporary delay rather than a real solution.

Jess Bradford

Jess is stalked by a killer whose identity remains largely unknown. With little information and few resources, she is forced into a terrifying situation where every choice feels inadequate.

Helen Lyle

Helen becomes the target of a supernatural legend that defies logic and evidence. As her life unravels, she finds that reason and determination offer little protection against Candyman.

Grace Le Domas

Grace is resourceful, but she enters the film completely unaware that her wedding night will become a deadly hunt. She spends most of the story desperately reacting rather than controlling events.

Sarah Carter

Trapped underground with limited supplies and no easy escape, Sarah faces impossible odds. The environment alone would be deadly before the monstrous creatures even enter the picture.

Thomasin

Thomasin is isolated by her family’s paranoia, religious fears, and suspicion. As events spiral out of control, she finds herself blamed for forces she has little power to influence.

15 Outlandish Conspiracy Theories That Many People Still Buy Into

What is the truth of the universe? Who’s out there, pulling the strings of society as we know it? Are they at fault for everything bad that happens in my life? People who want answers for the first two questions, and want the third one to be a ‘yes,’ will believe any conspiracy theory you throw at them.

As such, here’s a few to try their way, see if they either buy it, already know about it, or are loyal believers of it. Nothing is too outlandish, for everything is possible in this world, and the truth is out there. While we are obviously trying to have some fun, there are people who truly believe the following theories.

The Mandela Effect Cover-Up

Some believers insist that collective false memories are proof of alternate timelines, parallel universes, or reality changes. Rather than accepting faulty memory, they argue history itself has somehow been altered.

Birds Aren’t Real

What began as satire has attracted genuine believers who claim birds were replaced by government surveillance drones. The theory’s popularity exploded online, blurring the line between joke and conspiracy.

The Montauk Project

An offshoot of the Philadelphia Experiment legend, this theory claims secret government research at Camp Hero in New York involved mind control, time travel, and psychic experiments on unwilling subjects.

The New Coke Plot

According to this theory, Coca-Cola intentionally launched the unpopular New Coke in 1985 to boost sales when the original formula returned. Many people remain convinced the backlash was planned.

The Phantom Time Hypothesis

This bizarre theory argues that hundreds of years of European history never happened. Believers claim the years between roughly 614 and 911 AD were invented by medieval rulers.

Finland Doesn’t Exist

Originally started as an internet joke, this theory claims Finland is actually a fictional country invented by governments for geopolitical reasons. Surprisingly, some people eventually began taking the idea seriously.

The Titanic Never Sank

Some theorists argue that the Titanic was secretly swapped with its sister ship, the Olympic, as part of an insurance fraud scheme. Historians have repeatedly debunked the claim.

The Wyoming Doesn’t Exist Theory

One of the internet’s strangest modern conspiracies claims Wyoming is not a real state at all. Supporters jokingly argue that nobody has ever met someone from Wyoming, though some people now repeat it seriously.

The Moon Is Hollow

A fringe theory claims Earth’s moon is an artificial structure or hollow shell built by an advanced civilization. Supporters often point to misunderstood seismic data from Apollo missions.

The Great Reset Conspiracy

This theory claims world leaders are secretly coordinating economic and social changes to establish centralized global control. The idea gained significant traction online during the COVID-19 era.

The Dead Internet Theory

According to this modern conspiracy theory, much of the internet is now generated by bots and artificial intelligence rather than real people. Its popularity has grown alongside advances in AI.

Weather Control Programs

Many people believe governments can secretly create hurricanes, droughts, or storms using advanced technology. These claims often resurface after major natural disasters despite a lack of supporting evidence.

The Melania Trump Body Double

A surprisingly persistent theory claims that First Lady Melania Trump was frequently replaced by a body double during public appearances. Side-by-side photographs are often cited as supposed proof.

The Mud Flood Theory

Believers argue that a mysterious global catastrophe buried entire cities in mud during the nineteenth century. They point to partially buried buildings as evidence of a hidden historical event.

The Black Knight Satellite

This theory claims an ancient alien satellite has orbited Earth for thousands of years while monitoring humanity. Supporters often cite misidentified space debris and misunderstood photographs as evidence.

My Adventures With Superman and the Anti-Cannonical Fun of Supergirl

This article contains light spoilers for My Adventures With Superman season three, episode one.

As its name suggests, My Adventures With Superman isn’t just about the titular hero. Each episode gives just as much time to his pal Jimmy Olsen and to his girlfriend Lois Lane, a place of honor illustrated by the end of the opening credits. Right before the episode proper begins, we see Jimmy and Lois steel themselves against some upcoming threat, standing on either side of Clark as he removes his glasses to become Superman.

Season three adds a fourth person to the circle of friends, Clark’s Kryptonian cousin Supergirl. The cynical viewer would dismiss Kara’s inclusion as a cheap tie-in to Supergirl, which hits theaters less than two weeks after the new season drops. But anyone who comes to My Adventures With Superman looking for the superpowered party girl played by Milly Alcock will be surprised. The Kara here, voiced by Kiana Madeira, is just as kindhearted but more alien than her cousin, less self-assured than the version played by Alcock.

So which is right? Who has the canonical Supergirl? The answer is: both! Supergirl has been reinvented time and again since her first appearance in 1959’s Action Comics #252, with each new version revealing the richness of the character.

In her first adventures, Supergirl was little more than Superboy in a miniskirt. Writers rarely gave her the self-confidence afforded Superman, and her adventures were more adolescent: she worried about dates with boys, spats with friends, and spent time with the futuristic teens in the Legion of Super-Heroes. Like most of DC’s characters in the Silver Age, she had few discernible character traits beyond “teen girl.”

That began to change with her first solo series in 1972, which gave her a more modern costume—a blue blouse and red shorts instead of the more obvious spin on Superman’s costume—and a grown-up identity. She was a modern woman, who tried to balance her job and love life with her responsibilities of being Supergirl, kind of like a Kryptonian Mary Tyler Moore.

Since then, Supergirl has been a shapeshifting blob of goo, a human teen with magical abilities, the daughter of Darkseid, and—most recently—a young woman dealing with mixed emotions as she returns to her hometown. All that doesn’t count out-of-continuity stories like Tom King and Bilquis Evely’s Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, the inspiration for the movie, nor Power Girl, an alternate reality Kara who has long been integrated into the mainline DC Universe, with her own personality and complicated background.

Even on My Adventures With Superman, Kara has been on a journey. She played an antagonistic role in season two, where she had been tricked by the evil AI Brainiac into fighting against humanity. She found her way back to heroism thanks to her connection with Superman, Jimmy, and Lois. By the end of the season, she had exchanged the imposing black and red costume she was wearing for more a brighter blue and red outfit.

In the opening of the season three premiere “Into the New World,” Supergirl does away with Brainiac, saying goodbye one last time to the creature she called “Father” and establishing her own identity. What is that identity? Judging by this first episode, Kara has chosen to become a sweet, silly teen. She flirts with Jimmy, had fun participating in the Smallville fall festival, and jumps right into a mystery that even gives Clark pause.

This Supergirl has none of the wry cynicism of the character we see in the movie. But she isn’t as naive as the original Silver Age version, nor as grown up as the character that Melissa Benoist played for six seasons on TV. She’s her own version of Supergirl, and that’s Supergirl too.

At her core, Supergirl is a woman with incredible powers, who lost her family and arrives in a world where Superman already exists. Every version of Supergirl, no matter the medium, has had to find her own identity separate from her cousin. And, as just My Adventures With Superman and Supergirl shows, she sometimes comes up with differing answers.

That’s not a limitation on the character. Instead, it’s a strength. It shows a character who isn’t defined by her cousin or her past, nor other versions of herself. She gets to make her own way, experimenting with different ways of being a hero. My Adventures With Superman is just one of those ways, and it might be the most fun way—precisely because she gets to figure out her identity with the help of her friends.

My Adventures With Superman airs new episodes every Saturday at midnight on Adult Swim.

Kenan and Kel Discuss Fizzy New Mobile Game and Expanding Their Brand

Iconic Good Burger comedy duo Kenan Thompson and Kel Mitchell have been captivating audiences since 1994 when they debuted as cast members on Nickelodeon sketch series All That. Now, after more than three decades of partnership, they are expanding the Kenan and Kel universe; introducing a mobile game, Orange Pop!, and working on their own remake of the classic “Abbott and Costello Meet Universal Monsters” movies. The venerable pop culture pair stopped by the Den of Geek studio in Manhattan to discuss all upcoming projects.

“Cool kids sitting on a couch again, that’s what this is,” Thompson remarks as he and Mitchell sink into a sofa.

Orange Pop! includes original voice performances from Thompson and Mitchell, who also serve as executive producers. The mobile game includes personalized reactions, jokes, and commentary as players travel through a colorful, orange-soda-inspired puzzle adventure. This also incorporates specialized matching icons that trigger an orange soda rocket that blasts away pieces from the board. Mitchell’s character’s love for orange soda in the pair’s Nickelodeon series Kenan & Kel is the inspiration for Orange Pop!’s visuals and namesake.

“It’s a classic three-match game, and when you get a bunch of good matches, there is an orange soda in there that explodes and knocks out everything,” Mitchell says. “That is really fun; I love the orange soda.”

Combining a ’90s-inspired art style with modern gaming sensibilities, Orange Pop! — which is produced by Thompson’s Artists for Artists, an independent studio built by artists for artists that Thompson co-founded with John Ryan Jr. — takes on the creativity of Thompson and Mitchell to create a new experience for fans. In tandem with the expansion of the “Kenan and Kel” universe, they are committing to supporting charitable causes.

“For the first 100,000 downloads of our game, we are donating $1 toward our favorite charities. Donating $50,000 each, basically,” Thompson says. “So, we want everyone to get to it, so we can get to giving.”

Developer and distributor of Orange Pop!, Staple Games has also agreed to donate $1 for every download within the first 24 hours of the game’s launch as well. The charities they are donating to include the National College Resources Foundation and the Kenan Thompson Family Foundation Corporation.

“I love the National College Resource Foundation. We give scholarships to kids from HBCUs, providing many different resources for them. It’s just a great organization,” Mitchell says.

“I went with my own foundation, but we support other foundations. I work a lot with the Cristian Rivera Foundation … Ralphie’s Rescues is another we work closely with.” Thompson said. “Yeah, a whole bunch of other ones. Giving some scholarships to some kids this year. The goal is to shine a light on other foundations that may need a platform like mine.”

The release of the game marks the first step in the two-man comedy troupe’s franchising of their beloved brand that started in the early ‘90s.

In January of this year, Thompson and Mitchel announced their upcoming film, Kenan & Kel Meet Frankenstein, a horror comedy that will begin production this summer. The film is being produced by Artist for Artist and Range Media Partners. The witty dyad will star as two delivery drivers on a routine drop-off that takes a terrifying turn, literally, as they find their destination to be a hair-raising castle in which they awaken the frightening creature of Frankenstein’s monster — turning their casual delivery into a fight for their lives.

“There have been a few different ideas, and we feel that the [concept] is definitely a version we can execute without a lot of interference, as the monsters are public domain,” Thompson says. “Frankenstein is a hot boy these days. He’s in a bunch of different things, you know what I mean. So that’s fun.”

“And comedy duos — Abbott and Costello, those types of movies. We are getting in that lane,” Mitchell adds. “You get to see us in a different genre. It’s going to be great because when a lot of people hear it, they thought it was like ‘Kenan & Kel the TV show,’ but this is going to be very different. Kind of like a Get Out meets Shaun of the Dead.”

Thompson and Mitchell are also expanding into the comic industry with their first comic, Kenan & Kel Meet Zombies, a tentative title published by Range Comics, as the duo finds themselves fighting undead miners, cowboys, and settlers after a chemical accident reanimates a long-buried Old West town. Blending horror, comedy, and adventure, readers follow Thompson and Mitchell as creatures crawl in search of blood to terrorize whoever they find.

Also expected from the team this year is the release of a lifestyle collection, which is currently in development with acclaimed designer Sean Wotherspoon.

Beginning in 2003, Kenan and Kel’s creative partnership took a hiatus until 2023’s Good Burger 2, as Thompson embarked on a Saturday Night Live career that saw him become the longest-tenured cast member in NBC’s comedy institution. Now, however, the duo is here to stay – their consistent and strong partnership is continuing to grow in innovative and creatively unexpected, yet on-brand ways that are keeping long-time fans and new audiences on their toes.

“You know we’re just very familiar. Similar upbringing, a lot of characteristics in our family are very similar. Chicago and Atlanta are two very loyal hometown-y kinds of towns,” Thompson says.

“We got the sauce, man,” Mitchell agrees.

“We just like to have a good time. We make each other laugh. That’s a big part of it.”

Orange Pop! is now available on iOS and Android, in both the Apple and Google Play stores.

Krypto and the Superpets We Want to See in the DCU

In the latest issue of Empire Magazine, Supergirl writer Ana Nogueira identified Krypto as the key to unlocking the movie. Not only does the Krypto’s connection to her own dog help Nogueira find the emotional center for her superhero movie, but an injury dealt in the movie’s first act gives Supergirl a reason to go on her adventure.

In this way, Supergirl follows the lead set by Superman, which also turned Krypto into a household sensation. But really, both movies are just applying the lessons learned by DC Comics, when the company started giving all of its major heroes animal friends, most with incredible powers of their own. Given the popularity of Krypto and DC Studios co-head James Gunn‘s general love of animals and goofy comic book concepts, the time is right for more super-pets to invade the cinematic universe.

To be clear, we’re talking here only about specific pets, not just about animals or animal-themed characters from DC Comics. We realize that we sometimes run into Disney logic here, where Pluto’s a pet and Goofy is not—and Comet’s backstory further complicates things—but you won’t find Detective Chimp, the Green Lantern Ch’p, nor any member of Captain Carrot’s Zoo Crew on this list.

Comet the Super-Horse

Our first entry might also immediately render this list out of date, but we need to start with Supergirl’s pet from the comics. Comet the Super-Horse has not only been part of Supergirl’s story since 1962, when he made his first appearance in Adventure Comics #293, but he’s an integral part of Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, the comic series that inspired the new film. But so far, we haven’t seen any evidence that Comet will be in the movie.

We can understand why producers would be hesitant to include Comet, because he’s not actually a horse. He’s a centaur from ancient Greece, who fell in love with the sorceress Circe. Due to Greek god shenanigans, Biron was transformed into a horse and given superpowers. In horse form, Biron spent centuries in the cosmos, finally meeting Supergirl, where she adopted him as Comet the Super-Horse—a name she kept even after he briefly took on human form and romanced her.

Ace the Bat-Hound

In 1940, DC Comics scored a massive hit by working Robin Hood into their comics by giving Batman a teen sidekick modeled on Errol Flynn’s laughing swashbuckler. In 1955, Bill Finger and Sheldon Moldoff tried again, this time pulling from Rin Tin Tin and Ace the Wonder Dog, the stars of adventure serials to introduce Ace the Bat-Hound.

Ace’s first appearance in Batman #92 follows a standard animal adventure plot, in which he helped Batman and Robin find his master. However, after he became Bruce Wayne’s official dog, Ace started assisting in fights against supervillains, wearing a bat-mask the entire time. Ace never was as prominent as he was in the first decade of his existence, but he would be a perfect fit in the DCU’s animal embrace.

Beppo the Super-Monkey

As we saw in Superman, the new DCU’s Jor-El isn’t quite the benevolent paterfamilias we’ve usually seen. Tough as that revelation was for Kal-El, it does open a way for Beppo to enter the cinematic universe.

Introduced in Superboy #76 (1959) by Otto Binder and George Papp, Beppo was a chimp that Jor-El used for scientific experiments. He escaped his cage during the destruction of Krypton and slipped into the rocket that took Kal-El to Earth. Like the humanoid people of Krytpon, Beppo’s cells reacted to Earth’s yellow sun, gaining all of the enhanced abilities of Kal-El, without losing any of his monkey mischievousness.

Flexy the Plastic-Bird

Popular as they were in the 1950s and ’60s, super pets were among the first to go when the Bronze Age of comics took a darker, grittier turn. Some were reinvented as regular pets, and others appeared in imaginary tales, but they were most often handled with embarrassment, a relic of a sillier, less important era.

However, as creators such as Grant Morrison began to bring Silver Age concepts back into the mainstream, a space opened for super-pets. So in 2018’s Super Sons Annual #1 by Peter Tomasi and Paul Pelletier, the Legion of Super-Pets reformed, complete with a brand-new animal: Flexy the Plastic-Bird. Like his human counterpart Plastic Man, Flexy can stretch into any shape or form, a great ability, but one that’s only netted him three appearances so far.

Itty

Now it’s time to get weird. So far, the pets on this list have been superpowered versions of Earth animals, but that’s not the case with Itty, the little friend of Green Lantern Hal Jordan. A starfish-like alien that Hal met on one of his adventures, shown in 1975’s The Flash #238 by Dennis O’Neil and Mike Grell. After helping Hal get out of a trap, Itty became a constant companion, sitting on Hal’s shoulder, even out of costume.

Itty stuck around when Green Lantern reunited with Oliver Queen aka Green Arrow for a second round of more gritty, grounded adventures in the later ’70s, but he eventually changed form, first growing into a strange white thing with tendrils, and later into a gas creature. In this last form, Itty had matured to adulthood and left Earth to go find a mate, a decision that both Hal and Ollie fully supported.

Jumpa

Wonder Woman sometimes gets the short shrift when compared to Batman and Superman. But when it comes to super-pets, Diana beat the guys by more than a decade. In 1942’s Sensation Comics #6 by William Moulton Marston and Harry G. Peter, Wonder Woman got a ride from Jumpa, a Kanga living on Paradise Island. Kanga’s do indeed look like the more familiar kangaroos, but their proximity to the Amazons makes them larger, and gives them the ability to jump incredible distances, perfect for Wonder Woman.

Sadly, Jumpa was a bit before her time, and only had a handful of appearances, until her last story in 1949. Since then, she’s only been mentioned in non-canonical stories and especially kid-focused spin-offs.

Koko the Space-Monkey

Most other pets on this list belong to heroes, but even bad guys need furry friends. Case in point: Koko the Space-Monkey, the original companion of Man of Tomorrow big bad Brainiac. A white, short-haired simian with two antennae sprouting from his head, Koko made his debut with Brainiac in 1958’s Action Comics #242, by Binder and Al Plastino.

In his first appearances, Koko largely functioned as a sounding board for Brainaic, giving the villain someone to whom he could monologue. Brainiac went on, but Koko more or less disappeared from comics, outside of the occasional homage (see: the space-monkey pet of Legion of Super-Heroes member Brainiac 5). But Man of Tomorrow would be a perfect time for Koko to return, perhaps as one of those internet monkeys still running free after Superman.

Proty

Speaking of the Legion of Super-Heroes, meet Proty. As fitting the Legion’s setting in the 30th century, Proty belongs to an alien race called the Proteans, a shapeshifting blob of goo that can form telepathic bonds with its master. Proteans can also shapeshift, which makes Proty a natural choice to pair with Chameleon Boy, the Legion’s resident shapeshifter.

Proty was introduced in 1963’s Adventure Comics #308 by Edmond Hamilton and John Forte, a story that dealt with the death and apparent resurrection of Legion co-fonder Lightning Lad. That story had a goofy, sci-fi tone, but it sets the stage for future Proty adventures, in which the lil’ blob takes the form of Lightning Lad, first to prevent the hero’s death and later to replace him altogether.

Streaky the Super-Cat

As any cat owner can attest, cats do their own thing and don’t care about anyone else, human or otherwise. So it’s somewhat fitting that Supergirl’s cat Streaky, created by Jerry Siegel and Jim Mooney for 1960’s Action Comics #261, doesn’t follow the model of other superpets. Streaky is not a cat from Krypton. Rather, he’s from Earth, and only got powers after being exposed to an experimental form of Kryptonite.

Streaky had a few adventures alongside Proty and Krypto in the Legion of Super-Pets, and initially disappeared around the time that animal sidekicks fell out of favor with comic book readers. Once again, though, Streaky had to do things his way, reappearing in the form of a regular (if someone haggard-looking) cat that gets adopted by Power Girl (who is also Supergirl, but we don’t have time to get into that here).

Topo

We end with perhaps the biggest cheat on this list, because Topo has in fact appeared in the DCU… sort of. After a cameo in Aquaman, Topo gets a bigger part in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, helping Arthur and Orm complete their mission. But as Jason Momoa‘s recasting as Lobo shows, this version of Aquaman belongs to another universe, making room for Topo once again.

Hopefully, the new DCU will follow in the footsteps of the previous Aquaman movies. Since his first adventure in Adventure Comics #229 (1956) by Ramona Fradon, Topo has been more of a sidekick than a pet, helping Arthur solve difficult puzzles and even getting into the fight. Later incarnations reimagined Topo as a sea monster, but Topo works best when he’s just a friendly octopus. Perhaps he can hang out with one of Lobo’s space dolphins, bringing everything full circle.

Let George Miller Finish His Mad Max Saga

For lovers of cinema, few things are as depressing as a franchise that extends itself into too many sequels or, worse, into a television series. One need not look far into the history of genre cinema to see later entries that devolve into self-parody, and the MCU Disney+ shows have shown that too much of a good thing can dilute the power of the original property.

But such mundane rules don’t apply to George Miller. So if he wants to make one more Mad Max movie and a Mad Max TV show, as Matthew Belloni suggests in his latest rumor newsletter, then he should absolutely get the chance to do it. Because George Miller has always beat the odds, especially where Mad Max is concerned.

The original Mad Max movie from 1979 came out of the Australian New Wave, a renewed period of creativity that also launched the careers of Peter Weir and Gillian Armstrong. A small, gritty tale about a policeman standing off against a biker gang in the new future, Mad Max was a hit in Australia and gained attention in the United States. That was even more true of the 1981 sequel Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior, which was a global hit, despite the inclusion of incredibly weird characters like Lord Humungus and the Feral Kid.

The surest sign that rules don’t apply to George Miller came in 2015, when the then 70-year-old director released Mad Max: Fury Road. Despite being in development for decades, despite the thirty-year-gap between this and the previous installment, despite the recasting of the main character, Fury Road was a sensation. It was both a box office hit at the time and remains in conversations about the greatest action films ever made.

Even outside of those mainline movies, Miller has an untouchable record, creatively if not always financially. He produced and co-wrote Babe and made Happy Feet, both incredibly successful children’s films, and earned an Academy Award nomination for Lorenzo’s Oil. Babe: Pig in the City didn’t win over audiences like its predecessors, but many consider it a weird classic today. Likewise, his Fury Road follow-ups Three Thousand Years of Longing and Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga may not have been what people initially wanted, but they’re both interesting in surprising ways, and their reputations will only grow.

Clearly, Miller works on a different level than most filmmakers. That doesn’t mean we don’t have some concerns. Part of Fury Road‘s power comes from its intense pace and massive scale. It feels like something that can only exist on the big screen. Shrinking it and cutting it up for streaming TV feels like a sacrilege. Can Max be just as mad in smaller, bite-size forms?

If anyone can answer that question, it’s George Miller. And his answer will probably be wildly different, and wildly more exciting than anything we had in mind.

We Played Alien: Isolation 2 and It’s Utterly Terrifying

Among the most tantalizing reveals from Summer Game Fest 2026 was a more in-depth look at the upcoming Alien: Isolation 2. First announced in 2024, the sequel to Creative Assembly’s 2014 survival horror hit looks to escalate the tense gameplay and mounting dread as the game’s new protagonist is stalked by an iconic xenomorph. While attending this year’s Summer Game Fest, Den of Geek not only got an extended preview of the eagerly anticipated title but also played an early build of the game.

As a recap, the original Alien: Isolation took place in between the events of the seminal 1979 sci-fi horror movie Alien and its action-packed 1986 sequel Aliens. The 2014 game’s protagonist is Amanda Ripley, the daughter of franchise mainstay Ellen Ripley, who is investigating what happened to her mother on the ill-fated Nostromo. This leads to her own harrowing encounter with the xenomorph aboard Sevastopol Station, an orbital space station which crashes into the nearby planet KG-348 by the game’s ending.

Just as the game’s Summer Game Fest reveal trailer hinted at, the early build of Alien: Isolation 2 that we played featured a mix of the claustrophobic environments from the first game and open-air planetary landscapes. This doesn’t make the game any less suspenseful and, if anything, being out in the open gives the player the unsettling feeling that there may be nowhere to hide compared to interior settings. That said, we didn’t encounter any xenomorphs outside in the preview build that we played, but the threat of the voracious extraterrestrial hung heavily over the proceedings knowing the sort of game that we were playing.

The sequel appears to begin right where the original Alien: Isolation left off, with the wreckage of Sevastopol Station crashing on KG-348, albeit from the perspective of characters on the ground. It’s currently unknown if Amanda Ripley appears at all in Alien: Isolation 2 but she certainly did not resurface in the build of the game that we got our hands on, which makes sense given where the demo picked up. Instead, we controlled a new protagonist named Blake, who is described by the other characters as a recent arrival on the colony, with her colleagues still getting to know her.

As Blake and her team are trying to return to the colony ahead of a massive rainstorm sweeping through the area, they witness the Sevastopol Station crash out in the wilderness. Despite her colleagues’ concerns, Blake descends to investigate the wreckage despite the impending storm poised to completely wash out the surrounding area. It’s in this lead-up to the site that the game’s tutorial takes place, with the familiar gameplay mechanics returning in full, familiar to returning players and accessible to newcomers as they traverse the precarious terrain.

Inside Sevastopol Station, it’s back to the claustrophobic experience that made the first Alien: Isolation such a standout horror game, made more sinister by knowing what’s lurking in the shadows even if Blake doesn’t. With the power initially offline because of the crash, we tensely explored the wreckage, dreading the fact that using our flashlight could inadvertently alert the xenomorph to our position. That we needed to scour debris for spare parts capable of making repairs to proceed deeper into the grounded station heightened the mounting feeling that we were poking our nose in somewhere we shouldn’t.

And then the xenomorph showed up.

This was an inevitability that all we knew was going to happen, it was always just a matter of when and how. Though there was a jump scare or two before this, the xenomorph’s debut is appropriately the most frightening and in-your-face moment of the demo. And much like the first game, the xenomorph wastes no time in prowling the halls of the grounded Sevastopol Station, hunting for the prey it knows intuitively is somewhere in the immediate vicinity.

It’s here where the Alien: Isolation 2 demo excels, showcasing that Creative Assembly hasn’t lost a step in the cat-and-mouse suspense from the first game. Even in this work-in-progress build, the xenomorph is a terrifying force of nature, leaving us cowering in various hiding spots, like darkened corners and ducts under the floor as we tried to escape the wreckage. The sound design is still very much a highlight here as well, holding our breath to hear in our headphones what direction and how close the xenomorph was before even trying to make a move.

We did manage to successfully complete the demo, with the whole experience a taut twist on hide-and-seek with one of sci-fi’s greatest movie monsters. The developers hinted that while our skills in evading the xenomorph in the wreckage served us well this time, we’d have to completely rethink our approach when being stalked by the creature on the planet’s surface. And that distinction captures what Alien: Isolation 2 is gearing up to be – a familiar threat that is no less scary, but in a different environment that makes them more formidable than ever before.

Sign us up.

Alien: Isolation 2 is developed by Creative Assembly and published by Sega. An official release date has yet to be confirmed, but the game will launch on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch 2, and PC.

The 15 Most Boring Movie Titles Ever, if Taken Literally

Movie titles don’t often describe what the movie is about, but transmit a feeling or vibe. In Fast and Furious, the title doesn’t immediately translate to illegal racing, but it does transmit the sense of velocity and wild natured rebels that the movie intends. At least if you take that name literally, it can be about wild cats hunting.

Other movie titles, taken literally, are about things that we wouldn’t really want to watch. This is not just an exercise in silly thinking, but it’s also for us to not judge a movie by its title alone; the rest of the promotional material is there for a reason. These are what the plots of these movies would be, should we take the titles literally.

Mission: Impossible

Taken literally, this is the shortest movie ever made. Someone announces the mission is impossible, everyone nods in agreement, and the team heads home instead of spending two hours hanging from airplanes.

The Silence of the Lambs

Viewed literally, the title promises a documentary about unusually quiet farm animals. Audiences expecting suspense instead get several minutes of sheep standing around not making any noise.

The Rock

It’s a rock. Not a prison, not an action movie, just a large geological formation sitting completely still. The most exciting scene would probably involve mild erosion.

Fifty Shades of Grey

A film entirely devoted to comparing paint samples at a hardware store. The central conflict revolves around whether one shade of grey is slightly darker than another.

Meet Joe Black

A title that suggests a brief social introduction. You meet Joe, shake his hand, exchange pleasantries, learn where he works, and then everybody goes home.

Silent Hill

A movie about a hill that doesn’t make much noise. For two hours, viewers watch a completely normal hillside quietly existing without causing any disturbance whatsoever.

Rush Hour

Instead of a high-energy buddy-cop adventure, it’s ninety minutes of people stuck in traffic. The climax is finally getting through a particularly annoying intersection.

The Men Who Stare at Goats

The title already sounds like a joke, but taken literally, it becomes exactly what it says. Several men gather in a field and spend the afternoon looking at goats.

Gone in 60 Seconds

A remarkably short film. The opening credits finish, something disappears, and the movie immediately ends before anyone has time to become emotionally invested.

Law Abiding Citizen

Based solely on the title, this sounds like a man who follows all applicable regulations. He files his taxes correctly, obeys speed limits, and recycles responsibly.

The Green Mile

An entire movie about measuring a mile-long stretch of green-colored pavement. Surveyors arrive, confirm that it is indeed green and roughly a mile long, then leave.

Milk

A feature-length exploration of a dairy product. It begins in a refrigerator, occasionally gets poured into a glass, and offers absolutely no dramatic tension.

A Quiet Place

A family finds a reasonably peaceful location and enjoys the silence. There are no monsters, no danger, and no reason for anyone to whisper dramatically.

Ordinary People

Hollywood usually promises larger-than-life characters. This title promises the exact opposite. The plot consists of average individuals having uneventful days and discussing routine household concerns.

Waiting…

A movie entirely dedicated to waiting. Nobody arrives, nothing happens, and every major plot development is delayed until a sequel that never gets made.