Ready to say goodbye to X-Men '97 season 2 yet? I hope not, because you've got two more episodes to enjoy of the Marvel TV show before its latest season ends.

The first of those episodes, which is this season's eighth and penultimate chapter, will make its debut very soon, too. If you want to know when it'll premiere on one of the world's best streaming services, then you'll want to warm up that scrolling finger and read on. So, hop to it!

What time can I watch X-Men '97 season 2 episode 8?

Season 2 episode 8 will drop on Wednesday, August 5 at 12am PT / 3am ET.

That's the case in the US and Canada, anyway, but fans in other countries shouldn't worry about having to wait longer to watch the Marvel Phase 6 TV series' next entry.

Indeed, it'll also drop on August 5 everywhere else, so read on to find out when X-Men '97's forthcoming installment will be released on Disney+ where you are:

• US — Wednesday, August 5 at 12am PT / 3am ET
• Canada — Wednesday, August 5 at 12am PT / 3am ET
• UK — Wednesday, August 5 at 8am BST
• India — Wednesday, August 5 at 12:30pm IST
• Singapore — Wednesday, August 5 at 3pm SGT
• Australia — Wednesday, August 5 at 5pm AEST
• New Zealand — Wednesday, August 5 at 7pm NZST

When does the final episode of X-Men '97 season 2 come out?

As I mentioned earlier, only one episode remains of this X-Men animated show's sophomore season after this week's chapter.

No matter where you're based, you'll be able to stream the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) adjacent program's next episode on Wednesday, August 12. Make sure you pencil it into your calendar, then, so you don't miss what I expect to be an explosive season 2 finale.

Apple TV's adaptation of Cape Fear saw a chilling finale recently, and it was as grisly as we'd expected it to be. Over the past few weeks we've followed Javier Bardem's take on Max Cady, delivering a performance so scary it's left some of us sleeping with the lights on.

Cady was particularly unhinged in Cape Fear's finale, which saw him killing his own family and taking the Bowdens hostage in one final altercation.

It's an important moment in the series and allows Cady to have a do-over by setting up a mock trial, once again including attorney couple Tom and Anna who were responsible for sending him to prison in the first place.

But what went down, and should we be expecting a Cape Fear season 2? Here's everything you need to know.

Who died in the Cape Fear season finale?

Max Cady kills his half-sister Crystal, his father Robert, and Crystal's apparent son Luke in the season finale. He wanted to eliminate the whole family after what happened to him, as it was revealed that Crystal killed Max's former wife Melissa, the crime that he was wrongfully sentenced for instead.

By killing the family he believes betrayed him, Cady hopes to achieve peace, but instead he ends up with just another tragedy when he finds out who Luke really was. As it happens, when Crystal murdered Melissa, she didn't kill her unborn baby and instead took him to raise as her own child.

So Luke is Cady's biological son, who he murdered in a rage thinking he was actually the son of his half-sister instead. This cruel twist is a shocking one, creating even more pain for Cady.

What happened to Max Cady?

After Cady broke into the Bowden family home, they manage to get free and Anna stabs Cady. She's given the opportunity to kill him, but doesn't, saying that they should "let him die in a cage".

We don’t see Cady after this point, but it’s assumed he’s arrested and sent to back to prison. But Cady's fate could be explored in season 2, if one is greenlit by Apple TV. Right now, though, we assume he's gone.

His presence still lingers, however, because the final scene of Cape Fear shows that the Bowdens are still looking over their shoulder, assuming he's lurking somewhere in the shadows.

Who is Natalie's father?

The family twists don't stop there, as Tom and Anna's daughter Natalie is also going through an identity crisis. Throughout the series it was always assumed that Natalie's father was Anna's ex Paul, and that Tom stepped up as a step-parent after he and Anna got together.

As it happens, Natalie's father could actually be Cady, as he and Anna have a history. Natalie's real father is not revealed to us, but she does receive an envelope at the end of the finale which includes DNA results. We don't get to see these, leaving her true roots a mystery for now.

It is likely we will never know the answer, but Natalie is seen walking over to join the family in the finale's barbecue scene, implying she has made peace with having Tom as a parental figure.

What might happen in Cape Fear season 2?

Even though this story has been wrapped up, there are still loose ends that could well be explored if Cape Fear comes back for season 2. Cady's fate is one of them, of course, especially if he manages to escape once again.

Or, we could take a look at the Bowden family and how they recover from what happened to them. Especially Natalie, and the mystery around who her father is. But right now, nothing has been set in stone and this could be the end of Nick Antosca's take on Cape Fear.

It's nearly time to continue the AFC Richmond journey. Three years after we thought Ted Lasso had ended, the hugely popular Apple TV original is returning for its fourth season — and, this time, the titular soccer coach is set to manage the club's newly founded women's team.

So, will Ted be able to work his magic once more and make AFC Richmond Women a force to be reckoned with? And who among the show's supporting cast is back for Ted Lasso season 4?

I can't answer the former, but you'll want to read our Ted Lasso season 4 guide for more on the latter. Alternatively, you could just read on to find out when the series' next episode will air — so, if that's all you're here for, scroll on!

What time can I watch Ted Lasso season 4 episode 1?

Ted Lasso season 4 episode 1 is expected to make its Apple TV debut on Wednesday, August 5 at 12am PT / 3am ET.

'Expected' is the keyword here, too. You see, in recent times, the first episode of numerous other new and returning Apple TV series has actually come out in the US and Canada on Tuesday evenings. If Ted Lasso 4 follows suit, its first episode could drop on Tuesday, August 4 at 6pm PT / 9PM ET.

However, the Ted Lasso season 4 review embargo is scheduled to lift at 12am PT on August 5. It would be odd for this season's first chapter to air before critics have published their impressions of it. So, unless Apple unexpectedly changes the aforementioned embargo details, I'm going to play it safe and say that this season's opening number will come out on August 5.

If that is the case, here's when season 4 episode 1, titled 'Home', will premiere in other countries:

• US — August 5 at 12am PT / 3am ET
• Canada — August 5 at 12am PT / 3am ET
• UK — August 5 at 8am BST
• India — August 5 at 12:30pm ISY
• Singapore — August 5 at 3pm SGT
• Australia — August 5 at 5pm AEST
• New Zealand — August 5 at 7pm NZST

If — and it's a big if — Ted Lasso season 4 is released in the US and Canada on Tuesday, August 4 at 6pm PT / 9pm ET, all non-North American readers will need to do is shave six hours off the above launch times. So, in the UK, it would arrive on August 5 at 2am BST, in India on August 5 at 6:30am IST, and so on.

Ted Lasso season 4 full release schedule

You'll be pleased to know that there's plenty more Ted Lasso on the way after this week. Indeed, nine new episodes will be released after it, with one new entry expected to debut on one of the world's best streaming services every Wednesday.

Here's a breakdown of the all-important dates you need to know:

• Ted Lasso season 4 episode 1 — August 5
• Ted Lasso season 4 episode 2 — August 12
• Ted Lasso season 4 episode 3 — August 19
• Ted Lasso season 4 episode 4 — August 26
• Ted Lasso season 4 episode 5 — September 2
• Ted Lasso season 4 episode 6 — September 9
• Ted Lasso season 4 episode 7 — September 16
• Ted Lasso season 4 episode 8 — September 23
• Ted Lasso season 4 episode 9 — September 30
• Ted Lasso season 4 episode 10 — October 7

Netflix is on a generational roll with its cozy dramas in 2026. In the last few weeks alone, we've had Heartstopper Forever, Sweet Magnolias season 5, and Ransom Canyon season 2.

Now, it's My Life with the Walter Boys season 3's time to shine. If you can't remember what happened at the end of season 2, don't panic. We can expect the action to pick up after George's medical emergency, following the open love confession between Jackie and Cole, and Alex finding out.

At this point, we don't actually know if George will survive or not. Regardless, when does My Life with the Walter Boys season 3 arrive on the streamer?

What time can I watch My Life with the Walter Boys season 3 on Netflix?

My Life with the Walter Boys season 3 drops on Thursday, August 6.

As for exact time, it should be the standard 12am PT / 3am ET release time that practically every other Netflix TV Original has.

For fans who don't live in North America, here's when you'll need to tune in for season 3:

• US – 12am PT / 3am ET
• Canada – 12am PT / 3am ET
• UK – 8am BST
• India – 12:30pm IST
• Singapore – 3pm SGT
• Australia – 6pm AEST
• New Zealand – 8pm NZDT

When do new episodes of My Life with the Walter Boys season 3 come out?

All 10 episodes of this season will be released at the same time. Unlike weekly drops on the likes of Prime Video, Apple TV, and Disney+, then, you won't need to wait around for new installment of My Life with the Walter Boys season 3.

As for the series' future, there's currently no public word on whether a fourth season has been greenlit. Hopefully, we won't be made to wait much longer.

Fun fact: whenever I have days that I work remotely, I'll always have an episode of Bob's Burgers on in the background. In fact, I watch all 16 seasons of the hit Hulu and Disney+ animated comedy so often, that I could tell you exactly what episode was on without directly looking at it.

I felt incredibly prepared for the handful of Bob's Burgers quizzes already on the internet claiming to be the hardest, but nobody has yet been able to truly test the reams of random knowledge I've acquired from watching the series so often.

Should I be able to tell recite the lyrics to the song that plays over Tina and Tammy's first time collectively ditching class in season 2? Probably not.

So, behold — the genuinely most difficult Bob's Burgers quiz that I have played to date (because I made it). If you get more than 80%, I'll assume that you're actually a Wharf resident who's somehow found their way into the real world.

I have left out anything that happens in The Bob's Burgers Movie, but you'll need to have seen seasons 1-16 in order to answer all of the questions.

Check back when Bob's Burgers season 17 (hopefully) airs in early 2027... you know that the above will be updated accordingly.

"It takes close to eight months to produce the topiaries," explained Debbie Mola Mickler, area manager at Disney's Horticulture — for installations that were on display for just a few weeks.

On that clock, Disney's horticulture team is likely already deep into next year's lineup — even though this year's International Flower & Garden Festival at EPCOT only wrapped June 1. Mola Mickler oversees production of the living character sculptures that define the festival at Walt Disney World in Orlando. What look like decorative topiaries from a distance reveal themselves up close as something far more complex.

Underneath, engineered steel frames, a moss growth medium, and tightly integrated irrigation work together so that whether it's Mickey, Buzz, Lightning McQueen, or any other character, the topiary presents itself exactly as it should. They're closer to architecture than landscaping, and the timeline to build one reflects that.

That timeline starts long before any planting begins. Disney's horticulture team works directly with Walt Disney Imagineering to decide which characters can even be translated into living structures — a process that blends creative direction with real-world constraints like weight, scale, and maintenance. Once a character is selected, Mola Mickler goes straight to the source and thinks about scale — how big the topiaries need to be, and what plant material can tell that story.

From design, Disney's digital team produces a maquette — a small 3D-printed physical model of each topiary — that serves as the reference guide for everything that follows, from fabrication through final trimming.

That translation from screen to structure is where Disney's topiaries stop being just landscaping and become systems design problems. "Our Imagineers are so creative, they've pushed us towards getting these topiaries with more movement," she explained. The dresses have folds; legs may be bent like a character is mid-dance. That push toward motion and expression has forced a redesign of how internal structures are built — especially as characters become more dynamic and less symmetrical.

Once a design is approved, Disney builds a full production pipeline that starts with digital modeling and ends with custom steel fabrication. "You can't just go to the yellow pages and find a welder to make the frame," Debbie said.

Each topiary begins as a custom-engineered stainless steel structure designed to support weight, shape, and long-term outdoor exposure. Built into each frame are engineered pick points — load-bearing anchors that allow heavy equipment like cranes and forklifts to position the finished topiaries into their beds in the park. Some characters arrive in multiple pieces and are assembled on-site.

Once the steel frame is in place, it's filled with sphagnum moss, which acts as the primary growth medium. For larger characters, Disney builds a secondary cage of chicken wire inside the frame first — since plants only need about two to three inches of growing area, the inner cage reduces the amount of moss required while maintaining the structure's shape.

The moss retains moisture, supports plant plugs, and forms the core structure that everything else grows into. Built into each frame is a segmented irrigation system that allows Disney to control water distribution at a surprisingly granular level.

"We can do arms, we can do the head, we can do the feet," Debbie said. "And then we'll turn it off as needed." That segmentation isn't just for efficiency — it's environmental control. Florida's climate can shift rapidly, and different parts of a topiary may require different hydration levels depending on sun exposure and airflow.

As the plants grow in, the maquette becomes the trimming guide — helping maintain pose accuracy and character shape across months of active growth before the festival opens.

Behind the scenes, Disney operates continuous environmental monitoring across 12 greenhouse facilities, each subdivided into controlled environments that simulate different growing conditions depending on plant type and stage. Debbie described automated alerts that notify her directly if temperatures fall outside safe ranges — a system her team relies on enough that they refer to themselves as "weather watchers."

The foundational methods, though, have deep roots. "Many years ago when I first started in Disney horticulture, we did not have sphagnum topiary," Debbie said. "We only had woody topiaries with single shrubs being trained in a frame, and it can take seven to 10 years to grow one."

Those traditional systems, still used at Disneyland, rely on shrubs trained over lightweight frames and take several years to mature. At EPCOT, the sphagnum system enables faster production cycles and far more expressive designs — but still requires nearly a year of preparation per installation.

Some heritage pieces remain in rotation, including a more than 50-year-old elephant topiary originally built for Magic Kingdom that now makes a special appearance just for Flower & Garden in EPCOT's United Kingdom Pavilion.

Modern festival builds, meanwhile, sit at the intersection of horticulture and fabrication engineering. Materials like palm fiber replicate textures such as Woody's hat and boots; coconut coir matting handles facial detailing. Props like belt buckles and sheriff badges are 3D printed and integrated directly into the structures.

Even animation principles feed into final assembly. "We want to make sure the eyes are always looking at the guest when they take a picture," Debbie said.

It's that kind of detail — designed not just to be seen, but to be experienced — that makes the topiaries something more than seasonal decoration. They're living installations built to hold up across an entire festival, in Florida heat, one carefully engineered character at a time.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day has spun its way into theaters — and there's something about the Marvel movie's end credits scene that's dominated my thoughts since I left my screening.

I've already written about the post-credits stinger in my Spider-Man: Brand New Day ending explained piece, but I didn't elaborate on what it could be teasing. That's because, based on a new theory I have about this Spider-Man film's end credits scene, I deemed that discussion worthy of its own article.

It goes without saying, but full spoilers immediately follow for Spider-Man: Brand New Day. If you haven't seen it yet: bookmark this page, read my Spider-Man: Brand New Day review to see if it's any good, and then watch it at your local theater. Once you've completed those steps, re-open this page — it'll be worth the wait, I promise.

Alright, let's first review what happens in Spider-Man 4's post-credits scene, which centers on the Spidey Tracker app developed by Ned Leeds.

Initially, a flashing marker, accompanied by an automated voice message that says "New Spider-Man sighting", indicates that the titular hero is still in New York City. However, the message soon starts saying "Location unknown", which highlights that Spider-Man's actual whereabouts are, well, unknown. Cue the app zooming out to try to find Peter Parker.

Eventually, the app zooms out far enough that it not only shows us the entire Earth, but also that the popular Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) character can't be found. That's until the app moves away from our world, lays down a new pin that indicates Spider-Man is somewhere in space, and ends with the voice message saying "Location found."

What does that mean? The obvious answer is that Spidey is no longer planet-side. I know, shock, horror. What isn't clear, though, is why he's in space. Again, there's an easy answer for this: it's got something to do with Avengers: Doomsday and/or its sequel Avengers: Secret Wars.

That pair, which come out on December 18, 2026 and December 17, 2027, mark the end of Marvel Phase 6 and the divisive Marvel Multiverse Saga. And, while current Spidey star Tom Holland isn't confirmed to appear in Doomsday, the fan-favorite A-lister will, by virtue of his popularity, feature in one or both of the aforementioned films. So, it would make a ton of sense if Brand New Day's end credits stinger is teasing his involvement in Doomsday and/or Secret Wars.

Nonetheless, what if — and I realize this is a huge if — the Spidey Tracker isn't picking up Holland's Spider-Man, but one of his fellow webheads?

Now, I know that's a stretch, but hear me out. After all, everything we learn about the Spidey Tracker in Brand New Day suggests it's tailored specifically to the MCU's Spider-Man, so why would it detect another wallcrawler, such as Tobey Maguire or Andrew Garfield's, instead?

Well, for one, we don't actually know that the Spidey Tracker has been custom-built for Holland's version. If it hasn't, there's no reason why it wouldn't detect one of his multiversal variants.

That multiversal aspect is perhaps the most crucial part of my theory, too.

The next two Avengers movies will be the culmination — and celebration — of every Marvel Universe we've seen on the big screen. That includes the MCU, the original Fox X-Men franchise, and — based on myriad rumors that have been circulating online for months — the realities inhabited by Maguire and Garfield.

Furthermore, Avengers: Doomsday's story synopsis has already confirmed that it'll revolve around the threat posed by Incursions.

These multiversal calamities occur when the barriers between two universes break down, and lead to a collision that permanently destroys one or both worlds. As such, Doomsday will feature heroes from three distinct universes — the MCU, original FoX-Men, and The Fantastic Four — battling to save their realities.

But are these the only universes we'll visit in Avengers 5? It would be a glaring error if Marvel overlooked Maguire and Garfield's worlds in Doomsday and/or Secret Wars, and I don't think anyone believes that the comic giant would.

It's for that very reason, then, that I believe Brand New Day's post-credits scene isn't actually showing us that Holland's Parker has gone off-world. No, I'm convinced that the Spidey Tracker is actually picking up Maguire or Garfield's Spider-Man — and, of the two, it's the former that it's detected.

Think about it. Doomsday's first proper trailer appears to suggest that the FoX-Men have successfully navigated an Incursion. I speculate more on this in my Avengers: Doomsday trailer breakdown article, but essentially, the teaser's first few seconds show Charles Xavier/Professor X shielding his eyes from a humungous, blinding explosion. Of course, this might not be the final moments of the FoX-Men destroying another world to save their own, but what else could cause such a massive and bright blast if not the destruction of an entire universe?

And what's that got to do with Maguire's Spider-Man? Well, maybe it's his reality — aka the Sam Raimi Spider-Verse — that's being annihilated in that scene. If so, it's possible that a giant mega-Incursion involving the MCU, Fantastic Four-Verse, FoX-Men universe, and Raimi-Verse happens at the same time in Doomsday, which results in the FoX-Men proactively destroying the Raimi-Verse because their reality is most at risk of colliding with it.

Should that be the case, it would explain why the Spidey Tracker detects Maguire's Peter Parker instead of Holland's and subsequently backs up my admittedly wild theory.

There's the tiniest shred of evidence that I might be onto something, too. During a cute chat with kids on the Celebrity Surprise YouTube channel, Holland was asked if Maguire would appear in Spider-Man: Brand New Day. Holland's reply? "He's not in the movie [Spider-Man 4], but... yeah, I... yeah, careful now."

The implication here is that Holland knows something about when and where Maguire's version of the character could show up next. Holland is famous for having loose lips when it comes to MCU spoilers, too, so the fact that he stops himself here before he reveals something is, in itself, revealing.

Does he know that Maguire will feature in Doomsday and/or Secret Wars? I wouldn't be shocked if he does. After all, Holland, Maguire, and Garfield all shared the screen in 2021's Spider-Man: No Way Home. If they still keep in touch, it's plausible they've discussed their possible involvement in one or both forthcoming Avengers films, with Maguire potentially telling them — in the strictest confidence — that he's in Avengers: Doomsday. For the sake of my offbeat theory, I hope that's the case.

In the meantime, learn everything we know so far about Avengers: Doomsday, get the lowdown on Avengers: Secret Wars, and find out how to watch the Marvel movies in order.

"It is easier, but it's not easy," Story Kitchen co-founder Dmitri Johnson interjects.

I'm midway through an in-depth conversation with Johnson and business partner Mike Goldberg about their pioneering entertainment company when the former clarifies something he alluded to earlier.

The topic in question? Pitching movies and TV shows based on video game properties to other studio figureheads is still challenging. That's in spite of myriad recent examples of popular game franchises being turned into other screen-based art forms that have achieved critical and commercial success.

"We're working every day to continue changing the stigma that games are only for kids and lazy people who still live in their mom's basement," Johnson adds with a wry smile. "These are artists and storytellers in their own right — and their work deserves to be seen by more people."

Press start

You probably haven't heard of Story Kitchen, but you definitely know the video game adaptations they've helped to shape.

From Paramount Pictures' money-spinning Sonic the Hedgehog film franchise and Netflix's animated Tomb Raider show, to Prime Video's forthcoming TV re-imaginings of the aforementioned Lara Croft-fronted game series and Dontnod's beloved first Life is Strange title, Story Kitchen is at the forefront of what's unsurprisingly being labeled the 'golden age' of video game adaptations.

It's a cinematic epoch some believed would never happen — and with good reason. The 1990s and early 2000s are littered with examples of maligned video game movies, including — but by no means limited to — 1993's The Super Mario Bros. Movie, 2005's Doom, and 2003's House of the Dead, the latter of which is one the worst-rated films on popular review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes.

With so many entertainment giants failing to understand the source material, the 'videogame adaptation curse' — a phrase Goldberg says "sounds really good when stories are written about it" — became a catch-all term for these and similarly crucified productions. Combine that with the notion that, as Goldberg notes, "Hollywood didn't respect the gaming community, developers, or publishers", and it seemed that video games would forever be viewed as the runt of the visual media landscape.

That was until dj2 Entertainment, the precursor to Story Kitchen co-founded by Johnson and Dan Jevons in 2011, took a leap into the unknown.

The company's primary goal was simple: make Hollywood believe that video game stories were worth telling and investing in. Predictably, Hollywood just didn't see the appeal of turning games into movies or TV shows, and countless rejections followed.

Then came the first Sonic the Hedgehog film. After slowly and methodically earning the trust and respect of SEGA, Johnson convinced the Japanese videogame titan and, later, Paramount Pictures that people wanted to see the Blue Blur star in his own movie.

A few notable setbacks, including the titular character's speedy redesign after fans attacked his initial look following the release of Sonic's first trailer, followed. Fast-forward to early 2020, though, and, despite the pandemic bringing Sonic the Hedgehog's theatrical run to a premature end, the action-adventure comedy grossed $320 million worldwide. On a reported budget of $90 million, it more than recouped its production and marketing costs.

"Dmitri always believed that, with education and respect, a different result [video game adaptations being successful] would occur," Goldberg says. "And, he was right."

'It's a new era — but not every game should be adapted'

A lot has happened in the short time since Sonic's big-screen debut, one that Goldberg describes as "an absolute game changer in the Hollywood ecosystem".

He's not wrong. Film adaptations of other iconic and/or hugely popular game series, including Mario and Minecraft, have earned billions at the global box office. Meanwhile, TV retellings of hit franchises like The Last of Us on HBO Max, and small-screen projects that expand on existing game universes, including Fallout on Prime Video and Netflix's League of Legends animated program Arcane, have drawn universal acclaim, won multiple awards, and introduced millions more people to stories, characters, and worlds they would never have connected with otherwise.

Suffice it to say, the explosion of video game adaptations is indicative of an industry-wide paradigm shift that also allowed dj2 Entertainment to level up its own game. Indeed, by investing the metaphorical skill points into the company's evolution from dj2 Entertainment to Story Kitchen, onboarding industry talents like Elena Sandoval, Timothy I. Stevenson, and Dallas Dickinson, and signing first-look deals with Amazon in February 2022 and DreamWorks Animation in May 2024, Johnson, Goldberg, and company are well-placed to help create the next wave of gaming transmedia hits.

At the time of publication, around 30 projects, some of which have already found homes and others that'll be shopped around Hollywood, are in the works at Story Kitchen HQ. That might sound a lot, but it's a mere raindrop in the ever-expanding gaming ocean. So, why doesn't Story Kitchen just take a long list of game titles to film studios, TV networks, and the world's best streaming services, and reel them off until one piques their interest?

"It's a new era, but not every game should be adapted," Golberg replies, "And not every game should be adapted right now. We want to be a friend and advocate for the space, though, because we don't see this as a fleeting moment [for video game adaptations]. We think it's got long-term potential, so we're working to ensure that we see that through."

That's not to say Story Kitchen is only focused on adapting the biggest game franchises. AA and indie titles are as much a part of the pitching process, if not more so, than their flashier, big-budget counterparts.

"We don't go into things like 'how many copies did this game sell?'," Johnson says. "We actually despise that question and refuse to answer it at this point. We respond with 'here's why these characters and stories are incredible' and 'here's why it's something we've never seen before'.

"What it really boils down to is passion," he continues. "What are the things that we can't stop thinking about and have to pursue? Once that process starts, we're convinced something has to be made, and that translates into our meetings with other companies. Initially, it might not necessarily make sense to them, but they all want to hear the pitch because it's coming from a place of passion, so most networks and studios are excited when we take something out to them. This isn't a cash-grab — these conversations are happening because we actually care."

Prime-d for more success?

And care, Johnson and Goldberg certainly do. The multi-billion-dollar-spinning Sonic franchise, which currently comprises three movies and a Knuckles TV spin-off on Paramount+, has improved with each new entry.

As of July 2026, a fourth flick is deep in post-production ahead of its March 19, 2027 release date. An untitled Shadow-fronted off-shoot project is also reportedly in the works, though Johnson and Goldberg declined to speak about it because, as Goldberg rightfully points out, "there are levels of NDAs (non-disclosure agreements) we must respect."

Sonic the Hedgehog 4 isn't the only thing that'll roll off the Story Kitchen production line next year. Indeed, two TV projects are expected to make their Prime Video debuts in 2027, the first of which should be a Tomb Raider TV adaptation that Johnson admits has been "years in the making".

Overseen by Fleabag's Phoebe Waller-Bridge, it'll star Sophie Turner as gaming icon Lara Croft. Amazon revealed a perfect first-look shot at Turner in Croft's classic tank top and shorts combo as principal photography got underway in January and, while filming was halted in March due to a "minor injury" sustained by Turner, there's nothing to suggest it'll delay the live-action series' launch.

Thanks to a partnership Story Kitchen established with Tomb Raider custodians and videogame developer Crystal Dynamics during development on Netflix's Tomb Raider animated show, Johnson says "we had a very clear blueprint of how to move together as partners". So, when Amazon, which already had an agreement with Crystal Dynamics to publish future Tomb Raider games, proposed making a live-action TV show, it seemed like a lightning-in-a-bottle moment for all involved.

"Every decision [on the show] is made with Crystal Dynamics' sign-off," Johnson reveals. "So, season one has their blessing and they're very hands-on, but they also respect Phoebe, who's a super-fan, and her perspective of what a live-action Tomb Raider project should be.

"We've actually just started seeing rough cuts, and we were grinning like 10 year olds the entire time. It's going to be good. By the way, we're not the type of people who hype up their own s**t. It's going to be something that your mom can come across and not know that it's based on a 30-year-old videogame franchise. We don't want it to be a niche adaptation just for core fans, who we absolutely honor and will make feel seen. But, if we do our job right, which we're tirelessly trying to do, newcomers will fall love this show just as much as we have."

Life is Strange is a whole other beast. The 2015 episodic adventure game, which tells the story of a high schooler named Max who discovers she can rewind time, is famous for its branching dialog option-based narrative. Ultimately, though, the choices players make during any given playthrough lead to just one of two endings.

In collaboration with its production partners Amazon, Life is Strange franchise publisher Square Enix, and Margot Robbie's LuckyChap Entertainment, then, how is Story Kitchen tackling an evolving tale built on player choice? Furthermore, how did they decide which ending to not only use, but one that, regardless of what happens in Life is Strange: Reunion, aka Deck Nine's 2024 sequel to the first Max-led game, some viewers might interpret as being its true canonical ending?

"We went into Life is Strange knowing that almost all of the major decisions were almost a 50-50 split," Johnson muses. "So, at the start of development, you have to accept that you're not going to make everyone happy. That said, the way we're approaching some of those critical decisions from the games, I think everyone is are going to feel seen, and they're going to be happy and probably emotional [with how things play out]."

It's full steam ahead for Amazon MGM Studios film adaptations of two award-winning and popular Hazelight games in It Takes Two and Split Fiction, too.

Where the latter is concerned, things are still in the early stages of development. However, prolific actor Sydney Sweeney, Wicked duology director Jon M. Chi, and Deadpool writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick are, as confirmed by Goldberg, all involved.

"You play these games with your significant other, friend, or a family member, and everyone has their own experience," Goldberg says. It's been such a fun challenge of interpreting that and turning it into a singular shared experience [for viewers].

"Reese and Wernick even insisted on playing the game, and that's how we want our village to be built. You're not required to be a game, but we loved that they wanted to play and experience it together before they committed to this adaptation, and that's going to influence their own script."

As for It Takes Two's film reimagining, it's been over four years since Dwayne Johnson's Seven Bucks production team boarded the Amazon-led project. Speaking to Eurogamer last March, Hazelight creative director Josef Fares, who's known for not mincing his words, took aim at how long it was taking for the film to move forward.

"Hollywood, there's so much b******t," Fares responded when asked for an update. "I think 90 percent of the meetings are actually b******t, and 10 percent are what actually happens. There's a lot of talk, but not a lot of walk. I don't know what's going on. Hopefully something. It would be cool to get something out of it, but my hopes are not so high."

"They are," Johnson says when I ask him if Fares, Hazelight, and Johnson's company are still involved, before he adds: "We're so close to the Hazelight boys at this point that there's a shorthand with them, and the relationship with them and partners on our side... it's all very fluid."

Days of future past

That's just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the 30+ film and TV projects that Story Kitchen plans on delivering.

Johnson and Goldberg want to cover as many genre bases and demographics as possible, too. Film adaptations of three Roblox games — Grow a Garden, Steal a Brainrot, and Jailbreak — are in the works, as are Just Cause, Shinobi, and Ruiner productions with Universal.

Elsewhere, Netflix has signed on to bring Sifu and Kingmakers adaptations to its user base, Lionsgate is hard at work on a Streets of Rage movie, and film reimaginings of hit indie games Disco Elysium and Dredge have also been announced. Additionally, a House of the Dead movie led by The Last of Us and Superman star Isabela Merced — "she's our homie," Johnson beams —is just another of Story Kitchen's other planned projects.

It isn't just video games that are being turned into movies, either. Toys 'R Us, a popular toy retailer in the '80s and '90s that's recently enjoyed a resurgence in the US, is getting the live-action film treatment. Meanwhile, Teddy Ruxpin, an animatronic storytelling bear that was a US bestseller in the '80s, will star in a feature that's been described as 'Sonic the Hedgehog meets Elf'.

"I think it's going to go the same way as Barbie," self-confessed Teddy Ruxpin fan Johnson says in reference to the 2023 megahit starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling. "I went into that thinking 'ugh, cash grab' and then had a little tear in the eye by the third act.

"It [the Teddy Ruxpin movie] is funnier than it has any right to be," Johnson continues. "We have ridiculous musical numbers when we shouldn't, and it's so brilliantly bananas that it works. I think it's going to catch people off-guard, and kids are gonna walk out of it wanting a Teddy Ruxpin."

But, back to the games — and, perhaps most importantly, Story Kitchen's mission to create films and TV shows not only based on beloved titles from the past and those that are currently popular, but also those yet to be released.

"We're about to pitch a show based on a game that hasn't even been announced," Goldberg teases as an example of the latter. "And, should nothing change, it'll finally be announced at the 2026 Game Awards. But we're already going to take a fully fleshed, packaged, and scripted drama TV pitch on it to studios next month, so we can move as swiftly as possible once the game is officially revealed."

Whatever that soon-to-be-announced game is, its developer will surely hope it performs as well as 2025 surprise hit Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 did.

The first-ever title from French studio Sandfall Interactive, Clair Obscur unexpectedly dominated the gaming sphere last year. With over eight million copies sold (as of April 2026) and numerous award wins under its belt, it's little wonder that this critically and commercially successful title is being turned into a live-action film. As Johnson is keen to point out, though, the Clair Obscur bandwagon isn't one that Story Kitchen jumped on post-launch.

"As a company, we pride ourselves on not chasing heat," he explains. "We're less likely to pursue a game once it's become an established hit, because we don't ever want to be seen as those people.

"We were actually working with Sandfall as early as 2023," he continues. "We read almost 600 pages of scripts, had raw music files [to listen to], [and] art to look at, so we fell in love with it before we saw any real gameplay. Obviously, you don't know how a game is going to perform, so we went into this knowing that it could be a tough sell. Without the massive success it had, it would've been an uphill battle [to pitch our movie adaptation to studios]. But, as I said earlier, once the passion kicks in, we don't take 'no' for an answer. We were convinced three years ago that this was something to be excited about, and... that's all we can say about it right now."

If there's one thing I took from my chat with Johnson and Goldberg, it's this: they genuinely care about what they're doing. Like, a lot. They don't phone in their work, nor did they lazily trot out stock responses to my questions. They are completely committed to telling the world that games are not only great, but that their stories are also worth translating and telling in other mediums.

There's so much more that Story Kitchen wants to accomplish, though. Even with the abundance of productions already on their plate, Johnson and Goldberg have ambitions on adapting even more franchises for the big and small screen. Their dream projects? Mega Man and — surprisingly — Bad Dudes for Johnson, and Nintendo's iconic sci-fi franchise Metroid for Goldberg.

But such wish fulfillment must wait for another day. As we approach the tail-end of what was supposed to be an hour-long interview, Goldberg reveals that he and Johnson are being summoned by Amazon for a meeting — the contents of which he can't disclose.

It's a sign of just how busy the pair have become, but they wouldn't have it any other way. After all, Story Kitchen is no ordinary passion project — it's reshaping the multimedia landscape as we know it.

"We were recently looking back on our list of games to consider for last year's BAFTA Game Awards," Johnson says, "And there's one from a tiny Australian team called The Drifter that, after I came across it in 2025, I couldn't stop gushing about. Anyway, we ended up tracking them down and, in the very first meeting we had with another studio, we were able to find a home for this indie game in the form of a big theatrical movie.

"That wouldn't have been possible five, six years ago, and that's why we're enjoying this moment now. Step one was getting rid of this silly notion that games are cursed. Now, step two, and we say this with a straight face, you'll see Oscars, Emmys, and BAFTAs being won by movies and TV shows that are based on games. That's our next mission: proving that videogames are art. The stories being told, the characters they contain... they're no different to a New York Times best-selling book — and we're ready to show the world why."

Dear Gillian,

When I close my eyes, my version of heaven is you sprinkling rose petals across the bedroom of a deserted log cabin while any song from Sade's Love Deluxe album hums softly in the background. Now, when I open them, I can see exactly that in Teenage Sex and Death in Camp Miasma.

It's an understatement to say that Jane Schoenbrun's third movie was my most anticipated movie of 2026, and that was before I knew anything other than the cast list.

The world's worst-kept secret is that amongst queer women, you're considered to be "lesbian God," thanks to The X-Files, The Fall, Sex Education, and the time you said that the Guess remix featuring Charli XCX and Billie Eilish was your most listened-to song on Spotify in 2024. I'd argue that you've even overtaken Cate Blanchett in that respect.

Add Hannah Einbinder, the woman we've vicariously lived through since season 1 of Hacks, into the mix, and I knew audiences would have something special in their hands. But I really didn't foresee just how profoundly, life-changingly moving the end product would be.

There's a lot of spectacular dynamics at play to make this possible, but I think that the beating heart at the center of it is you. As Billy Presley, the reclusive former 'final girl' of the Camp Miasma horror franchise that director Kris (Einbinder) wants to reboot, we get yet another piece of the never-ending puzzle that is your multi-faceted craft.

Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma is more than just a LGBTQIA+ horror movie — it's an epiphany

On the surface, Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma should be a straightforward, almost stereotypical horror movie premise. When Kris is asked to direct a reboot of the disgraced Camp Miasma franchise, she visits original movie final girl Billy, who still lives at the summer camp where it was set. Cue an inversion of reality where the pair are literally running for their lives away from the "big bad," Little Death.

But actually, there are no villains here. This is all just a facade to get you hooked on the true meaty substance of the movie: the subconscious fear in pleasure. For Kris, this manifests in her sexuality, struggling to fully let herself go in the presence of another person. Billy's confident command in leading Kris towards the light (that is, sexual freedom) is... well, satisfying in more ways than one.

Everything is sexy and sensually charged, but nothing is ever gratuitous. It's almost as if Einbinder was inside my own brain before instinctively making her character choices, with every decision Kris makes being the one I'd have chosen myself. She makes no secret of her immediate fascination and hunger for Billy... and isn't that how we react to you as it is?

By now, the internet has worked out that "Little Death" is also how the French describe an orgasm, but I think the significance of the trio's relationship runs so much deeper than just sex. Our spear-wielding villain signifies loneliness, a lack of self-understanding, and a self-imposed inability to give and receive love. Schoenbrun's previous two films, We're All Going to the World's Fair and I Saw the TV Glow, explore these phenomena beautifully, but by God, has she achieved an all-timer here.

Across the board, everything is elevated, from the movie's scale and production design to its soundtrack and grasp on moving through time. Aesthetically, we land directly between fantasy and reality, with hand-drawn backgrounds often representing Billy's romanticized version of her Camp Miasma truth. Kris is the conduit between the two, but when she finally gives herself over to Little Death, she exists in a blissful, ever-moving fantasy that I would now do anything to claim for myself.

The act of pleasure in itself can look like just about anything, and you all innately understand that. As Little Death sits in his video palace with a completely different understanding of what the Camp Miasma movies can mean, I find myself wanting to be brave for them all. I want to scream, cry, and grasp hold of joy for them. I want to meet myself at my most basic, primal level.

But back to you, Gillian

But enough of this... let's get back to you. Armed with a Dolly Parton-esque accent, a bucket of fried chicken and a lifetime's resistance against assimilating back into the real world, Billy Presley is the new-age horror hero I didn't know I needed.

Kris might be the bridge between the world of Camp Miasma and real life, but Billy is our guide between harbored shame and unrelenting freedom. She understands life in a way that most of us never do, perhaps because we've long left our sense of whimsy and suspension of belief behind. To her, Little Death is as real as you and I, and I'm starting to believe the same thing.

You've simultaneously made Billy into the most mysteriously sexy woman alive and an adult posing as the frightened, unsure teenage girl who never grew up after the release of the franchise's first movie. She's a beacon of never-ending wisdom, yet has absolutely no understanding of how the outside world works. She's the embodiment of how people can be everything and nothing all at once, and that is a pleasure to behold in itself.

If she could trap me under that picturesque starlit sky while little on the porch of the cabin she now calls home, I'd never move. If she reached for my hand to stay close through a woodland storm of bloodied clothes and peach skies, I'd walk forever. Kris felt the same way, and now she gets the blissful, blood-soaked happy ever after with her lover that the LGBT+-friendly side of cinema has only let us have a handful of times. The one so many of us long for.

Kris gets it. Einbinder and Schoenbrun get it. And now, I get it too. Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma isn't just a movie, but a life-altering experience, and you made sure of that. In a twisted sort of way, sex, death, and the life we live in between the two have never been more appealing.

Thank you for keeping us grounded in our own pleasure, whatever it looks like.

Yours,

Jasmine Valentine

Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma arrives in cinemas on August 7 in the US and August 21 in the UK.

The best streaming services have added more new movies in August, and even though we're light on the horrors this month, I've still managed to find seven new arrivals.

Prime Video doesn't have any new horrors this month, but thankfully Paramount+ has stepped up in August to bring us one of my favorites. So despite the lighter selections, there's still enough for the macabre among us.

Ready to dive in? Here are my seven horror streaming picks for August 2026.

10 Cloverfield Lane

When: August 1
Where: Paramount+ (US); rent or buy (UK, AU)

Cloverfield is one of the best found footage movies out there, but if you think the follow ups wouldn't be as good, you're mistaken. In fact, 10 Cloverfield Lane is one of my favorite movies and a worthy addition to the series.

Here, Mary Elizabeth Winstead plays a woman who survives a car crash. When she wakes up, she realizes she's been taken in by two men who insist that the outside world is uninhabitable, and they must remain in the underground bunker. It's well worth checking out if you're a fan of the original Cloverfield movie.

Bride of Chucky

When: August 1
Where: Netflix (US); rent or buy (UK, AU)

It's double trouble for Chucky fans this month, as this iconic horror movie sees the murderous doll finding himself a wife. Bride of Chucky is one of my favorites of the franchise, largely due to Jennifer Tilly's great performance as Tiffany Valentine.

Bride of Chucky stands out from the first three movies in the franchise because it relies on self-referential parody and isn't afraid to make fun of itself. In my opinion, it's the funniest entry into the franchise for this reason. So if you want a perfect blend of horror and comedy, it's right here.

Barbarian

When: August 1
Where: HBO Max (US); rent or buy (UK, AU)

Everyone's talking about Zach Cregger's Resident Evil, and his recent feature Weapons won at the Oscars, so now is a great moment to check out his excellent horror movie Barbarian.

It's hard to believe that Barbarian is Cregger's directorial debut because it is terrifyingly good. It starts as a seemingly normal tale of a woman who rents a vacation house, but when she finds out it's occupied by someone else it descends into something entirely unexpected. Believe the hype, it's really good.

Five Nights at Freddy’s 2

When: August 3
Where: Netflix (US, AU), rent or buy (UK)

Get ready for Freddy, because US and Australian audiences can watch horror sequel Five Nights at Freddy's 2 on Netflix in August. Despite being panned by the critics, the movie and its predecessor have received a loyal following of fans, many of whom loved the famous video game series.

If you're among them, then you can relive Five Nights at Freddy's 2 at home, as we follow Abby Schmidt a year after the first movie as she is manipulated by the Marionette, an animatronic from the original Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria, who is plotting revenge against adults. There's plenty of familiar faces here including two Scream icons Matthew Lillard and Skeet Ulrich.

The Yeti

When: August 7
Where: Shudder (US)

Big monster movie fan? Don't miss The Yeti when it arrives on Shudder, as it looks like a promising directorial debut for filmmakers Gene Gallerano and William Pisciotta which should tick all the right boxes for those needing a creature feature.

Set in Alaska, The Yeti centers around two people who go off in search for their respective missing fathers who have disappeared without a trace. This journey to locate them is dangerous enough with the weather conditions, never mind a huge yeti prowling the area. Sounds like a nailbiting watch.

The Strangers: Chapter 2

When: August 7
Where: HBO Max (US); Prime Video (UK); Binge (AU)

The recent reboot of The Strangers has proven divisive, with some fans thinking it's not as good as the original 2008 movie. But if you can't get enough of these masked villains, you might be interested in watching The Strangers: Chapter 2.

Set in the fictional small of Venus, Oregon, Maya (Madeleine Petsch) survives being stabbed by the strangers, but discovers that they are still hunting and trying to kill her. The locals are acting strange too, so what's up with this small town?

Buffet Infinity

When: August 21
Where: Shudder (US)

Finally, Buffet Infinity might be the most unique horror movie I've seen in a while. It's told entirely through mock television commercials, as we watch two restaurants who are fighting each other for dominance, which ends up spawning cults, sinkholes, and other apocalyptic consequences.

Buffet Infinity is intended to be a satirical look at consumerism, and it certainly caught my interest. If you're in the mood for something different, I highly recommend giving it a go.

House of the Dragon season 3 doesn't have long left to deliver on the action spectacle front. Indeed, only two more episodes of the Game of Thrones prequel's latest installment remain, so we're going to get the endlessly teased Battle of Tumbleton before it ends, right?

Considering House of the Dragon 3's mid-season trailer confirmed we would, that's a given — but will we get to see it in this week's chapter, or is it being held back for the season 3 finale? That, I don't know. What I can tell you, though, is when the high-fantasy show's next entry will be released, so read on to learn more.

What is the launch time for House of the Dragon season 3 episode 7?

Episode 7 of House of the Dragon's latest season will launch at 6pm PT / 9pm ET on Sunday, July 26 in the US and Canada.

Where viewers in other nations are concerned, it'll premiere on Monday, July 27 — and the below release times are when you'll need to tune in to see it as soon as it goes live:

• US — Sunday, July 26 at 6pm PT / 9pm ET
• Canada — Sunday, July 26 at 6pm PT / 9pm ET
• UK — Monday, July 27 at 2am BST
• India — Monday, July 27 at 6:30am IST
• Singapore — Monday, July 27 at 9am SGT
• Australia — Monday, July 27 at 11am AEST
• New Zealand — Monday, July 27 at 1pm NZST

Where can I watch House of the Dragon season 3 episode 7?

Just like every other episode of season 3, this week's entry will air on HBO Max, aka one of the world's best streaming services.

Warner Bros. Discovery's (WBD) super streamer isn't available worldwide, though, so some of you will have to locate it on another streaming platform or TV network. To help you out, the list below reveals where you can catch it in your neck of the woods. You're welcome in advance:

• US — HBO and HBO Max
• Canada — Crave
• UK — HBO Max, Sky Atlantic, and Now TV
• India — JioHotstar
• Singapore — HBO Max
• Australia — HBO Max
• New Zealand — HBO Max

When does the season 3 finale of House of the Dragon come out?

Unless HBO (aka the WBD-owned network that oversees Game of Thrones' TV adaptations) unexpectedly brings the season 3 finale's release date forward, it'll drop in early August.

For US and Canadian readers, it'll launch on Sunday, August 2. Everyone else will be able to watch it on Monday, August 3.

Blu-ray turned 20 this year, and although streaming is now the way most people watch films, physical media is dead is far from dead. Collectors are still buying Blu-rays for their new restorations, special features or limited-edition packages — and younger audiences are discovering the value of owning their films rather than dealing with your favorites disappearing on your all the time.

So if people still want to watch movies on discs at home, is there a Blu-ray successor on the horizon to offer something new?

Every major home video format before it has eventually been replaced. VHS gave way to DVD, then DVD gave way to Blu-ray. As someone who appreciates the quality of Blu-ray films but isn't an expert in the technology behind them, I assumed there would be a straightforward plan for something to come supplant them. Maybe an 8K Blu-ray? Maybe another physical format I've never heard of because home cinema is an interest of mine rather than my specialism?

But after speaking to analysts, hardware manufacturers and the organization behind Blu-ray itself, I discovered that most of them don't think another disc is coming. In fact, there’s no obvious "next format" about to be unveiled, and I wanted to find out why.

Why Blu-ray still has loyal fans

To understand why the future of Blu-ray is such an interesting topic, it's worth first getting to grips with why people still buy it. And the top reason came up in every conversation I had: ownership.

"Ownership matters more now than it did in 2005. When you buy a disc, you own that film. It’s yours, permanently, in its best possible form, sitting on your shelf whenever you want it,” says Victor Matsuda, Chairman of the Blu-ray Disc Association, the group behind the development of Blu-ray.

He tells me that people are switching on to the fact that most of what we “buy” digitally today is really a license that can change or disappear. His comments come shortly after Sony removed over 500 purchased movies from people's accounts without compensation, and right at the same time as Disney+ was forced to remove 4K and HDR support in many countries.

“We frequently hear complaints about people losing access to content they thought they’d purchased, and there have even been lawsuits brought on exactly this issue,” Matsuda says. “A disc doesn’t have that problem. Nobody can reach into your home and take it back.”

I've spoken to many physical media collectors over the years, and ownership is almost always the first thing they mention. But the second reason is quality. Ultra HD Blu-ray is still widely considered to be the best technology for watching films at home.

"20 years ago, Blu-ray set the standard for what a movie should look and sound like in the home, and it’s a standard both consumers and the industry recognized,” Matsuda tells me. “Ultra HD Blu-ray remains unsurpassed as the best overall experience for consumers.”

He explains that this has been the case even as streaming services have rolled out 4K and HDR. “The respective Blu-ray formats became the benchmark they chased, and in my opinion they still haven’t caught it. Blu-ray and Ultra HD Blu-ray remain the reference,” Matsuda says. “A stream can approximate it, but the disc carries the full, uncompressed picture and sound with nothing thrown away to fit a data cap.”

Olivier Semenoux, Europe head of GTM and Product Management at TCL Electronics, explains that much of that comes down to bitrate. "Blu-ray can be coded up to 128Mbps because that's the disc's technical limit,” he explains. “Streaming is a different story, most popular platforms cap out natively around 25Mbps, with some going up to 40 or 80Mbps.”

Unfortunately, the latter is very rare — when it comes to the big streamers, 16 to 18Mbps is the maximum you can expect.

This means that Ultra HD Blu-rays carry significantly more data per frame than a typical stream, meaning less compression and what you see at home is more of the original picture and sound being preserved. It's one of the reasons discs continue to set the standard for anyone who really loves home theater.

Variations of the same argument came up repeatedly in conversations with manufacturers too. I spoke with Rob Jones, President of Magnetar, a manufacturer of high-end 4K UHD Blu-ray and universal disc players. “When consumers invest in physical media, they get ownership, content preservation, and quality control,” he says. “While streaming is incredibly convenient, it cannot match physical media when it comes to that combination.” Jones says that’s what continues to drive Magnetar’s investment and development in this space.

But that doesn't necessarily mean streaming and Blu-ray are in competition. One of the more surprising things I heard was that several companies see them as complementary rather than competing technologies.

"We see many customers choosing both formats," Kenichi Ikenoue, Head of Strategic Planning at Panasonic Consumer Europe, tells me. "They enjoy the convenience of streaming for everyday viewing while turning to physical media when they want the highest picture and sound quality or want to own their favorite films."

Why 8K isn’t the answer

If Blu-ray still has loyal fans, isn’t the next step an 8K successor? That's what I expected to find, as someone who isn't deep on movie production. Instead, almost every expert I spoke to questioned whether there was any need for a successor at all.

"Honestly, I don't think so, at least not right now," says Victor Matsuda. "From a BDA [Blu-ray Disc Association] perspective, we don't see anything from content creators or consumers to indicate a need for a new format. They’re both extremely satisfied.”

There are signs elsewhere that the industry isn't preparing for another optical disc format either. In 2025, Sony announced that it was ending the production of recordable Blu-ray discs, MiniDiscs and MiniDV cassettes, saying that there would be "no successor models". Now, while that decision applies to blank recording discs rather than pre-recorded movie discs, it seems to reflect a broader shift away from consumer physical media formats.

One obvious reason for a new format would be 8K support, which is a format that would theoretically offer four times the resolution of today's 4K discs. But that wasn't what the experts I spoke to had in mind.

"The resolution race is interesting, but I don't see 8K finding a place with consumers anytime soon," Matsuda says. "The content community, meaning the Hollywood studios, produces its content in 4K and has stated their intent to continue doing so. Additionally, a number of manufacturers have dropped 8K from their lineups."

Jones agreed that 8K isn't ready for the mainstream, but says the challenge goes beyond content. It's also about the wider home theater ecosystem. "8K is a distraction until it's mainstream and the ecosystem simply does not justify it," he says.

He points out that an 8K player wouldn't just require 8K discs, but would also depend on compatible TVs, projectors, AV receivers and processors. "In order to sit down and experience 8K content, a viewer's entire home entertainment chain needs to support 8K," he says. "A consumer would need to replace every single link in their entertainment chain with a component capable of supporting 8K, which is impractical at best."

And it seems as if lack of demand isn't the only reason experts are sceptical. Some argue we've reached the point where higher resolutions matter much less than other improvements we can make to picture quality. "HDR and wide colour gamut make a far bigger difference to perceived picture quality than resolution does," Semenoux tells me.

Which means the challenge facing an 8K Blu-ray isn't just about a lack of content or compatible hardware; it's that the improvement itself may not feel significant enough to justify an entirely new format.

That's exactly how Mark Vena, CEO and Principal Analyst at SmartTech Research, sees it. "Frankly, an 8K Blu-ray would be a technical feat in search of a commercial problem to solve,” he says. “There's still little native 8K content, 8K TV adoption is modest and streaming platforms will almost certainly meet mainstream demand before another optical format ever reaches critical mass."

In other words, it’s not as if we’re all sitting around waiting for a new format to happen, it’s more that it doesn’t really have a reason to exist.

What creates a new format?

Vena’s point made me realize I'd been thinking about this the wrong way. Every major home video format solved an obvious problem. DVD improved on VHS by offering non-degrading video and the capacity for extra features. Blu-ray improved on DVD with the space for higher-quality video. And now we have Ultra HD Blu-ray, which improved on Blu-ray's quality further.

Crucially, each of those steps solved a real technical problem. But right now, there isn’t a real problem that a successor to Ultra HD Blu-ray could actually solve.

Matsuda explained this to me using a framework from his time as a product planner that he calls "needs" and "seeds". A "need" is a problem consumers or the industry want solving. A "seed" is a new technology that has the potential to create that demand in the future.

"I don't see a compelling driver for a new format at the moment," Matsuda says. "I think it's unlikely that a new format would arise out of consumer demand as there doesn't appear to be an expressed need. Similarly, Ultra HD Blu-ray continues to deliver content that takes full advantage of display technologies so I don't see a need arising from the industry side."

Matsuda says that could change. "From a seed standpoint, companies may have some technologies in development that could plant those seeds,” he explains. “But in my view, if a driving factor ever prompts a new physical format, it will most likely be the emergence of content the internet infrastructure simply can't deliver at scale without compromising quality. As long as streaming can handle what people want to watch, I don't see any real pressure for a new disc."

So a technological breakthrough on its own wouldn't be enough, a new format would also need the entire industry to then build around it.

Panasonic’s Ikenoue makes the same point from a more commercial perspective. "A successor format would also depend on significant investment from film studios and content providers. New hardware alone would not be enough. The content ecosystem would also need to support a new format. For the moment it is difficult to see the requirement for a successor."

A successor wouldn't just need a better disc, there’d have to be a need to even build that better disc in the first place. Only then would studios create the content, manufacturers would build the players, TV makers would support it and consumers would decide if it was worth upgrading. But right now none of the experts could identify a good enough reason.

What if the successor isn’t a disc at all?

That doesn't necessarily mean Blu-ray is the end of the story. Optical storage technology is still evolving. Companies are developing discs capable of storing far more data than today's Blu-rays, but the key thing is that they're aimed at archiving data on an enterprise scale rather than at home entertainment. Which means they aren’t about to become the next movie format that you’ll buy.

Instead, several people I spoke with pointed towards a future where the successor to Blu-ray isn't about discs. "If Blu-ray has a successor, it may not be something you can hold in your hand," says Mark Vena. Rather than another physical format, he believes the future lies in premium digital delivery through high-quality, studio-certified, lossless downloads stored locally on home servers or network-attached storage.

"This is why the real successor to Blu-ray, for most consumers, is not another disc at all," he says. "It's the combination of ultra high bitrate streaming, cloud libraries and AI-powered video optimization that's closing the quality gap."

So maybe the future isn't about replacing Blu-ray with another physical format but instead preserving the quality of audio and visuals that enthusiasts value about Blu-ray without even needing a disc in the first place.

One possible future is already beginning to emerge. Kaleidescape, a company specializing in premium digital movie delivery, offers downloads with bitrates to match what Blu-ray is capable of, preserving much more picture and audio quality than traditional streaming services while still providing the convenience of instant access.

Kaleidescape even recently launched a new 'Cinematic 4K' format for movies, which it says will offer even higher-quality bitrates for video, promising over 100Mbps of average bitrate (not maximum), which it compared to 60Mbps of average bitrate for 4K Blu-ray in its own marketing materials.

"In 10 years, the highest-quality movies at home will be delivered digitally, not on disc," Tayloe Stansbury, chairman and CEO of Kaleidescape, tells me. "Consumers will expect instant access, reference-quality presentation, and technology that evolves with each generation of content. That's the future Kaleidescape is building today."

However, for many fans of Blu-ray, the biggest hurdle here is still ownership and Kaleidescape's technical proficiency doesn't address that. It's a digital storefront, and the same concerns of losing access to things you've bought still applies.

Kaleidescape told me that its priority is delivering the best possible digital collecting experience rather than addressing licensing, and it declined to comment on people's increasing concerns about this side of buying movies.

Digital purchases may be able to close the gap on quality, but until they can offer the same promise of permanence as a disc, then physical media will continue to offer something digital can't.

Blu-ray remains resilient

When I first started researching this story, I thought I'd be talking to experts about the technology that’s waiting to replace Blu-ray. But instead, I learned the future is a little more complicated than that.

Every home video format in the past has reached a point where its limitations became too impossible to ignore. But Ultra HD Blu-ray appears to be in a different position. According to the people building and supporting the format, there isn't an obvious problem left for another new type of disc to solve. It still delivers the highest quality experience available to most consumers and continues to attract collectors who are willing to invest in physical media.

Looking at recent sales numbers, the Blu-ray market is much healthier than I expected. Mark Frampton, Senior Commercial Marketing Manager at Elevation Sales, a film sales and distribution company, says the format has remained remarkably resilient.

"We’re forecasting 2026 to be another year where the market stabilizes. Catalogue [older releases] has been very strong and only 2% down year-on-year. This is driven by collector’s editions and steelbooks, particularly on 4K Ultra HD which remains a format in growth."

In other words, older film releases are continuing to sell well, with premium collector editions helping to keep the market strong — and it's not just older enthusiasts buying discs today.

“Although the core buying audience is still people over 35, we’re increasingly seeing younger audiences entering the market,” Frampton tells me. “People aged between 25 and 34 are the second biggest buyers of Blu-ray. But Gen Z and Younger Millennials (aged between 14 and 30) who are experiencing ‘digital fatigue’ are becoming highly engaged in the format as well."

The wider industry paints a similar picture. Kath Summersgill, Group Joint Head of Sales at Key Production Group, a music manufacturer that specializes in producing physical media, points to figures from the Entertainment Retailers Association showing continued growth. "The current state of the physical movie market is incredibly encouraging, with ERA’s 2025 figures showing Blu-ray sales increased by 19.5%,” she says.

Now, these surprisingly healthy numbers don’t mean Blu-ray discs will be around forever. Streaming will continue to improve, premium digital libraries will become more sophisticated and companies like Kaleidescape are already demonstrating that top-quality movies don't necessarily need to be on a disc.

All of this means another physical format may never arrive. Instead, the next chapter for home theater could be digital — but there's a long way before collectors would be ready to trust digital libraries.

For now, at least you know you won't have to worry about buying your favorite movies yet again on another new disc format in the future.

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It's time to bid farewell to July 2026 — and, if you won't be heading out to catch Spider-Man: Brand New Day this weekend, you're going to need something to watch at home instead.

Thankfully, the world's best streaming services have plenty of great-looking new movies and shows for you to check out before Monday arrives once more. Don't delay, then — scroll on to see what you'll be adding to your watchlist ahead of the new working week. — Tom Power, senior entertainment reporter

The Devil Wears Prada 2 (Hulu/Disney+)

Gird your loins, people: The Devil Wears Prada 2 is finally available to stream on Hulu and Disney+. As an 11-year old girl who grew up wanting to be Andy Sachs, I can safely say that nothing has changed 20 years later.

This time around, Andy is brought back into the Runway Magazine fold when Miranda comes under fire for printing false information in an article. As the new Features Editor, it's Andy's job to navigate a PR crisis fit for the 2020s, which includes getting a little help from Emily.

With all of the nostalgia and dreamy fashion montages you could hope for, and an new original song by Doechii and Lady Gaga that slaps, I'll be watching this over and again. — Jasmine Valentine, entertainment reporter

• Watch The Devil Wears Prada 2 on Hulu (US) and Disney+ (internationally)

The Super Mario Galaxy Movie (Peacock)

Yahoo! Almost fourh months after it initially landed in theaters, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie has finally made its official streaming debut on Peacock.

Mario's latest animated adventure is way more polarizing than its predecessor, yet it still managed to pull in $1 billion at the worldwide box office. For that reason alone, it's probably worth giving it a whirl — but, seeing as you'll need something to entertain the kids for 90 minutes or so, it's definitely worth putting on.

But, I digress. For those who might not know: this time around, Mario and his allies traverse the cosmos as they attempt to stop Bowser and Bowser Jr from enacting a new masterplan that would see them kidnap Princess Rosalina and drain her cosmic powers to build a super weapon. Expect plenty of Nintendo Easter eggs and references in this multiverse-esque sequel that certainly acts as a jumping off point for a shared Nintendo cinematic universe. — TP

• Watch The Super Mario Galaxy Movie on Peacock

The Drama (HBO Max)

The first of three films that Zendaya and Robert Pattinson appear in this year, A24's dark rom-com drama called, well, The Drama has made its debut on HBO Max.

Starring the aforementioned A-listers, it tells the tale of soon-to-be-newlyweds Emma and Charlie, whose forthcoming wedding is derailed when a particularly dark secret comes to light. The twist in question? Honestly, it's best if you go into the movie knowing as little as humanly possible, because it's such a blind-siding narrative device that it's too good to spoil here. Get it watched ASAP, because I imagine it's all you and your work colleagues will be talking about come Monday. — TP

• Watch The Drama on HBO Max

The Bombing of Pan Am 103 (Netflix)

There are some national tragedies that are so horrifically terrible, history is forever changed. In Scotland and the US, this was the Bombing of Pan Am 103, which is now a Netflix docuseries of the same name.

In a nutshell: on 21 December 1988, flight Pan Am 103 was en route from Heathrow to JFK when a bomb exploded in its hold over Lockerbie, killing all 270 people, including 43 British citizens and 190 Americans, on board, and spawning an international investigation involving local law enforcement and the FBI.

The community of Lockerbie has definitely never been the same since, with the attack leading to the Aviation Security Improvement Act of 1990. Be prepared for a difficult yet emotionally poignant watch. — JV

• Watch The Bombing of Pan Am 103 on Netflix

Batman: Caped Crusader season 2 (Prime Video)

Batman is back — well, in Amazon's animated TV show, that is. That's right, season 2 of Batman: Caped Crusader has made its Prime Video debut, so fans of the Dark Knight have some new content to consume while the wait for The Batman Part II goes on.

This season, the eponymous vigilante and friends are forced to navigate an increasingly combustible turf war and the arrival of new iterations of the Caped Crusader's packed rogues gallery. Eager to see the Big Bad Bat go up against Joker, Scarecrow, Riddler, and more for the umpteenth time? Caped Crusader season 2 should be your first streaming port of call this weekend. — TP

• Watch Batman: Caped Crusader season 2 on Prime Video

Furious (Hulu/Disney+)

Female police chasing female serial killers? It's almost as if the glory days of Killing Eve are back. This time, the dynamic comes courtesy of Furious, which has already been described by critics as one of the best shows of 2026, which is seriously high praise.

I've got a hunch that this is mostly down to its leads in Shameless' Emmy Rossum, and Lola Petticrew, who was absolutely astonishing in Trespasses and Say Nothing. What's even better is that it's set in the 1980s and allegedly has a vert satisfying payoff. Ticks all of the great crime drama boxes, if you ask me. — JV

• Watch Furious on Hulu (US) and Disney+ (internationally)

Lioness season 3 (Paramount+)

We've been without a new Taylor Sheridan show for the first time in 2026 this month, but never fear... Lioness season 3 is here. And, by here, I mean on Paramount+.

Joe continues to walk the line between duty and home as "unseen forces" circle her world. Frankly, I think this means that we should do a fan sweepstake on just how many minutes of each episode she's going to be shouting for. My guess is 42 out of 48 minutes.

What's even more impressive is how Lioness season 3 has managed to retain Nicole Kidman and Morgan Freeman in their supporting roles. That's the brilliance of a Taylor Sheridan series, I guess. — JV

• Watch Lioness season 3 on Paramount+

As far as Taylor Sheridan shows are concerned, nothing is topping Landman. We all know that the Yellowstone creator is most at home in the Western genre, and we seem to want that from him just as much as he yearns to give it.

But Lioness season 3 is an outlier, and with new episodes dropping from August 2, I can't help but feel it remains that way. Closer in tone to the likes of Tulsa King and Mayor of Kingstown, viewers are thrown into the governmental deep end, following an off-the-books special operative group of the titular name, which is led by hot-headed Joe (Zoe Saldaña).

In season 3, Joe's working life has gone from bad to worse. By the end of season 2, she looked to jack her perilous and secretive lifestyle in for the sake of her husband Neal (Dave Annable) and their two daughters, but a leopard can't change its spots.

Credit where credit is due: without giving anything away, the stakes have been raised fatally high as season 3 takes off. The emotion feels a lot more genuine, and now that there are finally no new team members to contend with, we've got the space and breadth to fully invest in everyone present.

But as always, the bombardment of military jargon and circumstances that a civilian will never understand — and will hopefully never have to — feels incredibly alienating.

I'm also often taken out of the moment when Cody, a character played by Sheridan, is featured in episodes. Does this entire IP exist purely to indulge his fantasies of playing soldier? The answer frequently feels like yes.

Lioness season 3 raises the dramatic stakes — and takes aim at AI along the way

But let's get back to the action. Unlike seasons 1-2, which involved different Middle Eastern conflicts at their centre, Lioness season 3 pushes the focus to the brooding tension between Russian operatives and domestic US forces.

Interestingly, Sheridan wastes no time at all addressing real-life crises, including Gaza-Israel and Ukraine-Russia. It's the latter that gets the most expansion, with war on Ukrainian land forming the backbone of the storyline that will send Joe to the brink... and beyond.

It also allows for us to fully consider how AI and technology are shaping how fights are fought on the ground. Within minutes, Errol (Martin Donovan) is seen telling Kaitlyn (Nicole Kidman) that AI is an undoubtedly bigger threat to us all than the potential end of democracy — and that's just the start of Sheridan's blatant takedown.

Much like we've seen across endless social media clips and news reports, the introduction of drones into a warzone also becomes a point of contention. None of this is an angle to modern warfare that I'd even considered, and I'm both impressed and pleased that Sheridan has created the space for that conversation. The Lionesses are raging, and so should we be.

Even amidst the backdrop of change, our team is as strong as ever, and I continue to be bowled over that the busiest working woman on Earth, Nicole Kidman, has made time for such a heavy screen presence. Personally, I think that speaks volumes about the level of craft Sheridan is operating at, and what Kidman thinks of him in turn.

The action itself is fast-paced and unflinching in who or what it takes prisoner. Deaths happen from the get-go, and Joe quickly finds herself reckoning with two different realities. Things feel elevated from what we've seen in the past, which could often become monotonous and inconsequential.

Sheridan really is his own hero, and I applaud that

You know how watching enough episodes of Grey's Anatomy starts to make you feel like you could be a doctor just through absorbing so many medical terms? Lioness season 3 somehow has the opposite effect.

I don't think there's been one season of the show yet where I've been able to confidently and succinctly explain the overarching narrative of the show. I've never once watched one of the many CIA boardroom scenes and properly been able to follow along with the plan, strategy, or off-the-books mission.

Partly, I wonder if this is down to my levels of practical intelligence, in the same way you sometimes panic during test conditions. But mostly, I think this is a script issue. The dialogue is (rightly) peppered with so much military terminology, but there's rarely a let-up in it. How is the average person supposed to relate to this, unless they've played a lot of Call of Duty?

But my favorite part of Lioness — which is either a positive or negative, depending on how you look at it — is how the show seems to exist simply to fulfil Sheridan's own desires. Once again, episode 1 contains a hefty dose of Delta Force operator Cody, but this time, he's the indisputable hero.

Again, no spoilers here, but Cody essentially leads a mission that is successful almost solely thanks to his own conspiring, and I think of the little boy who must have played with Action Man figures and wanted a slice of combat for himself.

Sheridan has won just as much as we all have with season 3 (except for the many onscreen casualties), in spite of its flaws. The man is allergic to making outright terrible TV, and for that, we should always be thankful.

• Disney+ subscribers in some European countries have lost 4K and HDR support, including basic HDR10 as well as Dolby Vision
• This appears to be the result of a court ruling, with the same kind of patent dispute being the cause of Disney+ losing Dolby Vision previously
• Premium customers are paying more for very little advantage now, but there's no word on a refund or compensation as yet

A few months ago Disney+ removed Dolby Vision in parts of Europe after a patent court ruled against the entertainment company, although it brought Dolby back the following month. But now there's a much more serious removal: 4K and HDR10 are gone for many European customers as well as Dolby Vision, and these are pretty core things you pay for if you have Disney+ Premium.

It appears to be another patent issue. In a statement to FlatpanelsHD, The Walt Disney Company Nordic & Baltic said: "Following a recent court ruling affecting the technology we use to deliver 4K UHD and HDR, we have temporarily removed support for 4K UHD and HDR on Disney+. We are disappointed and share our customers' frustration. We are working hard to restore support as quickly as possible."

We're not sure exactly which countries are affected yet, but it doesn't include the UK (or US) — we'll update with a full list when we can, but it's likely to be the same countries affected by the Dolby Vision removal. The reported list of countries in that case was: Austria; Belgium; Germany; Denmark; Finland; France; Italy; Netherlands; Portugal; Romania; Sweden.

That isn't just frustrating. It's taken away a key reason for subscribing to the most expensive Premium plan (though you will still get Dolby Atmos and the ability to stream to four devices at the same time, and downloads on up to 10 devices).

But still, if you're paying the extra price specifically to upgrade from 1080p to 4K HDR, right now you're paying extra for nothing, there's no sign of any compensation for customers so far.

Maybe we should all go back to Blu-ray

It's no wonder that many movie fans are moving back to Blu-ray. Between price rises, digital deletion of paid-for titles and external issues such as patent disputes taking away picture quality you had access to until two days ago, it's not a great time to be solely reliant on streaming.

This current issue isn't Disney's fault. The major streaming services have all been targeted by patent owners claiming breach of their intellectual property, and this appears to be another one of those cases; if so, it'll probably be resolved relatively quickly.

But it does make me wonder about the bigger picture here, because I think streaming is in danger of losing what made it so popular as we pay ever increasing prices for what we used to get as standard.

In this particular case the loss of 4K and HDR has been imposed by an external issue. But the highest quality options have been moving upwards into the most expensive tiers for a couple of years now, so unless you pay for the premium subscriptions you don't get the best quality.

That means what used to be a one-size-fits-all offer is now much more complicated and more expensive every year. For example, I'm in the UK, where Disney+ has three plans, only one of which gives you Atmos and 4K. Netflix has three plans too, once again limiting 4K to the most expensive tier.

My previously ad-free Prime Video subscription is so stuffed with ads now it's a hilariously miserable experience with me and the kids swearing at the screen, and Dolby Vision and Atmos became paid-for upgrades two years ago.

I'd bet that if you're reading this you probably subscribe to, or use the ad-funded version of, a music streaming service; they're so convenient that looking for pirated songs is more trouble than it's worth. But can you say the same for the movie streamers?

I don't condone piracy at all. But as someone who's been reporting on digital piracy since the days when Metallica didn't know what a Napster was, I've seen piracy ebb and flow in music and in movies, and it's very clear that no matter how hard you try, no matter how much money and how many lawyers you throw at it, you cannot stop digital piracy. What you can do — what Netflix, the OG streamer, did — is offer a better alternative that makes it unappealing.

In a world where perfect digital copies of movies and TV shows are only a few clicks away, the only way to prevent people pirating is to make your product better in ways that persuade people to pay for it, or to accept the advertising that pays for it.

And to me it looks like only one of the major streamers is doing that: Apple TV+. What I'd love to see is the other streamers doing what it does. What I fear, and which is more likely, is that Apple TV is going to end up doing what they do.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day has finally swung into theaters worldwide — and I bet you've got questions about Tom Holland's latest Marvel movie.

Haven't seen it yet? Read my Spider-Man: Brand New Day review for a spoiler-light insight into the newly released film. Then, bookmark this page, go and see it, and come back to carry on reading this article, because I'm not kidding when I say full spoilers immediately follow for Spider-Man: Brand New Day.

Of course, if you have watched it, by all means scroll on — it's worth the read, I promise!

Does Sadie Sink play Jean Grey in Spider-Man: Brand New Day?

Yes. One of the worst-kept secrets in Hollywood is finally confirmed about 70 minutes into Spider-Man 4: Sink is playing the Marvel Cinematic Universe's (MCU) version of iconic X-Men member Jean Grey.

It's a reveal that's been a long time coming. Sink was first rumored to appear in Spider-Man: Brand New Day last March, so we've had to wait 16 months to learn which Marvel character she was actually playing.

Of course, there's been all manner of speculation about the identity of her character, with everyone from Mayday Parker — aka Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson's daughter in the comics — and Typhoid Mary to Firestar and Shathra mentioned as potential candidates.

Now that we know Sink is playing Grey, she's a shoo-in to appear in Marvel's new X-Men movie (more on this later). Her next outing as Jean Grey is expected to be in Avengers: Secret Wars, though, so we'll see her again when that film arrives next December.

Who is the real villain in Spider-Man: Brand New Day?

That'll be William Metzger, aka the head of the Department of Damage Control (DoDC).

Metzger is played by Tramell Tillman, the Severance star signing on to appear in Spider-Man: Brand New Day last August. It's unclear when or where he'll appear in the MCU next, but I have my suspicions about his next appearance, which I cover later in this article.

Anyway, Metzger is revealed to be the Marvel Phase 6 flick's actual villain in its third act. Initially positioning himself and the DoDC as an ally of Spider-Man's, we eventually learn that Metzger was the one who kidnapped, experimented on, and ultimately killed Jean's older sister Sarah. A fellow telepath, Sarah was taken to the DoDC's main testing facility on Staten Island, where she was used as a lab rat for the company's investigations into new tech powered by superhuman abilities.

Of course, as soon as Spidey learns the truth, our friendly neighborhood hero sets out to rescue Jean, whom he naively helped the DoDC to capture earlier in Brand New Day. Little does Peter Parker know, though, that it could've been his last mission...

Does Peter Parker die in Spider-Man: Brand New Day?

No, but he comes mightily close to losing his life.

After he infiltrates the DoDC's Staten Island headquarters, Spidey uses his upgraded powers to defeat members of The Hand controlled by an antagonistic Jean — remember, she still thinks Spider-Man is the enemy at this point.

Eventually, Peter tracks down Jean, who's holding Metzger hostage. Metzger tried to experiment on Jean as he did with Sarah, but the test not only goes awry, it unlocks Jean's full powerset. No longer limited by the 33-foot radius that her telepathic abilities had, Jean utilizes her powers to paralyze a large part of New York's human population, and threatens Peter that she'll hurt them all — including his former girlfriend M.J. and best friend Ned, who are caught in her paralyzing telepathic wave — if he tries to stop her from enacting revenge on Metzger.

Being the good guy that he is, Peter manages to talk her down. He does so by allowing the souped-up Jean to enter his mind, where he shows her a very specific memory of Aunt May that helps Jean understand that, despite Sarah's death, she's not alone.

Happy ending, right? Not exactly. Like Spider-Man, Frank Castle, aka The Punisher, sprang into action when Jean used her upgraded powers on New York's residents. Unable to reach DoDC HQ, he heads to a nearby rooftop outside of the impacted zone. There, he uses his marksmanship skills to take a shot at Jean with a heavy-duty sniper rifle.

Sensing the incoming bullet, Spidey shields Jean from the sniper round and is critically injured by it. As he bleeds out, Jean employs her powers to keep him alive before Frank races him to a nearby hospital to undergo life-saving surgery.

Some time later, Peter wakes from his coma. After a heart-to-heart — and some light banter — with an apologetic and remorseful Frank, Peter checks himself out of the hospital.

A crowd of dedicated Spider-Man fans, who've congregated outside the hospital to hold a vigil for his swift recovery, awaits him. Fortunately, Frank stays behind, dons the Spider-Man mask, and waves to the assembled crowd from Spidey's hospital room, allowing a profoundly moved Peter to walk away without anyone knowing he's the real wallcrawler.

Does Jean Grey make M.J. and Ned remember Peter Parker in Spider-Man 4?

No — she doesn't need to, because the pair end up finding out that Peter is Spider-Man.

M.J. learns who he is when she discovers the note Peter had written back in 2021's Spider-Man: No Way Home. Meanwhile, Ned appears to remember Peter when the duo performs their secret handshake in Brand New Day's final scene. Ultimately, then, Jean's possible intervention wasn't necessary.

Which Marvel characters make a cameo in Spider-Man: Brand New Day?

We already knew the vast majority of Spider-Man: Brand Day's cast heading into the film, but the MCU's latest movie has a couple of surprises up its sleeve.

For one, Florence Pugh's Yelena Belova makes an unexpected yet scene-stealing cameo. Spider-Man meets her at a New York bathhouse to obtain information about the attack on the DoDC in the film's first act. Later on, she appears once more when the eponymous hero starts to suspect Metzger isn't all that he seems and seeks details on Jean's sister Sarah.

The other big cameo is Marisa Tomei's Aunt May. Peter's surrogate mom, who died in No Way Home, appears by way of the memory I mentioned earlier in this article.

"But what about Daredevil?", you might be asking. Given what happened in the final episode of Daredevil: Born Again season 2, some fans had expected Spidey to come across Charlie Cox's Matt Murdock and join forces to take on The Hand in Spider-Man 4's prison-set action sequence. Unfortunately, Cox doesn't show up in Brand New Day, so the wait for a Daredevil and Spider-Man MCU team-up goes on.

Is there an end-credits scene in Spider-Man: Brand New Day?

Yes. Right at the end of the film's final credits, the Spidey Tracker — an app built by Ned Leeds to, well, track Spider-Man's whereabouts — flashes up on the screen.

As an automated message that says "Location unknown" starts to play over and over, the app zooms out from planet Earth and eventually pinpoints that the webslinger is somehow in space.

What does this mean? I have a wild theory that Spider-Man: Brand New Day's post-credits scene might not mean what we think it does, but the most likely scenario is that Peter Parker has been transported somewhere due to events that'll go down in Avengers: Doomsday or Avengers: Secret Wars. Speaking of which...

How does Spider-Man 4 set up Avengers: Doomsday and/or Avengers: Secret Wars?

In short: I don't know. Spider-Man 4's end credits scene could be related to either of the aforementioned movies, so until Avengers: Doomsday is released this December, your guess is as good as mine.

That said, at this moment in time, Tom Holland isn't slated to appear in Doomsday, and that film is already packed with enough characters as it is. You can find out who'll appear and more by finding out everything we know so far about Avengers: Doomsday.

If Holland doesn't show up in Avengers 5, he'll be a dead cert to star in its sequel. Marvel and Sony won't miss the opportunity to put one of their most bankable characters in at least one of the next two Avengers movies, so the smart money is on him having a substantial role to play in Avengers 6. For more on that flick, find out what we know so far about Avengers: Secret Wars.

How does Spider-Man: Brand New Day set up Marvel's new X-Men movie?

It doesn't. With Doomsday and Secret Wars set to be the next two MCU movies to hit theaters, that pair is far more likely to impact the MCU's first mutant-based film.

Nevertheless, Spider-Man 4's final minutes do show Jean Grey traveling on a bus to an unknown location. Maybe she's attempting to track down more of her fellow mutants? If she is and she's successful, it's possible that whoever she locates will not only have roles to play in Secret Wars, but also form a prototype version of the X-Men ahead of their actual founding/formation in their first dedicated MCU adventure.

While we wait for more news on one of the few confirmed post-Multiverse Saga projects, find out what we know so far about Marvel's new X-Men movie.

Spoilers for Stuart Fails to Save the Universe episode 2 ahead.

We've jumped into a completely different universe in Stuart Fails to Save the Universe episode 2, waving the Mad Max feel of the initial post-apocalyptic world goodbye (thankfully).

However, there's a new problem in the new HBO Max show. Stuart (Kevin Sussman), Denise (Lauren Lapkus), Kripke (John Ross Bowie) and Bert (Brian Posehn) have landed somewhere where everybody is incessantly nice to each other... a little too nice, if anything.

As Stuart quickly finds out, this is because they each have a device attached to their neck to prevent them from being mean or exhibiting any kind of bad behavior. If they try to fight it, they get tased from the inside, and eventually, shipped off to an AI correctional facility.

After years of rehabilitation (really, it's about two minutes), we find out that Penny (Kaley Cuoco) is leading the rebellion against the AI overlords, eventually helping the gang escape after she trusts them enough.

But while Penny is a Big Bang Theory cameo that fans have been waiting for, it's not the one that I think is the most interesting. For that, we need to look to the universe's AI overlord herself... film and TV's Christine Baranski.

'I think she was forced into it'

Yes, that's right... Christine Baranski is the person in charge of this AI uprising. Via video, she explains to the gang what the neck devices are and why society needs them, giving creators Chuck Lorre, Zak Penn, and Bill Prady ample opportunity to criticize the growing use of AI in the entertainment industry.

TBBT fans will know that Baranski played Leonard's (Johnny Galecki) absent and standoffish mother Beverly in the original series. But in this universe, Beverly clearly doesn't exist.

"I think she was forced into doing it... not in real life, but in this universe," Penn tells me about Baranski's cameo. "In real life, she was totally willing. But in that universe, I don't think she had a choice but to record that message.

"Maybe it would be better if she was driving that universe... but she's not. She might end up getting accused of collaboration with the AI overlords, but I think that AI made her an offer that she couldn't refuse."

Prady adds, "We'll have to see how the rebellion goes and what happens afterwards. What do they do to her afterwards?"

"She'd be tried," Lorre agrees. "Well there we go — there's something we can do if we get a second season."

Lorre's comment suggests that this is a one-and-done appearance from Baranski in Stuart Fails to Save the Universe, but Penn's take on AI is particularly interesting in the week after fans accused the show's title sequence in episode 1 of being "AI slop."

Whether the titles were actually generated by AI is unconfirmed, but episode 2 suggests that the team clearly doesn't think the technology is a good thing.

As I tell the trio, if anybody can lead us through perilous technological times, I'd put all my faith in film and TV's Christine Baranski.

When it comes to long-standing TV franchises that I'm most terrified to cover, Star Trek is easily at the top of the list. With so many seasons, opinions, and legacies developing in popular culture since the mid-1960s and the original series, I feel like I'm a dunce constantly playing catch-up with something complex that keeps slipping from my grasp.

However, if I were to hedge my bets and choose two seasons to binge, I'd pick Star Trek: Voyager and Star Trek: Picard. Not just because they feel like the two iterations of the franchise that I can't afford to miss out on, but because I'm unashamedly in love with Jeri Ryan.

Trekkies will know her best for playing Seven of Nine in both shows, a former Borg drone who initially joins the crew of the Federation starship Voyager. By the time she tries to leave in Picard, she's promoted to Captain — but as of writing, a story of her time in charge has yet to materialize.

According to Ryan herself [via TrekMovie], she has already turned down a solo spinoff that "wasn't in line with the Star Trek legacy," so we could be waiting a while for the perfect fit... if it ever arrives.

If we can't get Seven of Nine back, let's go with the next best thing: Ryan's own recommendations for what to watch alongside your annual Voyager and Picard binges (it never hurts to freshen things up).

But when I ask her the question, her answer takes me completely by surprise, especially as she's considered the potential long-standing impacts of AI in relation to sci-fi itself.

'People aren't paying enough attention to AI'

"Not that they have anything to do with Star Trek directly, but given the AI situation, I think The Terminator and Terminator 2: Judgment Day would be really good things to watch now," Ryan tells me.

"I think they'd be very timely. I feel like a lot of people, or not enough people, have paid attention to AI. I think a few more people could do to listen to how that ended up for humanity."

It's an unexpected and dark suggestion, but I certainly see the link. Like Star Trek, Terminator was ahead of its time, transforming the sci-fi genre into something iconic that would later serve as an archetype for TV shows and movies to come.

In fact, both movies go way beyond Arnold Schwarzenegger saying "Hasta la vista, baby," in dark sunglasses and a leather jacket. His Terminator Borg is the polar opposite of Seven of Nine, working as an assassin from the future intent on killing the woman who will supposedly give birth to a man who will save humankind from extinction.

By the end of Judgment Day, Terminator is a good guy, having been reprogrammed to protect instead of destroy. It's this conclusion, I think, that Ryan would like to reach... or at least remind fans that there is still light at the end of the tunnel.

If you look beyond Star Trek, protection against AI is something Ryan is clearly passionate about. In April 2026, she testified in support of the California Senate Bill 1050, which would "target false advertising by requiring clear and conspicuous consumer disclosures whenever a synthetic digital performer is used in state advertisements."

Would a Seven of Nine spinoff featuring a synthetic lead character flop if Ryan resolutely disagreed to it? Yes. But let's face it... we don't want that kind of spinoff anyway.

At this point, Ryan is leaving us with a lot of food for thought when it comes to what the future looks like, with some iconic sci-fi action sprinkled in for good measure. How can you not love her?

• Watch The Terminator on Prime Video in the US
• Watch The Terminator on Prime Video in the UK
• Watch The Terminator on Prime Video in Australia

I've been bereft without a new Taylor Sheridan show to watch over the last month, but Lioness season 3 is finally on hand to save the day.

Frankly, all hell could be about to break loose if the trailer is anything to go by. As the official synopsis explains, "Joe walks the line between duty and home as unseen forces circle her world. Patterns appear where they shouldn’t, names vanish, and paths rearrange.

"Guided by Kaitlyn and Westfield, Joe confronts enemies operating in the shadows, leaving her to reckon with a war that now reaches into every part of her life."

That could literally mean anything seeing as Joe doesn't know the meaning of an easy day at work. Regardless, when does Lioness season 3 episode 1 land on Paramount+?

What time can I watch Lioness season 3 episode 1 on Paramount+?

Lioness season 3 episode 1 will drop on one of the world's best streaming services on Sunday, August 2.

Like The Madison and Dutton Ranch, we can expect the episode to arrive at 12am PT. Here's when it will be released in other nations globally:

• US – 12am PT / 3am ET
• Canada – 12am PT / 3am ET
• UK – 8am BST
• India – 1:30pm IST
• Singapore – 4pm SGT
• Australia – 7pm AEDT
• New Zealand – 9pm NZDT

When do new episodes of Lioness season 3 come out?

Lioness season 3 will have a total of eight episodes, airing weekly from the premiere onwards. That gives us the following schedule:

• Episode 1: August 2
• Episode 2: August 9
• Episode 3: August 16
• Episode 4: August 23
• Episode 5: August 30
• Episode 6: September 6
• Episode 7: September 13
• Episode 8: September 20

Wasn't streaming entertainment much easier when Netflix first pioneered the idea? It had a host of new and classic content to stream on demand, to any device, at any time. It felt like the future, and in many ways it was.

However, the 2026 streaming experience is much more frustrating. Movies and shows are now siloed across a multitude of platforms, run by the likes of Apple, Amazon, HBO, and Disney, as well as Netflix. The cost of keeping up keeps on rising, and even if you sign up to multiple subscriptions, there's no guarantee of finding everything you want.

I had a bit of an epiphany a few weeks ago, when I realized the number of streaming subscriptions I had was into double figures — and I still couldn't find anything I wanted to watch. The dishes the algorithms were serving up weren't particularly appealing, and I was wasting money on services I wasn't using.

With that in mind, I decided to hit cancel on a few of these streaming apps, and go back to Plex: while it does offer a streaming component, it also lets you stream local media across your devices, so you can put together your own Netflix — without necessarily having to pay for another subscription.

How Plex works

Open the Plex website today, and the service looks a lot like other FAST (free ad-supported streaming television) services, such as Pluto TV or Tubi. You can tune into plenty of shows and movies for free, but if you look closely there's also a My Media section that you can use to build a library from your own files.

Plex can work with video, but also audio and photos. You set up a Windows or macOS computer as a server where all your media lives, and then the software takes care of streaming it to other laptops, desktops, tablets, consoles, and phones. There's a Plex app for just about every device out there, including Android phones and iPhones.

Streaming content around your home is free, and that's enough for me. If you want to watch something remotely while you're away, that's where the subscriptions come into play. They start at $2.99 / £2.99 / AU$4 a month for a single user streaming content over the internet, and go up from there if you need more features (like offline downloads).

Clearly this means you need to have your movies and TV shows in digital form — which is the case with me after years of buying DVDs and Blu-rays. There is some legal uncertainty around ripping these discs, but personally I've got no qualms about creating backups of movies and shows that I've paid good money for, so that I can watch them on my own on more devices more easily.

Getting back into Plex

I was a serious Plex user years ago, but haven't opened the app for quite some time: so I was faced with having to find my old media library again, remember my Plex username and password, and get everything set up properly as it was before. Thankfully, my movie and show files were still lurking on my main PC, ready to be used.

Google Password Manager remembered my Plex login details, so it was then a case of downloading the Windows server client and crossing my fingers. On Windows and macOS, the bulk of the app's operations are handled in a browser tab, and I was left waiting for several minutes before I was met with an authentication error. However, after a quick restart, I was back up and running.

Understandably, Plex hadn't remembered my media library library settings from my last login (which I think was on an entirely different PC), so I had to point it towards the relevant folders on my system again. However, once this was done, the scanning took less time than I expected, and my films and shows soon popped up, ready to be accessed.

There were plenty of old favorites that I haven't watched in years that I was keen to revisit, all free from adverts and subscription fees, and available to any device in any room — you can simply carry on watching where you left off as you jump between devices. Getting back up and running was thankfully very straightforward indeed.

Plex vs the rest

I'm happier now with my more Plex-centric setup, but there are pros and cons to it. You need to have your own media, and buying a DVD or Blu-ray can cost as much as a month of Netflix — so it's not always going to save you money, depending on how much new stuff you want to watch. A lot of shows made for streaming won't be available on physical media either, though some are (including Severance and Stranger Things).

What Plex does protect you against is shows or movies suddenly disappearing from digital stores and streaming services. Once you've bought something, you've got it for good. All the big streaming platforms have a rotating library of content that changes month to month, but that's not something you need to worry about with Plex.

Another big advantage is how much customization you get. Whether you want to change the thumbnails used for library titles, or adjust the threshold beyond which a movie stays in your 'continue watching' row, Plex lets you personalize your viewing experience in a host of ways. It's a library that you've actually got control over.

It's fair to say it's not for everyone, and setting Plex up from scratch takes significantly more time and effort than I put in going back to it — you need to do a lot more in the way of media organizing and tagging when you first get started, to get everything just right. However, having mostly abandoned Plex, I'm now glad to have it back amidst the rising prices and changing catalogs that come with the big streaming apps.

While Apple TV first showed that the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max could handle the demands of a live professional sports broadcast during Friday Night Baseball, the company has since expanded their role into Major League Soccer, using the smartphones to capture angles traditional broadcast cameras simply can't.

Nearly a year after Apple first put iPhone 17 Pro Max units into a live sports broadcast workflow, the cameras are back for 2026 MLS All-Star Week in Charlotte, North Carolina. During the July 28 Skills Challenge and the July 29 MLS All-Star Game, iPhone 17 Pro Max can be mounted behind goals, attached to Magic Arms — articulated mounts commonly used in film and broadcast production — and carried on Ronin gimbals by roaming camera operators. If a penalty kick happens, one could even end up just feet behind the player taking the shot, delivering an even more immersive perspective.

I've been on the ground in Charlotte this week and caught up once again with Royce Dickerson, Executive Producer, Live Sports on Apple TV, to see how the company's approach has evolved over the past year. For Dickerson, the mission is no longer proving the iPhone belongs in a live broadcast — it's figuring out what broadcasters can do with it that they couldn't before.

"We’re always looking for ways to innovate and bring fans closer to the action," Dickerson told me. "How do we continue to be creative with the spaces that we have? Where can we stick iPhones that we haven't thought about before?... We're always striving for... what is that perfect shot? I don't think we've found it yet."

That shift in mindset is perhaps the biggest takeaway one year later. Apple is no longer asking whether the iPhone can work as a broadcast camera — it's asking how many more it can deploy and where they can go next.

'Just like another camera'

A year in, nobody on Dickerson's crew treats the iPhone as a novelty act anymore. He pointed back to that first Friday Night Baseball broadcast, when veteran director John Moore ended up cutting to the iPhone shot more often than he expected once he saw the picture quality for himself. Camera operators reached the same place, Dickerson told me that once they're familiar with the iPhone, "it's just like another camera to them."

That comfort is why Apple is running the setup weekly across both MLS and Friday Night Baseball now, rather than treating it as a special event. "I don't think we'd be doing it week-over-week in MLS right now and in Friday Night Baseball if everybody wasn't 100% comfortable with the camera," he said.

The hardware has diversified slightly, too — alongside the now-recognizable Cosmic Orange units, Apple has mixed in some silver iPhone 17 Pro Max cameras as well.

From four iPhones to 15 — and eventually 30?

Ask Dickerson what he took away from that first Fenway broadcast and applied directly to MLS, and his answer is immediate: they needed more iPhones.

That first game ran four units total — one on the Pesky Foul Pole, one tucked into the Green Monster, one on a Ronin gimbal, and one in the dugout. Seeing how unobtrusively that small footprint could be worked into a stadium convinced him the ceiling was much higher than four.

"We need more of them," he told me. "The small-scale size of that just showed me we can put iPhones anywhere. We need to be able to say, like, let's put 20 — what can we do that's crazy in a stadium that just provides full 360 coverage inside of a venue?"

That thinking has already become reality. For a dedicated MLS match shot almost entirely on iPhone, Apple deployed 15 iPhone 17 Pro Max cameras throughout the stadium — and Dickerson doesn't see that as a ceiling.

"I see a world where we have 20 iPhones. I see a world where we have like 30," he said. "With the confidence that everybody has in them now, the envelope's going to start getting pushed a little bit further out."

The workflow has caught up with that ambition. What used to take a full day of rigging and connectivity checks is now, in Dickerson's words, roughly a tenth of the time it took a year ago — purely a result of doing it week after week and building familiarity with the process.

Crews are still using Beastgrip rigs for mounting, but the iPad-based control setup I saw a year ago is gone: camera input and shading are now integrated directly into the truck's standard broadcast system, no separate tablet required.

Geometry is a key difference between capturing MLB and MLS

The biggest difference between MLB and MLS comes down to something surprisingly simple: geometry.

A pitch is the same size in Charlotte as it is in LA, Miami, or New York, and in many soccer stadiums, the stands run right up to the touchline — meaning a Ronin-mounted iPhone can get shockingly close to the run of play.

Baseball doesn't offer that flexibility. The foul lines are a hard boundary, and once you cross onto the field of play, that's it — no matter which park you're in, and no matter how the dimensions shift from stadium to stadium. Soccer's more consistent footprint, paired with sideline access, is letting Apple push cameras nearer to the action than it could at a ballpark.

That proximity has led to placements you wouldn't get near a diamond: a Ronin at the touchline for tight shots, an iPhone on the team benches (Dickerson mentioned catching LA Galaxy head coach Greg Vanney's face as he made notes on an iPad during a match), cameras tucked into the goal net, in the tunnel, and mounted on field-level advertising boards. None of it blocks a fan's sightline, and all of it is small enough that it goes unnoticed until a broadcast cuts to it.

Dickerson also pointed to a subtler benefit: players, coaches, and managers react differently to an iPhone than they do to a traditional broadcast camera.

"Usually there's a big broadcast camera being shoved in their face, and they immediately kind of retreat within themselves," he said. "But all of a sudden there's just an iPhone 17 Pro Max on a gimbal... and it kind of eases them."

That reaction is helping Apple capture more intimate, unguarded moments without disrupting play or fans' sightlines.

What to watch for in Charlotte

Tuesday's Skills Challenge leaned heavily on mobility with Ronins at the stadium, two of them on RF for full remote control, plus two more mounted on Magic Arms positioned for organic, up-close angles of balls in flight and players running by.

Wednesday's All-Star Game mixes in two Ronins pushed toward the sidelines, alongside iPhones positioned around the halftime stage for Ciara's performance (produced by a separate crew that Apple's broadcast will ingest as a feed).

Dickerson's dream shot for the All-Star Game: a Ronin-mounted iPhone getting a tight angle from behind a player on a penalty kick — a shot that's essentially impossible with a traditional camera rig.

I'll be keeping an eye out for that moment during the match, because if Apple can pull it off, it may be one of the clearest examples yet of why these tiny cameras are changing what's possible in a live broadcast.

Still searching for the perfect shot

Twenty years into a broadcast career, Dickerson isn't interested in declaring victory. He pointed to a shot from the first official MLB game shot on iPhone when Ceddanne Rafaela had a walk-off captured from a phone on the Pesky Pole, as one of the closest things to a perfect shot his team has captured — but he's clear it's not the finish line.

The goal, as he put it, is finding angles nobody's thought to try yet, in stadiums that all start to look the same until you walk them looking for a spot nobody's used before.

With Apple already talking about a "year-and-a-half" of testing and implementation behind it heading into the next MLS season and Friday Night Baseball campaign, Dickerson is promising more of what got Apple here in the first place: more iPhones, more unconventional angles, and continued insistence that the phone in your pocket can shoot alongside — and sometimes replace — a six-figure broadcast camera.

Apple TV in the United States is the broadcast home to MLS, and you get to watch for free as it’s included with one of the best streaming services. The MLS All-Star Game will kick off at 8 PM ET tonight, July 29, 2026, with a pre-show starting before it, and it’ll be easy to know when they call for a shot from the iPhone thanks to a ‘Shot on iPhone’ bug visible on the screen.

Some mild spoilers for The Odyssey ahead.

Normally, when my TikTok FYP causes me to experience an extreme case of FOMO, I do something I regret. That's ranged from buying something cheap and tacky on TikTok Shop to queueing for hours to get sub-par food at a restaurant that influencers say is my area's "best-kept secret".

But that losing streak has ended with The Odyssey in 4DX.

If you've been active on social media in the last two weeks, you might have come across the many viral videos of cinema-goers having popcorn knocked out of their hands while their chair moves at a million miles a minute in Troy, and being sprayed in the face during one of the many seen featuring Odysseus (Matt Damon) at sea.

At first, I thought these clips were performative. I hate the idea that filming in theaters has become as commonplace as it has (which is why I won't be sharing any of those clips here), but surely watching The Odyssey in 4DX isn't like a very dark log flume at Six Flags... is it?

After giving into curiosity and getting myself a ticket, I can happily confirm that the TikToks don't lie. Not only do I think that my 4DX-perience was my favorite cinema visit of 2026 so far, but having seen The Odyssey in three different formats — standard DCP, IMAX 70mm, and now 4DX — I can confirm that 4DX wins out by a long shot.

Before you think I've taken too many Greek beatings to the head — surely Christopher Nolan's original IMAX format is superior? — let me explain my thinking. Here's what you need to know about 4DX, my review of the movie in this format, and the five most brutal scenes, which on their own are, I think, worth the price of your ticket.

The Odyssey in 4DX: the basics

4DX screenings feel almost as few and far between as IMAX 70mm. There are a relatively few 790 screens worldwide, meaning that if you don't live in a big city that has one, you'll have to add the cost of a trip to the admission price.

That price is also the most premium of the three formats. I'm based in the UK, and the cost of my three options for watching the The Odyssey is as follows:

• Standard screening: £16.99
• IMAX 70mm screening: £26
• 4DX screening: £28

In the US, the prices will look something like this:

• Standard screening: $12–$20
• IMAX 70mm screening: $25-$35
• 4DX screening: approx $35

I've left out a few other formats that I haven't seen The Odyssey in, including 70mm, IMAX and Superscreen. It's also worth pointing out that thanks to my beloved Cineworld membership, I only had to pay out an additional £6 for my 4DX screening on top of the monthly direct debit.

Do I think the full price is worth the experience? Yes and no. The cost of 4DX is extortionate, and I don't think the experience would work for a first-time viewing — you'd be too busy worrying where your nachos have gone to keep up with whether Robert Pattinson is Antinous or Agamemnon.

Having said that, I think it has to be done once. As I'll explain below, I think 4DX makes for an ideal second or third viewing of The Odyssey, and I feel quite smug that I've had the chance to experience being enlightened by the Gods (of cinema tech).

What social media has got wrong, though, is the idea that The Odyssey in 4DX is a "three-hour rollercoaster." While you're getting a lot of bang for your buck in terms of movement and effects, a lot of the movie's scenes allow for the stillness you'll feel in desperate need of.

As someone who got battered relentlessly from beginning to end while watching Top Gun: Maverick in 4DX, and was worried because she'd forgotten her travel sickness tablets before heading to Ithaca, this was a welcome surprise.

However, ladies — please don't make my mistake and wear a dress or skirt. I'd recommend long pants, a supportive sports bra. I'd also recommend a minimal amount of snacks, and a maximum amount of drinks; there's ample time and space to go to the bathroom, I promise.

Don't forget: you'll be in control of some of the effects yourself. You can choose to turn water on or off at any time, and you can lean forward to avoid any unwanted back damage during fight scenes.

Review: 4DX allows The Odyssey to compensate for its lack of heart and emotion

My biggest problem with The Odyssey isn't just that it's clearly not Nolan's best movie, but that there's next to no heart or emotion in it.

From a technical perspective, the new film is a genuine masterpiece. Cinematography, score, performances, production design… everything, and everyone, is firing on all cylinders.

But even with all of those things in place, nothing comes through the screen enough to touch your heart. You'll absolutely be impressed… but moved? It's not like you're really rooting for anybody to reunite (and if you are, chances are they'll end up dead).

By seeing The Odyssey in 4DX, you become the character that brings the missing emotion. I defy you not to giggle your way through being slammed about on a Bronze Age boat, weep because you can literally feel the pain of Odysseus being shot by arrows, and gleefully lean into every witch-like stroke as Circe (a magnificent performance from Samantha Morton) turns soldiers into pigs.

Frankly, it's all a riot that neither Homer nor Nolan likely expected when they decided to tell this story. As I said earlier, you'll need to see the film while stationary first to fully grasp the nuances and gravitas of the story, but in 4DX you'll feel as bruised and confused as Odysseus did throughout his 10-year journey home. Bottom line: it's so much fun.

The Odyssey's most brutal scenes in 4DX

Any time Odysseus is on a boat

Let's start with the elephant in the room. With Odysseus and his crew taking 10 years to get home to Ithaca from Troy, we spent a lot of time at sea.

For the most part, this involves of some gentle chair-rocking, not the chaotic assault on the senses you've seen on TikTok. With the effects slowed down and used minimally in these instances, you really understand how impactful the slightest spritz of water or well thought-out vibration can be.

Depending on where you're sitting in the theater, the in-seat water effects will perform differently. As I was sitting in the center of the second row of my section, I mostly got soaked on the lower half of my body. If you sit down and there's a black barrier directly in front of you; I'm sorry to say that you'll be taking some direct hits to the face.

Regardless of where you're sitting, a separate effects system in the ceiling rig of the theater, which takes care of rain, snow, smoke and light effects, will make sure that the rest of you is drenched. And even when the waters aren't choppy, for much of Odysseus' journey home he's pelted by rain storms, so maybe save hair-wash day until the day after your screening.

The cyclops

Our first big action sequence in The Odyssey, the cyclops scenes, are the perfect 4DX starter, getting us ready for bigger and better things to come.

Lots of sudden, juddering movements within the seat are used each time the cyclops decides to have some dinner, with additional smoke effects being used depending on how high the fire in his cave is burning. In an ideal world, I'd have liked a bit of cheese smell-o-vision at this point... but we can't have it all.

Things ramps up a level when Odysseus decides that blinding our cyclops with a hot stick is a good means of escaping. Somehow, the cyclops' painful cries — which made me think that my ear drums were going to burst during my first screening — were more palatable to listen to, perhaps because I was being distracted by the sudden whiplash I'd suffered thanks to the stick's movement.

As Odysseus disguises his men as sheep and successfully gets them out of the cave, you can almost imagine the cyclops' gigantic fingers running down your spine. Things take a more violent 4DX turn when Odysseus decides to provoke the creature with a final arrow to the face (I mean... what was the point of that?), leaving the crew to charge towards the boats on the island's coast.

We feel every tumble, misplaced step and unexpected branch-to-head contact that the boys get — but the real fun begins when the cyclops himself enters the water. Performing a belly flop that could have won him a gold medal at the Jackass Olympics, the cyclops' demise is our first real test of the in-seat water system, combined with some severe shaking as his colossal frame hits the sea.

The 7ft soldiers in silver

The action sequence I was the most impressed by (in terms of both production design and 4DX) is Odysseus' next stop on his ill-fated journey. The gang arrives on another island, only to be met by giant soldiers in silver armor, who remarkably were real 7ft-tall actors.

Given that they fight with machetes instead of Greek bows and arrows and swords, expect some serious upper back damage here. Out of every scene in the movie, this one inflicted the longest sustained impact between my shoulder blades, which I could still feel the next day.

What's also really fun here is the use of air bursts. Two 'air jets' are mounted on either side of your seat's headrest, and are used almost every time a Greek soldier shoots an arrow at his target. It feels exactly like the arrow is zooming past you, just without the pain.

4DX also manages to briefly incorporate the use of the snow machine during this scene, as Odysseus and co come across a woodland shrouded in dense mist.

There's a surprising lack of water effects, despite the soldiers clambering back into their boats mere minutes after they first disembarked. Only one of those boats makes it to freedom, but at least you won't be drowned, like the poor souls who didn't make it.

The final storm

The big kahuna, and the moment you've seen plastered all over TikTok, is the final storm. By this, I mean the scene directly after Odysseus has chastised his men for eating Apollo's cattle when Tiresias (James Remar) specifically warned them not to, and their repaired ship heads out to sea once more when the volatile winds clear.

As we know, this was a trap by Poseidon and Zeus, who mean to kill all the men responsible through a fatal storm. Incredibly, the 4DX experience is exactly as brutal as it looks in all of the social media clips.

The special effects go into overdrive, with the audience bombarded by everything bar the snow machine, and the kitchen sink, at the same time. I was holding onto my seat trying to steady myself through severe turbulence, wondering whether I was the first person in history to consume the story of The Odyssey and almost die laughing in the process.

There are shots to your back and sides, water and winds to the face, rain falling onto your head, constant strobe lighting to replicate the weather (definitely not suitable for those with epilepsy) and enough jostling to give you a mild concussion.

A special shoutout must go to the in-seat air jets by your legs, which begin to be utilized shortly before, when Odysseus must steer his vessel between the whirlpool that is Charybdis, and the six-headed monster, Scylla. If you don't have anything covering your legs, they're about to be whipped so hard that they sting.

Then just when we think it's all over, a brief pause in movement lulls the audience into a false sense of security. The boat splits in half as Odysseus' crew sinks into darkness, and we're back to being pummeled to within an inch of our lives. Make sure your snacks are firmly on the floor in the moments beforehand, or risk covering the person next to you in nacho cheese and guacamole as an unexpected additional effect.

This moment alone is worth the £28, in my opinion... what an experience.

Odysseus' homecoming fight

But we're not out of the woods just yet! Before attending my 4DX screening, I wondered if the effects would be limited to scenes with lots of travel in. I'd only seen Top Gun: Maverick and Jurassic World: Dominion in the format before The Odyssey, so I didn't have a handle on what happens when you're not flying, driving, or a cretaceous monster.

Turns out, fight scenes are just as thoughtfully rendered to make your back ache for days, even if they're just in a palace hall. Once Odysseus re-fights for Penelope's (Anne Hathaway) hand in marriage at the palace trial, he turns his successfully strung bow on the group of suitors, including Antinous (Pattinson). It's a different kind of chaos, and we're once again immersed in it.

Our seats sway in whichever direction our victim is being attacked from, with our shoulders blades once again jabbed to oblivion as other weapons manage to find their way back into the great hall. The air jets are working 10 to the dozen here, but thankfully just the ones by your head.

There's a particular moment where Antinous breaks an entire chair over Odysessus' back, and it got me thinking that I should really try seeing a chiropractor for the first time. Nothing says 'final farewell' quite like a parting blow that could potentially cause permanent damage — and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Light spoilers follow for Spider-Man: Brand New Day.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day was meant to signal a fresh era for Tom Holland’s Peter Parker. With 2021’s Spider-Man: No Way Home effectively clearing the narrative slate and stripping away his safety net, this latest chapter had a golden opportunity to chart a bold, unburdened new course for a character whose cinematic journey now enters its 24th year.

And yet, tripped up by familiar Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) shortcomings and weighed down by my own sky-high expectations, Brand New Day yields a final product that is undeniably fun, but ultimately falls short of greatness.

Web of lies

Four years have passed in-universe since No Way Home, whose ending saw Doctor Strange cast a multiverse-saving spell to make everyone, including Parker's girlfriend M.J. (Zendaya) and best friend Ned (Jacob Batalon), forget that he was Spider-Man.

Since then, our friendly neighborhood hero has fully committed to cleaning up the streets of New York City. While that mission has been incredibly successful, it's come at a cost — that being said, the webslinger is practically shedding his civilian identity and becoming a social recluse.

That long-term, self-imposed isolation has seemingly dire consequences for Spider-Man, whose world is not only upended after he sees M.J. with a new man, but also by a sudden metamorphosis — one that super-charges his arachnid-like abilities — that he struggles to control.

Throw in the emergence of a powerful and invisible new threat that only Spidey can apparently stop, and the Marvel icon must turn detective, determine if this new superpowered being is as bad as he's been led to believe, and once again realize that with great power comes great responsibility.

That infamous slogan is one that Holland and director Destin Daniel Cretton hung their proverbial hats on throughout development.

The pair have spoken at length about making a Spider-Man movie unlike anything we've seen before, and that's especially true from an action spectacle standpoint. Whether it's the fights that Spidey's involved in — the Hulk and The Hand battles deserve special mention for being intense and imaginative — or simply giving us a first-person view of him swinging through his hometown, Spider-Man 4 is the webslinger at his acrobatic, wily, and inventive best. Full credit to Cretton, stunt co-ordinator and second unit director Peng Zhang, and his team for delivering some of the best action in a Spider-Man film to date.

Brand New Day isn't as adept at depicting loneliness and other mental health issues, mind you. Indeed, for all of the talk that Brand New Day puts Peter Parker in a mental and emotional echo chamber, that's not entirely accurate.

Sure, Parker spends much of the first two acts lying to himself about why he has to maintain his lone wolf status, a storytelling quirk that allows Holland to further tap into Parker's guilt complex and the volitional burden of responsibility he carries. Even so, he still interacts — and characteristically quips — with everyone who appears in the Marvel Phase 6 flick, and, while it would be a puzzlingly dialog-light film for a usually extroverted character if he didn't, I was disappointed that Spider-Man 4 didn't examine Parker's hermit lifestyle more thoroughly throughout its 142-minute runtime.

In fact, the movie's broader emotional impact didn't hit me as hard as I'd hoped.

Yes, there are myriad moving moments — particularly in the third act — where Holland, Zendaya, and MCU newcomer Sadie Sink deliver emotional gravitas aplenty. Sink, whose much-discussed mystery character in Spider-Man 4 I’ll come back to shortly, gives a performance that easily leaves a lump in the throat

Nevertheless, Thunderbolts* tackles its weightier themes — particularly around mental health — with a sensitivity that Spider-Man 4 lacks. Heck, I'd even say No Way Home and another of Holland's previous MCU outings in Spider-Man: Far From Home hit me much harder emotionally than this fourth entry; a take I certainly didn't expect to have prior to my Brand New Day screening.

Lost souls

Its action notwithstanding, Spider-Man: Brand New Day does a much better job at making New York feel like a city populated by more than one hero and villain at any given time.

That might sound silly for a shared universe like the MCU and for a film franchise that's seen the wallcrawler mingle with other Marvel characters. Still, the fact that he shares the screen with individuals who haven't operated in his orbit before is a positive, especially when, the Avengers movies aside, Marvel appears determined to keep its heroes apart despite their situational proximity.

It's an ingredient characterized best by Spider-Man's quarrelsome, sibling-like dynamic with Jon Bernthal's Frank Castle, aka The Punisher.

Ordinarily, Bernthal's foul-mouthed, unhinged anti-hero would have no place in a family-friendly MCU flick. However, his inclusion in Brand New Day allows Bernthal and Holland's incredibly natural chemistry to shine, and it's no coincidence that sequences involving the pair are some of the funniest and most memorable that Spider-Man 4 has to offer.

The film’s self-contained, 'pick-up-and-read' comic book vibe further extends to Spider-Man: Brand New Day's full cast of characters.

Returning favorites like Mark Ruffalo's Bruce Banner/The Hulk alongside newcomers in Tramell Tillman's Bill Metzger and Liza Colón-Zayas' Jean DeWolff add to its narrative flavor. However, its overstuffed roster leaves a slight aftertaste as few of them get the necessary development or screentime they require.

Among the supporting cast, Sink gets the most substantial character arc. Brand New Day waits until the 70-minute mark to finally confirm who she's playing, but it compensates for the inevitable reveal by soon putting the Stranger Things alumnus at the heart of its tale, albeit with mixed results.

On the upside, Spider-Man 4 thoughtfully draws parallels between Holland and Sink's characters. Driven by opposing worldviews rooted in personal tragedy, their dichotomous dynamic fuels the second act, and I'll readily admit I was completely engrossed by their superhuman tango.

The problem that Brand New Day runs into is that, by placing Sink at its narrative center, it quickly succumbs to the classic MCU pitfall: setting up future storylines instead of concentrating on its actual protagonist.

Indeed, by act three, Spidey becomes something of a passenger in his own film, and it isn't until its admittedly poignant climax that the focus shifts back to the wallcrawler. That's no slight on the talented Sink's performance, but, not for the first time, it's hard to watch another Spider-Man solo movie and not think that the titular hero has, at times, been overshadowed in his own story.

My verdict

From a recency bias viewpoint, it would be easy — and arguably lazy — to label Brand New Day as the best Spider-Man movie of all-time.

In some ways, you can argue that's true. This is the most relatable Peter Parker has ever felt in a live-action capacity; it ditches the weary multiversal shenanigans in favor of returning to the character's classic street-level roots, and is Holland's most mature outing yet as the legendary webslinger.

That said, while its ending strikes an optimistic note for an all-but-confirmed fifth solo film, Brand New Day is an ironic title for a movie that — much like its protagonist for large parts of this flick — refuses to move on from the past. Its sentimental attachment to legacy characters like Ned and M.J., paired with obstructive MCU world-building, reveals a franchise that hesitates to be as progressive as it could and should be. It’s an endlessly entertaining, ground-level Spider-Man story — it just can’t quite bring itself to let that brand new day truly dawn.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day is out now in the UK, and hits theaters in the US and other regions on Friday, July 31.

Even without being directly tied to The Big Bang Theory, there's an incredibly satisfying reason for why fans should invest in new HBO Max spinoff Stuart Fails to Save the Universe: how returnable it is.

By that, I mean the comedy series could easily run for five, 10, or even a million more seasons and not dip in quality or have any continuity issues. Because there's an infinite number of universes to explore, Stuart Fails to Save the Universe could be taken in any number of zany directions and still make complete sense.

In an age where high-quality TV shows are often being axed before they've been in streamable orbit for more than a month, the idea of this alone is refreshing. However, I do have an ulterior motive for wanting Chuck Lorre, Bill Prady and Zak Penn's latest creation to last for as long as possible.

Given enough time, I think that Stuart Fails to Save the Universe could course-correct the biggest mistake that the overarching world it spins off from has ever made, affecting both TBBT and subsequent spinoff Young Sheldon before anybody realized it was a huge issue. Frankly, it's a grudge I've held onto tightly for the last two years (at best).

So when I had the chance to interview the creative trio for their new HBO Max comedy, I wasted no time pitching my story idea for future seasons. I knew it was solid, but I wasn't expecting them to genuinely consider it.

The pitch: bring George Cooper back to life

The biggest mistake TBBT ever made was killing off George Cooper before he was even a realized character in Young Sheldon. In fact, the decision was so poorly judged that Lorre publicly apologized for it after George's funeral in Young Sheldon season 7.

Let me explain. When we first meet adult Sheldon (Jim Parsons) in TBBT, we learn that his father had died of a heart attack when he was a teenager, and was described as mean, absent, an adulterer and sometimes abusive alcoholic. The less said about him the better, put it that way.

But by the time Young Sheldon took off in 2017, we learned another version of Sheldon's (Iain Armitage) truth. For most of his childhood in Medford, Texas, George (Lance Barber) did everything he could to try and understand a child that seemed so alien to him. Even George's alleged affair was disproved, turning out to be Sheldon's mother Mary (Zoe Perry) in a wig.

George took Sheldon for his first-ever visit to his future academic home CalTech, drove him to NASA's headquarters just so Sheldon could prove their math was wrong, and let him talk about scientific methods beyond George's comprehension for hours on end simply because it made Sheldon happy. If you ask me, he was an incredible dad.

But the fact that George would have to die around the time Sheldon was 14 was hanging over our heads from the moment the prequel spinoff was realized. I don't think anybody expected Young Sheldon to become the gargantuan success that it was, and by the time we got to season 7, the inevitable happened.

Episodes 12-14 of season 7 were dedicated to unpacking George's death, which happened off-screen while he was coaching football at the local high school. It's something that destroyed the rest of the Cooper family for good, with follow-up spinoff Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage continuing to help explore how Mary, Missy (Raegan Revord) and Georgie (Montana Jordan) all ended up becoming the people we meet in TBBT years later.

To me, George's death never actually needed to happen in Young Sheldon. Enough distance had been created between the prequel and TBBT to ignore adult Sheldon's vision of his childhood altogether, even if it couldn't be officially rectified. Worst case, they could have waited until season 7 had finished before implying that the death might have happened at some point between Young Sheldon and Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage.

But instead, I sobbed through Mary breaking down after learning her husband had died, and cried my way through his funeral the next week (watching live at 1am UK time, which was a bad decision). I was so distraught and frustrated by the team's choices that I even wrote George a fake obituary, which actually led to me interviewing Barber himself.

Now that Stuart Fails to Save the Universe has come along, we've got a unique chance to change history for the better.

'The universe you're looking for is out there — whether it makes it to TV is another question'

So here's the idea: by the time we get many seasons into Stuart Fails to Save the Universe, Stuart will likely know how to control multiverse travel a whole lot better than he does at the moment. Logically, he could then visit a universe where George was never killed and voilà... TBBT's costly mistake is put behind us indefinitely.

If Parsons eventually has a cameo in the show too, all the better. There's no such thing as the "right" version of reality here... any one of them we come across could be where the story anchors down for good. So why shouldn't a universe fans are actually happy with be chosen in that case? It's a no-brainer decision, if you ask me.

"Let's discuss this when we're doing those future seasons," Lorre tells me, like I've just stormed into the HBO Max head office and requested a legitimate pitch meeting. "One thing you need to know is that we're not really thinking that far ahead… we're just trying to solve whatever is right in front of us."

"We'll definitely keep your ideas in mind," Penn follows up with. "There are an infinite number of universes within this universe, so the universe that you're looking for is going to exist by definition. Whether it makes it to TV is another question."

"Actually, there's a mathematical issue with that," Prady adds. "The fact that there's an infinite number of universes doesn't guarantee the existence of a particular universe."

I tell the trio that this isn't the positive mindset that I'm looking for, but even as they laugh at my unhinged fan plan delivered with so much gusto that it could have broken even Sheldon's brain, I'm convinced that I've planted an important seed.

Stuart Fails to Save the Universe being renewed for more seasons feels like a given at this point, even if HBO Max hasn't officially confirmed anything as of writing. But the confidence with which the trio talk about the future suggests that we won't be done with the multiverse fun after 10 episodes.

So remember these words if you ever see George Cooper have a surprise cameo in the series, and remember who made the retcon magic happen. You're welcome, in advance.

If your head is still spinning from the first episode of Stuart Fails to Save the Universe, I can't say that I blame you.

Not only were we walked through how comic book store owner Stuart managed to break the device that set off the 'multiverse Armageddon' we've since been thrown into, but a huge Big Bang Theory character has already been killed off... in a manner of speaking.

This week, we're going to officially universe jump for the first time. So, when does Stuart Fails to Save the Universe episode 2 arrive on HBO Max?

What time can I watch Stuart Fails to Save the Universe episode 2 on HBO Max?

For US viewers, Stuart Fails to Save the Universe episode 2 will drop on Thursday, July 30 at 6pm PT/ 9pm ET.

Internationally, you're looking out for these timings:

• US – 6pm PT / 9pm ET
• Canada – 6pm PT / 9pm ET
• UK – Friday, July 31 at 2am BST
• India – Friday, July 31 at 6:30am IST
• Singapore – Friday, July 31 at 9am SGT
• Australia – Friday, July 31 at 11am AEDT
• New Zealand – Friday, July 31 at 12pm NZDT

When do new episodes of Stuart Fails to Save the Universe come out?

New episodes of Stuart Fails to Save the Universe will make landfall every Thursday in the US and on Fridays everywhere else. Here are the all-important dates you need to know about:

• Episode 1: out now
• Episode 2: July 30
• Episode 3: August 6
• Episode 4: August 13
• Episode 5: August 20
• Episode 6: August 27
• Episode 7: September 3
• Episode 8: September 10
• Episode 9: September 17
• Episode 10: September 24

Production company A24 has become a staple among horror fans. You've no doubt seen at least one movie of theirs, with huge directors like Ari Aster, Alex Garland, and Denis Villeneuve all having movies in their impressive catalog.

As a huge fan of A24 horror movies in particular, I was keen to track down all the ones that are currently streaming so I could give my verdict on them, and whether I think they're worth seeking out in 2026.

Ranking this list was no easy task, even though I did know what my number one choice was going to be pretty quickly.

Please note that this only includes A24 movies you can watch on the best streaming services or the best free streaming services (at the time of writing), so this is not a definitive list of them all.

This is a hotly debated topic, so I would be keen to know which A24 horror movie is your favorite and why. Let me know in the comments when you're done reading mine.

A24 horror movies ranked: 31 - 25

31. The Front Room

Where to stream: HBO Max (US), NOWTV (UK)

The Front Room has the potential to be something greater than it is, but I was left feeling very disappointed by the end result. It's the feature film debut for Max and Sam Eggers, but they haven't quite managed to follow in their brother Robert's footsteps here.

In this movie, Brandy plays a heavily pregnant woman who struggles when her overbearing mother-in-law moves in. It takes a terrifying turn when she realizes that she is a threat to her baby, but unfortunately, the movie didn't stick the landing for me due to silly gross-out scares and poorly written characters.

30. Y2K

Where to stream: HBO Max (US), NOWTV (UK), Netflix (Australia)

Even Rachel Zegler can't save Y2K, which is definitely one of A24's worst movies. I really liked the plot because it follows machines rising up against humanity during a New Year's Eve party, but it's all over the place and isn't executed well.

From humor that doesn't land to constant tonal shifts, Y2K has been widely panned by critics and audiences alike. There's also some jarring celebrity cameos that didn't really work, and so Y2K is very far down on my list for many reasons.

29. False Positive

Where to stream: Hulu (US), NOWTV (UK)

False Positive was a disappointment for me, mostly due to the frustrating pacing issues throughout the film. It seems to drag before barreling towards a chaotic ending, which could have been fleshed out a lot better. Pierce Brosnan's star power was wasted here.

The plot is also predictable as we follow a couple, Lucy and Adrian, who have been trying to conceive. When they meet a fertility doctor, they think their prayers have been answered, but when Lucy falls pregnant, she begins to uncover some dark secrets about the doctor. Honestly, you can easily predict the ending, meaning this was a huge miss for me.

28. Opus

Where to stream: HBO Max (US, UK), Netflix (Australia)

Many considered Opus to be a misfire for A24, but I didn't hate it as much as some people did. It's still not super high on my list, but I certainly hated it less than the three above.

Opus follows a journalist who travels to the remote compound of a legendary pop star who mysteriously disappeared 30 years ago. But when she gets there, dangerous things start happening. I loved John Malkovich in this movie, and I also loved how uncomfortable it was in examining obsessive fan culture.

27. Death of a Unicorn

Where to stream: HBO Max (US), Prime Video (UK), Hoopla (Australia)

I really wanted to like Death of a Unicorn more than I did. Much like the critics' consensus for this, I'm very on the fence when it comes to this A24 movie. The cast is undoubtedly fantastic as we follow characters played by Jenna Ortega, Paul Rudd, Will Poulter, and Richard E. Grant.

The movie centers around a father and daughter who accidentally hit and kill a unicorn while en route to find a billionaire's house, who seeks to exploit the creature's miraculous regenerative properties. Unfortunately for them, there are other unicorns out there, and they want revenge. It's a silly creature feature, really, but that's all part of the charm.

26. Beau Is Afraid

Where to stream: Channel 4 (UK), Prime Video (Australia)

Beau is Afraid is a lengthy, surreal movie by Ari Aster, and as a result, it's also very divisive. Joaquin Phoenix stars as the titular character, a paranoid and very anxious man who must travel to his mother's funeral, resulting in a surreal journey of self-discovery.

It really does feel like a 3-hour anxiety attack, and Phoenix always delivers. While Beau Is Afraid didn't quite do enough to rank higher for me, I did like a lot about it, even if it did get a bit too surreal for me at times. But that's simply a preference thing and not a comment on the quality of the filmmaking.

25. Under the Skin

Where to stream: Netflix (US), StudioCanal Presents (UK), SBS on Demand (Australia)

Under the Skin has a loyal fanbase, and on the surface, it sounds great. But one could argue the movie feels too pretentious at times, and you'll have to be prepared for it to be very slow without much of a conventional plot, too.

Aside from that, it's a solid effort. Scarlett Johansson plays an extraterrestrial disguised as a young woman. We follow her as she drives around Scotland and seduces lonely men. It's very different from Johansson's other work, and she delivers a great performance here, as do the other cast members, many of whom had no acting experience before this.

A24 horror movies ranked: 24 - 19

24. Men

Where to stream: YouTube TV (US), Stan (Australia)

Most people I speak to about Men seem to hate it, but come on, it's not that bad. I'm happy to have it in my top 25 because it's a perfectly fine horror movie, if you're willing to look past a narrative that is often described as pretentious and full of abstract symbolism.

The movie stars Jessie Buckley as Harper, a recently widowed woman who travels to a small village for a solo trip to heal. Whilst there, she meets an array of men, all played by Rory Kinnear, who gives utterly terrifying performances throughout. It does go off the rails, but hey, it's very entertaining.

23. Enemy

Where to stream: Prime Video (US), ITVX (UK), Stan (Australia)

Jake Gyllenhaal plays a dual role in Enemy, as we follow history professor Adam Bell, who discovers he has a doppelganger named Anthony Claire. But when they meet, they end up destabilizing each other's lives and relationships.

I really like Denis Villeneuve's work and thought he did a great job of depicting the creepiness of the story, which features a lot of surreal and disturbing imagery. It's not a perfect movie, but I liked it, even though I'm terrified of spiders and had to see them a lot in this movie.

22. The Blackcoat's Daughter

Where to stream: Prime Video (US only)

Before Longlegs, director Osgood Perkins brought us The Blackcoat's Daughter. If you prefer lingering, psychological dread over jump scares as I do, then I think you'll be freaked out by this movie. But there is certainly an absence of any real scares, placing this more in the thriller category in my opinion.

With some great performances from Kiernan Shipka, Emma Roberts, and Lucy Boynton, we follow dual storylines about two girls who are left alone at their prep school, Bramford, over winter break when their parents mysteriously fail to pick them up, and a troubled young woman on the road who, for unknown reasons, is determined to get to Bramford as fast as she can. It is a very bleak movie, so brace yourself.

21. MaXXXine

Where to stream: The Roku Channel (US), Netflix (UK), Paramount+ (Australia)

Unfortunately, the third movie in Ti West's X series is also the weakest. Considering just how great Pearl was in particular, it was a tough act to follow.

Mia Goth returns as Maxine Minx, this time in 1985 Los Angeles, where we see her auditioning for the lead in a new horror film. She's hoping to get her big break, but soon finds herself being targeted by a mysterious killer. Once again, Goth is incredible and steals the show, but the movie does lack suspense and has a reveal that I thought was way too obvious. Still, it's a fun conclusion to a great horror trilogy.

20. Life After Beth

Where to stream: Netflix (US), MGM+ (UK)

People are way too mean about Life After Beth, so I'm here to defend it. I'm content with it being at the bottom of my top 20, because I acknowledge it is a very silly movie, but I kinda love it anyway.

I love anything Aubrey Plaza is in, honestly, and she delivers such a fun and unhinged performance here. She plays a woman who died and came back as a zombie, and her boyfriend Zach is trying to come to terms with this. Despite how morbid it sounds, it's a great horror comedy, and it's one I revisit a lot.

19. High Life

Sci-fi and horror go together beautifully, and High Life always reminds me just how much space terrifies me. The story focuses on a group of criminals who are serving death sentences, so they are sent on a mission to extract energy from a black hole. They are disposable and treated like experiments by a scientist, in typical creepy sci-fi fashion.

Robert Pattinson and Juliette Binoche are fantastic in this movie, as a criminal and a scientist respectively. It is a very tense and atmospheric horror, and ventures into body horror too.

Where to stream: Tubi (US, UK)

A24 horror movies ranked: 18 - 13

18. Bodies Bodies Bodies

Where to stream: Hulu (US), Prime Video (UK)

Bodies Bodies Bodies is a great and incredibly dark satire. It's paced really well, keeps you on the edge of your seat, and has a lot of important social commentary to say. The characters are insufferable, but that's the point.

The movie is about a group of wealthy young adults who gather at a remote mansion. But when they decide to play a murder-in-the-dark party game during a blackout, real bodies start turning up, and chaos ensues.

17. The Hole in the Ground

Where to stream: HBO Max (US), MGM+ (UK), Prime Video (Australia)

Why are sinkholes so scary? The Hole in the Ground does nothing to combat this fear, as we hone in on a mother who starts to become worried about her son's disturbing behavior.

There's a huge focus on parental anxiety here, and a strong performance by Seána Kerslake really elevates this movie. I love a good folklore-inspired movie, and The Hole in the Ground provides a tense and atmospheric watch.

16. Tusk

Where to stream: Prime Video (UK)

I like my horror bleak and bizarre, which is why I'm always happy to go to bat for the unfairly panned Tusk. Kevin Smith has certainly created something memorable here; whether that's a good or bad thing is up to you.

We follow Justin Long's Wallace Bryton, an obnoxious podcaster who travels to Canada to interview an eccentric retired sailor, played by Michael Parks. Little does he know, he has some disturbing plans for Wallace. Cue the body horror and plenty of uncomfortable scenes.

15. Heretic

Where to stream: HBO Max (US), Prime Video (Australia)

This Hugh Grant-led horror movie is very dialogue-heavy, but it is so well crafted, and his performance is excellent too. I would love to see Grant do more horror movies after watching this, because it's a nice change from his usual roles.

Heretic sees Grant's chilling character, Mr Reed, luring two missionaries, Sister Barnes (Sophie Thatcher) and Sister Paxton (Chloe East), into his home. Whilst there, he begins to challenge their religious beliefs in increasingly sinister ways.

14. It Comes at Night

Where to stream: Stan (Australia only)

It Comes at Night is a great exploration of paranoia, fear, and morals, as we follow people who are hiding in a forest as the Earth is taken over by a highly contagious disease.

There's so much dread here, and two families are forced to share the same claustrophobic space, resulting in growing tension and nail-biting scenes. You're not quite sure where it's going to go next, and that's the beauty of it.

13. The Monster

Where to stream: The Roku Channel (US), Prime Video (UK, Australia)

Creature features can be notoriously hit and miss, but thankfully The Monster is the former. It blends excellent practical creature design with a devastating story about family, adding that all important human touch.

The Monster explores the relationship between a troubled mother and her adolescent daughter, who is tired of dealing with her and wants to go and live with her father permanently. But on their way to his house, they find themselves stranded at night on a country road with a malicious creature hunting them.

A24 horror movies ranked: 12 - 5

12. Bring Her Back

Where to stream: HBO Max (US)

Sally Hawkins gives a truly frightening performance in Bring Her Back, where she plays a disturbed foster mother. Watching her quickly flip from sweet to psychotic had me visibly tense, and this might just be my favorite ever performance of hers.

The movie is about two siblings who find themselves orphaned and placed in the middle of an occult ritual at the hands of their new foster mother, who will stop at nothing to get what she wants.

11. The Killing of a Sacred Deer

Where to stream: HBO Max (US), Mubi (UK), Stan (Australia)

I will watch anything Yorgos Lanthimos makes. At this point, I'm convinced he can do no wrong, and that's why The Killing of a Sacred Deer is so high on my list. It's certainly one of my favorite movies of his.

The movie follows a surgeon who takes an awkward teenage boy, Martin, under his wing. But things get worse for him and his family when they find out that Martin has a sinister agenda. It's as good as it sounds, and there's a stellar cast led by Colin Farrell, Nicole Kidman and Barry Keoghan.

10. Green Room

Where to stream: Xumo Play (US), Prime Video (Australia), MGM+ (UK)

Green Room leads my top 10 (it's getting very exciting now), with standout performances from Anton Yelchin and Imogen Poots, alongside Patrick Stewart's portrayal of a methodical neo-Nazi leader.

This is a very vicious horror movie as we watch a punk band who find themselves attacked by neo-Nazi skinheads after witnessing a murder. This is the kind of movie that sticks with you for a long time.

9. Midsommar

Where to stream: HBO Max (US), Prime Video (UK, Australia)

Despite being set mostly in the daytime, Midsommar is still terrifying. That's just one of the reasons I love it so much, but there's plenty to praise when it comes to this Ari Aster movie.

Florence Pugh, Jack Reynor, William Jackson Harper, Vilhelm Blomgren and Will Poulter lead the cast as a group of friends traveling to a nine-day midsummer festival at a commune in rural Sweden. What follows is a deeply unsettling folk horror that tackles themes like grief and trauma.

8. In Fabric

Where to stream: The Roku Channel (US only)

In Fabric certainly is absurd, but its uniqueness is why it ranks so highly on my list. The villain of the movie is a haunted red dress, and we watch as it torments various owners. I told you it was unique.

The sound design here is excellent, as is the overall retro aesthetic. There's also some dark humor here, and it offers a lot for horror fans, including a razor-sharp critique of consumerism. Oh, and the legendary Gwendoline Christie stars in this too, making it one hell of a movie.

7. Hereditary

Where to stream: HBO Max (US), Prime Video (UK)

I own a t-shirt that says "nominate Toni Collette you cowards" on the front, and I continue to stand by that message. Her performance in Hereditary is mind-blowingly good, so it's hardly a surprise it's so far up on my list.

As the title suggests, family is at the center of this movie, which explores themes like grief, madness, and maternal despair. Collette's character Annie uncovers disturbing secrets about her recently deceased mother, and terrible things start happening.

6. X

Where to stream: Prime Video (Australia only)

X is a super stylish slasher movie which perfectly replicates iconic 70s movies like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. It follows a group of people who rent a guesthouse on a rural Texas farm to shoot an independent pornographic movie.

But they soon find themselves threatened by the homicidal couple who own the guesthouse, fueled by repressed desire and jealousy over their lost youth. All the characters are really well fleshed out, and there are some gory set pieces too.

A24 horror movies ranked: 5 - 1

5. The Lighthouse

Where to stream: HBO Max (US), Binge (Australia only)

The Lighthouse is my second favorite Eggers movie. I quickly fell in love with the moody black-and-white cinematography and the excellent performances from both Willem Dafoe and Robert Pattinson. As someone who grew up on the coast, I love maritime-focused stories, which is likely why I was so drawn to this.

The story is about two men losing their sanity during a four-week shift at an isolated New England lighthouse, and it's simple but very effective.

4. The Witch

Where to stream: Netflix (US)

In at number four is my personal favorite Eggers movie, The Witch. Not only was it a stunning debut for both Eggers and leading star Anya Taylor-Joy, but it's also widely regarded as his best movie, though many of his works have performed well with the critics.

I loved The Witch's historical accuracy, and the fact that it's a slow burn with a very worthy payoff at the end. It's easy to become immersed in this world, haunted by creepy sound design and a lingering threat. It's fantastic.

3. Lamb

Where to stream: The Roku Channel (US), Mubi (UK)

Another folk horror I adore is Lamb. It's about a couple who adopt a mysterious human-sheep hybrid as their own. They name her Ada, and she essentially becomes a daughter to them.

This surreal concept is perfectly balanced against an isolated backdrop, with the two lead characters living in rural Iceland. Noomi Rapace delivers an emotional performance here, as a grieving mother finding solace in a new child.

2. Saint Maud

Where to stream: Prime Video (US), StudioCanal Presents (UK)

In my opinion, Morfydd Clark's role in Saint Maud is her best ever. She stars as a religious private carer who becomes fixated with saving the soul of her patient.

Saint Maud is a character-driven psychological horror, as we get a look into the minds of both Maud and her patient, a hedonistic dancer named Amanda (Jennifer Ehle). It builds to one of the most disturbing endings I've ever seen, and that's why I love it so much. It continues to be impactful no matter how much I watch it.

1. I Saw the TV Glow

Where to stream: Netflix (UK, Australia)

I Saw the TV Glow is undoubtedly my favorite A24 movie purely based on how much it emotionally destroyed me. It's a powerful story about identity and how our lives can be shaped through the media we consume.

Two isolated teenagers in the 90s bond over a TV show called The Pink Opaque, to which they both feel deeply connected. The movie features striking visuals and a neon palette, and references to popular teen show Buffy the Vampire Slayer. There's also some jarring scenes that earn its horror status. It's hard to fully articulate what I Saw the TV Glow means to me, but I consider it to be a very special movie.

With only three more episodes to go, X-Men 97 season 2 is fast approaching the finish line — and there are a few big story threads that the Marvel TV show needs to wrap before it takes another extended break from our screens.

How will Professor X establishing X-Corp affect the current world order? What impact will Gambit's resurrection as one of Apocalypse's Four Horsemen have on this season's plot? And where is the Disney+ TV series setting up things to come for season 3? I can't say for sure — but, what I do know is when season 2 episode 7 will air on Disney+, one of the best streaming services. So, scroll on for more details!

What time can I watch X-Men 97 season 2 episode 7?

Episode 7 of X-Men 97's sophomore season will make its Disney+ debut on Wednesday, July 29. That's its global launch date, too, so viewers in North and South America won't be able to watch it on the evening of July 28.

Unless the Marvel Phase 6 project's release time is suddenly changed, the entry titled 'Strange Land, Savage Heart' will drop at the same time that its six forebears have:

• US — 12am PT / 3am ET
• Canada — 12am PT / 3am ET
• UK — 8am BST
• India — 12:30pm IST
• Singapore — 3pm SGT
• Australia — 5pm AEST
• New Zealand — 7pm NZST

X-Men 97 season 2 full release schedule

As I mentioned earlier, there aren't many installments left of the X-Men animated show's current season. Indeed, there are only two more to enjoy after this week's episode before the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) adjacent program goes off-air once more.

Like the launch time section above, as long as Marvel doesn't make a last-minute adjustment to this season's release schedule, we already know when its final pair of chapters will come out:

• Season 2 episode 1 — out now
• Season 2 episode 2 — out now
• Season 2 episode 3 — out now
• Season 2 episode 4 — out now
• Season 2 episode 5 — out now
• Season 2 episode 6 — out now
• Season 2 episode 7 — July 29
• Season 2 episode 8 — August 5
• Season 2 episode 9 — August 12

The guest cast list for Only Murders in the Building season 6 is now so stacked that I'm surprised creators know where to fit everyone.

As Oliver (Martin Short), Charles (Steve Martin) and Mabel (Selena Gomez) head to London, UK to solve the death of a global podcaster, the below Brits will be joining the action:

• Jennifer Saunders
• Sean Teale
• Simone Ashley 
• Amar Chadha-Patel
• Rhea Norwood
• Matthew Beard
• Sharon Horgan 
• Geri Halliwell Horner
• Martin Freeman
• Jamie Demetriou
• Anjana Vasan
• Jane Horrocks
• Derek Jacobi
• Lesley Nicol
• David Tennant
• Nicola Coughlan
• Jodie Whitaker
• Jim Broadbent
• Adrian Lukis
• Richard Ayoade
• Kathryn Hunter

This is all before the Disney+ and Hulu show slyly revealed its most recent casting through an Instagram carousel: England's Oscar-winning hero, Olivia Colman.

She's seen filming scenes solo while sat on a sofa, but the post shows that Mabel and Loretta (Meryl Streep) have also been at the same location. Put two and two together and there's a very high chance that Streep and Colman could be sharing the screen... and this is exciting to me.

Why? This will be the first time that the pair are reunited on screen since the 2010 British political biopic that I was unusually feral for as a 17-year-old girl. It's also the performance that won Streep her most recent Best Actress Oscar... and frankly, it all has to be seen to be believed.

Only Murders in the Building season 6 will be Olivia Colman and Meryl Streep's first onscreen appearance since The Iron Lady

Only Streep could take a figure as politically and culturally divisive as former UK Conversative Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and turn her into an Academy Award winner.

The 2011 biopic The Iron Lady explores her life and career as the UK's longest-serving Prime Minister, with an older Thatcher looking back over her life after the death of her beloved husband, Denis (Jim Broadbent).

So, where does Colman fit in? She plays Carol Thatcher, Margaret's daughter, sharing intimate scenes with Streep during Margaret's older years. Watching them together is like watching destiny... of course these two were always going to unite and give audiences something special.

While Streep rightly received a great deal of notoriety for her performance, it's surprising how many people forget that Colman was ever in it. In fact, if you've never realized before now, you've likely seen the below anecdote on The Graham Norton Show, with Colman revealing that Streep thought her real teeth were fake.

Oddly, The Iron Lady is one of the few films I can probably recite word for word without needing to watch it again first. Around the same time that it was released, a college friend of mine and I set up a (very) unofficial Meryl Streep fan club: The Mezralites.

We got t-shirts made — for all two members who were in the club — and spent every lunch break possible learning Streep's ways: understanding how she embodied the famous Prime Minister before our time, how she turned her hand to the slightest of details that could make or break a single moment.

I would always argue that any film featuring Streep is worth seeing, but The Iron Lady is the perfect binge before Only Murders in the Building season 6 arrives.

We're getting two divas for the price of one, and the underlying biting tension between them onscreen could so easily be replicated under Oliver, Charles and Mabel's watch.

Well, we can't win them all. Unfortunately my second edition of Scream or Skip is a disappointing one, because on the whole I was underwhelmed by what I watched and played this month.

But, worry not. The title that stood out to me most this month is widely accessible on Netflix, one of the best streaming services, and it's incredibly good indeed.

I would love to hear your thoughts on either of these titles, especially if you think I'm wrong about the two skips. After all, I would love it if they hit the mark for someone out there, even if they didn't do it for me.

Read on to find out more about what I watched and played in July.

Movie: Her Private Hell

Where to watch: In theaters worldwide
Lucy's verdict: Skip

Look, I'm really gutted about this one. It gives me no pleasure to say that Her Private Hell was a huge let down, and a rare flop for Nicolas Winding Refn. I loved The Neon Demon and Drive, but his latest feature was too abstract and stylish to the point it lacked any real substance.

It's such a shame, because lead star Sophie Thatcher is excellent in everything she does. Here, she plays a young woman trying to find her father as a mysterious mist engulfs a futuristic metropolis, and it's just not good at all. If you'd like to see Thatcher in a different horror, I definitely recommend Heretic instead.

TV show: The East Palace

Where to watch: Netflix (worldwide)
Lucy's verdict: Scream

If you watch one thing on Netflix this week, make it The East Palace. I quickly devoured this eight-part series and now I'm hungry for more, because it's a wonderfully crafted limited series.

The scary K-Drama centers around a man who walks the spirit world and a court lady who can hear the dead, as they enter the East Palace by the king's orders and attempt to unravel its dark secrets. It's got gorgeous cinematography, even more gorgeous period settings, and some great scares throughout. I'm a huge fan of this series and I really hope it finds a bigger fanbase, because it deserves every single one.

Game: The Mound - Omen of Cthulhu

Where to play: PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PC
Lucy's verdict: Skip

No disrespect to the cosmic entity or anything, but I'm tired of Cthulhu themed things. We've had a lot of them recently and usually I'm all for Lovecraftian things, but The Mound - Omen of Cthulhu is a poorly made game which seems to be riding the recent Cthulhu craze.

There's a lot to criticize here. The combat is stiff and janky and I didn't enjoy the solo mode because the AI companions were unreliable. It's clear this game is designed for multiplayer, and I did see moderate improvement when roping friends into playing it with me, but if you're a solo player it's a punishing experience. It also feels repetitive, so I'd discourage you from playing if you don't want to do the same things a million times over.

Spoilers for The Crow Girl seasons 1 and 2 ahead.

It's no secret that we're beyond spoiled for choice when it comes to crime dramas, and that's just considering what's available to us on mainstream streaming services. But getting one that truly shakes us to the core is a lot rarer.

So when I stumbled across The Crow Girl season 1 on Paramount+, my mind was melted to mush by the time I got to the finale. In short, DCI Jeanette Kilburn (Eve Myles) and eminent psychotherapist Dr Sophia Craven (Katherine Kelly) join forces to hunt the killer of young men, but there's a lot more going on than meets the eye.

By the end of season 1, it was revealed that Victoria Burkeman, a prime suspect in the case, was actually Craven herself. She killed her father after he killed their daughter — meaning Victoria was sexually assaulted by her dad while her mum knew and did nothing to stop it.

It's heavy stuff, but I cannot stress enough how unexpectedly the reveal was, and how cleverly the clues were woven through the storyline.

18 months later and I'm pleased to say that The Crow Girl season 2, now on the streamer and Channel 5, doesn't disappoint... and that means a whole new level of shocking reveals.

The Crow Girl season 2 ending leaves Kilburn for dead, but Craven — now her lover — isn't responsible

It's important to remember that when we find out that Craven is actually Victoria, Kilburn is none the wiser. With the two women drawn to each other, a romantic connection sparks... secretly, seeing as Kilburn is technically cheating on her husband in the process.

Drama! Things get even worse in the finale, when the entire police station, which includes Kilburn's boss, finds out that she's been accidentally sleeping with the prime suspect in their murder case (the case itself hasn't changed since season 1).

Here's where the story gets more complicated. While we've known that Craven and Victoria are one, Craven apparently doesn't know herself. Kilburn explains that she's got DID (Dissociative Identity Disorder), meaning that Victoria is likely responsible for every murder they've investigated so far, including her own dad.

At this point, Kilburn is forced out of the station and threatened with questioning the next morning, but Craven is back at the manor she used to be abused in, unwilling for the party being thrown there to do any further damage to young girls.

Craven entices Kilburn there, and by the time she arrives, all of the guests are dead with the girls safely hidden. But as Victoria takes over Craven's mind, a surviving abuser shows up and shoots at the pair, hitting Kilburn in the leg. Don't panic though... after some further antagonizing, Craven pops one in his head. But will Kilburn pull through?

I genuinely don't see how The Crow Girl season 2 could be any more unhinged. If we're lucky, season 3 will be renewed, with the original book series telling us that Craven will learn how to "blend" her identities.

Sign me up, once I've got my head around what's just happened.

Spoilers for Stuart Fails to Save the Universe episode 1 ahead.

Stuart Fails to Save the Universe episode 1 has arrived, and is now available to stream worldwide on HBO Max.

In short, our "starting" versions of Stuart (Kevin Sussman), Denise (Lauren Lapkus), Kripke (John Ross Bowie) and Bert (Brian Posehn) live in a reality akin to The Walking Dead, complete with Mad Max-style apocalyptic outposts and wasps that are the size of cars.

Stuart accidentally triggered this multiverse Armageddon after breaking a device supposedly built by Sheldon (Jim Parsons) and Leonard (Johnny Galecki).

Shortly after Kripke, that universe's leader, is confronted by the rest of the group, we meet our first secret TBBT cameo: Raj (Kunal Nayyar). He's basically become a doomsday prepper, working on plans on a blackboard for how to get the device working and get the hell outta dodge.

But just as quickly as we've met him, Raj is killed while the others safely teleport to... well, hopefully somewhere better. It's a bold move, and one that has shocked fans if social media is anything to go by.

However, we've been so caught up in Raj's death that we haven't considered one major detail... it hasn't really happened at all.

Only one version of Raj is now dead... and it's certainly not the one from The Big Bang Theory

Did you forget? This is just one version of Raj in one universe, meaning there's still an infinite number of Raj's out there to be found.

As none of the versions of the characters we're meeting are actually the ones seen in TBBT, original Raj is safely in California doing some science equations in peace (probably).

This doesn't even rule out Raj appearing again later on in Stuart Fails to Save the Universe. Now that we know he's a confirmed cameo for the HBO Max spinoff, it would be silly not to use him again where possible. With the overarching narrative so difficult to predict, the possibilities are endless.

If nothing else, this now means that we're likely to see other TBBT cast members cameo in other episodes, and whether they're killed off or not. However, who these cameos might be is anybody's guess.

What we do know for episodes 2-10 is pretty minimal, but the below preview gives us the faintest idea of what to expect. Strap in, is all I'm saying.

• Prime Video and Netflix are planning new AI-generated homepages
• Netflix revealed its 'GenPage' tests ahead of a new Prime Video report
• Viewers aren't convinced that homepages are moving in the right direction

You're about to see a lot more generative AI in your streaming apps: Netflix has posted details of testing that it's doing with generative AI on its homepage, while Reuters reports that Amazon Prime Video is set for an AI-driven overhaul as well.

Starting with Netflix, the company has revealed it's working on a way of using generative AI to do a lot of the heavy lifting on the app homepage. That includes figuring out which recommendations each user should see, adapting to feedback and user behavior over time, and combining movies, shows, games, podcasts, and live events in the best way.

It starts with a prompt — "Given everything we know about this user and this request, what homepage should we generate to maximize user satisfaction?" — and Netflix seems pleased with the results. There are still some issues to work on though, like the AI model not knowing much about a movie or show that's only just launched.

User engagement increased in Netflix's internal testing, with the new 'GenPage' AI model applied, and recommendations became more relevant more quickly. What's more, the time needed to render the homepage went down. This is still in its early stages, and Netflix hasn't said when this will come to users or in what form, but it's now in the pipeline.

AI 'front and center' on Prime Video

On to Amazon, and a new Reuters report says Amazon boss Jeff Bezos has personally decided that Prime Video will act as a showcase for AI in the near future, and that an upcoming homepage redesign will put AI "front and center".

That's according to people "with direct knowledge of the matter", so don't take this as confirmed just yet. The homepage overhaul project is apparently known as 'Lighthouse', and is said to be envisioned as a way of claiming some of the AI spotlight from rivals such as OpenAI and Anthropic.

We don't get too many details on what this is going to look like, but film and TV recommendations are going to have more AI injected into them, Reuters says. The AI will also be better at learning the personal preferences of viewers over time, and responding to voice commands.

You might see tiles on the homepage such as 'action movies from the 1980s', for example. The report doesn't give any indication of when this overhaul might start rolling out, but it's apparently already being tested with a select number of users in a variety of forms.

Our AI-driven interface future

Netflix Users Say They Dislike New Layout; Research Says Otherwise from r/netflix

With two of the big streaming giants apparently now committed to homepages controlled by AI, the next question is what users might make of it. There's so much to watch on each platform that some kind of filter or algorithm is needed, but is this AI-focused approach the right way to go about it?

Past homepage overhauls perhaps give us some clues: A major Netflix redesign rolled out last year was met with many online complaints, but the company's internal data showed that it was working, so it stayed in place. At the time there was speculation that more AI was on the way, and it seems that's now the case.

"I don't know if I'm alone," writes one Redditor, "but I hate the concept of 'personalizing' my content. No offense to anyone but AI so far has not been good at predicting anything about me... I personally do not want software to think for me."

The reactions to Prime Video's upcoming AI overhaul seem similarly downbeat. "This seems completely unnecessary," comments one user, while several suggest the move might even be enough to tip them into canceling their Prime Video subscription.

Huzzah, another weekend is upon us — and, amid the lack of new movies landing in theaters today (July 24), you might be inclined to stay at home and check one of the following seven must-see films and TV shows instead.

There are a couple of new releases we couldn't squeeze into this week's streaming round-up — sorry, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 4 and The Dink. Nevertheless, I'm sure you'll find something to your liking from those we've listed below. So, take a look, load up one of the best streaming services, and sit back and enjoy one or more of them. — Tom Power, senior entertainment reporter

Stuart Fails to Save the Universe (HBO Max)

And what if I said that The Big Bang Theory spinoff Stuart Fails to Save the Universe was better than the original series? Nobody was expecting awkward comic book store owner Stuart's story to continue from the main show, but in hindsight, it's a glorious move.

Our titular heroic lead, on-off girlfriend Denise, and friends Kripke and Bert are brought back together when Stuart triggers a multiverse armageddon by accidentally breaking a device built by Sheldon and Leonard.

Has 'King of Sitcoms' Chuck Lorre done it again? You'll need to read my Stuart Fails to Save the Universe review to find out if it's th TV triumph that I never expected. — Jasmine Valentine, entertainment reporter

• Watch Stuart Fails to Save the Universe on HBO Max

Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender (Paramount+)

It's been 13 years since the gang defeated Lord Ozai and the Fire Nation, and attentions have turned to a new airbender called Tagah. Together, Aang and Tagah embark on a global quest to find the relic before a group called The Denied.

Aang is all grown up in Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender, but that doesn't mean the original magic has gone anywhere. The movie's understanding of perspective, movement, and detail is absolutely astonishing, moving through the Four Nations with such awe-inspired wonder that you'll want to live in each frame.

Time may have changed how they look, but their goofy and fun-loving personalities definitely haven't... and the animation captures exactly what has been missing from Netflix's live-action adaptation. — JV

• Watch Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender on Paramount+

72 Hours (Netflix)

In this new Netflix movie, Kevin Hart stars as a 40-year-old who ends up at a three-day bachelor party with strangers, resulting in yet another silly Hart-led venture that's perfect if you need of a laugh this weekend.

How did he end up there, you might ask? Well, he was mistakenly added to a group chat and went along for the ride, traveling from New York to Miami to join in the celebrations. Any excuse to party by the beach, I suppose.

It's not so idyllic though, as the trailer teases trouble with the law and other mishaps, including getting horribly stung by a jellyfish. Rather him than me. — Lucy Buglass, senior entertainment writer

• Watch 72 Hours on Netflix

Mortal Kombat II (HBO Max)

Flawless victory! Mortal Kombat II is now available to stream on HBO Max, so you can relive the action-packed video game adaptation whenever you'd like.

As far as weekend watches go, you really can't beat an over-the-top, violent thrill ride like this one. If you're a fan of The Boys, Karl Urban's portrayal of Johnny Cage has been widely praised, with some noting it's worth watching just for him. — LB

• Watch Mortal Kombat II on HBO Max

Pompeii: Out of Time with Tom Hiddleston (Hulu/Disney+)

Think you know the complete story of Pompeii? Hold that thought, because Marvel star Tom Hiddleston sheds new light on this cataclysmic event in one of the more poignant docudramas I've seen in a while.

A three-part National Geographic series, Pompeii: Out of Time follows Hiddleston as he retraces the steps of a trio of individuals caught up in the natural disaster. Armed with fresh archaeological evidence and backed up by a team of experts, Hiddleston explores how these people not only navigated one of the worst humanitarian crises of the ancient world, but who might also have even survived the deadly events of 79 A.D.

Part educational, part moving drama, Pompeii: Out of Time is out now in full on Disney+ and Hulu. — TP

• Watch Pompeii: Out of Time with Tom Hiddleston on National Geographic via Hulu (US) and Disney+ (internationally)

Ransom Canyon season 2 (Netflix)

I don't need all of my television to be profound, life-changing, or even that meaningful. Sometimes, I just want to switch my brain off and pretend I live in a picturesque, rural town like Ransom Canyon on the other side of the world where everyone has unrelenting drama except me.

In season 2, the land feud between the Double K and Fuller ranches has become more ferocious, local bar owner Quinn has left for New York despite her on-off relationship with rancher Staten, and mysterious newcomer Yancy has revealed to new love interest Ellie that he has a secret wife.

Season 1 was already a strong outing, but now that the show knows itself a little more, season 2 is easily on par with the strongest seasons of Virgin River, the streamer's most iconic "cozy drama" IP. — JV

• Watch Ransom Canyon season 2 on Netflix

Masters of the Universe (Prime Video)

One of numerous mid-2026 film releases that have bombed at the box office, Amazon has hoisted the proverbial white flag on its live-action Masters of the Universe movie's theatrical run. In short: that means you can now watch it on Prime Video.

Based on the Mattel-owned media franchise of the same name, the action fantasy flick tells the tale of Adam, the crown prince of Eternia and owner of an mystical weapon called the Power Sword that, when wielded, turns him into the superhuman known as He-Man. Together with his allies, the previously exiled Adam must realize his potential and overthrow the nefarious Skeletor, who seized control of Adam's home city of Eternos — and its throne — 15 years earlier.

Not sure if you'll like this flick? Read my Masters of the Universe review to see what I thought before you stream it. — TP

• Watch Masters of the Universe on Prime Video

• Weapons' prequel movie about Aunt Gladys is officially in the works
• Director Zach Cregger spoke at San Diego Comic-Con where he confirmed that the script is in progress
• Weapons was a huge success, with Amy Madigan winning an Oscar for her performance as Aunt Gladys

Get excited Weapons fans, because Aunt Gladys' story will be explored in a new prequel movie that's being written now.

During Collider’s Directors on Directing panel at San Diego Comic-Con, director Zach Cregger gave a status update and confirmed that the Gladys-led prequel was in the works.

“First of all, I’m really excited about the Gladys movie, and I loved working with Amy,” Cregger said. “I loved that character. For the movie Weapons, it really made a lot of sense not to dive into her backstory because the device of Weapons was to keep her very mysterious.”

He added: “However, there’s an amazing story to be told about where Gladys comes from and how she became what we know her as. It’s got a lot of twists and turns and mysteries and crazy things, like Weapons does. I think it’s going to be great.

"The script is in progress now, but we’re taking that super seriously, and it’s moving in the right direction. So yeah, it’s being written, is the short answer.”

Considering I gave Weapons a five-star review, I'm very excited for the Gladys prequel movie. Cregger is on a roll at the moment, as we have also seen the full trailer for his new Resident Evil movie.

His take on the beloved horror video game franchise is an original one, and will follow a medical courier named Bryan as he "unwittingly finds himself in an action-packed, non-stop race for survival", per the official synopsis.

That's not all, either. Following on from the success of A24's Backrooms, it was announced that Cregger is working on a Siren Head adaptation, another Creepypasta that is well loved by horror fans.

House of the Dragon season 3 continues to engross us as it enters its home stretch. And, with its sixth episode less than 72 hours away, we'll soon find out how Houses Targaryen and Hightower will continue to try to one-up each other as the battle for the Iron Throne intensifies.

Does that mean we'll soon bear witness the highly anticipated Battle of Tumbleton between Ormund Hightower and Daemon Targaryen's armies? Or are more political machinations and infighting going to be the order of the day? You'll have to wait and see. In the meantime, scroll on to learn when and where House of the Dragon's next episode will air.

What time can I watch House of the Dragon season 3 episode 6?

House of the Dragon season 3's next chapter will be released on Sunday, July 26 at 6pm PT / 9pm ET.

That's when the Game of Thrones spin-off's forthcoming episode will be available in the US and Canada, anyway. If you live elsewhere, you'll have to wait until Monday, July 27 to stream it. Here are the all-important times you need to know about:

• US — Sunday, July 26 at 6pm PT / 9pm ET
• Canada — Sunday, July 26 at 6pm PT / 9pm ET
• UK — Monday, July 27 at 2am BST
• India — Monday, July 27 at 6:30am IST
• Singapore — Monday, July 27 at 9am SGT
• Australia — Monday, July 27 at 11am AEST
• New Zealand — Monday, July 27 at 1pm NZST

Where can I watch House of the Dragon season 3 episode 6?

HBO Max, aka one of the best streaming services, is the place that most people will need to go to watch House of the Dragon's next episode.

Unfortunately, that platform isn't available worldwide, so some of you will have to look elsewhere to stream it. Luckily for you, I've put in the hard yards and found out where House of the Dragon can be watched in your nation, so check out the list below to see which streamer or TV network you'll need to tune into:

• US — HBO and HBO Max
• Canada — Crave
• UK — HBO Max, Sky Atlantic, and Now TV
• India — JioHotstar
• Singapore — HBO Max
• Australia — HBO Max
• New Zealand — HBO Max

How many more episodes are there in House of the Dragon 3?

After its sixth entry is released, there'll only be two more to enjoy before the high-fantasy show's latest season comes to an end.

Want to know what dates episodes 7 and 8 will launch on? Of course you do, so read on for more details:

• House of the Dragon season 3 episode 1 — out now
• House of the Dragon season 3 episode 2 — out now
• House of the Dragon season 3 episode 3 — out now
• House of the Dragon season 3 episode 4— out now
• House of the Dragon season 3 episode 5 — out now
• House of the Dragon season 3 episode 6 — July 26/27
• House of the Dragon season 3 episode 7 — August 2/3
• House of the Dragon season 3 episode 8 — August 9/10

Listen up, The Lord of the Rings fans, because the first trailer for The Rings of Power season 3 has arrived.

Released online today (Friday, July 26) following its premiere at San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC) 2026, the teaser gave us our first proper look at the Amazon TV Original's next season, which is set to make its Prime Video debut in mid-November.

Missed all of the pre-release chatter? You can read all of the build-up to the teaser's arrival in this recap. There's plenty more information on season 3 hidden within, so you'll definitely want to peruse the entire article for more details. So, hop to it!

In the first of Mount Doom...

Hello and welcome to our The Rings of Power season 3 trailer live blog. I'm Tom Power, TechRadar's senior entertainment reporter and master of ceremonies for today's teaser unveiling.

We're still many hours away from the video's world premiere, but there's plenty for us to chat about in the meantime. So, join me, won't you, as we count down to our first look at the high fantasy show's next season.

When will The Rings of Power season 3 trailer be released?

Let's get the big question out of the way first: what time should we expect this season's first trailer to drop?

Well, we know it'll be sometime today — aka Friday, July 26 — but its actual launch time hasn't been announced.

That said, an Amazon MGM Studios SDCC 2026 presentation will tell us more about The Rings of Power 3 and another of its forthcoming TV shows in Blade Runner 2099. That panel kicks off at 10am PT / 1pm ET / 6pm BST, and is expected to last for 90 minutes, so the trailer will be with us by 11:30am PT / 2:30pm ET / 7:30pm BST at the very latest.

Ringin' in the release date

We might not have a trailer — yet — for season 3, but we do have an official launch date: November 11, 2026. Amazon confirmed The Rings of Power season 3's late 2026 arrival in mid-May, so we've been counting down the days to its return for over two months at this point.

And, honestly? I'm glad it'll be here before the end of the year. Filming only wrapped on The Rings of Power 3 in December 2025 and, given how the lengthy cycle of its predecessors' post-production stages, I fully expected the forthcoming season's post-production phase to not only be similarly long, but also mean it wouldn't arrive until early 2027. Thank God I was wrong!

About last season's finale...

Excited though I am — and, hopefully, you are — for this season's arrival, it has been almost two years since The Rings of Power season 2 ended.

Given the myriad shows we've all likely consumed in the months since, I wouldn't be surprised if you've forgotten what happened last time around. Good job there's an article of mine that explains The Rings of Power season 2's ending and how it sets up its sequel season, then, isn't it!

What do we know so far about The Rings of Power season 3?

I'm glad you asked, dear reader — and, just like this blog's last post, I've got a handy guide all things season 3-related for you to check out at your leisure.

So, if you want the lowdown on the biggest and latest news and rumors about the show's next outing, find out everything we know so far about The Rings of Power season 3.

Lunch break!

Curses, I've missed Elevenses... guess I'll just have to go straight to luncheon! Now, should I have 'taters? And should I boil 'em, mash 'em, or stick 'em in a stew...

I return to you, at the turn of the tide!

Alright, I've had my fill of food, stayed away from half pints and pints — hey, I'm still on the clock! — and ready to power through for the next five to six hours.

So, where were we...

Forging the One Ring

One thing that's been clear since last season ended was that the show's next installment would finally show us how the One Ring was forged.

Speaking exclusively to TechRadar in October 2024, Charlie Vickers, who plays Sauron, said the One Ring's creation was "the next piece of the puzzle" where The Lord of the Rings franchise's infamous villain was concerned.

At the time, Vickers had no idea if he'd get to forge it in the fires of Mount Doom in season 3. However, in a recent cover piece for Empire magazine, Vickers and the show's co-creators J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay confirmed season 3 would include one of the most significant moments in Middle-earth history.

Per Vickers, it took two weeks to shoot the entirety of the Ring's creation, with McKay also saying it was "the single most ambitious, technically challenging sequence we’ve ever done on the show". Big words, indeed — let's hope the pay-off is worth it!

The Last Homely House East of the Sea

Sauron's desire to make the titular, all-powerful, and manipulative piece of jewelry will stem from those who continue to resist his aim to achieve world domination.

Indeed, last season's finale all but confirmed that its follow-up would depict the War of the Elves and Sauron, aka one of the longest-running and bloodiest conflicts of Middle-earth's Second Age. And, while we won't see how this war plays out from the get-go — more on why shortly — we're bound to witness the rise of Rivendell.

Season 3 isn't the first time we've seen the famous Elven city, mind you — or, at the very least, that land upon which it'll be built. Towards the end of season 2 episode 8, the elves who fled Eregion's destruction regrouped at an area that, thanks to its nearby waterfall, would be very familiar to Lord of the Rings diehards. That being, Imladris, otherwise known as Rivendell.

In an exclusive chat with TechRadar in October 2024, Robert Aramayo and Benjamin Walker, who portray Elrond and Gil-galad, refused to confirm if last season's finale represented the founding of Rivendell. However, Walker admitted it was a "very astute observation" on my part, so I took that as confirmation without him actually confirming it.

Regardless, if we don't see Rivendell's formation and/or it being used as a base of operations for the elven crusade against Sauron this season, I'll eat my hat (NB: I won't actually, but you don't know that...).

Time jump!

So, why we won't see the War of the Elves and Sauron from the very beginning? Because season 3 takes a giant leap forward in time.

Per this season's official story synopsis, it'll jump forward "several years from the events of season 2" and "takes place at the height of The War of the Elves and Sauron, as the Dark Lord seeks to craft the One Ring that will give him the edge he needs to win the war and all of Middle-earth at last."

What does that mean for what we'll actually see? Hopefully, season 3 will dispense with any mundane parts of the conflict and depict its most exciting albeit deadly encounters, including the Siege of Rivendell and pivotal Battle of Gwathló.

New season, new faces

Leaping ahead years into the future isn't necessarily a bad thing. In fact, one positive it can have is allowing for the introduction of characters we wouldn't otherwise see until much later in the story.

We've already received confirmation of five new names who've joined next season's cast, too. Last February, Stranger Things alumnus Jamie Campbell-Bower and Heartstopper's Eddie Marsan were added to The Rings of Power 3's ensemble. Four months later, three fresh faces in Andrew Richardson, Zubin Varla, and Adam Young also joined The Rings of Power season 3.

At the time of their hirings, Amazon declined to say who they'd be playing. Thanks to Empire's recent cover feature, though, we now know the identity of Campbell-Bower and Varla's individuals...

The Lord of Lothlórien

Of the aforementioned reveals, here's one that'll come as a relief to fans.

Ever since The Rings of Power began, viewers have wondered why Celeborn hasn't been part of proceedings. Indeed, apart from him briefly being mentioned in season 1 by his paramour Galadriel, Celeborn has been surprisingly conspicuous by his absence.

Thankfully, he'll be an active participant in season 3. Per Empire, Campbell-Bower will feature as the Elf lord and warrior, who's described as something of a "lover boy" by the actor himself. It's unclear how much of Celeborn we'll see but, hey, whether it's via flashback sequences or in the present, it's high time that he showed up.

Nine for mortal men, doomed to die...

As for the other confirmed character, Zubin Varla is set to portray Khamûl the Easterling. That's one of the nine Kings of Men who are gifted a Ring of Power by Sauron and who — spoilers — end up becoming his chief lieutenants, aka the Nazgûl, aka the Ringwraiths.

Chatting to Empire, Varla said this nontuplet "go on the same journey as Gollum" — i.e., we'll see them slowly get warped by the dark magic within the rings they're handed. In the same article, McKay also revealed that they won't be known as the Nazgûl just yet, either. Instead, they'll be referred to as the Nazgnagôl, or "ring-servants". Think of them as proto-Ringwraiths, basically.

A wizard is never late, nor is he early...

... he arrives precisely when he means to! And, after practically everyone guessed the identity of Daniel Weyman's The Stranger long before it was officially revealed, Gandalf the Grey finally made himself known in The Rings of Power season 2.

Now that Weyman is established as Middle-earth's most iconic wizard, we'll see him come into his own this season, too. Per an interview with Empire, McKay said season 3 will see Gandalf “going from learning how to control his powers, to understanding that wizards actually have a prophetic dimension. That their job is to inspire the hearts of the people around them to find their own courage to unite against the darkness."

Obviously, said darkness is the work of Sauron, so will we see Gandalf cross paths with Morgoth's former protege? "I have no idea," Weyman exclusively told me in late 2024 — and that'll remain the case until season 3 is with us, I suppose!

What else could we see in season 3?

There's plenty more to look forward to in season 3 with The Rings of Power's Khazad-dûm, Númenor, Pelargir, and Rhûn storylines, too.

Where the latter is concerned, it'll be interesting to see if Nori and the Harfoot community has really said goodbye to Gandalf for the final time. Rumors abound that the Harfoot plotline has been dropped for this season, so I'm curious to see if the teaser trailer disputes this by showing some footage of them.

As for the Númeronean side-story, Cynthia Addai-Robinson, who plays Queen Míriel, says long-time Lord of the Rings fans know that "there's an order of events to come" for the fictional island kingdom. Don't be surprised if we see the true beginnings of Númenor's eventual downfall next season, then.

One ring to rule them all...

We're just over an hour away from Amazon's joint Blade Runner 2099 and The Rings of Power season 3 Hall H panel.

While we wait, have you voted in the poll at the top of this page? By my count, less than 150 of you have said whether you're excited or not for the forthcoming season, so cast your vote now.

Once you're done, head to the comments section below to tell me what you want to see in season 3. I'll include the best ones in this live blog before the trailer's unveiled.

My predictions for The Rings of Power season 3 presentation

As the wait goes on, let me tell you what I expect to see and hear from the forthcoming Hall H panel:

• Eddie Marsan will be confirmed to be playing King Durin IV's estranged brother — something I suggested in my article covering Marsan's casting
• A surprise cast announcement — there's bound to be someone who's signed on to appear in season 3, but who hasn't be confirmed by Amazon yet
• Season 3's full release schedule — how many episodes will we get on launch day? And will new chapters be released weekly, or is it dropping in its entirety?
• Confirmation on how long the War of the Elves and Sauron has been raging for — are we already in the final throes of this conflict? Or only midway through it when season 3 begins?
• Charlie Vickers, Patrick McKay, and/or J.D. Payne showing off the One Ring prop — and how many were made for the show

The panel is underway!

Okay, Amazon's joint presentation for Blade Runner 2099 and The Rings of Power season 3 has been underway for 25 minutes now, and opted to kick things off with the former.

If, as I expect, Amazon dedicates 45 minutes to each show, the latter's part of the panel should start around 10:45am PT / 1:45pm ET / 6:45pm BST. So, we'll either get a trailer in the next 20 minutes, or at the very end of the entire presentation.

Stick with me and I'll update you once I know more.

11:30am PT it is, then!

As you'll have worked out by now, 10:45am PT has come and gone without incident, so we'll have to wait until the panel's final moments for the trailer's world premiere.

Again, don't go anywhere and I'll bring it to you as soon as it's live.

It's heeeeeeere!

At long last, The Rings of Power season 3's first teaser has been unveiled. So, what are you waiting for?! Watch it below!

Every new detail we learned about The Rings of Power season 3

Well, that's a teaser that'll not only set tongues wagging, but also leaves us with myriad questions about what'll actually happen as part of this season's overarching narrative and various subplots.

Those queries will have to wait for another day, though, because the trailer wasn't the only thing that was unveiled during Amazon's Hall H panel. Here's a round-up of the biggest news to emerge from it:

• The Rings of Power season 3 will be released in three parts — the first four episodes will arrive on launch day (November 11), chapters five and six will drop a week later (November 18), and the final two will make their debuts seven days later (November 25)
• Eddie Marsan will play Thrain — as I predicted that's the older brother of King Durin IV
• Andrew Richardson has been cast as Anarion — for the uninitiated, he's Elendil's younger son and Isildur's brother
• Adam Young is portraying an orc called Marnûkh — this individual is seen working alongside Galadriel and Arondir in the teaser, but to what end?
• Simon Pegg will voice the Balrog — you read that right. For the first time in a Lord of the Rings production, we'll hear a Balrog speak. Will it be Durin's Bane, or the Balrog from The Fellowship of the Ring? We don't know yet
• Five years will have passed between the season 2 finale and season 3 episode 1 — not as big of a time jump as many of us expected, then!

That's a wrap

And, with that, it's time for me to bid you a fond farewell.

Thank you for keeping me company over the last seven hours — and, don't forget to vote in the above poll, and/or tell me what you're most looking forward to about season 3 in the comment section below.

Have a good weekend, everyone, and I'll see you all soon!

I can't say that I've been paying too much attention to what's happening at San Diego Comic Con, but I certainly didn't expect new Big Bang Theory spinoff Stuart Fails to Save the Universe and the DC universe to be mentioned in the same breath.

According to Nerdist, DC President Jim Lee made a surprise appearance at the HBO Max show's panel in Hall H, confirming that multiple DC characters will cameo later in the season.

“Some of the DC characters they have in it, I think, are some of the best versions I’ve seen of those characters,” Lee said during the panel.

In other words, watch out James Gunn. With Supergirl failing to make much impact earlier this year, maybe Stuart Fails to Save the Universe actually is the best DC Universe iteration we'll get in 2026.

If you've been watching the teaser trailers closely, you might have seen underrated characters such as Gotham villain Mr. Freeze have already featured. But if creators really want to bring the existing Big Bang Theory lore full circle, the show can't omit the superhero that's been staring us in the face for years.

Stuart Fails to Save the Universe's DC crossover need to include The Flash to commemorate — or spite — Sheldon

Even if you've only watched one episode of Big Bang Theory in your lifetime, my campaign for The Flash to join the Stuart Fails to Save the Universe x DC episode hopefully won't come as a surprise.

He's Sheldon's (Jim Parsons) favorite DC superhero, and the reason why, nearly every time we see him, he's sporting the iconic T-shirt with the Flash logo.

We're going to be on tenterhooks for all of the new show's 10-episode run to see if Sheldon makes a cameo appearance, and dropping in The Flash as a potential clue could be a really fun way for the creators to mess with us.

On the flip side, a Flash cameo could also work to either spite or celebrate Sheldon. The reason why Stuart (Kevin Sussman) is in this multiverse mess in the first place is because he broke a device built by Sheldon and Leonard (Johnny Galecki); bringing his favorite superhero closer to home could be a great way to apologize.

However, this is a multiverse show, so The Flash likely won't be appearing in the Sheldon we know's reality. So if another Sheldon met the Flash instead... our one would be furious. That, in itself, is hilarious.

At this point, I'm purely speculating. We've got no idea which DC characters will appear in Stuart Fails to Save the Universe, nor do we know exactly which episode they will be in. Regardless, we can definitely assume that the crossover will be an epic one.

My favorite interviews over the course of my career have involve people I'd never normally get the chance to speak to in everyday life.

So far this year that's involved two former FBI agents, but Dr. Sarita Robinson — who you can see in Pompeii: Out of Time, out now on Disney+ and Hulu — might just take the cake. Known as "Dr. Survival," her work specialises in figuring out why some people are more likely to survive disasters than others.

This makes her a compelling expert for the three-part docuseries, which explores the events leading up to the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79AD, which destroyed the nearby Roman city of Pompeii, and features Tom Hiddleston as presenter.

But it's not her take on the past that I'm actually as interested in... it's her take on the disasters of the future. As a TechRadar writer, I can't pass up an opportunity to talk to Robinson about the dangers of the rise of AI usage across the globe.

While some of us happily wile away the hours asking ChatGPT to generate images of us as hot dogs, others are getting concerned about increasingly awry security reports, such as Open AI models breaching rival company, Hugging Face.

Add in potential climate change risk, and I think that AI is more than a viable candidate for the sort of survival emergencies that Robinson researches. But surprisingly, AI isn't what she's most worried about.

'We theoretically have a risk from AI'

First, I begin by asking Robinson exactly how she defines a survival emergency. Does it have to be a natural occurrence, like the Mount Vesuvius eruption near Pompeii?

"Absolutely not," she replies. "For me, when I'm looking at emergencies, it's anything where your life is at risk. That can be as simple as you walking across a road and a car coming, small scale emergencies that are just enough that you have to respond, or it can be huge emergencies. The last one that I did quite a lot of research on, as you might expect, is the pandemic. The next one will be climate change, the era of global boiling."

"Medium scale would be an earthquake in a region, a terror attack — so they can be human made disasters... they don't have to be just natural disasters."

So far, so good. When it comes to categorizing AI within Robinson's research boundaries, is this kind of technological disaster something she's ever considered?

"I think I've watched enough science fiction movies to know that we theoretically have a risk from AI," she tells me. "Exactly what that risk would be or how it would look is very difficult to predict at this moment. But yes, absolutely, I would definitely add it onto my list of things that can go wrong... my list is quite extensive."

'I would be far more worried about a solar pulse'

"To be fair, I think the thing I worry about more on the tech front is something like a solar pulse that then knocks out a whole load of technology," Robinson adds. "I can't imagine my life without a mobile phone, a computer... it would be very odd to go into an age of no internet."

It's at this point of the interview where I stop feeling bad for adding a disaster scenario to Robinson's list, as she's certainly just added one to mine. Before this point, I'd never even heard of a solar pulse, which can best be described as a sudden burst of energy from the sun. According to the University of Minnesota, they can trigger "explosive releases of radiation and magnetized plasma ripple through space, occasionally triggering geomagnetic storms on Earth and producing auroras."

Fantastic, another reason to have anxiety in 2026. But what is Robinson's advice for not feeling so anxious about... well, general impending doom?

"Be prepared: active coping, doing something about it, keeping it in perspective, but making sure that you have the resources if something goes wrong," she responds. "I don't mean building a nuclear bunker in your back garden. For example, when the pandemic hit back in 2020, I had a 'pandemic kit' under my sink. I felt like I had a little bit more control in that moment."

"I did some research on the pandemic and what it did show was that those people who'd made some preparations prior to the lockdown were doing much better in terms of mental health, stress, anxiety and depression."

Can we make a solar pulse or anti-AI kit for under our sinks? Most likely not. But that doesn't mean that Robinson's advice should be discarded — control also means vigilance, so keeping a mix of online and offline resources in day-to-day life could be a great way of achieving this.

Since Dutton Ranch season 2 was renewed a week before the season 1 finale, I assumed it would be a good few months — perhaps even until the end of 2026 — before we'd hear any solid updates from Paramount+ or its cast. But thanks to Variety's explosive interview with star Ed Harris, who plays vet Everett on the Yellowstone spinoff, I was wrong.

“Prior to signing on for it, I was talked to quite a bit about what the season was, and what my character was going to do — and that I was one of the four main characters,” Harris said. “And that wasn’t really the case."

He continued: “I said, ‘I’m feeling underused and inconsequential,’ and they kind of went, ‘Oh'. I’m being told my character will have a little bit more to do [in Season 2]. I was just a little frustrated, to tell you the truth.”

According to Variety, Harris explained that when he actually watched Dutton Ranch, he thought it was “pretty good,” and felt his character was “relatively important to the story.” However, during filming, “it didn’t feel that way.”

These potentially controversial comments are the ones making headlines, but for me — a self-proclaimed hardcore fan of the show — they aren't the most interesting takeaway from Harris' interview.

Not only are there heavy hints about when we're likely to see new episodes released, but the certainty of Harris' belief in season 2 indicates that a new showrunner has been found.

Dutton Ranch season 2 episodes will likely arrive in late 2027 as Harris confirms February 2027 filming schedule

Do a little bit of social media digging and you will find that there's more to the interview with Harris than the clip Variety has chosen to run with. Journalist Marc Malkin has posted the full footage to his Instagram, where Harris confirms that Dutton Ranch season 2 is due to begin filming in 2027.

I'll be honest with you: this is a lot later than I was expecting. However, it does confirm that we'll be seeing episodes in late 2027 (or slightly later, depending on if there are any other production hitches).

Now let's examine what Harris allegedly knows about his season 2 character arc. For plans to already be so firmed up, this must mean that a new showrunner has been appointed to take over from Chad Feehan, who exited the show just weeks before the season 1 premiere.

This could easily have been a remark made by producers just to keep Harris happy enough to carry out his two-season contract with Dutton Ranch. But the fact that neither Paramount, nor Taylor Sheridan or 101 Studios chose not to comment on Harris' interview makes me feel hopeful that Sheridan has quietly resumed his position as showrunner.

Call it delusion if nothing else, as this is what I've always wanted to happen with the Yellowstone spinoff. But it's a smart move — with season 1 performing so well for Paramount+, everything needs to be perfect to keep up momentum. Annoyingly, it's likely that the showrunner won't be announced until season 2 begins production.

Prime Video just got a massive free upgrade that should be on your radar if you're interested in playing popular video games like Fallout 4, Fortnite, and EA Sports FC 26 on your TV at no extra cost.

From today, Amazon Prime subscribers using Fire TV devices in the US or UK will be able to access Amazon Luna titles from directly within the Prime Video app. Luna is the company's cloud gaming service, and lets you play entire games by streaming them directly to your device like you would a TV show or movie — simply pick what you want to play in the new games tab, connect your phone (or a compatible gamepad) to use as a controller, and you can dive straight in, with no download required.

You don't need to pay extra for this either, as a formidable library of games is already included with your Prime subscription. This includes a wide range of casual GameNight titles designed for playing with a group of family or friends (including an exclusive Angry Birds and digital versions of popular board games like Clue and Exploding Kittens), in addition to some more hardcore titles available on a rotating basis.

If you want even more games, you can upgrade to Luna Premium for an additional $9.99 / £8.99 per month.

Prime placement

The move comes as Amazon tries to get more eyes on its game streaming service, which many Prime subscribers don't even know they have access to.

"You could argue we're the largest paid gaming subscription in the world," Amazon GM of gaming Jeff Gattis laughs in a conversation ahead of today's reveal. "Problem is, not enough people know about it."

Although he argues that the service is "really easy to get to if you know where you're going," he reckons the decision to initially roll it out via a dedicated Luna website and app that you "have to actively seek out and go find" has inadvertently created too many "friction points" for otherwise potentially interested users.

"It's crazy how much value we're putting in to the Prime tier," he added. "The fact that we just had the World Cup, and the you could play FC 26 if you're a Prime member for essentially free is is amazing. But again, it's only as good as people's ability to know about it."

In addition to the prominent positioning of the new games tab, Amazon is currently working on brand awareness campaigns to help get the word out.

According to Gattis, Fire TV is also just the beginning of a wider rollout that might see the update coming to the Prime Video mobile app, and so be in front of even more eyes, in future. "The grander vision is to get it to everywhere Prime Video is, and so we're excited just for more people to discover the benefit," he teased.

Overall, he believes that all of this will help align Luna more closely with the core principles that make other Amazon services like its e-commerce offering so successful. "It's convenience," he adds, "and I think it's value. And when you think about Amazon, what are the things that it does well worldwide?"

• DC Studios has released the official trailer for body-horror movie Clayface
• It'll take shape in theaters worldwide on October 23
• Viewers have plenty of questions about the forthcoming DC Universe film

DC Studios has released a new trailer for its next movie Clayface — and, as someone who's not a fan of body horror, it made me squeamish in the best way possible.

The forthcoming DC Universe (DCU) film, which will take shape in theaters worldwide on October 23, will see the Batman villain star in his first-ever solo flick. And, while its latest round of footage answers some big questions that audiences had about the comic book movie, it leaves casual viewers with even more.

Indeed, the teaser might finally pull back the curtain on how the titular shapeshifting character is created and why he embarks on a Gotham City-based quest for revenge. Nevertheless, there are myriad questions that the DCU Chapter One film's latest trailer, which arrived three months after Clayface's first "super freaky" trailer, leaves unanswered.

For what it's worth, my guide on everything we know so far about Clayface provides clarity on some of the queries that are likely rattling around your head. If you don't have time to read through that extensive article right now, though, I've moulded a quick-fire Q&A below that'll shed light on your biggest burning questions. Bear in mind that potential spoilers immediately follow for Clayface, so proceed at your own risk.

Is Clayface in the same universe as The Batman?

Let's get one of the most notable questions out of the way first: no, Clayface is not set in The Batman Universe.

That franchise, which stars Robert Pattinson as the titular vigilante and is helmed by Matt Reeves, is a completely separate entity to James Gunn's DCU. It's the latter — which also comprises Superman, Supergirl, Creature Commandos, and Lanterns — that Clayface is a part of.

Will Batman be in Clayface?

Another popular query I've seen floating around the internet since Clayface's second trailer dropped. In short: no, Batman isn't expected to appear in this film.

"Why not?" you might ask. The short answer is Gunn and Safran haven't started the search for the DCU's Batman, let alone publicly announced which actor will play him.

Unless a stand-in — one likely silhouetted against the background, like the legendary Caped Crusader was in episode 6 of Creature Commandos on HBO Max — makes the briefest of cameos in Clayface, then, I'd temper your expectations over a possible appearance from the Dark Knight.

Is this the same Clayface who appeared in Creature Commandos?

Yes. Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, Safran confirmed that the Clayface who appears in this film is the same one who had a role to play in Creature Commandos season 1.

Prior to Safran's comments on the matter, there had been some confusion as to which Clayface we'd see in this movie. After all, there have been numerous iterations of the character in DC Comics. Of that contingent, Basil Karlo and Matt Hagen are the most famous — and it's the second of that pair who'll not only appear in Clayface, but who also showed up in Creature Commandos.

Where does Clayface sit on the DCU timeline?

Clayface is the fifth DCU Chapter One project that'll see the light of day. Timeline-wise, though, it'll be the first one that audiences should watch if they choose to watch the DCU films and TV shows in chronological order — Gunn confirming as much on Threads in April.

Who plays Clayface?

That'll be Tom Rhys Harries, a Welsh actor who some readers will recognize from Doctor Who episode 'Dot and Bubble'.

According to Gunn, he and fellow DC Studios co-head Peter Safran were "blown away" by Harries' audition for Clayface's lead role. Based on the footage we've seen this far, Harries seems like a great fit for the character, but we'll have to wait until the movie is actually released to be able to put Gunn's comments into their full context.

How did Clayface become Clayface? What's the plot of the DCU movie?

Where the latter question is concerned, here's the flick's updated story synopsis: "Matt Hagen’s meteoric rise from Gotham street kid to Hollywood leading man is tragically cut short when a local crime boss' actions leave him horribly disfigured.

"Abandoned by his team and with nothing left, Matt seeks out a cutting edge treatment that miraculously returns him to his former self… but, also unexpectedly affects his grip on reality, spiraling him down a destructive path of all-consuming revenge."

As for Harries' Matt Hagen becomes the tragic, metamorphosizing villain, Clayface's latest trailer and plot brief confirm that he'll be patient zero for an experimental serum that initially seems to heal him. However, it doesn't take long for this ground-breaking treatment's side effects to *ahem* take shape and turn him into a transmutating monster.

What are Clayface's powers?

As his villainous alias implies, Clayface's mud-like physiology gives him the ability to mould his body in any way he sees fit. That means he can grow and shrink in size, alter his density at will, and is impervious to traditional physical attacks, including punches, kicks, and all kinds of weapons.

Furthermore, the metahuman possesses superhuman strength, durability, and reflexes. Lastly, he has the ability to regenerate, although that's a process that takes a long time, especially if, say, he's torn apart by an explosion of some sort.

Who's written and directed Clayface?

Horror auteur Mike Flanagan is the main man behind Clayface's story. However, Hossein Amini (Obi-Wan Kenobi, 47 Ronin) also helped to pen its screenplay.

As for its filmmaker, James Watkins is the man behind the camera. His directing credits include Speak No Evil, The Woman in Black, and Black Mirror episode 'Shut Up and Dance'.

What is Clayface's movie rating?

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Clayface will carry a hard R-rating in the US. That's the equivalent of an 18 age rating in the UK and an Restricted (R18+) rating in Australia.

The DCU's other films in Superman and Supergirl were suitable for kids accompanied by an adult, but this one certainly won't be. Expect plenty more gross body horror moments, hyperviolent action, and other mature content to be woven through its sub-two hour runtime.

For more DCU coverage, find out everything we know so far about Lanterns and get the full lowdown on Superman film sequel Man of Tomorrow.

Spoilers for Ransom Canyon season 2 ahead.

I shouldn't love Ransom Canyon as much as I do, but the Virgin River meets Yellowstone Western drama always has a way of hooking me back in.

In season 2, we've explored a lot of overarching storylines that were first established back in season 1.

The land feud between the Double K and Fuller ranches has become more ferocious, local bar owner Quinn (Minka Kelly) has left for New York despite her on-off relationship with rancher Staten (Josh Duhamel), and mysterious newcomer Yancy (Jack Schumacher) has revealed to new love interest Ellie (Marianly Tejada) that he has a secret wife.

But by the time we get to the end of this new batch of eight episodes, everything has changed again... and not always for the better.

So, where on Earth is everyone at now? Here's a full breakdown of the Ransom Canyon season 2 ending, and what it could mean for season 3 if Netflix decides to renew the series.

Ellie gives birth after her explosive fight with Sidney

As the Ransom Canyon season 2 finale begins, we meet Ellie as she regains consciousness in hospital. She's been brought in via ambulance after Yancy's "wife" (as their marriage was never annulled) Sidney (Heidi Grace Engerman) pushed her off a house porch, endangering Ellie and Yancy's unborn baby.

When Yancy gets there, things are touch and go, but the doctors soon confirm that mother and baby are both okay — though the fall has forced Ellie into labour, meaning baby Isabella has arrived much sooner than expected.

However, Ellie is really shaken up by what happened, as is left convinced that Sidney will return to attack her and Isabella. Yancy tries to reassure her as best as he can, telling Ellie that he will protect the pair of them.

Quinn comes to visit to take her mind off things, explaining how well the music festival they held at Gracie's has done, pushing the bar so far in the black that they made more profit that expected.

Quinn also spots Staten on his way to visit Yancy, explaining in the elevator that she only pushed him away because she was "scared." Staten claims that she hasn't been listening to what's actually happening between them, alongside how much he has changed.

Lucas tells Lauren about Ashley — but Kit's got bigger problems

Meanwhile, things are getting really messy for Lucas (Garrett Wareing). After a suspected drugs charge, he has to be bailed out by older brother Kit (Casey W. Johnson), and it's clear how much the brothers have swapped personalities since the beginning of season 1.

On his way into the station, Kit is stopped by Sherriff Dan (Philip Winchester), who threatens him for messing up daughter Lauren's (Lizzy Greene) life. But hang on... weren't Lucas and Lauren together instead? They were at the beginning of season 2, but Lauren soon found that her feelings were actually towards Kit.

Dan offers Kit a "start over" opportunity, claiming that he knows of a ranching job in Wyoming that would get Kit back into the work he loves so much — and away from Lucas and Lauren. "Everything you touch turns to sh*t" Dan tells him, with Kit intent on fixing the mess he has made.

Lucas emerges from the jail, and the brothers fight in the street when Kit tells him how urgently Lucas needs to get his life back on track. Lucas then tells Kit that he slept with local girl Ashley (Jennifer Ens), before driving to meet Lauren outside the hospital and tell her the truth too. As you can imagine, it doesn't go down well.

Quinn makes her next financial investment in Ransom Canyon

Things are going incredibly well at Gracie's, with Quinn's business investor Mary Lou even offering Lauren the chance to design an album cover for a new music artist because of the poster she created for the festival.

In fact, the festival has gone so well that Mary Lou is already thinking about next year's event, with acts already enquiring about being in the lineup. The only problem is accommodation — if Quinn wants to make the festival bigger and better, Ransom Canyon currently doesn't have the capacity to host more visitors.

But Quinn has an idea. She wants to use the extra profits made to invest back into Ransom, which starts with buying abandoned restaurant, The Lone Star, and converting it into a music venue and hotel. She pitches it to Mary Lou as a local version of The Ryman in Nashville, and the pair shake on it.

Claire pushes Quinn and Staten back together for good

Quinn's mother Claire (Patricia Crawford) arrived in town in season 2 episode 1, and now she's about to fly back home again. Before she does, she's got two stops to make.

The first is swinging by Quinn's house, with her daughter revealing the Lone Star investment plans. On top of that, Quinn has also sold her own farm to give Claire the money to buy a new house, giving her mother a chance to start afresh and chase her own dreams, for once.

Claire then swings by Staten's house, and convinces him to pursue Quinn one last time. She believes the pair are each other's true loves, despite Quinn telling Claire earlier that the pair are "done forever." Before she leaves Staten's house, he asks Claire to take something with her.

Claire says goodbye to her daughters at Gracie's and hands Quinn a box from Double K ranch, with a letter from Staten inside. He writes that everything he has said is "wrong," and asks her to meet at the cabin. While we wait to see if Quinn turns up, we see a flashback timeline of their relationship, from meeting each other as young teens to the present day.

Sure enough, Quinn opens the cabin doors to find Staten lighting a fire, as the pair kiss. Finally! The next morning, Staten tells Quinn how many times he's dreamed of having her there, with Quinn replying that she knows that Staten is "her person."

Freddie convinces Yancy that the oil grift is real — which brings Ellie to breaking point

Yancy's having a rough ride once again... but it's all his own fault. After his grift with old prison mate Freddie (Kenneth Miller) to trick Senator Kirkland (Brett Cullen) into believing there is oil on Double K land to stall his plans gets busted, the two reconvene.

Freddie claims he's no longer interested in the $80,000 Yancy allegedly owes him, instead revealing that he's run the survey past a new set of eyes, and their oil ruse could actually be real for Fuller ranch. If so, Yancy and Freddie could come into millions of dollars.

Yancy arrives at the hospital to tell Ellie the good news, but she's discharged herself. He finds her at her house, with officer Kai (Justin Johnson Cortez) keeping a 24-hour watch on the premises.

Between Freddie, the potential oil and being constantly convinced that Sidney will snatch Isabella from her, Ellie is at breaking point. She tells Yancy that she needs to protect their daughter from the "darkness that follows him," asking him to leave the house.

This effectively means that they've broken up, with Yancy starting a physical fight with Kai while leaving the house. We see him drive away in the snow, furious and upset with what has just happened.

Kit leaves for Wyoming as Lucas and Lauren make an uneasy truth

After finding out about her album art offer, Lauren waits for Kit on the stoop. She tells him that she's excited about their future together, but Kit no longer wants to continue seeing her. he claims that he's finally realised what Lucas sees in Lauren, and how big her success could be — he doesn't want either brother getting in the way of that.

The next day, Lucas finds Kit on the front porch at home, with a bag all packed. Kit tells him that in order to fix things between them, he's going to Wyoming to take the ranching job. The two share a tearful goodbye before Kit leaves.

Later that night, Lauren arrives looking for Kit. Lucas is there instead, and the two both admit how much they messed their relationship up. Lucas says that he hopes the pair will be okay again someday, and the two form an uneasy truce.

Before she leaves, Lucas tells Lauren that Kit is at the bus stop. She arrives just in time before he boards, telling him not to go. Kit says that he has to, with Lauren doubling down by replying that she's never letting him go. The pair kiss, but does he actually end up going?

Staten asks Quinn to move in as Double K board meeting looms near

On the night of the board meeting, there's a lot to play for. Senator Kirkland has finally relented, claiming that he'll back Staten as the head of Double K ranch in front of the board, forfeiting his own position. Lucas also says that he'll have Staten's back.

Before he enters, Quinn meets him outside, saying that she wouldn't have missed such an important evening. Staten puts a key to Double K ranch in her hand, as a prompt to move in with him. "You need to live somewhere now you've sold the farm," he adds, as the two kiss one last time.

Season 3 predictions

Unusually, there aren't a lot of plot lines left unresolved, but we still have two key stories to follow if Ransom Canyon season 3 gets picked up.

The first is what actually happens at the board meeting. The feud between Double K and Fuller ranches is far from over, even if it doesn't feel like a priority at the end of season 2. Yancy and Freddie are clearly still scheming, so it might not be as straightforward as Staten claiming victory at the meeting.

The second is what happens between Ellie and Yancy. Ellie has pushed Yancy away for her own safety, but he's not going to take be separated from daughter Isabella lying down. Will he made bad decisions in order to see her, and is this really the last we've seen of Sidney?

Of course, there's also a question mark over whether Kit goes to Wyoming, though it's heavily implied that he changes his mind.

In life, you often have to meet something at what it is, not what you want it to be. This is the logic that I need you to apply to Ransom Canyon season 2 when you watch it, as all eight episodes drop on Netflix on July 23.

This Western drama soap opera hybrid serves to entertain, but it doesn't ever aim to cross a boundary. It's not striving to be the best TV show of 2026, or do anything remotely challenging or ambitious. Ransom Canyon is a show that stays in its subtly cringe and often stereotypical lane... and for that, I'm thankful.

I don't need all of my television to be profound, life-changing or even that meaningful. Sometimes, I just want to switch my brain off and pretend I live in a picturesque, rural town on the other side of the world where everyone has unrelenting drama except for me. Enter Double K ranch owner Staten (Josh Duhamel), local bar owner Quinn (Minka Kelly) and an eclectic ensemble of characters.

When Netflix commits to the soap opera bit, it ticks the genre boxes incredibly well. Season 1 of Ransom Canyon was already a strong outing, but now that the show knows itself a little more, season 2 is easily on par with the strongest seasons of Virgin River, the streamer's most iconic "cozy drama" IP.

The catch? Season 2 is releasing just weeks after the epic Yellowstone spinoff Dutton Ranch released on Paramount+, which was widely praised by fans and critics (including me) alike. With both shows in such close proximity of each other, it's easy to see how weak the cowboy drama in Ransom Canyon actually is.

Ransom Canyon season 2 is a love story with cowboying on the side — that's an important distinction

Here's where the two shows differ dramatically: Dutton Ranch is a Western drama that sprinkles complex love stories in between. Ransom Canyon is a love story that sprinkles Western drama in between.

Once we've understood this, we know that we can't directly compare them... as much as we want to. The two have completely different functions and goals, and it's highly likely that the fanbases won't fully cross over. That being said, I think following straight after the return of Beth Dutton (Kelly Reilly) and Rip Wheeler (Cole Hauser) in the Yellowstone spinoff will undoubtedly hurt Staten and Quinn's second outing.

On the surface, season 2 puts a lot of emphasis on the ongoing land feud between the Double K ranch owned by Staten and the Fuller ranch next door, now owned by dubious newcomer Yancy (Jack Schumacher). But by the time we've reached the season 2 finale, it feels completely inconsequential.

This is because we're really being driven by the romantic drama that intertwines the Ransom Canyon residents rather than the mechanics of the town itself. Nobody really cares who owns what or who works where, as long as the right people settle into the relationships that are clearly destined for them.

If Netflix hadn't have hyped the feud up in its marketing, I don't think I'd have noticed that the cowboying actually lets Ransom Canyon down so easily. Taylor Sheridan ain't in these parts, and I think it will always show.

But it's a sensational soap opera — as is cast newcomer Patricia Clarkson

As a flat-out soap opera, Ransom Canyon season 2 is delicious. The indecisively infuriating will-they-won't-they dynamics run wild, the dramatic breakups are deployed at the perfect time, but when it comes down to it, things draw to a close in exactly the way you think they will.

It's almost a comfort to know what you're going to get at an end result, to have something that's often more stable than your actual life (well, if you remove all of the fictional chaos ). Even though tensions between Staten and Quinn remain front and centre, not a single supporting character feels underused.

With each connection feeling like a fulfilling one, we're really getting a lot of bang for our buck when it comes to narrative sustenance. An extra shoutout must go to newcomer Patricia Clarkson, who joins the series as Quinn's firecracker mother, Claire. I've honestly got no clue how the show scored such a uniquely legendary talent, but they've certainly not been complacent about it.

Is Ransom Canyon season 2 more of the same? Essentially, yes. Is that a bad thing? No, that's exactly what we want. If you overlook the cowboying, you'll probably fall in love with each and every character as much as I did... and soap opera historically aren't my thing. If you can't trust the opinion of a reformer hater, who can you?

Don't ask me what happened in any single episode of The Big Bang Theory, because I honestly can't remember.

Across 12 seasons, a myriad of in-jokes, long-standing gags and endless scientific lore were created, and you can bet your bottom dollar that hardcore fans won't have forgotten a single thing.

This level of detail initially made me nervous to try watching new HBO Max spinoff, Stuart Fails to Save the Universe.

Our titular heroic lead, on-off girlfriend Denise (Lauren Lapkus), as well as friends Kripke (John Ross Bowie) and Bert (Brian Posehn), are brought back together when Stuart (Kevin Sussman) triggers a multiverse armageddon by accidentally breaking a device built by Sheldon (Jim Parsons) and Leonard (Johnny Galecki).

Clearly, the spinoff is its own thing, but there's enough of a TBBT connection to assume that you'll need to know the ins and outs of the main season in order to enjoy it.

That's not the case, though. Not only can you be a Big Bang dunce and still have a whale of a time watching — and perhaps more importantly, always understand what's going on — Stuart Fails to Save the Universe is actually designed to contradict the existing IP lore, according to creators Zak Penn and Bill Prady.

'You're not obligated to be consistent'

"One of the wonderful things about moving from universe to universe is you're not obligated to be consistent," Prady tells me.

"We're in a different universe. When we were doing this, I was always reminded of an episode of Doctor Who where the Doctor is confronted with the with the inconsistency in the episode that they're in. He points out that time is more of a vague 'timey-wimey' kind of thing, and I think we had a lot of that going on to say, 'This is a different universe, and that's how it is in this universe.'"

Even from episode 1, which drops on HBO Max on July 23, you can see how it would break your brain to try and conform to the rules and regulations of TBBT.

Stuart and the gang are frequently confronted with alternative versions of themselves and others are each aware of completely different things... and that's before we consider that there's always an overarching physical difference to each universe visited.

"We kind of approached it like we're not trying to construct this perfectly organized science fiction idea," Penn adds. "In fact, we want to both violate the ideas that we set up and then have the characters acknowledge that that's what we've done. We do that quite a bit.

"There's characters all over the season mentioning that things don't really make sense... nobody can follow it. That was a deliberate choice because. The show isn't designed to be something that's a puzzle to figure out perfectly."

As the saying goes, if you can't beat them... be bewildered by the choices being made around you. Trust me: part of the fun is trying to keep up with the multiverse madness and second-guessing what comes next — and you'll never, ever be right.

The 2026 edition of San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC) is almost upon us, and you know what that means: all manner of rumors and speculation about the surprises Marvel might have in store for us at its now-customary Hall H panel.

To a certain extent, the biggest reveal has already happened. Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) diehards had expected the first official trailer for Avengers: Doomsday to be the focal point of the comic book titan's next presentation. With Avengers: Doomsday's main trailer released on Monday (July 20), though, Marvel must have something just as significant around which to center its forthcoming panel on July 25 at 5:30pm PT.

As attentions turn towards the Disney subsidiary's hour-long address at SDCC 2026, chief among fans' immediate thoughts is: what big reveal could Marvel make that a) would rival Avengers: Doomsday's first proper trailer as a major talking point, and b) is so noteworthy that Marvel felt confident enough to unveil Doomsday's trailer earlier than expected?

One project that fits the bill is Marvel's new X-Men movie. The only post-Multiverse Saga film in active development, myriad rumors are circulating online about who could star in the mutant-led flick. You can learn more about which actors Marvel is reportedly talking to via my Marvel's X-Men movie guide.

For what it's worth, industry insiders, albeit ones with sketchy track records, have claimed there'll be no such cast reveals at SDCC 2026. My reading of the situation is that'll be the case, too, especially as Marvel will want to focus to stay on the rest of its 2026 line-up — I'll discuss this in more detail shortly — and the projects it'll release in 2027, such as Daredevil: Born Again season 3 and Avengers: Secret Wars. We're not expecting the new X-Men movie to arrive until the following year.

That said, I'd be surprised if Marvel doesn't say something about the MCU's first X-Men film. Speculation abounds that the comic titan might tentatively discuss other Marvel Phase 7 movies, such as Thunderbolts 2, The Fantastic Four: First Steps sequel, Black Panther 3, Nova, and Midnight Sons — the last of which might repurpose Marvel's long-gestating plans to introduce Mahershala Ali's Blade to the MCU. It would be bizarre, then, if that quintet is covered, but not the first film of what'll be version 2.0 of the MCU.

But, onto more pressing matters — namely, the rest of Marvel's 2026 movie and TV slate.

On the film side of things, Spider-Man: Brand New Day, which swings into theaters between July 29 and 31 (depending on where you live), is expected to have a big presence at SDCC 2026. I'm willing to bet that attendees will be treated to some exclusive first-look footage, but any spoiler-based content, such as the identity of Sadie Sink's much-discussed mystery character in Spider-Man 4, won't be part of proceedings. Could we also get an early Spider-Man 5 announcement? As a huge Spidey fan, I'd be overjoyed if we did.

As for Avengers: Doomsday, I believe Marvel will show off some new clips from one of this year's most anticipated new movies, with the most likely candidates being extended looks at shots from its first main trailer. Where its sequel in Secret Wars is concerned, I think we'll get a name-drop and the briefest, spoiler-free hints about its story, but that's all.

Pre-SDCC 2026 chatter about Marvel's forthcoming Disney+ shows is much harder to read. After all, the studio has regularly reserved its biggest TV announcements for D23 Expo (Disney's flagship fan event, which takes place annually in Anaheim, California), so it stands to reason that there won't be a change in strategy this year.

Nevertheless, I predict we'll get some details about its final two TV series of the year — VisionQuest and Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man (YFNSM) season 2 — at SDCC.

With VisionQuest, I foresee confirmation of its main cast and a behind-closed-doors look at the Paul Bettany-led live-action program. Whether that'll be a full first trailer or a more general sneak peek remains to be seen, but I wouldn't be surprised if, as long as it's the former, VisionQuest's first trailer isn't publicly released following its possible unveiling at SDCC.

The same is true of YFNSM season 2. I'm of the opinion that Marvel's animated Spider-Man show will be highlighted in greater detail at D23 Expo 2026. That said, I'm fairly confident that Marvel will also deliver some news about it. Is it too much to ask for an official launch date? Not in my book.

Meanwhile, Marvel has already confirmed that it's full steam ahead on season 3 of its critically-acclaimed animated series X-Men 97. Will we hear more about it shortly? Not in my view. We've still got three more episodes of X-Men 97 season 2 to enjoy before it goes off the air, so any conversations about its follow-up season — especially those of a spoiler-based persuasion — will have to wait until D23 Expo 2026 or this year's New York Comic-Con.

Finally, will we hear anything substantial about Wonder Man season 2? That's similarly unlikely. Co-creator Destin Daniel Cretton has been incredibly busy with directing Spider-Man: Brand New Day. Although Cretton recently said that the cameras could roll on Wonder Man's next chapter as early as next year, this year's D23 Expo feels like a better fit for any major announcements for this series, as well as Marvel Zombies season 2, the company's first R-rated animated program.

What Marvel movies and TV shows do you think we'll see and hear more about at SDCC 2026? And which one(s) are you most looking forward to? Let me know in the comment section below and the above poll you probably scrolled past.

Once you're done, find out everything we know about Avengers: Doomsday, get the first details about Avengers: Secret Wars, learn all there is to know about VisionQuest, and what's what with Daredevil: Born Again season 3.

I'll level with you: I was never the biggest fan of The Big Bang Theory. I held a torch for Young Sheldon like my life depended on it and was even happy to give Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage, but something has always felt off with TBBT in my eyes.

Maybe it was the bright lights and constant laugh track, or maybe it was the fact that I always felt too dumb to understand the nerdy science at its core. But there's good news — new HBO Max spinoff Stuart Fails to Save the Universe has made me feel like a born-again sitcom fan.

Logically, a TBBT spinoff should have followed Sheldon (Jim Parsons), Leonard (Johnny Galecki) or Howard (Simon Helberg) in their days after Caltech. That was what the fans wanted, right? Some even outright lobbied for Young Leonard, which would have been worthwhile for Christine Baranski screentime alone.

What we weren't expecting was a reality where awkward comic book owner Stuart (Kevin Sussman) accidentally triggered a multiverse Armageddon after breaking a device supposedly built by Sheldon and Leonard.

Together with on-off girlfriend Denise (Lauren Lapkus), as well as friends Kripke (John Ross Bowie) and Bert (Brian Posehn), they land in a different universe in each episode. It's something that should seem like a wildly complicated framework that runs away from us, but it's actually a solid foundation for some really silly fun.

Creators Chuck Lorre, Bill Prady and Zak Penn have thrown everything and everyone's kitchen sinks into Stuart Fails to Save the Universe, and objectively, it's whip smart. Does it always fall on its feet? No. But you've got to have a huge amount of respect for something that swings so big and boldly.

Stuart Fails to Save the Universe is a breath of fresh air amongst TV that takes itself too seriously

The problem with something that's so dependent on its relatively complex premise is that you have to wade through a bit of metaphorical treacle in order for the TV show to feel effortless. Annoyingly, Stuart Fails to Save the Universe suffers from this, but I think the payoff is more than worth it.

Like a baby being taught to walk for the first time, we're handheld through explanations of Sheldon's device, how universe transportation works, how we ended up here in the first place, and what this means for what we might see across the season's remaining nine episodes (no spoilers here, don't worry).

I've never studied at Caltech and never plan to, but this is essentially a 25-minute crash course in things beyond most of our understanding. But once that's all out of the way, we relax into the laughs, stupidity and self-poking fun... and boy is the creative team coming in hot with self-awareness.

If the core storyline isn't doing it for you, there's an abundance of other intricately shrewd details to keep you occupied. Each of the episodes 10 title sequences are subtly different from each other, ensuring that we're engaged rather than committing the mortal sin of skipping through the credits.

On top of that, there's an extra layer of fun wrapped up in guessing what's going to be wrong with the next universe. Will its population have caterpillar bodies? Will they eat food with lizard tongues like that Treehouse of Horror episode of The Simpsons? The guessing never ends!

Ultimately, it's this sense of endlessness that is Stuart Fails to Save the Universe's biggest strength. The comedy could hypothetically run for 30 seasons and never lose its sense of freshness and wonder. What is continuity when you're constantly leaping through different universes?

This is an incredibly rare chance to be bold in the landscape of TV storytelling, and not only do I think HBO Max will continue to take it, but fan demand will be high — investing in something feels more worthwhile when there's (literal) infinite potential.

It's both a blessing and a curse for Big Bang Theory fans

For existing TBBT fans, however, Stuart Fails to Save the Universe signifies a different kind of importance. There's existing lore hanging over the concept of the spinoff itself, with fans theorizing that ideas like The Council of Sheldons, seen in TBBT season 11 episode 3, could return here.

The beauty of this spinoff is that you don't really need to know the first thing about TBBT to understand it, but Easter eggs are still effectively woven into its fabric. Aside from the mechanics of Sheldon and Leonard's device, the overall lore isn't too dense or meta. However, as the original synopsis suggested, TBBT cameos will appear at different points throughout the season.

Who? I will not say. But it's important to note that not everyone has returned — this isn't a reunion special. This is bound to cause some friction among the existing fanbase, but packaging Stuart Fails to Save the Universe as a flat-out TBBT 2.0 would almost have been belittling.

The threads that have been taken forward are smart choices, and we certainly get bang for our buck when it comes to screentime and plot inclusion. Plus, this is a 'never say never' situation... in infinite universes, anything can happen, and anyone can appear.

Has 'King of Sitcoms' Chuck Lorre done it again? You bet. Stuart Fails to Save the Universe is a TV triumph that I never expected, and with episodes ranging from 18-25 minutes in length, you'll be left longing for more.

Stuart Fails to Save the Universe drops on HBO Max weekly from July 23.

If I could sum up Rick and Morty season 9 in one word... I couldn't. It's physically impossible to sump up the chaos that is the Smith's family life in so few words.

All we've got to go off of this week is a name: Tom Sawyer. We can assume that this will somehow relate to the classic Mark Twain novel The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, but does this mean Morty is also Huckleberry Finn? Watch this space.

Regardless, when does Rick and Morty season 9 episode 10 arrive on Adult Swim, Hulu, and HBO Max?

What time can I watch Rick and Morty season 9 episode 10 on Adult Swim, Hulu, and HBO Max?

In the US, Rick and Morty season 9 episode 10 will debut on Adult Swim on Sunday, July 26 at 8pm PT / 11pm ET.

Viewers elsewhere, as well as in the US, have two streaming options: Hulu and HBO Max. Episodes should appear on these platforms 24 hours after they've aired on Adult Swim, meaning you can expect episode 10 to land on Monday, July 27. These are the timings you need to be aware of for the latter date:

• US – 12am PT / 3am ET
• Canada – 12am PT / 3am ET
• UK – 8am BST
• India – 12:30pm IST
• Singapore – 3pm SGT
• Australia – 6pm AEST
• New Zealand – 8pm NZDT

When do new episodes of Rick and Morty season 9 come out?

After this week's entry, they won't. Rick and Morty season 9 comprises 10 episodes so, once its finale has aired, there'll be no more chapters to enjoy until a 10th season is potentially greenlit.

I know, I know... I'm being greedy when it comes to Little House on the Prairie. Netflix only dropped the first season on July 9, with its second season being renewed months before we even saw it.

Frankly, it's all good news for anybody who loves the Ingalls family. Logic tells us that season 2 will be based on the next book in Laura Ingalls Wilder's original series, On the Banks of Plum Creek.

Having left their little house on the Kansas prairie (which is exactly what we saw at the end of season 1), the Ingalls family travels by wagon to Minnesota, settling on the banks of Plum Creek.

The book covers five years of Wilder's childhood, so we could see the Ingalls stay there for a while should the Netflix series continue to be renewed.

If I were a betting woman, I'd say that Little House on the Prairie season 2 could be exceeded by at least 3 more seasons, if the streamer invests in the IP in the same way as it does with Virgin River. At the time of writing, no further seasons have been commissioned.

Talking to star Alice Halsey, who plays Laura, this situation would be a "dream come true," — and there's good reason to be optimistic.

Little House on the Prairie season 3 would likely be based on By the Shores of Silver Lake

"I love playing Laura, and I would love to do it for a whole lot longer," Halsey tells me. "I would just adore the prospect of being able to be Laura for years to come, to be able to be that kind of person that Melissa Gilbert was to so many people. I think that's really empowering.

"I just hope that people will love season 2 as much as they seem to like season 1. Season 2 is going to be even better. If we have a season 3 or season 4, that would just be a dream come true."

As I've said, I think Halsey is right, and Little House on the Prairie will likely be renewed for both... but let's dig into why. For starters, there's a wealth of source material to work with courtesy of the real-life Ingalls.

Here's the full Little House series list:

• Little House in the Big Woods (1932)
• Farmer Boy (1933)
• Little House on the Prairie (1935)
• On the Banks of Plum Creek (1937)
• By the Shores of Silver Lake (1939)
• The Long Winter (1940)
• Little Town on the Prairie (1941)
• These Happy Golden Years (1943)
• The First Four Years (1971)

We skipped past the first two books by the time season 1 even began, with season 2 confirmed to adapt On the Banks of Plum Creek. That leaves another five novels that are ripe for adaptation, meaning a minimum of five further future seasons in the pipeline.

Why "minimum?" Well, this largely depends on how Netflix chooses to adapt future books. The Ingalls didn't live in the Kansas prairie for too long, but we know that they lived by Plum Creek for a good few years. This could either be crammed into one season, or spread out over a few.

Of course, Netflix doesn't have to use all of Wilder's remaining books, either. As it's already skipped past the first two (understandably to start at the most well-known point), the streamer can pick and choose what it wants to adapt.

In its best-case scenario, we could be looking at an original IP that rivals Virgin River, which is currently the longest-running original series in Netflix's roster. Little House on the Prairie must be similarly cost-effective for Netflix to film, with both shows passing off Canada as various US locations.

As it stands, it's all to play for... but don't be surprised if more announcements come out sooner rather than later.

• Avengers: Doomsday will be released in cinemas worldwide on December 18
• Tom Hiddleston's Loki is part of the movie's huge ensemble
• The popular actor has revealed if fans need to watch Loki on Disney+ before Doomsday comes out

Tom Hiddleston has revealed if you need to watch Loki on Disney+ to understand his character's role in Avengers: Doomsday.

Speaking exclusively to TechRadar, the fan-favorite actor, who has played Loki in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) since 2010, said he "will always say that people need to watch" his character's standalone series. However, Hiddleston wouldn't be drawn specifically on whether it was essential to stream the show prior to Doomsday's release on December 18.

Marvel fans who've seen the Hiddleston-fronted program will already know how its second and final season ends. On the off-chance that you haven't watched it yet, I'll refrain from spelling out exactly what happened in this article. For those who need their memory jogged, my spoiler-filled Loki season 2 ending explained piece holds the answers you seek.

One thing that every MCU fanatic will know by now, though, is that Loki will return in Avengers: Doomsday. Indeed, not only was Hiddleston part of the initial 27-strong Doomsday cast announcement in March 2025, but he also made the briefest of appearances in Avengers: Doomsday's first official trailer, which surprisingly made its public debut yesterday (July 20).

Naturally, fans have myriad questions after the release of said trailer, including a couple concerning Loki. How big of a role will he play in the Marvel Phase 6 movie? Will he be reunited with Thor? And, perhaps most important of all, does Loki's Disney+ show have any bearing on the story that Doomsday will tell?

As part of a wider chat I had with Hiddleston for his new National Geographic docudrama Pompeii: Out of Time, which airs on Disney+ and Hulu on July 23, I put those exact questions to him. Predictably, Hiddleston, who has plenty of experience dodging spoiler-based Marvel questions, wasn't forthcoming with definitive answers.

Nonetheless, he did appear to drop a tiny hint that anyone who wants to comprehend Loki's role in Avengers 5 should seek out the character's solo show on Disney+, aka one of the world's best streaming services.

"I always say that people need to watch Loki," he told me with a wry smile. "I'm really proud of that show — I poured my whole soul into it and I love playing Loki. It's been 16 years now and, you know, I got to the end of Avengers: Infinity War, and that seemed to be the end of the Odinson saga.

"But, then Loki, as a series, was about placing Loki in the new context [by] taking him out of time and his reality," Hiddleston continued. "He's confronted with his compulsive, self-destructive, repetitive patterns of behavior, and gives him this capacity to be an agent of his own destiny. It was such an enjoyable experience because the whole show is about identity, purpose, and belonging, and also about time and how we perceive it and how best to use it.

"So, yeah, I would always say, if you haven't watched it, go and do so," he added. "And, if you haven't watched it before Doomsday, go and watch it again."

For more on one of 2026's most anticipated new movies, find out everything we know so far about Avengers: Doomsday.

• Other Mommy has a first-look trailer which gives us a glimpse at Jessica Chastain's return to horror
• The movie will arrive in theaters on October 9, 2026
• Rob Savage, the director of Zoom horror sensation Host, is behind the terrifying new movie

2026 has been a bumper year for horror, and it's about to get even bigger when one of my anticipated new movies Other Mommy arrives in theaters on October 9.

Other Mommy follows Bela, a young girl, who gets mixed up with a mysterious force in her house that resembles her mother. Here, Jessica Chastain takes on a dual role as Bela’s mother and as “Other Mommy,” the supernatural entity that's haunting the place.

I'm already excited for this movie because it's got a stellar team behind it. Chastain stars alongside Severance's Dichen Lachman and it's directed by Rob Savage, who you may know for directing the Zoom horror movie Host.

If you're not convinced yet, check out the first look trailer for Other Mommy below.

I'm very excited for Other Mommy because recent box office figures have shown that audiences love fresh horror which spins a unique tale of terror, instead of more reboots or remakes. Whilst Other Mommy is based on a novel, this is the first time it's come to the big screen.

In the cover image for Other Mommy's trailer we can see recent horror hits Obsession and Backrooms referenced. It's clear just how influential they have been in championing this new wave of horror stories.

This is also a huge return to the genre for actor Jessica Chastain, after she appeared in IT: Chapter Two in 2019. It's great to see her back taking on a creepy new role, requiring her to play two versions of the same character.

Other Mommy has the potential to be a great horror and I really hope it delivers. We have a long wait for it to arrive in theaters but don't worry, I've got a list of 7 new horror movies to stream in July to keep you entertained until then.