The Acolyte‘s fifth episode revealed the identity of Mae’s dark Master, but the person underneath that mask wasn’t the only fascinating thing we learned about that helmet. Qimir’s terrifying headgear on The Acolyte is made from cortosis. But what is cortosis exactly? Well, cortosis is a legendary material from Star Wars lore. That powerful, rare metal can withstand blows from a lightsaber and even cause them to short circuit, as we saw on The Acolyte’s fifth episode. Without that helmet, the Jedi might have stopped their most dangerous enemy. But more worrisome than what it can do in battle is what the presence of a cortosis helmet indicates about the danger the Jedi now face.

What Is Cortosis, the Metal Qimir Used to Make His Helmet on The Acolyte?

Qimir wears a cortosis helmet on The Acolyte. Cortosis is an uncommon metal that is among the strongest and strangest in the galaxy far, far away. It’s found on two Star Wars planets: the Mid Rim planet Dinzo and the Outer Rim planet Mokivj.

Cortosis is extremely fragile unless refined. Then, it becomes incredibly powerful. Timothy Zahn’s Thrawn: Alliances explained why. The rare metal has an “unusually high energy absorption and transmission coefficients.” That allows cortosis to “dissipate” energy blasts along fibers without damaging them. While cortosis has its limits, notably lengthy energy attacks, it still poses a unique problem for Jedi fighting a dark side user.

Cortosis Can Short Out Jedi Lightsabers, as We Saw on Star Wars: The Acolyte

In short, refined cortosis can withstand a lightsaber blast while causing the weapon to short out. Qimir used his helmet to do both while fighting multiple Jedi on Khofar. His helmet provided a shield that blocked lightsaber strikes, allowing him to fight in a unique style. It also made the Jedi weapons temporarily malfunction and shut down. Those brief moments bought Qimir extra time to defeat his confused, briefly unarmed opponents.

Without his cortosis helmet, Qimir likely would have died on that planet in The Acolyte‘s fifth episode. Master Sol bested Qimir after the dark Master lost his mask.

The Acolyte Reveals That Cortosis Can Also Be Used for Sensory Deprivation

The Acolyte reveals that cortosis can be used for more than just shorting out lightsabers, though. It can also be used to create an experience of sensory deprivation. Qimir notes that his cortosis helmet is handy against lightsabers, but is also a “sensory deprivation headpiece,” like the Jedi use as Younglings. He notes that while wearing a cortosis headpiece not only are all your senses blocked, but “It’s just you and the Force and what you bring with you.”

Where Is Cortosis Mined?

The Acolyte also reveals where cortosis is mined, sort of. Qimir lives on an “Unknown Planet.” That planet really reminded us of Star Wars‘ Ahch-To, but it turns out that it’s really a planet where cortosis is mined. Cortosis is a rare metal, so it’s not found many places in the Star Wars universe. We’ll have to wait for The Acolyte to reveal which planet this is exactly and what other secrets it holds.

Showrunner Leslye Headland notes, “the idea is that cortosis is mined on this planet, so I don’t think that’s the case with Ahch-To. Part of the reason this is his home base is that cortosis is a very rare metal. I don’t think we say it explicitly in the show, but that’s a reason it’s not Ahch-To.”

When Was Cortosis First Introduced in Star Wars?

Cortosis dates back known to the franchise’s non-canonical, pre-Disney “Legends” era. It notably appeared in Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and Darth Bane stories. There cortosis was best utilized as an anti-lightsaber weapon that also caused them to short circuit.

Ten years before The Acolyte, Cortosis made its canonical Disney-era Star Wars debut in 2014 in John Jackson Miller’s novel New Dawn. In its new form, it still closely resembles the original Legends iteration in terms of both properties and uses. Cortosis’ new canonical history also traces back millennia to the Era of the Sith. That’s when Star Wars’ legendary Null Blade was created to fight against the dark side order. During the Clone Wars, Count Dooku also used cortosis to create a protective shield that he employed against the Republic. And a possessed Doctor Aphra even used the Null Blade in a battle with Darth Vader.

What Does Qimir’s Use of Cortosis Mean for The Acolyte?

The Jedi haven’t faced a real threat in so long that they didn’t even know what Qimir was. He had to tell Sol they might call him a Sith, an enemy no Jedi has seen for thousands and thousands of years. Qimir was too much for them. Yord said he showed a flagrant disregard for the “rules” of fighting. That included how he used his cortosis helmet, which rendered The Acolyte‘s Jedi weaponless and defenseless.

With his helmet back in hand, Qimir once again has something that can help him defeat Jedi. But more than that, his cortosis helmet shows he knows secrets from Star Wars‘ past that the Jedi have long forgotten. They couldn’t stop him when he only had a helmet on. What if he also found other uses for cortosis that they don’t know about?

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist and lover of fictional metals. You can follow him on Twitter and Bluesky at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

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In The Acolyte‘s sixth episode, Osha found herself on Qimir’s secret hideaway. That place was first seen in the series’ premiere when Mae’s Master appeared atop a rock along crashing ocean waves. Unlike every other world on the series, though, the Star Wars series didn’t give Qimir’s world a name. The Acolyte labeled it only as an “Unknown Planet.” But it was impossible for Star Wars fans not to wonder if we already know what it’s actually called, Ahch-To. The Acolyte‘s Unknown Planet looked nearly identical to the planet of Ahch-To from the sequel trilogy. But though showrunner Leslye Headland has now confirmed that the “Unknown Planet” is not Ahch-To, the similarities still ring loudly. Qimir living on a planet that reminds us of Ahch-to creates immediate parallels between the tale of the very dark side user who will put the Jedi on a path to near ruin a century later and the story of how a reclusive Luke Skywalker trained Rey.

What Is The Acolyte‘s Unknown Planet? Here’s Why It Reminded Fans of Star Wars‘ Ahch-To

The Acolyte‘s “Unknown Planet” and the Star Wars planet Ahch-To share all the same physical properties. They’re both mostly covered in water dotted with lush, green rocky islands. Each is also home to adorable little bird-like creatures, though the new Disney+ show’s animals are not porgs. Simply put, they look identical in every way.

Those similarities are only part of the reason why it was impossible not to think Osha found herself on Ahch-To on The Acolyte. The Acolyte also framed many shots in ways that clearly hearken back to The Last Jedi. The camera watched from behind as she walked out of a tunnel to look out at the ocean. We saw similar shots of Rey and Luke framed just like that. Osha then followed Qimir around the Unknown Planet just as Rey followed Luke on Ahch-To. The Acolyte intentionally referenced shots and sequences from Ahch-To on a place that was indistinguishable from it.

Does Qimir Actually Live on the Planet of Ahch-To on The Acolyte?

So, is that actually where Qimir lives? Did the Jedi Killer make the very planet where the Jedi Order was founded thousands of years before as his base of operations? It turns out the answer is, no. The “Unknown Planet” is not Ahch-To. Instead, Qimir resides on a planet where it is possible to mine the rare Star Wars metal, cortosis.

Headland shares in response to whether Qimir’s Unknown Planet is actually Ahch-To on The Acolyte:

It’s not Ahch-To. I know it’s similar, and it was intentionally supposed to be similar in terms of terrain and feeling isolated and surrounded by water and less lush green and more rocky. But the idea is that cortosis is mined on this planet, so I don’t think that’s the case with Ahch-To. Part of the reason this is his home base is that cortosis is a very rare metal. I don’t think we say it explicitly in the show, but that’s a reason it’s not Ahch-To.

But though Qimir’s planet is not the famous Star Wars setting, the fact his world looks so much like Ahch-To is what matters.

The Unkown Planet’s Resemblance to Ahch-To Is Important for The Acolyte Even If It’s a Different Planet

Of course, had The Acolyte‘s “Unknown Planet” ultimately been revealed to be Ahch-To the significance would have been obvious. The very dark lord—a former Jedi Padawan and possible Sith—who put the Order on a path of destruction would have used the Jedi’s own home to bring them down.

We still wonder if there are other secrets on the island, though. Had it been Ahch-To, we might have speculated that Qimir used Sacred Jedi Texts and ancient Jedi knowledge found on Ahch-To to better understand his enemy on The Acolyte. This could have explained why he’s able to tap into the Force with as much power as he can.

(But perhaps other knowledge from the Unknown Planet will help explain why the Jedi couldn’t sense his real identity initially. And that would also help explain why they won’t sense Palpatine’s more than a century later.)

But though Qimir’s planet is not Ahch-To on a cloudy day and is instead a totally different world, The Acolyte clearly wanted us to make that Star Wars connection. There’s obvious meaning in making us think about Ahch-To. It’s Star Wars “rhyming” like poetry, just as George Lucas said it should.

Osha becoming Qimir’s apprentice on The Acolyte on an island much like Ahch-To means another place exists where a powerful Force user trains a student who will go on to lead their order, just as occurs when Rey arrives at Ahch-To to find Luke Skywalker. Only the roles will flip now, with Qimir’s student reluctant to learn and Rey’s Master reluctant to teach.

In the galaxy far, far away there are two identical worlds, neither inherently good or bad. How those who call them home use those planets will determine which side they fall on, just as the Force is neither inherently good or bad. We’ll remember one planet for light, the other for dark. They, fittingly, balance each other.

Is The Acolyte‘s “Unknown Planet” really Ahch-To? No. But the fact we had to ask is meaningful enough on its own.

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist and Manny Jacinto superfan. You can follow him on Twitter and Bluesky at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

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Qimir is not the first Force user in the galaxy far, far away to try and lure a good person to the dark side, but his attempt to make Osha his new apprentice in The Acolyte‘s sixth episode was bigger than just two people. The moment she put on his cortosis helmet was an ominous sign of what might await her, with a scene that directly ties Osha to major Star Wars figures like Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker, Kylo Ren, and Rey.

“Cortosis, handy against lightsabers, but also a sensory deprivation headpiece. Like we used as younglings,” Qimir said to Osha. That sinister helmet was unlike any Jedi Padawan training headgear. Instead, it was more like some infamous locations that have played important roles in the lives of Star Wars‘ greatest heroes and villains.

In The Empire Strikes Back Yoda told Luke Skywalker to enter the swamp planet’s notorious cave. Also known as the Cave of Evil, Yoda said that place was “strong with the dark side of the Force” and a “domain of evil.” When Luke asked what was inside, Yoda answered, “Only what you take with you.”

Qimir’s words about his cortosis helmet echoed the same idea. What was inside of his helmet. “It’s just you and the Force,” he told Osha. “And what you bring with you.”

On Dagobah Luke saw a vision of Darth Vader that he struck down in anger. Vader’s mask then disappeared to reveal Luke’s face, a warning of the future awaiting Luke if he succumbed to the dark side. If not for his experience in the Cave of Evil, Luke might have gone on to kill his father and join the Emperor.

Kylo Ren (who shares many connections with Qimir) did kill his father, in part because he also went through Dagobah’s cave of evil under Snoke’s guidance. Inside it Kylo saw a vision of his uncle and former Master, whom he was able to strike down. However, the former Ben Solo was unable to kill the visions of his parents Leia and Han. (Rather than face his own “failure,” he destroyed the cave.)

If not for what happened on Dagobah, Kylo Ren might not have murdered his father when they met on Starkiller Base years later. The death of Han Solo allowed Kylo Ren to become even more powerful.

The Jedi who rescued Ben Solo’s soul also underwent her own dark side tribulation. On Ahch-To (a place remarkably similar to Qimir’s secret planet!) Rey entered the mirror cave. Despite being on the world where the Jedi Order was founded, that cave had strong ties to the dark side. The Jedi used it to train their Padawans for the same reason Yoda sent Luke into Dagobah’s evil cave. The Order knew an evil path tempts all Jedi some day. The best way to avoid walking it was to prepare for the day it came for them.

That dark place had called out to Rey, who felt compelled to enter. Her inability to ignore the mirror cave’s call greatly troubled Luke Skywalker. Yet Rey never succumbed to the dark side, which teased her with information about her parents and true identity. Like Luke before her, Rey passed her real test when Kylo Ren offered to rule the galaxy with her.

Anakin Skywalker also had to see his possible dark future long before his visions of Padmé’s death began haunting him. Anakin—whose tragic story is already intimately tied to Osha and Mae’s—once saw what would become of him if he did not become ruler of the planet Mortis, the center of the Force itself. The powerful figure the Son, the manifestation of the dark side, showed Anakin what he could become some day.

The horrible vision did not make Anakin stay and replace the leader of Mortis, the Father, who then wiped Anakin’s memory. But if it had Darth Vader would never have existed.

Anakin would eventually fall to the dark side just as the Father had feared. And The Acolyte made sure we remembered Anakin’s fate when Osha put on Qimir’s dark side helmet as he suggested. What did she bring in there with her? She found darkness and the sound of her own breathing.

It was a sound that evoked Darth Vader’s own iconic mechanical breathing.

Osha doesn’t know anything about Anakin Skywalker or Darth Vader, nor of Dagobah’s Cave of Evil, Mortis, or Ahch-To’s mirror cave. But we do. We also know that not everyone who sees a vision of a terrible future avoids it. Sometimes good Jedi fall to the dark side.

What did Osha bring with her into that helmet? The real question is what will she bring out with her when she takes it off? Hopefully whatever it is doesn’t sound anything like Darth Vader and Kylo Ren’s story.

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist still hoping Qimir is Darth Plagueis even though he’s not. You can follow him on Twitter and Bluesky at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

The post How THE ACOLYTE Connects Osha to Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker, and Other Major STAR WARS Figures appeared first on Nerdist.

“You speak as if you were a Jedi.”
“I was. A long time ago.”

The Acolyte‘s sixth episode confirmed what its previous installment only hinted at: Qimir was once a member of the Jedi Order. The powerful dark side user’s past means the Jedi helped create the very enemy who will help destroy them in the future. It also makes Qimir even more dangerous than we thought. Qimir has an institutional knowledge of his enemy and a personal reason to hate the Jedi. More troubling is that Qimir also has an intimate understanding of the fear and anger that former Jedi Padawan Osha also carries. That gives him a huge advantage in his attempts to recruit her as his new apprentice.

Qimir might talk like a Sith—and resemble a Knight of Ren—but he’s long shown a deep understanding of the Jedi Order. Now we know that’s because he was a Jedi with a Master “a really long time ago.” His time in the Order showed him the limits of being a Jedi and ultimately pushed Qimir to the dark side on The Acolyte.

Their methods are why he says Osha can no longer use her immense powers. “The Jedi teach there’s only one way to access the Force,” Qimir said. “If you don’t do it their way, it fades.” But Qimir knows there’s another way. He told Osha, “Below the surface of consciousness are powerful emotions. Anger. Fear. Loss. Desire.”

Osha called that “the path to the dark side,” and as all Star Wars fans know, she’s correct. Qimir didn’t even disagree with her. He simply called that “semantics,” because what the Jedi see as “dark,” The Acolyte‘s Qimir sees as freedom. That’s what Qimir said he wants in The Acolyte episode five, a freedom to use his power as he sees fit rather than how the Jedi say he can. He wants the freedom to live the way he wants.

Qimir also wants other things, including revenge. Osha asked about the scars on his back and Qimir didn’t deny they came from his former Jedi Master. That person “threw him away,” the same way he says the Jedi threw Osha away while making her think she failed them. In reality, Qimir says the Jedi couldn’t deal with the powerful emotions each lives with. Those feelings make Qimir and Osha a threat to the Jedi way.

(Who was the Jedi Master who gave Qimir his weird-shaped scar on The Acolyte? It’s not straight like the lightsaber slashes he gave to Wookiee Jedi Master Kelnacca. Its vaguely V-shaped pattern looks more like the kind of scar you’d get from a whip. And this episode saw Master Vernestra use her unique lightsaber whip on screen for the first time. She also clearly held something back about her fears over the Jedi slaughter on Khofar, the latest shady action she’s taken on the show.)

Qimir also wants something else on The Acolyte: “the power of two.” For that, he needs an acolyte. He thought that could be Mae, but he was wrong about her. Mae only wants revenge. He wants something more. Now Qimir thinks he’s found a kindred spirit in a fellow former Jedi Padawan who lost “everything” on The Acolyte. That loss has always held Osha back. Qimir wants her to see that loss is what “finally” set her free, just as he is free. And that freedom offers the opportunity for Osha to see that her immense strength in the Force is hers and hers alone, not the Jedi Order’s as they taught her to believe.

It’s an enticing offer to someone carrying a lifetime of anger, fear, loss, and desire, even someone “not so easily corruptible” as Osha. (Qimir didn’t even need to read her mind to know what she holds in her soul. Nor did she need to draw a lightsaber to his neck for him to know he was right.)

She’s not immune to his pitch. On The Acolyte, Qimir is offering her the very same path the powerful, heroic Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker will walk someday. Anyone can fall to the dark side, especially when a charming, manipulative dark side user with ulterior motives knows how to appeal to their biggest insecurities.

No one knows Osha’s insecurities as well as her fellow former Jedi Padawan, Qimir. He can reach her in a way Sol never could.

If Qimir can use his Jedi past to recruit Osha to the dark side on The Acolyte, the power of two will give Master and Acolyte the power to destroy the entire Jedi Order. We know because more than a century after we learned about Qimir’s past, that’s exactly what his fellow dark side users will do.

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist and Manny Jacinto superfan which makes him at least willing to listen to Qimir. You can follow him on Twitter and Bluesky at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

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The Michelle Yeohaissance continues. Just days after going to the White House to be awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, she’s got another big time gig lined up. A new report says our beloved Michelle Yeoh—an Everything Everywhere All At Once Oscar-winner—is joining Prime Video’s limited series Blade Runner 2099. But in true franchise fashion, we have no idea if she’ll be playing a human or a replicant.

Michelle Yeoh Joins Blade Runner 2099 Series

Deadline reports Yeoh has signed on to Prime Video’s upcoming series, which is currently filming in Prague. The show is a sequel to Denis Villeneuve’s 2017 film Blade Runner 2049, which itself was a sequel to Ridley Scott’s iconic 1982 film. (Which was itself an adaptation of author Philip K. Dick’s classic story Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?.) Scott is an executive producer on the series alongside showrunner Silka Luisa (Shining Girls). And Shogun‘s Jonathan van Tulleken will also serve as an executive producer and direct the first two episodes.

Yeoh’s exact role on the show is the latest unknown about the series. Prime Video has yet to release any plot details about the story. Its title does reveal it will take place half a century after Blade Runner 2049. A lot can change in five decades on a dying planet full of humans and replicants alike, and yet we know that even with a lot of time a lot of things in the world of Blade Runner always remain the same.

Other Cast Announced for the Blade Runner Series

Joining Yeoh are a slew of other actors. Hunter Schafer is also set to star. Additionally, Deadline reports that Dimitri Abold (The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes), Lewis Gribben (Somewhere Boy), Katelyn Rose Downey (The Nun II), and Daniel Rigby (Renegade Nell) join Blade Runner 2099 as series regulars. Meanwhile, Johnny Harris (A Gentleman in Moscow”), Amy Lennox (Only Child), Sheila Atim (The Woman King) and Matthew Needham (House of the Dragon) will be recurring guest stars.

When Will Blade Runner 2099 Release on Prime Video?

The series was considered a priority for Amazon in 2022. It was “fast tracking scripts and eyeing potential production dates.” However, Hollywood studios unnecessary delay in giving the writing and acting unions fair contracts delayed work on the show. Now it’s in full swing with an Oscar winner in the cast.

And whether Michelle Yeoh is playing a real person or a copy of one, we know she’ll be good.

Originally published on May 7, 2024.

The post Michelle Yeoh Will Star in Prime Video’s BLADE RUNNER 2099 Series, More Cast Announced appeared first on Nerdist.

House of the Dragon might not have White Walkers, but the show’s cast is just as sprawling as Game of Thrones‘ was. Houses Targaryen, Hightower, and Velaryon aren’t the only ones destined to find themselves fighting in a civil war of fire and blood. The Dance of the Dragons will ensnare nearly every family in the Realm. Of course, identifying the many characters of Westeros has never been easy, and it remains tricky on House of the Dragon. Fortunately, you don’t need a maester to know who everyone is, not even with all those “new” families popping up. We’re tracking every major new character introduced on House of the Dragon during season one and season two. Here’s everyone we meet, what happens to them, and who’s still around on House of the Dragon….for now.

The Latest Character Additions on House of the Dragon

Ser Simon Strong

Ser Simon Strong, uncle to Larys Strong, is an older knight and the castellan of Harrenhal. He willingly gave the enormous castle in ‘disrepair” to Daemon Targaryen and said he does not accept his nephew as Lord because he believes (correctly) that Larys caused the fire at Harrenhal that killed his father and brother.

Alys Rivers

Alys Rivers last name reveals she’s a bastard born in the Riverlands. Her appearance (and jarring American) accent in Daemon’s unsettling vision reveals she’s a mysterious presence. Alys Rivers is the character tells Daemon, “You will die in this place” at Harrenhal.

Ser Gwayne Hightower

Alicent’s arrogant brother, Ser Gwayne Hightower, reminded Criston Cole of his “modest beginnings” when they first met, as Cole had just replaced Gwayne’s father, Otto Hightower, as Hand of the King. But Gwayne sang a different tune after he foolishly left himself exposed during a march to war. Cole saved Gwayne from a dragonflame bath, earning the smug knight’s thanks.

New House of the Dragon Characters—After Extending “Read More,” Jump To: House Targaryen // House Hightower // House Velaryon // House Strong // House Lannister // House Royce // House Stark // Other Major Characters (Baratheons, Coles, Hulls, and More)

House Targaryen

King Viserys Targaryen

King Viserys Targaryen was the king of sat on the Iron Throne when House of the Dragon began. Of all the new House of the Dragon characters, he definitely wanted peace the most. But the matter of succession was of high importance to King Viserys during the end of his reign. He bypassed his brother Daemon and named his daughter Princess Rhaenyra as heir to the Iron Throne. However, that was before Viserys had a son with his second wife, Alicent Hightower, which brought Targaryen civil war into motion. King Viserys died at the end of season one, and this caused the rift in his family to turn into war.

Daemon Targaryen

Daemon Targaryen is among House of the Dragon‘s most dynamic characters. He seemed volatile and untrustworthy at first, but then seemed to mellow over time. Or so we thought. He and Rhaenyra married after the death of his second wife, Laena Velaryon, and the staged death of her husband Ser Laenor Velaryon. Together, they fight for her place on the throne as we move into House of the Dragon season two, though some question if he truly fights for himself.

Jacaerys (“Jace”) Velaryon

Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen had three black-haired boys with her first husband Ser Laenor. They named their oldest son Jacaerys, heir to the Iron Throne, after Rhaenyra. However, many believed (correctly) their real father was Ser Harwin “Breakbones” Strong. Jace is Rhaenyra’s heir to the Iron Throne (she doesn’t actually have).

Lucerys (“Luke”) Velaryon

Rhaenyra and Laenor’s second child was Prince Lucerys Velaryon, his grandfather Ser Corlys Velaryon’s heir as the Lord of Driftmark. Prince Lucerys never got to inherit that seat, though. He died high over Storm’s Landing after his uncle Aemond Targaryen’s dragon Vhagar attacked Luke and his dragon Arrax. His death helped trigger the main events on House of the Dragon.

Joffrey Velaryon

Joffrey Velaryon was the third, black-haired son of Rhaenyra and Laenor. His lawful father named him after his late paramour, Joffrey Lonmouth, whom Criston Cole murdered years earlier. Joffrey is yet to play a major role on House of the Dragon, but we’re sure we’ll see more of this character in season two.

Aegon Targaryen (Son of Rhaenyra and Daemon)

Daemon and Rhaenyra’s first child together was Prince Aegon Targaryen. (Not to be confused with Alicent’s first child, also a House of the Dragon character named Aegon. That much older Aegon is now King, Second of His Name.)

Viserys Targaryen (Son of Rhaenyra and Daemon)

Rhaenyra and Daemon named their second child after her father, King Viserys. Their third child, a daughter, died during childbirth after Rhaenyra learned her father passed away and Aegon had been crowned King.

Aegon Targaryen (Son of Viserys and Alicent)

Queen Alicent and King Viserys named their oldest child and firstborn son Aegon after the Conqueror. A known rapist and spectator of child fighting rings (where one of his own bastards might be forced to fight), Aegon himself said he is unfit to rule. However, he allowed his grandfather Otto Hightower, the green council, and his mother to crown him King, bypassing Viserys’ named heir, Aegon’s older half-sister Rhaenyra. He wears the crown and holds the Valyrian sword Blackfyre of Aegon the Conqueror.

Helaena Targaryen

Helaena, the first daughter and second child of Queen Alicent and King Viserys, married her older brother Aegon. She became Queen of Westeros after his coronation. They had twins, a son named Jahaerys and a daughter named Jahaera. Blood and Cheese killed Jaeherys in season two’s premiere. (The show did not introduce their third son from Fire & Blood, Prince Maelor.)

The quiet, kind, strange Helaena also seems to be a dreamer. A number of her cryptic quotes proved prophetic, most notably about her brother Aemond needing to lose an eye to gain a dragon, “the beast beneath the boards,” and her fear of the rats in King’s Landing.

Aemond Targaryen

Aemond, the third child and second son of Alicent and Viserys, lost his eye as a child during a fight with his cousins. Aemond grew up to be a great warrior who resented his bastard-born nephews. He frequently wears an eyepatch over his sapphire eye and, unlike his lazy brother, Aemond takes his duties seriously. He spent his life studying and training. Aemond assured war after his dragon Vhagar killed his nephew Lucerys Velaryon in the finale of House of the Dragon season one.

Season one did not introduce Aemond’s younger brother, Alicent’s fourth child with Viserys, Prince Daeron, as a character on the show. He was finally mentioned early in season two, so we know he exists and is living in Oldtown.

House Hightower

Ser Otto Hightower was the first Hand of the King to Viserys (a job Otto filled with the previous king). Viserys eventually relieved Otto of his duties, but Otto returned to the position after the death of Lord Lyonel Strong. He’s also father to Queen Alicent and grandfather to four Targaryens. However, Otto Hightower is not the Lord of his own family. That title belongs to his older, clean-shaven brother, Lord Hobert Hightower, head of one of Westeros’s oldest and most important noble families.

Otto was an instrumental character in crowing Aegon as King on House of the Dragon.

Lord Hobert Hightower

Lord Hightower wanted to ensure his great-nephew became king rather than Aegon’s older half-sister, and House Hightower stands behind the new King.

House Velaryon

Ser Corlys Velaryon

Ser Corlys Velaryon, husband to Princess Rhaenys Targaryen (The Queen Who Never Was), abandoned his position as master of ships on the small council to fight in the Stepstones with Daemon Targaryen. Two major characters from House Velaryon—his son and his brother—joined him in this early House of the Dragon battle.

Ser Corlys Velaryon is known as the Sea Snake, the most celebrated and accomplished sailor in the history of Westeros. He controls the most powerful fleet in the world, which he has sworn to Queen Rhaenyra. After debating sitting out the war, he declared for her side to protect his grandchildren. His wife will also fight for Rhaenyra, vowing to use her dragon Meleys for their side.

Princess Rhaenys Targaryen

Rhaenys Targaryen, the Queen Who Never Was, should have sat on the Iron Throne long ago, but it was not to be. Instead, Viserys was voted heir by the lords of Westeros.. Rhaenys serves as the Lady of Driftmark and helps her husband to shrewdly navigate the world of Westeros. Rhaenys’ chief allegiance is to the good of her family and she considers her loyalties from that perspective. In House of the Dragon, Rhaenys made a splash when she rode her dragon Meleys through King Aegon II’s coronation. She didn’t kill them (as she should have), but has vowed her loyalty and dragon to Rhaenyra.

Laenor Velaryon

Corlys and Rhaenys’ oldest son Laenor and his dragon Seasmoke helped defeat the Crabfeeder in his character introduction on House of the Dragon. He then married Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen, an arrangement where they both vowed to do their duty while seeking happiness in the bed of another on the side.

Laenor conspired with his wife, her uncle Daemon, and his paramour Ser Qarl Correy to fake his death following a quarrel with Correy. The pair then fled to Essos, allowing Rhaenyra to marry her uncle. We did not see this character again after that and it isn’t clear if he will ever return on House of the Dragon.

Laena (née Velaryon) Targaryen

Lord Lyonel Strong suggested Laenor as a strategic suitor for Princess Rhaenyra, just as he had once recommended King Viserys wed Laenor’s older sister, Laena. Ultimately Laena married Prince Daemon Targaryen. The two had twin daughters, Rhaena and Baela, but Laena died after she was unable to deliver their third child. Rather than die in bed, she had her dragon Vhagar bathe her in dragon flame.

Baela Targaryen

The older daughter of Daemon and Laena’s twins, Baela, rides the dragon Moondancer. She also stayed at Driftmark with her grandmother after the death of her mother, Laena. She is betrothed to Jacaerys Velaryon and fights for her aunt/step-mother, Rhaenyra.

Rhaena Targaryen

Daemon and Laena’s younger daughter was the only member of the family not to be a dragonrider while they lived in Pentos. She is still without a mount at the start of the Dance of the Dragons and serves as Rhaenyra’s cupbearer. This character was also betrothed to Lucerys Velaryon before his death on House of the Dragon.

Vaemond Velaryon

Ser Corlys’s brother Vaemond was ready to mutiny against Daemon Targaryen before their side’s victory in the Stepstones. He also sought to have himself named as Lord of Driftmark when it looked like Ser Corlys might die. After King Viserys affirmed his grandson Lucerys as the lawful heir to Driftmark, Vaemond called Rhaenyra’s boys bastards and her a whore. Daemon then sliced Aemond’s head in half. (He left him his tongue.)

(Note: In the books, Vaemond is Corlys’ nephew, not his brother.)

New House of the Dragon Characters; Jump to: House Targaryen // House Hightower // House Velaryon // House Strong // House Lannister // House Royce // House Stark // Other Major Characters (Baratheons, Coles, and More)

House Strong

Lord Lyonel Strong of Harrenhal first served on King Viserys’ small council as master of laws before becoming Hand of the King. He had two sons. The oldest, Harwin, died alongside his father during a fire at Harrenhal started by Lyonel’s youngest son, Larys.

Ser Harwin “Breakbones” Strong

Considered “the strongest knight” in the Seven Kingdoms, Ser Harwin “Breakbones” Strong was quite a knight in Westeros. We saw how the character earned his nickname early in House of the Dragon, during Viserys’ royal hunt. He was the only knight to hold the stag with his bare hands. Everyone else rode atop a horse.

Harwin Strong later became Commander of the City Watch in King’s Landing and was the real father of Princess Rhaenyra’s three oldest sons. Harwin died alongside his father at Harrenhal shortly after his banishment from King’s Landing for attacking Criston Cole.

Larys Strong, The Clubfoot

Harwin’s younger brother Larys is known as “The Clubfoot” because he was born with a twisted foot. He cited his foot as the reason he could not go on the royal hunt. Instead, he stayed at the King’s pavilion and quietly sat with the high ladies of the hunt. (That group included Lady Ceira Lannister and Lady Joselyn Redwyne, character created for House of the Dragon.)

Larys proved himself to be far more than just cunning and perceptive, though. He murdered his father and brother to appease his close friend and ally, Queen Alicent. Their deaths also made him Lord of Harrenhal. An unofficial master of whispers for the “Greens,” Larys is an amoral killer with a memorable proclivity.

House Lannister

The widowed Lady Ceira has twin sons, each of whom holds a major position in Westeros.

Jason Lannister

The older of the twins, the prideful, long-haired Jason Lannister is Lord of Casterly Rock and Warden of the West. Princess Rhaenyra spurned his offer of marriage, which he made after believing Prince Aegon had supplanted her as heir. His assumption also upset King Viserys, who called such talk “treason.” Jason Lannister is head of House Lannister, which supports King Aegon.

Ser Tyland Lannister

Tyland Lannister—who sports a shorter, neater haircut than his older twin brother—replaced Ser Corlys Velaryon on the small council as master of ships. His brother considers Tyland “frightfully dull.”

Tyland Lannister conspired with Otto Hightower and the green council to place Aegon on the Iron Throne. The House of the Dragon character remains on the new King’s small council as master of coin.

New House of the Dragon Characters; Jump to: House Targaryen // House Hightower // House Velaryon // House Strong // House Lannister // House Royce // House Stark // Other Major Characters (Baratheons, Coles, and More)

House Royce

House Royce of Runestone in the Vale is an old, noble family descended from the First Men. (They also played a meaningful role on Game of Thrones.) Though kings long ago, they are sworn bannermen to House Arryn, Princess Rhaenys’ family (her mother was an Arryn). The Royce sigil features black iron studs and rune markings on a bronze field, which is where Daemon Targaryen got his uncouth nickname for his late wife.

Lady Rhea Royce

Prince Daemon hated his wife, Lady Royce, and the feeling was mutual. He killed the skilled rider (who was obviously much prettier than any sheep) after Lady Rhea fell from her horse. She died without an heir, which led Daemon to appeal to Lady Jeyne Arryn directly for the rights to Runestone.

Ser Gerold Royce

Lady Rhea’s cousin Ser Gerold Royce believes Daemon killed his first wife, an accusation he made during a feast for Rhaenyra and Laenor’s wedding. But he was taken aback by Prince Daemon’s plans to claim Runestone as his own. The castle has been House Royce’s seat of power for thousands of years. It remains to be seen how the altercation between these two characters will play out.

House Stark

Lord Cregan Stark

House of the Dragon‘s second season brought viewers back to the North where we met the Lord of Winterfell Cregan Stark. The head of House Stark promised Prince “Jace” he would honor his family’s oath and support Queen Rhaenyra, but that he was limited in how many men he could send to her cause. Winter has arrived, and Cregan has an even more sacred duty to the Wall.

Other Major New Characters on House of the Dragon

Alyn and Addam of Hull

Season two has introduced the brothers Alyn and Addam of Hull. Hull is a recent surname given to bastards born in the town of Hull, which sits on Driftmark, the domain of Corlys Velaryon. The bald, stern, no-nonsense Alyn is a talented seaman and adventurer who saved Lord Corlys’ life in the Stepstones. His gregarious brother Addam is a shipwright (who also makes a mean goat stew). Addam also believes Lord Corlys “owes” the two of them something.

Ser Alfred Broome

Ser Alfred Broome, knight of House Targaryen, is a member of Queen Rhaenyra’s black council. He also politely accused her of ordering the brutal death of young Prince Jaehaerys even after Rhaenyra swore she played no part in the child’s death.

Lord Lyman Beesbury

Lord Lyman Beesbury served as master of coin under King Jaehaerys. He continued in that role as part of Viserys’s small council, but Criston Cole killed him after Lord Lyman refused to go along with the plan to crown Aegon.

Lord Jasper Wylde

Lord Jasper Wylde joined King VIserys’s small council as master of laws. He conspired to place Aegon on the Iron Throne. This House of the Dragon character serves on the new King’s small council.

Lord Commander Ser Harrold Westerling

Ser Harrold of House Westerling (House Lannister’s most important bannermen) served as Lord Commander of King Viserys’ Kingsguard. He refused to go along with the green council when it planned to install Aegon as King. We don’t know where this character has ended up as of the finale of House of the Dragon season one.

Ser Criston Cole

Criston Cole called his ascent to the Kingsguard the highest honor anyone in his (minor) family from the Stormlands’ Dornish marches ever achieved. He owed that position to Princess Rhaenyra and was originally her sworn protector. But after they had an affair and she refused to run off with him, he became Queen Alicent’s sworn shield. This House of the Dragon character now hates Rhaenyra and helped usurp her throne.

Criston Cole, Lord Commander of Aegon’s Kingsguard, crowned Aegon at the Dragonpit. He is now Aegon’s Hand of the King, a role he is ill-suited for.

Mysaria

Prince Daemon’s former paramour, sometimes called “Misery,” hails from the Free City of Lys in Essos. Daemon wanted to make Mysaria his second wife, but his brother and the laws of Westeros forbade the marriage. She then became known in King’s Landings as the “White Worm,” a purveyor of secrets. She traded her information to Otto Hightower and also turned Prince Aegon over to him for coin and promises of reform after King Viserys’ death.

Mysaria has so many spies in King’s Landing and not even Larys Strong knows all of them. The Clubfoot and Alicent burned down Mysaria’s manse in season one, but no bodies were shown in the building. She tried to flee, but was intercepted by Daemon, who offered her freedom in exchange for information (which he used to hire Blood and Cheese). She also helped saved Rhaenyra from Ser Arrky Cargyll’s assasination attempt.

Lord Boremund Baratheon

The show’s first Lord of Storm’s End in the Stormlands hosted Princess Rhaenyra during her tour of suitors. Lord Boremund Baratheon was the only son of Lord Rogar Baratheon and former Queen Alyssa Velaryon. (She was first married to King Aenys I Targaryen and was mother to King Jaehaerys I.)

He was also a supporter of his cousin Rhaenys Targaryen’s claim to the Iron Throne before swearing an oath to support Rhaenyra as Viserys’ rightful heir. Boremund had one son of his own, Borros, who followed his father as Lord of Storm’s End after Boremund’s death.

Lord Borros Baratheon

The new, illiterate, prideful Lord of Storm’s End ignored his late father’s vow to keep Rhaenyra as heir after Aemond Taragryen promised to marry one of his daughters in exchange for Storm’s End’s support in the coming war.

Grand Maester Mellos

The first Grand Maester of King’s Landing under Viserys provided the king and his family with questionable care. His service was bad enough to make us wonder if the Grand Maester Conspiracy theory is absolutely true and House Targaryen should be weary of the order. Mellos also served Princess Rhaenyra Moon Tea, a libation used to end a pregnancy, a vital secret that got out immediately. This character died during Viserys’s reign on House of the Dragon.

Grand Maester Orwyle

Archmaester Orwyle tried offering King Viserys a different, more effective course of treatment during House of the Dragon‘s fifth episode, but was shut down by his boss, Grand Maester Mellos. Orwyle eventually became Grand Maester of King’s Landing, which earned him a seat in Viserys’ small council. He is a member of the green council that crowned Aegon king.

Maester Gerardys

The maester of Dragonstone and member of the black council continues to serve and advise Rhaenyra during the Dance of the Dragons began.

Ser Qarl Correy

The paramour of Ser Laenor Velaryon helped fake Laenor’s death. The couple then fled to Essos.

Lord Caswell

Lord Caswell was among the first people to congratulate Rhaenyra and Laenor on the birth of their third son. He asked the couple if there was anyway he could serve the family, which he did when Aegon was about to be named king. He lied about swearing allegiance to Aegon and tried to flee King’s Landing to warn Rhaenyra. Larys Strong had him captured, and Otto Hightower hanged Lord Caswell for treason.

Sers Erryk and Arryk Cargyll

The identical twin brothers, Sers Erryk and Arryk Cargyll, served on King Viserys’s Kingsguard. Erryk was Aegon’s sworn protector, but refused to help crown him King. He knew Aegon was unworthy of the position, so he stole Viserys’s crown and brought it to Dragonstone for Rhaenyra, whom he swore to protect as a member of her Queensguard.

Arryk Cargyll remained behind in King’s Landing as part of Aegon’s Kingsguard against his brother’s urging. They both died after Criston Cole sent Arryk to impersonate his brother in a failed assassination attempt.

Ser Steffon Darklyn

Ser Steffon Darklyn of Viserys’s Kingsguard was with Rhaenyra on Dragonstone when The Dance of the Dragons began. This character joined her Queensguard (under threat of death by Daemon) rather than swear allegiance to Aegon in the final episode of House of the Dragon season one.

Ser Lorent Marbrand

Ser Lorent Marbrand was also a member of Viserys’s Kingsguard at Dragonstone when The Dance of the Dragons began. And like Ser Steffon he joined Rhaenyra’s Queensguard (under the same threat of death by Daemon).

Lord Bartimos Celtigar

The Lord of Claw Isle, Lord Bartimos Celtigar, took an immediate and important spot on Rhaenyra’s small council at the start of the Dance of the Dragons.

Lord Simon Staunton

Lord Simon Staunton of Rook’s Rest was also a member of Rhaenyra’s black council on Dragonstone when war broke out over the Iron Throne.

New House of the Dragon Characters; Jump to: House Targaryen // House Hightower // House Velaryon // House Strong // House Lannister // House Royce // House Stark // Other Major Characters (Baratheons, Coles, and More)

Originally published on September 6, 2022.

The post Every Major New Character on HOUSE OF THE DRAGON appeared first on Nerdist.

On House of the Dragon, keeping track of the many dragons flying around is a little complex. In Game of Thrones, it was much easier to account for the creatures. Daenerys Stormborn took three eggs into the flames and rose unscathed from the ashes with three “children.” That was it! But the skies of Westeros are overrun with “fire made flesh” on House of the Dragon. The prequel series shows us House Targaryen at its strongest, when they had 17 dragons prior to the civil war known as the Dance of the Dragons. And the dragons play important roles both in the personal and political machinations of House of the Dragon. But with that many beasts in the air, the question becomes: How will you keep straight the identities of all of House of the Dragon‘s numerous dragons from season one and two of the show and beyond?

The good news is you don’t have to. We’ve got you covered—with as few spoilers as possible. Here’s a list of all the dragons you’ll see on House of the Dragon, along with their riders. And we’ll keep updating this post every time a dragon appears on the prequel series or does something major on the show. For now, this list of House of the Dragon‘s dragons is complete through season one and will be updating throughout season two. So, who are House of the Dragon‘s 17 dragons? Let’s find out.

House of the Dragon’s Dragons; Jump to Rhaenyra Targaryen’s Dragon, Syrax // Daemon Targaryen’s Dragon, Caraxes // // Laenor Velaryon’s Dragon, Seasmoke // Rhaenys Targaryen’s Dragon, Meleys // Jacaerys Velaryon’s Dragon, Vermax // Laena (Velaryon) Targaryen and Aemond Targaryen’s Dragon Vhagar // Prince Lucerys Velaryon’s Dragon Arrax // Baela Velaryon’s Dragon Moondancer // The Unclaimed Dragons, Stormcloud and Tyraxes, Plus Four Eggs // Unhatched Dragon Egg // The Unclaimed Dragon, Dreamfyre // The Unclaimed Dragon, Vermithor // The Deceased Balerion // House of the Dragon Future Dragons

How Many Dragons Will Appear During House of the Dragon Season Two?

As House of the Dragon season two begins, the question of dragons returns to the table. And thanks to showrunner Ryan Condal, we know exactly how many dragons we’ll see this season. Per Deadline, Condal noted, “There will be five new dragons in season two” of House of the Dragon. He recently confirmed that season two dragon number, again noting that “five new ones that you haven’t seen before” are coming to House of the Dragon.

You can see season two’s dragons in action in the new House of the Dragon trailers released by Max. And the trailers might even have revealed a couple of the new dragons we’ll be meeting in season two of House of the Dragon, Sunfyre and Moondancer.

How Many Dragons Appeared During House of the Dragon Season One?

House of the Dragon‘s co-showrunner Miguel Sapochnik told Empire that season one would feature nine of House Targaryen’s 17 dragons before the season began. And that’s exactly what happened, plus a couple of other dragon mentions. While each dragon has its own look, the Game of Thrones alum says the creatures are easier to differentiate by their individual traits, as each dragon has its own personality.

That’s no surprise. We already know Game of Thrones‘ dragons are highly-intelligent creatures with minds of their own. But with so many different personalities flying around, it will be fun to see how they interact with their fellow dragons. And it will be entertaining to see how the dragons’ attitudes either mirror or conflict with their riders. Dragons only accept a single rider—of Valyrian blood—while both still live.

For now, let’s meet every House of the Dragon dragon that we get to see in season one and season two.

Which Dragons Have Already Appeared on House of the Dragon?

Syrax (Dragon Rider: Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen)

A giant yellow-scaled she-dragon who took young Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen as rider in 104 AC. House of the Dragon opened with the princess riding high over King’s Landing while in a saddle on Syrax’s back. Thanks to her parents, we also now know you can smell like a dragon after taking one for a spin. Syrax features in an early standoff with Rhaenyra’s uncle Daemon Targaryen. When Daemon disrespects the crown during the first episodes of House of the Dragon, Syrax and Caraxes have a tense dragon stand-off, as their riders battle wills below. Without Syrax, there would have been no reasoning with Daemon. But the presence of two dragons serves as insurance and prevents a fight. The dragon was greatly featured earlier in House of the Dragon season one, but we will likely see more of her in season two. In the first episode of the series, Syrax accompanies Rhaenyra in her vigil over Lucerys and Arrax. It is believed that Syrax is the mother of Arrax, which adds to the grief shared by the duo as they discover their lost children.

Syrax is still laying dragon eggs, however—three in episode eight of House of the Dragon season one—setting the stage for more dragon riders to come in House Targaryen’s internal battle. As the Dance of the Dragons war heats up on House of the Dragon, we know Rhaenyra will be glad to have this Syrax by her side.

House of the Dragon’s Dragons; Jump to Rhaenyra Targaryen’s Dragon, Syrax // Daemon Targaryen’s Dragon, Caraxes // // Laenor Velaryon’s Dragon, Seasmoke // Rhaenys Targaryen’s Dragon, Meleys // Jacaerys Velaryon’s Dragon, Vermax // Laena (Velaryon) Targaryen and Aemond Targaryen’s Dragon Vhagar // Prince Lucerys Velaryon’s Dragon Arrax // Baela Velaryon’s Dragon Moondancer // The Unclaimed Dragons, Stormcloud and Tyraxes, Plus Four Eggs // Unhatched Dragon Egg // The Unclaimed Dragon, Dreamfyre // The Unclaimed Dragon, Vermithor // The Deceased Balerion // House of the Dragon Future Dragons

Caraxes (Dragon Rider: Daemon Targaryen)

In 105 AC, Daemon Targaryen became the second member of his family to mount Caraxes, the large red dragon known as the Blood Wyrm. Caraxes’ original dragonrider was Prince Aemon Targaryen, but Daemon took him as his dragon after Aemon’s murder. Caraxes made a big impression in House of the Dragon‘s premiere. That included how it brought out the tender side of Prince Daemon.

Don’t let that fool you, though. Caraxes is a fearsome creature. We see him devour his prey with great ferocity, and that’s just lunch. Throughout House of the Dragon‘s episodes, we’ve mostly seen the giant dragon menacing in the background. But it looks like in the season two trailer of House of the Dragon, we see this dragon do battle. And it makes for quite a sight. Especially since it seems Caraxes will battle other dragons in the sky.

Although Caraxes hasn’t seen much action yet in season two of House of the Dragon, we got a very good look at the dragon in episode two, and in episode three, we saw Daemon ride him through a storm on his way to the very wet Harrenhal.

Seasmoke (Dragon Rider: Laenor Velaryon)

The silver-gray dragon accepted Laenor Velaryon (son of Rhaenys Targaryen, which makes him eligible for dragon-riding) as its rider by the year 101 AC. The duo didn’t make their House of the Dragon debut, though, until the show’s third episode. That’s when Laenor and Seasmoke helped Laenor’s father Lord Corlys Velaryon and Prince Daemon Targaryen defeat the Crabfeeder in the Stepstones. Although Laenor does not die in season one of the Game of Thrones prequel series, he fakes his own death and goes into hiding. And that means he has to leave Seasmoke behind.

Presently, it seems that Seasmoke resides in Driftmark. Daemon Targaryen hoped to use the dragon to help secure Princess Rhaenyra’s claim to the throne on House of the Dragon, but it is not yet clear what will happen with the dragon since Laenor, his rider, remains alive. As mentioned, typically dragons can only bond with another rider when their rider is dead. But it remains for us to see how House of the Dragon tackles this particular bit of dragon-lore. Potentially, Seasmoke will simply not find a new rider on the show. Or perhaps Rhaenyra’s need for another dragon on her side will find Laenor returning to the world of House of the Dragon.

In season two, episode two of House of the Dragon, we see Seasmoke briefly flying around, hinting a potential return could come sooner rather than later. And we see Seasmoke again in episode three of House of the Dragon. This time the show more overtly suggests the dragon may be searching for a new rider.

House of the Dragon’s Dragons; Jump to Rhaenyra Targaryen’s Dragon, Syrax // Daemon Targaryen’s Dragon, Caraxes // // Laenor Velaryon’s Dragon, Seasmoke // Rhaenys Targaryen’s Dragon, Meleys // Jacaerys Velaryon’s Dragon, Vermax // Laena (Velaryon) Targaryen and Aemond Targaryen’s Dragon Vhagar // Prince Lucerys Velaryon’s Dragon Arrax // Baela Velaryon’s Dragon Moondancer // The Unclaimed Dragons, Stormcloud and Tyraxes, Plus Four Eggs // Unhatched Dragon Egg // The Unclaimed Dragon, Dreamfyre // The Unclaimed Dragon, Vermithor // The Deceased Balerion // House of the Dragon Future Dragons

Meleys (Rider: Rhaenys Targaryen)

Rhaenys, “The Queen Who Never Was,” became the second Targaryen to sit upon the swift red and pink she-dragon Meleys when they bonded in 87 AC. The first Targaryen to ride Meleys was Princess Alyssa Targaryen. But unfortunately, Meleys lost her dragonrider when the Targaryen princess died while giving birth. In her prime, Meleys was known as one of the fastest of dragons. With time she slowed, but she remained no less cunning.

We finally saw Rhaenys flying Meleys in House of the Dragon‘s fifth episode of season one. As House of the Dragon revealed, this rosy-hued dragon has a “crown” of thorns around her head, hence Meleys’ nickname the “Red Queen.” But after the show’s ninth episode, we can also call the dragon the “Beast Beneath the Boards.” Rhaenys rode Meleys up into the arena of the Dragonpit during Aegon II’s coronation, killing quite a few citizens and causing general mayhem. Rhaenys did not, however, use this chance to spew dragon-fire against her enemies, including Queen Alicent and Aegon II, who had her imprisoned. She instead escapes to safety.

Ultimately, Rhaenys pledges her dragon to Queen Rhaenyra in the finale of House of the Dragon season one. She mentions she will strengthen the Velaryon blockade of The Gullet using her dragon. Meleys and Rhaenys are both not to be trifled with.

Vermax (Rider: Jacaerys Velaryon)

Prince Jacaerys, Rhaenyra Targaryen’s son, bonded with the young green dragon after it hatched in his crib. This helped cement his place as heir to the throne after Rhaenyra because some in King’s Landing questioned his heritage. Jace and Vermax start off on shaky footing, with the dragon only barely obeying his rider. But by the time of the House of the Dragon finale, they seem to have settled into their dragon and rider bond.

In Game of Thrones’ book, Fire & Blood, it is noted that Vermax especially disliked ice, snow, and cold. This probably means the dragon won’t love the trip North he set out on with “Jace” in House of the Dragon‘s season one finale. Vermax and Jacaerys headed to familiar territory in early season two, the Eyrie and Winterfell, in the hopes of finding support for Rhaenyra’s cause among the northern houses. While we learned they were successful on their mission in episode one of season two, we haven’t yet gotten to see the dragon itself on House of the Dragon‘s second chapter.

Vhagar (Rider: Laena (Velaryon) Targaryen / Rider: Aemond Targaryen)

Vhagar was one of the three dragons that helped Aegon and his sisters conquer Westeros. She was first claimed by Queen Visenya. According to the Game of Thrones books, the dragon was so huge, a hore could be ridden down her throat. And Vhagar’s breath was said to be hot enough to melt armor and cook a knight inside of it. Later, the bronze she-dragon with green-blue coloring and green eyes took Laena Velaryon as its rider. But the dragon didn’t establish its importance on House of the Dragon until the show’s sixth episode

Instead of facing death during childbirth, Laena took matters into her own hands. She told Vhagar “dracarys” until the dragon engulfed her in flame.

After Laena’s funeral on Driftmark, young Aemond Targaryen claimed the massive Vhagar as his own, though not without a cost. An ensuing fight with his cousins led to Aemond losing an eye. The young prince was happy to pay that “price,” though. He had long desired a dragon of his own.

Vhagar helped set the coming Targaryen civil war in motion when he killed Prince Lucerys and his dragon Arrax in House of the Dragon‘s season one finale. Seeing this instense violence between dragons on House of the Dragon was shocking, but more is sure to come. And it seems that though Aemond has a certain smugness in himself and his abilities, his dragon still does not fully respect him. This makes sense because Vhagar is an ancient dragon who has lived a long life and seen many riders. And, unlike his dragon, Aemond only has a narrow outlook on the world. Aemond and Vhagar have not yet returned on House of the Dragon season two.

Arrax (Rider: Prince Lucerys Velaryon)

The small, young dragon Arrax appeared on House of the Dragon with blue scales. Though quick and agile, the dragon was unable to outrun or outfight Vhagar high above Storm’s End in season one. Vhagar bit Arrax in half, killing Prince Lucerys and killing the dragon. In season two of House of the Dragon, we see the sad remains of Arrax wash up on the shore. It is believed that Arrax is the son of Syrax, meaning that both Rhaenyra and her dragon lost a child.

Moondancer (Rider: Baela Velaryon)

Only one daughter of Daemon Targaryen and his late wife Laena is a dragonrider, Princess Baela. She rides the swift, pale green she-dragon Moondancer noted for her pearl-colored horns and bones. Moondander might be young, but she is as fierce as her rider. In season two of House of the Dragon, we see Baela riding on her dragon, scouting for Queen Rhaenyra. Baela gives Criston Cole, Gwayne Strong, and the other Greens quite a scare, but ultimately loses them in the forest.

Stormcloud and Tyraxes (Unclaimed) Plus Four More Dragon Eggs

Though they have yet to appear, Rhaenyra entrusted Baela’s sister Rhaena with looking after two young, small dragons, Stormcloud and Tyraxes. The latter belongs to Prince Joffrey Velaryon, Rhaenyra’s youngest son with her first husband Laenor Velaryon. (Though the late Harwin Strong is Joffrey’s real father.) No one has yet claimed Stormcloud. Rhaena is also responsible for looking after four unhatched dragon eggs, three of which we know won’t hatch for two hundred years.

Dreamfyre (Unclaimed)

Dreamfyre, the slim, blue she-dragon with silver wings, was once the dragon of Princess Rhaena Targaryen, Aegon I’s granddaughter. Dragon and rider stayed together until Rhaena passed after a long and troubled life. And then Dreamfyre settled in the Dragonpit at King’s Landing. We first hear of Dreamfyre on House of the Dragon when Daemon admits to having stolen one of her eggs, falsely insisting he had a child on the way. Aemond Targaryen next comes across Dreamfyre in the Dragonpit around 120 AC, but the dragon is not to be claimed by him.

While we know Dreamfyre’s rider from Fire & Blood, the show has yet to establish which member of House Targaryen rides her. Dreamfyre might also connect House of the Dragon and Game of Thrones together. Some theorize that Dreamfyre laid the eggs that became Daenerys Targaryen’s dragons, Drogon, Rhaegal, and Viserion. We are sure that Dreamfyre’s lack of rider will become an object of interest for both sides of the upcoming war.

Unhatched Dragon Egg

Technically, episode two of House of the Dragon season one didn’t feature a new dragon. But we’re positive there’s one inside the egg Daemon stole in the early episode. How can there not be when that egg—originally meant for King Viserys’s son Baelon—already feels like Chekhov’s dragon? For now, all we know is that the egg belongs to the dragon Dreamfyre. But we think it could ultimately hatch and bond with one of Viserys’ offspring. Could this be the egg of Sunfyre? Sunfyre was almost certainly born soon after this episode aired.

(You can read more about that potential House of the Dragon dragon below.)

Vermithor (Rider: King Jaeherys I (Deceased) / Unclaimed)

One of the largest dragons to ever fly over Westeros, the bronze beast belonged to House Targaryen’s longest-reigning ruler in the Realm, The Old King Jaeherys I. Vermithor outlived the King and remained unclaimed at the start of the Dance of the Dragons.

The beast finally appeared on House of the Dragon during the show’s season one finale, when Daemon sang a song in High Valyrian to lure the dragon from its rest. Rhaenyra’s forced to hope they will find a rider for Vermithor. One dragon could make all the difference in the upcoming fight on House of the Dragon.

Balerion (Rider Aegon the Conqueror/Viserys I)

We do not ever get to see Balerion the Black Dread alive in House of the Dragon, but the presence of the mighty beast is felt throughout the show. In episode one, Balerion’s giant dragon skull looms over Viserys and Rhaenyra as Viserys imparts crucial words of prophecy onto her.

Aegon the Conqueror was, of course, the first to ride Balerion. And the dragon played a crucial role in Aegon’s conquering of Westeros. It is fitting that Balerion be a party to Viserys and Rhaenyra’s discussion because Viserys speaks of exactly why Aegon the Conqueror felt so moved to conquer.

Balerion was a dragon born in Valyria and was the last dragon to exist in its mighty Freehold. Balerion’s wings and body were black. And his fire was also said to be black. Balerion was one of the largest dragons to ever exist, and his wingspan was enormous. He had sharp teeth and a vicious temperament. But, with time, age took him. The dragon is, in fact, a fitting analog for his final rider Viserys on House of the Dragon. Like Balerion, we see Viserys succumb to the languor of age until he finally fades away. Though once mighty, the time of his rule, like that of his dragon, ends in season one of House of the Dragon.

ADDITIONAL READING

Aegon’s Conquest, When Dragons Came to Westeros
Dragonstone, Birthplace of a Dynasty and Home of Dragonglass
Rhaenyra Targaryen, the First Woman to Sit on the Iron Throne
The Dragonpit and the Demise of Dragons
The Chilling Legend of Ice Dragons

House of the Dragon’s Dragons; Jump to Rhaenyra Targaryen’s Dragon, Syrax // Daemon Targaryen’s Dragon, Caraxes // // Laenor Velaryon’s Dragon, Seasmoke // Rhaenys Targaryen’s Dragon, Meleys // Jacaerys Velaryon’s Dragon, Vermax // Laena (Velaryon) Targaryen and Aemond Targaryen’s Dragon Vhagar // Prince Lucerys Velaryon’s Dragon Arrax // Baela Velaryon’s Dragon Moondancer // The Unclaimed Dragons, Stormcloud and Tyraxes, Plus Four Eggs // Unhatched Dragon Egg // The Unclaimed Dragon, Dreamfyre // The Unclaimed Dragon, Vermithor // The Deceased Balerion // House of the Dragon Future Dragons

What Other Dragons Exist During the Dance of the Dragons?

Sunfyre, Moondancer, Silverwing, and More

In addition to the dragons mentioned above, House Targaryen also had five other dragons before civil war pitted the beasts against one another in 129 AC. That included the full-sized dragons Silverwing, Tessarion, and Sunfyre, as well as two hatchlings too small to ride: Morghul, and Shrykos.

We also caught glimpses of Sunfyre in House of the Dragon season two’s trailers, so we know the dragon will surely come soon.

Wild Dragons on House of the Dragon

During the time of House of the Dragon, three wild, unbonded dragons also lived on Dragonstone: Grey Ghost, Sheepstealer, and the Cannibal. Daemon mentions these dragons briefly in the finale of House of the Dragon season one as Rhaenyra and company hope they can join their side of the conflict to come.

In a war pitting dragon-against-dragon, both in the air and on the ground, you can imagine the possibilities a wild dragon presents. But there’s a reason those three had no riders by the time war broke out.

House of the Dragons‘ Future Dragons

So what about the dragons we didn’t see in season one and haven’t met yet in season two? Who flew them high above the Seven Kingdoms? Well, we’ll let you learn all of that on your own when House of the Dragon brings those many magical creatures to life throughout this season.

Don’t worry, though, we’ll make sure to update this post to help you can keep track of all of them. It was a lot easier when Daenerys only had three of them.

This post originally published on August 17, 2022.

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist. You can follow him on Twitter at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

The post Who Are HOUSE OF THE DRAGON’s 17 Dragons? appeared first on Nerdist.

House of the Dragon‘s Criston Cole is not an all-time Westeros villain because he has no redeemable qualities. He wasn’t born a total monster like Joffrey Baratheon. Criston Cole is a worse monster because he chooses to be one. The Lord Commander and new Hand of the King could easily be a good, noble knight if didn’t love violating his oaths and responsibilities more than Tyrion loves brothels. And we saw just how true that is during season two’s third episode. His situational awareness saved the life of the arrogant Gwayne Hightower. Cole’s swift actions provided a brief—and truly unwelcome—reminder he’s actually good at some things. Fortunately the episode also gave us a new reason to detest him. It took away the one unquestioned positive thing even a hater like me would never deny someone as awful as Ser Criston Cole: his amazing hair.

Ser Criston Cole might be a vile, evil, amoral, craven lickspittle who sullies his white Kingsguard cloak with every breath he draws, but at least he always did so while sporting amazing hair. His dark flowing locks belied the ugly darkness lurking in the empty space where his heart should be. But at least he had the thin shadow of decency to look good while being so bad.

We know he’s a disgusting pig, but his hair was that of a brave and heroic knight they write stories about, the kind Sansa grew up loving. Ser Criston Cole had the hair of a leader.

Now House of the Dragon has taken that away from him and given him a stupid little haircut of a child. It looks like he asked for boy’s regular…from a barber’s apprentice…on their first day…when the barber wasn’t even present…and the scissors were broken and he only had a dull knife.

Why did he feel he needed a haircut in the first place? Why cut glorious hair voluntarily? Did he think hair that good was somehow revealing his “modest beginnings?” Did he think it wasn’t appropriate for the Hand of the King or for war? Who cares why he got it cut?! He’s a big dummy who doesn’t think before he acts. He just sent Ser Arryk to his death on a scheme too silly for Mr. Bean. Criston Cole never needs a good reason to do something bad and this haircut is no different.

Normally Criston Cole doing something indefensible would anger his biggest haters (:raises both hands and both feet:). Instead this is the best development of the season and maybe the series so far.

Losing his luscious locks is the best thing he’s ever done. We no longer have to give it up to Ser Criston Cole for anything. We don’t have to acknowledge there’s a single thing about him worth liking because he cut that one thing off. We’re free to fully, without guilt or disgust, bask in pure hatred.

His beautiful hair is gone. Long Short live his dumb little haircut.

Not short because we want him to grow his hair back out, which with any other character we would. Short because we hope he never gets the chance. Hopefully his next haircut does not come via scissors held by a barber who lost their glassed and was drinking all day. Hopefully Criston Cole’s next hairstyle comes via a dragon’s flame.

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist, great hair appreciator, and the world’s leading Criston Cole hater. You can follow him on Twitter and Bluesky at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

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House of the Dragon‘s “The Burning Mill” saw Rhaenyra Targaryen task her young niece/step-daughter with a vital mission. The Queen not only entrusted Rhaena to look after her three young sons, she gave the princess two baby dragons and four dragon eggs to protect. If everything comes to “ruin” for Rhaenyra’s side, Rhaena is their backup plan. That plan that will include hatching new dragons ultimately earmarked for Pentos. But that’s where another Targaryen princess will be gifted three dragon eggs during her wedding to Khal Drogo centuries later. So are House of the Dragon‘s dragon eggs the exact same ones Daenerys Targaryen will one day hatch on Game of Thrones? Yes, they are. The series has confirmed Rhaenyra gave Rhaena the very same eggs that appeared on Game of Thrones.

House of the Dragon‘s Gives Daenerys Targaryen’s Dragon Eggs an Origin Story

Episode director Geeta Vasant Patel told Mashable the dragon eggs seen during House of the Dragon season two’s third episode are historically important. Three of those pristine eggs become fossilized by Game of Thrones‘ time period almost two hundred years later. These House of the Dragon eggs are the exact same dragon eggs gifted to Daenerys Targaryen at her first wedding. As we know, she will eventually walk into a fire with them, emerging with her fire-breathing “children,” she’ll name her dragons Drogon, Rhaegal, and Viserion.

“All of us who work on this show are big Game of Thrones fans,” Patel said. “So it was very exciting to shoot that scene.” Considering Daenerys will quite literally prove to be her family’s “hope for the future” as Rhaenyra Targaryen called her niece on House of the Dragon, it was a fitting send-off for those dragon eggs. They’ll eventually, one way or another, reach Pentos and fall into the hands of the Free City’s Magister Illyrio Mopatis. He’ll then give the priceless artifacts to curry favor with Daenerys and her brother Viserys.

Game of Thrones Lore Suggests a Different History for Daenerys’ Dragon Eggs Than House of the Dragon

House of the Dragon‘s Patel needed to verify the dragon eggs’ connection between shows because it’s a change from established Game of Thrones lore. While never officially confirmed, George R.R. Martin’s in-world history Fire & Blood seems to all but establish those dragon eggs arrived in Essos many decades before the Dance of the Dragons.

The accepted tale is that the three eggs came from the she-dragon Dreamfyre. Her current rider is Queen Helaena, but before Helaena that dragon belonged to a totally different Targaryen princess, (frustratingly) also named Rhaena. That Princess was the child of King Aenys and one of King Jaehaerys’ many siblings. She’s also the Targaryen infamous for letting her lover, Elissa Farman, steal a clutch of dragon eggs.

Elissa desperately wanted to build her own boat and set sail in the Sunset Sea. Rhaena simply loved Elissa too much to let her go, so eventually Elissa took matters into her own hands. She did so by taking dragon eggs. She stole some and sailed to Braavos where she sold them to the Sealord for gold. That gave her the coin needed to build her very own ship, which she used to sail under another name, evading capture.

The theft of the dragon eggs wounded House Targaryen, the only remaining dragon lords in the world. The shame of the scandal was bad enough. Far worse, though, was the fear someone would hatch the eggs themselves. All efforts to get the eggs back failed, and over time, they are believed to have eventually ended up in Pentos.

What About the Fourth House of the Dragon Dragon Egg?

Eventually, the three dragon eggs end up in a fire with Daenerys Targaryen. It’s a good thing they did, regardless of the specifics of how they got there. Without Daenerys’ dragons, the living might not have held off the Night King long enough to stop him. But we knew that already.

What we don’t yet know is what happens to the fourth dragon egg Rhaenyra entrusted to her niece. But for that, we guess we’ll have to wait for House of the Dragon to reveal its secrets.

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist. You can follow him on Twitter and Bluesky at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

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House of the Dragon might be a story about a Targaryen king and queen fighting over the Iron Throne, but its latest episode introduced a member of the family who is certainly not royalty. Or at least that man claimed to be dragon-born during “The Burning Mill.” A commoner named Ulf said he’s the bastard brother of King Viserys and Prince Daemon. Was the gregarious, well-liked bar patron telling the truth? Or was he telling a tall tale when he said he’s Rhaenyra’s unacknowledged uncle? Whether or not Ulf truly is who he claims doesn’t matter as much as whether or not he truly believes that he’s a Targaryen.

Ulf first appeared in episode two of House of the Dragon‘s second season wandering the streets near the Red Keep. There he asked about the ratcatchers hanging from the walls. But the next episode showed he’s much more than just a random denizen of the city. He visited a King’s Landing tavern/brothel, one he clearly frequents often, and began greeting many patrons excited by his arrival. Ulf was also there looking for a free drink. To get one, he regaled his table mates, one a complete stranger, with something he claimed he shouldn’t even be telling. It’s a story he brought up entirely on his own.

“It’s said even Dorne mourned the passing of my grandsire,” Ulf calmly told the Dornish man who ordered him a flagon. “They call him The Conciliator.” That was one of the many nicknames of King Jaehaerys, the longest ruling Targaryen king in Westeros’ history. House of the Dragon showed the beloved old King in its first episode at the Great Council. There Jaehaerys convened all the lords of the Realm to name his heir.

One of the many reasons Jaehaerys had no obvious successor was that the very father Ulf claims as his own died. “I’m the Son of Baelon the Brave,” Ulf said. Baelon was the second son of Jaehaerys. Until he died from appendicitis he was also briefly the king’s heir to the Iron Throne after the death of Baelon’s older brother.

Could the renowned, noble, heroic Baelon Targaryen have sired a bastard son named Ulf? Definitely. It’s not like otherwise good men haven’t committed adultery a million times in Westeros, including royalty. Baelon was also a young widower, so it’s possible he didn’t cheat on his wife at all, but instead sired a child out of wedlock either before he married or after his wife died. It’s also very possible Ulf’s mother simply lied about his father being a Targaryen entirely. Or she could have lied because his father was a totally different, less important Targaryen. (His unusual hair at least suggests some Targaryen blood.)

Why lie about Baelon if she slept with a different Targaryen? Maybe she told Ulf that Baelon Targaryen was his dad when he was heir to the Iron Throne.

If Ulf is telling the whole truth about his father, though, he really is an uncle to Rhaenyra, whom he called “the One True Queen.” Or at least he did until his supposed nephew Aegon showed up and a scared Ulf quickly yelled out, “All hail the King!”

Was anything Ulf said 100% true? At least thing one thing was. After claiming “the blood of the dragon runs through” his veins, Ulf said, “men would take my head” over it. He then called himself a “dragonseed,” a well-known term for Targaryen bastards usually used for kids born on the family’s ancestral home island. (There are countless dragonseeds there, though after a century King’s Landing definitely has its own fair share. We might have seen one of Aegon’s bastard kids in season one at the child fighting pit.)

Ulf also said a dragonseed “must watch his own neck when he has no white cloack guardsman to do it for him.” That’s not usually true, but it definitely is right now during a Targaryen civil war. Anyone foolish enough in King’s Landing to claim—to strangers no less—they are Prince Daemon’s brother is putting their life on the line. Even if he’s lying just saying that in jest for free wine and ale, it could be a death sentence.

So why do it? Free drinks are always nice, yet hardly worth the risk of losing one’s head. (They’re hanging ratcatchers for seemingly no reason down the street!) Being a little more popular with bar patrons isn’t worth that kind of danger, either. Plus, Ulf doesn’t seem brave enough to risk making such a bold claim, not even at an establishment where he’s well-liked. He’s not exactly brimming with courage.

Ulf’s obviously not that smart, but he’s obviously not completely stupid. He was smart enough not to speak too loudly. And he assessed the danger he was putting himself in correctly. Yet he still did it, as though he felt compelled to share his “secret” against his better judgement, just as he felt the need to openly support Rhaenyra (until he was frightened). All of this indicates he might actually believe what he said about his father.

House of the Dragon obviously included that scene for an important reason. Smallfolk don’t get that much characterization in the Seven Kingdoms unless they matter. Ulf—known as “the White” because of his hair in George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood—is obviously a character worth paying attention to even if you don’t know what awaits him in the future. But even if you do, all viewers should pay attention to whether or not he truly believes what he says.

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist. You can follow him on Twitter and Bluesky at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

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After more than two decades, the thought of Ridley Scott making a Gladiator sequel still seems hard to believe. It’s not like the Best Picture winner set itself up for a sequel. Plus, you know, its titular character DIED at the end. That’s not exactly the type of movie you imagine getting a second installment. But Gladiator II is definitely happening. We know for sure because Vanity Fair has released the first images from the film. The Gladiator 2 first-look photos feature stars Paul Mescal, Pedro Pascal, Denzel Washington, Joseph Quinn, and Connie Nielsen fighting to save a decaying Rome from its worst leaders.

They look so good that we’re truly excited to see what happened after Maximus gave his life to give Rome back to the people.

Get your best sword and sandals out, because it’s time to return to the Colosseum. Paramount Pictures’ long-developing sequel is officially ready to enter the arena.

But be warned if you love Joseph Quinn with dark hair. The Stranger Things alum is blonde now.

Anti-warning: Denzel Washington is already the coolest ancient Roman ever.

Hopefully these photos indicate a full Gladiator 2 trailer is on the horizon. It’s not as though we have to wait much longer for the movie anyway.

What Is the Release Date for Gladiator 2?

Gladiator 2 takes a chariot into theaters this fall on November 22, 2024.

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Two hundred years after House of the Dragon Cersei Lannister will blow up the Great Sept of Baelor in one of Game of Thrones’ best episodes. Unfortunately the prequel series used a sacred spot in King’s Landing to deliver one of its worst episode. Rhaenyra’s ridiculous, inane, out-of-character reunion with Alicent is among the most abominable scenes in Game of Throne‘s franchise history and a bad omen House of the Dragon is already making the fatal mistake that ruined its predecessor’s final two seasons.

There were many reasons for Game of Thrones’ greatness, including acting, directing, writing, and production design. Yet, what attracted many viewers to the Realm was the idea “anything could happen” in the Seven Kingdoms. This was both true and false. But, from the moment Game of Throne‘s pilot ended with a handsome knight, caught having sex with his twin sister, the Queen, pushing a child out of a tower window it seemed clear the series was not afraid to go unexpected places. When season one’s unquestioned main character, Ned Stark, eventually lost his head, there was no doubt. Subsequent seasons confirmed the idea.

A willingness to do “anything,” even killing off important characters, is not what made HBO’s Game of Thrones series special, though. Other shows, both before and since, have also done that. They’ve also been just as shocking, violent, or graphic. Yet those series’ most notorious moments never generated a shred of Game of Thrones’ emotional impact or its audience.

The true reason why Game of Thrones is special better explains why so many viewers loved it. It was special because, unlike most shows, it didn’t care about being a TV show. Not in any traditional sense, at least. It was concerned with telling its story honestly and without compromise, no matter what. Its most outrageous, painful, gruesome moments weren’t there to simply surprise or upset the audience. Game of Thrones didn’t chop off a character’s hand or slit their throats just to do it.  It wasn’t trying to emotionally manipulate its audience, either. It generated real pathos because those moments were authentic, well-earned events borne from uncompromising storytelling. Game of Thrones went where its story took it.

A sprawling tale of war in a land of magic, dragons, ice zombies, political intrigue, and familial infighting naturally wanted to go to some unbelievable places, and Game of Thrones never shied away from going to them. If that meant killing off an incredible actor in an amazing role, so be it. Charles Dance gave an all-time great performance as Tywin and was a major anchor of the show. That didn’t keep him safe when he betrayed his son. That dedication to the story is why we had to see Oberyn Martell’s head popped like a zit. Every other TV series would have rewritten the character’s arc so Pedro Pascal could stick around a lot longer.

That kind of unflinching commitment to the story, one free of worry over about TV stars, Q-ratings, or making anyone, from executives to the audience, “happy” came from George R.R. Martin’s novels. But that’s exactly why adapting A Song of Ice and Fire was such an unlikely endeavor in the first place. His epic fantasy actively violated the general principles of most television shows. Ned Stark’s actions put his head on a chopping block, but most shows would have found a way to save their biggest actor from his fate. The Red Wedding was clearly too devastating for some, but that wasn’t Game of Thrones fault, it was Robb Stark’s. He broke his vow to a dangerous ally.

Game of Thrones’ willingness to eschew normal TV conventions and practices helped make it special. And then it stopped doing that and turned into every other television show.

Rather than following its story’s natural path over its last two seasons, Game of Thrones began reverse engineering big moments. Spectacle suddenly trumped authenticity and logic. Previously, armies needed an entire season to cross a single continent. Now, they moved halfway across the world in an hour. Meanwhile, dragons flew at lightspeed to save idiots who marched beyond the Wall without a horse to kidnap the dead. Major characters, even the smartest, most experienced people in Westeros, were suddenly stupid because the plot needed them to be. Sisters didn’t tell their brother a giant army was coming to help.

Just as unforgivable was that characters’ absurd actions suddenly had no consequences. Game of Thrones had done the unthinkable and outfitted them with plot armor. Keeping an actor around for another season suddenly seemed important than what the story wanted.

During its much-derided final two seasons, Game of Thrones abandoned the logical, honest storytelling that it had built an empire on. The show, in all aspects, got really dumb. Unfortunately, Rhaenyra’s scheme to speak face-to-face with Alicent on House of the Dragon warns the prequel series might follow in those footsteps.

There is simply no way someone as smart as Rhaenyra Targaryen would sneak into King’s Landing to meet with the mother of her enemy as she does on House of the Dragon, especially not after the death of her own son Lucerys and the brutal murder of Alicent’s little grandson Jaehaerys. Even with Rhaenyra’s genuine desire to avoid a bloody war, she would not put herself in that kind of situation because it would endanger her family and everyone who ever supported her.

The mere chance Alicent had either lied in her letter, changed her mind after Blood and Cheese, or would naturally freak out and and bar the city gates or sept’s doors the moment she got away from Rhaenyra was reason enough for Rhaenyra not to try this cockamamie reunion scheme. Anyone with half a brain would know that. There is no way to defend this House of the Dragon plot development unless you think Rhaenyra is actually that stupid.

Even if Rhaenyra is that idiotic (and until now, she hasn’t been), the reunion scene also required Alicent to be just as dumb. Either the Queen Dowager wants to win the war, or she wants peace. In either case, taking Rhaenyra hostage would give her what she wants. The moment Rhaenyra let Alicent walk away, Alicent should have called her guards.

This House of the Dragon scene can only exist if both people involved are as unintelligent as the scene needs them to be. This was an interaction, at best, devoid of logic and, at worse, actively antagonistic to the story. It’s hard to believe House of the Dragon couldn’t see why when it brought this reunion to life.

So why include the moment in show? Because that House of the Dragon scene wasn’t about Rhaenyra, Alicent, or even the Dance of the Dragons. It was about a TV show that simply wanted to once again have two great actresses in a scene together. Since there was no logical way to make that reunion happen (at this point in the story, at least), House of the Dragon invented an illogical one.

Is it fun to see great performers with incredible chemistry on-screen together again? In a vacuum, for sure. Do Alicent and Rhaenyra have a complicated and fascinating relationship in House of the Dragon that makes the thought of what they’d say to each other interesting? Again, in a vacuum, yes. And did the scene serve any purpose? It did, because Alicent now knows she helped launch a war on a misunderstanding. That reframes everything she does going forward. But do any of those things justify this House of the Dragon reunion scene’s existence? Absolutely not, because it doesn’t exist in a vacuum. It was too inauthentic and obviously silly to be good. It once again violated everything that has made Westeros a place worth revisiting on Sunday nights, bringing to mind the mistakes of the past.

This wasn’t House of the Dragon’s first time caring about being a TV show rather than an honest story. Rhaenys emerging from the dragonpit only to let her enemies live was just as silly. But this Rhaenyra-Alicent meeting was much worse because of who it involved. Alicent and Rhaenyra are House of the Dragon‘s two main characters, the beating hearts of the Blacks and the Greens. The Dance of the Dragons is their story. Now a big part of their story is them being morons. (We don’t mean Emma D’Arcy or Olivia Cooke, though. Both excelled in that scene despite its inanity.)

As we watch the two Queens’ story continue to unfold on House of the Dragon, we’ll have to think about their meeting scene in the Sept of Baelor, just as we had to think about when Daenerys “kind of forgot about the Iron Fleet.” That wasn’t really Daenerys’s fault, not like it was Ned Stark’s fault when he got himself killed. It was the fault of its creators then, just as it’s House of the Dragon‘s creators’ fault now. The characters, of course, don’t know they exist on a TV show, and anything that reminds us they do is bad for viewers.

If House of the Dragon continues to worry about making a TV show instead of telling a genuine story, we’ll remember it the same way we remember Game of Thrones’ final two seasons, and those are two seasons we’d rather forget.

Note: A previous version of this post misidentified the sept Rhaenyra met Alicent in as the Great Sept of Baelor.

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist. You can follow him on Twitter and Bluesky at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

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There’s a phrase that will make any superhero movie fan’s soul sparkle like an Infinity Stone: “Marvel Studios, San Diego Comic-Con, Hall H.” Any time Marvel heads to the hallowed hall of pop culture’s biggest event it means fireworks. And those fireworks are going to return this year. Deadline reports Marvel Studios is heading back to Hall H next month.

The same weekend Deadpool & Wolverine hits theaters, Marvel Studios is hitting San Diego Comic-Con. The premier industry gathering will take place from July 25-July 28. Now we know the MCU will be there (likely Saturday night) with its own panel.

What news will Marvel announce? Which stars will be in attendance? And how will this Marvel Hall H showing reshape our expectations for the future of the franchise? We’ll have to wait to find out. For now our superhero-loving hearts can just enjoy the possibilities.

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The Acolyte revealed the true identity of its dark side Master in the Disney+ show’s memorable fifth episode. Qimir is no mere trader; he’s Mae’s mysterious mentor and the villain of the series. When Sol confronted Qimir on The Acolyte, the unmasked Force user said he has no name, but the Jedi might call him “Sith.” There’s plenty of reason to believe that’s exactly what he is, but there’s also reason to believe he’s something else. Qimir might be the forefather of the group that Kylo Ren will one day command, the Knights of Ren.

Is The Acolyte‘s Qimir a Sith Lord or a Knight of Ren Ancestor?

Qimir might be precisely what he said the Jedi would name him, a Sith Lord. He embraces the dark side, wields a red lightsaber, has an incredible mastery of the Force, fighting abilities few have ever matched, hates the Jedi, and wants a pupil. That sounds exactly like a Sith.

Yet, The Acolyte gave us reason to doubt if Qimir is one. Sith Lords always have “Darth” monikers and aren’t exactly shy about calling themselves Sith. Yet he did not actually call himself a Sith. Qimir also did not use the Sith term for a Padawan. He didn’t tell Sol he wants an apprentice. Qimir wants an “acolyte,” a word with clear religious connotations.

The Sith Rule of Two demands the Order always has a single Master with a single apprentice. The Acolyte‘s Qimir is searching for his own when he should already have one, if he is a Sith Lord. (Mae clearly was not truly Qimir’s Sith apprentice before she betrayed him.) And while the Sith are a religious order, there’s another group of dark side users in the galaxy far, far away who are more overtly religious in their beliefs.

That sect always wear masks, unlike the Sith. They also worship a red lightsaber and not a person or even the Force. This dangerous tribe is also known for its fearsome fighting abilities, especially in close combat. Its members even live in the shadows, enemy of both the Jedi and the Sith. (Two groups that have sought to control who had the “freedom” to use the Force.) That Star Wars group is known as the Knights of Ren, who will one day be led by the fanatical Kylo Ren, and it could just be The Acolyte‘s Qimir connects to them.

The Connections Between Qimir, Star Wars‘ Ren, and Kylo Ren

That might seem like a tenuous connection on the surface. (Even if Qimir dresses more like a Knight of Ren than a Sith.) For one, the evidence that Qimir is a Sith is compelling. The other is that the Knights of Ren won’t be founded for many more years after The Acolyte. They form only a few years after Luke Skywalker blows up the first Death Star. That’s more than a century after the era of the Disney+ series. But The Acolyte‘s fifth episode gave us plenty of reason to wonder if Qimir will ultimately be the person thought of as the first Knight of Ren.

Qimir Resembles Ren, the Leader of the Knights of Ren

For starters, Qimir wholly resembles the infamous Star Wars character known as Ren.

Star Wars comics introduced the leader of the Knights of Ren. He’s the one who lured Ben Solo to the group and, therefore, the dark side. Known simply as Ren, this gregarious, friendly, charismatic figure was unconcerned with concepts of good or evil. He simply embraced the dark side and did what he wanted. He lived without rules and answered to no one. As Qimir might say, Ren had freedom.

Ren didn’t even want others to follow him. He wanted them to follow the ideas he believed in. That made his Knights more akin to acolytes than apprentices. The skilled warrior who could kill Jedi also had great hair under his sinister mask. He also wore a cape and had muscular arms he was happy to display.

That all might as well be describing Qimir. If not for the huge gap in their stories, we might think that Qimir and Ren are the same person. (Which we can’t actually rule out, considering lifespans in the galaxy far, far away. But for now, that possibility seems doubtful.)

Qimir Played Kylo Ren’s Theme During The Acolyte Episode Five’s Final Moments

If Qimir’s resemblance to the Knights of Ren leader wasn’t enough, The Acolyte actually played Kylo Ren’s theme music during Qimir’s final scene in The Acolyte‘s fifth episode. If there was any doubt, The Acolyte wanted us to at least notice the possible connection between its dark Master Qimir and the Knights of Ren leader, it made sure we heard that connection. Viewers certainly did.

When Qimir healed Osha and spoke of triumph and despair at the end of the episode, The Acolyte played Kylo Ren’s theme. In the language of Star Wars, that musical is basically big flashing red lights.

Does any of this prove The Acolyte‘s Qimir will go on, even indirectly, to found the Knights of Ren? No, we don’t have enough evidence of confirmation yet. What we can’t do is dismiss the possibility.

Nor can we ignore the even more intriguing potential the show has raised.

The Story of the Sith, the Ren, the Jedi, and the Force May All Unite Through The Acolyte‘s Qimir

We’ve been waiting to meet the Sith who will bring the dark Order out of the shadows and onto a path of prominence. It’s the one that leads to the near-total destruction of the Jedi and Darth Sidious becoming Emperor. But what if Qimir is something more than even that? What if he is the dark side figure who will not only make the Jedi fall possible, but give birth to Kylo Ren?

Those two stories are one and the same already. The Knights of Ren’s own journey will lead them into the arms of the Sith they hated. Kylo Ren will lead them, but he’ll do so while unknowingly following Palpatine. It would be fitting if the story of the Sith, the Ren, the Jedi, and the Force was always connected as all things are.

The Sith will one day claim Anakin Skywalker as their own. It might also be the story of how Ben Solo will follow his grandfather to the dark side following a different way that leads to the same place.

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The Acolyte finally unmasked Mae’s master during the show’s shocking fifth episode. The mysterious Jedi killer in The Acolyte is the person we suspected from the very first time we met him: Manny Jacinto’s Qimir. The soft-spoken trader is actually a deadly dark side Force user. But what is he exactly? What does he have against the Jedi Order? And what does he ultimately want? The answers to those questions reveal that an unleashed Qimir is even more dangerous than one operating in the shadows.

What Did The Acolyte Reveal About the Jedi Killer Qimir’s Past? Was Qimir Once a Jedi Padawan?

The Acolyte revealed Qimir has a personal connection to the Jedi and that the Order once knew him. Qimir called his opponent “Master Sol” when the two faced off. The dark side user then said, “You don’t remember me,” when the Jedi asked who he was. Sol must have known him at some point, because the Jedi said he “sensed something familiar” in the Jedi killer.

While Sol doesn’t say Qimir had once been a Padawan, The Acolyte strongly suggested he was. Qimir called Sol “Master.” Considering Qimir’s own protege, Mae, was also someone the Jedi tried to recruit to join their ranks, denying her the freedom of using her powers as her coven saw fit, it seems more than possible Qimir was once a student of the very Jedi he now aims to kills.

Is The Acolyte‘s Qimir a Sith?

Qimir told Sol he has “no name,” but that the Jedi would might call him “Sith.” Star Wars fans know the significance of that phrase. They also know the Sith kill Jedi and use red lightsabers. But it is noteworthy Qimir didn’t actually call himself a Sith, let alone a Sith Lord. That could be nothing more than a turn of phrase, or it could be a subtle clue Qimir is actually something else. (That could explain why a century later a Jedi Master will say no one has seen a Sith in a thousand years.)

The Sith spent millennia in hiding after the Jedi Order nearly wiped out their dark side foes. Yet the Sith always planned to reveal themselves one day. That’s when they would usurp the Jedi as the dominant Force users in the galaxy. That day is coming soon to the galaxy far, far away. The seeds for Palpatine’s rise might have begun with Qimir’s attack in the forests of Khofar.

There is one other major reason to believe Qimir truly is a Sith, too.

What Does Qimir Want on The Acolyte?

Qimir told Sol he wants two things. The first is “freedom, freedom to wield my power the way I like, without having to answer to Jedi like you.” As Osha and Mae’s coven knew, the Jedi do not allow other Force users to use their powers as they like. The Jedi Order believes they, and they alone, can control the Force and dictates who can use it and how. Qimir does not believe in the ways of the Jedi. “The Jedi makes the rules,” and the Jedi say Qimir—who doesn’t follow any rules—“can’t exist.”

Qimir has accepted and embraced his “darkness” (same as a Sith), while he believes Jedi deny theirs. That’s what he accused Sol of when he asked what the Jedi had done with his own darkness. But it’s the second thing Qimir wants that indicates he really is a Sith

“I want a pupil,” he told Sol, “An acolyte.” The Sith, which is a religious dark side order, have existed in the shadows for thousands of years thanks to the Rule of Two. There can only ever be two Sith Lords at once a Master and an Apprentice. Qimir wants his own apprentice, and he thought he found it in Mae (someone he seems to have both a common past and common cause with), but she betrayed him.

Qimir might have already found a replacement, though.

Why Did Qimir Save Osha on The Acolyte?

Qimir survived a giant bug attack and found an (accidentally) abandoned and unconscious Osha on the ground. He did not strike her down or even leave her alone, though. Instead he healed her while saying, “What extraordinary beings we are. Even in the revelation of our triumph, we see the depth of our despair.”

Qimir won a fight against many Jedi. He revealed himself to his enemy and triumphed, yet in his moment of revelation he stood over a former Jedi Padawan and saw “despair.”

What exactly did he mean? Does he see himself in Osha because he too was a Jedi student once? Did they take him like they tried to take Mae and Osha? He knows the Jedi did something “dark” on Brendok long ago. Will he reveal their secret to Osha in an attempt to make her embrace the dark side and become his Acolyte?

Osha wouldn’t be the first good person to turn the dark side and a charming master in her moment of despair. And if Qimir really is the Sith Lord who will make Palpatine’s rise possible someday, it’s only fitting he had his own Anakin as the Sith Rule of Two demands.

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist and Manny Jacinto superfan. You can follow him on  Twitter and  Bluesky at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

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Most sequels to good films don’t live up to their predecessor’s legacy. The hit rate for the third installments in a franchise is even lower. And yet, the latest trailer for A Quiet Place: Day One has us thinking it could be one of the rare part three’s that actually end up being the best entry in the entire series. This intense, horrifying promo shows a swarm of alien invaders turning New York City into a silent, isolated wasteland. But that’s just the start of their fight for suvival.

Every war starts somewhere, and in this latest look at A Quiet Place: Day One that place is in the Big Apple. The prequel will take viewers back to when mankind’s desperate to stay alive began. The film opens with the monstrous beings who hunt by sound crash landing into The City That Never Sleeps. But as the trailer for A Quiet Place: Day One reveals, it’s not just the killer aliens New Yorkers will have to overcome.

The good citizens of NYC (and Frodo the cat!) are left stranded with seemingly no way out of the city, as the government opts to pin both humans and extraterrestrials alike inside the island. The effect is a story that looks like The War of the Worlds set inside the fantastic flashbacks from I Am Legend. That’s a movie we very much want to see.

A Quiet Place: Day One comes from writer-director Michael Sarnoski. He developed the story with franchise creator John Krasinski. It also stars some big-time horror film luminaries. The cast is led by Lupita Nyong’o (Us), Joseph Quinn (Stranger Things), and Alex Wolff (Hereditary). And A Quiet Place Part II star Djimon Hounsou is also back for more silent terror. Frodo the cat is played by true stars Nico and Schnitze.)

The prequel comes to theaters this summer on June 28, 2024. Tickets are now on sale. Try not to scream when you see it, though, even if it does end up being the best A Quiet Place movie yet. With these aliens, it’s best to keep it down.

Originally published on May 9, 2024.

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Here’s an idea that definitely makes sense: Dwayne Johnson and Chris Evans co-starring in an action-comedy. No-brainer, really. Sign us up. Now here’s an idea that…uh…we’re not as sure about (to be polite): Dwayne Johnson and Chris Evans co-starring in an action-comedy Christmas movie that looks like a fake Saturday Night Live sketch. Who would produce such a strange film about a manhunt for Santa Claus? Amazon MGM Studios. We know because they just released the first trailer for Red One.

Buff Santa Claus is missing and the North Pole needs help. As do we after seeing this trailer, which is really silly, really cheesy, and really unbelievable. No, seriously, we’re having a hard time believing it. We’re positive this isn’t a practical joke, right? The official press release we got would indicate it’s not. As would the movie’s official synopsis:

After Santa Claus – Code Name: RED ONE – is kidnapped, the North Pole’s Head of Security (Dwayne Johnson) must team up with the world’s most infamous bounty hunter (Chris Evans) in a globe-trotting, action-packed mission to save Christmas.

Directed by Jake Kasdan (Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle) the script comes from longtime Fast & Furious scribe Chris Morgan. The film also stars Lucy Liu, Kiernan Shipka, Bonnie Hunt, Kristofer Hivju, Nick Kroll, Wesley Kimmel, and J.K. Simmons as Old Swole Nick.

We pretty much like everyone involved in this film, so we’re not dismissing it out of hand. It could prove to be the good kind of silly. But hoo boy some of the “jokes” in this trailer are truly painful. If saying so gets us put on the naughty list so be it. Or at least that’s what we would say if we weren’t so scared of buff Santa and his giant head of security.

Red One comes to theaters just in time for the holiday season, on November 15, 2024.

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When I sit down to review a movie, there’s one thing I don’t have to worry about: figuring out whether I enjoyed it or not. That’s the easiest part of this job. When I walk out of a theater I tend to know, like most people, how I generally feel about what I just saw. Expressing why I feel that way specifically is where the actual work begins. But not today. Today is the exception, because I have no idea if I like Kinds of Kindness or if I actually hate it. This anthology-style film is a captivating mess filled with world-class performances in absolutely bizarre plots. It also intentionally, frustratingly keeps viewers on the outside rather than letting them fully enter this strange world of unusual people and supernatural phenomena. Kinds of Kindness is a movie that dares you to like it while not caring if you don’t.

And that seems to be exactly how director Yorgos Lanthimos’ wanted me to feel when I left my theater. His film is not interested in generating typical reactions, either emotional or academic. It’s only interested in doing what it wants to do at its own pace and in its own way.

It’s almost impossible to describe the three different plots of Kinds of Kindness without getting into major, movie-ruining spoilers. To even hint at what it is, we need Searchlight Pictures’ official synopsis. It’s technically correct in the same way you would be technically correct if you described Neil Armstrong’s Moon landing by saying, “A guy went out for a walk.” Yes, but no.

Kinds of Kindness is a triptych fable, following a man without choice who tries to take control of his own life; a policeman who is alarmed that his wife who was missing-at-sea has returned and seems a different person; and a woman determined to find a specific someone with a special ability, who is destined to become a prodigious spiritual leader

Those all sound like normal stories, but nothing about Kinds of Kindness qualifies as normal. This is an overtly weird film. At times, especially in the first segment, it feels like being weird is the only thing it wants to be. All three connected mini-movies are full of unusual people, possibly supernatural beings, bizarre relationships, sex cults, and uncomfortable power dynamics.

The three short films (which are all close to being feature length) have a through line. The meaning of that through line is so ambiguous the internet is going to provide 500 different “explainers” that all claim a different meaning. Some viewers will find that kind of ambiguity fascinating and worthy of deep exploration. Others will find it frustrating and so widely open-ended that it seems to be pointless. Only those who claim to know definitively what Lanthimos meant will be wrong. Kinds of Kindness doesn’t provide many answers (sometimes it provides zero), because the answer is not the point. This movie is less a movie and more an experience defined by ideas.

Even its ideas are up for debate. When the movie ended, I asked someone at my screening what they thought the major themes were. I didn’t totally disagree with anything they said, yet they hadn’t even considered my biggest takeaway which I think is clearly the biggest theme. Some people will love that kind of freedom to find their own meaning, the way some people love a painting that is open to countless interpretations. Others will find it pretentious and off-putting. I, somehow, feel both ways, which is a big reason why I have no idea if I like this movie or not. It’s interesting, yet infuriating. Mesmerizing, yet tedious. Alluring, yet inaccessible.

(Note: I’ve opted not to share what I believe the film’s major theme is because even putting that idea in your head will completely change your experience watching this movie. Kinds of Kindness is the rare case where telling you an “idea” is a much bigger spoiler than telling you a major plot point. That alone tells you a lot about the nature of this film and whether you might like it.)

For as strange as Kinds of Kindness is, it’s still a movie with basic elements that are easily assessed. Lanthimos (The Favourite, Poor Things) is a brilliant director who knows how to establish a sense of place and time. Here he creates a unique vibe that perfectly matches the off-kilter nature of his story/stories. Everything is working together in harmony, even when he’s constantly using discordant piano notes as his score.

Also not a surprise is how incredible the cast is. Having Jesse Plemons and Emma Stone as your leads and letting them play multiple characters is even better in practice than it sounds in theory. They both create three distinct, dynamic characters (sometimes as a lead, sometimes as a supporting character). This film is a testament to their immense talents and without their performances, I wouldn’t be struggling with my feelings for this movie. The same is true of the rest of the cast: Willem Dafoe, Margaret Qualley, Hong Chau, Joe Alwyn, and Mamoudou Athie. They’re all great pulling triple duty. (Or in one case, quadruple duty.)

For as much as I loved the cast and aesthetics of Kinds of Kindness, the pacing often felt like torture. It has a lengthy two hours and 45 runtime that feels more like 17 hours. Thankfully the three stories get more engaging as they go on, so that helped… a little. The first installment is more of an interesting idea than an actual story and it really drags. (It’s also the least accessible/most mysterious.) The second feels like a short film with a familiar plot that goes on too long, but could easily have been its own feature with more focus. The third section is the closest to a typical narrative, and no surprise it’s easily the most emotionally fulfilling. That’s a much needed dynamic and anchor desperately missing from the rest of the film.

What doesn’t come too late is the comedy. Kinds of Kindness‘ closest genre is probably black comedy, and it realy works when it is. The first segment is only funny in a few spots, but the second is laugh out loud funny. Same with the third, which is hilarious even though it’s the most personal and human.

In the end, it feels like everything works together exactly as Yorgos Lanthimos wanted it to, including my unusual reaction it generated. I’m sure he hopes everyone loves this film, but he also doesn’t care if we hate it. Kinds of Kindness isn’t concerned with anything so basic. It’s operating on its own bizarre frequency and how you hear it, and what you make of it when you do, is entirely up for you. The result is a movie that is equally fascinating and frustrating.

Did I ultimately like it or hate it? Today I’m going to give it a positive star rating in large part because I can’t watch Plemons and Stone be this good in a movie and give it a negative one, yet my score doesn’t actually answer that question. Like Kinds of Kindness, I’ll leave that up to you to decide.

If you do figure that out please tell me. Knowing how I feel about a movie is usually the easiest part of this job.

Kinds of Kindness ⭐ (3 of 5)

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist. You can follow him on  Twitter and  Bluesky at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

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King Aegon Targaryen, Second of His Name, is an amoral, depraved man-child without honor. So when he finds an idea grotesque, it must surely be too terrible for anyone with a shred of decency to entertain. Yet in House of the Dragon‘s “Rhaenyra the Cruel,” the measured Otto Hightower proposed something that horrified his otherwise unethical grandson. The (now former) Hand of the King turned the brutal murder of little Prince Jaehaerys into a funeral progress of propaganda against Rhaenyra. It was a monstrous, sickening plan that turned his family’s private grief into a public spectable. And Otto was right to do it.

That’s not an easy thing to admit, but not for the reason you might think. Defending Otto Hightower’s actions on House of the Dragon means you are also legitimizing Tywin Lannister pulling off the Red Wedding on Game of Thrones.

It’s hard to imagine anything could make Alicent’s son Aegon recoil with horror. He grew up drinking and whoring his way through Flea Bottom where he frequented kids fighting pits, even though some of those children might have been his own unacknowledged bastards. He’s completely craven, and sitting the Iron Throne has only brought out the worst in him. Yet his grandfather’s ploy to turn little Jaehaerys’s murder into a public relations opportunity on House of the Dragon shocked the King. Even a despicable pig like Aegon recognized what anyone with an ethical bone or beating heart did instantly: this was a truly repellent suggestion, even for war.

But as Otto had told his daughter in private before the small council meeting, “Some good may yet come of this.” He wasn’t going to let Jaehaerys “die in vain,” even if that meant doing something Otto must have known in his soul was disgusting. He wouldn’t simply name Rhaenyra a “slayer of infants” without proof (totally unseemly on its own). Otto Hightower wanted to hold a funeral progress to let the people of King’s Landing physically look at a decapitated six-year-old so they could “look upon the works of this pretender to the throne.”

From there, word spread to the lords of Westeros, who would inevitably revaluate their loyalty to the Queen. But Otto Hightower wasn’t going to leave anything to chance on House of the Dragon. He was going to milk this unthinkable tragedy for every ounce of publicity he could. “The Realm must see the sorrow of the crown,” he said. “A sorrow best expressed through its most gentle souls.” Those souls were his guilt-stricken daughter and Jaehaerys’ sweet, traumatized, neurotypical mother, Queen Helaena. They’d have to sit behind the boy’s body as they were quite literally paraded through the city.

Otto’s reprehensible idea was even worse in reality. We had to see Jaehaerys, stitched back together, get stuck in a rut in the streets. We had to watch an overwhelmed Helaena made to suffer even more when she should have been left to grieve in private. And we had to hear Rhaenyra, a grieving mother herself, falsely labeled a monster to smallfolk being manipulated. Aegon, miraculously, was right to find the mere suggestion of the propaganda event so vile. Yet Otto Hightower’s reasoning for this House of the Dragon funeral progress is totally defensible. “Jaehaerys will do more for us now than a thousand knights in battle,” he said to the green council on, which ultimately agreed with him.

The Dance of the Dragons is here. There’s no stopping it now. Jaehaerys’ death will just be one of many still to come. Lots of people are going to die, many of them smallfolk and children as innocent as the little prince. Why not turn the boy’s death into a spectacle if it saves lives? What better outcome could there be? Wouldn’t lessening the pain and suffering of others be the kindest thing the greens can do, especially if the only price is their own pain?

Saying something is “the lesser of two evils” doesn’t mean something is not evil, which Otto Hightower’s House of the Dragon funeral progress surely was. But “lesser” is a relative term, and his plan might lessen the overall amount of evil in the world.

You don’t have to like anything about Otto Hightower’s otherwise unethical House of the Dragon scheme to recognize its merits. But the real quandary begins once you do. Because when you admit Otto had a point you also have to accept that you’re making the case for Tywin Lannister conspiring with Walder Frey to pull off the Red Wedding two centuries later on Game of Thrones.

Inviting people into your home under a banner of peace and protection only to slaughter them is obviously reprehensible. It’s the kind of unimaginable act that seems an obvious bridge too far (intended!) even when done against people you are literally at war with. Tyrion will raise the same argument with his father when he learns about what happened at the Twins. But Tywin Lannister will raise the same type of argument as Otto Hightower long before him: “Explain to me why it is more noble to kill ten thousand men in battle than a dozen at dinner,” Tywin will say.

Is he right? Was Game of Thrones’ Red Wedding—as plainly devious and cruel as it was—justified? If we acknowledge Otto had legitimate cause to use his grandson’s murder to save lives, don’t we have to admit Tywin will have legitimate cause to kill a dozen men in a dishonorable manner because he thinks it will save thousands from dying with honor? What’s honor to the dead anyway? Plus, Tywin didn’t attack innocents victims at the Red Wedding. He only killed soldiers engaged in a war against him and his family, the family he was trying to protect. How is one okay and not the other?

The answer is not obvious because there’s an obvious distinction between exploiting a death that has already happened versus committing literal murder. One is personally repugnant and exploitative, while the other is a war crime. Yet the distinction between the two probably isn’t large enough to make fans of the Seven Kingdoms comfortable. The only real lesson we can take comfort in is one both Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon have left unquestioned: the only way to truly save lives in war is never to fight one.

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist. He is sick to his stomach for having defended Otto Hightower in any way. You can follow him on Twitter and Bluesky at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

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House of the Dragon‘s second episode of season two delivered another iconic moment from George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood. Identical twins Erryk and Arryk Cargyll, two members of the late Viserys’ Kingsguard who split over which of his children to support, fought to the death on Dragonstone. The show’s emotional, intense duel answered some major question raised by the book. But the tale of that heinous assassination attempt was bigger than just the two dead knights. It’s also a major part of the story about the cretin responsible for the reprehensible plan, Ser Criston Cole. The reason he sent Ser Arryk has firmly established that unaccountable, dishonorable monster is one of Westeros’ all-time great villains.

After making fundamental changes to “Blood and Cheese,” House of the Dragon opted for a more faithful take on the infamous Cargyll duel. Just as all historians agree, Ser Arryk, member of Aegon’s Kingsguard, snuck onto Dragonstone to pose as his own brother, Erryk, member of Rhaenyra’s Queensguard. Fire & Blood‘s sources never agreed whether Arryk was there to kill the Queen or one of her children, only that the plot was a response to the murder of Prince Jaehaerys. The show made clear Rhaenyra was always his target.

The prequel also added a new wrinkle by having Mysaria play a role in preventing Rhaenyra’s death. On House of the Dragon the White Worm was on Dragonstone at the time, rather than in King’s Landing like in Fire & Blood. That made it possible for Mysaria to see a Cargyll twin walking up from the shore’s of Dragonstone. She knew that knight couldn’t be the same man she’d just see inside the castle protecting the Queen. Without the spymaster’s keen eye, Arryk very likely would have cut down the Queen in her bed.

(Fire & Blood says he never reached Rhaenyra’s bedchamber, but it’s easy to see why the Queen’s supporters would hide that fact. It makes her look weak and vulnerable. Aegon didn’t want people to know what happened to Jaehaerys for the same reason.)

The show then took full creative advantage of the conflicting historical sources the series is based on to give us an incredible adaptation. One source, Grand Maester Munkun, said the two brothers fought for nearly an hour. No one could intervene because it was impossible to tell which brother was which. (Something the show also included.) Munkun says the two then died crying in each other’s arms. Another source, the ribald Mushroom, said the fight was quick, brutal, and filled with hate. The victorious Ser Erryk then died four days later “screaming in horrible pain and cursing his traitorous brother all the while.”

Fire & Blood makes clear neither account is likely definitive. (The third, from Septon Eustace, only says the twins slew each other.) What history does make clear is which version people came to accept. The book says after the war “the singers and storytellers” showed a “marked preference for the tale as told by Munkun.” Why wouldn’t they? It makes for a better, more tragic song. That makes people cry and willing to pay coin. What House of the Dragon delivered, though, was a far more emotional and honest duel than anything described in Fire & Blood.

The prequel’s duel had both professions of both love and anger. The two brothers, who were essentially once one, fought violently. Each tried uphold their sacred vows even against the person they actually cared about most in the world. They still loved each other and hated what they were doing, but as Cregan Stark said, “Duty is sacrifice.” In the end, Ser Erryk did protect his Queen from her would-be assassin as Mushroom wrote, but he didn’t die from his wounds days later. Killing his brother was too much for Erryk to live with. In his final moment he apologized to his Queen before falling on his own sword.

It was a truly heartbreaking sequence, one of the show’s best yet. It’s also a scene that captures the personal tragedy that defines the Dance of the Dragons.

And it was all Criston Cole’s fault.

Fire & Blood says the Lord Commander concocted the plan, just as he did on the show. (One slight HBO change is that Aegon had already named Ser Criston Hand of the King before Cole put his assassination scheme in motion.) What House of the Dragon expanded on was the real reason Cole sent Ser Arryk on his ill-fated mission. Into wasn’t just to “pay the princess back in her own bloody coin” after Blood and Cheese. It wasn’t to end a war before it started. It was to make Criston Cole feel less guilty.

At the episode’s start, for a brief moment, Criston Cole showed a tiny shred of humanity. He felt remorse for his role in little Prince Jaehaerys’ death. Rather than doing his sworn duty to protect the Royal family, the Lord Commander was violating it by sharing a bed with Alicent Hightower.

The Dowager Queen could see Cole was troubled by what had happened. The unimaginable murder of a child had shaken the arrogant Cole. Alicent then asked if he’d told anyone about what they’d been doing. When Cole wondered what kind of idiot she took him for, she said, “One who seeks absolution.” Cole answered, “There is none for what I’ve done.”

That correct acknowledgement was as close as Cole would come to taking any accountability for his unforgivable, dishonorable transgressions. Instead of reflecting on his failures and holding himself responsible for his own sins, Cole turned his self-anger and failures onto another, just as he did in season one. He shamelessly begged young Rhaenyra to run off with him not out of love but so he could he could restore his self-worth. That emotional manipulation didn’t work on her. It did work on Ser Arryk. And the way Cole manipulated a knight of actual nobility showed the full, monstrous depths of the craven Lord Commander.

“The white cloak is a symbol of our purity, our fidelity,” Cole said to Arryk about a cloak Ser Cargyll got dirty during a funeral for a child. The audaciousness of that statement would have been laughable if it wasn’t so disgusting. Cole then kept piling on as blatant, knowing hypocrisy poured out of his mouth like a waterfall of sewage. “Kingsguard are a sacred trust. Will you so easily sully our ancient honor?” he said.

The way the righteously indignant Arryk responsed also showed why Cole was even more responsible for Jaehaerys’ death than it seemed. When Cole questioned where Arryk was during the assassination (protecting the King), Arryk answered, ““Where were you, Lord Commander? And why has Helaena the Queen been granted no sworn protector? Surely once she ascended she should have…”

Helaena had no sworn protector because Cole is breaking his vows with the old Queen. If he were not, he would have rightfully had a Kingsguard protecting the new Queen instead. If Cole wasn’t sleeping with Aegon’s mother, his son would still be alive.

The despicable Cole couldn’t actually respond to an accurate asessement without admitting his heonous wrongs. So instead he changed the subject and attacked Arryle’s integrity, something Cole lacks entirely. Ser Criston said since Erryk is a traitor and a thief no one could trust Arryk completely. That is unless Arryk went on this shameful scheme, one no respectable member of the Kingsguard would ever ask another to do. Arryk knew he shouldn’t go. He knew this was a vile scheme unbecoming of their order. But he also wanted to keep his vows and prove his loyalty. So he went. And he died. As did his brother.

When a heartbroken Ser Erryk fell on his sword, he ended his life. Ser Criston Cole, named Hand of the King as reward for his treachery, responded by returning to Alicent’s bed, once and forever sullying his white cloak and all that it stands for.

The reason that tragic duel on Dragonstone happened ensured Criston Cole’s true place in Game of Thrones‘ infamy. The Lord Commander knows deep in his black green heart he has “brought disgrace” upon his sacred ranks. But it’s not that he he just doesn’t care and refuses to take personaly responsibility that makes him so vile. It’s that he makes his failings, dishonor, and guilt everyone else’s problem, a problem they pay for with their lives. That’s why he’s truly one of the greatest, most hatable villains in the history of the Seven Kingdoms.

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist and the world’s leading Criston Cole hater. You can follow him on Twitter and Bluesky at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

The post HOUSE OF THE DRAGON’s Major Duel Showed Why Criston Cole Is an All-Time Great Westeros Villain appeared first on Nerdist.

After many false starts and canceled projects, Star Wars is finally ready to return to theaters. Lucasfilm announced three new upcoming standalone movies during the opening of Star Wars Celebration 2023. These new Star Wars movies include a story about the founding of the Jedi, a movie that will serve as the finale to this era of interconnected Disney+ shows, and the return of Daisy Ridley’s Rey. Additionally, in January 2024, LucasFilm also announced a fourth new movie was heading to theaters, The Mandalorian & Grogu, a big-screen adventure starring our favorite Disney+ duo. Finally, the once canceled Rogue Squadron may rise to join the line-up (but nothing official has been reported.)

And with that, the galaxy far, far away is finally going back to the big screen. Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy revealed James Mangold (Logan, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny), Dave Filoni (The Mandalorian, Ahsoka), Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy (Ms. Marvel, Saving Face) have all been tapped to direct these new Star Wars movies. Meanwhile, Jon Favreau will take on the Mando movie. Lastly, if what Patty Jenkins says is true, she will direct an upcoming Star Wars movie as well.

While Lucasfilm shared few official details about the films, the little they tell us says a lot. Here’s what we know about these new Star Wars movies so far.

Jump to: James Mangold’s Story of the Force // Dave Filoni’s Disney+ Series Team-Up // Rey Will Return in Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy’s New Star Wars Movie // Jon Favreau Brings Us The Mandalorian & Grogu // Patty Jenkins’ Rogue Squadron Is Back in Play

James Mangold’s New Star Wars Movie Tells the Story of the Force

James Mangold’s “will go back to the dawn of the Jedi,” a time set tens of thousands of years earlier than anything we’ve ever seen on screen before. That might mean we’ll meet the figure known as Prime Jedi. That’s the person who founded the Order on Ahch-To sometime around 25,000 years before the events of A New Hope. Fans already know Ahch-To well. They first saw it in The Last Jedi when it served as Luke Skywalker’s hideaway. A release additionally shares, “James Mangold will take audiences deep into the past, telling the tale of the first Jedi to wield the Force and harness it as a liberating power in an era of chaos and oppression.”

Mangold further noted to Empire that his new Star Wars movie “takes place 25,000 years before Episode IV, and it’s about the discovery of the Force.” He further shares, “I told Kathy [Kennedy, head of Lucasfilm] I wanted to make a kind of Bible movie, a kind of Ten Commandments of Star Wars – kind of a Cecil B DeMille film about the arrival of the Force, and that’s what I’ve been pecking away at between press events. That’s the idea.”

According to The Hollywood Reporter, playwright and screenwriter Beau Willimon will co-write the script with Mangold. In addition to his playwriting career and his Emmy-nominated scripts for House of Cards, Willimon also wrote the prison three-parter in season one of Andor. Writing the best episodes of the best Star Wars show is some real bonafides.

James Mangold’s New Star Wars Movie Connects with Rey’s Next Appearance

Kennedy also recently shared that this movie will help inform the new Star Wars movie featuring the return of Rey. She noted to Total Film, “I think it’s a really nice compliment to what we’re doing with moving into the future with Rey, and then understanding a bit more of where this all came from,” she explains. “Because it will be at the heart of creating the new Jedi Order, so to get a real sense of where that might have began with the dawn of the Jedi could be pretty cool.” 

According to a new official Star Wars eras list revealed by LucasFilm, this movie will most likely take place in the “Dawn of the Jedi” era, but could even take place earlier than that.

Dave Filoni’s Film Will Bring Together Many Current Disney+ Series

The next new Star Wars movie will come from franchise veteran Dave Filoni. His film “will focus on the New Republic and close out the interconnected stories told in The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett, Ahsoka, and other Disney+ series.” That’s huge news for both the television and movie side of Lucasfilm. When we get a release date for Filoni’s film, we’ll know just how many more seasons of The Mandalorian we might see. Clearly, there’s already an end in sight to Din Djarin and Grogu’s story. Although, we suppose they could continue on beyond a culminating movie. A release further shares, “Dave Filoni will orchestrate the escalating war between the Imperial Remnant and the fledgling New Republic.”

Rey Will Return in Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy’s Star Wars Movie

The third and final new Star Wars movie announced will focus on the future. Obaid-Chinoy’s movie will take place after The Rise of Skywalker. It will mark the return of Daisy Ridley as Rey. Set 15 years after the ultimate defeat of the Sith, she will be trying to build a new Jedi Order. Hopefully, that goes a lot better than her mentor Luke Skywalker’s attempts. According to the new list of Star Wars eras, it seems like this movie will take place in the “New Jedi Order” era.

The Plot of Rey’s Upcoming Star Wars Movie

Kathleen Kennedy shared more about the movie with Variety. She noted:

Well, we’re 15 years out from ‘Rise of Skywalker,’ so we’re post-war, post-First Order, and the Jedi are in disarray. There’s a lot of discussion around, ‘Who are the Jedi? What are they doing? What’s the state of the galaxy?’ She’s attempting to rebuild the Jedi Order, based on the books, based on what she promised Luke, so that’s where we’re going.”

Speaking to Empire, Kennedy added, “The First Order has fallen, the Jedi are in chaos – there’s even a question of how many exist anymore – and Rey’s building the New Jedi Order, based on the text that she was given and that Luke imparted on her.” She also offers, “Rey has made a promise to Luke, and that’s really the core of where we’re going and what this story will be. And I think it offers just tremendous opportunity to introduce new characters and start with something fresh, because we culminated with what George [Lucas] was creating, and now we take all of that and move it to the next chapter.” 

On the topic of a possible Luke Skywalker presence in the new Star Wars movie, Kennedy said: “I don’t know if we’ll spend a lot of time in flashbacks or [on] Force ghosts or things like that, but certainly, the spirit of what he represents to her is going to be significant.”

Ridley previously noted, “I know bits and bobs… I know there’s an introduction of new characters… I don’t know about previous characters.” But she also didn’t rule out anyone’s return. When asked about the popular idea of John Boyega’s Finn returning as a Jedi in the new Star Wars movie, Ridley responded, “That is above my pay grade. [Laughs] I would love to see that, but that is not a decision for me.” She also recently told The Hollywood Reporter that it feels like she and Boyega should reunite in the movie, noting, “Absolutely, of course…It feels like we should, yeah.”

But Ridley does have some information, according to Empire, “she knows the story beats for what the new film will be.” And, as of May 2024, she notes that she still hasn’t read a script “but it is imminently about to change.”

A Jedi Academy Is in Rey’s Future

Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy further noted about the new Star Wars movie, “At the heart of it, for me, is Rey Skywalker, Daisy Ridley, and her story, and taking her on an adventure to a Jedi Academy and sort of creating a world that is a natural dovetail to the story that we’ve seen her go through in the last three episodes.”

Obaid-Chinoy additionally adds, “I’ve had conversations with JJ Abrams. I’ve had conversations with George Lucas and, of course, Dave Filoni, who is a big part of the Star Wars universe now. We speak very often, and Kathy Kennedy, Carrie Beck, and Simon Emanuel – I think the team is really taking time to make sure that we do justice to telling the story of Daisy.”

Rey’s Future in the New Star Wars Movie

But will Rey’s upcoming Star Wars movie continue the common franchise trend of introducing new characters that are somehow related to other characters in the world? Daisy Ridley doesn’t really think so. Speaking to Deadline, Ridley noted it seemed unlikely that Rey would have kids in the new Star Wars film. She shared, “I would say she probably doesn’t have children seeing she’s a Jedi.” Of course, we know hypothetically Rey still could have children, like Anakin before her, but it sounds like this won’t be the path of the movie.

Daisy Ridley also notes that Rey will take a different approach to teaching the next generation of Jedi than Luke Skywalker did. Speaking to Den of Geek, she says about Rey’s tactics diverging from Luke’s, “I would say, from what I understand, yes. Short answer.”

Daisy Ridley and Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy Give Updates on the New Film

Daisy Ridley noted to Collider, “I’m very excited. The story is really cool. I’m waiting to read a script because, obviously, I don’t have any other updates. It’s not what I expected, but I’m very excited.” And additionally told The Hollywood Reporter, “I’m genuinely really excited about the next one [Star Wars movie]. I haven’t read anything, but I know the story. It’s really worth telling, worth exploring, and I think people will be excited.”

Daisy Ridley on Returning as Rey

The actress also offered a bit of a further tease about the film to AlloCiné. She said of the upcoming Rey Star Wars movie, “Once I knew what the story was and everything, I knew that it was something I really wanted to do. I think it’s a really fantastic exploration of the Star Wars world. It’s a really cool way of taking the story on in a bit of a different direction.” In conclusion, as Ridley noted to Variety, the story of this Star Wars movie is “cool as sh*t.”

Ridley also recently shared that this time around, she feels more ready to be Rey. “I suppose I feel more like I’m owning it. I suppose I owned it the first time. Basically, I’m an adult now. I certainly did not feel like an adult at the time. Obviously, personally, things have changed, and professionally, I’ve had lots of other experiences, and so I definitely feel like it’s a different thing this time. There’s just a lot of joy with me and these films. Honestly, if I wasn’t excited, I wouldn’t have done it. It feels like a great thing to be a part of.” However, the actress also expressed reprising the role could be a strange experience, saying, “I honestly have had moments where I’m like, ‘I don’t know if I remember what I did [as Rey]… It’s really strange. I think the whole thing will feel so different anyway, with a totally different team. I’m in a very different place than I was. I’m probably going to be one of the adults, and initially, I was the youngest person on set, which is a weird feeling.”

Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy on Tackling a Star Wars Story

Meanwhile, Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy noted to CNN, “I’m very thrilled about the project because I feel what we’re about to create is something very special… We’re in 2024 now, and it’s about time that we had a woman come forward to shape a story in a galaxy far, far away.

We couldn’t agree more. But something tells us it won’t be smooth sailing for Rey. The dark side of the Force has a way of always creating shadows over the galaxy far, far away, especially in theaters.

The director also added, “The story that interests me most is in Rey’s journey as a female Jedi. That’s how I can best bring my experiences to it.”

A Release Date for Rey’s New Star Wars Movie

There is now a reported filming date in play for Rey’s upcoming Star Wars fim. According to Productionlist.com, which tracks production updates for the Film & Television Industry Alliance, the Rey movie will start shooting on April 7, 2024 in London. Hopefully, that means we will get casting news soon.

Recent rumors speculated that the Rey movie might have been delayed indefinitely due to creative differences between Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy and writer Steven Knight. However, according to Gizmodo, Lucasfilm has confirmed the movie is still moving forward without issue. According to the publication, a source at Lucasfilm noted, “Knight continues to write and be a part of the process. In fact, the company is waiting on his latest draft as you read this.”

Jon Favreau Takes Our Favorite Duo to the Big Screen in The Mandalorian & Grogu

In addition to joining Dave Filoni’s big group Star Wars movie, the Mandalorian and Grogu will also star in a new Star Wars movie of their own (aptly titled, The Mandalorian & Grogu). Few details are known about it for now, but it will go into production in 2024.

As previously noted, this movie is expected to start shooting in April 2024.

Patty Jenkins Returns to Direct the Once Canceled Star Wars Movie Rogue Squadron

In 2020, Lucasfilm announced Patty Jenkins would direct a new Star Wars movie, Rogue Squadron. But the movie was removed from the company’s lineup in 2022. Now, Jenkins has revealed she’s back to work on the film, and she’ll take on the roles of writer and director. You can see what she had to say in full, here.

Originally published on April 7, 2023.

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The Acolyte‘s fourth episode saw Mae’s mysterious dark master step out of the shadows. Who is this sinister Force user wielding a red lightsaber and sending his student to murder Jedi? That unknown masked figure has kept their identity a secret even from their disciple, but might we already know who they really are? These are the four most likely Star Wars suspects for The Acolyte‘s unknown Master.

Mother Koril and Mother Aniseya

We’re combining these two under one banner because they’re both obvious candidates to be Mae’s Master for the same reasons. The Jedi tracked down a coven of powerful witches in hiding because the Jedi didn’t want any unauthorized people training young kids in the ways of the Force. (Especially in ways some consider “dark.”) The Jedi knights didn’t stop Mae from ascending, but they did prevent Osha. They then tested the two girls in the ways of the Force for possible acceptance as Jedi Padawans. That unwelcome intrusion led to the coven’s destruction. An angry Mae, who already had dark side tendencies, caused a deadly fire when her sister was about to leave with the Jedi.

Master Sol said everyone died in that fire, but there’s plenty of reason to doubt the Jedi have been completely honest about what happened on Brendok. Even if Sol is telling the truth, though, he thought Mae died only for her to show back up years later. What if someone else also survived? Someone like the leader of the group, the girl’s powerful Mother Aniseya? Or the stern but loving witch who carried the twins. Mother Koril? Either would make for a powerful Master, both literally and thematically.

If the Master is really Mother Aniseya or Mother Koril (no other witch we met makes sense as a serious possibility) it will mean Jedi arrogance about who can use the Force will have created the very enemy who will destroy them. They could have left those witches to live their lives in peace. Instead they gave them a reason to hate the Jedi.

Of course, someone else on the show who also has close ties to Mae hates the Jedi, too.

Qimir

The number one, most obvious Master suspect—the one we’d wager on—is Mae’s associate, Qimir. He helped her kill Jedi and already seemed to be hiding a big secret before episode four made his activities even more suspicious. Manny Jacinto’s soft-spoken former smuggler is way too capable and knows way too much to just be a random trader. His introduction to the show made us wonder if he’s really a dark side user like Mae.

Our suspicions only grew during episode four. Qimir, who easily stopped a surprise Mae attack in episode two, somehow fell for a basic trap. He then got tied up and left behind right before Mae decided to turn her back on their Master and turn herself over to the Jedi. Except that’s when she found Master Kelnacca already murdered. How did someone cut down a Wookiee Jedi? And in his own home? No one, not even his fellow Jedi, even exactly knew where Kelnacca lived.

Except Qimir. And he wasn’t seen after Mae left him hanging in that tree.

The strangely capable, brilliant Qimir is an otherwise unknown figure aiding and abetting the murder of Jedi. He also (correctly) speaks about Jedi arrogance and knows things about the Order no one else does. And in episode four he disappears right before a powerful Jedi is killed and the Master reveals themself to the Jedi.

That’s a pretty big series of coincidences, enough to have us believing Qimir is the Master. But we can’t be totally sure just yet, especially when there’s a notorious fourth candidate. It’s a “wise” figure Star Wars fans first heard about from the most infamous Sith Lord ever.

Darth Plagueis

In Revenge of the Sith Chancellor Palpatine emotionally manipulated Anakin, worried about Padmé dying, with a story the Jedi would never tell him. Palpatine recounted the tale of the Sith Lord, Darth Plagueis the Wise.

“Darth Plagueis was a Dark Lord of the Sith so powerful and so wise, he could use the Force to influence the midi-chlorians to create life. He had such a knowledge of the dark side, he could even keep the ones he cared about from dying.“

Star Wars later confirmed what the scene only suggested, that Darth Plagueis was Palpatine’s master. Palpatine did tell Anakin Plagueis taught his apprentice “everything he knew.” Unfortunately for Plagueis, who had been obsessed with immortality and saving those he loved, he could not save himself when Palpatine murdered Plagueis in his sleep.

Star Wars has further expanded Plagueis’ story offscreen, albeit only slightly, and shown what he’s look liked. But he’s never appeared in a movie or TV show. That is unless he already has because Mae’s masked Master, the one who will put the Sith on the path to power in the galaxy far, far away, is Plagueis. That would further connect the twins to Anakin…

It’s also possible our third and fourth candidates are one in the same, because Qimir is Plagueis. That would be quite a revelation, but it might not be the show’s biggest secret. Because while we will inevitably learn the identity of Mae’s Master, the show might be hiding something even more important behind that zippered mask: the Master is actually the Acolyte of the show’s title, which means they have an even more powerful master.

To find out why read our piece Who Is The Acolyte’s Title Actually Referring To?

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist who can’t wait for Darth Plagueis to finally show up. You can follow him on Twitter and Bluesky at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

The post Who Is ‘The Master’ on THE ACOLYTE? appeared first on Nerdist.

Before you go on, make sure to check out our piece on Who Is ‘The Master’ on The Acolyte?

The Acolyte‘s first three episodes appeared to feature a traditional Sith partnership that follows the dark order’s Rule of Two. That ancient decree says there can only ever be a Sith Master and a Sith apprentice. At this point in the galaxy far, fay away, Mae is the student of her masked leader. Only, Star Wars: The Clone Wars established that hierarchy does not preclude a dark side apprentice from having their own follower. And since the show’s fourth episode seemed to prove Mae has never been a Sith Lord (and never will be), it’s not clear who The Acolyte‘s title is truly referring to.

If it’s not her, who is the titular character? The only real candidate is Mae’s secret teacher. And if that’s true, that masked figure is serving an even more powerful figure we have yet to meet.

Yoda introduced fans to the Rule of Two in The Phantom Menace. It began with the infamous Sith Lord Darth Bane. He implemented it thousands of years before. He was hoping to save his dark religious order from their worst instincts so it might one day fight back against the Jedi that had nearly wiped them out. Bane’s rule meant there could only ever be two Sith Lords at once. From StarWars.com‘s entry on this important figure:

An ancient and legendary Sith Lord, it was Darth Bane who saw that the Sith traditions of old were ultimately a dead end. All too often, squabbling Sith in their bid for power upended carefully laid plans. After the Sith were decimated by the Jedi Knights of a thousand years ago, Bane enacted the Sith rule of two: there would be only two active Sith at one time — a Dark Lord to embody the power, and an apprentice to crave it. These Sith would operate in the shadows, favoring guile and conspiracy to bring down their opponents rather than brute force — that is, until it was time to rise and subjugate the galaxy.

That hard and fast Rule of Two turned out not to not be quite as hard or fast as we thought. On The Clone Wars former Count Dooku—secretly Darth Tyranus, apprentice of Sith Lord Darth Sidious— had his own dark side apprentice. Dooku was the master of the powerful Force user Asajj Ventress.

The Rule of Two does not mean a Sith apprentice (who is still a Sith Lord) can’t train another in the ways of the dark side. For that reason alone it’s very possible The Acolyte‘s mysterious Master has their own secret, more powerful Master. What makes that possibility even more likely is that Mae does not appear to be a Sith just as Asajj was not. Mae doesn’t even complete the sacred Rule of Two.

Asajj knew her Master’s identity. Asajj also used a red lightsaber. Mae doesn’t know who is leading her and uses steel daggers. She actually seems to have no use for a lightsaber. In episode one the show made a point to highlight that Mae had no interest in taking Indara’s after she killed the Jedi.

If Mae’s Master has a Master (who could be one of her moms, the strangely capable Qimir, or even the infamous Darth Plagueis!), does that mean the masked figure on the show is the titular Acolyte? Is that term itself a clue they are? Considering Jedi call students “Padawan” and Sith Lord call theirs “apprentice,” the show’s name is a peculiar one in Star Wars. Was it chosen to do more than just reflect the dark religious nature of the Sith? Was it chosen to highlight things are not as they seem in the galaxy and in this story?

That would be fitting when it comes to a story about the Sith. Darth Bane implemented the Rule of Two so his order could operate in the shadows. That is until they were ready to reveal themselves, just as The Acolyte‘s Master did in episode four.

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist. He’s also forever waiting for Darth Plagueis to show up in live-action. You can follow him on Twitter and Bluesky at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

The post Who Is THE ACOLYTE’s Title Actually Referring To? appeared first on Nerdist.

When we began our History of Thrones series examining important events and people from the complex and controversial past of Westeros, we were searching for clues about what might happen on Game of Thrones. What we didn’t know at the time was that HBO would one day bring some of those stories to the screen, too. House of the Dragon takes place long before Daenerys brought dragons back to the Realm. But before she tried to reclaim her family’s Iron Throne, another Targaryen woman fought to sit upon it, Rhaenyra Targaryen. If you want to learn all about Princess Rhaenyra and why we believed her story was a harbinger of things to come on Game of Thrones, here’s everything you need to know about her life and brief reign. Just be warned, this tragic tale is full of spoilers for Rhaenyra Targaryen’s journey and House of the Dragon.

You can find all other History of Thrones entries here.

Jump to: The First Woman to Claim the Iron Throne // King Viserys’ Son // Rhaenyra Targaryen’s Romances // Targaryen Civil War // Rhaenyra Targaryen on the Iron Throne // The Death of Rhaenyra Targaryen

Rhaenyra Targaryen, the First Woman to Claim the Iron Throne

Game of Thrones’ sixth season ends with Cersei Lannister as queen of Westeros, but only after innumerable tragedy and unspeakable acts of horror. She has the support of few friends, is beset by enemies on all sides, and, if all that isn’t bad enough… She doesn’t have any dragons at her disposal like the only other woman to claim the Iron Throne before her.

Because while Cersei became the first official female queen of the Seven Kingdoms, she was not the first woman to sit in Aegon the Conqueror’s royal chair as Westeros’ ruler. That title belongs to the Half-Year Queen, Rhaenyra Targaryen. Rhaenyra Targaryen briefly held King’s Landing during the infamous Targaryen Civil War known as the Dance of the Dragons. The story of this war and of Rhaenyra Targaryen will now be explored in the Game of Thrones prequel, House of the Dragon.

King Viserys Targaryen Names Rhaenyra His Heir

The war of succession between Rhaenyra Targaryen and her half-brother Aegon II got its name both from its combatants and the dragons who fought each other over the skies of the Seven Kingdoms. But the story begins long before, back during the time of Rhaenyra’s childhood.

Rhaenyra Targaryen, born in 97 AC, was the only surviving child of King Viserys and his first wife, Aemma Arryn. Their first son died as an infant. And their second son passed away a day after Queen Aemma died during birth. The early episodes of House of the Dragon chronicle this part of Rhaenyra Targaryen’s life.

To ensure that his brother Daemon was not his heir, Viserys announced in 105 AC that Rhaenyra, already a dragonrider, would follow him on the throne. The King made the Lords of Westeros swear fealty to his eight-year-old daughter as the lawful successor to the crown. Rhaenyra Targaryen was named the Princess of Dragonstone, and thereafter was always by her father’s side, becoming known as the Realm’s Delight. Rhaenyra was beautiful, with classic, old Valyrian looks. But while a popular figure (early in life), she was also a proud woman with a temper.

King Viserys’ Son and the Birth of Civil War

Viserys thought the matter of succession was established for good in 105 AC. He had reason to believe it was. He ascended to the Iron Throne without issue after the Great Council of 101 AC named him King Jaehaerys’ heir. But a year after naming Rhaenyra as his, he remarried. He wedded Alicent Hightower, daughter of his Hand Ser Otto Hightower. Their union is what set the future civil war set in motion, even if the king didn’t realize it. Because a year after they wed, King Viserys and Queen Alicent had a son (107 AC), Aegon, followed by a daughter and two other sons.

You can probably see where this is going.

Sons, no matter their date of birth, always came before daughters in the line of succession. And with the King now having two surviving boys, it was thought he would name his eldest son the rightful heir. But Viserys refused to change his mind. He said he had already named Rhaenyra his successor and that the lords of the Realm had sworn to honor his wish and will. Not everyone wanted those vows kept, though. And some questioned Rhaenyra Targaryen as heir to the Iron Throne.

Ser Otto Hightower Loses His Position for Questioning Rhaenyra’s Claim

Viserys’ Hand and father of the Queen, Otto Hightower, pushed the issue of succession after his grandson’s birth so often that Viserys dismissed him from both his position and King’s Landing. The formerly warm relationship between Queen Alicent and Princess Rhaenyra also grew cold. From their enmity, two factions grew at court. The “Blacks” supported Rhaenyra. The “Greens” backed the Queen. (The names were references to dresses each woman wore at a large tournament).

During this time, the two most important men in Rhaenyra’s life were her uncle Daemon and Ser Criston Cole. She was very fond of both of them and them of her. Her history with both was, for lack of a better word, complicated. But what we know of her relationship with each help explain future events. House of the Dragon also delves into Rhaenyra Targaryen’s complex relationships with both these men.

The Men Who Loved Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen

Ser Criston Cole

Criston Cole named young Rhaenyra the queen of love and beauty at a grand tourney. Soon after he became her personal sworn shield as a member of the Kingsguard. She had asked her father to give him the position. But Viserys was clearly impressed with Ser Criston, too. The King eventually promoted Cole to Lord Commander of the Kingsguard. House of the Dragon delves into Criston Cole and Rhaenyra Targaryen’s romance and even resolves a mystery about their relationship from the Game of Thrones book, Fire & Blood.

Daemon Targaryen

The story of the princess and her valiant knight did not end as a fairy tale, though. A sordid and controversial story began to spread that Rhaenyra lost her virginity to her uncle Daemon at age 16. No one knows if that is true. But Targaryens had long married within the family to keep their bloodlines pure. And King Viserys did exile his brother shortly after. In House of the Dragon, the answer seems to be that Rhaenyra and Daemon Targaryen did not sleep together when she was young. But perhaps we do not know the full story yet.

Doomed Romance

Meanwhile, the histories tell another story about Rhaenyra and the other man who loved her. As mentioned, one tale tells that the day came when Criston Cole professed his love to Rhaenyra and asked her to run away with him to Essos. But instead, she questioned his loyalties since he wanted to break his sworn Kingsguard vow. But another version of the story says that it was she who professed her love to him, only for him to turn her down. Whatever really happened between the princess and her sworn shield, has remained a mystery until now. But whatever it was, he suddenly became a bitter enemy of hers. Once again, if House of the Dragon is to be believed, it was actually Cole who confessed to Rhaenyra, but instead of questioning him, she wanted him to remain her lover and guard. In any case, Ser Criston Cole then became supporter of Queen Alicent and the Greens.

Game of Thrones‘ prequel series professes to deliver a true account of the events of the time. What we know so far comes from meta “histories,” where the truth of events became distorted with time. It seems that House of the Dragon reveals to us the truths of the relationships between Rhaenyra Targaryen, Daemon Targaryen, and Criston Cole. And, indeed, we have seen depictions of many of moments between the trio.

The Controversial Marriages of Rhaenyra Targaryen

Eventually, Rhaenyra entered into a politically motivated marriage with Ser Laenor Velaryon. Her father arranged the union and threatened to name his son Aegon heir instead when she protested the arrangement. Her desire to be queen was greater than her lack of desire for a husband. But it seems perhaps the match was not a great one for either of the pair. The Princess said Laenor would be more interested in romancing her half-brothers. The couple did officially have three sons together, but the overwhelming evidence indicated Laenor was not their father. The inescapable and obvious question of paternity in the matter of Rhaenyra Targaryen’s children would become a major moment on the path to civil war. Rumors of the boy’s true father would also lead to bitter disputes with their cousins that led to violence over the years.

A few years later, Ser Laenor died during a fight with a dear friend. Some believe it was a lovers quarrel born of jealousy. But others whispered that Daemon arranged to have Laenor murdered. That was never proven. What happened next, though, did nothing to quell the murmur of conspiracy. Rhaenyra quickly remarried, this time to her uncle Daemon. Their controversial union angered her father. Still, the king did not announce a different heir. And that’s where things stood when Viserys died in 129 AC, and all dragon hell broke loose.

On House of the Dragon, we see the marriage between Rhaenyra and Daemon take place. In House of the Dragon‘s version of Rhaenyra, Daemon, and Laenor’s story things go a bit differently. The three come to some kind of arrangement and stage Laenor’s death so he can escape with his lover somewhere far away, and Rhaenyra and Daemon can wed.

The Death of King Viserys Leads to All-Out Targaryen Civil War

Rhaenyra was in Dragonstone, away from court, when her father, Viserys Targaryen, died, an event that has finally happened on House of the Dragon. Meanwhile, Queen Alicent was in King’s Landing. On House of the Dragon, Alicent is at Viserys side when he dies, and hears him speak of the prophecy, “A Song of Ice and Fire.” She does not realize Viserys believes himself to be speaking to Rhaenyra. These are events that the books do not recount.

In the books, after Alicent learned of her husband’s death, she kept it hidden for a week. In the meantime, she called together the small council to determine succession. The council was almost entirely made up of Greens, save for Lord Lyman Beesbury. He argued that Rhaenyra was the rightful heir. For that, the Lord Commander of the Kingsguard, Ser Criston Cole, slit his throat, ending the debate. It’s why Cole is forever known as the Kingmaker. In House of the Dragon, we see these events take place according to what is set out in the books. Although Alicent seems much more empathetic to Rhaenyra and what she might go through and does not wish to kill her, while Otto Hightower is much more set on blood.

In the Game of Thrones books, Aegon II reluctantly accepted the title of King only after he was convinced his half-sister would execute him when she became Queen. Rhaenyra was predictably furious when she finally heard everything that had happened. In response, she had herself crowned on Dragonstone. In House of the Dragon, however, Rhaenyra Targaryen has a much more measured initial response to the news of what has transpired with the crown. Although she crowns herself Queen, she initially agrees to consider the terms sent by Queen Alicent and Otto Hightower. Though Rhaenyra does not think to give up her claim, she notes she does not wish to rule over a kingdom of ash and bone.

The Realm Chooses Sides in the Dance of the Dragons

Despite swearing a vow to King Viserys, many lords of the realm took up Aegon’s claim, for a myriad of reasons. Chief among them was that Rhaenyra Targaryen was a woman. Some also believed her children, next in line to the Iron Throne, were bastards. And some thought crowning her would ultimately make her despised uncle-husband King. However, she had many supporters who planned to keep their vow to her. Plus, she had one major advantage over her brother—Rhaenyra’s side had more dragons than Aegon and the Greens.

Any small hope for a peaceful resolution went out the window quickly. The two sides quickly went to work rallying support which led to a deathly encounter. King Aegon’s brother Aemond, riding on his giant dragon Vhagar, killed Rhaenyra’s son Luce atop of his much smaller dragon, Arrax. When Luce died over Shipbreaker’s Bay off of Storm’s End, peace was no longer an option. In House of the Dragon, Lucerys’ death at Aemond and Vhagar’s hands appears to be more accidental than in the books. However, when news reaches Rhaenyra Targaryen at the end of season one of House of the Dragon, it still strikes the match of full-on war.

To tell the tale of the entire Dance of the Dragons would take five more parts. (NOTE: There’s a reason HBO chose this as its first Game of Thrones spinoff. It features some epic fights, horrible tragedies, and shocking moments we haven’t even touched on). But Westeros will never forget when the skies filled with the flames and shadows of dragons battling one another. And the Realm will never forget how it ended.

Fire & Blood Comes to House Targaryen

King Aegon II was badly injured early in the war. He and his dragon spent most of the Dance missing out of sight. Some even thought Aegon was dead for most of it. However, in the end, he emerged victorious. But only for a very brief time.

Rhaenyra Targaryen could, and probably even should, have won this civil war. She had enough of the realm’s support along with her superior number of dragons. But she lost too many of each of these aspects because of her own anger, paranoia, and mistakes. (She even lost the bastard Targaryens who became Dragonriders during the way. They betrayed her like so many others.). Despite all of that, though, she did sit upon the Iron Throne for a fleeting time.

Rhaenyra Targaryen Takes the Iron Throne, but Only For a Moment

While the Green forces were away from King’s Landing, they foolishly left the capital sparsely protected. That allowed Rhaenyra and Daemon to easily take the city, where she sat on the Iron Throne for half-a-year. An infamous story says when Rhaenyra Targaryen first got up from the chair, she was bleeding from so many cuts. To some, it meant the throne had rejected her for not being worthy. (Though, in fairness, how many people could avoid being cut by a chair of swords the first time they tried to get comfortable in it?)

Rhaenyra Targaryen’s brief rule, which her brother Aegon later declared unofficial, initially caused a celebration in the city. But the Queen soon grew unpopular. She raised taxes, began executing green loyalists, and earned the crude moniker of “King Maegor with Teats.” That was a hard reference to the brutal and hated third Targaryen king.

Rhaenyra Targaryen’s Death—How Did the Queen Die?

Rhaenyra’s time on the Iron Throne enraged citizens so much they came to think of dragons as evil. So one legendary night, they stormed the Dragonpit in a frenzy and killed the four dragons inside. (Many died during the attack.) They also killed Rhaenyra’s own dragon Syrax, shortly thereafter. Having already lost her first three sons to the war, Rhaenyra fled back to Dragonstone for safety. But there she was betrayed and brought before her injured and delirious brother King Aegon II.

So how did Rhaenyra Targaryen die? Well, Aegon had his dragon Sunfyre burn Rhaenyra alive before he ate her. (Sunfyre was one of only two dragons left from many who fought in the war). He also made Rhaenyra’s young son, also named Aegon, watch his mother die. The King refused calls to execute his nephew, though. Instead, he kept him prisoner as his enemies continued the war in the name of Rhaenyra’s son and own heir. And the younger Aegon would ultimately achieve what his mother couldn’t.

King Aegon Is Dead, Long Live King Aegon

Someone close to King Aegon II—who proved himself as unworthy of the Iron Throne as many had feared—murdered the unpopular monarch not long after Rhaenyra Targaryen’s death. And his demise raised the same issue that started the Dance of the Dragons decades earlier. Aegon II died without an obvious heir.

In a poetic end to the deadly war, Rhaenyra’s son with Daemon became King Aegon III. He was also wed to his cousin, Aegon II’s daughter Jaehaera. Their marriage reunited both sides of House Targaryen. But the new King was a sad man who never recovered from seeing his mother’s horrible death. He was known by many names, such as Aegon the Unlucky, Aegon the Unhappy, and the Broken King.

But his lasting moniker is Aegon the Dragonsbane. Because during his rule, the last dragons died (until Daenerys’ time, almost 150 years later). Some suspected him of conspiring to eliminate the creatures due to his personal hatred. But other theories say the maesters of the Citadel, who hated magic and the death caused by dragons, secretly plotted to kill them off.

When Aegon III died, his brother, Viserys—once thought lost forever—ended up sitting on the Iron Throne himself. For everything denied her, Rhaenyra Targaryen ended up being the mother of two kings.

The Dance of the Dragons’ Legacy and House of the Dragons

The Dance of the Dragons was the swan song of the dragons. And House Targaryen was never as powerful without them as they were before.

As for Rhaenyra Targaryen, she grew up believing she would rule Westeros. But when the time came, her enemies and family stole the crown from her. She answered with fire and blood and was destroyed by them. So while Rhaenyra may have been the first woman to claim the Iron Throne, she never ruled the Seven Kingdoms. The Half-Year Queen’s tale is the ultimate reminder that all rulers—whether Jon Snow, Daenerys Targaryen, or Cersei Lannister—need more than many dragons to rule. They need the support of the people. And the people never truly wanted a woman to rule.

What none of those who opposed Rhaenyra Targaryen knew, including us until House of the Dragon, though, was that Rhaenyra was fighting for something bigger than herself. She knew about Aegon’s dream of Ice and Fire. Her father gave the responsibility of the world to her. For that, she’s a far more sympathetic figure than the histories have ever told of the woman who lost the Dance of the Dragons. But it also means her many mistakes are more unforgivable, too.

Originally published on July 1, 2017.

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist. You can follow him on Twitter at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

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Westeros isn’t getting any bigger, but its presence on HBO certainly is thanks to a very large and legendary knight. A second live-action Game of Thrones spinoff is coming about the Realm’s most beloved duo, Dunk and Egg. What’s the show called? Who is this famous knight and his young Targaryen squire? And why are fans of George R.R. Martin so excited to see them come to life? Here’s everything we know about A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms so far.

HBO Shares First Production Image From and New Cats Members

Ser Duncan is officially here. HBO has shared the first official pimage from the production in Belfast and it features the “lunk” known as Dunk walking through a market. His raggedy clothes suggest this moment comes from his pre-Egg days. (Not that he’ll look that much better later. Hedge knights aren’t exactly the best dressed knights.)

The network also announced some major new cast members and their roles along with the photo’s release:

• Finn Bennett as Aerion Targaryen
• Bertie Carvel as Baelor Targaryen
• Tanzyn Crawford as Tanselle
• Daniel Ings as Ser Lyonel Barotheon
• Sam Spruell as Maekar Targaryen

Sarah Adina Smith (Lessons In Chemistry) has also come aboard to direct three of the season’s six episodes.

Title

At one point the spinoff was working under the wordy title of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight. But a recent report says HBO has—thankfully—dropped the latter. The prequel is now operating under the simpler name and the book it’s adapting, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms‘ Plot 

The show’s official logline provided an introduction to the series’ time period and characters. From HBO:

A century before the events of Game of Thrones, two unlikely heroes wandered Westeros… a young, naïve but courageous knight, Ser Duncan the Tall, and his diminutive squire, Egg. Set in an age when the Targaryen line still holds the Iron Throne and the memory of the last dragon has not yet passed from living memory, great destinies, powerful foes, and dangerous exploits all await these improbable and incomparable friends.

Fans of A Song of Ice and Fire know much more about the beloved duo’s exploits and lifelong friendship. Martin’s three novellas cover both big and small events related to Westeros during a dangerous time in the Seven Kingdoms. Dunk and Egg began their time together shortly after the second Targaryen civil war known as the Blackfyre Rebellion. The fresh wounds of that Realm-splitting battle is why Egg needed to hide his real identity while serving as Duncan’s squire.

Martin has also previously confirmed a fan theory that the honorable, noble Ser Duncan the Tall is the ancestor of Brienne of Tarth. (Though we don’t yet know how.) Despite taking place a century before its HBO predecessor, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms will also have more direct ties to Game of Thrones. Brynden Rivers, Egg’s uncle and the most notorious figure in Westeros, would go on to become the Three-Eyed Raven. And Egg’s older brother is none other than Maester Aemon of the Night’s Watch.

Martin has long said he has plans for many more Dunk & Egg stories. The show could ultimately adapt those unwritten/unpublished tales into entire seasons. HBO’s head of drama Francesca Orsi has said the series will “ideally year-to-year and arcing out a three-season series, which maps out the three novellas that George wrote.” But that doesn’t mean it will only run three years. She also said, “Of course, we’d like more beyond that, and George is continuing to think about the remaining novellas that he still wants to write, but at this point, we have our eye on three seasons that would map out each book, each novella.”

The adult exploits of Dunk and Egg are also explored in Martin’s massive compendium book The World of Ice and Fire. (Spoilers!)

Behind the Scenes

Martin and Ira Parker will write and serve as executive producers the show. House of the Dragon showrunner Ryan Condal will also serve as as executive producer along with Vince Gerardis. Owen Harris (Black Mirror‘s “Be Right Back” and “San Junipero”) will direct the show’s first three episodes.

Production began in the spring of 2024 following the end of the writers and actors strikes.

Additionally, Martin wrote The Hedge Knight will be shorter than the other Game of Thrones series on HBO, however, it will be no less brutal, to be sure. Success for The Hedge Knight could mean other Dunk & Egg stories receive spinoffs. (And maybe Martin will even write a few more.)

Here’s what Martin shared in full.

THE HEDGE KNIGHT will be a lot shorter than GAME OF THRONES or HOUSE OF THE DRAGON, with a much different tone… but it’s still Westeros, so no one is truly safe  Ira Parker and his team are doing a great job.  I hope to visit the shoot come July, when I swing by Belfast on my way to the worldcon in Glasgow.    The show will make its debut next year… and if it does well, THE SWORN SWORD and THE MYSTERY KNIGHT will follow.  By which time I hope to have finished some more Dunk & Egg stories (yes, after I finish THE WINDS OF WINTER).

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms‘ Cast

The only two stars of the show we know so far are the two most important. 6’4″ tall Peter Claffey (Bad Sisters, Vikings: Valhalla) will play the legendary Ser Duncan the Tall. Young Dexter Sol Ansell (The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes) will serve as Dunk’s diminutive squire, the fiery secret Targaryen prince Aegon forever known as “Egg.”

Martin publicly praised Dexter Sol Ansell’s transformation into Egg.

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms‘ Release Date

Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav has previously said HBO is targeting a “late 2025″ premiere.

Originally published May 22, 2024.

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House of the Dragon is back, and while it’s still using the franchise’s signature theme song, the show has a gorgeous new opening credits sequence. The Game of Thrones‘ prequel’s season two premiere began by weaving together a Targaryen family tapestry of fire and blood.

Instead of focusing on the Targaryen family lineage like season one’s opening credits did with its more mechanical sequence, House of the Dragon‘s second season intro has a more personal feel. It highlights some of the most famous moments of the family’s time in Westeros as it builds to Aegon II and his half-sister Rhaenyra sitting on their competing thrones in the Dance of the Dragons. (He sits on the Iron Throne in King’s Landing. She sits on Dragonstone’s.)

But while this opening might be more beautiful, it’s also more ominous. The red threads of this Targaryen tapestry serves as a reminder of just how much fire and blood they brought to the Realm.

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House of the Dragon has a big creative advantage over most adaptations. George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood is not a definitive account of events. It’s a history of House Targaryen “written” by a maester that is incomplete or even wrong in certain places. (Though we can’t always know how or where). That’s especially true of the time period the HBO’s prequel series is retelling. That section is based on three biased sources that frequently conflict with one another, often because none of the chroniclers actually witnessed the events they wrote about. Their blindspots and distortions provide House of the Dragon narrative freedom. It also lets the show fill in huge gaps never mentioned. And House the Dragon‘s season two premiere used that storytelling advantage to make Queen Alicent and Ser Criston Cole’s relationship far more troubling, complex, and interesting.

In Fire & Blood, Kingsguard member Criston Cole goes from being the sworn sword of Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen to the personal protector of her enemy, Alicent Hightower. No one in Westeros ever hated Rhaenyra more than the man who crowned her brother Aegon king. The Targaryen history provides a very personal reason for the enmity between the two formerly close duo: their relationship turned sexual.

In Fire & Blood, one source claims Cole asked Rhaenyra to run across the Narrow Sea with her, giving up her claim to the Iron Throne. Another says it was Rhaenyra who asked him to forsake his vows to the Kingsguard. What every historian agrees on is that, after that moment, the two despised one another. Criston Cole didn’t just turn his back on her, he worked to destroy her.

House of the Dragon‘s first season provided a definitive answer as to what happened between them. It’s the one that always made the most sense based on what we knew about each. It was Criston Cole, the worst person ever, who begged Rhaenyra to leave Westeros behind with him. The HBO series also gave us a reason for his request. It wasn’t one driven by love or even lust. Cole felt guilt for having broken his sacred vows in the first place and he wanted Rhaenyra to give up everything to make him feel better about himself. When she refused in House of the Dragon season one, Criston Cole abandoned her and went into the service of Queen Alicent instead.

For everything Fire & Blood says/suggests about Cole and Rhaenyra’s relationship, both explicitly and in subtext, it says almost nothing of his relationship with Alicent. Criston Cole becomes Alicent’s sworn sword and protector, but none of the book’s sources raise even a hint of impropriety between the two. But that doesn’t mean the show created a physical relationship out of thin air, either.

Westeros remembers Criston Cole for the unethical punk he was. It also knows he almost certainly broke his vows and slept with Rhaenyra. (Who was a drunk teenager the first time they slept together on the show). It’s not a stretch, in any way, to imagine Cole also went on to violate his oaths with a young, beautiful widow like Alicent. Nor it is absurd to think that a woman whose entire life was defined/bound by duty until that point took her handsome knight to bed when she was under the most stress she’d ever know.

While their physical relationship contributed to the show botching Fire & Blood‘s most shocking moment (the other side of the adaptation freedom coin), this expansion of their story is ultimately a good thing for the show. It makes all of their interactions more fraught. Their advice to Aegon, whether they agree or not, is also harder to trust. Alicent and Criston Cole have entangled themselves in a way that has often doomed other duos because personal relationships have a tendency to undermine duty and rational thinking.

Each character is also more interesting on their own now, too. This evolution of the relationship makes Alicent more complex and, therefore, more compelling. She’s not as “perfect” as she thought. Maybe now she fears/knows Rhaenyra was right about her true nature, especially since Alicent did the very thing she held against Rhaenyra. It’s even possible jealousy of how Rhaenyra got to live her life drove Alicent into Criston Cole’s arms in House of the Dragon season two. And while Alicent’s hypocrisy makes her less righteous, calling her piety into question, it makes her more human and, therefore, possibly more sympathetic. She’s as vulnerable and flawed as anyone. She gave in to her basest desires just like any other human might.

While this relationship twist makes Alicent more dynamic, it also makes Lord Commander Ser Criston Cole an even greater villain. He’s less a knight and more a walking fraud who speaks with a forked tongue. Every awful thing he says about Rhaenyra is projection. He can’t truly protect the King and his family because he’s compromised himself. He’s the amoral, unethical center at the Dance of the Dragons.

He’s what the show needs just as Game of Thrones needed characters like Joffrey, Ramsay, and Baelish. The handsome Kingsguard member who began his story so nobly and with so much promise is like a reverse Jaime Lannister, someone we hated but grew to love.

No one will ever love Criston Cole… Except apparently Alicent Hightower. And House of the Dragon is better for it.

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist and the original Criston Cole hater. You can follow him on Twitter and Bluesky at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

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“Our new film Megalopolis is the best work I’ve ever had the privilege to preside over.” Considering he directed both The Godfather and The Godfather Part II, that’s one hell of a statement for Francis Ford Coppola to make. But make it Coppola did, alongside the first trailer for Megalopolis. After four+ decades of frustration (and $120 million of his own money) trying to get it made, though, we don’t begrudge him his excitement. Especially when his long-awaited film looks as epic, weird, and fascinating as we’d hope. Megalopolis stars Adam Driver as a man struggling with his own sense of reality as he tries to save his dying city of opulence from itself. Happily, in addition to the trailer, Megalopolis has also officially set its US release date.

Whatever anyone expected from Megalopolis, it looks much weirder. It takes place in a kind of modern day Rome. Only in this giant city reality and fiction blend together in a whirlwind of style and depravity. What’s actually going on, though? Coppola provided more insight when he shared the film’s first clip.

The story follows Driver’s Caesar, a “dreamer” determined to “push back” against his city’s “unchecked greed, self-absorption, and political propaganda.” His fight will put Caesar in direct conflict with the man responsible for his home’s ruinous path, Giancarlo Esposito’s Mayor Franklyn Cicero.

In addition to its hero and villain, the film also features a slew of big-time Hollywood names. It also features Nathalie Emmanuel, Laurence Fishburne, Aubrey Plaza, Shia LaBeouf, Dustin Hoffman, D. B. Sweeney, Jon Voight, Talia Shire, Jason Schwartzman, Kathryn Hunter, and Grace VanderWaal.

What Is the Release Date for Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis Movie?

Megalopolis did not have a formal release date when its first trailer release, but the end of the trailer revealed it will come “only” to theaters in 2024. It also says we can expect to see it in IMAX. But since then, we’ve learned when we can expect the movie in theaters. Megalopolis will release on September 27, 2024.

IMAX CEO Richard Gelfond recently echoed that sentiment about a Megalopolis IMAX release, noting, “The film is going to get an IMAX release. One of the things that we pride ourselves on is being filmmaker-friendly. So we’ve committed to Francis to do a global IMAX release.” Gelfond did specify, though, that, “It’ll probably be a limited release rather than on all the screens in the world.” He also cited that, “IMAX will probably wait to see who will distribute the film in the U.S. and when before dating its IMAX release.” Finally, Gelfond offered that IMAX viewers of Megalopolis might get a special treat, sharing, “We also are working on a live event with him; we’re trying to accomplish a live event before Megalopolis, so someone interviewing Francis.”

Happily, IMAX won’t have to wait too much longer. We now know that Lionsgate will distribute Coppola’s Megalopolis in the United States. And, as mentioned, the movie will release on September 27, 2024. A release shares, “Lionsgate Studios previously distributed many of the visionary filmmaker’s greatest masterpieces on home entertainment, including Apocalypse Now Final Cut, The Conversation, The Cotton Club Encore, Tucker: The Man and His Dream, and One From the Heart: Reprise. Lionsgate Studios will also handle the distribution of Megalopolis across all home entertainment platforms. Megalopolis will be released in domestic theaters and in IMAX on September 27, 2024.”

If it’s anywhere near as good as Francis Ford Coppola thinks, we’ll be seeing it there more than once.

Originally published on May 14, 2024.

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House of the Dragon‘s second season began in the North. There, Prince Jacaerys met with the Lord of Winterfell, Cregan Stark. Their discussion revealed a monumental secret about the two families’ deep bond. But their shared past might have also finally answered a question fans of George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire have long had about Benjen Stark: why did he join the Night’s Watch?

Benjen Stark, the youngest sibling of Ned, took the black shortly after Robert’s Rebellion ended the Targaryen dynasty. At that point, Benjen’s father Rickard, oldest brother Brandon, and only sister Lyanna were all dead. That left Ned the Lord of Winterfell and Warden of the North. Despite Ned needing all the support he could get (both as a ruler and as a person), Benjen swore his oath to the ancient order mere months after his only surviving sibling returned home. That left the entire ancient family on the verge of total annihilation.

Even with Ned’s best friend atop the Iron Throne, and their surrogate father Jon Arryn serving as Hand of the King, the war left House Stark in tatters. There just weren’t as many of them left in a region where brutal winters can claim the lives of even the most powerful Northerners. If something happened to Ned, the only Starks (by blood) left were two newborns, Robb Stark and Jon Snow.

Why would Benjen leave his family for the Night’s Watch at that exact moment? Why didn’t he get married and have kids, replenishing the line with potential heirs and strengthening their numbers? It’s not as though fathers or older men can’t join. Even if he wanted to join previously (as youngest siblings were known to do), why wouldn’t he at least wait until Ned’s two boys got older and stronger? Or until Ned had more children? One bad chill could have left House Stark without a lord or worse. A single sickness at Winterfell could have wiped them all out. If that happened, Benjen wouldn’t have been able to do anything. He couldn’t violate his sacred oath to the Night’s Watch to claim his family’s ancient seat, just as Maester Aemon couldn’t claim the Iron Throne after the death of the Mad King Aerys II.

Benjen’s decision to become a Sworn Brother when he did has never made sense. George R.R. Martin hasn’t explained it yet, either. The only overt textual evidence he’s ever provided is that a teenage Benjen became enamored with the Night’s Watch after hearing a member try to recruit new members during the very same tourney where Lyanna fell in love with Rhaegar. But that hardly explains why he headed to the Wall just a couple months after Ned returned and House Stark was holding on by a thread.

This mystery has always been a fun one for fans to speculate about. Did Benjen’s departure have anything to do with him possibly knowing the secret of Jon Snow’s birth? Or was it made out of guilt for not fighting in the war? For knowing Lyanna wasn’t kidnapped and had voluntarily ran off with Rhaegar, the entire reason for the rebellion? Had Benjen actually been the one who helped Lyanna run off in the first place? They’re all fascinating possibilities, the kind of small character mystery that give Martin’s story so much emotional depth and intrigue. But House of the Dragon might have revealed Benjen’s reason had absolutely nothing to do with him because he didn’t have a choice at all.

The prequel’s season two premiere opened with new Northern lore. Lord Cregan Stark was overseeing a ceremony his ancestor Torrhen Stark began a century earlier. That’s when House Stark began sending one in ten of its own kin, drawn by random lot, to the Night’s Watch at the outset of every winter. The order, made up mostly of “doomed men,” needed strong, capable, noble members and leaders to keep the Night’s Watch in line. House Stark would keep its sacred oath to protecting the Wall and the Realm by sending their own men to fill those roles.

That ceremony and its origins indicate Aegon the Conqueror told Torrhen Stark about his prophetic vision of a White Walker invasion. That has huge ramifications for all of A Song of Ice and Fire. It also provides the best, most logical explanation for why Benjen Stark joined the Night’s Watch at what seemed like the worst possible time for his family. House Stark needed to send someone and he was the only option since Ned couldn’t go. There was literally no one else to go, so the family and Benjen made a sacrifice in the name of duty, echoing Cregan’s opening words in the episode. It didn’t matter the Starks needed Benjen at Winterfell. “Winter is coming” and that’s the only thing that has ever mattered.

If this sacrifice is why Benjen joined the Night’s Watch, why wouldn’t Martin have revealed it long before? It only makes both Benjen and House Stark look more noble. It was always the one family that truly put Westeros first. Likely because the ceremony that sent Benjen to the Wall is so much bigger than any one character. Tying House Stark and House Targaryen via Aegon’s Dream is a monumental revelation. Assuming it’s not entirely a show creation (or alteration), Martin might very well have been holding the truth of Benjen’s departure back until his final two books in A Song of Ice and Fire.*

Of course, even if this does fully explain why Benjen Stark joined the Night’s Watch, readers still don’t know what happened to the Head Ranger. His story will be different in Martin’s novels than what we saw on Game of Thrones. And in the books Benjen is still missing and presumed dead beyond the Wall.

We hope someone finds him, for lots of reasons. When they do he might confirm he had no choice but to take the black in the first place.

*No comment

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist and loyal bannerman to House Stark. You can follow him on Twitter and Bluesky at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

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House of the Dragon‘s season two premiere ended with a violent scene readers of George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood have desperately waited to see. It was the iconic, infamous event known as “Blood and Cheese,” arguably the single most shocking, cruel, and heartbreaking moment in the history of Westeros. And House of the Dragon completely botched it by needlessly delivering a vastly inferior version.

I love every single book and short story George R.R. Martin has written about Westeros. Yet I also know books are not TV shows and TV shows are not books. Adaptations, even faithful ones, must make significant changes if they hope to succeed. The written word, no matter how good, simply does not always translate to the screen. In its first season, House of the Dragon made a lot of amazing changes, the majority of which I supported and celebrated. From the revelation of Aegon’s Dream to an infinitely more dynamic King Viserys, it provided so many fantastic new aspects to Martin’s story.

Of course, the show also made some terrible changes. It undercut the major figures’ storylines and created big spectacles free of logic. Those kinds of alterations are frustrating (to be polite), but it’s a part of the process. I get that. I really do.

But some scenes need zero changes because they’re not only perfect on the page, they’re already perfect for the screen. And—more than any other moment in all of Fire & Blood, and maybe in all of A Song of Ice and Fire—no scene was ever more TV ready than “Blood and Cheese.”

The murder of Prince Jaehaerys on House of the Dragon almost certainly shocked and bothered those who had no idea what was coming. The violent murder of a child, even in Westeros, is still inherently stunning. The problem is those who did know what was coming, the people most excited and invested in this scene, know this version is monumentally, infuriatingly worse. George R.R. Martin’s version is so much more powerful, creative, and awful than House of the Dragon‘s. It’s also more logical and far more meaningful to the story.

In Fire & Blood a scheming, angry, worried Alicent Hightower is the chief architect of Aegon usurping his half-sister’s throne. House of the Dragon took away some of her agency by making her believe Viserys had a deathbed change of heart about succession. Fortunately season two’s premiere gave some back to Alicent by showing she knows the only way forward now is violence. She accepts blood must be shed and she has played a role in that inevitability. That scene with her father (along with the rat catcher walking by her earlier in the episode) also seemed to be setting up the horror that awaited her at the end by having her naively believe a war for the Iron Throne would free of “wanton” violence. The series did a fantastic job foreshadowing the worst moment in Alicent’s life, one that would make her truly face the consequences of her choices.

Then it didn’t have her experience it.

In Fire & Blood, Daemon’s two hired assassins aren’t bumbling around without a plan. They are far more capable, focused, and diabolical. The rat catcher is chosen specifically because he knows how to get around the Red Keep’s secret tunnels (including where the royals live) in a way few others do. That includes even those who actually live there. Cheese, as he is eventually called, knows all the hidden passageways in and out of bedchambers and offices. His intimate knowledge is also partly why they targeted Haelena’s young son rather than Aegon or Aemond in the first place.

Book Alicent resides in an accessible part of the castle, the Tower of the Hand. The highly protected King and his family sleeps in Maegor’s Holdfast, which has no secret ways entrances. King Maegor had the Red Keep’s secret tunnels installed, but wisely didn’t want any where he lived and slept. The subtext of Martin’s story reveals no one in the royal court worried about where Alicent, Helaena, and the kids went anyway because they obviously weren’t targets. This is a war between Rhaenyra and Daemon against Aegon and Aemond. Even the murder of Lucerys Targaryen wouldn’t make someone think little Prince Jaehaerys was in danger. He’s a literal child. But that’s one of the major points of the entire scene, which is really not about Jaehaerys or Helaena at all. They’re just victims. The scene is really about Alicent and how she made her loved ones targets.

In Martin’s book, Blood and Cheese hide in Alicent’s bed chamber because that’s how they can get what Daemon wants, “a son for a son.” Spies let Daemon (not still on Dragonstone at this point) and Mysaria (still in King’s Landing and willingly involved in this scheme) know about the Queen’s activities. Every night Helaena takes her three kids— the twins Jaehaerys and Jaehara, aged six, and son Maelor, aged two—into their grandmother’s bedroom to say goodnight.

On that fateful evening, Blood and Cheese had already bound and gagged Alicent and strangled her bed maid. Then they waited, as a helpless and terrified Alicent looked on, not knowing exactly what they had planned. When Helaena walked in with the three kids holding Maelor’s hand, Blood “barred the door and slew the queen’s guardsman, whilst Cheese appeared to snatch up Maelor.” After promising to kill them all unless Helaena stayed calm and quiet, they also swore to only harm one son. Only, in one of the most horrific decisions ever faced by anyone in Westeros, Helaena would have to pick which son died.

The Queen pleaded with them to take her instead, but they threatened to assault her daughter if she didn’t choose. Finally, “on her knees, weeping, Helaena named her youngest, Maelor.” Why him? Some think because he was too young to understand, others because Jaehaerys was the King’s heir. Whatever drove her choice, it didn’t matter. Cheese whispered to little Maelor, who must have been so confused and scared, “You hear that, little boy? Your momma wants you dead.” Cheese then smiled at Blood, who instead struck Jaehaerys’ head off with a single blow.

Yeah. Yeah.

On the page this horrible, shocking, heartbreaking scene—a true testament to Martin’s gift as a writer—reads like a short play in a way few moments of Fire & Blood do. It’s all there. There’s no guessing at the action, tension, and dialogue. There’s no mystery to fill in. Nor is there any way to improve it. It’s perfect, as is the purpose it serves in this story about two women fighting over the Iron Thrones. That’s what really matters.

This is the moment where Alicent literally must face what she’s put in motion. For all her talk about protecting her family from Rhaenyra, she is the one who put them all in mortal danger. She started this war. Her anger and ambition helped make such a moment of evil possible.

And for all of the Greens’ arrogance about righteousness, they must now spend the rest of the war knowing none of them, not even the youngest and most innocent, are safe. This is a fight to the death no one will win even if they survive. Helaena, Alicent, Jaehaera, and Maelor all walk away from Blood and Cheese with their lives, yet each life is destroyed in its own way.

For indefensible, incomprehensible reasons, House of the Dragon decided not to have Alicent present for any of this. Neither does it make Helaena agonize over an impossible decision only to be left with a son who knows she named him for death. Instead Alicent only had to hear about what happened while Helaena instantly gave up her son. (Which itself was an illogical moment of non-tension. Blood and Cheese could have easily looked under the kids’ pajamas to identify Jaehaerys.)

Why did House of the Dragon take a scene this good and beloved, one of the most highly anticipated in all of Game of Thrones history, and make it inferior? Why did it lessen the emotional impact, horror, and meaning to the story? It’s not as though these changes were about lessening the violence. The show actually amped the physical brutality of the moment. The murder of little Jaehaerys was worse because Blood slowly sawed off his head rather than chopping it off in a single blow. Why amplify the physical awfulness but lessen the emotional aspect when that’s the entire reason for the scene in the first place?

Ultimately the show’s reasons doesn’t matter, at least not to book readers who know what they missed out on. The only thing that matters is that House of the Dragon blew a rare opportunity. It had the chance to adapt a book moment that was already perfect for the screen in every way.

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist. You can follow him on Twitter and Bluesky at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings. (Or complaining about how House of the Dragon did the impossible and screwed up “Cheese and Blood.”)

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House of the Dragon‘s first season featured one of the most significant revelations in all of A Song of Ice and Fire. Aegon the Conqueror came to Westeros because he “foresaw the end of the world of men” at the icy hands of the White Walkers, and he believed the only hope to defeat the darkness was a unified Westeros led by a Targaryen. We learned about Aegon’s Dream when Viserys shared the secret with his daughter Rhaenyra. It was a vision the family’s kings had only ever told their own heirs. Or so we thought.

House of the Dragon‘s season two premiere has indicated the Conqueror shared that secret with an outsider, the Lord of a family Aegon knew would be the first line of defense when a “terrible winter gusting out of the distant north” began: House Stark. And that shared secret deepens the binds between House of the Dragon, Game of Thrones, Aegon, Jon Snow, the Targaryens, and the Starks.

House of the Dragon returned by returning us to Winterfell at the outset of winter. Season two also began with the voice of Lord Cregan Stark. He said, “Duty is sacrifice. It eclipses all things, even blood.” Those were no mere words, either. He said them as part of a ceremony we’ve never seen on either Game of Thrones show before. When winter starts, House Stark sends one in ten of its own kin, drawn by random lot, to join the Night’s Watch.

Most members of that ancient order are made up of “doomed men who had their life as their only possession.” Game of Thrones viewers know those doomed men—often rapists, thieves, and cravens—usually aren’t the best Westeros has to offer. The Night’s Watch needs capable, honorable fighters and leaders to keep those men in line. The Night’s Watch needs Starks.

Even without that ceremony, though, Starks have served in the Night’s Watch since its inception. The family’s members have often served as Lord Commanders.

What makes this new piece of northern lore so monumental is who began this tradition and when. This “sacrifice” changes everything we know about Aegon Targaryen’s interactions with the Starks and the North, and, therefore, the “bastard” who will one day unite the Realm against the White Walkers.

With the ceremony complete, Cregan Stark brought Rhaenyra Targaryen’s oldest son and heir, Jace, to the top of the Wall. Jace was on a diplomatic mission to secure support of major houses for his mother’s claim to the Iron Throne. The two talked about the first time a Stark swore an oath to a Targaryen, when King Torrhen Stark bent the knee to Aegon.

The current Lord of Winterfell then assured the prince, “Starks do not forget their oaths.” The North will keep the vow Cregan’s father Rickon made to Viserys when the King named Rhaenyra his rightful heir. However, Cregan also said he has an even more sacred oath that limits how many men he can commit to the Queen’s cause.

“My gaze is forever torn between north and south,” Cregan said. “In winter, my duty to the Wall is even more dire than the one I owe to King’s Landing.” Jace did not understand why guarding against “wildlings and weather” was more important than stopping the Hightowers and saving the Realm from a war that will rip it apart. That is until Jace gazed out past the Wall in awe.

Cregan then told the story about how Jace’s great grandparents, King Jaehaerys and his wife Queen Alysanne, once visited this very spot with his father Rickon. From there, the two Targaryens watched as their dragons, “the greatest power in the world,” refused to cross the Wall. The implication was obvious even before Cregan spoke again. “Do you think my ancestors built a 700-foot wall of ice to keep out snow and savages?” Lord Stark asked the prince. When Jace then asked what the Wall does keep out, Cregan told him: “Death.”

The Warden of the North’s comments show House Stark, even millennia after the First Long Night, always knew what the Wall kept out. That exchange also reflected a memorable and ominous moment from Game of Thrones‘ pilot.

In the original series’ premiere a visiting Benjen Stark, member of the Night’s Watch, discussed whispers of White Walker attacks with his brother Ned. Unlike everyone in else Westeros would for many years, the two did not dismiss or mock those reports. They spoke of the possibility with the solemnity of a Stark who knows, and has always known, “winter is coming.” House Stark’s ancient words were always a reminder of the real threat out of the darkness plotting its return.

That’s what makes the timing and originator of the Stark Night’s Watch ceremony so significant. That’s actually an understatement. It’s among the most meaningful pieces of lore ever introduced to A Song of Ice and Fire. To understand why, we need to go back to the start of House Stark and House Targaryen’s relationship, a century before House of the Dragon.

Aegon Targaryen had already conquered most of Westeros when he turned his attention to the King in the North, Torrhen Stark. Torrhen had marched 30,000 men into the Riverlands to take their stand against the larger force of House Targaryen. But by then, Torrhen knew what Aegon, his sisters, and their dragons could do, both good and bad. The Targaryens had already ended the lines of ancient houses who had not bent the knee while empowering those who had. Aegon bestowed honors on his new allies and spared their people.

Not surprisingly, some northern lords still wanted to fight, even though they must have known on some level they would lose. Instead, the evening before the battle, Torrhen sent his bastard brother and maesters to treat with Aegon.

George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood tells us “all through the night messages went back and forth” between the camps. In the morning, Torrhen did not fight as most expected of the northerners. Instead, he knelt as the King of Winter and “rose as Lord of Winterfell and Warden of the North” for King Aegon Targaryen.

Why did Torrhen kneel? Wouldn’t a Stark—-leader of a family that traces its ancient blood back to the First Men, who defended Westeros against the White Walkers long ago, who held firm against the Andals—rather go out on his shield fighting than kneel to a foreign invader?

Those obvious questions have always made Torrhen’s decision seem an easy one to explain. He was a wise ruler who didn’t let his pride get in the way of saving the people he swore to protect. But those obvious questions are also why that explanation has always felt incomplete. Why didn’t Torrhen Stark, at least, offer to fight Aegon Targaryen in single combat? He might have died, but it would have been an honorable death that still kept northerners safe from dragon flame. Without understanding what he was fully saying, on House of the Dragon, Jace provided the reason why.

The prince told Cregan, “Surely the great Torrhen Stark would’ve sooner died than bent the knee. Unless he believed the Conqueror could bring unity to the Seven Kingdoms.” Cregan said that was right, but it’s not completely accurate. Before Aegon no one cared about unifying the Seven Kingdoms, especially the North, which was unlike any other kingdom. Torrhen Stark would not have knelt to Aegon Targaryen in the name of unity.

Not unless he truly knew what Aegon was unifying the Realm against.

Everything House of the Dragon revealed about Torrhen Stark—from why he kneeled to the Night’s Watch sacrifice he began right after he knelt—can be explained by something unsaid in words during that scene yet so obvious when taken as a whole: Aegon Targaryen told Torrhen Stark about his dream.

The Conqueror believed the battle with the White Walkers would begin in the North. He even personally called his prophetic dream “A Song of Ice and Fire.”

Aegon trusted Torrhen with the most important secret in the world because only together, Stark and Targaryen, did the living have a chance against the dead. We know Aegon was right. Jon Snow, the son and rightful heir to the Iron Throne born from the love Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark shared, was the only one who could unite the Realm to stand against the White Walkers. Jon Snow’s song, as the prophecy foretold of the Prince That Was Promised did, in fact, promise, was a song of ice and fire.

Did Torrhen tell his own heirs? That seems unlikely based on everything else we know of House Stark, but he didn’t have to. The Starks always knew what was lurking beyond the Wall, which is why Torrhen believed Aegon Targaryen in the first place. It’s why Torrhen started making sure the Night’s Watch had men from his own family who could lead them. It’s why Cregan Stark can’t send all his men to help Rhaenyra Targaryen. Winter has arrived, and that means the Night King might come with it.

Like in season one with Aegon’s Dream, this enormous revelation does more than just connect both shows. It’s also bigger than even the Starks and Targaryens and how important Rhaegar and Lyanna’s love will be one day. Its beauty goes beyond even that of the wondeful symmetry it creates, as King in the North Jon Snow—secretly named Aegon Targaryen—will one day kneel to a Targaryen ruler in the name of uniting the Realm just as Torrhen Stark once did.

This revelation gets to the beating heart of George R.R. Martin’s massive story.

Without this bond between Stark and Targaryen, these houses of ice and fire, death would have done what Aegon and Torrhen both feared. Together, they began crafting the song that would save the world.

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist who got goosebumps during Jace and Cregan’s scene. You can follow him on Twitter and  Bluesky at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

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Two of Hollywood’s biggest stars will soon return to make movie magic again. Practical Witch magic, to be specific. Warner Bros. Pictures has announced it’s finally making a (movie, not TV) sequel to its beloved 1998 film. And original stars Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman will reprise their roles as the Owens sisters.

Warner Bros. went to TikTok to announced its producing a long-awaited followup to its beloved witchy drama. Oscar-winner Akiva Goldsmith (A Beautiful Mind) will write the script for Practical Magic 2. More important is the possible involvement of two other Oscar winners. But happily, Kidman confirmed they will both return for Practical Magic 2.

Speaking to People, which we say via Deadline, Kidman noted, “Yes, I will be in it. And Sandy will be in it. And that’s that. There’s a lot more to tell, which is why we go, ‘OK, this is kind of interesting now to be able to do this.’ [We] found a way in.” That’s that!

Could Practical Magic 2 have been successful without them? Maybe, but it will be far more magical now that the duo will be back as the Owens sisters.

Originally published on June 10, 2024.

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The Boys fourth season is days away from premiering, but we already knew it wouldn’t be the series’ last. Prime Video recently announced it had already ordered a fifth season. But now we know that season five of The Boys will also be its final season. Showrunner Eric Kripke took to Twitter to say that, after admittedly being “cagey,” he’s ready to admit season five will be The Boys supe swan song. Yes, The Boys will end with season five.

After it seemed as though The Boys might (maybe even likely) continue past season five, Kripke has surprisingly revealed it will actually end after five seasons. (Plus what should be at least two years of its spinoff Gen V.) The showrunner said that ending The Boys after five seasons was always his plan, which is both good and bad.

It’s good because it means Kripke is telling the story he set out to tell and it’s ending where he thinks is the show’s natural endpoint. But it’s bad because this means no more The Boys, one of the best, most consistently entertaining shows in TV history, after season five.

In full, Kripke’s message about the end of The Boys reads as follows, “The Boys Season 4 Premiere Week is a good time to announce: Season 5 will be the Final Season! Always my plan, I just had to be cagey till I got the final OK from Vought. Thrilled to bring the story to a gory, epic, moist climax. Watch Season 4 in 2 DAYS, cause the end has begun!”

Additionally, Kripke later shared, “This story of The Boys will not continue on. With any luck, Gen V will continue on, there will be hopefully a couple others in development that we’re talking about that can continue on, but The Boys story ends in season 5.”

Of course, this begs the question, does Eric Kripke know exactly how The Boys‘ ending will play out? It sounds like Kripke has a vision for season five of The Boys‘ very final moments… But not necessarily the whole arc of the season. Here’s what he had to say:

I’d say we’re squarely in the middle. Every season we know that we want Homelander to get a little more disconnected from reality, and we want Butcher to get a little scarier. The show is, at the end of the day, about these two forces charging towards each other, between Butcher and Homelander. I know that them finally smashing into each other, once and for all, will be a big part of whatever end game we come up with. But beyond that, and beyond knowing where I want Hughie, it’s like I know where I want a lot of the characters to end up. That’s what I would say. I actually don’t even necessarily know the climax of the show, as much as I know that 10 pages that happens at the end, when they say six months later, and you see where everyone is. I know where everyone is. Then my job, as whenever we get to it, my job is to just make sure we can back into that.

But the end of The Boys is still a ways away. We have seasons four and five of the series left to still enjoy. And f***ing hell, we are going to enjoy every last second of them.

Originally published on June 11, 2024.

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In her big screen debut, Moana showed how far she’d go to help an ancient goddess. Now she’ll show how far she’ll go to unite all of her people. The first trailer for Walt Disney Animation’s Moana 2 brings back Auli‘i Cravalho’s young heroine for an all-new adventure on the sea, one that will bind her to her ancient ancestors even more. And once again she’ll have some help navigating both the waves and her enemies. Dwyane Johnson’s muscle-bound demigod Maui is coming back for another journey.

Disney’s teaser trailer for Moana 2 looks…uh…a lot like the first Moana. I haven’t seen the original in a couple of years, and if not for the fact Moana looks older here I wouldn’t know if the first 80% of this promo is simply reused footage from that movie. But like Maui, I know she didn’t bring a pig with her on the raft before, so we’re definitely getting a new tale this time around. What exactly is going on, though? Here’s the film’s official synopsis from Disney:

Moana 2 reunites Moana and Maui three years later for an expansive new voyage alongside a crew of unlikely seafarers. After receiving an unexpected call from her wayfinding ancestors, Moana must journey to the far seas of Oceania and into dangerous, long-lost waters for an adventure unlike anything she’s ever faced.

Additionally, Moana 2‘s directors recently revealed, via Variety, “This story finds Moana and her crew in search of the lost island of Motufetu, which once connected the ocean, now hidden by a jealous God of Storms.” And added, “We begin our story with Moana, three years after the first film. She’s exploring the seas, searching for new islands, mapping the ocean, hoping to find other people. As the people of Motunui have not seen anyone for generations, Moana knows that the ocean connects us. But to whom? Where are they? She’s looking for proof that others are out there. She’s curious why she hasn’t found anyone.” Why, indeed.

Moana 2 also has some newcomers behind the scenes. The film comes from directors David Derrick Jr., Jason Hand, and Dana Ledoux Miller. Meanwhile, the original movie’s Mark Mancina and Opetaia Foa’i are back as songwriters and composers, but Lin-Manuel Miranda is not. Instead Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear will contribute songs to the movie.

Moana 2 will sail into theaters this fall on November 27, 2024, just in time for Thanksgiving. The live-action Moana will follow it onto big screens in 2026. That’s a long way to go for our favorite sea-faring voyager, but we know she’s up for it.

Originally published on May 29, 2024.

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Universal isn’t waiting around to relaunch one of its signature franchises. The studio is already developing a seventh film Jurassic Park/World movie. And it won’t take long to arrive in theaters. Universal has already carved out a prime 2025 summer release date. Who will star in it? Who is making it? And what is it about?

The latest news about the new Jurassic World suggests the movie is heading to Thailand. Per Variety, we saw that Thailand’s Natural Resources and Environment Minister Phatcharavat Wongsuwan noted that Thailand is honored to host the filming, however “It is strictly required that they comply with relevant laws and regulations, and must not affect and damage natural resources and the environment.” That sounds like a fair deal to us.

Here’s everything we know about the new Jurassic World movie so far.

Title

As of now, the new Jurassic Park/Jurassic World movie remains untitled.

New Jurassic World Movie’s Plot

The untitled movie also lacks an official synopsis. What we do know is that it will explore a “new” Jurassic era and story, in what it being described as a franchise reboot. If history is any guide it will also launch another trilogy. (Jurassic Planet? Jurassic Universe?)

New Jurassic World Cast

The upcoming Jurassic World movie will feature an all-new cast headlined by original Avenger Scarlett Johansson. Rupert Friend (Obi-Wan Kenobi) is also getting in on the modern prehistoric mayhem. Other performers reportedly in discussion to join the film include Jonathan Bailey (Bridgerton), Manuel Garcia-Rulfo (The Lincoln Lawyer), Luna Blaise (Manifest), and two-time Oscar-winner Mahershala Ali.

Behind the Scenes

David Koepp, who wrote both Jurassic Park and its sequel The Lost World, is returning to pen the franchise’s seventh installment. Rogue One‘s Gareth Edwards will direct after The Fall Guy‘s David Leitch stepped down. Filming will begin this year and will have a quick post-production timeline.

Jurassic World trilogy producer Frank Marshall is returning for the series’ latest installment. Series alum Patrick Crowley is also back for dinosaur mayhem. And original franchise director Steven Spielberg is also serving as an executive producer via Amblin Entertainment.

New Jurassic World Movie’s Release Date

We won’t have to wait long for Universal’s new Jurassic World movie. It will come to theaters on July 2, 2025.

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Danny Boyle and Alex Garland are teaming up again. That might sound like dream come true, but it’s actually something even better: a nightmare. We know because the last time they worked together was 2002’s 28 Days Later. That popular horror film’s influence is still being felt more than two decades later. Now it’s going to be felt even longer. That’s exactly what is bringing them back together. They’re making a sequel to their modern zombie classic. Only it might be more than just a single new entry in the franchise. It could launch a new trilogy.

Cillian Murphy Will Return in 28 Years Later

When asked if Cillian Murphy would reprise his role in 28 Years Later, Sony Motion Pictures Group chairman Tom Rothman said yes. Cillian Murphy will return in 28 Years Later. But it’s more complex than that. Rothman shared:

Yes, but in a surprising way and in a way that grows, let me put it that way. This is Danny [Boyle] at his best, combined with a very commercial genre, like we had with Edgar Wright and Baby Driver. Sometimes when you put a real signature director into a commercial arena, it elevates it.

The Cast of 28 Years Later

According to Variety, in addition to Murphy, the cast of 28 Years Later is also coming together. The publication reports that Jodie Comer, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, and Ralph Fiennes have joined the film. That’s a pretty star-studded opening play.

An interview with Elle teases Comer’s role in the fun. The publication notes, “The part means she’ll get to add another accent to her repertoire: Geordie. She has been watching clips of Cheryl on The X Factor with her dialect coach to prepare.” Comer notes, “I’m excited to get the first day done… Danny just seems like such a confident, intuitive and intelligent director. The original was so loved, so I’m trying not to think of that too hard. I’m not putting too much expectation on myself.”

28 Years Later‘s Release Date

The highly anticipated 28 Years Later movie has a release date: June 20, 2025. Hopefully, that means we’ll be seeing more from it very soon.

Danny Boyle and Alex Garland Re-Teaming for Sequel and Possible Trilogy

Danny Boyle, who directed 28 Days Later, is making his long-awaited return to the franchise. Even better he is bringing the original film’s writer, Garland, with him. Boyle will direct a new film, 28 Years Later, which will move the story decades past the original entry starring Cillian Murphy.

Rather than just one film, though, THR says the duo has plans to launch a trilogy. Garland would write all three scripts, with the Academy Award-winning Boyle directing the first at least. Variety recently reported that Nia DaCosta is in talks to direct the second part of the trilogy. Garland and Boyle will begin shopping the project to studios soon. The pitch will include giving each film its own $75 million budget. That would pay for a whole lot of very fast reanimated corpses.

While this movie would mark the return of Boyle and Garland as a creative team, their zombie film did get a sequel with 2007’s 28 Weeks Later. However, they only served as executive producers on the movie. (Which, for the record, was still very good!) That’s what makes this news so exciting for fans, especially those who remember what a cultural phenomenon 28 Days Later was.

It still is. The modern zombie renaissance owes a lot to Boyle and Garland. With their renewed partnership it is likely going to owe them even more in the future.

Originally published on January 11, 2024.

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Inside Out 2 is a movie at conflict with itself, both literally and figuratively. The plot of the film features emotions battling for control of Riley, in a story full of beautiful ideas about what it means to grow up and establish our own identities. It’s a coming-of-age tale about the struggles we face building the personal belief system that will both guide and define us. It also has some genuinely funny scenes and characters. That provides the balance of heart and comedy you expect from a Pixar movie.

But Inside Out 2 has too many ideas without the time or space to explore most with enough depth. It’s also so desperate to be clever it’s often groan-inducing. But what really holds it back are its new emotions. The film introduces feelings that say they’re complex, but are really (at best) derivative, or (much worse) downright confusing. That includes the film’s villain, Anxiety (Maya Hawke), a character that makes Inside Out 2 downright terrifying for kids.

With both so much going for it and so many fundamental issues, it definitely evokes one strong emotion: “meh.”

Inside Out 2 reunites us with its young star who recently turned 13. Riley is an almost perfect child to an annoying degree. That’s intentional and has a meaningful payoff by the end of the film. But it’s still less interesting than if she were obviously flawed to start. How perfect is she? Riley is a better hockey player than Wayne Gretzky. That sounds like hyperbole but is laughably not.

Riley’s problems begin when puberty hits the same exciting day she gets news that would devastate any teenager. That’s the worst possible time because she doesn’t know how to handle so many big moments at once. Puberty means her brain gets all new, unexpected emotions: Anxiety, Envy, Ennui, and Embarrassment.

The result is a film with a clear villain. Anxiety banishes the old emotions, including head emotion honcho Joy (Amy Poehler), from Riley’s control panel. She then begins to remake Riley in her own nervous image. Only, Anxiety also seems to be wholly responsible for Riley’s ambition, which is weird. Anxiety is also responsible for any sense of planning and forethought, which is also weird. But Anxiety is also full of fear, even though the literal emotion Fear is still around. Meanwhile, Envy and Embarrassment also overlap with Sadness and Disgust, who also overlaps with Ennui. It’s not exactly clear plot-wise or thematically why all these similar emotions exist. They seem to only exist so the movie can. That’s a big and consistent problem that detracts from the film.

We’re told these emotions are “more complex,” but it doesn’t make sense when the first film wonderfully established that feeling different emotions at the same time is complex. Why have individual, well-defined emotions at all if some convey the same feelings? And why is Anxiety—presented as a troubling emotion that is hard to control and capable of ruining your life—also responsible for things that seem good? For a film focused on what it means to have a “sense of self,” Inside Out 2 also doesn’t seem to understand itself.

Anxiety’s issues are not just for adults. The emotion’s total dominance and fear-mongering makes this a tough viewing for young kids. Some will be old enough to understand the film’s broad ideas but not old enough to get all the nuance. The result might very well be them dreading getting older. I mean, fair, but not exactly fun.

It is also is very, very, very hit-or-miss with its humor. The film features some surprise characters and concepts that are as good as anything in the original film. (Minus Bing Bong, the greatest character ever). Please try to avoid spoilers for those characters hidden away in Riley’s mind. They’re the movie’s best surprises and how they’re handled are among the film’s best moments. The problem is Inside Out 2 also has some gags, and “clever” ideas that are absolute duds and worse. There are moments so painfully unfunny, Dread might as well have been a new emotion.

Despite its rushed plot and confusing characters, Inside Out 2 sticks the landing both emotionally and thematically. Everything ultimately comes together exactly how you think it will. Being predictable doesn’t stop the ending from being effective. Like its beloved predecessor, it captures the complexity of being a living, emotional, flawed, creature full of contradictions.

The uneven journey of highs and lows on the way to that ending, though, is why Inside Out 2 left me feeling underwhelmed. That’s better than feeling anxious, but that’s not nearly as good as feeling joy.

⭐ (2.5 of 5)

Inside Out 2, directed by Kelsey Mann, stars: Amy Poehler, Maya Hawke, Kensington Tallman, Liza Lapira, Tony Hale, Lewis Black, Phyllis Smith, Ayo Edebiri, Lilimar, Grace Lu, Sumayyah, Nuriddin-Green, Adèle Exarchopoulos, Diane Lane, Kyle MacLachlan, Paul Walter Hauser and Yvette Nicole Brown. It comes to theaters on June 13, 2024.

The post An Uneven INSIDE OUT 2 Will Leave You Feeling Underwhelmed appeared first on Nerdist.

“I carried them.”
“I created them.”
“And what happens if the Jedi discover how you created them?”

We knew The Acolyte, which takes place more than a century before The Phantom Menace, would show the early days of the Sith plan to destroy the Jedi. But the series’ third episode raised an unexpected and troubling connection to Darth Vader and the Skywalker Saga. Like Anakin, The Acolyte‘s twins Mae and Osha have no father because they are children of the Force in the Star Wars universe. While it’s not clear what that means for the power, it is a dark omen for the role they might play in bringing darkness to the galaxy far, far away. It’s also a sign the Jedi helped create their own destroyer.

“Who is his father?”
“There was no father. I carried him, I gave birth, I raised him. I can’t explain what happened.”

Shmi Skywalker told Qui-Gon Jinn her son Anakin was a miracle conception. Star Wars comic books have expanded the lore surrounding the Chosen One’s birth since The Phantom Menace. His creation is canonically more sinister and less magical than it comes across in the film. Palpatine is responsible for Anakin’s virgin birth. He used dark side powers to manipulate midi-chlorians in Shmi’s womb. Even with that revelation, though, Anakin’s very Star Wars existence remains rooted in the Force itself. He is a literal child of the Force. He also grew up to kill countless beings.

“You and your sister are special, Osha. I want you to stay special.”

Now, long before Shmi will give birth to Anakin, Star Wars: The Acolyte has introduced two more like him. The twins Osha and Mae were conceived in a similar, possibly identical way to Anakin. Mother Aniseya, the witch some accuse of using dark magic, created her twins via the Thread, her name for the Force.

They “have no father.” Unlike Shmi and Anakin, though, The Acolyte’s Mother Koril carried the twins to term. Why did Mother Aniseya do this? The show suggested that the outcast coven forced into hiding had been unable to grow their ranks any other way. The girls are a “miracle” that offers the group hope. But it’s not yet known exactly what Mother Aniseya was trying to create in terms of their power. No matter her intentions, though, like Anakin, capable of both light and dark, the two girls seem to represent both sides of the Force. And if you know Star Wars lore, you know why breaking up a powerful duo like that is so dangerous.

“Ascension is about walking through fear. It’s about sacrificing a part of yourself.”

During the Ascension, two celestial bodies over Brendok, one red and the other blue, converged in the sky. Only the two sisters meant to ascend together did not converge. Mae, so full of anger and already capable of hurting others, went through. The reluctant Osha didn’t even get the chance to refuse her mother, though, because the Jedi showed up and stopped the event. That Jedi interruption, rooted in Jedi hubris and a desire to control a Force that belongs to all living things, produced the very danger they were hoping to avoid in the first place.

The Jedi did not want any unauthorized people using the Force/Thread, especially witches thought to harness their power from the dark side. But Mae and Osha seem to be two parts of the same whole (maybe even a Force dyad). They are a living, natural balance of the very Force that created them. And very bad things happen when the Force is not in balance.

Without their other half, each girl became lost. Mae was lost to the dark side, while Osha gave up on the light side. Separating the two drove Mae to embrace her natural darker nature we saw on display at the episode’s start. Meanwhile, taking eight-year-old Osha away from her protective and adoring sister resulted in so much loss. That experience left Osha with lifelong scars she has yet to heal from. They prevented her from becoming a Jedi. The Jedi meddling in Mae and Osha’s lives led to the twins’ entire coven dying. This The Acolyte occurrence mirrors how the Jedi taking a young, scared Anakin from his mother led to all those Tusken raiders dying. And the Younglings. Alderaan…

Anakin’s fear, hate, and anger led to innumerable suffering. Suffering only he was able to stop when a family member showed Anakin there was another way, the way Osha might have shown Mae on The Acolyte. Instead they’re both angry at one another. For Osha that has meant walking away from everything she wanted. For Mae, it has led to anger. That anger has led to hate. That hate…we know where that leads, both now and in the galaxy’s future.

By creating two girls with the Force, Mother Aniseya might have been trying to embrace her coven’s mantra that the power of two not only overcomes the power of one but gives you the power of many. If nothing else, she recognized her daughters were stronger together, not because both were flawed but because they balanced each other. Only, her girls never had the chance to grow together or ascend together because the Jedi believed they knew better and only they had the right to use the Force.

That hubris pushed Mae to follow a Sith leader we know will help ultimately bring down the Jedi. Osha and Mae’s story, a story of the Force out of balance, will make Palpatine’s rise possible one day. That means the Jedi will have created their own destroyer in The Acolyte, just as they did when they took Anakin Skywalker from his mother without concern for what that would mean.

The Jedi believed they, and they alone, had the right to use the Force. But the children of the Force continue to show why such an attitude is anything but balanced.

The post THE ACOLYTE Twins’ Troubling Connection to Anakin and the Force appeared first on Nerdist.

At the end of this paragraph you’ll find a trailer for Tuesday, the debut film from writer-director Daina O. Pusić. It’s pretty good. It’s interesting and correctly conveys some very important things about this obviously emotional story. It shows star Julia Louis-Dreyfus as the terrified mom of a terminal teenager who Death itself comes for her. Rather than appearing as the typical Grim Reaper, here Death is a talking bird who can change its size. And yet, despite not being misleading in anyway, this trailer is not really an accurate representation of the film. Tuesday is a moving and poignant story that is far more original, wonderfully weird, and absolutely captivating than it looks.

A24 describes its latest film as “a heart-rending fairy tale about the echoes of loss and finding resilience in the unexpected.” This comes a lot closer to capturing the essence of this film than its trailer, because it definitely has major elements of traditional fairy tales. Bizarre, dark, disturbing, and morbidly funny things happen without any sanitization. This film does not hold back its story from where it naturally wants to go. It’s refreshingly free to do its own thing. But it’s less about the “echoes of loss” and more about the actual process of dying, saying goodbye to those we love, and accepting that death is an unavoidable and necessary part of life.

That alone makes it stand out from the sea of modern stories that only want to focus on grief and loss after death. What really makes it stand out is everything else. Tuesday is really weird in ways it doesn’t even hint at until you’re watching it. So much so that I expect some viewers will either find it outright inaccessible or too strange to connect with. Others will also consider it too slow. I am none of those people. It’s definitely methodical, but also mesmerizing. And while its trailer makes it look like it might be maudlin, it’s anything but. Tuesday earns every emotion it pulls out of you.

Some of those feelings are heartbreak, no doubt, but it’s also full of joy, wisdom, and even laughter. How and when it gets those laughs are one of its most impressive aspects. Tuesday manages to be funny even during scenes that don’t tonally feel like they should be. It’s really something to see. Somehow the movie blends disparate genres, styles, and tones so seamlessly it essentially exists as its own, totally unique movie. If you’re looking for something “different” or “new,” Pusić has delivered exactly that along with some really pleasing visuals, interesting points of view, and camera movements.

A big reason why Tuesday feels so different is her approach to Death, who is a otherworldly, pained, lonely figure tormented by his endless task and the voices he hears crying out for him. Voiced by Arinzé Kene, this winged creature is no mere harbinger or symbol. He’s a fully fleshed out, fascinating, wholly dynamic character who provides both gravitas and incredible comedy. (I won’t spoil any of his funniest moments, but if I did a lot of his moments would sound super silly out of context. In the movie, however, they all fit perfectly. Like I said, Tuesday hums along on its own wavelength to make something different yet beautiful.)

Dreyfus is also incredible as a mom unable to face her child’s impending death. Like the film itself, which feels real and authentic even when it gets really strange, Dreyfus’ Zora is honest and grounded no matter what she must do. And she does both a lot of bizarre stuff and also some very flawed, human things. She delivers a really moving performance that exceeds even the best expectations for someone so talented, because her job is much harder and nuanced than you expect.

The same is true for her fantastic young co-star, Lola Petticrew. Their Tuesday is fully realized and keeps the movie focused and centered. Tuesday’s maturity goes well beyond their years, yet the character is still very much a kid. They are the bedrock of the film and even a slightly lesser performance would have hurt the film.

With more time and more viewings I expect I will like Tuesday even more, but not much more because of how much I already do. I didn’t get the film the trailer teased. I got something even better, weirder, beautiful, unique, and memorable.

⭐ (4 of 5)

The post TUESDAY with Julia Louis-Dreyfus Is a Surreal, Poignant, and Wholly Original Modern Fairy Tale appeared first on Nerdist.

Have you heard about that new Game of Thrones spinoff HBO is developing? No, not that one. Not that one, either. They already stopped working on that. And that other one is now going to be an animated series. I think.

HBO’s time in Westeros didn’t end when Bran Stark claimed the Iron Throne. The network has been working on other potential shows set in George R.R. Martin’s world of A Song of Ice and Fire since before the original series even ended. House of the Dragon was the first to make it to air, but it won’t be the last. Many more are still in development. Some, though, as Martin says, are already on the proverbial “shelf.” (He should know. He also says he is “deeply, heavily involved” in every potential show.) Which ideas are still alive and which are dead… for now? Here’s every Game of Thrones spinoff we’ve learned about over the years and their current status.

Latest Developments in the World of Game of Thrones Spinoffs

10,000 Ships – Pulitzer Winning Playwright Working on New Pilot

Another early Game of Thrones spinoff idea still in development is 10,000 Ships (sometimes written as Ten Thousand Ships). It would focus on the legendary warrior Queen Nymeria. She led her people out of the Rhonyar River region in Essos to escape the Valyrian Freehold. Her long and arduous journey to find a new home ultimately led her to Dorne where she and her people settled. Queen Nymeria, who lived a thousand years before the events on Game of Thrones, married Lord Mors Martell. The two conquered Dorne together. She is the reason Dorne has princes and princesses. She was also one of Arya Stark’s heroes. Arya named her direwolf after the famous Queen.

In 2016 Brian Helgeland (L.A. Confidential) was attached to the show before Amanda Segel took over. HBO tapped her to write the pilot and serve as potential showrunner. In March 2022 Martin said Segel had already delivered a “couple drafts” of the script. However, another writer is now tackling the project. At his “Not a Blog” Martin said Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Eboni Booth (Primary Trust) is “working on a new pilot” for Ten Thousand Ships. “We’re all very excited about this one… though we’re still trying to figure out how we’re going to pay for ten thousand ships, three hundred dragons, and those giant turtles,” he said.

Hegelend Shares 10,000 Ships Has a Biblically-Inspired Story

Helgeland shared details of his idea for the series. He wrote:

It came out great, but I think they felt the period of my show was too far removed from the pillars of the original. That’s why it hasn’t been picked up yet, but nothing is ever dead. My script was based on Queen Nymeria and this little blurb about her that was in a Westeros encyclopedia. Essentially, it was the story of Moses but swapping him out for Nymeria. Her country gets ruined and her people are forced to live on the water, which is why the show was called Ten Thousand Ships. They end up having to leave and find a new home like the Israelites leaving Egypt. She’s leading all these people, trying to hold everyone together but things are always in danger of falling apart as they travel around a fictionalized version of the Mediterranean, looking for a new home to settle in.

Their life was nomadic. Living in a raft city that was bound together, this big floating city. Sometimes, the characters would come ashore, but they ultimately get driven off the land as they search for a home, their version of the promised land. I met with George R.R. Martin to pitch him the idea, which he signed off on. Sadly, I didn’t work with him closer, but I would have done if the show was picked up. It was kind of like Ray Harryhausen’s Sinbad films mixed with The Odyssey. In a way, Nymeria is Odysseus, but instead of a 12-person crew, she’s responsible for every citizen in this floating city-state. My work is still there if HBO wants to pick it up. I enjoyed my time developing it, and you just never know.

Aegon’s Conquest

In early 2023 Variety reported HBO was “actively” discussing a potential prequel about the legendary Targaryen lord who conquered Westeros. A series about Aegon’s Conquest (roughly 300 years before Game of Thrones) was also among the first batch of spinoff concepts considered by HBO in 2016. The original idea is said to have portrayed the famed King as a “drunken lout.” Rand Ravich and Far Shariat wrote that script.

The Hollywood Reporter now says HBO ” is actively heating up” discussions about the long-gestating concept. It also has a name attached to this new attempt. Mattson Tomlin, who is said to have done uncredited script work on The Batman and who is officially co-writing its sequel, is heading up this iteration of an Aegon’s Conquest spinoff. Tomlin is also behind the BRZRKR with Keanu Reeves and is serving as showrunner for Netflix’s animated Terminator series.

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Tomlin confirmed he’s working on the series, though that work has just begun. “That one is very early days where I’m currently writing the script, currently doing a lot of great back and forth with George (R.R. Martin),” said Tomlin. He also said Martin told him to treat the story as history that really happened. Doing that he said is akin to writing about great historical figures like Napoleon or Alexander the Great.

“We know where he was, we know who he conquered, we know who lived, and we know who died,” said Tomlin. “That all becomes the plot, and then it becomes my job to go, but what did it mean thematically? How did it feel? What were the emotions when this person died and this person lived? We don’t have the context. We don’t know what anybody said.”

While Tomlin and Martin will handle all of that, THR‘s initial report included one confusing clue about HBO’s idea for the series. A source said the show would mark a “back to basics” approach. Considering House of the Dragon is not that different from Game of Thrones in any meaningful way beyond being more focused, that could indicate previous attempts at an Aegon series tried something very different with its approach. That could explain why the network did not proceed with them. Or “back to basics” could mean this idea is more like a traditional drama with fewer characters and jumping around to various location than Game of Thrones.

The one thing we know for sure about any and all attempts at telling Aegon’s story is that they’ll involve dragons.

ON-AIR

House of the Dragon

HBO’s first Game of Thrones spinoff, a prequel about the Targaryen civil war known as the Dance of the Dragons, will return for its second season in summer 2024. However, season one co-showrunner Miguel Sapochnik will not be back. He left the series in 2022. Ryan Condal now fulfills the role on his own.

Carly Wray and Bryan Cogman (who wrote a pilot) both worked on a Dance of the Dragons series, but HBO did not move forward with either of their concepts.

Read More: Everything We Know About House of the Dragon Season 2

ORDERED TO AIR

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight (Dunk & Egg)

George R.R. Martin’s three Dunk & Egg novellas tell the story of Ser Duncan the Tall and his young squire. That squire was really a Targaryen Prince named Aegon who traveled with Dunk in disguise. (He also unexpectedly went on to become King years later.) The beloved duo is now set to star in HBO’s second spinoff. HBO ordered the prequel to series to air in April 2023. Martin and Ira Parker will write and executive produce the show. (Patriot‘s Steve Conrad was originally tapped to write the show in 2021.) Ryan Condal and Vince Gerardis will join as executive producers. The series has its Dunk and Egg, but it no official release date. It began filming in spring 2024. A 2025 premiere seems very possible. It also has an official logline:

A century before the events of Game of Thrones, two unlikely heroes wandered Westeros… a young, naïve but courageous knight, Ser Duncan the Tall, and his diminutive squire, Egg. Set in an age when the Targaryen line still holds the Iron Throne and the memory of the last dragon has not yet passed from living memory, great destinies, powerful foes, and dangerous exploits all await these improbable and incomparable friends.

Read More: 5 Reasons Why We’re Excited For The Game Of Thrones Dunk And Egg Spinoff Series

IN-DEVELOPMENT

The Golden Empire

Development continues on a potential adult animated series about Essos’ far eastern Yi Ti dynasty. Martin once wrote Yi Ti is the fantasy analogue of Imperial China the way Westeros is the fantasy analogue of the medieval British Isles. The World of Ice and Fire compendium book (which Martin jokingly calls The GRRMarillion in reference to J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Silmarillion) expanded on the little we know about that powerful, large nation. That also includes some tantalizing tales, one that connects the ancient, advanced Yi Ti to the first Long Night.

It’s unknown who is leading the show’s development or what it would be about. But a possible series would be so far removed from Westeros and Martin’s main story that it would have incredible freedom to tell any story from any time period.

The Sea Snake/Nine Voyages

After initially being developed as a live-action series, George R.R. Martin announced a prequel about the adventures of young Corlys Velaryon is now being considered as a potential adult animated spinoff. The show also initially operated under the title Nine Voyages (which Martin still uses sometimes). That was in reference to the nine famous trips Corlys Velaryon made around the world on his ship The Sea Snake. He travelled to far off places all over the globe in the decades prior to the Dance of the Dragons. His accomplishments made him Westeros’s most famous and celebrated sailor ever. He is also a major figure on House of the Dragon, where Steve Toussaint plays an older Sea Snake.

In March 2022 Martin confirmed reports Rome showrunner Bruno Heller would write the show’s pilot. More recently the author also explained at his “Not a Blog” blog why he “fully” supports the show’s change from live-action to animation:

Budgetary constraints would likely have made a live action version prohibitively expensive, what with half the show taking place at sea, and the necessity of creating a different port every week, from Driftmark to Lys to the Basilisk Isles to Volantis to Qarth to… well, on and on and on. There’s a whole world out there. And we have a lot better chance of showing it all with animation. So we now have three animated projects underway.

STATUS UNKNOWN

Unknown Animated Series

Martin has long made reference to development of an unnamed adult animated series, one possibly meant to air on HBO Max. Nothing is known about the series. That includes whether a spinoff idea reported on previously is the mystery cartoon and no one has made the connection.

SHELVED

Flea Bottom

One potential live-action prequel idea that seemingly never gained much traction was a series have focused on the denizens of King’s Landing’s infamous slum district Flea Bottom. HBO never even confirmed the show was in development. Reports say it did not make it very far in the process.

Untitled Valyrian Freehold Series

The initial batch of five spinoff ideas HBO pursued in 2016 (out of a list of at least 15) was a show about the destruction of the Valyrian Freehold. Valyria was the Roman Empire-like dynasty of dragon lords who ruled over Essos for thousands of years. House Targaryen avoided its ancestral home’s doom when it fled Valyria a century before its demise. Kong: Skull Island‘s Max Borenstein wrote a script for the show, but that seems to be as far as HBO got with it.

Valyria was home to thousands of dragons and ornate architecture. That would make for a bloated VFX budget. This idea is a great candidate for the mysterious animated show Martin continues to allude to.

Untitled Seven Gods of Westeros Show

A long lost concept that “didn’t get very far” at HBO would have seen the gods from the faith of The Seven team up like superheroes, leading to others worshiping them as deities. It’s easy to see why HBO didn’t have much faith in this idea.

Snow Is No Longer Happening

In a Narrow Sea worth of prequel ideas, the only potential sequel series that was confirmed to be under consideration at HBO is Snow. Kit Harington brought the idea to the network. He also brought it to George R.R. Martin, who confirmed the possible spinoff’s development. The author said he’d already met with Harington and his team about it, as well. The show would follow the former Lord Commander after he returned to life beyond The Wall in Game of Thrones‘ series finale.

Snow was “shelved” during the Hollywood strikes. Though the end of the strikes left the current status of the series unknown. In November 2023 HBO CEO and chairman Casey Bloys said, “I wouldn’t say there is anything else in that world that is close to a green light or anything, but we are always working on different scripts and ideas.” And that seemed to convey that the series wouldn’t happen anytime soon.

Most recently, we got a firmer answer about the fate of the Game of Thrones spinoff show. Kit Harington revealed the Jon Snow series was firmly “on the shelf” and no longer in active development. He shared, “In development, you look at every angle, and you see whether it’s worth it. And currently, it’s not. Currently, it’s off the table, because we all couldn’t find the right story to tell that we were all excited about enough. So, we decided to lay down tools with it for the time being. There may be a time in the future where we return to it, but at the moment, no. It’s firmly on the shelf.”

NOT PICKED UP

Bloodmoon

House of the Dragon will forever be the first Game of Thrones spinoff to reach airwaves. However, HBO filmed another spinoff before it. The network spent (at least) $30 million to shoot a pilot for Bloodmoon, a prequel set thousands of years prior to the original series. Starring Naomi Watts, it took place during the Age of Heroes. That’s when legendary figures of the Realm helped establish its most famous houses. At least that’s what the stories say. That mythical era remains shrouded in secrecy.

The series, from showrunner Jane Goldman, also operated under the working title of The Long Night, as it would have covered the original White Walker invasion that plunged the world in darkness. While HBO has said it was a good pilot—and the network was clearly serious about it considering its financial investment—it ultimately passed. That decision shocked many.

Read More: History Of Thrones: The Long Night And Identifying Enemies And Heroes

The public has never seen Bloodmoon‘s lost episode. Not even George R.R. Martin. But it remains a fascinating idea with incredible potential. Just because HBO didn’t order it to air doesn’t mean it won’t some day. Martin always says “shelved” TV shows can always leave the shelf.

Especially in Westeros, where we all know the dead have a way of coming back.

Originally published on January 4, 2024.

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist. You can follow him on Twitter and Bluesky at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

The post The Status of Every GAME OF THRONES Spinoff HBO Has Ever Developed appeared first on Nerdist.

It’s time for Piltovans and Zaunites alike to finally say hello again to Arcane on Netflix after three years of waiting for another chapter. But it’s also time to start getting ready to say goodbye, too. The streamer and Riot Games have announced Arcane‘s second season will also be its final one. Don’t start mourning just yet, though. There’s reason to celebrate today today. They also shared this news with official images and an intense new teaser trailer from Arcane that promises an explosive finale.

Arcane Season Two Teaser Trailer and New Images

The second and final season of Arcane will put Piltover and Zaun on a collision path. The season’s official synopsis says, “In this final chapter, Jinx’s attack on the Council sets the stage for a dire escalation of the conflict between Piltover and Zaun.”

Click To View Gallery

When Will the Final Season of Arcane Release?

While fans will be disappointed to learn that Arcane is ending with season two, at least they know it will offer a real ending. That conclusion will arrive on Netflix this November, giving fans plenty of time to both get excited to say hello to Arcane again and prepare to say goodbye.

The post ARCANE to End with Season 2, Series Shares New Teaser Trailer and Images of Final Season appeared first on Nerdist.

“Teamwork and betrayal…in space!” That’s how Innersloth and CBS Studios describe their upcoming animated adaptation of Among Us. But we’d also add in “adorable” and “funny” after seeing the show’s first trailer. It promises a delightful take on the popular video game. But the one thing this promo doesn’t reveal it just how good its cast is.

Both fun and danger lurk around every corner in this title trailer for the new Among Us series. While this dialogue-free look at the show is more than enough to get gamers excited, it doesn’t let us hear from its immensely talented voice cast. The show will feature:

• Ashley Johnson as Purple, Chief of Security
• Elijah Wood as Green, Unpaid Intern
• Randall Park as Red, Captain of The Skeld
• Yvette Nicole Brown as Orange, HR
• Dan Stevens as Blue, Doctor
• Liv Hewson as Black, Geologist
• Kimiko Glenn as Cyan, Gemologist

The cast will also include Patton Oswalt Debra Winger, Wayne Knight, and Phil Lamarr.

Forget betrayal. That team is one we can’t wait to hear work together when the show debuts “soon.”

The post AMONG US Animated Series Releases Adorable First Title Trailer appeared first on Nerdist.

Fans of The Legend of Vox Machina can officially start making plans for their next watch party. The animated Critical Role series announced it will return to Prime Video for season three this fall. But you don’t have to wait that long to see the show’s new opening title sequence because it’s already here.

Everyone’s favorite Dungeons & Dragons mercenaries will soon return to streaming. The Prime Video animated series will debut its third season on October 3. What can fans expect when the show rolls out its new season? Here’s the official synopsis from Amazon:

Everything is at stake in the long-awaited Season 3 of The Legend of Vox Machina. The Chroma Conclave’s path of destruction spreads like wildfire while the Cinder King hunts down Vox Machina. Our lovable band of misfits must rise above inner (and outer) demons to try and save their loved ones, Tal’Dorei, and all of Exandria.

The post THE LEGEND OF VOX MACHINA Shares Season 3 Opening Title Sequence and Release Date appeared first on Nerdist.

Walton Goggin’s Ghoul on Prime Video’s Fallout series is already one of our favorite characters ever. Now Bethesda Game Studios will let us experience what it’s like to live as him. The studio is finally giving gamers something they’ve long wanted. In early 2025 a new Fallout 76 expansion will let fans finally play a main series game as a ghoul.

Fallout 76‘s upcoming Skyline Valley expansion will do more than just make the game’s map bigger. It will also allow players who reach Level 50 to play as a ghoul. Previously that was only possible in Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel and Fallout Tactics.

The game’s creative director Jonathan Rush told IGN that will mean players won’t have to worry about radiation. In fact, in true ghoul fashion, radiation will actually heal them. (As could the TV show’s yellow ghoul potion, which Rush teased could show up in the game.)

That will be just one of the “dozens of ghoul-specific perk cards” coming to the game. And without a need for Power Armor, ghouls will have other advantages a human character doesn’t.

Of course, the biggest advantage is for actual humans. We’ll now get to experience the wasteland the way Fallout‘s The Ghoul does.

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For the first time in 30 years Axel Foley is leaving Detroit behind for the sunny skies of southern California. He’s also leaving the big screen for streaming. But even three decades and a move to Netflix later, some things just haven’t changed. The new trailer for Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F, the fourth film in the franchise, shows Eddie Murphy’s charming cop still has no respect for rules or public property. And he also still needs help from some old friends to clean up those mean pristine streets.

“God, I missed you, Axel.” Judge Reinhold truly speaks for us all. Eddie Murphy’s iconic officer might not be the young, brash, reckless cop he once was, but Axel Foley is still brash, reckless, and a cop. It’s a good thing he’s always been a good one, because this trip to Beverly Hills is his most personal yet. His old friend Billy is not the only person he cares about who’s in trouble. It’s his own daughter. Here’s the official synopsis from Netflix to accompany the Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F trailer:

Detective Axel Foley is back on the beat in Beverly Hills. After his daughter’s life is threatened, she (Taylour Paige) and Foley team up with a new partner (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) and old pals Billy Rosewood and John Taggart (John Ashton) to turn up the heat and uncover a conspiracy.

You can check out Murphy and Gordon-Levitt in action in the below clip as Axel Foley and Bobby Abbott try to steal a helicopter in order to survive.

The film also stars Kevin Bacon as Captain Cade Grant (who we immediately assume is a corrupt cop and major villain). Paul Reiser is also back as Jeffrey Friedman. And you obviously can’t have a Beverly Hills Cop movie without Bronson Pinchot’s Serge.

What you can have is a streaming release instead of a theatrical one. The film arrives at Netflix only this summer on July 3. That will be a new place for Axel Foley to visit Beverly Hills, but clearly that won’t mean this time is any different than the others.

Originally published on May 23, 2024.

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In 2022 a few lucky Taco Bell customers in Orange County, California got a chance to try a big new experimental culinary crossover. And we do mean big. That’s when the fast food chain briefly added a giant Cheez-It to its menu at one single store. Now, two years later that two week taste test has turned into a nationwide option. Starting today the Big Cheez-It Crunchwrap Supreme and Big Cheez-It Tostada are available at all Taco Bell locations.

After teasing its inclusion during its own Apple-style announcement event in February, the Big Cheez-It is really here. Or at least it is for a limited time. Customers across the country can now order a Big Cheez-It Crunchwrap Supreme ($5.49) or a Big Cheez-It Tostada ($3.99). Both items feature a gigantic Cheez-It in the middle. It measures 16 times bigger the size of a normal Cheez-It. 

If you’re really hungry you can also pick up a Big Cheez-It Box ($8.99). It comes with a Big Cheez-It Crunchwrap Supreme, Beefy 5-Layer Burrito, regular sized Nacho Fries, and a medium drink.  

While the official rollout took place today, some locations have already had these menu items available early. That’s how some customers have discovered you can actually order a Big Cheez-It on its own. It does not appear to be listed as a solo item, so you’ll have to inquire about buying one.

We definitely plan on asking for one when we also order both the Big Cheez-It Crunchwrap Supreme and Big Cheez-It Tostada. Sure, that might be way too much food considering it will mean eating the equivalent of 48 Cheez-Its alone, but again it will only be available for a limited time. We spent two years jealous of people who only got a chance to eat them for two weeks. We will not let this big opportunity pass us by.

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The first hour of writer-director Ishana Night Shyamalan’s debut film The Watchers is instantly forgettable and totally uninteresting in almost every way. Despite being a horror movie there’s nothing—not one single moment—that qualifies as scary. It’s poorly edited, poorly paced, and poorly scored. Its characters are so shallow I couldn’t even muster energy to hope they’d get killed off. The film simply thinks eschewing basic plot elements and putting people in a literal mystery box is compelling enough on its own to make it good. It is not. But after the last 41 minutes of this disastrous, laughable script, I was longing for a return to the first hour. Its mind-numbing nothingness was far better than the absurdity that followed.

The Watchers is a perfect case study in why things like exposition, plot, characterization, theme, and narrative structure are important in storytelling. It lacks all of those things. It actually seems to actively hate them, but not in a fun way. The film isn’t playing against expectations or convention. Instead it just doesn’t care about them. Vital information, which would have been wildly interesting to know at the start, is held back until the last 20 minutes of the movie.

As a result you don’t care what’s going on or why because the film never even hints at its actual story. It’s genuinely shocking when you find out what it’s really about. There’s a hidden premise here that is actually a good idea for a movie. But by the time you you’re told it, it’s not only far too late, it will make you actively hate it for trying to be so coy. This film is like getting served cake after getting force fed literal slop for 80 straight minutes. No cares about cake at that point! You’re sick from the slop!

Even when the movie does finally bother to provide us necessary exposition, it does so in the most ham-fisted way imaginable. My mostly full screening groaned during some info dumps. Characters deliver many of them during scenes while claiming they must keep moving at all costs. The rest of the dialogue isn’t much better, either. Characters speak in an uncanny valley manner that makes you think their off-ness might be intentional. Nope, it’s just really bad writing.

Who are these people, though? It doesn’t matter. What brought them here? It really doesn’t matter. Who are the titular “watchers” observing them at night? I was more worried about everyone having to watch this awful movie to care.

I know this all sounds harsh, but the truth is, it’s actually much worse. This is film is so inane that its big ending made me laugh out loud. That was definitely not the reaction the film was trying to get. I wasn’t alone, either. Many in the audience started laughing, too. It was the most/only cathartic moment of the entire evening. Laughing at this silliness was a physical release of the frustration-turned-disbelief we’d all obviously been feeling.

Thematically, The Watchers is just as bad as its plot and characters. It presents potentially engaging ideas in the first 10 minutes only to completely forget about them until the last ten. Meanwhile it abandons other themes are completely. It’s almost incomprehensible how bad this screenplay is. (There’s part of me that wants people to see it for that very reason.) It really lacks the most basic elements of a coherent story, let along a decent one.

Sometimes the cast can save a bad movie from itself, but that didn’t happen here. (In fairness, Daniel-Day Lewis and Meryl Streep couldn’t have saved this movie with a script this bad.) Star Dakota Fanning technically gives the best performance, but only technically. Her Mina is intentionally flat and emotionally broken, but it doesn’t work when everyone in this movie is flat. Mina is like Melatonin the character. All the other characters are Valium.

The only thing keeping this film from being an historic disaster is, strangely enough, the person most responsible for it. Shyamalan is unable to generate any kind of dread, interest, or sense of place, but the film does feature some nice shots. She clearly knows how to both light and frame a scene. And she knows where to put her camera. As long as she’s shooting someone else’s script, she clearly has potential as a director.

It’s going to be hard for many people to see that potential initially. Not because they can’t appreciate the only redeemable part of an awful movie, though. They’ll be too angry they actually watched The Watchers.

The Watchers ⭐ (1 of 5)

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist. You can follow him on Twitter and Bluesky at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

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We knew The Acolyte would bring Star Wars fans back to the era of the High Republic, a century before The Phantom Menace. What we didn’t know is that it would also deliver a shocking death. The Disney+ show’s first episode featured a demise we did not see coming. Who met their end during the series’ start? And more importantly, what does that mean for the show? Here’s everything you need to understand about the death of Carrie-Anne Moss’s Master Indara in the first episodes of The Acolyte.

May the Force be with you, because spoilers definitely will be ahead.

Who Died in The Acolyte‘s First Episode?

The Acolyte opened with Amandla Stenberg’s Mae attacking a Jedi Master, Carrie-Anne Moss’s Indara. At first Master Indara tried not to fight back, merely to avoid being struck. But as the battle continued she realized this unknown young warrior was Force-trained. That’s when Indara became more actively engaged in the duel.

Things completely changed when Indara unmasked Mae and recognized her. After Mae Force threw Indara, the Jedi drew her lightsaber, which Mae took as a sign Indara meant to kill her. The Jedi Master then turned off her lightsaber. Mae threw one of her daggers at the bartender, and as Indara used the Force to stop the knife and save him Mae threw another dagger into the Jedi’s heart.

Why Did Mae Kill Jedi Master Indara?

During their encounter a vengeful Mae insisted Indara attack her with “all her strength.” Later, after Indara said Jedi don’t attack unarmed people, an angry Mae said, “Yes, you do.”

That exchange hints at a dark past between the two, one where Indara or her colleagues did something we would not expect a Jedi to do. From what we saw and heard of Osha’s own sad memories, whatever happened between Indara and Mae happened when Mae was a child.

Creator Leslye Headland Comments on The Acolyte‘s Shocking Death

The Acolyte‘s creator, Leslye Headland, has shared some insights into why Carrie-Anne Moss’s Indara’s death occurred so early in the show.

She noted to Variety, “I thought it was a good tone-setter for the show. [It shows] that the Jedis are going to take some losses, and that the good guys and the bad guys are not always who you think they are.”

Headland additionally shared the following with GamesRadar+ about the death of Indara, “From a filmmaker perspective, I just felt like with the cold open, especially with a new story, that you just have to go hard… You have to say the Jedi are going to take some Ls; you’re not going to know who the good guys and the bad guys are. And it’s going to feel very visceral… Even if you already know it’s going to happen, it doesn’t have to be a big gotcha moment. It just has to be a moment where the emotional and the physical – meaning the fights – melt together. Carrie-Anne, not just being an action legend, is also a phenomenal actress. She was able to play all those beats within the fight as well as, of course, her death scene”

What Does Indara’s Death Mean for The Acolyte?

Like with Drew Barrymore’s death in the opening scene of Scream, The Acolyte began by letting us know nobody is safe on this show. If a Force-using student without a lightsaber can kill an experienced Jedi Master—played by a major star—she can kill almost anyone. (And just imagine what her Master can do.) Indara’s death fully shows the peace of the High Republic is more vulnerable than ever before. As are the Jedi.

Mae’s masked Master said, “The Jedi live in a dream.” Master Indara’s death proves they’ll need to wake up quickly before they are all living in a nightmare.

Originally published on June 4, 2024.

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Get ready to go back into the arena. Suzanne Collins and Scholastic have announced a new Hunger Games prequel book will arrive on shelves next year. And Sunrise on the Reaping will take fans back to a period that impacted the original trilogy. The novel focuses on one of the most consequential battle royales in Panem’s history. It’s set during the Second Quarter Quell, the supersized Hunger Games won by a young Haymitch Abernathy. Here’s what we know about this Haymitch-centric Hunger Games novel coming in 2025.

On March 18, 2025, fans will get a full account of the Fiftieth Hunger Games. That’s one of the most important Games ever. That’s when Haymitch became a victor in name only. The new Hunger Games book, set 24 years before the original novel (and four decades after The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes), will start in the same way. It begins on the morning of the Games’ reaping.

“Suzanne Collins has done it again, bringing us back to the world of Panem in order to ask us important questions about our own world,” said Ellie Berger, President, Scholastic Trade, in the book’s official announcement. “Sunrise on the Reaping is a remarkable book, bringing new complexity, perspective, and revelations to a piece of the Hunger Games story that readers have longed to know more about.”

In the release, Collins shared the inspiration behind her new entry into the Hunger Games world. “With Sunrise on the Reaping, I was inspired by David Hume’s idea of implicit submission and, in his words, ‘the easiness with which the many are governed by the few,'” she said. “The story also lent itself to a deeper dive into the use of propaganda and the power of those who control the narrative. The question ‘Real or not real?’ seems more pressing to me every day.”

There’s no word yet on this new Haymitch Hungers Games book getting its own film. It would be shocking, though, if Lionsgate didn’t ultimately adapt this book as it has Collins’ four previous installments. The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes got its own movie just three years after the book’s release. And this story, which will include Haymitch, should have even more appeal to fans of the original Hunger Games trilogy.

When Will the New Hunger Games Book Sunrise on the Reaping Release?

As mentioned, the new Haymitch-centric Hunger Games book will release on March 18, 2025. Practically just around the corner.

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The galaxy far, far away is a big place, and every new Star Wars show and movie makes it a little bigger by introducing new planets. That’s especially true on Disney+’s new High Republic era show The Acolyte. Which worlds has it visited? And how many are entirely new or places we’ve seen before? We’re keeping track of all the planets seen in every episode and what we know about them.

The Acolyte Episode 1 Planets

Ueda

The Acolyte‘s first location was all-new to the franchise. Mae attacked Jedi Master Indara in a bar located in a village on the planet Ueda. The Jedi was sitting with a diverse group of many species. While we didn’t get to see much of Ueda, its denizens clearly held the Jedi in high esteem.

Coruscant

The Acolyte’s premiere brought fans back to Coruscant, the Galactic Republic’s posh capital planet and main location of the Star Wars prequels. Coruscant and the Jedi Temple looked just as they will during The Phantom Menace, when the Jedi will still call it home.

Carlac

Osha’s prisoner transport ship crashed into the icy, snow-covered world of Carlac, a place Star Wars fans have seen before. Located in the Outer Rim Territories and covered in mountains and forests, it first appeared on Star Wars: The Clone Wars.

During that episode Ahsoka Tano helped save a Ming Po tribe from total destruction at the hands of Death Watch. The Mandalorian sect had built an outpost there.

Brendok

Mae and Osha’s childhood home world only appeared in a vision Osha had after her crash. That pseudo flashback showed the girls running through a forest. It also showed a raging fire, an event that haunts Osha.

Mystery Ocean Planet

The Acolyte‘s premiere ended with Mae returning to her Master on an unnamed ocean planet. The two spoke on a rocky coast.

The Acolyte Episode 2 Planets

Olega

The Acolyte‘s second episode introduced Olega, a planet of obvious importance because of its sacred Jedi Temple. Much like Ueda, Olega also appeared to be a bustling world with communities made up of a diverse citizenry. It’s also where Mae convinced Master Torbin to atone for his past sins with a fatal poison.

Khofar

Wookiee Jedi Knight Kelnacca is living in solitude deep in the woods on the heavily forested planet of Khofar in the Outer Rim Territories. Like Olega, Khofar is an entirely new world in Star Wars.

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