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

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

Has Star Wars Ever Implied Nudity Before?

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

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

Has Star Wars Ever Had a Sex Scene?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Originally published on February 5, 2024.

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

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

The Vampire Lestat Meets Jesus in Memnoch the Devil

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

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

Lestat Was at the Crucifixion (Or Was He?)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Daniel, Armand, and the Night Island

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

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

Daniel and Armand in AMC’s Interview with the Vampire

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Click To View Gallery

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

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

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

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

Interview with the Vampire the Novel’s Ending

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Vampire World Exposed

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

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

Interviewer Daniel Molloy Becomes a Vampire

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

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

The Arrival of Akasha, the Queen of the Damned

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

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

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

Armand’s Treachery Exposed

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

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

Lestat the Rock Star

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

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

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

What Are Sabretooth’s Mutant Powers?

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

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

Sabretooth’s Marvel Comics History and Relationship with Wolverine

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

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

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

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

Sabretooth in the 20th Century Fox X-Men Movies

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

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

Which Sabretooth Appears in the MCU and Who Plays Him?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Originally published on June 18, 2024.

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

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

Click To View Gallery

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

More About The Vampire Lestat

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

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

Originally published on June 17, 2024.

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

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

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

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

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

Deadpool & Wolverine to Feature Zombie Logan? Probably Not

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

A Deadpool and Wolverine Road Trip?!

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

Deadpool & Wolverine Will Lead to an X-Men Reunion

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

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

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

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

Could We See Costumed X-Men at Long Last?

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

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

Originally published on September 28, 2022.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Claudia’s Original Fate

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Andor’s Season Two Plot

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

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

Behind-the-Scenes

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

Andor’s Cast

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

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

Andor’s Release Date

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

Originally published on January 16, 2024.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Originally published on November 2, 2023.

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

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

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

Click To View Gallery

Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment

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

Curse of the Werewolf

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

The Dark Universe’s Darkmoor Makeup Experience

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

Meet the Universal Monsters at Epic Universe’s Dark Universe

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

Dining and More at Universal Epic Universe’s Dark Universe

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

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

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

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

Click To View Gallery

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

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

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Although not entirely absent, Sam Reid’s Vampire Lestat has been a minimized presence in season two of Interview with the Vampire. As fans of Anne Rice’s novel know, the character of Lestat largely disappears for the second half of the novel. This is after the attempted murder of Lestat by his progeny Louis and Claudia in season one. But Sam Reid is such a vibrant presence, the creators wanted to keep him around for season two, which covers the back half of the book. So he appeared peppered throughout season two as the manifestation of the guilty conscience of Louis (Jacob Anderson). But in episode six of season two, “Like the Light By Which God Made the World Before He Made Light” Lestat finally shows up in the flesh. And it restores a pivotal moment from Rice’s novel that the 1994 movie cut out.

At the end of episode six, the coven at the Théâtre des Vampires has all the evidence they need that Louis and Claudia (Delainey Hayles) attempted to murder Lestat, not just their maker, but the owner and founder of the Théâtre des Vampires itself. That is a violation of the vampire coven’s highest “Great Laws.” Now that they know the truth, Santiago (Ben Daniels) holds a trial for the accused in a special matinee performance. (Why matinee? Remember what sunlight does to the undead). And yes, Louis’ lover Armand (Assad Zaman), leader of the coven, is complicit in this. The star witness is Lestat himself, giving testimony as to his attempted murder by his American fledglings. This is how Lestat appears in the flesh at last in Interview with the Vampire’s second season.

Although the series often deviates from the novel, this is one instance where it restored an important part of the book which the 1994 film deleted. In Rice’s novel, Lestat reappearing at the Paris coven’s trial for Louis and Claudia was a key moment. They believed Lestat dead, and when he reappears, it confirms to the coven that Louis and Claudia broke their sacred laws. And thus, needed punishment. Neil Jordan actually did film a version of Lestat’s reappearance in Paris for the movie. Yet for unknown reasons, he deleted it from the final film. However, images of Tom Cruise’s Lestat in burnt makeup from that scene have surfaced over the years online. We’re glad they finally adapted this important moment for Lestat’s character arc for the AMC series.

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2024 marks 85 years of Batman, and the folks at Mattel have something quite special planned for the Caped Crusader’s milestone birthday, available at this year’s Comic-Con in San Diego. The Fisher-Price Little People I Am Batman Set celebrates decades of the Dark Knight. It commemorates legendary on-screen portrayals by Michael Keaton (Batman 1989), Val Kilmer (Batman Forever 1995), George Clooney (Batman and Robin 1997), Christian Bale (The Dark Knight 2008), Ben Affleck (Batman vs. Superman 2016), and Robert Pattinson (The Batman 2022). Justice has never looked so adorable. The price for this one sets you back a mere $40.00. You can check out images of the I Am Batman collection below:

Fisher-Price Little People Collector Batman 85th Anniversary

The packaging for the I Am Batman collection includes fun movie poster art in Little People style. It also has a shiny bat belt, all together in the Batcave surrounded by rock walls and computer screens. Sadly, there is no Adam West version of Batman in this set. He was the first cinematic Batman after all, way back in 1966. No, not just on TV, there was a Batman ’66 movie as well. We suppose we’ll just have to wait for the 90th-anniversary set to honor the “Bright Knight.” In the meantime, this is a pretty great collection any Bat-fan would love to own.

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Last year, the Blue Beetle live-action movie premiered to critical acclaim, but low box office. Luckily, under James Gunn, DC Studios is not abandoning the character of Jaime Reyes. Via Deadline, we’ve learned that Warner Bros. Animation and DC Studios are working on a Blue Beetle animated series. Miguel Puga (The Casagrandes) will serve as series showrunner and director, with Cristian Martinez on board as writer. The live-action Blue Beetle‘s director and writer, Angel Manuel Soto and Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer, will executive produce. Blue Beetle centers on young Mexican-American El Paso native Jamie Reyes, who bonds with an alien scarab and becomes the heroic Blue Beetle.

The new Blue Beetle series will build upon the movie, but tell its own story. It seems they’ve approached cast members from the film to reprise their roles. There’s no official word yet though if star Xolo Maridueña is returning as the titular hero. However, DC Studios head James Gunn has said recently that Xolo’s version of Blue Beetle would be a part of his DCU. Could he be talking about the animated series? Gunn has said that much of the future DC animated output would tie into the live-action films and TV shows. This was something DC was often negligent about in the past.

The live-action Blue Beetle movie was created for the Max streaming service, but then bumped up to theatrical after positive test screenings. Apparently, Blue Beetle performed well enough on streaming that Warner Bros. still sees potential in the franchise. The first film left many dangling plot threads, so maybe a cartoon is as good a venue as any to wrap those up. Blue Beetle has appeared in animated form several times already. He first showed up in Batman: The Brave and the Bold, then Young Justice, Justice League Action, and several Teen Titans animated films. So we concur that it’s about time he got an animated show of his own.

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Over the past several years, it seems like they’ve remade almost every ’70s and ’80s horror classic. Probably some you’re not even aware of. (Someone remade John Carpenter’s The Fog, for reasons). Yet one cult horror film from that era has remained untouched by the remake craze, until now. According to The Hollywood Reporter, 1981’s Possession is getting the remake treatment soon, as Smile filmmaker Parker Finn and Robert Pattinson are joining forces to remake the supernatural thriller. Polish filmmaker Andrzej Zulawski wrote and directed the original. Pattinson is on board as producer, and may also star in the film.

The original film wasn’t your typical ’80s horror movie. It wasn’t even a financial success in its day, only achieving cult hit status over time, thanks to home video. Possession took place in West Berlin, and featured future Jurassic Park star Sam Neill as a spy who returns home to his wife and son. This meditation of martial drama eventually spirals out, and before you know it, there are strange doppelgangers and a tentacled alien. So, not exactly Friday the 13th. The U.K. banned Possession, and an American release cut out a third of it to be less bizarre. We must say however, it does sound exactly like the kind of weird stuff producer Robert Pattinson would totally be into.

Parker Finn is riding high after his directorial debut Smile became the biggest horror hit of 2022. That film cost $17 million to produce, and made $217 million at the box office. It was originally intended for Paramount+. Yet wiser heads prevailed after positive tests screenings, and Smile made quite a return on investment for the studio. And now Finn is making the sequel. So it seems Finn is using his Smile clout to do his version of the relatively obscure cult film. It remains to be seen if the final film could possibly live up to the strangeness of the original, which was made in a completely different climate for horror films.

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Of all the projects announced for James Gunn’s new DCU, the one that was already in production was the animated Creature Commandos series for HBO Max. And now, James Gunn has announced the voice cast for this series about a squad of monster soldiers based on the cult DC Comics title from the early ’80s. Gunn has filled it with quite a few names you’ll recognize, including some making the jump from the MCU. Here’s the full line-up of the DC voice cast for the upcoming Creature Commandos and a little bit more about what we can expect from the project and when we might see it release.

Creature Commandos Voice Cast

Creature Commandos will showcase the voice talents of the MCU’s former Crossbones, Frank Grillo, who will portray Rick Flag Sr. Another MCU alum joining the Creature Commandos cast is David Harbour as Eric Frankenstein. Speaking of Frankenstein, Obi-Wan Kenobi’s Indira Varma will be playing The Bride. Also in the cast are Maria Bakalova as Princess Ilana Rostovic, Zoe Chao as Nina Mazursky, and Alan Tudyk as Dr. Phosphorus. Sean Gunn is reprising his role as Weasel and also playing G.I. Robot. Finally, Steve Agee will reprise his role as John Economos from the Peacemaker series. Already announced for this series is Viola Davis as Amanda Waller, who’s giving the Commandos their marching orders.

Additionally, The Witcher‘s Anya Chalotra has joined the DCU as the voice of Circe. James Gunn confirmed the news, though he indicated the role may be a more minor part of the series. Circe is a Wonder Woman villain and power sorceress/goddess in the world of DC. And we couldn’t think of someone better to give life to the role than Anya Chalotra.

James Gunn mentioned in his DCU announcement that actors who voiced characters in animation would also portray them in live-action. So this voice-cast announcement for DC’s Creature Commandos means we’re likely to see David Harbour as Frankenstein and the rest of the squad in a live-action project—probably even a project DC has already announced. If we were to guess, it’s likely to be the Amanda Waller series. Of course, they could all turn up in a future second season of Peacemaker. However, that’s now a long way off.

Creature Commandos Will Integrate Animated and Live-Action DCU Worlds

At the Annecy Animation Festival, more was revealed about the DCU’s Creature Commandos. Variety reports that, continuity is a key aspect of Creature Commandos. The publication notes that at the Warner Bros. panel it was revealed that Creature Commandos narrative would be “both narrative and stylistic, with the animated series playing as a direct follow-up to Gunn’s “The Suicide Squad” and “Peacemaker,” while the creatures designed for animation will keep their same looks once they turn up in upcoming live-action offerings like the Gunn directed “Superman” reboot and the Viola Davis-led “Waller” spinoff.”

Gunn noted specifically about this DCU continuity, “What this means in practical terms is that our characters can move in and out of animation or jump into a game or onto the big screen, but they will remain consistent throughout: same character, same history, same actor.”

Integrating animation and live-action offerings will certainly be a fascinating play by the DCU if it is successfully executed. It could also open doors for exploring unified adventures in ways not possible with live-action outings alone.

More About Creature Commandos

Warner Bros. also revealed the following brief from James Gunn about Creature Commandos, initially written in 2022. The memo notes that Creature Commandos is “dark, humorous but never goofy and unsentimental, [an] adult-themed show with political storylines.”

Additionally, Gunn revealed, “The new series picks up directly after our Peacemaker season one finale, which leaves Waller with her hands tied operationally, meaning that she’s no longer able to get away with putting human lives on the line to carry out her clandestine morally questionable mission. Instead, she recruits a ragtag band of misfits, not unlike the Suicide Squad and Peacemaker.”

What Is the Release Date for Creature Commandos?

There’s no specific date given for when Creature Commandos is set to premiere, so we’ll have to wait to see this cast in action. However, we now know that Creature Commandos will release on Max in December. Currently, Gunn notes, “Animatics and all recording done. Waiting on the first animated cuts.”

We did have a feeling it would be among the first DCU projects to make it to our screens. Hopefully, we’ll see a more specific release date emerge soon.

Originally published on April 12, 2023.

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AMC’s Interview with the Vampire serves up lots of Easter eggs for fans of The Vampire Chronicles series by Anne Rice. In episode five of season two, “Don’t Be Afraid, Just Start the Tape,” we get one that’s fairly obscure to even some of the biggest fans of Rice’s novels. In the series, the interview in question is actually a “round two.” Eric Bogosian plays Daniel Molloy, the reporter interviewing the titular vampire, Louis (Jacob Anderson). “Round one” of the interview took place in 1973, just as in the original novel. In episode five, we get a proper flashback to that interview, and the house it takes place in looks exactly like the home that inspired Rice over 50 years ago.

In Anne Rice’s 1976 novel, the vampire Louis gives his interview to an unnamed boy reporter (played by Luke Brandon Field). The interview occurs in a house on Divisadero Street in San Francisco. This is near where New Orleans native Rice was living at the time with her husband, the poet Stan Rice. Louis is said to be looking wistfully out of the window at traffic going by the busy street. A street to this day filled with popular bars and shops of all kinds. Rice chose the 1888 Victorian house because she thought it reflected Louis himself. It was an old-fashioned creation standing among neon signs and modern life, an anachronism blending into the background.

Anne Rice never gave an actual address for the house in the novel, just the street it was on. However, in The Vampire Companion: A Guide to Anne Rice’s Vampire Chronicles by Katherine Ramsland, she finally says where the house she imagined Louis gave the interview was. It was a Victorian home with a stained glass window, on Divisadero not far from Haight Street. The Vampire Companion shows an illustration of the house, but not a photo or an address. But it didn’t take ardent Rice fans long to discover which house it actually was. The Vampire Companion all but drew an “X” as to where it was in fact.

The 1994 film version of Interview with the Vampire still had Louis give the interview in San Francisco. However, it was from an apartment on Market Street instead (which you can see above). The producers of the TV series clearly knew about the house on Divisadero Street which served as inspiration. They either filmed there (unlikely) or created an exterior that matched it. Why is that address important? Given the significance of the Vampire Chronicles series to the LGBTQ community, it matters that Divisadero Street is where Castro Street ends. And Castro Street is one of the original gay neighborhoods in America. So tipping the hat to the house that inspired Anne Rice to imagine a vampire looking out its window? That was a very nice touch.

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Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons is still widely considered the greatest graphic novel ever written. In the years since its 1986 publication, the deconstructionist superhero drama has sold millions of copies, and spawned a big-screen adaptation from Zack Snyder in 2009, and a television sequel on HBO in 2019. Oh, and a few comic book sequels, including Doomsday Clock, where Dr. Manhattan takes on Superman. Now, a new animated adaptation of Watchmen is on its way from Warner Bros. Animation, done in two parts. They’ve released the trailer for Watchmen Chapter I, which you can check out right here:

From the look of things, this seems an extremely faithful adaptation of the source material, with images lifted straight from the comic book page. Then again, Snyder’s Watchmen was exactly the same in this regard, with scenes lifted directly from the book as if they were storyboards. We suppose the big difference here is there will be slightly more comics-accurate costumes for characters like Nite Owl and Silk Spectre. Perhaps this animated adaptation will use the original ending, which involved a giant telepathic squid killing millions in Manhattan. The animation style looks almost exactly like the 2D/3D blending of Marvel’s What If…? series.

As for why this animated Watchmen movie is in two parts, the answer is simple. These animated DC Comics features from Warner Bros. Animation are always budgeted to be 80 minutes long at most. And that is simply not enough time to adapt such a sprawling story. This is why Batman: The Long Halloween is two parts, and before that, The Dark Knight Returns. The latter ended up being a pretty great adaptation, and remains severely underrated. We’ll see if Watchmen can follow suit. One thing’s for sure — Alan Moore’s name won’t be on it, and he probably wishes this wasn’t happening. And he doesn’t want you to ever ask him about it. So don’t.

Watchmen Chapter I releases later in 2024.

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Fifty years ago this year, Stephen King published his first novel, Carrie, and American popular fiction was never the same again. In that time, over 60 movies based on King’s work, and almost as many TV series, have come out. Now, we can add another one to that expansive list. MGM+ has announced a series order for The Institute, a drama thriller based on King’s novel from 2019. The series comes from director Jack Bender (Lost) and executive producer and writer Benjamin Cavell (The Stand). Cavell also produced three seasons of Mr. Mercedes, also based on a King novel. The Institute will feature eight episodes, and among the cast are Ben Barnes and Mary-Louise Parker. You can read the official synopsis for The Institute below:

When 12-year-old genius Luke Ellis is kidnapped, he awakens at The Institute, a facility full of children who all got there the same way he did, and who are all possessed of unusual abilities. In a nearby town, haunted former police officer Tim Jamieson has come looking to start a new life, but the peace and quiet won’t last, as his story and Luke’s are destined to collide.

Ben Barnes plays the character of Tim Jamieson, described as “a disillusioned ex-cop who takes a job as the night knocker in a small town, withdrawing from the world.” Luke’s kidnapping gives him something to care about and believe in again, and he finds a new purpose. Mary Louise Parker’s character is Ms. Sigsby, a “charming but iron-willed director of the Institute and a true believer in its awful mission.” Like any good villain, she thinks she’s the actual hero of the story, and that history will vindicate her actions. Production commences for The Institute in Nova Scotia later this year. The series is scheduled to premiere in the latter half of 2025.

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Often, the parts of superhero movies the studios are terrified of spoiling in trailers are revealed months in advance via toys. And the upcoming Deadpool & Wolverine is no different. This collector’s 1/6 scale figure from Hot Toys/Sideshow Collectibles replicates the look of Hugh Jackman’s Logan from the film, complete with the iconic mask from the comic books at last. Although we’ve seen the mask before in certain promotional images, this figure is the best idea we have outside the film itself as what Jackman will look like in his full comics-accurate Wolverine regalia. You can check out several images, as well as read the official description, below:

Click To View Gallery

The screen-accurate collectible action figure is crafted based on the appearance of Wolverine portrayed by Hugh Jackman from the upcoming theatrical release, features a newly developed masked head sculpt with interchangeable lower faces showcasing different expressions, a highly poseable muscular body, arms made in silicone material with seamless elbows design, carefully tailored costume that replicates his battle outfit, multiple interchangeable hands with attachable bladed claws for additional posing options.

This Deadpool & Wolverine figure includes one newly developed masked head sculpt with three interchangeable lower faces, a screen-accurate facial expression, and detailed beard and skin textures. Wolverine stands at approximately 31 cm tall, and a body with over 30 points of articulation. They made the arms from silicone material with seamless elbow joints. There are 6 pieces of interchangeable hands including one pair of fists, one pair of relaxed hands, and one pair of open hands. The Deluxe Edition comes with a Hugh Jackman maskless face sculpt, as well as sleeves.

The costume is a yellow, navy, and black color Wolverine suit with weathering effects. It comes with one set of body armor, including chest guard, shoulder guards, and gauntlets. Logan also has one pair of navy and black colored boots. Of course, Logan has a pair of bladed claws (attachable to the back of the hands). A specially designed figure stand with the movie logo and character nameplate is also part of the package. The price for this bad boy is $280.00, and $340.00 for the Deluxe Edition, with shipping expected April to September 2025. You can click here to pre-order the Hot Toys Deadpool & Wolverine figures.

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Interview with the Vampire season two has finally ventured beyond the confines of Anne Rice’s first novel. In the second season episode “No Pain,” we get our first taste of the backstory of the Vampire Armand (Assad Zaman), the vampire Louis de Pointe du Lac’s companion. This flashback scene, taking place in the 18th century, comes straight from Rice’s second vampire novel, The Vampire Lestat. In episode four of season two, “I Want You More than Anything in the Word,” we get even more hints into Armand’s past. And episode five, “Don’t Be Afraid, Just Start the Tape,” gives us the biggest clues into Armand’s less-than-savory past deeds. But before we get to that, here’s a reminder of how Armand was a stealth character in season one of Interview with the Vampire all along.

Armand’s Interview with the Vampire Introduction

Interview with the Vampire ended its first seven-episode season at roughly the halfway point of the novel, although things played out in very different ways. One twist in particular resonated loudly with readers of Anne Rice’s Vampire Chronicles. Many fans wondered when the Vampire Armand, one of the series’ major book characters, would appear on the show. Turns out, that character has been there in the margins all along, ever since the very first episode. In the season one finale of Interview With the Vampire, Rashid, Louis’ supposedly human assistant, reveals himself to be the Vampire Armand. But just who is Armand?

Posing as Louis’ Servant Rashid

In the first episode of Interview With the Vampire, viewers meet a mysterious character named Rashid (Assad Zaman) who is at the vampire Louis’ beck and call. Seemingly a human servant, we’ve even seen Rashid in direct sunlight. Well, direct sunlight coming through windows. He also fed Louis animal blood. We also saw Louis feed on him directly, suggesting Rashid was a human blood bank for him. He was seemingly a devout Muslim who nevertheless called Louis “a god.” He didn’t speak much in episodes one through six, appearing as a protective human familiar. Like a less neurotic version of Guillermo from What We Do in the Shadows. And since there was no Rashid in the novels, viewers assumed he was an all-new character invented for television. Little did anyone suspect that in Interview With the Vampire, Rashid was really a well-known character from the book called Armand.

Rashid Is Really the Vampire Armand

In episode seven, however, Louis revealed to Daniel the truth about Rashid—a truth Daniel suspected when he remembered that Rashid was with Louis in the San Francisco bar they first met at in 1973. And that Rashid looked exactly the same now as then. This could only mean that Rashid was a vampire himself, and it turns out his real name is Armand. The vampire Armand has been a principal vampire character since the start. As to how he survived sunlight in Interview With the Vampire, Armand explains to Daniel in Interview With the Vampire that more ancient vampires can survive small amounts of solar exposure. Rice established this rule herself. Although in the novels, Armand is not considered old enough to be impervious to sunlight.

Who Is Armand in Interview With the Vampire?

So who is Interview With the Vampire‘s Armand? In the book, Louis and Claudia met Armand in 19th-century Paris, years after they escaped Lestat. He was 400 years old at that point and the master of a large coven of the undead. Armand’s coven posed as human actors only pretending to be vampires and performed for human audiences in the Theatre des Vampires. In the novel, Armand became a vampire in Renaissance Italy at age 17. Clearly, Armand was a full-grown adult upon his siring here. (This was like the film version too.) Armand fell for Louis and tried to lure him away from his obligations to his undead daughter Claudia. Essentially, so he could have him all to himself with no familial distractions.

When Armand realized that he could not cut the metaphorical umbilical cord, he secretly allowed his coven to execute Claudia, for the crime of trying to kill her maker Lestat. When Louis unleashed his revenge and slaughtered that coven, Armand allowed it to happen, seeing himself as free from the dead weight. He and Louis left Paris together as a couple, and it’s only decades later that Armand admitted to Louis that he allowed Claudia to die. It was only then that Louis left him behind. By the time Louis gave his interview in the book version of Interview With the Vampire, he and Armand had long since parted ways.

Armand, Reinvented for the Interview with the Vampire TV Show

Clearly, much of this could not have happened in the TV series continuity. Armand and Louis are not only together in Interview With the Vampire, it seems they never parted. And the much older and more powerful Armand was subservient to Louis, despite that never being the case in the novels. In the books, the two maintain some affection for each other in the modern day but are not together in any real sense.

Armand’s Backstory (Partially) Revealed in Season 2

In season two’s second episode, we see Armand and Louis’ meeting in Paris went much as it did in the novels. Armand is highly intrigued and attracted to Louis, even though his coven is wary of this mysterious American outsider. In episode three of the second season, “No Pain,” we get flashbacks to Armand in the late 18th century, learning more about his past. During this era, he is a 300-year-old vampire who leads a coven called the Children of Satan. These vampires dress in dirty clothing and sleep in graves. They believe it is God’s will they serve Satan, and therefore, they must eternally suffer.

Because of these ancient rules, the coven thinks of Lestat as an outcast for living among humans. Armand kidnaps Lestat’s human companion, Nicolas, as a way to lure him to the cemetery Les Innocents, where Armand’s coven operates from. Once Lestat enters the coven’s lair, they realize the rules about haunting graveyards and running from crucifixes are merely folk stories, myths perpetuated by Armand as a means of control over his flock. Armand is enraged that Lestat with his brazen ways has destroyed a coven that lasted hundreds of years.

Armand, now demoralized after his coven has seen through his lies, tries to seduce Lestat as his companion. He feels the young vampire owes him for destroying his coven. Although Lestat is equally intrigued by Armand as he is with him, he ultimately rejects him. Lestat leaves France, leaving the theater he owns to Armand and his coven. He instructs them to use it as their new lair. It was Lestat’s notion that the coven pose as human actors who pretend to be vampires. All of this is information about Armand’s past that was never revealed by Rice in the first novel. It’s all crucial backstory she first told in 1985’s The Vampire Lestat.

Armand Tells Louis About Marius, His Ancient Roman Vampire Maker

In episode four, Armand takes Louis to the Louvre in the dead of night. The elder vamp shows Louis an old painting, Palma Vecchio’s Adoration of the Shepherds With a Donor. While standing before the painting, he explains his origins to Louis, all taken from The Vampire Lestat, where Armand explained them to Lestat instead. Armand tells Louis he was born Arjun, and his parents sold him into slavery to a merchant ship captain in Delhi. The name “Arjun” is actually that of another, more ancient Indian vampire in Rice’s novels. In the books, Armand’s birth name was Andrei, something we learned in 1998’s The Vampire Armand. The series has switched his country of origin from Russia to India, thus the name change. Also, Armand was kidnapped in a raid, not sold by his parents in the novels.

They sold Arjun to a brothel, until his vampiric master, Marius de Romanus, bought him. Marius renames him, Amadeo, meaning “one loved by God.” Armand heavily implies Marius pimped him out as a prostitute (Again, not something from the novels). Regardless, Armand speaks of Marius as though he loved him greatly. He posed for paintings for his master, and Marius only gave him the dark gift when he became very sick and was near death at age 27. In the novels, he was 17, and dying from a violent attack. Later, the Roman coven burned Marius alive for being a heretic, and took Amadeo and brainwashed him into their Satanic coven. Renamed again as Armand, they eventually sent him to run the Paris coven that Magnus, Lestat’s maker, had abandoned. In the novels, Magnus was never an official part of the Paris coven.

Armand Erased Memories of Louis and Daniel

In episode five of season two, we get an extended flashback to Louis’ original 1973 interview in San Francisco. In the book, Louis was long split from Armand at that point. But we learn in the series, the two were very much together still at that point, and Armand intervenes as Louis is about to drain and kill the boy reporter, Daniel Molloy. He then saves Louis from suicide by sunlight, and erases Louis and later Daniel’s memories of the incident entirely. But not before holding Daniel hostage for days, essentially torturing him. It’s a scene that breaks book canon, but also illustrates how ruthless Armand can be to preserve what he feels he has. In this case, Louis’ companionship.

Although we are told Armand’s backstory, we don’t actually see it in flashbacks. Season two may yet show us some of Armand’s early days with Marius, his Roman vampire maker. Marius is a major character in The Vampire Lestat, and later, The Queen of the Damned. So, the producers of Interview with the Vampire may wait for season three to show us these parts of his history in a visual sense, until they’ve cast this major role. But we now know more about Armand in the universe of this series than ever before.

Originally published on November 28, 2022.

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Zack Snyder might have never directed an MCU movie starring any Asgardian gods; however, his latest project for Netflix definitely deals with stories and heroes from Norse mythology. Twilight of the Gods is Snyder’s latest offering, an animated series offering bombastic and bloody battles. All playing out on a mythological scale. If you’ve seen 300, you know Snyder loves some epic sweeping battle scenes. Netflix has announced a September release date for Twilight of the Gods, as well as a brief teaser for it, which you can watch right here:

In addition to the teaser trailer, the synopsis for Snyder’s Twilight of the Gods shares:

In a mythical world of great battles, great deeds, and great despair, Leif (Stuart Martin), a mortal king, is saved on the battlefield by Sigrid (Sylvia Hoeks), an iron-willed warrior with whom he falls in love. On their wedding night, Sigrid and Leif survive a wrath of terror from Thor (Pilou Asbæk), which sets them — and a crew of crusaders — on a merciless mission for vengeance, against all odds. This heroic story of love, loss, and revenge, is a journey to hell and beyond … across fantastical lands, battlefields fierce and bloody, and wars waged against deities and demons.

The series features the voices of Sylvia Hoeks, Stuart Martin, Kristopher Hivju, Pilou Asbaek, and John Noble. Also in the cast are Paterson Joseph, Rahul Kohli, Jamie Clayton, Peter Stormare, Jamie Chung, Lauren Cohan, and Corey Stoll. The term “Twilight of the Gods” is another name, of course, for Ragnarok. We can see why Snyder chose to not call his series that. Marvel’s Thor kind of owns that one for now.

In recent years, after the end of his DCEU, Zack Snyder has found a supportive home on Netflix. They financed and released his Army of the Dead, as well as both chapters of Rebel Moon. Those were movies, and Twilight of the Gods is his first series for the streaming giant. We’ll see if it’s the first of many, or just a one off.

Twilight of the Gods drops on Netflix on September 19.

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In what seems now like a running joke, the Marvel Studios version of Blade has lost another director. According to a report from Variety, director Yann Demange (Lovecraft Country), will no longer direct the film. This makes Demange the second director to walk away from the project. Director Bassam Tariq exited an earlier version intended to go into production in 2022. The studio also announced that screenwriter Eric Pearson, who co-wrote The Fantastic Four for Marvel, is the latest writer taking a crack at the Blade script. The report suggests that star Mahershala Ali is still on board as the titular hero, although other actors have departed the project.

In a big bit of fanfare, Kevin Feige announced that Oscar winner Mahershala Ali was starring as the day-walking half-human/half-vampire superhero on stage at Comic-Con 2019. Since that announcement five years ago, nothing has gone right with this project. Writers have come and gone, and now two directors have left. Nevertheless, Marvel Studios seems committed to making this one happen, come hell or high water. Ever since the character’s Wesley Snipes trilogy in the late ’90s and early 2000s, the Marvel hero has become iconic. So, needless to say, the property remains a priority for Marvel. We’re not sure why it’s so hard coming up with a good vampire hunter story, but here we are.

The only time we’ve had an MCU performance by Mahershela Ali as Blade was a quick voice cameo at the end of Eternals. Sadly, three years later, nothing has come of that post-credits scene. First appearing in Tomb of Dracula #10, Blade has been a mainstay of Marvel Comics for five decades. One way or another, Marvel Studios is determined to bring him back to the big screen. It just may take a few more years for that to happen. The film still has a late 2025 release date, but we wouldn’t hold our breath for that one to pan out.

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AMC’s Interview with the Vampire series just changed and embellished a major part of the book it’s based on. In episode five of season two, “Don’t Be Afraid, Just Start the Tape,” we get a proper flashback to Daniel’s 1973 interview with Louis in San Francisco. Luke Brandon Field plays Eric Bogosian’s character of reporter Daniel Molly in the flashbacks. Things suddenly go off the rails in this version of the interview, far more than they ever did in Rice’s original novel. Here’s how the Interview with the Vampire series changed and expanded on a major moment in the original novel’s ending.

Please note: The following article contains discussions of sensitive themes.

Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire was published in 1976, but she actually wrote it in 1973. This is likely why the series placed Daniel’s original interview in that year. In the novel, we never really know where Louis encountered Daniel, simply called “the Boy” in the book, and agreed to an interview with him. (The name Daniel Molloy is not attributed to him until book three, The Queen of the Damned). The novel starts with the interview already in progress. However, Rice implies that they met at a bar in Interview with the Vampire. The series makes that official, with Daniel agreeing to interview with Louis in a San Francisco pub called Polynesian Mary’s.

This is but a small change, though; the Interview with the Vampire series goes on to alter events from the book much more deeply than this clarification. Before we get into that, though, let’s look at what originally happened.

In the Interview with the Vampire novel, Louis is alone when Daniel interviews him. At the end of the interview, Daniel begs Louis to give the vampire life one more shot, pleading with him to make him into a vampire, and his companion. Louis is disgusted at Daniel’s request, feeling the entire point of his story was lost on him. An enraged Louis then attacks and bites Daniel, yet stops short of killing him. In the novel, Daniel wakes up the next day, grateful for his life but drained of blood. He runs off, interview tapes in tow, looking for Lestat, based on the clues in Louis’ confessions.

Meanwhile, in the 1994 Interview with the Vampire film, Louis attacks Daniel, but doesn’t feed from him. Daniel escapes that very night, and it is Lestat who appears in his car and bites him. The Interview with the Vampire TV series changes the events of that original interview session even more than the movie did.

In the series, we learn that Daniel wasn’t alone with Louis while interviewing him for one night in the early ‘70s. When he asks Louis to make him into a vampire, the vampire flies into a rage just as in the novel. Louis bites him, but this is where things change in the Interview with the Vampire series change drastically from Rice’s prose. The vampire Armand (Assad Zaman) suddenly arrives on the scene, and saves Daniel from Louis’ bloodlust and wrath. Louis then explodes on Armand, partially due to the drugs in Daniel’s system, which he just took into his own body.

Louis proceeds to tell Armand that life with him is boring and dull and colorless, and has been for decades. Armand, meanwhile, is furious at how obvious it is that Louis never got over his maker, Lestat, given how often he mentioned him in the interview. A despondent Louis then leaves the house in the middle of the day, ready to meet the sun and die. He talks about his beloved Claudia calling to him from beyond. The morning sun begins to scald his skin, but Armand rescues him, although he is badly burnt and in agony.

As Louis lies in bed suffering and burnt, windows blocking out sunlight with newspapers, a very angry Armand takes mental control of Daniel’s body, forcing him to recall painful memories he’s pried from his mind, a major change in events from Interview with the Vampire. He keeps him hostage in their home in San Francisco for up to six days. Next to him is the corpse of an unfortunate neighbor Armand killed after he witnessed the events of the morning. Armand feels jealousy toward him, as Louis confessed things to Daniel he never told Armand. Eventually, at Louis’ request, he chooses not to kill Daniel, although that was his original plan. He erases his memory of everything but the interview with Louis, up until the point Louis attacked him.

In the modern day in Dubai, Louis realizes that Armand “edited” his memories of the events as well, making him forget his suicide by sun attempt and the violent argument that preceded it. It’s only in the modern day that both Louis and Daniel realize Armand has been removing their memories to his liking, something that doesn’t sit well with either the vampire or interviewer. What will happen now that both Louis and Daniel know what Armand has done to their minds? We’ll have to wait and see how the rest of Interview with the Vampire season two plays out and how it continues to change or stays to true its original source texts.

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

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

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

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

Moana is directed by Thomas Kail,

Dwayne Johnson Returns to Live-Action Moana

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

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

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

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

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

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

The live-action Moana will arrive in theaters on July 10, 2026.

Originally published on April 3, 2023.

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In episode three of The Acolyte, we see a flashback to the planet Brendok, where four Jedi approach the local clan of witches to take the two children, Osha and Mae, to the Jedi Temple on Coruscant. One child wants to stay, while another wants to go and become a Jedi Padawan. The practice of Jedi taking children from their families at a young age has always seemed problematic. But what if it’s actually a necessary evil? Star Wars as a franchise has never made a good case for why it must be this way. But over at Marvel, the X-Men comics and films have done something similar, in a way that makes sense.

“He’s too old. Yes, too old to begin the training.” — Yoda, The Empire Strikes Back

Ever since The Phantom Menace, we’ve learned that the Jedi Order begins training their Jedi Padawans at a very young age. In fact, the Jedi Council deemed 9-year-old Anakin Skywalker as “too old” in that film, and initially rejected him. In later canonical Star Wars content like Clone Wars, Tales of the Jedi, and even Obi-Wan Kenobi, we learn the Order typically takes children as young as three or four years old into the order, essentially separating them from their parents for the rest of their lives as toddlers. And it seems, for the most part, parents are doing this willingly. But why?

Thus far, Star Wars has done a poor job of explaining why it’s standard galactic procedure for parents to essentially give up their children for adoption to an organization that will never allow them to see their kids again. At the very least, not until they are adults. These parents are all seemingly ok with it. However, it actually does make sense. We’ve seen something similar in the pages of Marvel Comics. However, the X-Men franchise has done a much better job of explaining why than Star Wars ever has.

Jedi Children Have Midi-Chlorians, Marvel Mutants Have the X-Gene

In Marvel Comics lore, a mutant is born with the X-gene, allowing their powers to develop at puberty. In the case of some mutants like Nightcrawler of the X-Men, the mutation can develop at birth. That is rare, however. For most mutants, their abilities start to flourish at moments of heightened emotional distress, usually at puberty. These powers can be not only dangerous to themselves, but to their families and communities as well. So it makes sense that they would need to go somewhere to train in the use of their powers. Not only for the good of humanity, but to make sure no one around them gets hurt. That’s why the most powerful moments need to go to a place like Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters to train.

The Jedi in Star Wars are very similar. Except, for Force-sensitive children of the galaxy far away, their powers can emerge from childhood. We saw it with young Ahsoka in Tales of the Jedi. Even as a toddler, she could unconsciously wield the Force. If a potential Jedi child can do this, they can also hurt those around them. A small child is pure Id. They are all “want,” and not much else. If they don’t get that cookie they want, they may accidentally Force-choke their parent. If another kid is mean to them on the playground? Then they might use the Force to hurt them, or possibly even kill them. Whether they mean to or not.

We think that things like this probably have taken place around the galaxy. Young Force-sensitive kids doing damage without thinking. This explains why it’s standard procedure for parents to give up their Force-sensitive kids to ensure the safety of those around them, however painful that decision may be. Yet that’s something not well communicated in The Acolyte. Or, frankly, in any Star Wars. The Jedi come across as cold, recruiting small kids for the benefit of their own Order. In truth, it’s actually for their own protection and the protection of others. So how does the Star Wars franchise fix this?

The Jedi Temple and Xavier’s School, Are They One and the Same?

This is where Star Wars can take a cue from X-Men, from both the comics and in other media. In the comics, we’ve seen how the emerging powers of characters like Sunspot put the lives of others at risk. In the movies, we saw how Rogue put a boy who kissed her in a coma for weeks when her powers activated. For their own protection, and to stop a witch hunt of everyone with similar gifts, those with the greatest powers must go to a place like Xavier’s School. If only to learn to control their abilities, forget being a superhero of any kind. Star Wars needs to show the bad things that happen when a Force-sensitive child uses their powers for destructive reasons. Even if it’s not on purpose. Only then can we truly understand that what the Jedi Order does is by necessity.

Of course, there are differences. The students at Xavier’s School are not forced to never see their families again once trained. Actually, Star Wars isn’t really clear if adult Jedi are allowed contact with their loved ones when their training is complete. Hopefully, The Acolyte, or other future Star Wars projects, makes all that clear. If that’s the case, and seeing a loved one once you’ve learned to use your powers is against the Jedi Code, it doesn’t paint the Jedi in a forgiving light. But the idea they must leave home for the safety of all is something that does make sense. The folks at Lucasfilm just need to take a cue from the X-Men franchise though when it comes to showing exactly why this is all for the greater good.

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

The First Force Witches in Star Wars Canon

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

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

The Nightsisters in The Clone Wars and The Mandalorian

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

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

The Great Mothers of Peridea

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

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

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

Similar to the Nightsisters, there seems to be a visual component to the use of their powers. When the Jedi or Sith use the Force, it’s invisible. When the Nighsisters and the coven from Brendock cast spells, there’s a visual element to it. We see it as a green mist for the Nightsisters. And for the coven on Brendock, it’s more like vibrations in the air, like ripples in the water. Having more than one coven of witches in the Star Wars galaxy makes sense, however. Other cultures would perceive the Force differently, and wield it in different ways. The galaxy is a big place after all. Although we see this coven destroyed, we have a feeling they are not the only coven of similar witches in the galaxy. Or maybe even on Brendock. We are sure to learn more in the remaining episodes of The Acolyte.

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Actress Lenore Zann has been providing the distinctive Southern belle voice of Rogue since the first episode of X-Men: The Animated Series in 1992. Now, 25 years since the last episode aired, she reprised the role for the Disney+ continuation, X-Men ’97. The show took everyone by surprise by just how excellent the writing and acting were, eclipsing the classic series. And a large part of why it was so good was Rogue’s unexpected character journey, which in many ways was the main emotional thread of the series. And it was all played brilliantly by Zann, without missing a beat. We chatted with Zann about returning to Rogue after all this time, and what the future holds for the sassiest X-Man at Xavier’s School.

Nerdist: So many old TV shows have had revivals recently after decades away, usually to mixed results. Did you ever think X-Men ’97 might end up as something that didn’t live up to the original ’90s series?

Lenore Zann: No. I really thought it would be a huge hit. Judging from the fans that we’ve been meeting over the last five years at Comic Cons, who just loved the original show and couldn’t wait to see more episodes of a new show. And we had no idea that a new show was going to be happening until about three years ago, I guess 2021. But as soon as I got the scripts, I knew they were going to be good. I knew it was going to be good, because really that’s what it was the first time around. The scripts were so damn good. The writing was excellent. It’s the same this time, too. Without a script, you don’t have anything. And the scripts were amazing.

Rouge kind of had the most iconic moments of the season, from throwing Captain America’s shield to going full rampage on the military base. You could see she had the biggest character arc of the season. Which of all of the moments was the most fun for you to play?

Zann: Well, of course I loved the meeting with Captain America and throwing his shield.
“Well, if your hands are tied, I guess you won’t be needing this.” So that was a lot of fun. But to be honest, also the emotional scenes with both Remy and Magneto in episode five. And then of course, the sad, tragic loss of my loved one, my soulmate Gambit. That was a gift for an actor to be able to play those beats and those emotions and be able to use my own personal emotions and experience to channel them into my character.

It had literally been 25 years since you played Rogue in the original X-Men series. Was it like riding a bike, or did you have to learn to be that character again?

Zann: I liken it to putting on a pair of well-worn, very fine, very comfortable gloves. You just put them on. You haven’t had them on for many years, and they just fit, and they feel good. For me, that’s how it is with Rogue. She is a part of me, and there’s a lot of me in her. So yeah, it was just a joy to come back to Rogue again.

For the entire original series, Rogue’s only romantic interest was Gambit. But for X-Men ’97, you got to have a romantic storyline with Magneto. What was it like for you to play a totally different romantic dynamic with someone else in the series?

Zann: Well, it was great. Again, for an actor, any of these scenarios are fun to play. But I did wonder if the public, if our fans would be upset because there are so many Gambit fans. and Rogue and Gambit, “Romy,” as they call them, fans. But it was fun. And I also knew where Rogue was coming from, that she really wanted to touch somebody and to be able to have that physical connection.

So in the scene in episode five, where she kisses Magneto, she comes down out of the ceiling, which is a great entrance. And then they dance very seductively, and touch palms like Romeo and Juliet almost. And then they kiss. But then she pulls away from that kiss and she says, “Thanks for the dance, sugar.” And then there was another line there, and I don’t remember what it was, but I said to [former X-Men ’97 showrunner] Beau DeMayo, who was there directing me, and I said, “Would it be okay if I said something else instead? Can I try something?”

He said, “Sure, try it.” And I said, “Thanks for the dance, sugar. But Remy was right. Some things are deeper than skin.” He had already said that earlier in the episode, and I just thought that that would be the button that was needed to let people know, love, true love, is deeper than skin. And on another level, it doesn’t matter what you look like. It doesn’t matter what skin color. Love, it transcends everything. And it’s the same for the LGBTQ community. So I thought it would really sing, and they kept it in. So I’m really happy about that.

You just mentioned the LGBTQ community, which I’m a part of. We have a huge connection to the X-Men. I think more than any other major nerd property actually. Do you have any stories of queer people coming up to you, talking about what Rogue and the X-Men have meant to them?

Zann: Absolutely. I was really pleased and honored to be able to be in the West Hollywood Pride Parade. And I went with my friend Morph, JP Karliak, and we had a convertible and we had a bunch of X-Men cosplayers, about 30 walking with us. And I thought that it was so important to be able to be there and make the statement that, “Hey, we are allies. We are yours. We belong to this community, too. And that we support you.”

So yeah, actually even since that parade, I’ve had two different young men come to me. I was in the Apple store, and I was having dinner somewhere else in Hollywood. And two different people said, “I saw you in the parade. I’m in the LGBTQ community. Thank you so much for being there. It meant a lot to us. And you made my childhood. You made us feel safe. Your show was a safe place for us to go. I could relate to Rogue. I’ve always loved Rogue.” It was really heartwarming. And this is what we hear over and over again.

Episode 5 was the turning point for the series. It’s when X-Men ’97 went from being just a nostalgic exercise, taking things to another level. And it had Rogue’s most heartbreaking moment, when she cradles Gambit’s dead body and says “I can’t feel you.” This asked you to go places as an actor the classic show never did. How did it feel getting to play the same character in a more grown-up and emotionally real setting?

Zann: No, because I’ve always been an extremely emotional actor. I have no problem going to the depths of my emotions and channeling them into a performance. And I’ve been known for doing a number of very strong performances, particularly in theater. When I was 19, I was discovered to play the role of Marilyn Monroe, in a rock opera about her life. And I was only 19 when I got it, and it was called Hey, Marilyn. I had to play her from the age of 16, all the way through her Hollywood years as Marilyn Monroe, to her final denouement at 36 when she died. And I had to do it all on a song on stage with 2000 people. So that was what kickstarted my career. If I can do that, then I can do anything.

You know a show has struck a nerve when it’s got plenty of memes, and the meme game for X-Men ’97 was wild. One of them had Rogue replicating the Kill Bill poster, saying “Kill Ya’ll” after Gambit died. What was it like seeing the reactions week to week, with the fandom so engaged? 

Zann: It was very funny. AJ LoCascio, who plays Gambit, and Matthew Waterson, who plays Magneto, we all get along really well. And we’ve all got a really good sense of humor. So we were sending each other these memes. But also, they were making memes about stuff we were doing in real life. Like when we went to a dinner with a whole bunch of people. And suddenly all the people were in one end of the room, and AJ was sitting by himself at one of the tables, and I was sitting with Matthew. I said, “Let’s do a photograph with AJ, showing him in his Gambit crop top by himself, over there at the table, and we’ll just gaze lovingly into each other’s eyes.” And then they shared that on social media, and then that became a meme. It was hilarious. It was a lot of fun.

After Genosha and Gambit’s death, Rogue chooses to go and join Magneto. Did that twist surprise you when you read it in the script, or was it something they told you Rogue was going to do from the get-go?

Zann: No, they didn’t tell me from the beginning. Again, I just found out as I got each script what was going to be happening, which I like it that way, so that I’m surprised as well. And then I can delve into it. But Rogue started off as a villain. And in these comic books, sometimes the heroes become the villains, back and forth, for various reasons. So I found that I thought it was very interesting.

And I thought, in a way, it made sense for Rogue at that point to find out that A: Magneto didn’t die. And B: that she’s starting to think that he could be right. As they say, “Magneto was right.” Which I think shows that Rogue, she wants to get vengeance. She wants to get justice for Remy, and also for all of the people that were killed in that genocide. And so she does what she does for a reason. But I am glad she came back by the end.

Are the any plotlines from the original series you wanted to see followed up on in X-Men ’97 that weren’t? I was a bit surprised the Rogue and her mother Mystique never had a moment.

Zann: I think it would be fun at some point to have some scenes again with Mystique. I’m not sure when it will come. We didn’t have any in this particular season. But I’m always interested in her relationship with Mystique because it’s definitely fraught with a lot of emotions. And anybody who’s ever had any mother issues can relate. But I was glad to see Nightcrawler playing a large role, and that was really lovely. The scenes between Rogue and Nightcrawler, Mystique’s son and her adoptive brother. I love it.

It was great that X-Men ’97 was a true ensemble show and not just the Wolverine show. Having said that, you and Cal Dodd didn’t have a ton of moments together. Can we hope to see some more Rogue and Logan moments in season two?

Zann: I can’t say. But there were a lot more Rogue and Storm moments in the original show as well. And in this show, they played up Jean and Storm being really close friends. Storm is one of my favorite characters, I just love her. And I think the way Alison Sealy-Smith plays her, with her incredible voice. She is like a goddess. And she’s done so much theater in Stratford and things like this. She’s perfect for the role. So I hope I get to do some more stuff with Storm in the future as well. And of course, Cal and Alison and I, and George Buza as Beast, we’re all good friends. And it’s always great to see them at Comic Cons when we have these various reunions.

Yeah. So where are you guys now with season two? Not in terms of what it’s going to be about, but have you guys recorded your lines? Where are you guys at?

Zann: I’ve recorded all my scenes for the whole season. A lot of people have, but a lot of people still need to be recorded. But the animation is what takes a long time. So they usually start with our voices, it’s called pre-lay. And then they do the animation to the voices. And then we come back for cleanups or pickups or line changes and things like that. Yeah, I’m excited and I can’t wait for season two to air, and I hope people really like it like they liked the first season.

What are your hopes for the future of Rogue going forward into, not just season two, but maybe season three and four, if we get that?

Zann: I am happy to do whatever the writers choose to do. I’m an actor at the end of the day. I take writers’ words and I try to make them live and breathe. And I’m up for anything really. I love her journey so far. I love her journey in season two. And I’m just looking forward to seeing where she goes from here. But at the end of the day, it is, we are a team and we have an amazing team. The artists, the writers, the music, the composers, the Newton brothers, the entire cast, the producers, the directors. It’s like lightning in a bottle. The way Larry Houston, our original director, likes to call it. He said, “We had lightning in a bottle the first time around, and we’ve had lightning in a bottle a second time,” which is just amazing.

When we first met the original writers again, Eric and Julia Lewold and Larry Houston. for the very first time, it was five years ago at a Comic Con in Texas where we were all invited to come. Cal Dodd, me, the rest of them, and the writers and the director. We had never met before, because back in the ’90s, we were performing in a studio in Toronto. And they, of course, were all in Los Angeles. And there were no cell phones then. There was no internet.

So we would record together in a group with a circle of microphones in the studio, and then they’d send the tapes to Los Angeles. I think they FedExed them or something. So when we finally met, we got along so well. And we all went out for a dinner one night at the end of this Comic Con five years ago, and I said, “Wouldn’t it be nice if somebody bought the rights to the X-Men, and decided to reboot the animated series and brought us all back again?” And we said, “Let’s toast to that, and let’s put it out there to the universe to manifest.” I’d like to have seven seasons and an animated film. And then a spin-off with Gambit and Rogue. I’d like to do that, too.

All episodes of X-Men ’97 are now available to stream on Disney+.

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AMC’s “Immortal Universe” of series based on the novels of Anne Rice is expanding. A new series based on the psychic order of scholars the Talamasca is coming next year, according to Deadline. In Rice’s books, the Talamasca are an ancient and secret order that catalogs and studies the supernatural. Members of the Talamasca have already been introduced to viewers of Mayfair Witches and Interview with the Vampire. Although, they are a bigger presence on Mayfair Witches so far. John Lee Hancock (The Blind Side) and Mark Lafferty (Halt and Catch Fire) will be the series writers, co-showrunners, and executive producers. Hancock will also direct. 

Unlike the previous two series inspired by Rice novels, there is no Talamasca series of books by the late author. Instead, she used them as seasoning throughout several of her supernatural novels. In the 2000s, when Rice “crossed over” her Witching Hour series and her vampire books, they played a significant role. Rice often teased a standalone Talamasca novel, but it never came to fruition. She finally revealed the origins of the organization in her 2014 novel Prince Lestat. She tied their beginnings more strongly to the vampires. The AMC shows change much of the mythology Rice created, so who knows if any of that will stick in The Talamasca series.

According to Dan McDermott, president of AMC Studios, a Talamasca spin-off series is something the studio has been thinking about since their Anne Rice Immortals Universe began. He said, “This is a story we’ve been developing and wanting to tell from the earliest moments of this franchise, focused on a fascinating and compelling secret society that has already appeared in both of our existing Anne Rice series.” Shooting starts this fall in Manchester, England. In the novels, the main Talamasca Motherhouse is in England, so this makes sense. The Talamasca series is scheduled to debut on AMC and AMC+ in late 2025.

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

Paul Giamatti Joins Starfleet Academy as the Series’ Villain

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

Giamatti will be a recurring guest star.

Star Trek: Starfleet Academy Casts Holly Hunter as Its Captain

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

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

Star Trek: Starfleet Academy Synopsis

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Star Trek: Starfleet Academy Release Date

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

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

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

Originally published on March 30, 2023.

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Last year, the heroes in half shell returned with a vengeance in the excellent animated film Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem. The movie was maybe the best interpretation of the Ninja Turtles in years, and fans immediately wanted more. And now, we have the trailer for the first spinoff from this iteration of the Turtles. The boys are returning for a new 2D animated series from Nickelodeon Animation for Paramount+. You can check out the trailer for the new Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles right here:

Like last summer’s feature film, this series comes from Nickelodeon Animation and Seth Rogen’s Point Grey Pictures. The spinoff series will debut this summer as a Paramount+ exclusive. Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles takes place in the same continuity as Mutant Mayhem, and this 2D animated show “explores the adventures of everyone’s favorite pizza-loving heroes as they emerge from the sewers onto the streets of NYC. Leo, Raph, Donnie, and Mikey are faced with new threats and team up with old allies to survive both teenage life and villains lurking in the shadows of the Big Apple.”

Reprising their roles from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem are Micah Abbey (Cousins for Life) as Donatello, Shamon Brown Jr. (THE CHI) as Michelangelo, Nicolas Cantu (The Walking Dead: World Beyond) as Leonardo, Brady Noon (Family Switch) as Raphael, and Ayo Edebiri (The Bear) as April O’Neil. Paramount will announce more cast members soon. Among the creatives on this series is Chris Yost, writer of Thor: Ragnarok and The Mandalorian, not to mention comic books like X-Force and several animated Marvel shows. Also on board is Alan Wan, of Blue Eyed Samurai fame. Both have also written extensively for previous TMNT series.

Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles premieres on Paramount+ this summer.

Originally published February 8, 2024.

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Are you ready to head back to the Mos Eisley cantina? Ubisoft has just revealed a brand new gameplay trailer for Massive Entertainment’s upcoming Star Wars Outlaws open-world video game, arriving this summer. This is our best look at the gameplay so far. The events of the game are set right in the middle of the original trilogy, between episodes V and VI. Once again, the desert world of Tatooine will be a major location in the game, and it’s all about the scoundrels of the galaxy. You can watch the Star Wars: Outlaws Official Gameplay Showcase video right here:

And here’s the official synopsis for Star Wars: Outlaws from Ubisoft:

If you’re willing to take the risk, the galaxy is full of opportunity. Experience the first-ever open world Star Wars game, set between the events of The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. Explore distinct locations across the galaxy, both iconic and new. Risk it all as Kay Vess, a scoundrel seeking freedom and the means to start a new life, along with her companion Nix. Fight, steal, and outwit your way through the galaxy’s crime syndicates as you join the galaxy’s most wanted.

Outlaws will also visit other familiar worlds from the franchise. These include Canto Bight from The Last Jedi, and Kijimi, the smugglers’ planet from The Rise of Skywalker. Outlaws‘ creative director Julian Gerighty told Entertainment Weekly a bit more about the game, saying “The pure scoundrel fantasy really takes flight when the galaxy is in chaos. The Rebels have lost the battle of Hoth and they’re on the back foot. The Empire is taking more and more power in the galaxy. That creates a space for criminal activities and criminal syndicates. That’s really the time of the underworld.” 

Star Wars: Outlaws comes to PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC on August 30, 2024.

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