Tribeca 2026: Everything We Saw

New York City is often a town of extremes. It can be too hot; it can be too cold. It can be too loud; and it can be painfully quiet on occasion. Yet there are times where it is absolutely perfect, and this June was no exception.

With the Tribeca Film Festival in its 25th year, Robert De Niro’s pride and joy has added a lot of character to Lower Manhattan, especially in recent iterations during one of the city’s most glorious months. June is still springtime in the big city, and between sunny weather, Pride parades, and overdue New York Knicks victory laps in the NBA Finals, it’s a perfect time for a film festival that celebrates the fun, the festive, and sometimes the frightfully poignant in its narrative and documentary selections. This year, we were not able to cover everything in our hometown fest, but we saw enough to realize, as always, sometimes this city is just right.

Chris & Martina: The Final Set

The real ones—tennis fans who follow both the men’s and women’s tours from grass to clay and hardcourts all over the world—know the fierce rivalry between Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova is perhaps the greatest the sport has and will ever see. Chris & Martina: The Final Set definitively sets the record straight. This is one of the greatest stories in all sports, period, but not for the reasons you might think. Director Rebecca Gitlitz deftly uses archival footage of their on-court battles, which spanned three decades and 80 matches, and an eye-popping 60 finals, while chronicling their dueling recent bouts with cancer, and the off-court friendship that helped them persevere. – Chris Longo

Cotton Fever

When it comes to stories of addiction, audiences are often met with tales that focus on one or two characters. It’s a play of someone aiding their battles while the rest of the world revolves around them. With Cotton Fever, writer-director Daniel Blake Schwartz took his short, which was also based on his own life, and turned it into a rainbow of expression for a group of people, not just a singular human.

The film’s two stars, Kyle Gallner and Sosie Bacon (reunited after their time together in the horror film Smile), can be seen as the protagonists for easy breakdowns. Yet Cotton Fever is a tapestry of six main characters all dealing with the same troubles while finding themselves in startling different situations.

Cotton Fever is a film that bravely has both happy and sad endings, depending on how the viewer wants to dissect each character’s journey. There are no official answers handed to the audience, just honesty. – Matthew Schuchman

Doc Meets World

For television viewers of a certain age—specifically elder and mid-range Millennials—the 1990s were defined by a handful of shows. At the top of that list with a bullet is Boy Meets World, the funny and surprisingly tender coming-of-age dramedy that aired on ABC from 1993 to 2000. It represents a time of wonder and joy for many who grew up with it, as well as more complicated emotions for the folks who made it, including stars Rider Strong, Danielle Fishel, and Will Friedle.

All three have been on a bit of a reverie of late thanks to their podcast Pod Meets World, which sees the trio revisit the series episode by episode. And now that journey culminates in Doc Meets World, directors Chris Levitus and Zane Rubin’s curious snapshot of media navelgazing. On the one hand, the documentary is a kind of a testimonial of a culture and generation stuck in the past, with the actors returning to a series they spent much of their adult lives trying to put away. Conversely, their fans eagerly bask in the show again and again with their own children via rewatch parties, live podcast presentations, and even ‘90s nostalgia conventions.

Yet the movie represents a bit of healthy introspection and public therapy, too, for its three leads who are now ready to reconsider their youth with affection, some regret, and a newfound awareness of the culture and influences that shaped their lives. Ours too. – David Crow

Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass

Many folks think of Los Angeles as a kind of fairy tale Oz full of magical realms, folks of good cheer… and also relentless celebrity sex appeal. So leave it to David Wain and Ken Marino, the happily filthy minds behind good clean comedy fun like Wet Hot American Summer and Childrens Hospital, to give that contradictory fantasy uproarious life in Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass, a chipper, song in its heart remix of The Wizard of Oz, only with a lot more celebrities and sex.

Based on the purely nonsense premise of a Midwestern gal (a winsome Zoey Deutch) who discovers her fiancé slept with his celebrity crush because of the joking “pass” many couples have, Gail Daughtry follows its eponymous character and her sassy BFF (Miles Gutierrez-Riley) as they go to LA so she can get even by pursuing her girlhood crush from Mad Men days: Jon Hamm. And yes, he’s in the movie playing himself. As is John Slattery and a host of other celebrity cameos who all play folks shockingly empathetic and eager to help Gail on her quest, as well as riffs on her own Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Cowardly Lion (Slattery).

It’s maximalist absurdism comedy that cashes in a lot of favors and friendships on Wain and Marino’s part—be on the lookout for Paul Rudd, Elizabeth Banks, and Jennifer Aniston cameos, among others—making for a laugher that’s ridiculous, a little frisky, but pretty wholesome in the main. – DC

Humpty Dumpty X

Never in my life have I ever experienced something so inane and sloppy, yet in the same breath mindnumbingly brilliant as Humpty Dumpty X. Even if you are familiar with the turbulence behind the production of some people’s favorite movie of all time, American History X, nothing could prepare you for what History X and Dumpty X director Tony Kaye has in store in his official documentary about what “really” happened when he made his jump from commercial to feature film director.

For someone who wants audiences to be on his side, Kaye can’t help from shining a big bright light on himself. And I don’t mean the stage spotlight, but the big hot one that cops turn on during an interrogation. One minute he is humbling you with admissions of mistakes and missteps, followed immediately by him contradicting those statements. At times it clearly seems like he is in on the joke and playing into it, and at others it feels like he is completely clueless to the way anything in this world works.

The majority of the film is told through old camcorder footage from the time of his battle over control of American History X. He apparently recorded every moment. There are shocking revelations (though not intended for audiences to hear) from indie filmmaker Mike Figgis at the start of the film—which come after Tony plays full six-minute clips of commercials that made him famous. There is even a point where we are treated to footage of Kaye and Marlon Brando filming each other as they have a conversation. This is all punctuated by a follow up interview 20 years later with the head of TIFF while Kaye films the interview on an Arri Alexa, but the only footage we see is from a cell phone recording from behind the scenes.

I couldn’t have asked for a more absurd experience than what I got with Humpty Dumpty X. Trying to explain the madness in a few short paragraphs is almost impossible. And even worse, I can’t tell you if it is the single messiest documentary I’ve ever seen or the single most amazing.- Matthew Schuchman

Tim Blake Nelson at Tribeca 2026 — Photo by Nick Morgulis

The Leader

In its opening shot, The Leader is instantly recognizable. Sitting square in frame is Marshall Applewhite (Tim Blake Nelson), co-founder of the Heaven’s Gate cult that committed the largest mass suicide on U.S. soil. In a time when true crime documentaries are frequently hitting the number one spot on streaming service’s top 10 lists, The Leader offers a look at the infamous members of the cult through the lens of writer and director Michael J. Gallagher.

In a performance that expertly captures the film’s theme of the desire to belong, Vera Farmiga plays Marshall’s Heaven’s Gate co-founder, Bonnie Lu Nettles, who passed from cancer before the cult’s tragic end in 1997. With supporting performances by Jim Parsons and Grace Caroline Currey, The Leader accomplishes what it sets out to do: leave you unsettled and heartbroken over the members of Heaven’s Gate. – Emily Cappello

In Memoriam

There is perhaps no better way to capture the fleeting nature of fame than and the obsessive qualities it possesses than with the story of a dying actor who measures his importance in the adoration of his fans. In Memoriam shows Marc Maron in his first leading role as Langston Stanford, a somewhat has-been actor hellbent on making it into the Oscars’ “In Memoriam” segment after his recently diagnosed terminal cancer will soon take his life. Real-life Oscar nominee Lily Gladstone is a shining light as Langston’s end-of-life therapist Samantha, and Talia Ryder gives a moving performance as his estranged teenage daughter.

Writer and director Rob Burnett has managed to capture the age-old tale of the importance of family legacy versus the hollowness of celebrity with a freshness that is not just engaging but emotional. With colorful performances by Judy Greer, Sharon Stone, and a hilarious Justin Long, In Memoriam is likely to have viewers excited for what’s to come from Maron’s acting career, and will certainly have them checking in on their loved ones. – EC

The Long Haul

Grief comes in many forms. The Long Haul follows truck driver CJ (Margo Martindale) who 25 years later is still grieving her daughter’s murder and seeking comfort through constant movement on the road. Hell-bent on doing things her way, she is forced out of her usual routine when she takes a job with a young truck driver (Cole Sprouse) who is better at gaining social media followers than doing his actual job.

While CJ captures our attention from the moment she comes on screen, it’s her beautiful performance alongside Yalitza Aparicio that truly brings out the heart of the film. Ending with a brilliant and heartbreaking monologue as CJ faces her daughter’s killer, The Long Haul is a film that highlights the importance not just of forgiveness, but of resilience. – Emily Cappello

Sofia Boutella and Simon Pegg at Tribeca 2026 — Photo by Nick Morgulis

Only What We Carry

Sometimes a film succeeds on pure emotion. Sometimes it can succeed on the strength and camaraderie of its cast. The new film from Jamie Adams, Only What We Carry, definitely succeeds on both fronts.

Famed dancer Charlotte Levant (Sofia Boutella) seems to be stuck in a bit of a rut. Having an article released from her former choreographer and partner Julian Johns (Simon Pegg), doesn’t help. A specific line in Julian’s recent interview sticks like a thorn in Charlotte’s side. Along with her sister, Josephine (Charlotte Gainsbourg), Charlotte heads to face Jualian about what he said and their past. What follows is a weekend of discovery and soul searching between the group who are joined by Julian’s publisher John Percy (Quentin Tarantino)..

If you’re new to the films of Jamie Adams, Only What We Carry follows in his tradition of a script that outlines a structure, but a film built mainly from improvisation. Simon Pegg described the work in our studio as “a process of discovery… and that’s really exciting because you are uncovering the story as you’re making it.” It also leads to some very authentic scenes of characters just caught up in discussion.

With that said, the approach could be a little less fun for actors like Boutella, who are tasked with playing the “sour one” when every other character is full of exuberance. “I felt nuts, absolutely crazy,” she tells us. “I kept looking for the colors of our dynamic, but [Pegg] was just so nice.”

Like a modern day The Big Chill, Only What We Carry has a great number of highs and lows to wow audiences. And when you see it, be on the look out for that damn fog on Simon’s glasses. You’ll know what I mean once you see it.- MS

Ponderosa

David Lynch once famously said his films don’t make any sense, but “people get used to a film that explains itself 100 percent, and they turn off that beautiful thing of intuition.” Finding films that take this idea to heart and produce a worthwhile result are few and far between. But this year’s Tribeca Film Festival provided a gem that not only exudes this ideal, but wormed its way into my mind and nested there.

Ponderosa is a movie that best works without explanation before you see it, but on its surface, it revolves around Zeke (Jack Dylan Grazer), a quiet, somewhat introverted teen who is drifting through life. Zeke’s mother (Alexis Beldel in her return to the screen after a short hiatus) works at the aging restaurant Ponderosa to keep the two afloat. After stopping for a meal at said establishment, Zeke catches the eye of George (Bill Camp) who thinks he can offer young Zeke some guidance and stability.

The movie that commences will probably confuse some viewers, but that is done on purpose. During our chat, writer-director Rob Rice even explains that the film has “a traditional narrative structure, something to do with two characters having a conflict with each other.” But it is the one-sided conflict that creates some of Ponderosa’s greatest ambiguities and strengths. George as a character is frustrated with Zeke’s seemingly unending apathy. And watching Camp become exceedingly more unhinged because of it is brain candy. – MS

X-Men ‘97 Season 2

X-Men ‘97 hit comic and animation fans like a thunderbolt two years ago. While revivals of long dormant and beloved TV shows from the 1980s and ‘90s are a dime a dozen these days, X-Men ‘97 came rip-roaring out of the gates with the sincerity of the original Saturday morning cartoon that ran on Fox Kids from 1992 to 1997, but the audacity and ambition of an adult drama. Or for that matter a comic book melodrama. With more gusto and angst than 90 percent of live-action MCU movies, this was an animated series that captured the epic grandiosity of folks in colorful costumes grappling with the highs and lows of life, death, and powers approaching godhood.

The first two episodes that premiered on the last day of the Tribeca Film Festival carry on that tradition while rather bullishly adapting the kind of trenchant, lore-heavy timeline shenanigans that ultimately made X-Men comics so labyrinthine by the end of the 1990s. With at least three timelines in the episodes we saw—one with X-Men sent two thousand years into the future, another with a different group of heroes sent four thousand years into the Egyptian past, and one still based in 1997—there are competing factions, characters at different ages in their lives, and at least two off-shoots of the main team. And just wait until you see how the X-Force are introduced!

Through it all remains a sense of purpose that we are building to a moment of epiphany and revelation in these characters’ lives, which might be fitting since they are up against a biblical threat this season via Apocalypse. As X-Men ‘97 executive producer Brad Winderbaum told us at the premiere, “Apocalypse is an exciting character, [and I’m] so happy to bring him back to the screen. He represents, I think, a horrible future and destiny for the X-Men that they’re always trying to avoid. So he serves a very specific, and very awesome purpose.” – DC

The Best Shows to Watch After Widow’s Bay

There isn’t a show around that’s exactly like Widow’s Bay. Katie Dippold’s new Apple TV original has definitely struck a chord with audiences in 2026, maintaining a delicate balance between scares and chuckles and introducing us to instantly iconic characters like Tom, Wyck, Patricia, Rosemary, and Bechir. But there are shows out there that manage to do spooky small-town horror or silly supernatural shenanigans well enough to devote your time to as you wait for a second season of Widow’s Bay.

We’re going to assume you’ve already seen (or passed on) some of the bigger shows that Widow’s Bay’s humor and horror have been compared to, like Twin Peaks or The X-Files. Instead, we’re going to focus on some of the other series that may have slipped by you over the years.

The Chair Company

Isn’t it wonderful that television is once again embracing its wild, weird and wacky side? And right up there with Widow’s Bay in this endeavor we have The Chair Company, which combines comedy and surrealism in a way that no one else has quite managed. With one season available to binge on HBO Max and more in the offing, Tim Robinson and Zach Kanin’s bonkers story of a man who gets a promotion, falls on his ass during his big speech and then gets fixated on finding out why his chair broke is sublime, and you can now get in on the ground floor of what promises to be one of TV’s oddest conspiracy thrillers.

If you’re already a fan of Robinson’s I Think You Should Leave style of comedy and enjoy shows with offbeat characters, The Chair Company might be for you. However, it’s worth noting that the show has been divisive for some, who’ve found it just too weird for its own good.

Round the Twist

This Australian curio from the early 1990s would never be made today! It’s essentially a show for kids, but you’ll definitely be asking yourself how anyone thought it was entirely appropriate for them.

Landing somewhere between The Adventures of Pete & Pete, The Twilight Zone and a fever dream, Round the Twist focuses on the boisterous Twist family, who move to a lighthouse in the town of Port Niranda and end up encountering a whole bunch of supernatural weirdness. Boasting a theme song that will never leave your brain and four seasons full of episodes that constantly push the boundaries of kids’ TV, Round the Twist is weird, funny, creepy, and utterly gross. Essential cult viewing for those who miss boundless imagination on a tight budget.

Midnight Mass

After a former venture capitalist kills a woman in a drunk-driving accident and ends up serving four years in jail for the crime, he returns to his hometown of Crockett Island looking for a fresh start. Unfortunately, a mysterious priest also arrives on the island around the same time, giving the town’s waning faith a shot in the arm but also harboring a dark secret that will affect everyone in the community.

Hamish Linklater plays this charismatic priest, Father Paul Hill. You may now also know him as Richard Warren, the founder of Widow’s Bay, who made a pact with a demonic entity to protect his colony through a first winter and doomed them to everything that followed. When Linklater was asked about taking the oddly similar acting roles, he told Decider that “You definitely worry that people will only think of you as a bad leader of a parish on a little fishing island, but then you start getting jealous, and you’re like, ‘I don’t want to see anybody else run a little haunted island better than me.’ So then you’ve got to defend your territory.”

If you haven’t seen Netflix’s incredible supernatural horror series Midnight Mass yet, now’s the time to see Linklater truly in his element.

Eerie, Indiana

Lasting just one season in the early 1990s, presumably down to NBC’s struggles to market a show starring kids with many grown-up themes, this cult horror series pre-dated Stranger Things by a few decades and was thus way ahead of its time. We follow teen Marshall Teller (Hocus Pocus star Omri Katz) who moves to the creepy town of Eerie, Indiana, and manages to meet Simon Holmes, one of the only (fairly) normal people living there. Together, he and his new friend have to cope with everything Eerie throws at them, including alternate dimensions and government experiments.

In its admirable efforts to satirize American suburbia by presenting its audience with a weird, atmospheric view of small-town life beyond the smiles and typically consumerist view of home-baked paradise, the world wasn’t quite ready for the vibes of Eerie, Indiana back then. But its kids were gonna love them.

Evil

Katja Herbers, Mike Colter, and Aasif Mandvi lead the cast of this odd drama series that managed to make it to four seasons on CBS and Paramount+, despite plummeting ratings.

It’s a hard one to sell to those wary of getting wrapped up in the more religious mysteries and monsters one might typically expect to find on the long-running Supernatural, but much like Widow’s Bay, Evil is also way funnier than you expect it to be. It definitely helps that the show’s villain, played by Lost‘s Michael Emerson, knows exactly what tone his evil flexing needs to strike as the series gets wilder and more ludicrous.

Unlike a few shows on this list, Evil certainly went out on its own terms, so this is one you’ll be able to complete if you’re not looking for an ongoing series.

Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace

Darkplace pretends to be a “lost” 1980s TV series created by a fictional horror author named Garth Marenghi (Matthew Holness). Marenghi says he wrote, directed, produced, and starred in this old supernatural medical drama set in Darkplace Hospital, a building above a gateway to hell. The parody show embraces all the classic elements of bad TV: godawful acting, continuity errors, hilarious special effects, nonsensical plots, and eyewatering dialogue. Between episodes, its fictional cast members also pop up in new interview segments, offering the kind of unself-aware commentary that will have you in stitches.

Somewhere between parody and affectionate tribute to supernatural horror telly, Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace bombed when it first aired but gained a keen cult following that appreciated its moxie and weird comedic style. There’s never been anything like it before or since, but you can now check out this groundbreaking British series on Peacock in the U.S.!

From

We’re gonna be real with you: From is light on laughter, but in terms of delivering a string of infuriatingly compelling mysteries, you won’t find a more dedicated show to sink your teeth into. Set in a seemingly inescapable U.S. town plagued by monsters that emerge at night, the people trapped in From’s terrifying bubble must unravel the secrets at the heart of its existence to stand any chance of leaving before they’re killed.

The cast of characters often gets altered by unexpected monster incursions, but as the show kicks off, we meet mainstay Boyd Stevens (Harold Perrineau), the self-appointed sheriff of the town, and the newly arriving Matthews family, who help us understand what is and isn’t possible going forward. Produced by the Russo brothers (Avengers: Endgame) and Lost director Jack Bender, From will reel you in and refuse to let go.

Gravity Falls

The only animated TV show on this list, Alex Hirsch’s Disney series Gravity Falls has definitely earned a spot as an easy, breezy, temporary Widow’s Bay replacement, following Dipper Pines (voiced by Jason Ritter) and his twin sister Mabel (Kristen Schaal), who get sent to hang out with their great-uncle Stan in the titular Oregon town, which just so happens to have enough mysteries, paranormal activities, and supernatural oddities to keep them busy for a while.

The show was critically acclaimed and influenced everything from Steven Universe to Rick and Morty, but it really hasn’t lost any of its edge or fun since it first aired. This is one you can watch with your kids, which we definitely wouldn’t recommend for the next show on this list.

Ash vs Evil Dead

Decades after the conclusion of Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead trilogy, Bruce Campbell returned to the role of Ash Williams in this violent, irreverent horror-comedy series, which sees Ash drawn back into the scourge of the Deadites as they launch a new campaign of terror.

Reluctantly stepping back into his iconic, chainsaw-wielding guise, Campbell’s Ash struggles to keep up with the younger people he has to team with in Ash vs Evil Dead, but this beloved series never really tries to modernize the often crass and horny Ash or take the Evil Dead subject matter too seriously, happy to lean into the over-the-top grossout violence of the films and the unique slapstick comedy that made the character work so well in the first place, making it a solid option to hop on after Widow’s Bay.

The series seemed to be constantly fighting for its life on the Starz network, but it managed to get three 10-episode seasons out there in the end. No small feat.

What other shows would you recommend to Widow’s Bay fans? Let us know in the comments!

The Best Underrated Slashers of the 1980s

You know Michael and Jason and Chucky and Freddy. But the 1980s weren’t just about these major franchises. After Halloween and Friday the 13th proved that studios could make a ton of money with a simple premise, and with the home video boom upping the demand for more and more content, the Greed Decade was filled with movies about groups of people getting picked off in increasingly absurd ways. And with a tried-and-true premise to work from, even the worst slasher movies end up being pretty watchable.

So if you want to see eccentric weirdos use everyday objects to off some of the dumbest people ever to appear on screen, then check out these 10 lesser-known slashics. But before we begin, let’s make a quick point of clarification. Generally, slashers are about a single person using a weapon to kill their victims. But we’ll use the fact that everyone agrees that A Nightmare on Elm Street is a slasher, even though Freddy’s glove is more of a prop than a tool of destruction, to stretch the boundaries a bit.

Happy Birthday to Me (1981)

First, let’s get this out of the way: the incredible kill depicted on the poster for Happy Birthday to Me isn’t nearly as cool in the actual movie. Yeah, someone gets stabbed in the face with a kabob poker, but it mostly happens off-screen. Still, it’s hard to complain, or frankly even notice, the oversight when you’re trying to keep track of Happy Birthday to Me‘s overly-complicated plot.

Happy Birthday to Me is sort of about Ginny Wainright (Melissa Sue Anderson of Little House on the Prairie), a member of the cool kids at her exclusive private school, a group dubbed the “Top Ten.” When members of the Top Ten start getting killed off, Ginny’s secret past gets revealed, with the help of the legendary Glenn Ford sporting an amazing leisure suit and medallion. Happy Birthday to Me doesn’t make much sense, but that only enhances its absurd pleasures.

Bloody Birthday (1981)

1981 was a big year for deadly birthday parties, as demonstrated by Bloody Birthday, released just a month after Happy Birthday to Me. Instead of making a Little House star into a killer, Bloody Birthday gets even more taboo, building around three murderous moppets. The three kids—played by Elizabeth Hoy, Billy Jacoby, Andy Freeman—were all born on the same day, under a solar eclipse. And as they approach their tenth birthday, the trio gets more and more murderous.

Unlike its fellow ’81 birthday flick, Bloody Birthday doesn’t worry itself with too much plot. Instead, it’s all about the fun of watching three absolute brats do horrible things to the people around them, and then whine when they get caught. Director Ed Hunt, who co-wrote the script with Barry Pearson, doesn’t push things too far beyond the bounds of good taste (this isn’t a Troma production). But one always gets the sense that something truly horrific is about to happen, making Bloody Birthday a twisted type of present to anyone who wants a sleazy slasher.

Student Bodies (1981)

Conventional wisdom would suggest that it takes more than a year for a genre to become popular enough to be parodied. But Halloween and Friday the 13th established the genre beats so clearly that writer/director Mickey Rose could already make Student Bodies in 1981.

Student Bodies stars Kristen Riter (not Jessica Jones) as Toby, a high school senior stalked by a killer known as the Breather. While Toby escapes his wrath, other teens aren’t so lucky, falling prey to paper clips, eggplants, and other unlikely objects that the Breather uses to dispatch them. Student Bodies has a broad sense of humor, and certainly leans more into comedy than horror. But it remains a fun time capsule of a genre that was ready for a take-down just a year into its mainstream existence.

Pieces (1982)

The slasher is essentially an American version of the Italian giallo, a genre that was itself a riff on Psycho and American pulp novels. Pieces further complicates things by adding a third nation, Spain, for a Spanish, Italian, and American co-production that’s a world-class mess. Directed by Juan Piquer Simón, who would go on to make the killer cephalopod movie Slugs, and written by Dick Randall and Roberto Loyola, Pieces is about a kid whose mother yells at him for putting together a nudie puzzle. So, when he grows up, that kid starts making up for lost time, by cutting women into puzzle pieces.

Believe it or not, the premise is the least weird part of Pieces. Each elaborate murder set-piece unfolds in absurd, lurid fashion, of course. But it’s everything else that boggles the mind, from ’80s big dummy Paul Smith as the world’s most pleased red herring to Christopher George and Lynda Day George as investigators, the latter of whom gives a profane line-reading for the ages.

Visiting Hours (1982)

Slashers may be an American phenomenon, but when it comes to the leanest, pluckiest entries in the subgenre, you have to head north. Canada has produced some real gems, such as 1982’s Visiting Hours, which takes the hospital setting of Halloween II and stretches it to feature length.

Directed by Jean-Claude Lord, who would later make the pleasing Terminator knockoff The Vindicator, and written by Brian Taggert, Visiting Hours stars the great Michael Ironside as Colt Hawker, a serial killer who gets his feelings hurt when commentator Deborah Ballin (Lee Grant) calls out his misogyny. After she survives his first attack, Colt follows Deborah to a hospital, where he plans to finish the job, killing a lot of other people—including Deborah’s boss, played by William Shatner—in the process.

The Mutilator (1984)

Many low-budget horror movies have multiple titles, changed up as the studio or distributor tries desperately to get people to pay attention to their movie. The Mutilator is no different, having originally been called Fall Break. Believe it or not, that safe, upbeat title actually fits much of the movie, which follows a bunch of college kids on a fall break trip to a beach house, and even begins with a sitcom-style theme song called, you guessed it, “Fall Break.”

Yet, in between the guileless good times, writer/director Buddy Cooper and co-director John S. Douglass insert scenes that definitely earn the title The Mutilator. The killer in The Mutilator dispatches his victims in cruel, slow-paced sequences that emphasize the suffering of victims (usually women in states of undress) who were goofing around just moments ago. The combination doesn’t make for a coherent film, but it does make The Mutilator a memorable movie, no matter what you call it.

Slaughter High (1986)

Fundamentally, all slasher movies go back to Psycho, which means that even the trashiest entry needs to have a psychological reason that the killer went nuts. In many ’80s slashers, that original sin involves a prank gone wrong, but few do it better than Slaughter High, written and directed by three people: Mark Ezra, George Dugdale and Peter Litten.

Are three heads better than one? Maybe not in terms of innovation, as Slaughter High follows a fairly rote plot. Ten years after a prank gone wrong kills one of their classmates, a group of young adults reconvene at their high school, only to be menaced by a slasher called the Jester. But one does get the sense of three guys egging each other on, as Slaughter High does contain some incredible death sequences and a truly gnarly shock ending.

Slumber Party Massacre II (1987)

To Detroit sports fans, the members of the Ilitch family, who own the Red Wings and the Tigers, are real-world villains. On the screen, the scariest Ilitch is Atanas Ilitch, who plays the rockabilly Driller Killer in the smart slasher Slumber Party Massacre II.

Like Amy Holden Jones, who directed the first film, Slumber Party Massacre II writer and director Deborah Brock uses a Roger Corman slasher movie to make a feminist film about women fighting a dangerous man. Where the first movie keeps things in the real world, Slumber Party Massacre II borrows a page from A Nightmare on Elm Street, making the Driller Killer a supernatural slasher who can pop out of anywhere to impale some woman on his guitar and then do a rock and roll number.

Death Spa (1988)

Okay, we’re stretching things a bit to call Death Spa a slasher. The culprit behind the deaths of various hardbodies at a trendy gym might be a ghost, it might be ’80s AI gone mad, or it might be a fitness nut who’s lost their mind. The script by James Bartruff and Mitch Paradise isn’t terribly clear, and director Michael Fischa cares too much about the shocking deaths and inexplicable romance scenes (did you know that celery is the most sensual of marsh plants?) to sort it out.

Yet, we still contend that Death Spa belongs on this list, because it features that most important quality of the genre: gratuitous death scenes involving unusual objects. Weight machines rip apart their users, spears launch from unexpected places, and, uh, a diving board comes undone. Okay, that last one isn’t great, but the others all more than justify Death Spa‘s status as a slasher and an under-appreciated great.

Nightmare Beach (1989)

Given the slasher genre’s debt to giallo, it’s fitting that we end this list in Italy. Well, Italy’s version of Miami, specifically a Miami beach overrun by Spring Breakers. Directed by Umberto Lenzi, who also made the mondo film Cannibal Ferox and the inexplicable Evil Dead/Poltergiest rip-off Ghosthouse, Nightmare Beach has oodles of style, making it the coolest entry on this list.

Nightmare Beach mostly follows former football star Skip (Nicolas de Toth) and local bartender Gail (Sarah Buxton) as they investigate a series of murders conducted by a mysterious motorcyclist who kills people by enticing them to touch his bike. Throw in the always great John Saxon as a police chief with a dirty secret and an inappropriate but funny subplot about a young woman scamming local men, and Nightmare Beach is a perfect piece of slasher excess.

9 Photos of What it Looked Like to Watch Movies in the ’70s & ’80s

Unlike other forms of entertainment, watching movies feels like it hasn’t changed much across the years. After all, the level of interaction is minimal: you just have to sit and watch. Trends and technology change constantly with the times, however, and even something as simple as watching movies has shifted.

Nowadays, with streaming services and on-demand media, there is little in the way of waiting. There is also a consolidation of many devices into one; our smartphones work as communication devices, movie experiences and gaming consoles. Back in the 70s, and 80s, the story was far different.

Meeting The Queen

Celebrities are movie goers as well, and few are as famous as the English Royalty. Here, we see the lucky owner of a cinema being graced by the visit of the late Queen herself, on one of her very few outings.

3D Glasses

Movies made for 3D viewing were a thing back in the day, but you’d be surprised how far back. Even in the early 70s and late 60s, the technology was already being tested. It didn’t end up being the way to see films in the future, but it was a novelty that popped back up through the decades.

The Row

While not a lot of us go to the cinemas nowadays, those of us who do, we buy our tickets online. But back in the day, you had to get your tickets on location, sometimes waiting in a line for hours if the movie was popular enough.

Children At The Movies

Kids enjoy a good movie just like any adult, but they tend to be louder and more expressive than their elders. Here, we see the unfiltered joy of youth as they see a film, likely something child friendly, and with great comedic effect.

The Drive-In Theatre

Some movies were projected at night, outside, and the seats were people’s own cars. This practice fell off in the late 80s, but back in its heyday, it was the ultimate way to see a film.

The VHS Camera

Before the era of the smartphone, if you wanted to record something, you needed one of these large cameras. They recorded into a VHS, a magnetic tape that didn’t have as much room as our modern devices have today.

Japanese Ad

Being able to record on VHS was all well and good, but people also needed a way to watch those movies. This ad was for a VHS player, devices that you’d plug to your TV and enjoy all kinds of movies.

Panasonic VHS Player

An oddity of the times, this was a VHS player with a TV included. While nice to have an all-in-one device, it was hard to keep in one piece, and once VHS went out of fashion, so did this entire machine.

The Shiny New Poster

While movie posters are still a thing today, the craftsmanship that went into making the old ones is something lost to time. There was a certain magic to them, something this group thought of when they decided to immortalize a moment with a picture.

15 Details Movies Got Wrong

Movies are designed to entertain, not pass a history or science exam. Still, some factual mistakes become impossible to ignore once viewers notice them. It can be a tiny continuity error, bad science, or filmmakers deliberately bending reality because the truth would be less dramatic.

Audiences usually forgive a few inaccuracies, yet certain mistakes become legendary among movie fans, historians, scientists, and eagle-eyed viewers who love pointing them out online. From impossible explosions in space to historical timelines that don’t add up, these movies all got at least one notable detail wrong, whether accidentally or completely on purpose.

The Hurt Locker

Many military experts have criticized The Hurt Locker for its depiction of bomb disposal procedures. While tense and entertaining, several scenes bear little resemblance to how real explosive ordnance teams operate.

A Beautiful Mind

The film accurately portrays many aspects of John Nash’s life but omits some important details. Most notably, Nash’s auditory hallucinations were largely invented for the screen to visualize his mental illness.

Gladiator

The movie captures Roman spectacle well, but several historical details are inaccurate. Commodus was not killed in the Colosseum, and gladiatorial combat in the film is often exaggerated compared to historical evidence.

The Patriot

The film portrays British forces committing atrocities that resemble events from other wars more than the American Revolution. Historians have criticized it for heavily distorting the behavior of British troops during the conflict.

Enemy at the Gates

This World War II drama repeats the claim that Soviet soldiers were sent into battle without enough rifles. Historians generally agree the situation was far more complicated than the film suggests.

Armageddon

NASA scientists have joked for years about the movie’s scientific problems. Training oil drillers to become astronauts would almost certainly be harder than training astronauts to operate drilling equipment.

Pocahontas

Disney’s animated film transforms a complex historical story into a romantic adventure. The real Pocahontas was much younger than depicted, and there is no evidence of a romance resembling the movie’s central relationship.

The Imitation Game

The film brought Alan Turing’s story to a wide audience, but historians criticized it for portraying him as far more socially isolated and solely responsible for breaking Enigma than reality suggests.

Jurassic Park

The movie’s velociraptors are much larger than the real animal, which was closer to the size of a turkey. The dinosaurs were actually modeled more closely on Deinonychus, another raptor species.

300

Stylized visuals aside, the film takes enormous liberties with history. Spartan armor, Persian troops, and even the political situation are heavily exaggerated or altered for dramatic effect.

Pearl Harbor

Michael Bay’s film mixes real events with fictional romance, but historians have pointed out numerous inaccuracies in aircraft, timelines, and military procedures surrounding the attack and the Doolittle Raid.

Kingdom of Heaven

Ridley Scott’s historical epic takes major liberties with the life of Balian of Ibelin. The real Balian was an experienced nobleman and military leader, not a humble blacksmith who suddenly rose to prominence during the Crusades.

Gravity

The film is visually stunning, but its orbital mechanics are highly compressed for storytelling. Space stations shown close together are actually separated by hundreds of kilometers in different orbits.

Catch Me If You Can

The movie is based on Frank Abagnale’s own stories, but later investigations found that many of his claims about impersonating pilots, doctors, and lawyers were exaggerated or unverified.

U-571

The film depicts Americans capturing an Enigma machine from a German submarine. In reality, British forces captured key Enigma materials years before the United States entered the war, causing controversy when the movie was released.

The Strangest Things to Know About Aliens, According to Conspiracy Theorists

Extraterrestrial life is something that has fascinated people for as long as we’ve looked up to the sky, filling our imaginations and works of fiction with incredible ideas. These ideas are, of course, not something that can be proven, but that doesn’t stop people from believing in them with blind faith.

A lot of these theories have a tint of humor, but always remember that there are people out there, just like you and me, that actually believe in them. And who knows, some of these things are as hard to disprove as they are to prove, so the truth might still be out there.

Aliens Built the Pyramids

One of the oldest alien conspiracy theories claims extraterrestrials helped construct the pyramids of Egypt. Believers argue ancient humans lacked the technology, despite extensive archaeological evidence explaining how the structures were built.

The Greys Are Clones

Some UFO enthusiasts believe the classic large-eyed Grey aliens are not true extraterrestrials but biological drones or cloned workers created by a more advanced alien civilization to perform specific tasks.

The Moon Is an Alien Spacecraft

A persistent fringe theory claims the Moon is actually a gigantic artificial structure placed in orbit by extraterrestrials. Supporters often point to unusual interpretations of seismic data from Apollo missions.

Aliens Live Underground

According to some conspiracy theorists, extraterrestrials are not visiting Earth from distant planets. Instead, they supposedly reside in vast underground bases hidden beneath deserts, mountains, or remote regions.

The Hollow Earth Connection

Some believers combine UFO lore with Hollow Earth theories, claiming advanced alien civilizations inhabit enormous underground worlds beneath the planet’s surface and occasionally emerge through hidden entrances.

Reptilians Rule the World

Popularized by David Icke, this theory claims many world leaders are shape-shifting reptilian beings disguised as humans. The alleged extraterrestrial species supposedly manipulates humanity from positions of power.

Ancient Gods Were Aliens

Many conspiracy theorists argue that deities from ancient mythologies were actually extraterrestrial visitors. Stories of powerful gods descending from the sky are interpreted as misunderstood alien encounters.

Aliens Control Human Evolution

Some theories propose that extraterrestrials genetically altered early humans. According to believers, alien intervention explains humanity’s rapid intellectual development compared to other species on Earth.

The Black Knight Satellite

This famous theory claims an ancient alien satellite has orbited Earth for thousands of years. Supporters point to misidentified space debris and unusual radio signals as evidence.

Alien-Human Hybrids Walk Among Us

Abduction lore often includes claims that aliens are secretly creating human-alien hybrids. Some theorists believe these hybrids already live among the general population without attracting attention.

Men in Black Are Not Human

The mysterious Men in Black are often portrayed as government agents, but some conspiracy theorists claim they are actually aliens themselves, sent to intimidate UFO witnesses into silence.

Mars Once Hosted an Alien Civilization

Some UFO enthusiasts believe unusual formations photographed on Mars, including the famous Face on Mars, are remnants of a long-lost extraterrestrial civilization that once thrived on the planet.

Aliens Feed on Human Emotions

A particularly strange theory claims certain extraterrestrials harvest negative human emotions such as fear, anger, and suffering. Believers argue these emotions serve as a form of energy source.

Crop Circles Are Messages

While many crop circles have been admitted hoaxes, some theorists insist certain formations are genuine communications from extraterrestrials attempting to convey information through geometric patterns.

Extraterrestrials Have Secret Treaties with Governments

A longstanding UFO conspiracy claims world governments have entered into hidden agreements with alien visitors. In exchange for technology, authorities supposedly allow extraterrestrials to conduct secret activities on Earth.

15 ‘Comedy’ Actors With Some Serious Drama Chops

Not all actors have the necessary range to do multiple genres, with some focusing more on action while others stay in family friendly films. But we can all name at least a handful of performers who, through various movies, have shown to be able to do drama as well as comedy.

We also know multiple actors who we imagine can only do comedy, even though they have proven their worth on a few dramatic films. After all, you need serious skills to be a good comedian, and those skills tend to overlap when its time to bring tears of sadness instead of joy.

Robin Williams

Known primarily for his explosive comedy, Robin Williams proved his dramatic abilities in films like Dead Poets Society, Good Will Hunting, and One Hour Photo. His emotional range often surprised audiences expecting pure comedy.

Steve Carell

After becoming famous through The Office, Steve Carell earned widespread praise for dramatic performances in Foxcatcher, Beautiful Boy, and The Big Short, showing remarkable depth beyond awkward comedic characters.

Adam Sandler

For years, Adam Sandler was associated with broad comedies. Then performances in Punch-Drunk Love, Uncut Gems, and Reign Over Me demonstrated dramatic abilities that many critics felt had been underestimated.

Bill Murray

Bill Murray’s deadpan humor made him a comedy icon, but films such as Lost in Translation, Broken Flowers, and On the Rocks revealed a talent for nuanced dramatic performances.

Jim Carrey

Jim Carrey built his career on energetic comedy, yet dramatic roles in The Truman Show, Man on the Moon, and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind earned some of the best reviews of his career.

Whoopi Goldberg

Before becoming known primarily as a comedian and television personality, Whoopi Goldberg earned an Oscar nomination for The Color Purple, proving she could handle powerful dramatic material.

Mo’Nique

Best known to many viewers for comedy and stand-up, Mo’Nique stunned audiences with her performance in Precious, earning an Academy Award for her emotionally devastating role.

Will Ferrell

Will Ferrell is synonymous with absurd comedy, but films like Stranger Than Fiction and Everything Must Go showcased a quieter, more dramatic side that impressed critics and audiences alike.

Melissa McCarthy

Melissa McCarthy became a comedy superstar through films like Bridesmaids, yet her acclaimed performance in Can You Ever Forgive Me? demonstrated serious dramatic talent and earned an Oscar nomination.

John C. Reilly

Although many know him from comedies such as Step Brothers, John C. Reilly earned acclaim in dramatic films including Magnolia, Chicago, and The Hours, long before his comedy peak.

Jamie Foxx

Jamie Foxx started as a sketch-comedy performer on In Living Color before becoming one of Hollywood’s most respected dramatic actors, winning an Academy Award for portraying Ray Charles in Ray.

Eddie Murphy

Eddie Murphy dominated comedy for decades, but performances in Dreamgirls, Dolemite Is My Name, and Mr. Church reminded audiences that he possesses considerable dramatic ability as well.

Kristen Wiig

A standout performer from Saturday Night Live, Kristen Wiig expanded her reputation with dramatic work in films such as The Skeleton Twins, earning praise for her emotional and restrained performances.

Jason Segel

Known for sitcoms and comedies, Jason Segel surprised many viewers with dramatic turns in The End of the Tour and Dispatches from Elsewhere, proving he could excel outside comedy.

Bob Odenkirk

Bob Odenkirk spent years as a comedy writer and performer before earning acclaim as Saul Goodman in Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, delivering some of television’s most compelling dramatic work.

10 Actors Who Made Especially Unique Contract Demands

Just because you can pay the salary of Hollywood’s most famous actors, doesn’t mean that you can hire them. They first need to be on-board with the project, and then you need to agree to any sort of outlandish demands they might make of you. And by agree, we mean adding it to their contract.

Some actors are very careful as far as how they are portrayed, no matter the character they are inhabiting. After all, they have an image to protect. That isn’t the only strange way a contract can be altered, however, since something as simple as a sport fixation can shift how your filming schedule adjusts to their needs.

Samuel L. Jackson

Samuel L. Jackson is an avid golfer, and his contracts reportedly include provisions allowing him time to play during shoots. Productions often arrange access to courses so he can get in rounds while filming.

Queen Latifah

After seeing several of her characters die in movies, Queen Latifah adopted a famous “no death” clause. She has joked that killing off her character means missing out on potential sequels.

Dwayne Johnson

Reports about the Fast & Furious franchise revealed that Dwayne Johnson negotiated limits on how badly his character could be beaten in fights. The arrangement was designed to protect his on-screen image.

Jason Statham

Jason Statham was also reported to have negotiated restrictions on how much punishment his characters could take in fight scenes. The unusual provisions became one of Hollywood’s more famous contract stories.

Trevor Howard

British actor Trevor Howard reportedly insisted on a clause allowing him to skip work whenever major cricket Test matches were being played. His love of the sport apparently outweighed filming schedules.

Kate Mara

Because of her family’s deep ties to professional football, Kate Mara reportedly included provisions allowing her time away from work if her family’s team reached the Super Bowl.

Will Smith

Industry stories have long claimed that Will Smith closely protects his on-screen image. Various reports describe script approval expectations and requirements designed to maintain the specific type of character he prefers to portray.

Keanu Reeves

While filming The Devil’s Advocate, Keanu Reeves reportedly accepted a reduced salary so the production could afford to cast Al Pacino. It’s an unusual example of a star using contract negotiations to help secure another actor.

Tom Cruise

Tom Cruise is known for negotiating extensive producer authority on many of his projects. His contracts often grant him significant involvement in creative decisions, marketing, and stunt work, a level of control few actors receive.

Robin Williams

Robin Williams became known for requiring productions to hire homeless individuals as extras or crew members on many projects. Reports indicate this expectation appeared in numerous contracts later in his career.

I Will Find You Ending Explained: What Really Happened to Matthew?

This article contains spoilers for I Will Find You

Netflix’s latest Harlan Coben thriller series has finally arrived on the streamer, and it’s full of the kind of twists and turns you’d expect from one of the author’s compelling stories.

In I Will Find You, we meet David Burroughs (Sam Worthington) who is serving a life sentence for the murder of his son Matthew, a crime he didn’t commit. All the facts lined up for the prosecution during David’s trial, including DNA evidence and a key witness who claims to have seen him bury the murder weapon, but it’s still clear that David has been wrongly imprisoned.

When his ex-sister-in-law, Rachel Mills (Britt Lower), suddenly comes to visit him in prison five years after his sentencing, David is surprised. He assumes that everyone in the family hates him, including his ex-wife, Cheryl Dreason (Erin Richards). But Rachel used to be a respected reporter, and she has stumbled across something astonishing.

It turns out that an old college friend of Rachel’s recently visited Six Flags in Springfield, and Matthew appears to be in the background of one of the images she captured there. David doesn’t really know what to make of the photo, but he spots a birthmark on the boy’s cheek. It’s the same birthmark Matthew had.

Let’s break down what really happened to David’s son in I Will Find You and how the series ends.

Did Someone Really Kill Matthew?

David suspects that Matthew is still alive and well, but he knows there is only so much he can do with this information from his prison cell. When threatening forces find out that David and Rachel have started poking around, David is attacked in prison, and it’s clear that someone out there doesn’t want him and Rachel investigating the crime further.

David voices his concerns to the prison’s warden, Philip Mackenzie, who looks out for him because he’s old friends with David’s ex-cop father. Mackenzie takes David’s suspicions about Matthew’s death seriously and visits David’s family in Boston, along with his son Adam, who is David’s best friend and an acting police sergeant. Mackenzie also tells Adam about the photo of Matthew, and the pair embark on a plan to break David out of prison so he can try to figure out what really happened to his son. They’re successful, and David and Rachel begin their frantic investigation into Matthew’s questionable death.

We also meet Hayden Payne (Milo Ventimiglia) Rachel’s wealthy ex-boyfriend. He’s the son of Payne Foundation heiress Gertrude Payne (Madeleine Stowe) and still has strong feelings for Rachel, but she’s moved on. Still, the pair remain close friends and confidants, so Hayden helps Rachel and David as much as possible in their quest to uncover the truth about Matthew.

Rachel and David soon discover that the key witness at David’s trial was paid to say she saw David burying a bloody baseball bat in the woods near his home, but it was his father who actually buried it, assuming that David had accidentally killed Matthew during a night terror and wanting to protect him.

DNA at the crime scene was also altered to appear to be Matthew’s. In fact, the DNA belonged to Martin, a dying child who vanished from a Swiss orphanage run by the Payne Foundation three weeks before Matthew was supposedly killed. A further DNA test proves that it wasn’t Matthew’s body that was found at the scene. Matthew is very much alive.

Why Was Matthew Taken?

When David and his wife Cheryl first tried to have a baby, they struggled to conceive. Cheryl began to lose hope that she could have a child with David, so she looked into the possibility of using donor sperm and visited a fertility clinic behind David’s back.

David suggests that the donor from the fertility clinic, Berg Reproductive, was the one who may have kidnapped Matthew and set David up, having decided to snatch his biological child back from David and Cheryl. Luckily, the clinic is part of Payne Medical Group, and that means Hayden has access to its files. But when David, Cheryl, and Hayden get to the clinic, they discover that Cheryl is not in Berg’s files. Hayden then recalls that five years previously, Berg had fired a doctor whom they suspected was impregnating his own patients, suggesting the doctor (or the Payne Foundation) may have wiped the archives clean to cover up the scandal.

David and Rachel track the doctor in question down, but find out that he was not responsible for impregnating Cheryl, as a woman performed the procedure. Cheryl reveals that she would not have been impregnated by the donor sperm regardless, because the day after she went to Berg, she discovered that David had already gotten her pregnant with Matthew.

Cheryl also reveals that her file likely isn’t missing at Berg. She used Rachel’s name in her dealings with them so that David didn’t find out she was pursuing a sperm donor, which means the donor must have known Cheryl used Rachel’s name at the clinic. Rachel puts two and two together and realizes that Hayden is the one who interfered with the procedure, donating his sperm so Rachel would get pregnant with his child and they could get back together. Hayden became dangerously obsessed with Rachel and thought that the donor procedure was successful. Believing that Cheryl, not Rachel, then gave birth to his biological son after receiving his donor sperm, he sought to get him back, with deadly consequences.

What Happens to Everyone in the End?

Rachel receives some missing photos from the Six Flags shoot on the day Matthew was spotted there, proving that Hayden was with him. We find out that Hayden was definitely the one who kidnapped Matthew the night he was “murdered,” believing he was his son, and has been raising Matthew as his own ever since, renaming him Theo. Hayden’s wealthy mother helped cover up the crime, but she discovered that Matthew wasn’t Hayden’s biological child and kept this knowledge from him, understanding his dangerous obsession with Rachel and wanting Hayden to believe that he did the “right” thing and didn’t just kidnap a random child who had nothing to do with him.

Rachel uses the knowledge that Hayden is obsessed with her to manipulate him, arriving at his mother’s sprawling estate before he can escape with Matthew. David and Sarah Greer, a member of the FBI’s Fugitive Task Force, also arrive at Gertrude’s estate, and they ambush Hayden, who explains that he tried to forget about Matthew, but once he’d seen him at Rachel’s family’s Fourth of July party, he couldn’t let it go. He tries to defend using little orphan Martin to get away with the crime, saying he would have died anyway, but Rachel tries to convince Hayden that he’s simply not well.

Rachel then tells Hayden the truth: that Matthew isn’t his biological son and that his mother lied to him about the DNA results. Hayden flies into a rage, killing his mother, shooting David, and trying to leave with Matthew. David, Rachel, and Sarah stop him, with Sarah eventually shooting Hayden dead in front of Matthew.

David’s conviction is overturned, and he is reunited with Matthew, who is confused but trying to become part of the family again. Rachel writes a book about David and Matthew; Cheryl has a new baby with her second husband, Ronald; Adam becomes a private investigator after losing his job as a police officer for helping David escape from prison; and Sarah becomes the head of the Boston Fugitive Task Force. The entire family reunite at David’s father’s funeral, with David assuring us that no matter what happens, he’ll always find his way back to Matthew.

All episodes of I Will Find You are streaming on Netflix now.

Everyone’s a Big Fan of the Spider-Man: Brand New Day Trailer’s Web Tornado

It was a busy day for Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man on the World Wide… internet.

After the official “Spider-Man Movie” social accounts sprung to life with some conspiracy corkboarding from Ned Leeds, we knew that news was soon to arrive. And arrive that news did with an announcement that pre-sale tickets for the latest Spider-Man film were now available along with the release of several new posters. Missing from the initial round of excitement, however, was a new trailer. That struck some as odd given that the last bit of footage released from Spider-Man: Brand New Day was more than three months old – basically an eternity in Marvel time.

But then 3 p.m. ET/12 p.m. PT rolled around and, like a concentrated web blast to the face, the second official Spider-Man: Brand New Day trailer splattered across the internet. Give it a look below in its full glory.

This clip provides the most coherent rundown of the plot of Sony and Marvel’s fourth Spidey collaboration yet. Of course, there’s a lot we already knew going in. As the conclusion of Spider-Man: No Way Home promised, Peter Parker (Tom Holland) is anonymous once again, with not even Ned (Jacob Batalon) or MJ (Zendaya) remembering him. If that weren’t isolating enough, his powers are now acting up. His eyes go black during a fight against Mac Gargan a.k.a. Scorpion (Michael Mando). His mechanical web-shooters are destroyed as seemingly organic web-shooters develop in their place. As Peter usually does when confused and alone, he seeks out a mentor in the form of one of the MCU’s many useful adults. This time it’s Bruce Banner’s turn (Mark Ruffalo), who Peter hopefully notes has “found a way to suppress mutated DNA, right?”

Midway through the trailer though is the inciting twist… and it’s a big one. Some sort of psychic bomb has gone off in New York City, perhaps coinciding with the arrival of Sadie Sink as a hooded figure (*cough* Jean Grey *cough*). Suddenly, passersby on the street know the contents of Peter’s mind, apparently possessed by the aforementioned blast. Spider-Man has gone from anonymous to exposed. What’s more: a line from Trammel Tillman’s still-unnamed character suggests that he’s the only one immune to whatever just happened – though Frank Castle a.k.a. the Punisher (Jon Bernthal) seems to be doing fine as well.

There is a lot, and we mean a lot to unpack here. We will do that unpacking in the weeks leading up to and coinciding with Spider-Man: Brand New Day‘s July 31 release. For now, however, we would be remiss if we didn’t point out a particularly rad moment from the trailer.

Ahem… WEB TORNADDOOOOOOOOOOO!

When battling multiple Hand ninjas near the trailer’s conclusion, Peter puts his evolving powers to good use. He drops down from the ceiling and shoots webbing as rapidly as he can while spinning, forming a literal tornado of goo around him, which easily ensnares all the ninjas. As you might imagine, the introduction of the web tornado was very welcome on social media.

Spider-Man making a web tornado is the coolest thing ever oh my god, this movie has the sauce pic.twitter.com/1pmKo1rHJS
— Jack (-_•) (@captaincupkick) June 17, 2026

A FREAKIN WEB TORNADO?!? 10/10 SPIDER-MAN MOVIE🕷️🕸️ pic.twitter.com/z9pjjOTjXq
— Cris Parker (@3CFilmss) June 17, 2026

rahhhh i love how peter creates a web tornado with his new powers! it looks absolutely peak dude 🥹pic.twitter.com/bGqE0S8lv3
— jude ☀️ (@slkmorales) June 17, 2026

While Spider-Man has developed all sorts of novel “web constructs” through his lengthy journey in Marvel comics, the notion of a web tornado appears to be brand new… or at least we can’t recall the term turning up in the canon. The fact that this very old spider can still learn some new tricks bodes well for Peter’s battle against whatever Brand New Day throws his way.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day arrives in theaters on July 31, 2026.

How Minions Went From Facebook Slop to Hollywood’s Box Office Heroes

The newest addition to the Despicable Me cinematic universe, Minions and Monsters, is set to open a record-breaking Annecy Film Festival on Sunday. More than 18,000 festival attendees will have the opportunity to begin their week-long film screening spree with some of big-screen animation’s most recognizable characters: the Minions.

Minions, the bright yellow pill-shaped comedic relief sidekicks who made their on-screen debut in 2010’s Despicable Me, are now the heart of a seemingly never-ending multimillion dollar franchise. So how did Illumination’s poster children make it to the top spot? The answer is far more nuanced than the Minions’ crowd-pleasing antics and inoffensive art design; they are vessels for some of the studio’s best storytelling.

For most of their early years, Minions were mostly recognizable from their abundance in trenches of Facebook meme culture. Images of a mischievous Minion smiling and posing innocently under phrases like “Exercise? I thought you said extra fries!” were the peak of Minion iconography following the release of the first Despicable Me.

After 2013’s Despicable Me 2, a film where the Minions were much more central to the plot, the brightly colored creatures began to move toward the driver’s seat of the Despicable Me franchise. They got their own movie, simply titled Minions, just two years later, which explored the origins of the Minions (who are millions of years old, according to the film).

Minions made over $1.1 billion at the global box office, and earned more than both Despicable Me and Despicable Me 2 in its opening weekend ($115 million compared to $56 million and $83 million, respectively). The Minions sequel, Minions: Rise of Gru, although not crossing the $1 billion mark at the global box office, made the most domestically of any film in the Despicable Me franchise at over $370 million.

Despite neither Minions movie achieving the same positive critical reception of the first two Despicable Me films, they have scored higher than both Despicable Me 3 and 4 on IMDb, Metacritic, and Letterboxd. Additionally, their huge numbers at the box office hint at more than just success for a kids movie.

Gen Z fans have rallied behind the Minions, joining ranks with parents who don’t know what to do with their kids over the summer. Both Despicable Me 1 and 2 are some of the first movies many Gen Z fans saw in theaters when they were young, and the Minions movies have capitalized on that nostalgia factor. The Rise of Gru is the best example of this; it took Gru, the central protagonist who kicked off Despicable Me’s success, and crossed his villain origin story with the globe-trotting journeys of the Minions. The central intersection, while providing an engaging narrative to unite Gru with his iconic sidekicks, also jumps on all the things Gen Z fans who remember the first film in the franchise fondly want to see on the big screen. Gru’s character arc, which focuses on his outsider status and frequent victim of both bullying and emotional neglect, are things many Gen Zers can empathize with.

Some Gen Z support for the franchise is most certainly intended to be ironic or humorous. A quick scroll through the Minions Instagram account will showcase many users commenting internet slang familiar to younger fans and jokes attempting to feign eagerness to see the next Minions film. Even the Facebook memes that serve as the origin of Minion cultural hegemony have evolved into the strange online humor characteristic of Gen Z content creators; instead of “Exercise? I thought you said extra fries!”, Minion memes now are just a grainy photo where a less-than-happy looking Minion stares blankly at the camera, or even a Minion being crucified (“Grucified,” according to TikTok users).

Even if it’s ironic, however, the support for the Minions ultimately maintains their position as a centerpiece in Hollywood’s collection of crown jewel animated franchises. A film with Minions in it guarantees success, and their proliferation both online and in theaters cements one truth: Minions won’t stop being summer blockbuster kingmakers any time soon.

Antoni Porowski On Why Food Is the Ultimate Human Connection

I’m an Englishman in New York, and last month I slipped across New York Harbor to Governors Island, less focused on its strategic position as a command post but more interested in cocktail making, award-winning pizza, and meeting Antoni Porowski to discuss his new series, National Geographic’s Best of the World with Antoni Porowski.

For Antoni, the best meal in the world isn’t necessarily served at a Michelin-starred restaurant — it might come from a grandmother’s kitchen, a tiny London pub, or a chef preserving generations of tradition. That philosophy drives the new National Geographic series blending celebrity travel, food culture, and deeply personal storytelling.

Den of Geek: What was it that interested you about weaving a more personal angle into the celebrity-meets-culinary world format?

Antoni Porowski: It was the pause I experienced internally when we started discussing the “best of the world.” lists. It’s such a huge statement to make because it’s so subjective. The best for one person could be a grandmother making tortellini she learned from her ancestors. For someone else, the best is a five-star hotel with butler service.

Where I found comfort was leaning into the human stories behind it. National Geographic and Two Four were incredibly supportive of that, and for me it’s the most interesting part — the people. That’s what I remember from trips.

If I try something delicious, I immediately want to know: “Who made this? What inspired them?” There’s always a deeper story there.

Whether it was meeting a young woman in Paris weaving a carpet that takes 10 years to complete, or chefs obsessing over perfecting roti in London, I’m fascinated by people who dedicate themselves completely to something. That kind of passion is relatable and inspiring.

Behind-the-scenes as Antoni Porowski helps to feed the Giant waterlily at Kew Gardens near London, UK, as seen in National Geographic’s Best of the World with Antoni Porowski. (National Geographic/John Wendle)

Have you always had that obsession with food?

Deep obsession. To quote my therapist, “If it’s hysterical, it’s historical.”

It comes from my parents. We’d be eating breakfast and already talking about lunch and dinner. If we went to a restaurant, we’d critique the dishes and talk about how to make them healthier, better, or more decadent.

Food was the equalizer in my family. It was our common ground.

Was there a particular experience during filming that surprised you or changed your perspective?

Absolutely. One of the places we visited in London was Tamil Crown, this amazing pub started by two friends — one British and one an Indian immigrant.

They asked themselves: what’s the most iconic British meal? The Sunday Roast. And then they reimagined it through Indian flavors. Yorkshire pudding with roti. Gobi 65 instead of cauliflower cheese.

At first it feels like, “You don’t mess with the Sunday roast,” right? But when you think about the history of the spice trade in England and Indian cuisine’s place in British culture, it actually makes perfect sense.

That was such a fun conversation to have because it shows how food traditions evolve naturally through history and migration.

England gets a lot of criticism internationally for its food. After filming there, what’s your verdict?

People need to stop with this idea that England doesn’t have good food because I genuinely don’t remember having a bad meal there.

You have brown sauce. Branston pickle. And the Sunday roast is perfect. It checks every box.

And honestly, the diversity of food in London is incredible. Some people have told me the best Indian food outside of India is in London, and I totally believe that. Also, you have Nando’s. What’s not to love?

National Geographic has a legacy tied to exploration and discovery. What does partnering with them mean to you?

It feels like a responsibility in the best way possible.

We had a National Geographic subscription growing up, and it was probably the only thing my parents never had to force me to read. I loved learning about archaeology, animal species, ecosystems — things I never would’ve encountered otherwise.

So it feels like a tremendous privilege. But at the same time, I want to stay authentic to myself. I’m basically a golden retriever or a kid at heart. I get genuinely excited by people and by diversity in all its forms.

I’m constantly trying to balance being myself while respecting the incredible legacy that is National Geographic.

In a fantasy world who would you love to travel with for an episode?

One of my favorite artists is Louise Nevelson, who was born in what is now Ukraine. She created these incredible wood installations using discarded materials from around New York’s Meatpacking District, and she inspired so many designers and artists I love.

I’d love to go to Budapest with her — not just for the food, but for the art and culture — to learn about her origin story and what inspired her creatively.

Pizza provided by – https://cutsandslicesnyc.com/
Cocktails provided by – https://doublechickenplease.com/

Best of the World with Antoni Porowski is available to stream on Disney+ and Hulu now.

Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis Takes a “No Laras Left Behind” Approach

There hasn’t been a new Tomb Raider game since 2018’s Shadow of the Tomb Raider, closing out the action-adventure franchise’s Survivor Trilogy, providing the iconic protagonist Lara Croft with a more hardened origin story. The wait is finally over early next year with Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis, a reimagining of the 1996 original game albeit completely revamped for modern gaming platforms and audiences. At Summer Game Fest 2026, we not only got the chance to play an early build of Legacy of Atlantis but talk to the creative team and Alix Wilton Regan, who stars as the new Lara Croft.

Like the 1996 classic, Legacy of Atlantis has Lara searching for a valuable relic in the ruins of a lost civilization deep within the Peruvian rainforest, with these tropical environments gorgeously realized in the build that we played. This includes plenty of puzzle-solving and acrobatic platforming as we climbed cliffsides and swung across ravines and rivers to advance deeper into the civilization. Though the premise and narrative are certainly familiar, Legacy of Atlantis is not just a high-definition reskin of the 1996 game or its previous remake in 2007’s Tomb Raider: Anniversary.

“We’re providing something that feels like an echo from the past but that we don’t feel handcuffed by,” explains Crystal Dynamics experience director Jeff Adams, observing that the game also has to take into account players who never witnessed the original title. “We’re able to make creative choices that enhance the experience because we do want to make something fresh. We want to make something that feels like it’s your first time playing it.”

Compared to the Survivor Trilogy, this is a much more visibly confident Lara Croft, bringing a wisdom and swagger to the proceedings, magnificently brought to life by Regan. This heightened expertise and competence is immediately apparent in the game’s combat mechanics, with Lara not only back to using her signature dual pistols but a pronounced acrobatic fighting style. Using something called “focus,” Lara can trigger a mechanic while in mid-somersault to temporarily slow down time and rapidly blast incoming enemies. This reflects the more seasoned adventurer that Lara has become since the Survivor Trilogy.

“We wanted combat to have a more deliberate place in the franchise,” notes Crystal Dynamics game director Raul Siqueira. “The Survivor Trilogy pushed combat in a certain direction which was very cool for what those types of games were. When we look at the personality for our game and the acrobatic Lara, where everything flows with what she does and she’s at the top of her game, we wanted that to not just be for show but have some meaning to it.”

Though Regan has portrayed plenty of action-oriented video game characters in beloved titles like Assassin’s Creed Origins and Dragon Age: Inquisition, the role of Lara Croft is a particularly special one for her. Adopting a “no Laras left behind” approach, Regan notes that her depiction is “a unified Lara” while also evoking the classic iteration from the original trilogy and Angelina Jolie’s two-movie take on the character.

“My Lara Croft is a highly experienced archaeologist and tomb raider with a wealth of knowledge and an entire history behind her,” Regan observes about her portrayal of the video game icon. “She’s very firmly rooted in her present and in her power as a highly intelligent, highly capable, and fiercely independent woman.”

With Legacy of Atlantis a reimagining of the original game, Regan similarly looked to the 1996 title for inspiration in her own performance. Struck by the line “I only play for sport,” Regan found the bit of dialogue “highly informative” in clueing her into who Lara Croft is at this point in her life and that she truly enjoys what she does. While respecting the more vulnerable Survivor Trilogy Lara, Regan approached the role taking into account that experience and confidence Lara now possesses, also looking to the Tomb Raider movies’ influence.

“It was a really interesting process because, when I auditioned, I actually auditioned with a lot of Angelina Jolie’s scripts from the movies, which told me a lot about which direction the creative team were going in,” Regan recalls. “They really did want to capture that sassy, confident character for Lara from the films – classic Lara.”

The game is the best-looking Tomb Raider in years, with everything from detailed environments and character models to pristine water effects and sweeping landscapes. For Flying Wild Hog art director Arek Tomaszewski, Legacy of Atlantis recognizes that everyone has their own memories of the franchise and its original game, including the creative team, and tries to reinvent them with modern sensibilities. That includes everything from puzzle-solving in Peruvian temples to harrowing showdowns with ravenous dinosaurs.

“Whatever we’re building, we need to build them in a way that they’re logically believable,” explains Tomaszewski. “We want you to feel like this is a place you’re discovering that’s believable. We’re trying to push our artists as much as we can so you can just look around and see how awesome it is.”

At the end of the day, Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis doesn’t just feel like a slightly more balletic follow-up to Shadow of the Tomb Raider but both a celebration of the series’ roots and fresh jumping-on point for newcomers. The title is the first in two Tomb Raider games slated for a 2027 release, coming out ahead of Tomb Raider: Catalyst. If Legacy of Atlantis is any indicator, the franchise is in great hands for a bright future, instantly recognizable to longtime fans while reinvigorating its roots.

“We’re coming up on the 30th anniversary of the original game. We love that and want to celebrate that. This is the perfect time to bring this into the light,” declares Adams. “There is such a great opportunity here to take this, make it feel familiar for those who have played it before, but make it feel fresh for those who haven’t had a chance to love it yet. That’s the driving thing behind this. It’s the right time to make this come to life.”

Developed by Crystal Dynamics and Flying Wild Hog and published by Amazon Game Studios, Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis releases February 12, 2027 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch 2, and PC.

Clive Barker’s Hellraiser: Revival Is Real and It’s Fantastic

If you’re a fan of horror games, you’ve probably seen targeted ads for Clive Barker’s Hellraiser: Revival since its official announcement in July 2025. The first video game adapting the Hellraiser horror movie series, not counting the franchise’s guest appearance in Dead by Daylight, Revival has kept its cards close to the chest since the project was publicly confirmed. Fortunately, we are happy to confirm that not only does the game exist but that we got to play an early build of it for ourselves at Summer Game Fest 2026.

This nightmarish vision of Clive Barker’s visceral horror story is brought to life by Saber Interactive, with the game’s protagonist, Aidan Lynch, trying to find his girlfriend after she’s taken by the extra-dimensional Cenobites, including their garish figurehead Pinhead. This quest unfolds from a first-person perspective as Aidan tries to find a way to follow the Cenobites into their hellish realm. The build of the game that we experienced unfolds in three distinctly different environments, each with their own aesthetics, tone, and gameplay mechanics while distinctly taking place within the familiar confines of a Hellraiser story.

The opening sequence within the SGF build for Clive Barker’s Hellraiser: Revival takes place in what appears to be a penthouse apartment run by a sado-masochist cult, which is right on-brand for Hellraiser. This segment was the weakest of the demo, not because of the gameplay or presentation, which were both fine, but because it played out like any number of horror-themed first-person shooters as we killed cultists while looking for a way to progress. The big innovation here was that we had something referred to as the Genesis Configuration in our possession, letting us telekinetically control blades and fire to dispatch enemies in addition to our conventional weapons.

Where the early build really took off was in its second segment, as Aidan enters the hellish dimension where the Cenobites hail from. Using the Genesis Configuration, we altered the layout of this world, rotating walls and playing with the physics of this otherworldly realm like a sinister version of Portal. The Hellraiser aesthetics were in full swing here, providing an unsettling environment that really made all this puzzle-solving and light platforming stand out for fans of the franchise.

This all led to the most horrific sequence in the entire demo, which saw Aidan venture into a facsimile of his home with his missing girlfriend Sunny. As we looped through this domestic setting, we not only witnessed increasingly disturbing visions and messages but learned more about the unhappy dynamic between the game’s core couple. There’s no way that this sequence was at least partially influenced by Hideo Kojima’s ill-fated horror game P.T. and its similar nightmarishly repeating corridor but Hellraiser: Revival makes the experience its twisted own with a hell of a punchline.

And that’s the big thing that I appreciated about Clive Barker’s Hellraiser: Revival, that throughout the diversity in gameplay and presentation it stays visibly and tonally true to Barker’s scary story. We didn’t get to have an extended meeting with Pinhead or other Cenobites like the Chatterer, and we can’t wait to see how they figure into the game itself, but they would definitely fit within the aesthetics of Hellraiser: Revival. No matter how action-driven or surreal the game gets, this is Hellraiser through and through, leaning into the gory violence and sado-masochistic erotica that the franchise is known for.

As for the gameplay, it handles well, even in the first-person combat sequences that started off this demo. Mechanically within its combat, the game feels closer to something like Half-Life or Deus Ex without coming off as dated as those early PC first-person shooters. The puzzle-solving and psychological sequences retain those broader gameplay sensibilities but within a much different tone and type of intensity that informs the experience; the urgency is there but not from readily facing a tangible enemy so much as an existential one.

Taking less than an hour to complete this demo, Clive Barker’s Hellraiser: Revival not only felt like a worthy video game adaptation of its fan-favorite property but a breath of fresh air for modern movie tie-in horror games. It feels like so many movie-inspired horror titles are overly derivative of Dead by Daylight, with games like The Texas Chain Saw Massacre and Evil Dead: The Game leaning into asymmetrical multiplayer experiences. By contrast, Hellraiser: Revival is a single-player experience that blends action and horror while taking full advantage of its source material visually and narratively.

For anyone who’s had Clive Barker’s Hellraiser: Revival preordered for months, we’re happy to confirm that the game is very much real and on track for its October release date, just in time for Halloween. And for any fan who’s worried that the game will be an echo of any number of asymmetrical horror games, we’re even happier to report that it’s very much its own franchise-appropriate experience. Doing its source material proud, Clive Barker’s Hellraiser: Revival is shaping up to become one of the standout horror games of the year.

Developed and published by Saber Interactive, Clive Barker’s Hellraiser: Revival will be released October 8, 2026 on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.

The One Mystery Widow’s Bay Season 2 Should Refuse to Solve

This article contains spoilers for Widow’s Bay episode 10, “We Hope You Enjoyed Your Time!”

In the first ten minutes of Widow’s Bay, Mayor Tom Loftis (Matthew Rhys) is on a mission to get a positive article about the show’s titular island town into the New York Times travel section. Discussing the potential timing of the article’s publication, Loftis pulls his calendar down from the wall and flips through its monthly pages, which depict wolves in various settings. One howls at the sky, while another month, June, shows a group of wolves staring at something off camera.

But when Loftis gets to July, there are no wolves to be found. Instead, July’s image is of a white vehicle overturned at the edge of a desolate road. Loftis pauses, checking that the calendar really is just supposed to be a fun one about wolves (it is). Still, he has far too much on his plate to overthink it, and quickly moves on with his day.

Later in the series, when Loftis is back in his office and under pressure to shut down the island thanks to a looming storm, he returns to the calendar and once again stares at its pages. After his assistant Patricia (Kate O’Flynn) reminds him that people have died, he flies into a rage. He tries to rip up the calendar and fails. Either Loftis doesn’t have the strength to rip through a calendar that must be all of 14 pages, or the calendar itself is indestructible for some mysterious reason. Either way, I don’t care. I do not want to know. It’s much funnier not knowing.

Like Demolition Man’s peaceful utopia, which replaces toilet paper with three seashells and never explains how they work, the Wolves calendar is more hilarious if we don’t know why July’s page is so haunting. Our imaginations can do all the heavy lifting, and the writers of Widow’s Bay can concentrate on all the lingering mysteries left to solve on the island, like what happened at the old hospital and why it’s safe to drive by there but not to stop. Or why various members of the town have much younger biological ages. Or why the island’s evils seem to be so drawn to Patricia. Or whether the Shaman survived being swept up in the storm.

Of course, there are already theories about the calendar, since the July car-wreck mystery wasn’t fully solved in the show’s first season. The strongest one sprang from Loftis’ visit to his elderly neighbor’s house in the season finale. Poor Ruth had no idea what Loftis had in store for her, poring through her photo albums and pointing out every notable man (and woman) of the town who had made a pass at her over the years. But to begin, Ruth lingers on a picture of an old boyfriend, Alfred, whom she says she loved so much. “But he got bit by an animal and became that animal,” she reveals. Our minds immediately jump to Alfred now being Widow’s Bay’s resident werewolf. Could it have been Alfred’s car overturned on that haunting road? Maybe, but I maintain it would be funnier if he became a different animal, like a spider or a deer, and the Wolves calendar had nothing to do with it.

Instead of making a definitive link, I say leave the Wolves calendar to be picked apart online forever by those compelled by it. Much like the series it often gets compared to, Twin Peaks, Widow’s Bay can confidently leave things unsaid and unexplained, though Apple TV’s sleeper hit might want to avoid killing one of its main characters and turning them into a ghostly drawer knob. That could be a bit too far.

All episodes of Widow’s Bay are now streaming on Apple TV.

How X-Men: The Animated Series Revolutionized Superhero Adaptations

It’s not necessarily a surprise when we catch up with some of the original minds behind the game-changing X-Men: The Animated Series that none of them saw a major film festival premiere in the series’ future. A film festival premiere for a revival, or companion series, nearly 35 years after X-Men’s debut on Fox Kids in 1992, to put a finer point on it.

Yet folks like Eric and Julia Lewald, the husband and wife duo who primarily ran the writers’ room on the now iconic superhero cartoon, and Larry Houston, the lead storyboard artist on the series, were there at the Tribeca Film Festival this past weekend to celebrate the legacy and lore of their original show, as well as to help usher in season 2 of X-Men ’97, the Disney+ sequel series that took fandom by storm in 2024, and for which they’re all consulting producers on.

It’s quite a turnaround from a series that began, at least in Eric’s mind, as an epic struggle to put out something compelling, transformative, and honestly far more sophisticated than any superhero cartoon—or for that matter most caped movie adaptations—had been up to that point.

“[Back then], it was ‘Alright, we’ve got six months of work and diapers and mortgage,’” Eric tells us at the X-Men ’97 press line. “Then it was successful after it took off, and we all realized it was something special, but it was a real struggle until it premiered. All sorts of people wanted it to be a different show. It’s so much different from the Saturday morning animation that came before it, people were very nervous: TV affiliates, advertisers, said, ‘Are you sure you don’t want to dumb this down and make it younger, or give them a silly sidekick?’”

Originally, the series began for the Lewlands as a call on Sunday night about the prospect of pitching the following day an X-Men animated series, something that had never really made it past the pilot stage (supporting bits in the Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends fiasco notwithstanding).

Remembers Eric, “On Monday morning we’re meeting with Stan Lee, saying, ‘Okay, what are you going to do with the show?’ And I didn’t really know the books at all. So I looked, and there had been 29 X-Men from 1963 to 1992. We needed to get that down to six or seven, with also Xavier. And the only agenda that I and my head writer Mark Edens had was to try and make the most dramatic television animation that we could. We had both been working in the field for seven or eight years, and we said this was the great equivalent of making an hour drama in kids animation. So we just made decisions pulling from the X-Men lore that fit.”

Wife Julia also gives special credit to the support they had from crucial corners at the then-emerging kids division of Fox. It provided the runway to make something as sophisticated as X-Men (or for that matter Batman: The Animated Series).

“I want to give a shout-out to Margaret Loesch,” Julia tells us. “She was the new president of Fox Kids, which was a brand new network, and she loved the X-Men books. She had worked with Marvel and with Stan Lee, and when she decided, ‘We’re going to do an X-Men show for Saturday morning,’ she got tremendous pushback from the folks above her. But she understood the books deeply and that just gave us the opportunities to tell the stories that the books were telling. So that protected all of us.”

While Eric learned to be a fan as the series came together, Houston was a lifelong fan before X-Men came his way.

“My impression was that there had not been an accurate adaptation back in 1992, and what I wanted to do was make the show as close to a comic book as I could,” says Houston. That meant character designs that looked like they were ripped straight from Jim Lee’s sketchbook on X-Men #1 (1991), but stories that just as earnestly filled in the cracks of the source material. For instance, Eric points out that fan favorite Rogue seeking a cure in the first season of The Animated Series was not based on any single comic book, but rather just a natural development for a character whose powers deny her the ability to touch another human being or mutant.

And foritiously for going into X-Men ’97 season 2, the writers and animators essentially took one of the X-Men’s many less popular villains in Apocalypse and turned him into one of the most iconic existential threats in all of comicdom.

“When we did him in 1992, all those details didn’t exist,” Houston points out about Apocalypse. The character was still relatively mysterious on the page, which allowed the cartoon creators to only hint at his Ancient Egyptian heritage while going their own way with it. “But in the 26 years since my series started and X-Men ‘97, all of that backstory is there. So they’re exploring the future, the past, so you’re getting a chance to see how Apocalypse came to be, and how he became such a badass and have the attitude that he has.”

Still, a lot of that badass attitude comes down to the original series Houston worked on, as well as the voice actor who was cast in the part.

“He’s so different and from everyone and everything in that world,” Julia explains. “[We had] tremendous fun in creating the line ‘I am the rocks of the eternal shore. Crash against me and be broken!’ Writing for him is the fun of being able to not just go over the top, but write something that Apocalypse would say, because Apocalypse is so much bigger than everyone else. And shout out to the original voice talent, our first Apocalypse, and that was John Colicos, who was the first Klingon to first appear in the original Star Trek series, and we didn’t know that when we were doing our show!”

Says Eric, “One of my five favorite lines out of the tens of thousands in the original series, was when Apocalypse suddenly pauses and says, ‘Wait a minute, am I like Sisyphus? Is this just futile and I’m going to live forever and never die, never change, never accomplish anything?’ So the good lines are he is this immortal creature who knows he is this immortal creature… and we were writing him before we knew the voice, but one episode in [with Colicos] we were like, ‘Oh God, we gotta write more for this guy!’”

As the writer explains it, Apocalypse might’ve only been in six or seven episodes of the original show without Colicos’ vocal choices and inflections. Instead he’s in 17 episodes. “There lots of villains we never got around to using, but we kept coming back around to him because he was just such a joy to write for,” Eric explains.

And in X-Men ’97, the character Colicos helped define is about to get a whole timey-wimey season where the X-Men will have to face him in the future, past, and 1997 present.

“Apocalypse is an exciting character, [and I’m] so happy to bring him back to the screen,” says Brad Winderbaum, an executive producer on X-Men ’97 and the current head of streaming, television, and animation at Marvel Studios. “He represents, I think, a horrible future and destiny for the X-Men that they’re always trying to avoid. So he serves a very specific, and very awesome purpose.”

Winderbaum also gives us a few teases for the upcoming season, including how the new season will explore the characters of Cyclops and Jean Grey as they attempt to become parents to their son Nathan, who they have discovered in a far-flung dystopian future (it’s comic book levels of complicated).

Says the exec producer, “For Scott and Jean, that idea of wanting to be parents, of wanting to be together and have a family drives them, and the world is always in their way. Circumstances are always in their way. Destiny is always in their way. Bigger problems are always in their way. So the fact that they get to spend this time with Nathan and get to raise him for a short period, is a beautiful reward for them.”

Among the characters who will be experiencing a lot of the give-and-take of destiny and personal needs, however, is Rogue, who has been voiced since 1992 by Lenore Zann. Rogue experienced the most heartache in the first season following the death of Remy LeBeau, aka Gambit, and that turmoil will continue in the second season.

“Rogue is on a mission, she still wants to get revenge for what happened to all of the other mutants in season 1, the Genosha genocide, but she’d also really love to get Remy back,” Zann teases. “And I mean true love, when you feel that feeling for somebody and you’ve lost somebody, it takes a long time to get over, so she’s still on an emotional roller coaster… anybody who’s lost someone knows there are many stages to the grief, including rage. So she’s going to be through a lot of emotions again this season, and she’s going to have to make some tough decisions.”

Zann also has been a long roller coaster with Rogue, a character she gave that now iconic Southern twang to, and whom she knows so personally that she was able to rewrite lines for in X-Men ’97, specifically a crucial bit in the episode preceding Gambit’s death.

“Let’s put it this way, I have definitely added some lines here and there,” says Zann. “When I’m in the booth, [I’d ask the producers] could I try saying this instead of that line? And I would do both. I would do their line and then I would do my own line, and sometimes those are the ones that stayed. So in the first season, when I’m dancing with Magneto in the ceiling in the sky, and we kiss, and then I pull away, and you think I’m going to say ‘I love you’ or something, instead of the line that was written, I say, ‘Thanks for the dance sugah, but Remy was right. Some things are deeper than skin,’ and they kept that line.”

Keeping true to the roots and the core of who the X-Men are might be the greatest legacy of this series. More than three decades after the original series, Houston marvels that Freddie Prinze Jr. once sought him out to chat with him about the series as a fan of it growing up. Meanwhile Julia reminds that while still Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau had the voice talent of X-Men ’97 visit his office.

‘Justin Trudeau knows the X-Men how is this possible?!” Julia laughs. “Are we influencing policy up here in Canada?”

But it’s the pull the series has had with fans, which keeps its legacy vital.

“We had no clue that it would go worldwide like it has, but it really has,” Eric considers. “If I wear an X-Men hat in Singapore, someone’s going to say ‘I watched your show growing up!’ It’s weirdly, amazingly gratifyingly well-received.”

X-Men ’97 premieres on Disney+ on July 1.

Actors Who Earned Their Reputation in the Horror Genre

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

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

Jamie Lee Curtis

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

Robert Englund

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

Bela Lugosi

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

Boris Karloff

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

Vincent Price

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

Christopher Lee

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

Barbara Steele

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

Peter Cushing

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

Tony Todd

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

Kane Hodder

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

Brad Dourif

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

Lin Shaye

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

Sid Haig

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

Danielle Harris

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

14 Action Heroes Who Were Clearly Too Old for This

In Lethal Weapon, Dany Glover’s character has a catchphrase that expresses how old he is for a given situation. Well, while played for laughs on that movie series, it’s quite true for certain action heroes that should’ve retired long ago, at least when it comes to action scenes.

Elderly actors still have a place in the cinematic world, but clearly they can’t do the action scenes they once did; asking them to do it would be irresponsible. There are camera tricks, CGI, and other ways to make them look believable, but all in all, we much preferred if they accepted their age and took other roles.

Harrison Ford

By the time Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny arrived, Harrison Ford was 80 years old. The film openly addressed Indy’s age, but many viewers still struggled to accept an octogenarian performing globe-trotting action heroics.

Robert De Niro

The Irishman used extensive de-aging technology to make Robert De Niro appear decades younger. Unfortunately, one infamous fight scene became a frequent target of criticism because his movements still reflected his real age.

Sylvester Stallone

Sylvester Stallone kept returning as both Rocky Balboa and John Rambo well into his sixties and seventies. While fans admired his dedication, many critics questioned whether the physical demands still suited the aging action icon.

Arnold Schwarzenegger

Arnold Schwarzenegger’s later Terminator appearances leaned heavily into the character’s age. Even so, seeing the former bodybuilding legend engage in large-scale action sequences in his seventies often stretched credibility.

Liam Neeson

Liam Neeson reinvented himself as an action star with Taken at 56. As he continued headlining thrillers into his late sixties and seventies, audiences increasingly joked about the veteran actor still playing unstoppable fighters.

Clint Eastwood

At 91, Clint Eastwood starred in Cry Macho, a film that still required him to handle physical confrontations and dangerous situations. Many reviewers felt the movie pushed the limits of the aging-action-hero formula.

Roger Moore

Roger Moore himself later admitted he felt too old for some of his final James Bond appearances. By A View to a Kill, even fans noticed that 57-year-old Bond looked considerably older than his romantic interests.

Sean Connery

Sean Connery returned as Bond in Never Say Never Again at age 53. His charisma remained intact, but the film often felt like it was asking an aging spy to perform feats designed for a younger man.

Bruce Willis

Before his retirement, Bruce Willis appeared in numerous low-budget action films that relied heavily on his established tough-guy reputation. The productions often seemed designed to minimize the physical demands placed on the aging star.

Steven Seagal

Steven Seagal’s later action movies became notorious online. As the actor aged, productions increasingly relied on seated fight scenes, minimal movement, and creative camera work to avoid showcasing his physical limitations.

Chuck Norris

Chuck Norris remained an action hero far longer than most of his contemporaries. While fans loved seeing him return in projects like The Expendables 2, his advancing age inevitably became part of the conversation.

Jean-Claude Van Damme

Jean-Claude Van Damme continued performing action roles deep into his fifties and sixties. Although still impressively flexible, later films often highlighted the contrast between his legendary athletic past and advancing age.

Dolph Lundgren

Dolph Lundgren remained physically imposing longer than most action stars, but his later appearances in franchises like The Expendables and Creed II inevitably raised questions about how much punishment an aging hero can realistically endure.

John Travolta

John Travolta spent much of the 2000s and 2010s headlining action thrillers despite being well past the age when most actors transition out of the genre. Films like Killing Season and I Am Wrath often asked audiences to believe he was still an elite fighter and pursuer.

Widow’s Bay Ending Explained: For Whom the Bell Tolls

This article contains spoilers for Widow’s Bay episode 10, “We Hope You Enjoyed Your Time!”

Apple TV’s sleeper hit Widow’s Bay has now concluded its first season on the streamer, and everyone who has become obsessed with the show’s strange island and its eccentric townsfolk will now be waiting for the second season to arrive.

In the final episode of Katie Dippold’s delightful horror-comedy series, the residents of Widow’s Bay and a gaggle of tourists—encouraged to visit the cursed island by Mayor Tom Loftis—hunker down in an emergency shelter as a violent storm hits. The island, which continues to suffer under a cursed pact made by its founder, has recently been struck by a fresh string of creepy and sometimes diabolically brutal incidents, so Tom has been working with allies Patricia and Wyck to lift the curse from the island forever.

Let’s look at how all that played out for Tom in the season finale of Widow’s Bay by examining the Warren bloodline, the island’s malevolent entity, and what that ominous church bell means for the future.

The Warren Bloodline

After Rosemary tells Tom that his elderly assistant, Ruth Livingston, is the last known living descendant of Widow’s Bay founder Richard Warren, Tom thinks he may be able to put a stop to the ongoing horrors on the island by killing her. After all, Warren told him that although he signed a pact with the island’s demonic entity to protect his colony during its first winter, we know that this curse may still be broken if the last surviving member of his bloodline dies.

Tom does not want to kill Ruth, but he does want to save the remaining residents of Widow’s Bay from further catastrophe. Spiking her tea with a cocktail of drugs he knows she mustn’t take together, Tom waits for the 84-year-old Ruth to slip peacefully into unconsciousness and death. He reveals that he understands his culpability in bringing tourists to Widow’s Bay because he knew his wife was telling the truth about the island’s natives being unable to leave without dire consequences.

Tom also notes that Ruth has a family heirloom: the brooch Sarah Westcott Warren gave little Frances. It’s clear that Rosemary got Frances’ genealogy right …until she didn’t. When Ruth was 40, she had an affair with a married man and got pregnant. She hid the pregnancy because she was “not in a good place”, then gave the baby to her lover and his wife, who raised Ruth’s daughter as their own.

That baby was Lauren, Tom’s dead wife, and Tom suddenly understands that this revelation makes his son Evan the last descendant in Richard Warren’s bloodline. Evan can never leave the island or terrible things will happen to him. And since Tom can’t kill his own son, even to save the others, he keeps this knowledge to himself, because only when Ruth and Evan are dead will the entity’s curse be lifted and the pact broken.

The Entity

Bored and reckless during the biblical storm hitting Widow’s Bay, Evan and his friends decide to go down into the creepy basement under the emergency shelter, where they discover a room with an electric chair and a rusted metal hatch. We’ve seen this room before in a tease at the end of episode one, but the room’s purpose wasn’t clear at the time.

Meanwhile, eccentric town hall employee Dale (Jeff Hiller) finds an archive containing reels showing what appears to be the last time the island’s residents fed its demonic entity. It seems that they were rather organized about the sacrifice. A first reel even details what to do if you’re one of the town’s “offerings”, having been selected by peers in a “rigorous” process. Reasons for being selected as an offering to the entity vary from a criminal past to just being found “wanting in some way”.

“The bad times will not end until the covenant is honored, and honored fully,” a cheery gentleman explains, as we see hooded human sacrifices chained up and ready. Dale realizes that the island’s latest deadly storm has been rounding people up for slaughter, forcing them inside the emergency shelter toward the hungry entity. As Evan and his buddies mess around with the electric chair, the shelter’s loudspeaker suddenly announces to the crowd that “it’s time” and that they shouldn’t beg; simply move forward.

Kenny the Custodian, dutifully checking that everyone is okay, finally finds Evan and his friends in the entity’s kill room before anything happens to them. He orders them out, but the door suddenly slams shut behind him, and the storm ceases. When the door unlocks itself, Kenny is gone, save for his flashlight, but the metal doors to the entity’s hiding place are ajar. It seems the entity waited until Evan left because it could not kill him, fearing it would sever its ties with Warren’s remaining bloodline for good.

The Church Bell

In the second episode of Widow’s Bay, Tom informs the late Reverend Bryce (Toby Huss) that the town’s church bell woke him up in the middle of the night, ringing nine times. The pastor of Widow’s Bay is confused and unsettled by Tom’s words because the church bell has been chained up for a long time. It couldn’t have possibly rung. But Bryce then finds an old letter that tells him what to do if the bell ever does ring.

Bryce never shares exactly what happens next, but he is extremely overwhelmed and distressed by his investigation. He leaves a chaotic voicemail for Tom and burns historical documents in his rectory. Tom, Wyck, and Patricia then discover that Bryce has hanged himself.

Later, during the storm, Dale watches an old reel that details exactly what needs to happen when the church bell rings. The man in the footage explains that “The bad times will not end until the covenant is honored, and honored fully,” adding, “The island will make its needs known. One soul for each bell toll.”

After Tom surveys the still water surrounding Widow’s Bay the morning after the storm, he once again hears the impossible church bell toll. On this occasion, it rings eight times. The entity has feasted on one soul, Kenny’s, but eight sacrifices still need to be made to honor the pact. More people must die to satisfy the entity’s hunger and guide it back into its slumber.

Of course, the island’s residents won’t know how long the entity will sleep for, but until it does, the horrors will continue.

All episodes of Widow’s Bay are now streaming on Apple TV.

Stranger Things’ Duffer Brothers Have a Mysterious New Movie in the Works with Paramount

With the series finale of Stranger Things and the endless fan conspiracies of an alternate ending now passed, the Duffer Brothers (Matt and Ross) have wasted no time working on everything but Stranger Things in their new deal with Paramount, a notable change of platform following the brothers’ production company Upside Down Pictures’ long relationship with Netflix. The pair signed an exclusive four-year deal with Paramount that they announced last August, expressing (via Variety) that a theatrical release is very important to them and that an original film is what they “wanted to do next.” Their deal with Paramount also includes the potential of more original series alongside films.

Now The Hollywood Reporter has broken the news that the Duffer Brothers are starting production on their new original film with Paramount and it is projected for a Fall 2028 release. Ross Duffer confirmed with a post of the article on Instagram. The Duffer Brothers are being particularly secretive as to this movie’s contents so far and there have been no hints at a proposed plot or genre but the duo has expressed gratitude for their opportunity to work “with such a storied Hollywood legacy [Paramount]” to produce their theatrical release.

The two-hour long series finale of Stranger Things was screened in select theaters during its release and according to Deadline made more than $25 million for movie theaters. Although this project is likely detached from their hit series, the anticipation for a new Duffer movie will likely bring audiences to theaters.

While the plot details of the movie have yet to be announced, it’s safe to assume that the film will possess similar sci-fi and thriller elements that the majority of the Duffers’ stories usually pursue. These themes stay present in their titles previous to Stranger Things like their post-apocalyptic thriller Hidden in 2015 and their participation in the production of Fox series Wayward Pines.

Recently The Duffer Brothers lent their names as executive producers for two Netflix projects; The Boroughs, that follows a retirement community of “unlikely heroes”that work together to stop a threat before they run out of time, and the limited series Something Very Bad Is Going To Happen, about a newly-engaged couple preparing for their wedding with the groom’s mysterious family in their remote cabin.Both projects were well received by fans with a 97% on Rotten Tomatoes for The Boroughs and an 85% for Something Very Bad Is Going To Happen.

The Duffers will likely keep expanding their successful take on the sci-fi and thriller genre through this new film and bring die-hard fans of their projects to the theaters in 2028 and anticipate further TV series through their Paramount deal.

Only Murders in the Building Season 6’s Cast Is Now Overwhelmingly Huge

This article contains spoilers for Only Murders in the Building season 5.

Only Murders in the Building announced multiple additions to its season 6 cast on Instagram this week in a series of three posts. Among the new names are: David Tennant (Doctor Who), Nicola Coughlan (Bridgerton), Jodie Whittaker (Doctor Who), Jim Broadbent (Bridget Jones’s Diary), Richard Ayoade (The IT Crowd), Adrian Lukis (Pride and Prejudice), and Kathryn Hunter (Poor Things).

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Only Murders in The Building is projected to have another successful season following main characters Charles (Steve Martin), Oliver (Martin Short), and Mabel (Selena Gomez) through their endless endeavor of solving murders in their apartment building and around New York City while documenting their journey through their true-crime podcast. But season 6 of the show finds the OMITB team packing their bags and moving their crime-solving expertise to London to solve the murder of recurring character and fellow podcaster Cinda Canning (Tina Fey).

As the show has grown in popularity and the crew’s credibility for solving homicide cases has increased, many major Hollywood talents have guest-starred in past seasons. Meryl Streep (which sparked a romantic relationship between her and Martin Short), Cara Delevingne, Melissa McCarthy, Mel Brooks and many more have participated being a featured family member, neighbor, business owners, and other lingering characters that are relevant to the crime plot.

Although every season of Only Murders In The Building is known for adding multiple guest stars, season 6 is overwhelmingly stacked with stars, begging the question of how these many characters will actually fit into this new season’s plot? Along with the new names, 14 more stars were previously announced to be joining the cast; Geri Halliwell Horner, Martin Freeman, Jamie Demetriou, Anjana Vasan, Jane Horrocks, Derek Jacobi, Lesley Nicol, in the second announcement and Jennifer Saunders, Sean Teale, Simone Ashley, Amar Chadha-Patel, Rhea Norwood, Matthew Beard, and Sharon Horgan were featured in the very first batch.

It’s no question that this season is absolutely stacked with characters and production has a lot of work on their hands, not only managing these appearances, but also a whole new setting. Steve Martin posted a photo with his co-stars on instagram reaffirming the set change with the caption “OMITB hits London!”

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How all the guests will fit into the plot is unknown, but it is likely that the opportunity for so many appearances on this season is because Charles, Olivier, and Mabel are leaving the Big Apple to solve this new season’s mystery. The official release date of season 6 is yet to be announced but is officially in production via the Only Murders in The Building Instagram.

Weird DC Fans Rejoice As James Gunn Confirms Gorilla Co-Star for Jimmy Olsen Show

For most fans of DC Comics and its various media spinoffs, it’s just about superheroes being cool. They want watch Batman skulk from the shadows, Wonder Woman deflect bullets with her bracelets, and Superman lift planets. But there are other DC Comics fans; fans who thrill to the musings of Brother Power the Geek, fans who have a favorite member of the Metal Men, fans who think no Doom Patrol story is complete without Danny the Street. These fans don’t care about the Justice League fighting Darkseid. They just want to see a cub reporter match wits with a telepathic criminal from a hidden city of intelligent gorillas.

And those fans are thrilled right now, because James Gunn and Peter Safran are making a show just for them. We’ve known for a while now that Skyler Gisondo would reprise his role as Jimmy Olsen for a Superman spinoff show about the Daily Planet reporter. And we’ve known that the Flash villain Gorilla Grodd would be involved somehow. But Gunn has taken to Threads to confirm that Grodd and Jimmy would be the co-leads of the series, answering the prayers of DC weirdos everywhere.

The decision might come as a surprise to people who only know Jimmy from various movies and TV shows. The affable guy played by Marc McClure in the Christopher Reeve movies, the handsome cool guy played by Mehcad Brooks in Supergirl, the dude who gets shot in the face in Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice—all of these Jimmies were more or less normal guys, who simply had to deal with super stuff going on around them.

However, the excitable nerd played by Ishmel Sahid in My Adventures With Superman comes closer to the character from the comics, a good-hearted dork who throws himself into oddities and his own absurd escapades. In the ongoing series Superman’s Pal, Jimmy Olsen, which ran from 1954 to 1974, the reporter found himself gaining rubber powers, turning into a werewolf, becoming a turtle boy, and marrying a chimpanzee—sometimes on Superman’s orders. Jimmy was even the first to come into contact with the New Gods, discovering Jack Kirby‘s Fourth World via space hippies and cosmic bikers.

Gorilla Grodd, however, has the opposite reputation. Grodd came from the goofiest part of the Silver Age, debuting in 1959’s The Flash #106 by John Broome and Carmine Infantino. A super-intelligent gorilla with psychic powers from a crashed spaceship, Grodd is one of the Flash’s greatest villains. As such, Grodd has often appeared outside of the comics, including a memorable run in Justice League Unlimited and especially a story on Legends of Tomorrow, when he went back in time to kill a young Barack Obama.

If the HBO series treats Jimmy as a more or less normal guy, as he’s been portrayed in most non-comic appearances, then the show will surely fail to realize its potential. But if we get the wacky Jimmy from the comics, if the show can give us something akin to a psychic gorilla killing a future president, then the series will be something special—at least to the DC weirdos who love this crazy stuff.

Toy Story 5 Review: Jessie Rides Again in Classic Pixar Adventure

Making a sequel to a classic is a bit like gambling. You’re taking the capital created by reputation and goodwill, not to mention years of hard work, and betting you can creatively do it again without harming your legacy–or at least get in the ballpark of what came before. If that’s the case, then Pixar might be on the hottest winning streak in Hollywood history. For more than 30 years, the Bay Area company has bet the house and doubled down again by making one Toy Story movie after another, roughly every seven to 10 years, and more often than not they’ve come out with another stone-cold animated masterpiece. And even when they haven’t, the results were still pretty great.

So those waiting with bated breath can now rest easy. Toy Story 5 is another winning hand. While the overall story of Woody, Buzz, Jessie, and all the rest probably could’ve ended with the perfect sendoff of Toy Story 3—though Toy Story 4 also could’ve been a worthwhile epilogue for Woody, the ragdoll cowboy—Toy Story 5 still justifies its existence by providing a thoughtful expansion on the plights of parenting in the 21st century’s brave new world of tech and screens. And it does this by revisiting what I believe to be the best and most poignant chapter in the plastic saga: Toy Story 2 and the cowgirl who got left behind.

If Toy Story 4 was Woody’s movie, Toy Story 5 belongs to Jessie, the high-energy rough and tumblin’ tomboy given vocal life by Joan Cusack. Something of a sidekick to Tom Hanks’ Woody over the last several films, there was a time in 1999 where the tragedy of a doll abandoned by her teenage owner, plus the musical stylings of Sarah McLachlan, broke enough hearts to get an Oscar nomination. Hence Toy Story 5 choosing in traditional Pixar fashion to telescope right into the emotional turmoil by opening on a few bars of “When She Loved Me” during a flashback of Emily and Jessie playing by a fateful tire swing.

It’s a painful memory for Jessie, the only doll in the Toy Story movies to watch their kid grow up and leave. Twice. It also gives her something amounting to PTSD when, as the top dog sheriff in the bedroom of wee little Bonnie (Scarlett Spears), she gets an anxiety attack as the parents introduce Lilypad, a grotesque training wheels version of the iPad for the elementary school set.

There is a certain bit of irony in a studio co-founded by Steve Jobs now attempting to, even mildly, consider the psychological, emotional, and developmental downsides to screen technology. One senses the film pulls its punches, too, while emphasizing with parents who view Lilypad (voiced here by Greta Lee as a chipper Siri clone) as the best way for their slightly shy and introverted child to make new friends at dance class. All the other girls are doing it, so we can’t have her left behind.

Still, the movie does offer a fairly evenhanded consideration about the advantages and many pitfalls of putting the first device within a child’s reach. Bonnie is immediately glued to the new blue light, barely even noticing her beloved Jessie and Bullseye toys. Yet it’s hard to say the eight-year-old is much happier as Lilypad introduces Bonnie to her first social network of friends—and her first taste of mean-girl bullying when those friends discover Bonnie plays with toys.

The trick of the Toy Story movies, particularly the later ones, is that they’re both a metaphor for childhood and the challenges of raising a child. Especially as Andy got older, and Woody and Buzz started thinking about a life after college, these films have leaned evermore on the adult point-of-view via the metaphor of a toy’s purpose. Despite this relative heaviness, they are still a child’s fantasy, and in the case of Toy Story 5, the misplaced existential fear of being replaced in the original movie takes on hilarious modern context as Jessie, Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen), Rex (Wallace Shawn), and all the rest recognize they are about to be neglected in favor of a screen. Many of the castoffs Woody and Bo Peep (Annie Potts) run into out on the road now are ronin figurines lamenting that “the age of toys is over!” Tech is here.

As with the best Pixar movies, co-writers and co-directors Andrew Stanton and McKenna Harris (the former of whom has been writing these characters since the ‘90s) know how to balance the meta commentary with sincere, affectionate characterization. Jessie and Buzz’s arguments with Lilypad’s smooth, PR-clipped promises of not being their doom are genuinely funny, even as Lilypad seems to be using the internet messenger to make decisions for Bonnie and her parents, as opposed to the other way around.

The film is too sophisticated to have an outright villain—or perhaps too sympathetic for technology—but it knows how to twist the knife and build on a sturdy foundation of characters who have raised children and, at this point, the children of that first crop of fans.

The film also delicately tickles the nostalgia buttons. This is much more Jessie’s story, with the cowgirl and her trusty horse ending up on an odyssey when they are accidentally left behind by Bonnie during a disastrous sleepover, but Woody and Buzz feature just enough to rekindle memories of halcyon Pixar days. The film also has some fun at really underscoring the age of the franchise, with Woody getting a sun spot on his scalp that looks suspiciously like baldness, matching the inexplicable new stuffing in his tummy.

Yet age might be one of the series’ few sore spots as well. Other than a few winking gags at Woody’s expense, the animation does not age. In fact, the surrounding world looks more photorealistic with each passing installment in the series. But the voices are starting to show their wear and tear. It will be interesting to learn if younger audiences will notice or care about the difference, but it is hard not to catch the creep of age in the cadences of Jessie, Buzz, and especially Woody. Two of them might be called cowboy and cowgirl, but they increasingly sound more like grandparents worrying about the youths these days than sprightly, immortal toys.

Toy Story 5 might get away with it, if only just, but a potential Toy Story 6 could risk the cognitive dissonance that occurred in the last Indiana Jones movie where a 40-year-old looking Indy spoke with an 80-year-old man’s vocal inflections.

The passage of time also slips into the margins of Toy Story 5 in a fairly middling subplot involving a squadron of Buzz Lightyear action figures—now updated for the 21st century with wi-fi hotspots!—surviving a crash like the Wild Robot and then journeying into the world, each convinced he is the Buzz Lightyear. In effect it adds some visual sight gags as they get up to preschool-aimed hijinks, but it feels somewhat beneath Pixar and this serjes. It’s more in line with what modern kids might expect from animated movies where the Minions serve up shenanigans for the viewers too young or distracted to follow the main narrative.

It feels like a concession to the times, which as Toy Story 5 admits about technology, is ultimately inevitable. In many ways, though, Toy Story 5 is another successful triumph over the clock. The years may pass, but the studio’s jealous cultivation and curation of the garden Buzz and Woody built remains immaculate.

Toy Story 5 is not necessarily the best of its franchise, nor does it even feel like another ending to a series that’s already closed the book twice on its characters. But it has all the heart and affection that made plastic dolls designed by ones and zeroes feel oh, so alive 31 years ago. The handcrafted love is there, no matter how dazzling the technological accoutrements become. Also it’s a film that will hopefully inspire another generation of viewers to put down the screens, if only for a moment, and pick up the real toys like Jessie, who deserve all the playtime in the world.

Toy Story 5 opens in theaters on Friday, June 19.

Strange New Worlds Season 4 Trailer Calls Back to Classic Star Trek Tradition

Star Trek is one of the peaks of Paramount‘s mountain of properties. Just look at the dazzling visuals in the first trailer for season 4 of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, full of cutting-edge CGI and incredible costumes. The trailer promises high tension as it heads toward its fifth and final season, including more exploration, the resolution of Captain Pike’s arc, and, of course, more bonding between future shipmates/slash fiction originators, Kirk and Spock.

Yet, for old school Trek fans, the most incongruous moments in the trailer invoke the most nostalgia. Shots of a T-Rex bearing down on the crew, a dragon breathing fire onto the Enterprise‘s saucer section, and La’an in a sword fight with a couple of Game of Thrones types. These genre-blending scenes recall a time when Star Trek was broke, and Gene Roddenberry had to make whole episodes by borrowing sets and costumes from other shows.

As most pop culture aficionados know, Star Trek came into being in part, of course, because TV executives were compelled by Roddenberry’s pitch (“Wagon Train to the stars”), because Lucille Ball advocated for the show, and because Roddenberry course-corrected after the network passed on his first pilot. Yet, for all the Original Series had going for it, the show had a minuscule budget, especially for a series intended to take viewers into unexplored parts of the galaxy.

To make ends meet, Roddenberry and his co-creators would send the Enterprise to planets that looked a lot like Earth at various points in history, or resembled aspects of Earth’s mythologies. Thus, we get “A Piece of the Action,” in which Kirk and Spock deal with 1930s gangsters, the haunted house adventure “Catspaw,” or the confrontation with Greek gods in “Who Mourns for Adonis?”.

The Next Generation had a moderately more stable budget, but it carried on the tradition with its holodeck episodes. When Picard became hard-boiled PI Dixon Hill or Data became Sherlock Holmes, the show paid homage to the TOS genre-busters. Later ’90s series continued the tradition, with Doctor Bashir channeling 007 on Deep Space Nine and Voyager‘s Janeway creating her own bodice ripper in an idyllic Irish town.

As a prequel to TOS, Strange New Worlds doesn’t have a holodeck to play with (outside the uneven self-parody/murder mystery “A Space Adventure Hour” from last season). Yet, they’ve found ways to play with other genres, most obviously in the delightful fantasy episode from season one, “The Elysian Kingdom.”

The genre-mashup is just one of the many nods to classic Trek in the season 4 trailer, which not only has cheeky winks toward Kirk and Spock’s relationships, but also has Andorians, an SOS that turns out to be a trap (Kobayashi Maru?), and… is that Scotty and Uhura kissing, a la Star Trek V?

It remains to be seen if all of those things will come to fruition before Kirk starts his five-year mission as Captain. But at least we’ll know Strange New Worlds will be making its new lives and new civilizations the old school way, big budget be damned.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season four premieres on Paramount Plus on July 23, 2026.