Spider-Man: Brand New Day’s Romantic Triangle Can Fix a Hated Comic Storyline

Although not a one-to-one adaptation, Spider-Man: No Way Home borrowed several elements from the 2007 Marvel Comics storyline One More Day. In both stories, Peter seeks help from a magic-user in the hopes that it will improve the lives of his loved ones, even if it means that he loses his connection to them. Almost two decades later, One More Day remains one of Marvel’s most hated storylines. Now the newest Spider-Man movie Brand New Day might be adapting one of that’s story’s follow-ups, a tale somehow even more hated than One More Day.

After having Doctor Strange wipe away all memories of his existence, Peter has to face the fact that not only has MJ moved on, but that she doesn’t even know he she is. “As someone who cares about the characters and cares about these films, it’s like, ‘Oh my God, it’s so heartbreaking,'” MJ’s actor Zendaya told Empire. “You just feel so bad because you want them to be happy, and you know ultimately they would be happier together.” Fans are sure to agree if Brand New Day brings in the most hated character in recent Marvel comics, a man so devious, so terrifying, he can only be called “Paul.”

For those who have not visited a Spider-Man-themed Reddit in the past two years, Paul is “Paul Rabin,” first introduced in 2022’s Amazing Spider-Man #1, by Zeb Wells and John Romita Jr. That issue begins after a time jump and establishes that things have gone very bad for Peter in the months past: the Fantastic Four is mad at him, his regular pals are mad at him, even Aunt May is mad at him. But worst of all, Mary Jane is married and has two kids. And to top it all off, her husband is some dork with hipster glasses, an insufficient beard, and sometimes a ponytail, and also his name is Paul!

Needless to say, readers did not like Paul. Part of it, yes, is Paul’s fault. Not because of anything he’s done really, but because of what he doesn’t do. And what he doesn’t do is anything interesting. Paul’s a walking stuffed shirt, a guy who exists to be a complication in Peter’s life. And not even multiversal shenanigans that revealed his father was a magical warlord called the Emissary or that he and MJ’s kids never existed could make him interesting. So when Paul got stabbed to death by the oh-so-edgy serial killer Torment in last month’s Venom #256, by Al Ewing and Carlos Gómez, the internet threw a party.

The real problem with Paul is that he was with Mary Jane and Peter wasn’t. Ever since One More Day erased Peter and MJ’s marriage, fans have rejected every other love interest and almost every plot point the two characters have experienced.

Marvel’s refusal to reunite Peter and MJ has been bad for the comics, and it’s bad news for Brand New Day. That’s because the cast features Ahsoka star Eman Esfandi as MJ’s new love interest, who doesn’t have a name yet, but he sure looks like he could be a Paul. If Brand New Day plays it right, this new guy will just be a bump on the road to Spidey’s reunion with the woman he loves. But if it decides to keep MJ away from Peter for too long, then the internet will come for Brand New Day with a level of fury it usually reserves for people named Paul.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day swings into theaters on July 31, 2026.

Backrooms Is the First Horror Movie of the AI Era

This article contains spoilers for Backrooms.

Early in the new A24 horror film Backrooms, furniture salesman Clark (Chiwetel Ejiofor) stops his exploration of the space attached to the basement of his store because he thinks he hears a monster coming toward him. Clark desperately crawls up an incline on one side of the room, to a tiny brown door adorned with three door knobs. To his dismay, Clark discovers that two of the knobs do nothing, and only one opens the door, finally allowing him to crawl through.

Clark needn’t have run from the noise, and not just because—as we eventually learn—the thing pursuing him isn’t what he expected. Rather, his running is unnecessary because Backrooms isn’t about a beastie come to kill and maim. Instead, director Kane Parsons builds a dread through uncanny images, visions of spaces filled with things that should be normal, but are a little bit off: fluorescent lights and cork board on an office wall instead of the ceiling, hallways that jut from the wrong part of the room, a face with three sets of eyes and three noses.

The terror comes, in part, from the way the banal becomes strange and unfamiliar. But it also comes from showing a world without the human, especially as Clark and his therapist Mary (Renate Reinsve) strive to retain their sense of selves. This tension between the strange and the human makes Backrooms one of the clearest looks at the fundamental horror of AI.

Inhuman Horror

Like most theatrical screenings in the U.S., my 5:45 p.m. showing of Backrooms actually began with commercials. Alongside odes to Mountain Dew and new cars, my theater played an ad for a local insulation company, in which a woman jumps up from her couch and begins yelling at the audience about energy efficiency. Where the other commercials one must sit through before the movie stars merely annoy, this one unnerves, and with good reason. It’s AI.

The woman’s eyes are a little too wide, her movements a bit too smooth, the sounds she makes crackle in the wrong places. As much as the woman extolls the importance of staying cool in the summer and warm in the winter, we viewers know that those comforts mean nothing to her because she can’t feel anything at all.

Up until that point, the insulation company commercial was the scariest depiction of artificial intelligence to hit the screen, but it was hardly the only one. Culture has long worried about melding humanity with machine, going back to Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein or Karel Čapek’s 1920 play R.U.R., which coined the term “robot.” Horror films from ranging from Demon Seed and Death Spa to The Terminator and M3GAN have warned that machines will destroy us if they gain sentience.

Yet, now that AI exists and is being pushed every time you do an internet search and every time you try to use your phone, we can see that none of these films got it right. The threat of AI isn’t that robots will come to life and kill us because we didn’t say thank you when our refrigerators dispensed ice. The threat comes from companies burning water and other resources to house data farms, from the local jurisdictions that give them tax breaks to do it. The threat comes from CEOs who lay off workers only to use machines to scrape the internet to steal their work.

AI is scary because it’s humans dehumanizing humans, and that’s what Backrooms captures.

Lost in the Uncanny Valley

Outside of Backrooms‘s cold open, the first sign that something’s amiss comes when Clark and a maintenance man check out the building’s electrical box. Opening the door, they find the usual set of switches than one expect, in two orderly columns at the center of the box. But then they notice three random switches, placed diagonally at the bottom. Switches, obviously, belong on an electrical box. But, not in that place, and not in that shape and color.

As Clark explores further into the backrooms, he finds more of the same. Each of the rooms have hallways, but the hallways lead to more hallways and the rooms serve no purpose. Couches appear would no one would place them, let alone sit in them. Windows let in no light and let no one look through.

To his credit, Parsons doesn’t offer an explanation for how or why the space works. Even the scientist (Mark Duplass) who rescues Mary at the end has no real insight into the space’s function. Instead, we just know that the space remembers things, and as it returns to each memory, it gets something wrong. It hyper-fixates on a specific detail while overlooking the generalities. So we see a room with chairs, but the chairs are scattered in front of the door or stacked up one another. We see a bathroom with a line of sinks in the middle and a tub sunk into the floor.

The horrors climax with four people: a small man fused to his wheelchair who can only turn on a light, a large man with cascading eyes and noses, a woman with a shuddering effect on her face, and lumbering, giant recreation of Clark in his pirate costume.

These images bring to mind the images that have littered the internet since techies started really pushing generative AI as a creative tool, bodies that blend together as they move past each other and arms jutting out of nowhere, topped by hands with too many fingers. Or, more befitting the “copy of a copy” language of Backrooms, they recall the game where users ask ChatGPT to replicate an image, each result growing more grotesque.

As that last example underscores, most people have been making ChatGPT replicas as a type of a game. But the terror invoked by the uncanny in Backrooms shows that there’s nothing funny about it at all. AI has no concept of the human, and thus its attempts to replicate life only make a mockery of humanity, twisting and reflecting in ways that feel all the more monstrous because of how normal it wants to be. When we look at an AI image, whether Owen Wilson staring dead-eyed in a simulacrum of Wes Anderson directing Star Wars or a fake pitch woman selling home improvement services, we feel ourselves slightly diminished, and it’s terrifying.

Moving Forward, Better

Of course, nothing in the text of Backrooms is about AI. Instead, the movie is explicitly about holding to memories and refusing to evolve. In perhaps the most heartbreaking moment of the film, Clark submits to the nightmare of conformity that he’s confused for safety, declaring to Mary, “I don’t want to change.”

Such declarations might sound like a rejoinder to those who doubt Generative AI. Not wanting change is bad, the movie seems to be saying, so I should stop being afraid of this new technology. But Clark only wants to stay the same because he thinks it’s safe, because maturing and moving on requires him to do things differently.

Maturing, growing, changing: these are all human attributes. If we don’t embrace those attributes, we might initially accept the false depictions offered by Generative AI. But once we look closer and see how distorted and grotesque it makes the world, then we have to run from it. Not because there’s a monster lurking, and certainly not because we’re afraid of technology, but because it takes away our humanity.

Backrooms is now playing in theaters worldwide.

House of the Dragon Season 3 Trailer Reminds Us That Ruling Is Harder Than Fighting

In the very first shot of the latest trailer for House of the Dragon season 3, the camera pans over a field of dead bodies, ending with Daemon (Matt Smith) battering some schmuck in the mud. We’re then treated to images of people being stabbed, squished, and torched alive by dragons. Yep, this is a Game of Thrones show alright.

House of the Dragon continues the HBO franchise’s central theme, one straight from the George R. R. Martin books: the fight to rule tends to decimate those who would be ruled. But with its focus on best-friends turned rivals Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D’Arcy) and Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke), the show reminds us that things aren’t so great for the rulers either. As Alicent puts it in the trailer, “The crown is a weight that crushes.”

Apparently, that crushing came as a surprise to Rhaenyra, who is seen in the trailer finally laying claim to King’s Landing and fully asserting herself as the ruler of Westeros. Over images of her forces moving in and tearing down the green flags of the Hightowers, Rhaenyra declares that she will secure the city “without further bloodshed.” And how does she plan to do that? By threatening bloodshed for those who oppose her. Or, more accurately, by threatening to torch the opposition with dragons.

For Rhaenyra, that opposition stems entirely from her challenger to the throne, Aegon II (Tom Glynn-Carney), son of her father Viserys (Paddy Considine) and Alicent. Aegon has proven hard to kill, having survived even near-immolation from a dragon, but Rhaenyra remains convinced that if she can just get him out of the way, then the people will unite around her. She seems unaware of the building resentment among the people, particularly as she establishes her rule in King’s Landing, or the machinations of Aegon’s insane brother Aemond (Ewan Mitchell), who still rides the Queen of All Dragons, Vhagar.

As the trailer shows, Rhaenyra’s belief in a simple path to ruling is just as much hope as it is ignorance. On some level, she does want peace. Moreover, she believes in her family’s vision that humanity can only survive some great future threat (which we know as the White Walkers) if they’re united under her rule. She simply cannot see how anything good can come from putting Aegon on the throne.

That idealism and simplicity of vision brings Rhaenyra in line with her father, who may have been a decent man, but was a terrible ruler, whose personal shortcomings compounded suffering for the kingdom and for himself, as demonstrated by the way he rotted in his final years. Things are no easier for Aegon or Alicent, who can make the hard decisions without self-delusion, but forgo any sense of happiness in the meantime.

Whether its ideals or happiness, the crown crushes it all. Well, it metaphorically crushes them. Everyone else in Westeros gets crushed by dragons or swords or horses while the rulers sort it out. That’s how it was in Game of Thrones and that’s how it is in House of the Dragon.

House of the Dragon season 3 premieres on HBO on June 21, 2026.

A24’s Friday the 13th Series Must Not Try to Fix the Timeline

It should be the easiest question in the world to answer. When does Friday the 13th take place? On Friday. The thirteenth day of the month. It’s right there in the title. But the Friday the 13th franchise can’t do anything the easy way, so if you thought that a series that took two and a half movies to establish its iconic killer would keep things simple, you thought wrong.

The latest Friday the 13th entry, the A24-produced television series Crystal Lake on Peacock, is a prequel, and prequels always want to straighten things out, providing explanations for things that don’t make sense. But if Crystal Lake “fixes” the timeline, it will take away the spooky campfire feeling of the Friday the 13th franchise.

The First Fridays

Friday the 13th (1980) does in fact take place on Friday, June 13, 1979. That’s the day that a busload of counselors arrive to Camp Crystal Lake, prompting Pamela Voorhees (Betsy Palmer) to kill them off to keep the camp closed. The camp closed when Pamela murdered a couple of counselors back in 1958, in revenge for the death by drowning of her son Jason the previous summer, in 1957.

Pamela dies when survivor Alice (Adrienne King) beheads her, before escaping to the middle of a lake in a canoe. Friday the 13th famously ends with a jump scare inspired by Carrie, in which Jason emerges from the lake to attack Alice, but that may be a hallucination. Whatever it was, Alice is found on Saturday, June 14, 1979, and taken to the hospital. In August 1979, Jason finds Alice and kills her with ice pick.

The main part of Part 2 (1981) takes place five years after the first film, with the opening of another camp. The events take place over a couple of days, with no clear indication of which day it is. Part 3 (1982) begins the day that Part 2 ends and spans through the next evening, ending when Chris Higgins (Dana Kimmell) seemingly kills Jason in a barn. The fourth film, The Final Chapter (1984), begins the following morning and seems to only take place across a day. Which day? We’re not sure, but even if it’s Friday the 13th, that means Part 2 and Part 3 take place Tuesday the tenth through Thursday the 12th.

And now things really get messy. A New Beginning (1985) jumps ahead another five years to 1989, to find Jason’s killer Tommy Jarvis (played by Corey Feldman in The Final Chapter, now by John Shepherd) in a youth home. The events of the film cover a few days, but we can assume that the main murders—committed by some random ambulance driver named Roy (Dick Wieand), pretending to be Jason—take place on Friday the 13th. The same must be true of the events of Jason Lives! (1986), which occur a year after the previous film, despite the fact that Tommy Jarvis is now played by Thom Mathews.

At the end of Jason Lives!, Tommy and Megan (Jennifer Cooke) trap Jason at the bottom of Crystal Lake. The New Blood (1988) happens seven years later in 1997, when telekinetic Tina Shepard (Lar Park Lincoln) uses her powers to accidentally free Jason, setting him off on a murder rampage. Tina’s powers summon the ghost of her father to drag Jason back to the bottom of the lake. At some point, the anchor from a yacht traveling from Crystal Lake to New York City somehow electrifies Jason’s corpse and brings it back to life. We’re not even sure of the year at this point, but let’s just say it’s 1998, since Jason Takes Manhattan released in 1989.

After the disappointing returns on Jason Takes Manhattan Paramount sold the franchise to New Line Cinema, which means we can finally fix the timeline with a reboot. Right?

New Fridays, Same Problems

Wrong!

New Line Cinema released its first entry in the franchise, Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday in 1993—five years before the previous movie takes place. But given that the New Line movies have no overt connections to their predecessors made by Paramount, we could say that Jason Goes to Hell acts as a soft reboot, and that the movie takes place in 1993.

All straightened out, right? Well, no, because Jason X (2002) begins in 2010, with Jason in captivity since 2008, and then jumps ahead to 2455. Do they even have Fridays or the number 13 in the future?

It doesn’t matter, because the last two movies in the franchise take us back to the present. First, Freddy vs. Jason happens in 2003, the same year that it released, and the main action occurs on Friday the 13th. But then comes the 2009 remake, which adds its own trouble. The movie begins on Friday, June 13, 1980, when Pamela Voorhees (now played by Star Trek: Deep Space Nine‘s Nana Visitor) goes on her own killing spree, which ends when she gets beheaded by Alice (Stephanie Rhodes) while young Jason watches. On an undisclosed night in 2009, a grown Jason slaughters a group of campers. Six weeks later, more campers arrive and Jason starts killing them.

As this summary shows, the Friday the 13th series doesn’t have any great allegiance to its titular day. The prequel series Crystal Lake, which stars Linda Cardellini as Pamela Voorhees and Callum Vinson as Jason shouldn’t either, because the series has never been about realism and believability. Throughout the franchise, Jason dies and comes back to life, develops the ability to teleport, and has been a cyborg and a demonic worm. And all of it fits together because of the central premise.

The movies take place at a camp ground. They all have the feeling of scary tales told by a fire—in fact, the movies often use scenes of a campfire tale to fill in the events of previous entries. Campfire tales aren’t about narrative consistency or adherence to a calendar. They’re about shock value. And even though Crystal Lake has a respected star and the A24 brand, it cannot abandon that principle. Let the timeline be messy and let Jason feel like a legend told by campers and counselors who just want to freak each other out.

Crystal Lake streams on Peacock on October 15, 2026.

15 Movies We Don’t Watch Because They’re Good

Taste is subjective, and all in all, that’s what makes us unique. Things that everyone likes we might loath, while stuff we adore can be despised by the general public. Of course, there’s nothing wrong with that, although there is a subset of movies that are, if this were possible, objectively bad. And people still love them.

It’s not that they are secret masterpieces, or that the people that enjoy these movies don’t see the mistakes; they see them, celebrate them, and love these films for them. If asked, the people that enjoy these movies will tell you that yes, these pieces of media are bad, and that’s why we enjoy them.

The Room

Tommy Wiseau’s The Room became legendary for awkward dialogue, bizarre acting choices, and scenes that make almost no narrative sense. What should have been a failed drama instead turned into one of cinema’s most beloved “so bad it’s good” experiences.

Troll 2

Despite having no actual trolls, Troll 2 earned cult status through wooden performances, strange line deliveries, and surreal low-budget chaos. Its infamous “They’re eating her!” scene alone helped turn the movie into midnight-screening history.

Birdemic: Shock and Terror

Known for laughably bad visual effects and painfully awkward dialogue, Birdemic somehow became entertaining precisely because of how amateurish everything feels. The attack scenes involving obviously fake birds remain internet-famous among bad movie fans.

Batman & Robin

George Clooney’s Batman & Robin is often mocked for neon visuals, endless ice puns, and absurd costume choices. Yet its campy excess and unapologetic silliness have made it strangely rewatchable over the years.

Samurai Cop

Samurai Cop combines terrible wigs, bizarre editing, awkward romance scenes, and chaotic action into an unforgettable cult movie. Nearly every scene feels unintentionally hilarious, helping the film gain a devoted audience decades after release.

Miami Connection

Martial arts, rock music, ninjas, and unbelievable dialogue somehow collide in Miami Connection. The movie’s complete sincerity makes its ridiculousness oddly charming, especially as every emotional moment becomes funnier than the filmmakers intended.

Showgirls

Paul Verhoeven’s Showgirls was initially destroyed by critics for its exaggerated performances and over-the-top melodrama. Over time, however, audiences embraced it as a wildly entertaining spectacle of excess and unintentional comedy.

Plan 9 from Outer Space

Often called one of the worst movies ever made, Ed Wood’s Plan 9 from Outer Space survives through sheer passion and chaos. Cheap sets, continuity errors, and awkward alien plotting somehow became part of its appeal.

Cats

The 2019 adaptation of Cats shocked audiences with its unsettling digital fur effects and bizarre musical presentation. Even viewers who disliked it often could not stop talking about how strangely hypnotic and surreal the experience became.

Mortal Kombat: Annihilation

Packed with weak effects, chaotic editing, and nonstop exposition, Mortal Kombat: Annihilation barely resembles coherent storytelling. Yet fans still revisit it because the movie’s ridiculous energy makes it entertaining in completely unintended ways.

Battlefield Earth

John Travolta’s sci-fi disaster became infamous for tilted camera angles, bizarre performances, and confusing storytelling. While critically savaged, its sheer commitment to every strange creative choice turned it into a favorite among bad movie enthusiasts.

Maximum Overdrive

Directed by Stephen King himself, Maximum Overdrive embraces killer machines, absurd violence, and total chaos. The movie’s loud, unhinged energy makes it feel less like a horror film and more like a glorious cinematic accident.

Fateful Findings

Neil Breen’s Fateful Findings became an internet cult phenomenon thanks to its incomprehensible plot, awkward acting, and surreal editing. Watching it feels like trying to understand a dream someone filmed without explaining any context.

The Happening

M. Night Shyamalan’s thriller gained notoriety for awkward dialogue and strangely flat performances during an apocalypse caused by plants. Its serious tone accidentally made many scenes hilarious, giving the movie unexpected cult appeal.

Velocipastor

A priest transforming into a dinosaur to fight ninjas sounds fake, but Velocipastor fully commits to the absurd premise. Unlike many bad movies, it knowingly embraces low-budget chaos, making it a favorite for ironic movie nights.

15 Movies That Clearly Wanted to Be the Next Harry Potter

The cultural success (and impact) of the Harry Potter series can’t be underestimated, making it only natural that studios would want to catch that lightning in a second bottle. However, a big part of Harry Potter’s success comes down to luck, something no amount of money can replicate.

With that, we end up with a plethora of book adaptations looking for their next hit. These works, in their literary form, did find success, but that doesn’t immediately translate to a cinema classic. We aren’t talking about things that carved their own identity, like The Hunger Games, but films that were looking to be the next Boy Who Lived.

The Golden Compass

New Line Cinema clearly hoped The Golden Compass would launch a massive fantasy franchise built around young heroes, magical worlds, and sprawling lore. Despite strong visuals and a popular book series, the planned sequels never materialized after disappointing box office results. The story did find its place in serialized form.

Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief

Fox heavily positioned Percy Jackson as a young-adult fantasy franchise mixing mythology, school-age heroes, and destiny-driven storytelling. Comparisons to Harry Potter were immediate, though the movie adaptations struggled to match the books’ popularity or critical reception. The story is now being adapted again in Disney+.

Eragon

With dragons, ancient prophecies, and a teenage chosen one, Eragon arrived looking like a studio-built fantasy phenomenon. Instead, weak reviews and fan disappointment quickly ended hopes of adapting the rest of Christopher Paolini’s bestselling series.

The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones

Studios aggressively pushed The Mortal Instruments as the next major supernatural young-adult franchise after Harry Potter and Twilight. Despite strong source material popularity, the movie underperformed and killed the planned cinematic series almost immediately.

The Sorcerer’s Apprentice

Disney’s The Sorcerer’s Apprentice leaned heavily into magical mentorship, hidden wizard societies, and special-effects-driven fantasy. Many viewers saw it as an attempt to capture some of the modern magic-school energy that made Harry Potter such a phenomenon.

Beautiful Creatures

Warner Bros. marketed Beautiful Creatures as another supernatural teen franchise built around hidden powers and forbidden romance. Despite its Southern Gothic angle, the film never generated enough momentum to continue adapting the remaining novels.

Seventh Son

With monster hunters, magical apprentices, and fantasy warfare, Seventh Son clearly aimed for blockbuster franchise status. Instead, production delays and poor reviews turned it into another expensive fantasy movie that failed to launch a cinematic universe.

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children

Tim Burton’s adaptation combined magical children, secret powers, and an isolated academy-like setting that naturally invited Harry Potter comparisons. While visually distinctive, the film never became the breakout franchise many expected from the bestselling novels.

The Spiderwick Chronicles

Paramount’s adaptation of The Spiderwick Chronicles mixed hidden fantasy worlds with child protagonists uncovering magical secrets. The setup felt perfectly designed for franchise potential, but the movie remained more of a standalone cult favorite.

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

Disney and Walden Media heavily positioned Narnia as a fantasy blockbuster series capable of rivaling Harry Potter. Although the first film succeeded commercially, later installments gradually lost momentum and failed to sustain the same cultural dominance.

Inkheart

Based on Cornelia Funke’s bestselling novel, Inkheart centered on magical books and fantasy creatures escaping into reality. The family-friendly fantasy tone made comparisons to Harry Potter unavoidable, though audiences never embraced it on the same level.

The Dark Is Rising

Fox adapted Susan Cooper’s beloved fantasy novels with hopes of launching another young-adult fantasy saga. Despite the rich mythology behind the books, the film struggled critically and commercially, quickly ending sequel ambitions.

Artemis Fowl

Disney spent years developing Artemis Fowl as a potential fantasy franchise built around a gifted young protagonist and hidden magical worlds. The long-awaited adaptation ultimately received harsh reviews and failed to become the next family blockbuster series.

Cirque du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant

Universal tried turning Darren Shan’s popular vampire novels into a long-running fantasy franchise. With magical creatures, chosen-one themes, and teen protagonists, the similarities to other post-Harry Potter adaptations were hard to ignore.

The School for Good and Evil

Netflix’s fantasy adaptation practically embraces the “magical school” formula outright, complete with chosen students and rival academies. While more fairy-tale-focused than Harry Potter, it clearly aims for a similar young fantasy audience and franchise potential.

15 Actors Who Fumbled the Project of a Lifetime, and Never Got Back

Hollywood history is filled with actors who landed dream roles most performers would do anything to get, only to walk away at the worst possible moment. Of course, they might not have known at the time what they were missing, but the writing was on the wall. You need to risk things to win big in the industry, and not everyone’s a winner.

While a few of these performers managed respectable careers afterward, many never again reached the same level of fame, stability, or cultural relevance. These actors had what looked like the project of a lifetime in their hands, but for one reason or another, they let it slip away and never truly recovered.

George Lazenby

George Lazenby went from unknown model to James Bond overnight with On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. Despite being offered a long-term deal, he walked away after advice that Bond films were becoming outdated. Sean Connery returned, while Lazenby’s career never recovered.

Crystal Reed

Crystal Reed chose to leave Teen Wolf and requested her character be killed off, believing she was ready for larger opportunities. While she continued acting afterward, none of her later projects matched the popularity or cultural staying power of the MTV series.

Brian Dunkleman

Brian Dunkleman co-hosted the first season of American Idol alongside Ryan Seacrest before leaving the massively successful competition show. As Seacrest became one of television’s biggest personalities, Dunkleman later admitted regretting the decision and struggling emotionally afterward.

Marcus Chong

Marcus Chong played Tank in the original Matrix, positioning himself for a major role in one of science fiction’s biggest franchises. Reported conflicts with the Wachowskis and producers led to him being replaced before the sequels entered production.

Katie Holmes

Katie Holmes declined returning as Rachel Dawes in The Dark Knight in order to star in the crime comedy Mad Money. Maggie Gyllenhaal replaced her, while Christopher Nolan’s Batman sequel became one of the defining blockbusters of its generation.

Jessica Brown Findlay

Jessica Brown Findlay left Downton Abbey early, reportedly wanting to avoid being locked into long television commitments. Although she continued working steadily afterward, few of her later projects reached the same global popularity as the acclaimed period drama.

Ja Rule

Ja Rule appeared in the original The Fast and the Furious as Edwin, but declined returning for the sequel over reported salary disputes. The franchise exploded into one of Hollywood’s largest action series without him, while Ludacris joined instead.

Ed Skrein

Ed Skrein left Game of Thrones after one season as Daario Naharis, later explaining he believed The Transporter Refueled could become a larger opportunity. The action reboot disappointed critically and commercially, while Game of Thrones kept growing into a phenomenon.

David Caruso

David Caruso famously left NYPD Blue near the height of its success, reportedly seeking a bigger movie career. His film projects struggled commercially, and the decision became one of television’s most cited examples of leaving a hit show too early.

Shelley Long

Shelley Long departed Cheers during its successful run to pursue film opportunities. While she appeared in several movies afterward, few matched the enduring cultural impact of the sitcom, which continued thriving after Kirstie Alley joined the cast.

Stuart Townsend

Stuart Townsend was originally cast as Aragorn in The Lord of the Rings trilogy before being replaced by Viggo Mortensen shortly before filming. Reports claimed tensions arose over preparation and experience, costing Townsend a role that became iconic.

Chad Michael Murray

Chad Michael Murray left One Tree Hill after contract disputes and cast tensions during the show’s popularity peak. Although he continued acting consistently afterward, he never again matched the same level of teen television fame.

Valerie Harper

Valerie Harper left her sitcom Valerie amid salary and creative disputes with producers. The series continued without her under a revised format, while the public fallout became one of television’s most famous contract controversies.

Lacey Chabert

Lacey Chabert originally voiced Meg Griffin in the first season of Family Guy before leaving the role. Mila Kunis replaced her and remained part of the hugely successful animated series for decades afterward.

McLean Stevenson

McLean Stevenson left MASH believing he could successfully transition into leading his own projects outside the ensemble cast. While the sitcom became one of television’s most beloved series, Stevenson’s later starring roles struggled to gain traction.

15 Actors Who Tragically Never Saw the End of Production

Most of the time, audiences only see one version of the movie, the finished product. But for actors, the experience of making and seeing a film are two different things, especially considering how out of chronological order some scenes can be filmed in.

Sadly, not all actors live to see that finished product. These aren’t all controversial deaths; after all, the point of life is that it has an ending. It does feel bittersweet, however, that these performers didn’t live to see their final movies in theaters, or the impact their performances had on the world as a whole.

Brandon Lee

Brandon Lee died in 1993 after a prop gun accident during the filming of The Crow. The movie was completed using stunt doubles and early visual effects, but Lee never saw the finished film that later became a cult classic.

Heath Ledger

Heath Ledger passed away in 2008 before The Dark Knight premiered. Although filming had already wrapped, he never witnessed the enormous acclaim surrounding his Joker performance, which later earned him a posthumous Academy Award.

Paul Walker

Paul Walker died in a car crash during the production of Furious 7 in 2013. The film was eventually completed using his brothers as stand-ins alongside CGI to finish several remaining scenes.

Philip Seymour Hoffman

Philip Seymour Hoffman died in 2014 before completing The Hunger Games: Mockingjay. Production had to adjust portions of the script after his death, though most of his major scenes had already been filmed beforehand.

Chadwick Boseman

Chadwick Boseman died in 2020 shortly after completing work on Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom. He never saw the film’s release or the widespread praise for what became one of his most celebrated dramatic performances.

Anton Yelchin

Anton Yelchin died in 2016 following a tragic vehicle accident before the release of Star Trek Beyond. The film was dedicated to his memory, with fans and co-stars mourning the loss of the young actor.

John Candy

John Candy died during the filming of Wagons East! in 1994. Producers completed the comedy using stand-ins and rewrites, though Candy never saw what would become his final released movie.

Bela Lugosi

Bela Lugosi passed away in 1956 before Plan 9 from Outer Space was completed. Director Ed Wood famously used a stand-in covering his face with a cape to finish scenes after Lugosi’s death.

Aaliyah

Singer and actress Aaliyah died in a plane crash in 2001 shortly after filming Queen of the Damned. She never saw the movie’s release, which became permanently tied to the tragedy surrounding her death.

River Phoenix

River Phoenix died in 1993 during production on Dark Blood. The unfinished film remained shelved for decades before eventually receiving a partial reconstruction years later using narration to bridge missing scenes.

Bill Paxton

Bill Paxton died in 2017 after complications from heart surgery shortly before the release of The Circle. The actor had completed filming, but never saw one of his final movie performances reach audiences.

Jean Harlow

Jean Harlow died in 1937 while filming Saratoga with Clark Gable. MGM completed the movie using doubles and careful editing, turning the release into both a box office success and a memorial to the actress.

Oliver Reed

Oliver Reed died of a heart attack during the production of Gladiator in 1999. His remaining scenes were completed through CGI and body doubles, allowing the film to preserve his performance as Proximo.

Carrie Fisher

Carrie Fisher died in 2016 after completing work on Star Wars: The Last Jedi. She never saw the finished movie or the emotional response audiences had to her final full performance as Leia Organa.

Richard Harris

Richard Harris died in 2002 shortly after appearing as Albus Dumbledore in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. He never saw how massively the franchise would continue to grow after helping establish the beloved character onscreen.

The Triumph of The Tick, Amazon’s Forgotten Superhero Series

In the premiere episode of the best superhero series on Prime Video, a spaceship falls on a father, crushing him in front of his young son. Out of the ship stumbles the members of the Earth’s greatest superhero team, their eyes bleeding because of weaponized syphilis. Before the heroes can recover, the supervillain arrives to shoot them in the head—well, only two get shot; the youngest simply has his hands crushed. The heroes murdered, the villain mocks the little boy before flying off, leaving him forever traumatized.

Fans of The Boys might be scratching their heads after reading that description. Something so nasty, so filled with ineffective superheroes must come from Prime Video‘s beloved (until recently) adaptation of the comics by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson. Or maybe it’s from the animated series Invincible, which amps up the violence in Robert Kirkman, Cory Walker, and Ryan Ottley’s celebration of all things comics.

But in fact, it comes from the best superhero series ever produced by Amazon: The Tick. Canceled after two seasons and overshadowed by The Boys and Invincible, The Tick had a weird, resilient optimism (despite the scene described above) that’s needed even more today.

Heroes of the City

The death of the Flag Five at the hands of the Terror was just one of many ways that the Prime Video series differed from most depictions of the Tick. Created in 1986 by Ben Edlund for a newsletter distributed by his local comic book shop New England Comics, the Tick has spawned several comic book series, both in color and black and white, a beloved animated series that ran from 1994 to 1996, a short-lived Fox sitcom in 2001, and, finally, the Amazon series that ran for 20 episodes between 2016 and 2019.

The appeal of the Tick is simple. He’s a giant blue guy with nigh-invulnerability and super-strength who is fully committed to the idea of being a superhero. The Tick has no name, no motivation outside of justice, and no enemies besides evil. And ninjas, but they’re more of an annoyance than enemies. He’s joined by his doughy friend Arthur, a timid accountant in a moth suit that makes him look like a bunny. The Tick defends the City, a metropolis populated by heroes and villains.

Fundamentally, The Tick is about how superheroes are silly. Wonderful and cool and compelling, yes. But most of all, silly. The Tick can sometimes go to dark places, with a whole backstory that reveals the Tick’s past as a lunatic in an insane asylum. And the series loves its occasional satire of DC and Marvel, pairing him with Captain Wonder a.k.a. reporter Clark Oppenheimer or with the Running Guy, who is faster than 10 fast men. But the original comics were more interested in laughing with the weirdness of superheroes than laughing at them, so the Tick and Arthur spent time with less-specific oddballs like Paul the Samurai, Chainsaw Vigilante, and the Man-Eating Cow.

The animated series and sitcom retained the same manic energy, even if it added more direct superhero parodies Die Fledermaus and American Maid (renamed Batmanuel and Captain Liberty for the live-action series). Every incarnation of the Tick has been over-the-top, absurd, and utterly optimistic… except for the 2016 series, at least at first.

Big Blue Destiny

On the surface, 2016’s The Tick has everything you’d expect from an adaption of the comics. There’s Peter Serafinowicz as the titular guileless and energetic big blue hero. Griffin Newman plays Arthur as a nervous accountant in a grey moth suit that makes him look like a bunny. They live in an unnamed city, under threat by the villainous Terror (Jackie Earle Haley), and cross paths with other heroes like Overkill (Scott Speiser) and the Superman-styled Superian (Brendan Hines). Arthur’s sister Dot (Valorie Curry, perhaps best known today as Firecracker on The Boys) even appears.

But it takes only a few minutes for the series to establish itself as something very different from what came before, something realistic. We meet Arthur as a depressed young man trying to cover up his mental illness, a steadfast belief that the Terror, who killed his father and members of the Avengers-esque Flag Five 15 years ago, still lives, despite the promise that he’s been long since defeated by Superian. When Arthur gives in to his worst instincts and follows the villain Miss Lint (Yara Martinez) and a group of thugs to a warehouse, he’s intercepted by the Tick, an endless figure of excitement and glee in an otherwise dark world.

In the pilot and the first few episodes, The Tick toys with the idea that Tick is just the manifestation of Arthur’s intrusive thoughts. Yes, Arthur lives in a world with Superian and the Terror, but he’s just a broken man, and the Tick is his psychosis.

Unlikely as the premise is for The Tick, it made sense in 2016. The pilot was directed by Wally Pfister, Christopher Nolan‘s cinematographer, who shot all three entries in the Dark Knight trilogy. The first episodes feel like they’re trying to take the Tick in a similar direction, offering a more believable way to tell a story about a giant blue superhero who says things like, “Crime, nastiness and evil rear their fowl odorous heads in every corner of the globe, and that’s saying something because globes don’t even have corners!”

Pretty quickly, the show did away with that conceit and allowed the Tick to live in the world. However, it never abandoned the mental health aspect. In fact, it expanded to show how not just Arthur, but everyone—Dot, Overkill, even Superian—had some failure haunting them, some sadness they couldn’t shake. Thus the heroism of the Tick is less about his powers and more about his indefatigable commitment to doing good. He’s completely unbothered by disappointment or confusion. For example, when Arthur’s stepdad (Francois Chau) greets the hero by exclaiming, “Look at you,” Tick gleefully doesn’t stop to suss out the meaning. He just responds “Impossible!” and carries on.

The Tick’s embrace of all his weirdness became less a coping mechanism for living in an awful world, and more of a model for making the awful world better.

Going Sane in a Crazy World

Despite its gritty premiere, the final episode of The Tick features a host of superhero tropes. Supervillain the Duke (John Hodgman) has infiltrated the S.H.I.E.L.D. pastiche A.E.G.I.S., undermined the new Flag Five, and sent agents to kill Arthur’s family, all while Superian has an existential crisis on the Moon. Instead of leaping into action, however, Arthur and Dot get overwhelmed by past failures and mistakes, the same feelings of inadequacy that stall Overkill and Miss Lint’s turns toward heroism.

As always, Tick responds to the crisis with a monologue, full of hyperbole and mixed metaphors. But this time, there’s something truly inspirational in his garbled words. “The truth about the truth is that it’s a choice,” he declares. “Choose love or choose fear. Everything else is up to destiny.”

It’s a silly statement, to be sure, and the show recognizes the self-help cliches in Tick’s speech, just as it does the purple prose he usually spouts. But in that moment of self-doubt and despair, anything positive seems silly. Moreover, the fact that Tick says it with such sincerity, without even the hint of apologizing for who he is, becomes inspirational. As he’s done from the first episode, Tick invites Arthur to be who he is: not a broken man who copes with his trauma by dressing up like a moth/bunny, but a human who has both experienced hurt and makes weird, wonderful choices.

The finale of The Tick plays even better now, in the shadow of the finale of The Boys. The Boys underscored its central point about the inherently empty and pathetic pursuit of power (whether in the real or fictional White House), but it couldn’t make the switch from outrageous edgy humor to genuine human emotion, no matter how much Homelander offered to degrade himself.

By the end of its run, The Tick also turned its superhero tropes into something relevant, by reminding the viewers that there’s no such thing as normal, no such thing as a broken person, just a bunch of freaks who will make the world a better place when they they let Destiny get all up in their puppets.

The Tick is streaming in its entirety on Prime Video.

A Moriarty Series Could Change the Sherlock Franchise Forever

The nemesis of Oxford Yard’s resident detective is getting his own series. James Moriarty will receive his own modern retelling at the behest of Fremantle, producers of Poor Things, and Archery Productions, who produced Operation Mincemeat. The series is set to be written by Chris Cornwell, known for the show A Discovery of Witches, and Oliver Lansley, Where’s Wanda?.

According to Deadline, this iteration of Moriarty will be a professor at Durham University, leading a double life as a mastermind behind the series of intricate criminal activities plaguing Northern England. Moriarty joins the police as a consultant to take down a rival criminal mastermind who is threatening his criminal enterprise. Sherlock Holmes’ arch villain must keep his true identity hidden while partnered with Yorkshire detective Imogen Burrows and discover a real threat that isn’t his fellow law-breaking rival.

So far, that is all that is known about this upcoming series. Despite numerous Sherlock adaptations in recent history, including Prime Video’s Young Sherlock earlier this year, which stars Dónal Finn as the young, edgy James Moriarty, this new project represents the first time that a story focusing on Moriarty’s perspective has been adapted into a live-action TV series or film. The only other time in recent history that the criminal mastermind’s perspective has been told on screen was in the 2020 anime Moriarty the Patriot.

Moriarty the Patriot provided an in-depth look into the motivations and backstory of the iconic villain, giving the professor’s criminal behaviors and cold-hearted approaches fresh perspectives. That project made him less of an enigmatic figure, and more of a killer radical who believes that violence is necessary to stop crime.

The character of Professor Moriarty was first introduced in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s 1893 short story The Adventure of the Final Problem. Nicknamed “the Napoleon of Crime” by Sherlock, Moriarty is based on the real life international thief and German-American crime boss of the same moniker, Adam Worth.

Worth famously stole Thomas Gainsborough’s portrait of Georgiana, the duchess of Devonshire, from the London gallery Agnew and Sons in 1876. An alluring young woman, the duchess is the ancestor of another alluring and impactful figure of the British aristocracy, the people’s princess, Princess Diana.

Moriarty has seen many faces over the years in the numerous adaptations of Sherlock Holmes. Andrew Scott played the professor in BBC’s Sherlock (2010-2017) which earned him a BAFTA award for Best Supporting Actor. Jared Harris played Moriarity in 2014’s Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows opposite Robert Downey Jr.’s Sherlock.

Alongside the traditional takes on the character, there have been a few female adaptations as Natalie Dormer played Jamie Moriarty in Elementary alongside Lucy Liu as Dr. Joan Watson. Sharon Duncan-Brewster played Mira Troy a.k.a. Moriarty, in Enola Holmes 2.

The character of Moriarty has been both a traditional character and a mantle to be passed to a successor. Who will play the captivating thieving mastermind in the new series? It appears, for the showrunners, a new game is at foot.

007 First Light Is Already Dividing Gamers… And That’s OK

IO Interactive has rewound time to give fans the origins of the most iconic figure in espionage, James Bond. The Hitman studio’s new game 007 First Light depicts a young, reckless, and developing Bond during his time in the MI6’s training program as the former naval air crewman trains to confront a global conspiracy. The game explores how the spy became who he is, developed a moral code, and became the magnetic figure known as Agent 007.

The game stars Irish actor Patrick Gibson (who previously played young serial killer Dexter Morgan in the Showtime series Dexter: Original Sin) as James Bond and has received overwhelming acclaim from critics but mixed reviews from players. While online commentary from gaming fans and influencers has run the usual hyperbolic gambit between “horrible” and “top contender for Game of the Year,” the game has also raised questions about time and money that are worth exploring.

With an estimated standard runtime of 15-20 hours, 007 First Light adopts a heavy focus on showing Bond’s development as a spy, meaning the training sequence runs well over an hour before the player goes on their first mission. The game is segmented into 17 chapters, a mix of cutscene-focused chapters that focus on story development and gameplay-focused chapters, which include the heavier infiltration missions.

With each chapter lasting an hour or more, the game packs in a lot of character development, and gameplay can run up to well over 30 hours. Despite this, the standard runtime has some players opining that the game isn’t long enough. 007 First Light costs $69.99 for its standard edition and $79.99 for its deluxe edition and some fans believe that an average of 15 hours of gameplay isn’t worth the price.

“While I enjoyed the story, visuals, and the gameplay combo of Hitman + Watchdogs feels good, I cannot really recommend anyone pay 70 euros for 15 hours of campaign,” player Dani commented on Steam.

However, others say it is due to user error, with many who have beaten the 15-hour mark within the first quarter of the game.

“I’m on Chapter 5, and I just hit the 18-hour mark,” Reddit user AiserComplex posted. “Maybe don’t try to speedrun the game on your first playthrough, and you might get more out of it.”

The question of value in gaming is not one that’s unique to 007 First Light. While the issue of gameplay time is a mixed bag, the increasing prices of AAA games with decreasing runtimes are an increasing complaint. AAA game developers are beginning to lose their grip on the industry’s wants, leading to an increase in complaints ranging from cost, production, and a lack of understanding of the source material.

There has been some additional griping that the identity of James Bond is not fully encapsulated by the game. However, that seems to be due to the era of Bond’s life in the game, with the agent not yet being the fully actualized Bond that fans know from the movies. He is coming directly from being a soldier in active combat to now learning the intricacies of spydom. The transition adds to Bond’s learning the difference between a master manipulator and a calculated killer.

Gameplay has also received some criticism, particularly its gun fights, for being underwhelming, quickly running out of ammo, and clumsy shooting mechanics.

All of these critiques (even from reviewers and fans who are otherwise positive about the title) seemingly represent the newest reality of AAA games, as studios assume that quality will make up for a lack of quantity, or vice versa. For some fans, it just doesn’t, and that is OK.

Despite the criticism, 91.78% of the reviews are positive on Steam, with criticism mixed into many of the positive reviews; the majority like the game. The appreciation of the story-driven game for a character like Bond is a trend in reviews.

This is ultimately good news for the spy game genre, which has sorely lacked solid narratives since the release of IO Interactive’s Hitman 3. The gaming community’s occasional frustration might be the adjustment to a more story-forward experience.

Narratively compelling games have been on a comeback for a few years, but it seems that the early 2000s-2010s style that was prevalent in the Uncharted series, Assassin’s Creed 2, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, and the Arkham Knight series is making a comeback.

Now, 007 First Light may not be on the same caliber as all of those games, but it is a step in the right direction to finding the balance of storytelling and gameplay that fans have been missing.

007 First Light is now available to play on PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch 2.

X-Men ’97 Producers Tease the Return of a Fallen Fan Favorite

This article contains potential spoilers for X-Men ’97 season 2.

The first trailer for X-Men ’97 season 2 was full of treats for fans. But for fans of the Ragin’ Cajun Gambit, the trailer was nothing but sadness. We get to see a little of Rogue mourning her beloved, but nothing indicating that he’ll do what the X-Men do best: come back to life.

X-Men ’97 writers and producers Eric and Julia Lewald aren’t ready to say that Gambit will return. But they are willing to offer some hope that Remy LeBeau will be back. Season 1 ended with a post-credit scene that saw Apocalypse holding one of Gambit’s playing cards and musing about “So much death,” perhaps a gesture to a comic book storyline that involved Remy.

“We probably don’t wanna get too close to answering that specifically, but appreciate that a lot of folks are picking up breadcrumbs,” Julia told Entertainment Weekly about the scene, playing it coy. But Eric went further, adding, “If you were a betting man, I would say, follow the breadcrumbs.”

Where do those breadcrumbs lead? Well, to death. Or, more specifically, Death. In the 2006 storyline Blood of Apocalypse, Gambit seeks out the immortal supervillain shortly after the events of M-Day, when the Scarlet Witch de-powered nearly all of the world’s mutants. In X-Men #182–187, written by Peter Milligan and illustrated by Salvador Larroca, Gambit believes that Apocalypse could revive the mutant population, and so he agrees to become the Horseman Death, with one caveat: that Apocalypse leave his mind intact.

Gambit makes that demand because he’s well-acquainted with Apocalypse’s MO. From his earliest appearances in the pages of X-Factor, Apocalypse has always sent four Horsemen to do his bidding: Death, Famine, War, and Pestilence.

Apocalypse always forms his Horsemen from existing people, and often heroes. Archangel came to be when Apocalypse took the X-Men founding member Angel and transformed him into the Angel of Death (mixing biblical metaphors, but we’ll allow it). Over the years, other X-Men have become his Horsemen, including Wolverine, Storm, and even Professor X.

But Gambit wasn’t careful enough as Apocalypse controlled his mind anyway, a process that took an unpleasant alliance with Mister Sinister to reverse.

Whatever the value of Gambit’s intentions in the comics, they won’t matter in X-Men ’97, because he no longer has any intentions at all. Gambit valiantly sacrificed himself to destroy the Omega Sentinel that attacked the mutant island of Genosha in the first season of the revival series, stopping an already monumental death count from getting even higher.

As we saw in the trailer, season 2 of X-Men ’97 will focus on Apocalypse, with a team in Ancient Egypt dealing with his younger, non-villainous identity En Sabah Nur, and another in the future where he has conquered the planet. With the X-Men fighting him across so many timelines, Apocalypse will have to get help wherever he can. And if that’s the only way that we get Gambit back on our screens, well, fans will gladly follow those breadcrumbs.

X-Men ’97 season 2 premieres on Disney+ on July 1, 2026.

Daredevil: Born Again Can Finally Give Us the Cage and Iron Fist Team-Up We Want

This article contains light spoilers for Daredevil: Born Again season 3 based on set photos.

Daredevil: Born Again hasn’t just been about the rebirth of Matt Murdock, the blind lawyer who spends his evening defending the streets of Hell’s Kitchen as Daredevil. It’s also been about the rebirth of the Netflix Marvel series that first introduced Charlie Cox as Daredevil and Vincent D’Onofrio as Wilson Fisk. Season 2 brought back Krysten Ritter as Jessica Jones and, in the final minutes, Mike Colter as Luke Cage. Set leak photos have already confirmed that the fourth member of the Defenders would also be coming to Born Again, Finn Jones as Danny Rand a.k.a. Iron Fist.

However, the latest group of set leaks suggest that Danny and Luke will be more than old acquaintances. The images show Danny and Luke taking a walk with that latter’s daughter with Jessica, Dannielle Cage (or, to use her telling nickname, “Dani”). Seeing the two together in a quiet, personal moment raises hopes that season three of Born Again will finally give comic fans the pairing they’ve wanted.

Luke Cage and Iron Fist were not initially paired together. Luke debuted in 1972’s Luke Cage, Hero for Hire #1, written by Archie Goodwin and penciled by George Tuska, while Danny arrived two years later, in Marvel Premiere #15, written by Roy Thomas and penciled by Gil Kane. Like the vampire hunter Blade and the motorcycle-riding Ghost Rider, Cage and Iron Fist were introduced as part of Marvel’s attempts to incorporate pop culture trends into their superhero line, namely Blaxploitation and kung fu movies.

Separately, the two garnered a strong readership at first, but when sales flagged, they were put together. In 1978, Luke’s book was renamed Power Man and Iron Fist. Since then, Luke’s superhero moniker “Power Man” has come and gone, but the friendship between the two has been consistent. Even when one or the other has their own solo series or, Luke and Danny come back together again. Time and again, we see that the two work best when Luke’s down-to-earth, streetwise approach tempers Danny’s mystical powers. In recent years, writers have changed the dynamic to make Luke the more centered of the two, a strong contrast to the more goofy (and sometimes out of touch) Danny.

That last characterization did make its way into live action, but not in Luke Cage, nor in Iron Fist. Instead, the two only shared the screen in Defenders—where they had to make room for everyone else. Leaving aside the fact that Defenders fell far short of its potential to be the Avengers of the Netflix heroes, the series was naturally overstuffed. In addition to the four central heroes, the show also featured Elektra and Stick from Daredevil, as well as Sigourney Weaver as the big bad. Danny and Luke did get to trade some quips, but only in the margins of the bigger story.

Obviously, Daredevil: Born Again won’t be a Power Man and Iron Fist show. The two will be on the margins of a story that still focuses on Matt Murdock and Wilson Fisk. But the fact that we see Danny with Luke and Danielle shows that the series understands that the two have a strong bond, something that could be explored in a later Disney+ entry.

Now if they’d just get Misty Knight and Colleen Wing into a Daughters of the Dragon series…

Daredevil: Born Again seasons one and two are now streaming on Disney+.

15 Board Games That Won’t Be a Bored Game

The dreaded board game night doesn’t need to stay that way, since there are multiple games that, contrary to popular belief, aren’t an absolute bore. Teg and Chess are all well and good, but there are many newer games you can get your hands on, with both complex and simple rules to follow.

Not every game here is for everyone, although at least one of these games will become your next favorite thing. If you need some time away from your screens, these are just a few board games you and your friends can enjoy.

Wingspan

Wingspan turns birdwatching into a surprisingly addictive strategy game built around engine-building and gorgeous artwork. Its relaxing pace and satisfying combos make it approachable for newcomers while still giving experienced players plenty to optimize.

Codenames

This team-based word game became a modern party staple thanks to its simple rules and clever social deduction gameplay. One-word clues can create hilarious misunderstandings, making every round feel tense, competitive, and unexpectedly funny.

Betrayal at House on the Hill

Players explore a haunted mansion together until one secretly turns against the group. The constantly shifting scenarios and horror-inspired twists make every session feel different, especially once the inevitable betrayal changes the entire game.

Root

Root combines adorable woodland animals with surprisingly deep asymmetric strategy. Every faction follows different rules and objectives, creating a competitive game where players constantly adapt to wildly different playstyles and shifting alliances.

Azul

At first glance, Azul looks calm and elegant, but it quickly becomes fiercely competitive. The tile-drafting system rewards careful planning while punishing mistakes, creating a visually beautiful strategy game that remains easy to learn.

Gloomhaven

Part board game and part tactical RPG campaign, Gloomhaven offers deep cooperative combat and long-term progression. Its card-based mechanics reward teamwork and planning far more than luck, making it especially appealing to strategy-heavy gaming groups.

Ticket to Ride

This railway-themed classic stays popular because it balances accessibility with just enough strategy. Building train routes across maps feels satisfying, while blocking opponents at the perfect moment can turn an otherwise friendly session unexpectedly ruthless.

7 Wonders

Designed around simultaneous turns and card drafting, 7 Wonders keeps large groups engaged without endless waiting. Building civilizations through science, trade, and military power gives the game surprising depth despite relatively straightforward mechanics.

Exploding Kittens

Built around absurd humor and quick rounds, Exploding Kittens thrives on sabotage, luck, and chaotic reversals. Its simple gameplay makes it ideal for casual gatherings where people want something fast, loud, and easy to understand.

Terraforming Mars

Players compete to make Mars habitable through massive projects involving oceans, cities, and atmosphere control. The game blends resource management and long-term planning into a dense but rewarding strategy experience that science fiction fans especially love.

Mysterium

In Mysterium, one player acts as a ghost giving surreal visual clues while others solve a murder mystery. Its cooperative gameplay and dreamlike art style create a slower, more atmospheric alternative to louder party games.

Heat: Pedal to the Metal

This modern racing game keeps players constantly managing speed, corners, and risk. Unlike many racing board games that feel slow or random, Heat creates real tension by rewarding aggressive decisions and smart momentum control.

Spirit Island

Instead of colonizing islands like many classic strategy games, players defend one from invading settlers. Its cooperative mechanics, escalating difficulty, and highly distinct spirit powers make it one of the most respected modern strategy board games.

Disney Villainous

Disney Villainous lets players control iconic Disney villains like Maleficent, Ursula, and Jafar, each with unique objectives and mechanics. Its asymmetrical gameplay and strong theme make it especially fun for fans who enjoy strategy mixed with nostalgia.

Unstable Unicorns

What starts as a cute card game quickly becomes chaotic sabotage warfare involving betrayals, destructive combos, and ridiculous magical effects. Its humor and unpredictability make it especially popular for casual game nights with competitive friends.

15 Shows That Feel Embarrassing to Watch With Other People in the Room

We love shows that push limits, particularly on how to tell stories, not to mention what’s ok to tell. Adult content should, after all, be mature rather than forbidden. We ask creators to give us originality, but how do we behave once that creativity arrives at our TV screens?

Embarrassment is usually the first reaction, particularly when we weren’t expecting it. These following shows aren’t necessarily bad by any means, but they make regular households uncomfortable. Be sure to check if you’re alone before tuning into them, unless you’re prepared to answer exactly what you’re watching.

Euphoria

What starts as a teen drama quickly turns into explicit content, heavy drug use, and emotionally raw meltdowns. Watching Euphoria with parents, roommates, or coworkers nearby can turn even a quiet living room into deeply awkward silence.

Sex Education

Despite its humor and heart, Sex Education lives up to its title. Constant intimate conversations, awkward therapy scenes, and blunt intimacy can make this one feel like the exact wrong pick when someone unexpectedly walks in.

Game of Thrones

Political intrigue may be the draw, but Game of Thrones built a reputation for graphic scenes, intimate encounters, and brutal violence. It is the kind of show that instantly makes people pretend to check their phones.

Bridgerton

Its elegant costumes and period-drama vibe make Bridgerton seem harmless. Then the show pivots into frequent, explicit romance scenes, creating one of the most notorious “why did I start this with family?” streaming experiences.

The White Lotus

A sharp satire about wealth and privilege, The White Lotus also thrives on uncomfortable intimacy, and deeply awkward interpersonal moments. It can be brilliant, but definitely not ideal when other people are casually glancing at your screen.

Big Mouth

Because it is animated, Big Mouth can seem deceptively harmless. Then it dives headfirst into puberty, graphic humor, and wildly explicit jokes that make it nearly impossible to defend while someone watches over your shoulder.

Outlander

Historical drama fans may come for the romance and time-travel hook, but Outlander includes explicit intimacy and disturbing violence. It often jumps from heartfelt storytelling to scenes that are very uncomfortable in shared spaces.

You

You blends stalking, obsession, murder, and romantic intimacy in a way that already feels unsettling. Add sudden intimate scenes and dark psychological tension, and it becomes a very strange communal viewing choice.

Orange Is the New Black

Its humor and ensemble cast made it hugely popular, but Orange Is the New Black frequently mixes prison drama with explicit content, and blunt conversations that can make family viewing unexpectedly uncomfortable.

Fleabag

Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s comedy is brilliant, but Fleabag weaponizes awkwardness. Its fourth-wall breaks, sharp honesty, and uncomfortable intimacy can leave viewers laughing while also hoping nobody asks what exactly they are watching.

True Blood

What sounds like a supernatural vampire drama becomes a mix of gore, exposure, and wildly chaotic adult content. True Blood has enough sudden intensity that it can feel embarrassing with even close friends nearby.

Girls

Girls intentionally leaned into awkward realism, including blunt intimate scenes, uncomfortable vulnerability, and painful conversations. That honesty made it acclaimed, but also the kind of show people may rather watch alone.

Shameless

Whether U.S. or U.K., Shameless thrives on crude humor, chaotic family dysfunction, and public embarrassment. That unpredictability makes it entertaining, but not exactly ideal when relatives are watching nearby.

Californication

David Duchovny’s dramedy is built around intimacy, self-destruction, and blunt adult humor. Even if the writing clicks, Californication can be hard to casually justify when someone walks in at the wrong moment.

Spartacus

Known for stylized violence and graphic content, Spartacus pushed premium TV excess hard. Between brutal fights and explicit scenes, it is one of those shows that instantly becomes awkward when anyone enters the room.

10 D&D-Style Games for Modern Geeks to Enjoy

Dungeons & Dragons is the undisputed king when it comes to TTRPGs, there’s no denying that. There is also nothing wrong with it either, since it can be a lot of fun to play. The 5.5 version of the rules have made the game both approachable and tactical, with each combat encounter and dungeon crawl telling its own story.

After many years of playing the game, however, a change is needed. You could be looking for a new system for your next campaign, or just for a couple of one-shots to shake things up. No matter your reasoning, if you want something new, these are the TTRPGs that you have to try at least once.

Draw Steel

Created by MCDM, Draw Steel focuses heavily on tactical teamwork and cinematic combat without dragging sessions down with excessive complexity. It aims to streamline many frustrations players have with modern D&D while still keeping heroic fantasy, strong class identity, and highly customizable combat roles at the center of play. Many of its features are similar to the dreaded 4th edition of D&D, but there was a lot to love from it even then.

Daggerheart

Critical Role’s Daggerheart leans much harder into collaborative storytelling and emotional character moments than traditional D&D. Its duality dice system encourages narrative swings and improvisation, making it feel more focused on roleplay momentum and party relationships than strict tactical optimization or rigid combat balance. However, it isn’t really recommended for groups larger than four.

Fabula Ultima

Inspired by classic JRPGs, Fabula Ultima emphasizes dramatic storytelling, emotional arcs, and flexible multiclassing over dungeon crawling realism. Players are encouraged to shape the world alongside the game master, giving them a clear role in the story beyond their characters. It’s so freeform that it might be off-putting for D&D purists, but it’s definitely worth a try.

Vampire: The Masquerade

Rather than focusing on treasure hunts and monster fights, Vampire: The Masquerade revolves around politics, morality, and personal horror. The system rewards social manipulation, secrecy, and internal conflict, creating campaigns where emotional tension matters far more than combat statistics or dungeon exploration. It’s also the ideal system to play as the bad guys.

Werewolf: The Apocalypse

Werewolf: The Apocalypse mixes supernatural horror with environmental and spiritual themes rarely explored in D&D. Its rage-driven mechanics create volatile characters constantly balancing fury and responsibility, while the setting pushes players toward tragic conflicts instead of simple heroic fantasy victories.

Pathfinder

Often seen as D&D’s biggest direct competitor, Pathfinder offers far deeper character customization and tactical combat depth. Players who enjoy complex builds, detailed rules interactions, and meaningful combat choices often prefer it over the more streamlined direction modern D&D has taken. Most people prefer less rules when looking for a D&D alternative, but if you want more rules, this is your pick.

Troika!

Troika! abandons grounded fantasy logic entirely in favor of bizarre, surreal adventures filled with strange backgrounds, weird dimensions, and unpredictable encounters. Its loose structure encourages chaotic creativity, making it feel more like a psychedelic science-fantasy fever dream than a conventional dungeon crawler. It can be ideal for players and game masters that want strange lore but can’t come up with it.

Legend of the Five Rings

Set in the samurai-inspired world of Rokugan, Legend of the Five Rings places huge emphasis on honor, status, and social conflict. Characters are often punished more for embarrassment or political failure than physical defeat, creating a very different roleplaying experience from D&D. In a way, it’s like if every player was the Paladin, bound to a given set of rules or oaths.

Call of Cthulhu

Unlike D&D heroes who steadily grow stronger, investigators in Call of Cthulhu are fragile people facing unknowable cosmic horror. Survival is never guaranteed, and sanity itself becomes a resource players constantly risk losing while uncovering terrifying truths. If you’d rather fight the mythos rather than be their victim, the Cthulhu by Torchlight book for D&D is what you’re really looking for.

Dungeon Crawl Classics

Dungeon Crawl Classics intentionally embraces old-school unpredictability and deadly chaos. Low-level characters die constantly, magic can catastrophically backfire, and adventures feel dangerous in ways modern D&D often avoids, making victories feel earned rather than expected. If this sounds like a chore, it isn’t, since the system is built around constant death and quick character creation.

15 Popular Shows We’ve Never Heard Anyone Mention

When a show runs for several seasons, we can consider quite a few of them a success. After all, no show gets renewed out of pity; it needs to be making money to justify the spot. And yet, throughout television’s history, there are shows that aren’t even remembered today but were hugely popular before.

If a show gets cancelled after one season, it is expected that it won’t penetrate the general culture discourse. But after five seasons? Eight, in some cases? That’s nearly a decade of content people consume and don’t even remember. These are the shows that are strangely forgotten today.

Blue Bloods

For years, Blue Bloods pulled strong CBS ratings and lasted well over a decade, yet it rarely dominated online fandom spaces compared to flashier dramas. Despite its popularity, it often felt absent from broader internet conversations.

NCIS: Los Angeles

As part of a hugely successful franchise, NCIS: Los Angeles consistently drew solid network audiences. Still, outside loyal viewers, it generated far less online discussion than many shorter-lived prestige or genre shows.

The Middle

ABC’s family sitcom quietly ran for nine seasons and earned steady ratings and strong reviews. Even so, The Middle rarely gets brought up in modern sitcom discourse despite being consistently well-liked.

Criminal Minds

Despite a devoted fanbase and long network success, Criminal Minds often lived in a strange middle ground. It was undeniably popular, but online discussion usually centered more on trendier dramas than this crime-based staple.

Last Man Standing

Tim Allen’s sitcom posted reliable ratings across ABC and later Fox. Yet despite surviving cancellation and returning on another network, it rarely became a major online talking point outside brief industry coverage.

Without a Trace

This CBS series was one of television’s most-watched dramas during parts of the 2000s. Despite that success, it now feels oddly forgotten compared to other crime shows from the same era.

Cold Case

With strong ratings and a lengthy CBS run, Cold Case was once a dependable hit. Still, it rarely appears in online nostalgia conversations despite being a recognizable part of 2000s television.

Major Crimes

As a successful continuation of The Closer, Major Crimes ran for six seasons with respectable cable ratings. Yet it never seemed to generate the same level of online chatter as bigger crime franchises.

The Good Wife

Critically acclaimed and consistently respected, The Good Wife had strong ratings and awards recognition. Even so, compared to other prestige dramas from its era, it often feels under-discussed online.

Mom

Chuck Lorre’s sitcom lasted eight seasons and maintained reliable CBS viewership. While praised for performances and balancing comedy with heavier themes, Mom rarely became a lasting internet obsession.

Castle

Castle mixed storytelling with a fan-favorite central dynamic and solid ABC ratings. But despite long popularity, online conversation around it feels much quieter today than many comparable network hits.

Judging Amy

Once a reliable ratings performer for CBS, Judging Amy ran for six seasons and reached large audiences. Yet it is rarely mentioned in current TV discussions despite being a significant early-2000s drama.

CSI: NY

Part of one of TV’s biggest franchises, CSI: NY posted strong ratings and lasted nine seasons. Still, it often lived in the shadow of CSI and CSI: Miami online.

Everybody Loves Raymond

One of the biggest sitcom hits of its era, Everybody Loves Raymond was critically praised and hugely watched. Yet modern internet sitcom discussions often skip past it in favor of louder cult favorites.

Army Wives

Lifetime’s drama became one of the network’s most successful original shows and ran for seven seasons. Despite respectable popularity and loyal viewers, it rarely surfaces in broader streaming-era TV conversations.

15 Tragedies Staining Hollywood’s History

For all the glamour, fame, and cultural milestones Hollywood is known for, there is also a darker legacy shaped by tragedy, scandal, and unresolved controversy. These are incidents that exposed dangerous working conditions, criminal cases, public cover-up accusations, or events that permanently changed how the industry operated.

The loss itself was devastating for most of these cases, although the surrounding questions, legal fallout, or ethical failures kept the stories alive for decades. They left lasting marks on Hollywood’s reputation, exposing the darker side behind one of entertainment’s most powerful industries.

The Rust Shooting

In 2021, cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was killed and director Joel Souza was injured when a prop gun held by Alec Baldwin discharged on the set of Rust. The tragedy reignited major debates over set safety and live firearms.

The Death of Robin Williams

Robin Williams’ 2014 death shocked Hollywood and initially fueled intense public discussion around depression and suicide. Later revelations that he had severe Lewy body dementia added another painful layer, reshaping how many viewed the tragedy and its misunderstood circumstances.

Brandon Lee’s Death on The Crow

Brandon Lee was fatally wounded in 1993 after a prop gun malfunction on The Crow. A lodged projectile and production failures turned the accident into one of Hollywood’s most infamous and widely discussed on-set tragedies.

The Death of Marilyn Monroe

Marilyn Monroe’s 1962 death was ruled a probable suicide, but its circumstances fueled decades of scrutiny, conspiracy theories, and controversy. Beyond personal tragedy, it exposed the intense pressure and instability surrounding Hollywood stardom.

Sharon Tate and the Manson Murders

In 1969, actress Sharon Tate and four others were murdered by followers of Charles Manson at her Los Angeles home. The killings deeply rattled Hollywood and became symbolic of a darker end to the 1960s.

The Murder of William Desmond Taylor

Director William Desmond Taylor was found shot dead in 1922. The unsolved murder exposed rumors involving drugs, affairs, and studio secrecy, becoming one of early Hollywood’s most enduring and controversial mysteries.

Natalie Wood’s Drowning

Natalie Wood drowned near Catalina Island in 1981 while aboard a yacht with Robert Wagner and Christopher Walken. Questions, reopened investigations, and disputed accounts kept the circumstances controversial for decades.

Judith Barsi’s Murder

Child actress Judith Barsi, known for voice work in The Land Before Time, was murdered in 1988 by her father, who also killed her mother before taking his own life. The case highlighted domestic abuse warning failures.

The Murder of Lana Turner’s Boyfriend

In 1958, Lana Turner’s teenage daughter Cheryl Crane fatally stabbed Turner’s boyfriend, mob-linked Johnny Stompanato, during a domestic confrontation. The sensational case became one of classic Hollywood’s most explosive scandals.

The Death of Jon-Erik Hexum

Actor Jon-Erik Hexum died in 1984 after firing a blank-loaded prop gun against his head while joking on set. The freak accident exposed serious misunderstandings about blank ammunition dangers in film and television production.

The Death of George Reeves

Superman actor George Reeves died from a gunshot wound in 1959, officially ruled a suicide. However, disputed evidence and lingering questions made his death one of Hollywood’s most controversial unsolved celebrity tragedies.

The Murder-Suicide of Phil Hartman

Actor and comedian Phil Hartman was murdered in 1998 by his wife, Brynn Hartman, before she died by suicide. The tragedy devastated Hollywood and sparked renewed conversations about addiction and domestic violence.

The Rebecca Schaeffer Murder

Actress Rebecca Schaeffer was murdered in 1989 by an obsessed stalker at her home. Her death sparked major concerns about celebrity privacy and directly influenced tougher anti-stalking laws in the United States.

The Death of Anton Yelchin

Anton Yelchin died in 2016 after being pinned by his Jeep Grand Cherokee due to a gearshift design issue later tied to recalls. His shocking death raised broader safety concerns beyond Hollywood itself.

The Death of David Carradine

David Carradine was found dead in a Bangkok hotel room in 2009. Authorities ruled it an accidental death, but conflicting reports, speculation, and intense media coverage made it one of Hollywood’s more controversial celebrity deaths.

15 Hollywood Stars Who Spoke Out, and Were Silenced

Hollywood movies sell the idea that speaking out is brave, that if you stand up for what you believe in, you’ll be rewarded at the end. Well, that isn’t often the case in reality, much less in the entertainment industry. Over the decades, actors and actresses who challenged abuse, exposed unfair treatment, or took controversial public stands found themselves facing backlash, or at least career slowdowns.

If they were lucky, they were ignored. If not, they were openly pushed aside. With tales tied to politics, workplace misconduct, or industry power struggles, these stories reveal how difficult it has often been for stars to challenge systems bigger than themselves.

Brendan Fraser

After alleging he was groped by former HFPA president Philip Berk in 2003, Brendan Fraser later said the experience and aftermath contributed to his retreat from Hollywood. His leading-man career noticeably stalled for years before his major comeback.

Rose McGowan

Rose McGowan became one of Harvey Weinstein’s most outspoken accusers during the #MeToo movement. She repeatedly said speaking up about sexual abuse damaged her career long before the allegations became public, leaving her largely outside mainstream Hollywood.

Mira Sorvino

Mira Sorvino’s career slowdown became a major Hollywood scandal after Peter Jackson said Weinstein discouraged him from casting her. Sorvino had resisted Weinstein’s advances, and the case became one of the clearest examples of retaliation harming careers.

Ashley Judd

Ashley Judd accused Harvey Weinstein of sexual harassment and later sued him, alleging he derailed career opportunities after she rejected him. Her claims became one of the highest-profile examples of alleged industry retaliation against actresses.

Corey Feldman

Corey Feldman spent years publicly alleging child abuse was widespread in Hollywood. He repeatedly said speaking out hurt his reputation and opportunities, becoming a controversial figure while claiming the industry shut him out.

Katherine Heigl

Katherine Heigl openly criticized Grey’s Anatomy working conditions and later publicly questioned some of her own projects. Though not formally blacklisted, she became widely labeled “difficult,” and her major studio momentum sharply cooled afterward.

Sondra Locke

After her legal and personal battle with Clint Eastwood, Sondra Locke publicly accused him and Warner Bros. of undermining her directing career. Her case became a major example of power imbalance affecting opportunities in Hollywood.

Mo’Nique

Mo’Nique publicly accused Lee Daniels, Tyler Perry, and Oprah Winfrey of unfair treatment after disputes tied to Precious promotion. She later said refusing certain campaign expectations contributed to years of diminished mainstream roles.

Melissa Barrera

After publicly posting pro-Palestinian views during the Israel-Gaza war, Melissa Barrera was dropped from the Scream franchise. The case sparked industry debate over speech, politics, and whether speaking out carried professional consequences.

Jane Fonda

Jane Fonda’s outspoken anti-Vietnam War activism made her deeply controversial in Hollywood and America. While still successful, parts of the industry and public treated her as politically radioactive for years because of her activism.

Richard Gere

Richard Gere’s public criticism of China and advocacy for Tibet reportedly complicated his access to certain studio-backed productions and global financing. His case is often cited when politics collided with Hollywood business realities.

Susan Sarandon

Susan Sarandon repeatedly said outspoken political activism affected her career opportunities. After years of strong public criticism of wars and political institutions, she became one of Hollywood’s clearest examples of activism affecting employability.

Vanessa Marquez

Former ER actress Vanessa Marquez publicly accused George Clooney and others of helping blacklist her after workplace complaints. Clooney denied involvement, but her case became a widely discussed dispute over retaliation claims.

Charlie Sheen

After his public war with Two and a Half Men creator Chuck Lorre and studio leadership, Charlie Sheen said he had effectively been blacklisted from major entertainment opportunities. His career never regained prior momentum.

Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle

One of old Hollywood’s harshest examples, Arbuckle’s career collapsed after a scandal and trials where he was ultimately acquitted. Even after legal vindication, public backlash and studio pressure largely ended his stardom.

Backrooms Review: A24 Expansion of YouTube Series Goes in Circles

I never liked fluorescent lighting. Often aggressively bright, the hum of the once ubiquitous mercury-vapor tube always felt like threatened cheerfulness. It’s a forced smile stretched across a pained face. Wunderkind YouTuber and now bonafide big-screen director Kane Parsons would seem to agree. For his feature-film debut at A24, Backrooms, the 20-year-old content creator returns to a late 20th century setting and variety of corporate luminescence that he’s probably too young to remember firsthand. And it is undeniably eerie, if intermittently so.

The labyrinthine hell of Backrooms’ title exists in a liminal space of endless corridors and winding atriums which appear to carry on into oblivion. Occupying a nether-realm that borders between Office Space and a magical realist Brazil, the titular purgatory offers up vacant mindscapes beneath that deceitful, fluorescent glow. As someone who until a few weeks ago was unfamiliar with Parsons’ YouTube series of the same name, it’s easy to see why Backrooms became a viral sensation. The unnerving blankness of the compositions suggest a queasy counterpoint to the pull toward nostalgia in so much modern media. What are the backrooms of the title if not the detritus of a decayed American culture from ye olden days that’s been left to rot?

Yet the cold emptiness of Backrooms’ imagery, which was so compelling for YouTube subscribers in nine-minute, CG-enhanced bit sizes, becomes something of an albatross around the wholly live-action feature. Parsons and screenwriter Will Soodik tease out a few intriguing ideas about what the backrooms could really be, but that’s all they are. Teases. When tasked with creating something that approaches a cohesive narrative—and a story that confirms tangible internal logic if not necessarily clear-cut explanations for the creepy imagery—Backrooms can only double down on a vague aloofness. The oppressive nature of this seems intentional. The exhaustion and faint tedium less so.

The gist of how we end up in this realm is simple enough, however. Clark (Chiwetel Ejiofor) is an unhappy, middle-aged divorcée living in the 1990s suburbs. About once a week he goes to therapy simply so someone other than an employee will listen to his complaints. Still, psychologist Mary (Renate Reinsve) seems to be putting in an effort to remain blandly reassuring as Clark continues to vent about his ex-wife.

The rest of the week, Clark seems to live day and night at his warehouse furniture store, Cap’n Clark’s, which also happens to have a rat and circuit-breaker problem in the basement. It’s likewise on that sub-level that Clark discovers he can walk through a single spot in a wall. It proves to be a portal to… somewhere. The bad place. What’s curious is that after his initial shock upon this discovery, Clark seems to kind of like it down there. Even after being seemingly chased by the only other living soul in these cavernous hallways—a mysterious, unseen force—he cannot wait to lure staffers Bobby (Finn Bennett) and Kat (Lukita Maxwell) into the backrooms. And like the YouTube series, they decide to bring a VHS camera with them for the trip.

When viewed as a metaphor for the quirks, mysteries, and even monstrosities of a human subconscious, a hideous id, there is something potent about Clark’s descent down the rabbit hole of Backrooms. Like Alice, here is a fella who cannot help but dig deeper into skewed hallways of canted angles, forced perspectives, and grotesque interior design choices. One passageway narrows into little more than a coffin in a sequence that overtly echoes Lewis Carroll.

And as couched in therapy-speak about the loops and tunnels of the human mind, courtesy of Norwegian treasure Reinsve, Backrooms more than once seems on the verge of discovering a thesis for what is ultimately one of the most polished exercises in a found footage haunted house I’ve ever seen. Unfortunately more often, the picture seems content to simply run in circles, mixing its metaphors and stumbling over what I’ve been assured is a complex, mysterious mythology in the web series.

In its own odd way, the cumulative effect reminds me of more than one recent video game movie adaptation. It is so determined to preserve and recreate the lore and iconography of its source material that the narratives and characters become secondary and ultimately obligatory.

This is not to say they’re poorly performed. Ejiofor has always been a somewhat underrated actor and brings a self-pitying neediness to Clark that’s understated but unmistakable. Reinsve, so dynamic in The Worst Person in the World and Sentimental Value, is given a less fully formed character, unfortunately. Mary seems to exist primarily to have an extra perspective to walk through the looking glass after Clark decides he likes it just fine down in Wonderland.

The final movements of the film, in particular, which make the classic mistake of showing the impossible Lovecraftian monster and seemingly setting up a sequel or franchise, feel especially rote for a horror film released in the same month as Obsession and Hokum.

Parsons shows a lot of promise in Backrooms, revealing a keen eye and ear for conjuring an oppressive atmosphere and visually arresting gloom. His first feature just feels strangely like an awkward attempt at IP-extension as opposed to a fully fleshed out idea; a concept that could have been a short. In fact, it already is several of them.

Backrooms opens on Friday, May 29.

Paddington 4’s Writer Selection Hints at Political Satire for England’s Most Famous Bear

As the world heads toward unprecedented corruption, governmental collapse, and extreme polarization, at least we have Paddington, an adorable protagonist and a shining light of optimistic apolitical escapism to turn to. Even that, however, may be changing with the arrival of his latest sequel, Paddington 4.

Armando Iannucci, the cynical genius behind the hit show Veep and dark comedy The Death of Stalin, has been tapped to write the fourth installment of the critical darling Paddington series alongside his writing partner Simon Blackwell.

Satire has defined Iannucci’s career. His early time in radio and broadcast television established him as “the hardman of political satire,” according to the Daily Telegraph, and led to his position at the head of the British comedy series The Thick of It and movie sequel In the Loop.

Government dysfunction is a staple throughout most of Iannucci’s work — The Thick of It spins nightmarishly incompetent yet entertaining tales of the bureaucratic British government, while Veep takes on the often sociopathic psyche of American politicians working within a poorly-constructed system. The Death of Stalin fictionalizes the real actions of high-ranking officials in the Soviet Union as they desperately grasp for power after (you guessed it) the death of dictator Joseph Stalin.

Paddington is not a political satire by any means. Paddington Bear loves marmalade jam, his adoptive family the Browns, and the Queen of England. His bumbling adventures are PG at their most extreme. Given this, Iannucci’s invitation onto the production budget of Paddington 4 may seem out of place.

However, Iannucci’s sense of humor and previous experience delving into human nature will potentially give audiences a deeper understanding of Paddington the character and could provide a more insightful social critique than the previous Paddington films have. Iannucci is also familiar with screen adaptations, having written and directed the critically acclaimed The Personal History of David Copperfield.

Iannucci is no stranger to stories with absurd premises. His previous work in political satire has prepared him to tell the story of a small anthropomorphic bear, his 100-year-old anthropomorphic bear aunt, and the family that adopts him — three ridiculous premises that somehow are less ridiculous than some of the most jarring moments from Veep.

Additionally, the Paddington franchise is more ripe with political undertones than viewers may realize. Paddington 2, the most acclaimed of the three films so far, centers around Paddington’s false imprisonment and the struggles of his family as they attempt to exonerate him. It humanizes the imprisoned people who Paddington befriends, indicts the injustice of Paddington’s arrest, and criticizes the lazy policework of the London authorities. Paddington in Peru explores racial and colonial history alongside all-consuming greed through its central antagonist and plot. The first Paddington takes on the increasingly relevant themes of immigration and cultural assimilation vs. celebration.

All of these are things Iannucci’s eye for scathing political critique will easily be able to expand upon in the fourth installment of Paddington’s live action journey. At his most personal, Iannucci takes on themes of existentialism and human nature (just watch The Armando Iannucci Shows online).

Despite Paddington’s taxonomic classification as a bear, few are as human as he. Not everyone should be trusted with telling a story of human nature and political severity packaged in England’s beloved bear, but Iannucci certainly should be.

X-Men ’97 Season 2 Trailer Breakdown: Apocalypse, New Costumes, and More

This article contains details from X-Men comics that could spoil X-Men ’97 season 2.

It’s here, my X-Men! The first trailer for season 2 of X-Men ’97 has arrived, chock-full of the superhero soap opera goodies that made the first season such a sensation. Season 1 proved that X-Men ’97 wanted to be so much more than a nostalgic continuation of the original series, which ran from 1992 to 1997. More than just picking up storylines and adding elements from comics published in the intervening three decades, X-Men ’97 tackled pressing themes about oppression and genocide, portraying them through some of the most striking animation you’ll see outside of an anime.

X-Men ’97 may be more than a throwback Marvel Comics adaptation, but it’s not less than that either. And the first trailer for season 2 is bursting at the seams with plot hints and lore nods. Let’s channel our inner Caliban and hunt them all down!

Time Travel Means Time for a Costume Change

The original Animated Series kept the team in the Jim Lee-designed costumes of the era. But season 2 of X-Men ’97 finally gives our heroes reason to raid the closet.

Storm has done away with the silver outfit for the one that Lee briefly gave her in 1991, a riff on the standard Xavier Institute training uniform, while Wolverine has reverted to his pre-Lee look, returning to the brown and yellow togs he wore throughout the ’80s. Sunspot wears the costume he made after Cable and Cannonball left X-Force (thankfully skipping over the infamous graduation uniforms the New Mutants had).

The most notable costumes are the grey and yellow clothes worn by Jean Grey, Cyclops, and Rogue. Those outfits come directly from Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely’s run in the early 2000s. Partially to reject the idea that the X-Men were superheroes, and partly to bring the comics in line with the leather look of the movies, Morrison and Quitely outfitted the main team in black and grey. Rogue didn’t get one of those cool looks at the time (instead, she was running around in a horrendous red get-up), but it looks like the show will correct that error.

Apocalypse, Then

As the trailer reminds us, season 1 of X-Men ’97 ended with the destruction of Genosha—which took the life of Gambit, among others—and with half the team sent to the past and half to the future. The season two trailer shows what the team finds in each timeline: Apocalypse, first as Egyptian mutant En Sabah Nur and then, centuries from now, as the absolute ruler of Earth.

The trailer gives brief glimpses of En Sabah Nur with the Sandstormers, the tribe who recruits the future supervillain after his people exile him for having grey skin. The Sandstormers instill in En Sabah Nur a belief that only the fittest can survive, and he appears to be testing some poor victim in the trailer.

Eventually, En Sabah Nur will augment his abilities with a suit made from Celestial technology (you remember the Celestials, right? The giant purple god blowing things up in Guardians of the Galaxy? The big hand that started to come out of the Earth in Eternals?). Much later, he’ll conquer the world. And that’s where Cable comes in.

Cable Connections

The time-traveling leader of X-Force, Cable showed up in X-Men: The Animated Series, and at the end of X-Men ’97‘s first season, where we learned the character’s backstory. He was born Nathan Summers, son of Cyclops and a clone of Jean Grey. Infected with an incurable virus by Mister Sinister, Nathan was sent into the far future with Bishop, another time traveler.

The season 2 trailer finds Cyclops and Jean Grey reuniting with their young son in the far future. There, Nathan will train to fight Apocalypse across time, gaining help from the Clan Aksani. Led by Mother Aksani (actually, an aged Rachel Summers, the daughter of Cyclops and Jean Grey from an alternate reality), Cable learns how to control the virus that turns his body into organic steel and gathers the arsenal he’ll use against Apocalypse.

The teenage version of Cable seen in the trailer sometimes resembles Nate Grey, an alternate reality version of Cable who once crossed time to make out with his mother, Marty McFly style, and another time became a Christ figure for the mutants. But that might be a little too weird for X-Men ’97.

The Death of Magik

If all of the Marvel Rivals servers have been shut down today, it’s because of something the players saw in the season 2 trailer: Colossus, cradling the body of his dead sister Illyana, a.ka. Magik. Before canceling your Disney+ subscription, remember that X-Men ’97 is still largely adapting storylines from the ’90s, and Magik wasn’t the major character then that she was now. In fact, she was dead, a casualty of the Legacy Virus.

A clunky AIDS metaphor, the Legacy Virus infected mutants throughout the ’90s, eventually ending when Beast invented a cure, which Colossus tested on himself. The cure worked, but did not end his sorrow over Magik’s death, and so Colossus briefly became a villain, joining the Acolytes. Given that Colossus has only had a few appearances in the Animated Series, he may be more of an antagonist in season 2—at least until his sister resurrects, like she always does.

Psylocke, Deadpool, and… the Draco?

Colossus isn’t the only big cameo in the trailer. Shapeshifter Morph takes the form of Deadpool and we see Rama-Tut, the Ancient Egyptian ruler who (stop me if you’ve heard this one) gets a time travel machine and becomes the Avengers villain Kang the Conquerer. Psylocke returns to the Animated Series, and will probably follow the current comic storylines, in which she’s no longer a white English woman in the body of an Asian woman (Google “Kwannon” and marvel at how long it took to reverse this plotline).

Two more notable additions are Exodus and Danger. Danger, a robot lady with a scary face, comes from the Joss Whedon run that followed Grant Morrison in 2004. The living embodiment of the Danger Room, the VR facility Xavier uses to train his students, Danger can adapt to any challenge and also is a pretty lady who wants others to validate her existence because she was created by Joss Whedon.

The caped swordsman Exodus is more complicated. Once a knight in 12th century France, the mutant known as Exodus was transformed into an undying warrior by Apocalypse, who then left him in captivity for refusing to obey him. Centuries later, Magneto freed Exodus, who has since worshiped the Master of Magnetism as a mutant savior.

But for longtime comics fans, the most compelling part of the trailer may be the depiction of Nightcrawler as a Catholic priest. Nightcrawler’s faith has long been a key part of his character, an ironic turn on his demonic appearance. He eventually became ordained as a priest, and started wearing a clerical collar with his costume, as seen in the trailer.

But in The Draco, a 2003 storyline by Chuck Austen and Takeshi Miyazawa, we learn that Nightcrawler looks like the devil because his dad is the devil. Or, more accurately, his father Azazel (you might remember him played by Jason Flemyng in X-Men: First Class), an ageless mutant on whom stories about Satan are based.

The Draco sucks for so many reasons, not least of all because it means that Nightcrawler is actually a monster and everyone was right to fear him. It would be daring for X-Men ’97 to take it on, but season one managed to redeem some bad storylines, so maybe they can do the same with The Draco.

Polaris, X-Factor, and Generation X

Judging by the marketing thus far, the most important new character in the season 2 trailer is Polaris, the green-haired lady seen looking at some photos. A longtime associate and sometime member of the X-Men, Polaris has the ability to control magnetism, just like Magneto—whom she learned late in life was her father.

Polaris also served on X-Factor, a mutant team sponsored by the U.S. government and led by Cyclops’s brother Havok. X-Factor has gone through many lineups, and marketing materials tend to show Polaris and Havok with the main team from the ’90s, alongside Strong Guy, Multiple Man, Quicksilver, and Wolfsbane. However, X-Factor eventually gains Forge and Shard, the sister of Bishop, as members.

Given that Forge and Bishop team up to find the time-displaced X-Men, Polaris could very well join them to form a different take on X-Factor. However, the trailer shows Polaris alongside Chamber, Monet, and Synch, all of whom were on the more youthful team Generation X, serving alongside Jubilee and under Emma Frost, who also appear in the trailer.

Whatever the line-ups in X-Men ’97, it’s clear that season 2 will draw inspiration from the comics, while going in its own unique direction.

X-Men ’97 season 2 debuts on Disney+ on July 1, 2026.

I Love Boosters Marketing Campaign? Boots Riley Tweets at You

“Gimme your address, I’ll look up the nearest showtime for you and find the best transit route to see I Love Boosters.”

“You have to go see I Love Boosters ASAP. What are you waiting for? How can I move the needle for you?”

“What the fuck Kansas City theaters??? How is no theater playing I Love Boosters???”

These are just some of the posts on X, formerly Twitter, promoting writer-director Boots Riley’s newest film I Love Boosters. Instead of being posted by eager fans, however, these were all posted by Riley himself.

A quick scroll through Riley’s personal X feed will reveal several days worth of these posts, alongside retweets of praise for his sophomore feature and fans holding tickets to the film, excitedly proclaiming they’ve been “marked safe” from Riley’s online admonishments.

Starring Keke Palmer, Naomi Ackie, Taylour Paige, and LaKeith Stanfield, I Love Boosters follows a group of women who steal clothes from an expensive retailer owned by a wicked fashion mogul (Demi Moore) and sell them for much cheaper prices. Riley’s vibrant visual and thematic style lends itself perfectly to this Vogue-ready, NEON-produced comedic crime thriller.

Riley’s most recent outing hit theaters May 22, and was met with rave reviews but hasn’t made a huge dent at the box office. Its earnings have been largely propelled by word-of-mouth marketing, a charge led by the director himself. The traditional marketing for I Love Boosters has been minimal at best, making these posts not only stand out but necessary for the film’s success.

NEON posted a seven-minute video of Riley describing how I Love Boosters came to be and why you need to see it in a theater. All of Riley’s personal social media feeds — not just his X account — have been dedicated to promoting his full-length fashion feature for several days. His tireless fervor to promote his film has spread to other internet users, creating a mass network of I Love Boosters fans attracted to the director’s personal and cinematic brand.

Despite the entertainment value of Riley’s posts and the overall online engagement with the film, it is not necessarily a good thing that one of the freshest voices in film today has to rely on social media to promote his newest production. Marketing a movie in the digital age has proven difficult; fractured between seemingly infinite streaming services, a superabundance of social media platforms, and shortening attention spans. Crafting a promotional strategy that consistently works and is also cost efficient has proven to be next-to-impossible in that environment.

Additionally, massive mergers and political censorship have put more provocative stories in a hot seat in Hollywood, and promoting them online often drives more vitriolic engagement than positive. For Riley, whose body of work is chock-full of extravagantly surreal stories lambasting the racist exploitation of labor under capitalism, these trends do not bode well for his creations. While he is lucky to have NEON in his corner for I Love Boosters, a studio that has created and supported some of the most daring, critically successful films in recent memory, the barebones promotion of I Love Boosters remains a troubling sign for current film marketing practices.

It’s no wonder Riley would post with a relentlessness eclipsed only by the sun’s rising every morning — commercial success may not guarantee another theatrical release, but it certainly helps. Riley’s first full-length film similarly benefited from word-of-mouth marketing; Sorry to Bother You sextupled its $3 million budget, grossing $18 million. That release earned Riley access to budgets for Prime Video series I’m a Virgo and Boosters.

Boosters is currently sitting at a $5.2 million haul against a $20 million budget. Despite the critical acclaim lauded onto his films, Riley needs his tweets to work in order to secure his extremely deserved blockbuster-making future.

Spider-Noir Is the Ultimate Nicolas Cage Highlight Reel

This article contains light spoilers for Spider-Noir.

As its name implies, the MGM+/Prime Video series Spider-Noir is many things. It is a story about Spider-Man, albeit as middle-aged private investigator Ben Reilly, who used to fight crime under the codename “the Spider.” It’s also a noir series, thanks to its postwar setting, its gangster baddies, and its nods toward classic films like Gilda.

But most of all, Spider-Noir is the ultimate highlight reel for its star, Nicolas Cage. As private dick Ben Reilly, Cage gets to take on all sorts of personas, little bits that his character adopts to sneak into a building or get past a secretary. These plot devices give Cage, an actor famous for his strong choices, the opportunity to try out different personalities, personalities that might not work for an entire movie, but are incredible in Spider-Noir‘s bitesize doses.

One of the best occurs in episode five, when a doctor finds Ben Reilly sneaking around her office. Without missing a beat, Cage slips into an impression of Peter Lorre, wrapping his hand around the back of his head to rub his scalp and speaking in smooth, unnerving tones. When the doctor informs him that the person he claims to be looking for is on the second floor, Ben casts a skeptical gaze, starts waving his hands, and demands, in a faux-Hungarian accent, “The second floor? The second floor!”

Lorre is hardly the only old-timey movie star that Cage mimics for Reilly’s shenanigans. The most obvious example occurs when Ben has to retrieve his Spider suit from his former apartment, now remodeled and rented to others. Spying a maintenance closet, Ben grabs a mop and a tool box, flips up his hat brim and dons a pair of thick glasses (a la Humphrey Bogart in The Big Sleep), and introduces himself to the occupants as maintenance man Pete. Pitching up his voice and taking on a slight tremble, Cage as Reilly plays Pete like a sweet old man who’s a bit too comfortable sticking his nose into other peoples’ business, a slightly annoying Jimmy Stewart charcter.

In the very next episode, Ben has to get past a nurse to question some injured cops, so he takes on the identity of Officer Batnick of the Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association, who took “a slug 10 years ago” and was saved by the caretakers at the hospital. Here, Cage becomes a tall, dark Edward G. Robinson, replacing his natural drawl with a clipped accent and punctuating his statements with the word, “See?” Sometimes, he’s charming and clever, mirroring Robinson’s insurance investigator from Double Indemnity. Other times, he’s imperious and threatening, just like Robinson in Little Caesar.

Spider-Noir provides an in-universe explanation for Reilly’s impressions. Late in the series, we learn that he felt like he lost his humanity after gaining his spider-powers, and found his way back by watching the movies. The show even gives an example, with Ben going to the theater to see the James Cagney flick Great Guy, mimicking Jimmy’s delivery of the words, “Red hot!”

However, each of these bits feels like part of Cage’s Saturday Night Live reel. Or, more likely, they feel like moments that the director let Cage do whatever he wanted, knowing that the individual scenes could be clipped and shared online, turning the actor’s endless memeability into free advertising for the show.

Thus, the show frequently stops to let Cage just be weird. A late episode reveals that Ben’s secretary Janet (Karen Rodriguez) has always known that he was the Spider because she walked in on him wearing the costume when he was drunk. Cut to a short montage of Cage playing a drunken gumshoe in a superhero suit, babbling with the mask half over his face or giggling while playing with his goggles.

A more earned, but no less weird, scene occurs shortly after the aging Ben has a battle as the Spider, and returns home to rest for a moment. Before collapsing in his chair, Ben has to stretch and crack his joints, giving Cage an excuse to flail his hands and move his body in a staccato shudder.

To some, these scenes suggest poor direction on the part of showrunners Oren Uziel and Steve Lightfoot, or extreme cynicism on the part of Prime Video and MGM+. One could argue that, instead of providing guidance for their star, the directors simply let Cage do whatever ridiculousness he wanted, running the risk of getting a big, sloppy performance like Joaquin Phoenix‘s nonsense in Joker. One could also argue that Nicolas Cage memes cannot be manufactured, and the attempt to do so is hack.

But, by this point, anyone who puts Nicolas Cage in a project knows that he’s going to get weird. That’s part of the deal when you watch him work. Moreover, Spider-Noir gives reasons for Cage to act these ways, whether it’s Ben’s recovered humanity via the movies or his need to put on a disguise.

Whatever the reason, Cage delights every time he gets a wacky new idea. And they’re short enough that they don’t distract from the show’s central mystery, making Spider-Noir a Spidey story, a hard-boiled detective story, and a Nicolas Cage highlight reel, all in equal measure.

Spider-Noir is now streaming on Amazon Prime and MGM+.