The House of the Dragon season 3 finale has made a big lore change to Alys Rivers – and it might mean she could show up in the Aegon's Conquest movie.

Warning, the following contains major spoilers for House of the Dragon season 3, episode 8! Turn back now if you're not up to date!

In the episode, Alys is revealed to actually be the wife of Harrenhal's original owner Harren, making her hundreds of years old. She was cursed to immortality after attempting to save the life of her son, who was burned by Balerion during Aegon's Conquest.

"ALYS WIFE OF HARREN THE BLACK? ALYS IN THE AEGON THE CONQUEROR MOVIE MAYBE???? Genuinely such a cool idea and origin point for the character" says one fan on Twitter.

An Aegon's Conquest movie is indeed at the works at Warner Bros., from Andor writer Beau Willimon.

In George R.R. Martin's Fire and Blood, Alys does not have this same backstory, and she is instead a mysterious bastard of House Strong. While she is noted as looking strangely young, she has no connection to Harren.

"Perfect example of deviating from the source material and it actually enriches the story," says another fan.

"I'm 50/50 on this. Sometimes the answer to the mystery isn't as good as the mystery. This is one of those I believe. Beautiful scene. I just need to sit with this for a bit," says another person.

"Would be a cool idea for the Conquest film for continuity," is another person's thoughts.

For more on the show, check out our guide on everything there is to know about House of the Dragon season 4, as well as our House of the Dragon season 3 ending explained.

New Sinister Six movie concept art has surfaced, revealing a look at an alternate reality where we got Spider-Man facing down half-a-dozen of his most iconic villains instead of battling Jean Grey in the MCU.

Artist Victor Martinez posted the images on Instagram, which showcase Spider-Man (though it's admittedly not clear which iteration) battling Doctor Octopus upside down on the ceiling of a library.

"Sharing some more concept art I did for an unmade/untitled Spider-Man film from years ago," Martinez wrote. "Which project do you think it’s from?… and what sort of mess has Spidey gotten into this time?"

Martinez added, "This would’ve been a fun one with lots of villains... 6 to be exact!... iykyk."

Whispers of a Sinister Six movie go back years. Daredevil's Drew Goddard was once attached to write and direct the project as far back as 2016, prior to Spider-Man's official entry into the MCU.

The supervillain group typically consists of Doctor Octopus leading a group of assorted members of Spider-Man's rogues' gallery (including the likes of Scorpion, Electro, Vulture, and Shocker).

They made a prominent appearance during Insomniac's first Spider-Man game, where Mister Negative also joined their ranks in a bid to take down the wallcrawler.

As of now, Doc Ock's last film appearance was Alfred Molina reprising the role – through some multiverse trickery – in Spider-Man: No Way Home.

No word yet on Spider-Man's immediate cinematic future, but we can't imagine the Sinister Six skulking into sight anytime soon, especially given how low-key (and refreshing) Brand New Day felt in comparison to previous Spidey movies.

For more on what's next in the MCU, check out our guide to upcoming Marvel movies.

New Game of Thrones play The Mad King has pretty much revealed the identity of the Prince that was Promised – though with a major twist.

Warning, the following contains spoilers for the new play, so turn back now if you don't want to know the details!

GamesRadar+ attended a performance of Game of Thrones: The Mad King, and we were treated to a major lore revelation.

The Prince that was Promised prophecy has increasingly become a huge deal in the Game of Thrones universe, and it was revealed in House of the Dragon season 1 that Aegon the Conqueror foresaw the Long Night and the threat of the White Walkers – and that a Targaryen would need to be seated on the Iron Throne to combat the danger.

However, the true identity of the Prince that was Promised is somewhat murky. It seemed fairly obvious thanks to the TV show that it would end up being either Jon Snow or Daenerys Targaryen – with more signs pointing towards Jon, considering Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark are his parents – but ultimately, the Night King (an invention of the TV show) was defeated by Arya Stark.

The Mad King, however, has revealed more about the prophecy. King Aerys believes that the Prince that was Promised must be a third-born child, which explains the significance of "the dragon has three heads" (at least, as far as he interprets it, anyway). Rhaegar originally believes himself to be the Prince that was Promised, but, as a firstborn son, he is ruled out. He then believes his second-born child, a boy named Aegon, is the prophesied prince – though, when he declares this to be so, he sees Daenerys across time (Daenerys is in the House of the Undying Ones, watching the scene herself, as depicted in A Clash of Kings).

Later, after Lyanna Stark and Rhaegar Targaryen run away to the Tower of Joy together, a red comet appears in the sky. Both Lyanna and Aerys believe this to be an omen, and so they both rush to conceive children.

Aerys's wife, Rhaella, is cruelly abused by her husband, and so as the Kinsguard arrive to take her to him, she declares that she does not wish to birth the prophesied prince, but rather the "scourge of the world" and "a vengeful daughter, whose wrath will return dragons and set the realm ablaze." She ultimately gives birth to Daenerys Targaryen.

Lyanna, meanwhile, gives birth to Jon Snow. In the play, he is not named Aegon, and Rhaegar and Lyanna also do not seem to be married, meaning he's still a bastard (there is some ambiguity here, however).

So, both Jon and Daenerys are third-born children, meaning they both fit the prophecy. There is one caveat, however: Rhaella had multiple stillborn children or children who died in infancy before Daenerys. But the play is pretty emphatic about both Jon and Dany being third children born under the red comet.

So, it would seem both Jon and Daenerys are the Prince that was Promised… or only one of them is, and the other is a red herring. George R.R. Martin has been clear before that only the books are canon, though he was involved in the play, so we can treat this as at least semi-canon. But, we won't know for sure until (or if) George R.R. Martin finishes his books.

Game of Thrones: The Mad King is playing at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre from now until September 5, 2026. For more on the play, check out our guide to 16 things we learned about Game of Thrones from The Mad King.

You can keep up to date with the world of Westeros with our guide to all the upcoming Game of Thrones movies and TV shows.

Jean Grey actor Sadie Sink thinks it's a "smart choice" to have a "younger generation of mutants" for Marvel's upcoming X-Men movie.

Upon being asked by Entertainment Weekly how it feels to have a universe starting with Jean Grey as a building block, Sink replied, "It's really cool. Also, I think it was such a smart choice, too, to start young and have this younger generation of mutants. It’s a cool take on it, but as it starts to assemble and everything, I’m really excited about having a group of people to feel like you’re on a team with."

Sink added that she is currently being pulled in to screen test with various actors for auditions because it is "important" to establish chemistry within certain dynamics.

In a separate interview with Vanity Fair, Sink – who made her debut as Jean Grey in Spider-Man: Brand New Day – said she would start filming X-Men next year.

Right now, a handful of actors have been confirmed to appear in Jake Schreier's undated X-Men movie.

They include Sink, Samara Weaving as Emma Frost, and Kit Connor as Cyclops/Scott Summers. Other rumored names include Charles Melton as Beast and Cailee Spaeny as Rogue.

D23 appears to be the most likely destination for a full-throated reveal of the main cast. A Disney panel, featuring Marvel Studios, takes place on August 14.

Marvel will be hoping X-Men can mirror the success of Spider-Man: Brand New Day, which is currently on course to gross over $2 billion at the box office.

For more, check out the upcoming Marvel movies on the way, plus a look back at the full Marvel timeline throughout the decades.

It turns out Jon Snow's Game of Thrones season 8 plot might not be set in stone in George R.R. Martin's books, thanks to a major revelation in new play The Mad King.

Spoilers follow for Game of Thrones: The Mad King, so turn back now if you don't want to spoil the play!

GamesRadar+ attended a performance of the new play in the UK's Stratford-Upon-Avon, and we learned some very interesting news about Jon Snow that contradicts his TV show plot.

In the TV show, Jon is eventually revealed to be Aegon Targaryen, son of Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark. The lovebirds actually got married, as witnessed by Bran Stark, and so Jon/Aegon is officially the true heir to the Iron Throne, displacing Daenerys in the Targaryen line of succession.

However, the play tells a very different story. While Jon is still the son of Rhaegar and Lyanna, crucially, the lovers are never actually seen to be formally married. There is some ambiguity here, however, because Elia Martell – Rhaegar's actual wife – makes reference to always being fine with the idea of Rhaegar taking a second wife: one for duty, and one for love. And, a time skip glosses over Rhaegar and Lyanna running away together, with Act 2 picking up with the couple already hidden away in the Tower of Joy. So, it's possible Rhaegar and Lyanna are considered wedded, but, either way, no wedding ceremony actually takes place onstage (personally, I didn't get the impression that they had married).

This means Jon is most likely still a bastard, with no official claim to the Iron Throne at all (though, as Rhaegar's son, he could still make some kind of claim for the crown). Even more importantly, though, is the fact that Lyanna does not actually name her son before dying in childbirth. In the TV show, she told her brother Ned Stark that her son's name was Aegon. In the play, Ned chooses to name the baby Jon after Jon Arryn of the Vale, who fostered Ned and Robert Baratheon as children.

All of this lends credence to the theory that the TV show blended elements of Jon Snow's storyline with Young Griff, AKA Aegon Targaryen – who claims to be the second-born son of Rhaegar (with his wife Elia), thought murdered by the Mountain during the sack of King's Landing but actually swapped with another child and saved. While there's plenty of evidence in Martin's books to suggest Young Griff is a fraud, it still hasn't been confirmed either way. If Young Griff is who he says he is, then he is the true heir to the Iron Throne – and he's named Aegon.

Young Griff was cut from the TV show, so it wouldn't be a huge surprise if Jon Snow did end up absorbing some of his plot. What exactly that means for Jon remains to be seen, since, in the TV show, his heritage didn't end up being that big of a deal.

But, this all comes with the caveat that Martin has said before that only the books are canon. Martin was involved with The Mad King, however, so we can probably take the play as a semi-canon source with as much legitimacy as the TV show. Ultimately, we won't know for sure until (or if) Martin finishes the books. Here's hoping The Winds of Winter comes soon...

Game of Thrones: The Mad King is playing at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre from now until September 5, 2026. For more on the play, check out our guide to 16 things we learned about Game of Thrones from The Mad King.

You can keep up to date with the world of Westeros with our guide to all the upcoming Game of Thrones movies and TV shows.

House of the Dragon showrunner Ryan Condal has revealed why, unlike George R.R. Martin's works, the HBO show leaves the Prince That Was Promised prophecy very much out in the open.

Warning, the following contains mild spoilers for the House of the Dragon season 3 finale. Turn back now if you haven't caught up, but make sure to read our House of the Dragon season 3 episode 8 review first.

There has been a lot of talk of The Prince that Was Promised in House of the Dragon. The prophecy comes from Aegon the Conqueror's Dream, which foretold that many years after the death of all dragons, one Targaryen prince would wake the beasts and defeat an evil force from the Long Night.

In Martin's works, the prophecy is kept secret. But in the season 3 finale, Rhaenyra announces it to the world. In a bid to gain the support of the smallfolk and justify her legitimacy, the Queen announces, "I am The Prince That Was Promised!" (admittedly, in High Valyrian, but the cat is already out of the bag before that). However, Condal has his reasons for this.

"It's something that is certainly not in the book, and it's not in the history, but there is a bunch of talk about how Rhaenyra became very despotic and became a tyrant at the end and was very unpopular with the people," explained Condal in a House of the Dragon season 3 press conference attended by GamesRadar+. The showrunner said that this could well have happened, but because she doesn't outright reveal Aegon's dream, and as no one really knows what she is talking about, it wouldn't have made historical record.

"But my sort of toss-off from the historians is 'Oh well, Targaryens say crazy shit all the time'" said Condal, jokingly, adding that the townsfolk probably thought that Rhaenyra was just trying to prove her legitimacy once again. So, why include it at all? "We wanted something that felt like a real seismic change, a sea change in Rhaenyra's relationship to her people," added Condal. The statement also ties in to the shocking murder Rhaenyra is responsible for right before. You can read our House of the Dragon season 3 ending explained for more on that.

"This old Valyrian faith of dragons and fire gods and blood magic, and pronouncing herself as the chosen one, the leader that is going to take them through the fire and out of the darkness." Of course, Game of Thrones fans will know that Rhaenyra is not the Prince That Was Promised.

House of the Dragon season 3 is streaming now on HBO Max and NOW. For more, check out our guide to House of the Dragon season 4, and keep up with all the upcoming Game of Thrones movies and shows.

7 years after the controversial Game of Thrones season 8, new play The Mad King might answer a major question about Daenerys Targaryen.

The following will contain spoilers for the play, so turn back now if you don't want to know the details!

GamesRadar+ attended the new play, which has just opened in the UK's Stratford-Upon-Avon, and we learned more about the circumstances surrounding Daenerys's birth. Her father, the Mad King himself Aerys Targaryen, believes that the prophesied Prince that was Promised – who will unite the realm against the threat of the White Walkers, as foreseen by Aegon the Conqueror – must be a third-born child. Aerys already has two children, Rhaegar and Viserys, when a red star appears in the sky. Believing it to be an omen, Aerys demands his wife Rhaella be brought to him. The resulting child is Daenerys.

However, Aerys is a cruel and abusive husband. Rhaella, crying out in rage after the Kingsguard come to take her to him, says that she does not want to birth the prophesied prince, but rather the "scourge of the world," and "a vengeful daughter, whose wrath will return dragons and set the realm ablaze."

Now, in both George R.R. Martin's books and the TV shows, Daenerys brings dragons back to the world by hatching her three eggs in Khal Drogo's funeral pyre. Arguably, this is born of Daenerys's wrath, considering one of the sacrifices she makes to bring her dragons to life is Mirri Maz Duur, the midwife who tricked her into a magical bargain that killed her husband and unborn son. So, that portion of Rhaella's desperate wish is fulfilled.

However, what's not clear is whether Daenerys will fulfil an apocalyptic role in Martin's books, as she does in Game of Thrones season 8. In the final season, Daenerys burns King's Landing to the ground with her dragon Drogon, before claiming the throne (and being murdered by Jon Snow shortly afterwards). Whether Daenerys's book storyline will mirror the show and end in the Mother of Dragons breaking bad and burning King's Landing is still a matter of debate among A Song of Ice and Fire fans.

The Mad King, then, seems to support those who argue that Daenerys will indeed burn King's Landing in Martin's novels, should they ever be completed.

Though, prophecies often trip up Martin's characters, so it's possible this is another red herring. After all, there's a lot of leeway in "set the realm ablaze" – this could be figurative, referring to Daenerys burning down the old structure of power in Westeros, for example. Or, it could refer to riding her dragons into battle. And, Rhaella is overcome with emotion and could simply be screaming her own desires, which don't reflect on her future daughter at all. It doesn't necessarily mean we can expect Mad Queen Dany in the books. (Personally, I've always sided with the theory that King's Landing will burn thanks to Cersei and the wildfire caches).

Plus, Martin has been clear before that only his novels are canon. While the play was made with his involvement, it's still only really a semi-canon source – though we can assume that, like the TV show, it gives us big hints about what's to come in The Winds of Winter and beyond.

So, we can't say for sure if Daenerys will go full dracarys in the books and burn King's Landing and all its people… but Rhaella's words certainly lend credence to the theory that her book arc will mirror what became of the Mother of Dragons in the TV show.

Game of Thrones: The Mad King is playing at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre from now until September 5, 2026. For more on the play, check out our guide to 16 things we learned about Game of Thrones from The Mad King.

You can keep up to date with the world of Westeros with our guide to all the upcoming Game of Thrones movies and TV shows.

Ex-God of War star Ryan Hurst, who departed the Amazon production after an injury, has shown off a fresh look at his Kratos – and it's way better than the show's first official look.

As posted on his Instagram Stories (and preserved on social media below), Hurst shared a picture of his depiction of the ashen Ghost of Sparta.

All told, this is a vast improvement on God of War's debut image released this past February. There, Hurst's Kratos and Callum Vinson's Atreus better resembled professional cosplayers on a photoshoot than anything close to a TV-level adaptation of the beloved PlayStation series.

Original God of War creator and director David Jaffe wasn't a fan, to put it mildly – nor was an expectant audience.

Before Hurst and company could claw back goodwill, disaster struck. An injury to Hurst forced Amazon to recast the role of Kratos and reshoot multiple episodes with a new actor.

Dave Bautista is in talks to replace Hurst as Kratos, with there also being – slightly more unsubstantiated – reports that Atreus would be recast after the first season.

Over on the games side of things, there's a lot less drama. God of War: Laufey, a new title starring Deborah Ann Woll's Giant, is set to release on February 16, 2027. At SDCC, it was confirmed that a new Kratos-led game is also in development and "directly connects to the events of the Laufey game."

The God of War TV show also stars Mandy Patinkin, Teresa Palmer, Max Parker, Ólafur Darri Ólafsson, and Ed Skrein.

For more, check out the other new TV shows currently in the works.

It sounds as though Steve Rogers will be put through the wringer in Avengers: Doomsday as Chris Evans reveals how directors Joe and Anthony Russo love to see the Marvel hero at rock bottom.

"The Russos love beating up Steve Rogers. Their favourite thing to do is to just beat the crap out of him," said Evans at Fan Expo Boston (Via ComicBook). "To them, that’s what makes a hero, and that’s someone who gets punched so many times but still gets up."

We last saw the hero in Avengers: Endgame when he went back in time to return the Infinity Stones to their separate timelines. However, rather than returning to the present, Rogers remained in the past with his love, Peggy Carter. Endgame concluded with old man Rogers passing on the shield to Anthony Mackie's Sam Wilson.

The star went on to say that Rogers' arc in Doomsday is "brutal" but necessary, as it showcases his true nature and values. Could Rogers' return to the present cost him the person he holds dear?

During the Marvel panel at SDCC 2026, it was confirmed that Peggy Carter star Hayley Atwell would return in Doomsday. Could the Russos be bringing her back just to kill her off? We don't doubt it, as that seems to be the plan with the original Fox-era X-Men too.

When Evans' Doomsday casting was first revealed, fans were pretty shocked to hear that Rogers was returning. Marvel heads wondered how the hero made his way back to Earth 616, and how the movie would handle old man Rogers. Then, as the first Avengers: Doomsday trailer hit the internet, theories on Rogers' identity started to swirl, with many questioning if the Rogers we see in the clip is really Hydra Cap.

However, it is important to note that until the Avengers: Endgame rerelease hits the big screen, we don't have the full picture yet. The upcoming rerelease will contain new footage, deleted scenes, and a special ending which is set to bridge the gap between Endgame and Doomsday. With that, the rerelease may change the Marvel timeline as we know it.

Doomsday arrives this December 18. For more, check out our Avengers: Doomsday trailer breakdown, and keep up with other upcoming Marvel movies and shows.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day actor Eman Esfandi has, in no uncertain terms, debunked a popular theory about the identity of MJ's boyfriend.

"I am not, never have been, and never will be 'Paul'," Esfandi wrote on Twitter.

Confused? The Paul in question was recently introduced in the comics as MJ's boyfriend, later marrying her and adopting children together.

Fans, however, reacted negatively. Paul was soon seen as shorthand for intrusive original characters only brought in to not-so-subtly shake up the status quo.

When coupled with what some felt was a mischaracterization of Peter Parker and an interminable Venom storyline that saw MJ become attached to the symbiote, Paul largely became one of the most notable failed experiments in modern-day Marvel comics.

Esfandi, who also plays Ezra Bridger in the live-action Ahsoka series, played into that sense of feeling and joked, "To those of you I saw in the comments defending my honor and saying I’d never accept that role… thank you."

So, the jury is still out on who exactly Esfandi is playing. In the credits, he's listed merely as The Boyfriend, which only raises suspicions further. After all, do you give an actor familiar to Star Wars fans only a 30-second cameo in the biggest movie of the year with no follow-up? It's unlikely. There's a reason, after all, that I've put my neck on the line and declared it a tease for an Oscorp and Harry Osborn-shaped future for Tom Holland's wallcrawler.

The whispers over Paul have done little to dent Spider-Man: Brand New Day's monstrous charge at the box office. It's currently cleared $1.5 billion and is well on track for a $2 billion finish before the end of August, ensuring it will become the highest-grossing Spider-Man movie (and non-Avengers MCU movie) of all time.

Whether Esfandi turns up again, there's plenty in Brand New Day's final act worth talking about. Here, we break down the Spider-Man: Brand New Day ending and Spider-Man: Brand New Day post-credits scene – including how it might set up Avengers: Secret Wars and Spider-Man 5.

For more, here's how to watch the Marvel movies in order.

House of the Dragon season 3 has come to a fittingly shocking conclusion, and it may well spell doom for Rhaenyra Targaryen.

Spoilers for House of the Dragon season 3, episode 8 follow! Turn back now if you haven't seen the episode yet!

In the finale, Helaena, who has been held captive and isolated throughout the season, throws herself from the Red Keep to her death. Speaking at a press conference attended by GamesRadar+, Emma D'Arcy, who plays Rhaenyra, expanded on what that means for their character.

"Helaena is the moral heart of the show, I think," D'Arcy reflected. "Maybe the only character who has a proximity to power but remains uncontaminated. And so, I think her death condemns Rhaenyra to the path she's chosen: no way back after that. There's certainly no route back to a more moderate form of leadership. And I don't know where we go from here, but I imagine it's likely to be impassable in her relationship with Alicent, which I think also means Helena's death condemns Rhaenyra to be alone in her pursuit for power."

In the episode, Rhaenyra's tenuous grip on the crown is threatened even further when news breaks that Aegon is still alive. This prompts Rhaenyra to arrange a coronation – and have the High Septon killed when he refuses to play along. Later, Rhaenyra finds a tapestry woven by Helaena – a dragon dreamer who could see the future – that depicts Rhaenyra on the Iron Throne, dripping blood and surrounded by flames and dying dragons.

"I was just thinking about Rhaenyra, her rejection of the Seven and murder of the High Septon, and this attempt to reject other legitimizing institutions," adds D'Arcy. "And in a funny way, Helaena's power of sight is another institution of legitimacy. I guess I just love the simplicity of looking at a document that could be hugely illuminating, but choosing to chuck it on the floor. Feels very odd."

When asked if the window Helaena jumps from is the same as the window Tommen Baratheon stepped to his death from in Game of Thrones, House of the Dragon showrunner Ryan Condal clarifies, "It's a different set," but acknowledges: "Echoes and reflections and parallels, for sure, to be drawn between the two series."

For more on the show, check out our guide on everything there is to know about House of the Dragon season 4, as well as our House of the Dragon season 3 ending explained.

While John Stewart is set to make his DCU debut in the upcoming Lanterns, played by Aaron Pierre, the Green Lantern will soon be reappearing in next year's quasi-Superman sequel Man of Tomorrow.

But, by the sounds of things, showrunner Chris Mundy had the leeway to take Lanterns wherever he wanted to go, despite the wider universe being at play.

"We weren't tasked with having any specific landing point, which was great for us because it gave us freedom to land the story where we wanted to land the story," Mundy told SFX magazine. "But John will be part of the greater DC Universe. That was good for us to know. And where we land him is somewhere that they're happy with us landing him and somewhere they can take him, if they want."

So far, Lanterns looks more like a gritty detective drama than a superhero show, with the buddy cop dynamic between Stewart and Kyle Chandler's Hal Jordan at its heart. But elsewhere in the SFX piece, Mundy hints that the grounded DC show might go cosmic: "We'd be stupid not to use everything that you can do inside the Green Lantern universe."

Man of Tomorrow, meanwhile, will see Superman forced to team up with Lex Luthor to take on Brainiac.

Along with Pierre and Chandler, the Lanterns cast also features Laura Linney, Nathan Fillion as Guy Gardner, and Ulrich Thomsen as Sinestro.

"Our show is in a lot of ways about replacement – when should someone step aside and when is it time for the next person to take the reins?" Mundy said back in 2025. "That push and pull between those two characters is really important. So much of the power that John has is by not taking the bait, understanding that you lose your power if you’re yelling and screaming."

Lanterns arrives on August 16. In the meantime, keep up to date with everything else the DCU has in store with our guide to all the upcoming DC movies and TV shows.

House of the Dragon season 4 may be a couple of years away, but we're already counting down the days to the Dance of the Dragons' final act. We've known for a while now that House of the Dragon season 4 will be the show's last and, unlike its once-celebrated sister show, Game of Thrones, House of the Dragon has the benefit of a complete George R.R. Martin story to draw from. So hopefully, this one will stick the (king's) landing.

House of the Dragon is coming to an end, but the World of Westeros is going nowhere. A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms season 2 is already in the can and expected to release early 2027, while there are a number of upcoming Game of Thrones movies and TV shows in the works. Of particular note for House of the Dragon fans: an Aegon's Conquest movie, which will tell the story of Rhaenyra's infamous ancestor.

For the time being, you'll find everything you need to know about House of the Dragon season 4 below, from what's known about the plot, who's in the cast, speculation on when it might release, and more. While we wait for new episodes, be sure to check out our House of the Dragon season 3 finale review and our House of the Dragon season 3 ending explained.

House of the Dragon season 4 release date speculation

All we know for now is that House of the Dragon season 4 will release in 2028. A more precise date is pure speculation for now. However, we can make an educated guess.

Since the first season dropped in 2022, House of the Dragon has released like clockwork every two years, with season 2 hitting screens on June 16, 2024, and season 3 releasing on June 21, 2026. And that's despite the 2023 Writers' Guild of America strike heavily impacting production on season 3. So, it's a relatively safe bet that House of the Dragon season 4 will hit screens around June 2028 at the latest.

Writing is at least well underway on season 4. "We're actually starting to show HBO [the scripts]," Ryan Condal said at a season 3 press conference attended by GamesRadar+. "This is our early iteration. I don't put the script down and take it away from me in production, and we have many months ahead of that. But we're as far ahead at this point in crafting a new season while we're still posting the old one."

Is House of the Dragon season 4 the final season?

Yes, House of the Dragon season 4 is the show's final season, which Condal confirmed back in 2024 just after season 2 aired. This was later reiterated by HBO CEO Casey Bloys in February 2026.

"We know when and where we're going to end. We've been able to plan and write to that for a long time now," Condal told us exclusively ahead of House of the Dragon season 3, earlier this year. "The biggest gift that [Fire and Blood] has given to us as writers of the show, and also to the fanbase that so fervently follows it, is it is a complete tale."

House of the Dragon season 4 cast

There were some major casualties in season 3, including Jacaerys Velaryon (Harry Collett), who perished in the Battle of the Gullet; Ser Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel), who died unsung in a field; and Ormund Hightower (James Norton), who took a knife up the, well, you know where, and was incinerated by Ulf, just what he deserved. So don't expect any of those to return.

At the moment, no new cast members have been confirmed for season 4. But based on who survives season 3, the House of the Dragon season 4 cast is shaping up like this:

• Matt Smith as Daemon Targaryen
• Emma D'Arcy as Rhaenyra Targaryen
• Olivia Cooke as Alicent Hightower
• Tom Glynn-Carney as Aegon Targaryen
• Ewan Mitchell as Aemond Targaryen
• Matthew Needham as Lord Larys Strong
• Steve Toussaint as Lord Corlys Velaryon
• Sonoya Mizuno as Mysaria
• Abubakar Salim as Alyn of Hull
• Clinton Liberty as Addam of Hull
• Bethany Antonia as Baela Targaryen
• Phoebe Campbell as Rhaena Targaryen
• Kieran Bew as Hugh Hammer
• Tom Bennett as Ulf the White
• Jefferson Hall as Tyland Lannister
• Gayle Rankin as Alys Rivers
• Freddie Fox as Gwayne Hightower
• Benjamin Evan Ainsworth as Daeron Targaryen
• Dan Fogler as Ser Torrhen Manderly

House of the Dragon season 4 plot speculation

Note: the following speculation does not contain book spoilers.

The House of the Dragon season 3 finale ended in, well, fire and blood as Ulf rained dragonfire indiscriminately down on both sides during the Battle of Tumbleton. With the battle brought to an abrupt end, Daemon on Caraxes and Hugh Hammer on Vermithor pursued Ulf on Silverwing; expect this chase to be quickly resolved in season 4.

Of the major dangling threads, Aegon's newfound alliance with his kinslayer brother Aemond will undoubtedly have huge ramifications in season 4. As will Helaena's decision to take her own life (and that of Aegon's unborn son), rather than live under duress in Rhaenyra's Red Keep. Given Rhaenyra's already shaky grasp on power, the return of Aegon and the slaughter of the High Septon is unlikely to endear the smallfolk to Rhaenyra's righteous cause.

Daeron's fate, and that of his dragon Tessarion, are also left ambiguous at the end of season 3, as a barely alive Gwayne is left searching for his nephew among the ashes of Tumbleton. Given that the Hightower forces have been burnt to a crisp, however, it's not like the young prince has much power behind him. Even his brother, Aegon, seems unhappy that Daeron tried to claim the throne.

At a season 3 finale press conference attended by GamesRadar+, Condal teased a "very worthy" final season. "We have an incredible season coming," Condal said. "As crazy and big as season 3 was, I think Season 4 is going to be even bigger. We have new characters, and new dragons and new locations all to come."

At the same press conference, Condal also addressed how Aegon and Rhaenyra have practically swapped places in their quests for the Iron Throne, heading into season 4. "I mean, the irony of the season is that Aegon, now not in the proximity of the throne, goes on this incredible character evolution where he becomes a much more dimensionalized man, who is more sympathetic and possibly more suited to rule, and then Rhaenyra in the proximity of the throne is turned and altered and somewhat corrupted by being in its orbit."

Is there a House of the Dragon season 4 trailer?

House of the Dragon season 4 is yet to go in front of cameras, so there's no season 4 trailer just yet, and likely won't be for quite some time.

The first trailer for House of the Dragon season 3 was released in April 2026, around three months before the season 3 premiere. So expect a full season 4 trailer around spring 2028, and perhaps a brief glimpse in HBO's 2028 preview trailer, which we'd expect to drop mid-December 2027.

For more on House of the Dragon, check out our House of the Dragon timeline and our breakdown of the Targaryen family tree.

You can watch the show on HBO Max in the US and on HBO Max and NOW in the UK.

House of the Dragon showrunner Ryan Condal says season 4 is going to be the best and biggest one yet... and we're waiting with bated breath after the season 3 finale.

Warning: Spoilers for House of the Dragon season 3 episode 8 below!

"We have an incredible season coming," Condal says during a press conference attended by GamesRadar+. "As crazy and big as season 3 was, I think Season 4 is going to be even bigger. It's a great privilege to be able to tell a story, and to be able to control and write the ending, and to control when and where that happens. This is not a given in making television, certainly. We're very excited to get back in. We have new characters, and new dragons and new locations all to come, that I think are gonna make it a very worthy final season. And I'm looking forward to doing it with one of my favorite people in the world, Emma D’Arcy."

House of the Dragon season 3 saw Rhaenyra slowly descend into power-hungry madness as she put on the crown and dared to stop anyone in her path who opposed. In the finale, Rhaenyra goes as far as to order the death of the High Septon, as he refused to anoint her as the true ruler of the Seven Kingdoms. Why? Because Aegon is still alive, and if that's not a "sign from the gods," then I don't know what is.

House of the Dragon season 4 will likely take us all the way to the end of the Dance of Dragons, the tumultuous civil war between Team Black and Team Green. I won't tell you what happens to Rhae in the books but, well, it's Game of Thrones. So, naturally, we can expect a largely unhappy ending for every single character (even the dragons).

House of the Dragon season 3 is streaming now on HBO Max and NOW. Make sure you don't miss the season 3 finale with our House of the Dragon season 3 release.

House of the Dragon showrunner Ryan Condal says Aegon had every opportunity to take revenge... but that it wouldn't have signified any growth in his character.

Spoilers for House of the Dragon season 3 episode 8 'The Dragon in Winter' lie ahead.

"That would be no fun," Condal says during a press conference attended by GamesRadar+, when asked why Aegon didn't kill Aemond when the two reunite in the House of the Dragon season 3 finale. "He's learned a lot in Season 3 here, Aegon. And even though he's still angry with his brother and has agendas, I think what he realized in his evolution is that he does deserve a lot of the things that happened to him, probably in some way, and, had to learn how to be a better king, and perhaps that… he needed to be away and walk amongst the people as a pauper.

"I mean, the irony of the season is that Aegon, now not in the proximity of the throne, goes on this incredible character evolution where he becomes a much more dimensionalized man, who is more sympathetic and possibly more suited to rule, and then Rhaenyra in the proximity of the throne, is turned and altered and somewhat corrupted by being in its orbit."

Because Aemond attempted to kill Aegon, his own brother, and his brother's dragon Sunfyre, one could conclude that Aegon then had every right to turn around and kill Aemond in an act of revenge. In House of the Dragon season 3 episode 8, Aemond himself even seems surprised when Aegon decides against it. Instead, Aegon suggests that he, Aemond, and Alys go find Vhagar and enter the battle themselves. However, we don't see Aegon and Aemond again in the episode after this moment.

Condal continues: "So, I think if Aegon had shown up and just killed Aemond, it really would not have marked the growth in the character. It's him seeing Aemond's change, and then realizing where he is standing with his dragon, and suddenly this incredible wind of legitimacy behind him, now that the realm is calling him the, you know, the second… he's basically… he's experienced a messianic return. I think it would ruin and spoil that for him to kill the person that's potentially his greatest and strongest ally."

It's also book-accurate, seeing as Aemond doesn't die until later on in the Dance of Dragons, during what's known as the Battle Above God's Eye. During the battle, Aemond, while riding Vhagar, and Daemon, while riding Caraxes, fight to the death – with Daemon ultimately driving his sword into Aemond's eye (presumably the good one). Aegon outlives his brother, sure, but then is ultimately assassinated via poison towards the very end of the war. Rhaenyra's son Aegon III then takes the Iron Throne.

Since the fourth and final season of House of the Dragon is expected to take us all the way to the end of the war, we can expect to see all of this play out in its true horror on screen.

House of the Dragon season 3 is streaming now on HBO Max and NOW. Make sure you don't miss the season 3 finale with our House of the Dragon season 3 release schedule.

Upcoming DC show Lanterns may revolve around a pair of Green Lanterns, but from what we've seen so far, it's going to remain a far more grounded murder mystery than expected.

For showrunner Chris Mundy, that decision to step away from the more cosmic reaches of Green Lantern lore in favor of a more True Detective-style investigation in dusty Nebraska was made from the jump.

"We just committed pretty early,” Mundy told SFX. “It wasn’t like, ‘Oh, should we do it this way?’ [We said] ‘We’re going to do it this way.’ So we just started building it. In that way we were all in from the beginning."

Mundy continued, "We wanted to make sure that we were firmly walking the Earth first, and then hopefully you can build those relationships, and that trust inside the show, and you can keep doing more and more."

That 'more and more' has already been hinted at in the second Lanterns trailer released during SDCC weekend. That fresh glimpse won over jaded fans with its imaginative use of the Lantern ring, tease of Sinestro, and what appeared to be a sprinkling of interstellar-set scenes. For Mundy, the sky isn't the limit. It goes far beyond that.

"We’d be stupid not to use everything that you can do inside the Green Lantern universe," Mundy said. "They have these abilities. They have the ring. Their world is just bigger, and the way we use our storytelling can be bigger too. We sometimes had to remind ourselves that there’s as much or as little sci-fi in it as we want there to be.”

Lanterns revolves around Lantern-in-training John Stewart (Aaron Pierre) being mentored by Hal Jordan (Kyle Chandler) as they uncover clues in a series of killings. The DCU series hits HBO on August 16.

For more, check out what we know about DCU Chapter One.

New play Game of Thrones: The Mad King chronicles the story of the tourney at Harrenhal and Robert's Rebellion, ending around 15 years before the events of the main A Song of Ice and Fire books and the Game of Thrones TV show.

Naturally, that means it reveals plenty about the lore of George R.R. Martin's series – and, below, we've rounded up the 16 biggest revelations from the play. Of course, Martin has said before that only the books are canon, so that means the play might not perfectly match up with revelations in the long-awaited Winds of Winter and beyond, especially considering Martin himself did not write the play. But, considering Martin's involvement in the stage show, we can assume the below is largely in line with his plans.

We'd also say that reading about the plot can't hold a candle to seeing it for yourself, so, if you're able, make your way to Stratford-Upon-Avon and watch The Mad King in all its glory. However, if that's not possible, we've got what you need to know below. That means there are major spoilers ahead, so turn back now if you don't wish to know more.

Everything we learned about Game of Thrones from The Mad King

The Prince that was Promised

In the play, it's revealed that the prophesied Prince that was Promised – who will eventually unite the realm against the threat of the White Walkers, as foreseen by Aegon the Conqueror – must be a third-born child. This is the meaning behind "the dragon has three heads," or at least that's how King Aerys sees it. Rhaegar Targaryen believed himself to be the Prince that was Promised, as he was born amidst the salt and smoke of the doomed Summerhall – smoke of the fire as Summerhall burned, and tears of the grieving.

When a red star appears in the sky later in the play, Lyanna Stark, in the Tower of Joy with Rhaegar, sees this as a sign, as does Aerys. Both Rhaegar and Lyanna, and Aerys and his wife Rhaella Targaryen, conceive a child this night: a third born child for Rhaegar named Jon Snow, and a third born child for Aerys named Daenerys. So, both Jon and Daenerys continue to fit the prophecy.

Jon Snow

Jon Snow is very different in the play compared to the TV show. For one thing, he is not named Aegon Targaryen in The Mad King. Lyanna Stark dies before she can name him, and instead Ned Stark names him after Jon Arryn of the Vale, who fostered him and Robert Baratheon as children. Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna are also not shown to get married in the play, meaning Jon is most likely still a bastard (unlike in the show, where he was revealed to be the true heir) – however, Elia Martell does make reference to always being fine with the idea of Rhaegar taking a second wife, so it's not entirely clear if Rhaegar and Lyanna are considered wed or not. Either way, no marriage ceremony is shown onstage.

Those who know Jon's true identity are Ned, Howland Reed, and Benjen Stark. While Jon is still an infant, Benjen says Jon will never be safe until he joins Benjen at the Wall, meaning it was always the plan for Jon to take the black.

Daenerys Targaryen

On the night Daenerys Targaryen is conceived, her mother, Rhaella Targaryen, raging against being forced to sleep with the abusive Aerys, shouts that she does not want to birth the prophesied prince but rather the "scourge of the world," and "a vengeful daughter, whose wrath will return dragons and set the realm ablaze." In the TV show, Daenerys burns King's Landing, a plot point that remains controversial to this day. Rhaella's declaration in The Mad King certainly lends credence to the argument that Daenerys's book plot is likely headed in a similar direction.

Rhaegar and Lyanna

It might not come as a huge surprise after the TV show, but Rhaegar and Lyanna do indeed love each other, and Lyanna went willingly to the Tower of Joy. What we do learn, though, is that Lyanna is a true believer of the Prince that was Promised prophecy, even after Rhaegar begins to lose his faith. In fact, Rhaegar argues "I made a choice that could not have been foretold" by running away with Lyanna, believing himself in control of his own destiny at last. Of course, he seems to be wrong.

Lyanna also tells Ned, as she lays dying from childbirth, that she wants to go home. This explains Ned's insistence on burying Lyanna at Winterfell, even though Robert Baratheon declares he will never forgive Ned for doing so.

The House of the Undying

In A Clash of Kings, Daenerys Targaryen travels to the House of the Undying Ones after her dragons are kidnapped. Inside, she has fantastical visions – and one is of her older brother, Rhaegar Targaryen, and his second-born child, his son Aegon. When Rhaegar's wife Elia asks Rhaegar to make a song for their son, Rhaegar replies: "He has a song. He is the prince that was promised, and his is the song of ice and fire." Then, Martin writes, "He looked up when he said it and his eyes met Dany's, and it seemed as if he saw her standing there beyond the door."

In the play, when Rhaegar speaks these words, he does indeed look up to see an open door. In the doorway stands a woman with long silver hair, with three dragons behind her. She's not identified by name in the play, but it seems very obvious that this is Daenerys. So, Rhaegar did see his younger sister through time.

Rhaegar and Lyanna's dreams

Both Rhaegar and Lyanna have prophetic dreams. Lyanna dreams of a dragon, and Rhaegar has a vision of Daenerys when Aegon is born, then later sees a dragon and Lyanna while fighting Robert Baratheon on the Trident.

Plotting against Aerys

The tourney at Harrenhal was indeed a smokescreen to hide a plot against Aerys, spearheaded by Rhaegar Targaryen – a popular, semi-textual fan theory. Members of the Kinsguard are in on it, along with Elia Martell. The Starks join Rhaegar before the tourney ends, despite Aerys unexpectedly arriving halfway through, throwing a wrench in the conspirators' plans. Everything soon blows up in Rhaegar's face when he and Lyanna Stark flee to the Tower of Joy together, sparking Robert's Rebellion.

Summerhall

One of the greatest mysteries in the books is what exactly happened at Summerhall. What we do know is that King Aegon V – better known as A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms' Egg – starts a devastating fire while trying to resurrect dragons, and many of the Targaryens die. Rhaegar was born in Summerhall, which is why he believes he is the Prince that was Promised, since he fits the "born amidst salt and smoke" part of the prophecy (the salt of the tears of the grieving and the smoke of the fire). While The Mad King doesn't reveal much more about Summerhall, it does show us that Aerys is still heavily traumatized by what happened, as he speaks of seeing his grandsire, Egg, burn alive. And, Rhaella, Rhaegar's mother, has burn marks from rescuing her son from the blaze.

The Knight of the Laughing Tree

A mystery knight with a laughing tree as their sigil enters the lists during the tourney, inflaming Aerys's paranoia. The Mad King reveals that this mystery knight is none other than Lyanna Stark, a popular fan theory, and that she enters the lists because Howland Reed was attacked by the bannermen of some of the nobles participating. She reveals her identity to Rhaegar, who covers up her involvement with his father. Lyanna uses a laughing tree as her emblem because the Weirwood tree in Winterfell has laughing faces.

Elia Martell

Elia Martell's marriage with Rhaegar is purely political, and she has her own lover, Ashara Dayne. Elia even says she encouraged Rhaegar to take a second wife, as Aegon the Conqueror did, and have a wife for duty and a wife for love. However, Rhaegar and Lyanna running away together causes many, many issues – including for Elia, who ends up a captive, and is then murdered along with her children. Before her death, Elia communicated with Lyanna in the Tower of Joy via raven, urging her to tell Rhaegar to end the war.

Rhaenys's prophecy

Elia and Rhaegar's daughter, Rhaenys, says what Elia thinks is gibberish but is actually a disturbing prophecy. Elia reveals that Rhaenys speaks of a river of rubies and a mountain in their room – the river of rubies refers to the rubies that spray from Rhaegar's armor into the Trident river when he is killed by Robert Baratheon, and the mountain is the Mountain himself, Gregor Clegane, who murders Elia, Rhaenys, and Aegon. So, Rhaenys is foreseeing her parents' deaths.

Jaime Lannister

Jaime Lannister is an enthusiastic member of the Kinsguard at first. What we didn't know about his appointment, though, is that Rhaegar begs his father not to name Jaime to the order, since it would inflame tensions with Tywin Lannister – who is already at odds with the crown. Later, Rhaegar warns Aerys again that Jaime could be dangerous. Rhaegar's feelings on the Lannister knight do change eventually, though, as he tells Jaime to await his return as he departs for the Trident, implying they can overthrow Aerys afterwards (as happens in the books).

The play backs up what Jaime himself reveals in the main series, showing he was truly devoted to protecting the innocent during his early time as a knight of the Kingsguard. He puts himself between his brothers in arms to defend Rhaella, Elia, and Ashara from them – and, of course, later kills Aerys when Aerys demands Tywin's head and King's Landing burned. However, the play differs from the books when Jaime chooses to sit the Iron Throne. In the books, when Lannister men find Jaime and the dead king, they ask whether Tywin, Robert Baratheon, or another Targaryen should be crowned king. In the play, the Lannister men merely ask if they should proclaim a new king, implying the new monarch could be Jaime. Jaime then ascends the throne and dons his lion helm, as if trying it out for a moment, before yielding it when Ned arrives, as happens in the books.

Bran Stark

Ned Stark hears a disembodied voice shout "father" twice in the play, and, the second time it happens, he is at the Tower of Joy. While this has yet to happen in the books, it does happen in the TV show: Bran Stark, watching what happens at the Tower of Joy, calls out to Ned, and Ned hears. So, this seems confirmation that Bran will use his powers to discover the truth of Rhaegar and Lyanna's relationship and Jon Snow's parentage.

Ashara Dayne

Ashara Dayne is not only revealed to have been in love with Elia Martell, but she also had a bastard child with Brandon Stark. It's strongly implied in the books that Ashara and a Stark had a child, but now we know for sure. Sadly, the child was stillborn. So, while Ashara and Ned do dance together at the tourney, there was no attraction between them: it was always Brandon and Ashara.

The Trident

At the fateful battle of the Trident, Rhaegar Targaryen repeatedly tries to get Robert to surrender on the promise of a pardon. Robert continues to fight, consumed with rage. Rhaegar is eventually killed because he has a vision of a dragon, as well as of Lyanna. He calls to her, explaining why her name was his last word.

King Aerys

We learn some fascinating new details about the Mad King, too. He truly loves his son Rhaegar and is devastated to learn of his death, saying, "brave boy, I have him still in my arms," and "all this is for you, Rhaegar, my boy." Not only that, he's also traumatized by Summerhall. He even urges Rhaegar to kill him at one point, though Rhaegar can't bring himself to do it.

Game of Thrones: The Mad King is playing at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre from now until September 5, 2026.

You can keep up to date with the world of Westeros with our guide to all the upcoming Game of Thrones movies and TV shows.

The Targaryens have come to town. The Royal Shakespeare Company's new production, Game of Thrones: The Mad King, is now playing in the UK's Stratford-Upon-Avon, and it's a hugely ambitious, intensely immersive spectacle that every George R.R. Martin fan should experience at least once.

Adapted by Duncan MacMillan and directed by Dominic Cooke, the play is set just before the events of the original novels (and TV show) and chronicles the fateful tourney at Harrenhal. This occasion saw Rhaegar Targaryen crown Lyanna Stark the queen of love and beauty – and kickstart a bloody civil war that ended with Robert Baratheon ascending the Iron Throne and the Targaryen line near-annihilated.

The play is stunningly grand in its approach, choosing not just to adapt the tourney itself but also the entirety of Robert's Rebellion. The result is a breathtaking, engaging, and thrilling 3 hours and 40 minutes of action, drama, and tragedy.

Welcome to Westeros

On approach to the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, on a beautiful sunny summer's day in William Shakespeare's birthplace, Stratford-Upon-Avon, a digital sign above the entrance way welcomed me to Westeros. Inside the auditorium itself, the immersion began immediately: moody ambient music played in the background and a brazier in the center of the stage – two intersecting catwalks with the audience seated all around – crackled with flames. It helped that I was seated so close to one of these catwalks that my shoulder was literally touching its edge, truly part of the action.

Indeed, from the very first scene, which introduces Rhaegar Targaryen riding on horseback to the boom of dramatic music and the blaze of bright lights, it was impossible to think of anything but what was unfolding on stage only inches away.

The scale of the production is simply staggering: the horses are massive puppets that move seamlessly down the stage under the guidance of multiple puppeteers, the costumes range from lush gowns to sturdy armor with beautifully painted house sigils, and the action is impeccably choreographed. I was not merely watching Westeros: I was in Westeros, a bystander to legendary points of the Seven Kingdoms' history, powerless to intervene as tragedy and triumph alike unfolded before me.

The production makes full use of its massive set-up, too: one group of characters might be delivering dialogue while two Kingsguard knights lurk in the background, heads bent together, scheming quietly. For while the tourney is a pageant for the ages, it's also a chance for Rhaegar to overthrow his father Aerys Targaryen, better known as the Mad King.

Classic Thrones

The first act of the play recalls classic Game of Thrones – with hints of this year's A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, thanks to its tourney setting – because of its interest in such character moments and the realm's complicated politics. Like early Thrones, Act 1 revels in putting its players together and letting them talk. This is where Harmony Rose Bremner's Lyanna Stark shines: Lyanna has always felt like a shadow of a woman in A Song of Ice and Fire to me, since so much of her story is wrapped in mystery and her untimely death. In The Mad King, she is beautifully, joyfully alive, a bold and outspoken sister to the Stark brothers and a wilful character who wants to forge her own destiny, chafing at the life of a traditional highborn lady and her betrothal to Robert Baratheon.

Bremner's Lyanna has true chemistry with Noah Ritter's Rhaegar, too: a standout scene comes when Rhaegar asks her to dance, and Lyanna admits she's more of a fighter than a dancer. Undeterred, Rhaegar teaches her the steps as if they were sparring, and so the spark of a momentous romance and the coming rebellion is born.

Rhaegar, too, comes to fascinating life in the play, a mournful, serious young prince who feels the weight of destiny and duty alike. He believes himself to be the Prince that was Promised, but he also, far more practically, knows his father is unfit to rule and the time to seize the crown is now.

Other standouts include Elizabeth Ayodele's confident and complex Elia Martell, Michael Abubakar's utterly endearing Eddard Stark (who spends Act 1 insisting on being called Ned, worlds away from the grim, duty-driven man we meet in the main series), and Maxim Ays's young, conflicted Jaime Lannister, but it's Michael Shaeffer's Mad King who truly steals the show.

Shaeffer's Aerys is humanized to an almost painful degree, introduced with wildly long hair, fingernails like claws, and covered in gashes from sitting on the Iron Throne. He's a capricious, cruel, and often hilarious monarch, but one who can be overcome with trauma and grief, and one who loves his eldest son – his only redeeming quality. Maybe the most moving scene in the entire play is a quiet but forceful moment between Rhaegar and his father, as Rhaegar cuts the Mad King's unruly hair and trims his horrifying nails.

Robert's Rebellion

It's in Act 2 that The Mad King perhaps finally overreaches itself. Act 1 works beautifully because it's a contained, character-driven story, but when the show expands to the action of Robert's Rebellion, almost by design it loses some of this closeness. Naturally, a stage show can't capture the entirety of a brutal civil war, which means we are served only snapshots. I can't help feeling like something is lost by the play glossing over the actual outbreak of the civil war, instead picking up after Robert's Rebellion has begun, too.

Characters are separated by geography, so conversation is swapped for communicating via raven, and often the players react to things they hear second-hand rather than being directly involved. But the action remains superb (the fateful clash at the Trident in particular is astonishing) and the show still finds time for deeply moving, intimate moments – the women of the play singing a hymn to the Mother, begging for protection for their sons and daughters in a time of war, brought a tear to my eye.

It's here that Ays's Jaime Lannister becomes most compelling, too, as his conscience wars with his duty. Ays's take on the character is more innocent than the Jaime of the main series, and watching his development as the war and the Mad King both spiral out of control is heartbreaking and deeply captivating.

The wars to come

What I was most intrigued by heading into The Mad King was its potential for seismic lore revelations, and I was not disappointed. Mysteries that have fuelled fan speculation for decades are finally unveiled (I even overheard one happy theatregoer telling another that the play answered every question he had on the way out). This means that The Mad King isn't very newcomer-friendly, which is no real surprise, and is also something of a strength: no time is wasted recapping plot points or the relationships between characters we know well already. However, the sheer wonder on display is likely more than enough to enthral anyone less familiar with the lore.

The biggest barrier to watching The Mad King is, of course, its location, and, after being so completely blown away, I'm hoping a West End and Broadway future is on the horizon – as well as a professional recording for those who still can't make the trek – because this extraordinary production deserves to be seen by the biggest audience possible.

But Stratford-Upon-Avon and the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, with all their historical and dramatic pedigree, truly feel like the truest of homes for this play: the drama and tragedy are fittingly Shakespearean, after all.

For 3 hours and 40 minutes, I was fully transported to another world of knights and dragons and magic as Martin's incredible fantasy realm came to life before my eyes – and that's worth every mile of the journey.

Game of Thrones: The Mad King is playing at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre from now until September 5, 2026.

You can keep up to date with the world of Westeros with our guide to all the upcoming Game of Thrones movies and TV shows.

After months of silence on press tours, premieres, and red carpets, Spider-Man: Brand New Day star Sadie Sink has finally spoken about playing Jean Grey in the MCU.

In an interview with Variety, Sink not only confirmed the obvious (she is appearing in Jake Schreier's X-Men movie), but also her early conversations surrounding the psychic mutant's future.

"The more I've gotten into it and researched, what makes them special is that they are all incredibly flawed and maybe have done bad things. That makes them more compelling, complex characters and a more complex hero if they don't start out that way. And they have to find their relationship to their powers," Sink said.

"So, knowing Jean's struggle will be important in the future of her character and where she goes, just makes her really well-rounded, which I'm excited for."

Despite those talks with her upcoming director, Sink – a self-confessed X-Men newbie – is still none the wiser about where Jean is heading next after audiences witnessed her on a bus during the course of the Spider-Man: Brand New Day ending.

"I don't really know yet, to be honest," Sink said. "And when I say 'I don't know,' I mean I really don’t know."

Sink will soon be joined in the MCU by fellow X-Men castmates Samara Weaving as Emma Frost and Kit Connor as Scott Summers, AKA Cyclops.

The X-Men movie is currently undated, though Avengers: Doomsday is out on December 18, with Secret Wars to follow in 2027.

For more, check out the upcoming Marvel movies heading your way very soon.

The video game industry's finest film critic has seen Christopher Nolan's latest epic, and he is a fan. I'm talking about the one and only Metal Gear mastermind himself, Hideo Kojima, who's provided his thoughts on The Odyssey on Twitter.

"Rather than simply watching the screen, I felt as though I was there the entire time," he says of his viewing experience. "It was more than watching it, I witnessed it."

Like any good Letterboxd devotee, he caught the blockbuster in 70mm IMAX. I, sadly, had to settle for regular projection due to the dearth of IMAX options in Scotland. Forgive me, Kojima. Anyway, he mentions that it reminded him of the Cinerama screenings when he was a child, and how that contrast to his CRT television at home blew his mind.

"I already knew the story well, having grown up watching the 1954 Kirk Douglas version and several black-and-white adaptations, but this was an entirely different experience," he writes. "For me, it was an Odyssey unlike anything I had ever experienced."

He gives a shout out to the cinematography of Nolan and his longtime collaborator, Hoyte van Hoytema, in how it makes the production feel remarkably intimate – along with the use Nolan's "meticulous interwoven timelines," a staple of the director's films like Inception and Oppenheimer, too.

"Together, these elements elevate one of the world's best-known classical epics into an intimate, deep human drama," Kojima says. "It was magnificent."

I think he liked it. The Odyssey has proven to be another hit for Nolan, scoring him his biggest opening weekend ever. Kojima saw it at the David Keighley theatre at IMAX's base in Los Angeles, an invite-only cinema. Alas, Japanese fans will have to settle for public viewings when it opens there in September.

The Odyssey IMAX 70mm screenings are being extended until the release of Resident Evil in September due to constant sell-outs.

After appearing in the trilogy of Star Wars prequels, Natalie Portman says "no director" wanted to work with her.

Quotes from a 2014 piece in New York Magazine have recently resurfaced thanks to Far Out Magazine. There, Portman recalled the fallout from playing Padme Amidala in The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones, and Revenge of the Sith.

"Everyone thought I was a horrible actress," Portman said. "I was in the biggest-grossing movie of the decade, and no director wanted to work with me."

The Phantom Menace grossed over $1 billion dollars upon its release, but Episode One, and the subsequent movies in the trilogy, were widely panned by critics – and used as shorthand for unnecessary prequels thanks to its melodramatic twists, middling CGI, and move away from what made the original Star Wars trilogy so popular.

A separate 2008 interview in The Independent also saw Portman recall a negative backlash to her stint in the Star Wars prequels, but had a measured approach to her performances.

"With almost every performance, I feel like I've failed on some level," Portman said at the time. "But I also think it's very human to feel that when you mess up, you get more out of it than when you succeed."

Thankfully, Portman soon turned her career around with acclaimed performances in 2003's Cold Mountain and 2004's Closer, the latter of which netted her a Golden Globe win and Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress.

The 2010s proved more of a success for Portman, with the actor winning Best Actress for Black Swan. She even dipped back into franchise waters as Jane Foster in Thor and Thor: The Dark World, before reprising the role for a (seemingly) final time in Thor: Love and Thunder.

Portman is next appearing in Good Sex, the Lena Dunham-directed romcom, alongside Mark Ruffalo.

For more, check out the rest of 2026's biggest movie release dates.

First it was a green light and then, suddenly, a red light: David Fincher's English-language Squid Game show is already dead at Netflix.

As per The Playlist, sources close to the streamer say the Squid Game project – whether it was a remake or a continuation of the lore of the series is unclear – won't be going ahead. Instead, there are loose plans for more regional spin-offs for different countries.

All this comes after the Squid Game season 3 ending appeared to set up an America-set spin-off.

There, Lee Byung-hun's Front Man traveled to America to give Gi-hun's winnings to his daughter. While in a car, he sees a recruiter (played by Cate Blanchett) playing ddakji with a prospective player – a stark warning to viewers that the games still exist worldwide, continuing to take advantage of a desperate and needy population in various cities around the globe.

As recently as last November, Squid Game: America was listed with a 2026 filming start date.

Of course, things have changed. Fincher is now directing Once Upon a Time in Hollywood sequel The Adventures of Cliff Booth, starring Brad Pitt, at Netflix.

Netflix is keeping the Squid Game flag flying with its ongoing reality show, Squid Game: The Challenge.

There's plenty of attention on the streaming service later this month, too, thanks to the premiere of the Grand Theft Auto 6 extended look on August 27. For more on that, check out our guide on how to watch the GTA 6 extended look.

Then, fill out your watchlist with our curated list of the best Netflix shows and best Netflix movies.

James Gunn has moved fast to quash rumors that The Batman 3 will be filming back to back with The Batman 2.

After a fan asked on Threads whether the DC Studios co-CEO could "confirm or deny" the reports, Gunn plainly responded, "I can deny."

The excitement around back-to-back sequels entering production under Matt Reeves appeared to stem from Batman on Film founder Bill Ramey posting a Batman logo with 'three' written in Roman numerals on Twitter. Some even went on to report the post as more than a rumor.

Ramey later clarified, "My intention behind posting the picture was true: Bangin’ the drum for a THE BATMAN PART III. However, if you’re a fellow Batman fan and a fan of Matt Reeves’ SAGA, I apologize if you felt misled. Honestly, not my intention."

So, we're only getting The Batman 2 – for now. The DC sequel (part of the 'Elseworlds' umbrella, so not part of the DCU) is currently filming.

Robert Pattinson once again returns as the Caped Crusader, flanked by familiar allies in the shape of Jim Gordon (Jeffrey Wright) and trusty butler Alfred (Andy Serkis).

Newcomers include Sebastian Stan, Scarlett Johansson, and Charles Dance, although speculation has run rife about who exactly each actor will be playing. For Stan alone, the rumor mill has mentioned everything from Harvey Dent to Victor Zsasz.

The DCU, meanwhile, is gearing up to launch Lanterns – a HBO murder mystery starring Aaron Pierre and Kyle Chandler – later this month. A Clayface movie follows in October, with Superman sequel Man of Tomorrow hitting cinemas next July.

For more, check out the upcoming DC movies currently in the works.

After months of radio silence, The Legend of Zelda movie has finally revealed the actor playing series villain Ganondorf. And fans now think we got our first glimpse of the King of the Gerudo last year in leaked set videos.

As noted by @farourage on Twitter, a widely shared set video from The Legend of Zelda's New Zealand shoot appears to feature the actor Uli Latukefu, who we now know is playing the treacherous Ganondorf. Intriguingly, Ganondorf appears to be casually walking around a forest with Bo Bragason's Zelda and Dichen Lachman's Impa. Have his true, Triforce-snatching intentions yet to be revealed at this stage in the movie? Check out the original video below.

If the video does in fact feature Latukefu's Ganondorf, it's certainly a more grounded take on the character, who's traditionally depicted with a long mane of red hair and, in recent games like Tears of the Kingdom, with bulging pectorals on display. Latukefu's Ganondorf, however, appears to have closely cropped hair, though in some videos it does appear to be red, at least.

Either way, fans seem (mostly) thrilled to have a morsel of new information on the movie, which releases in just over 8 months, and until yesterday had only two confirmed cast members in Benjamin Evan Ainsworth's Link and Bragason's Zelda. Alongside Latukefu and Lachman, Deadline's report also claimed that Mass Effect star Yvonne Strahovski will play a "Queen character" (almost certainly the Queen of Hyrule). Sam Neill, who died last month, was also revealed to be part of the cast, though precisely who he's playing is something of a mystery. Fingers crossed he's voicing the Deku Tree.

Despite this influx of casting news, The Legend of Zelda movie is still something of a mystery. We still don't know precisely which game the movie is adapting (the costumes in the first look suggest Breath of the Wild). Though we do know that Ainsworth is something of a newcomer to the series, as he told us he was too young to play Breath of the Wild when it released.

The Legend of Zelda movie releases on April 30, 2027. For more, check out our list of upcoming video game movies.

Tom Holland's younger brother helped contribute to one of Spider-Man: Brand New Day's most memorable and low-key scenes.

The moment in question saw Peter Parker – in full Spider-Man costume – hanging out with MJ (Zendaya) and Ned (Jacob Batalon). Peter and Ned even spend the day building a LEGO Star Wars X-Wing set, with MJ sketching them.

But that wasn't a member of the art crew or even Zendaya putting pencil to paper. Instead, as revealed on an Instagram reply chain (H/T Pop Culture News), Paddy Holland was the one who drew the piece.

Away from Spider-Man's crimefighting and swinging around New York, the quieter moment amid the hunt for Sadie Sink's Jean Grey stood out as one of Spider-Man: Brand New Day's emotional highs – especially as it deals with the fallout from Spider-Man: No Way Home's memory-erasing spell.

As mentioned on Amy Poehler's Good Hang podcast, Tom Holland revealed that scene was rewritten and reworked on the day of filming.

This isn't the only time one of Tom Holland's brothers have left their mark on a Spider-Man movie, meanwhile.

In No Way Home, younger brother Harry Holland made a cameo as a bicycle thief. Tom Holland later revealed the stunt-laden sequence was 'revenge' for Harry mocking his complaints over hanging upside down for a day of filming. That'll teach him.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day is now in cinemas – and breaking box office records.

For more, check out our breakdown of the Spider-Man: Brand New Day ending and our collection of Spider-Man: Brand New Day Easter eggs.

A GTA 6 extended look is officially dropping later this month, and if you don't want to miss a single second of the premiere, then this handy guide on how to watch the GTA 6 extended look is here to break down when and where you can see it so you can catch it the minute it drops.

After a groundswell of rumors and speculation about the possibility of someday seeing GTA 6 trailer 3, Rockstar finally confirmed in an official press release that we're going to get to see more of GTA 6. Not only that, but to shake things up from previous GTA 6 trailers, the studio also revealed an unexpected collaboration with Netflix, which will see the game's next reveal drop on the streaming service first.

As one of the biggest and most anticipated new games for 2026, it's exciting to see Rockstar really start to ramp up with a new major look in just a matter of weeks' time. So, if you're looking to get ready for what's to come, read on as I give you the lowdown on the GTA 6 extended look.

How to watch GTA 6 extended look

GTA 6 trailer 3 release date

The GTA 6 trailer 3 release is now officially set for August 27, 2026.

We're looking at the extended look as trailer 3 in all but name here, and it's great to see we now know when we're finally going to see more GTA 6 goodness very soon. Rockstar is keeping quiet on what we can expect to see, but we're betting this could be our first proper glimpse of GTA 6 gameplay after previous trailers showcased the setting and the dual protagonists, Lucia and Jason.

If you want a recap of the previous reveals, our GTA 6 trailer and GTA 6 trailer 2 breakdowns are here for you.

How to watch the Netflix GTA 6 extended look

You can tune into the Netflix GTA 6 extended look on August 27 at 3pm ET / 12pm PT / 8pm BST here if you have a subscription to the streaming service.

With Rockstar gearing up for GTA 6's release date in November, the studio announced a "first-of-its-kind partnership with Netflix", meaning that subscribers of the streaming service will get the opportunity to see the GTA 6 extended look first.

"The anticipation and fandom around Grand Theft Auto 6 is unprecedented," Brandon Riegg, VP of Nonfiction at Netflix, said at Tudum. "[W]e're honored that Rockstar Games has partnered with us to debut the next part of the Grand Theft Auto story with Netflix members first".

It's yet to be revealed how long the GTA 6 extended look runtime will be, or how in-depth it will go, but we'll be keeping our eyes open for any further updates from Rockstar in the lead-up to the premiere.

How to watch the GTA 6 extended look on YouTube

While the next GTA 6 reveal is dropping on Netflix first, it will also be going live on Rockstar Games' official YouTube channel on August 27 at 9pm ET / 6pm PT / 2am BST (August 28).

That means that if you don't have a Netflix account to tune into its initial premiere, you can watch the extended look on YouTube six hours later. With the previous trailers raking in an impressive number of views over the years since they debuted, it'll be interesting to see if GTA 6 trailer 3 reaches the same dizzying heights of view counts.

While you wait for more GTA 6, look back on the series with our ranking of the best GTA games.

Warner Bros. CEO David Zaslav doesn't seem too concerned with Supergirl's box office failure, as he has full confidence in what DC Studios heads James Gunn and Peter Safran are cooking up next.

"We have Clayface coming up soon, which looks terrific," Zaslav told TheWrap, when asked directly about the critical and box office failure of Supergirl. "We got Lanterns launching in the next few weeks on HBO, which Casey [Bloys] and Sarah [Aubrey] are super excited about. So DC feels very good, and we have a robust pipeline, and Peter and James are hard at work."

Supergirl had a pretty rough go this year, and only made $125 million at the global box office against its budget of $170 million. The film currently sits at a 54% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes, though the audience score is at a much higher 76%. There's also some speculation that the film's screenwriter misinterpreted the ending of Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, the comic on which the movie is based, not to mention all the kerfuffle about the deeply strange needle drop during the final epic battle scene. Despite all the chaos, leading lady Milly Alcock will appear again as Kara Zor-El in the Superman sequel Man of Tomorrow, which is set to hit theaters in 2027 (and I'm stoked to see her return).

Next up for the DCU is Lanterns, a True Detective-style take on the adventures of Lantern Hal Jordan and his trainee John Stewart, and the horror movie Clayface, which tells a Cronenberg-esque origin story about the goopy Batman villain.

Supergirl is out in theaters now. For more, check out our Supergirl review and our guide to all the upcoming DC movies and shows.

Kit Connor is reportedly set to star as Scott Summers aka Cyclops in the MCU's upcoming standalone X-Men movie.

According to Deadline, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige and director Jake Schreier met with "a number of candidates" and "ultimately landed on Connor last week."

In addition to being one of the founding members of the X-Men, Scott Summers is the romantic partner of Jean Grey, who will officially be played by Sadie Sink (after making her debut as the ultra-powerful mutant in Spider-Man: Brand New Day). This marks three X-Men members that have been cast, including scream queen Samara Weaving as Emma Frost.

Because the X-Men haven't even been formed yet in the MCU, we can infer that the standalone movie will focus on the creation of the team as the young mutants enroll at the Charles Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters. The only seemingly odd thing here is that Weaving is 34, while Sink and Connor are 23 and 22, respectively. This may very well be because Emma Frost is already the headmistress of her own mutant academy when Scott, Jean, and co. are enrolled at the Xavier School. We love comic-book accurate writing and casting.

Connor is best known for starring in the hit Netflix queer coming-of-age series Heartstopper, as well as Alex Garland's action thriller Warfare. He's also set to star in the upcoming Elden Ring movie.

X-Men is eyeing a tentative 2028 release date. You can keep up to date with everything the MCU has in store with our guide to all the upcoming Marvel movies and shows.

The live-action Legend of Zelda movie has reportedly found its Ganondorf in Australian actor Uli Latukefu.

Deadline reports that Latukefu has been cast to play the Zelda movie's main antagonist across multiple movies, which supports rumors claiming Nintendo and Sony plan to make a trilogy out of the live-action adaptation.

Latukefu is best known for playing Dwayne Johnson in the NBC sitcom Young Rock and Byamba in the Netflix drama series Marco Polo. He joins a cast led by The Haunting of Bly Manor's Benjamin Evan Ainsworth, who will play lead hero Link, and Renegade Nell's Bo Bragason, who will play Princess Zelda. This is the first new casting since Ainsworth and Bragason were revealed as the film's leads.

The movie will be the first official live-action adaptation of The Legend of Zelda universe on the big screen, although plot details are unclear at the moment. At the very least, fans can expect young adventurer Link to embark on a perilous journey to save Princess Zelda from the evil Gerudo warlock Ganondorf, a common theme from the games.

There are actually two main villains in the Zelda universe, Ganon and Ganondorf, who are the same entity in different forms. For a more in-depth explainer on Ganon vs. Ganondorf, you know where to click.

The Maze Runner trilogy director Wes Ball is at the helm with a script from Derek Connolly (Detective Pikachu) and T.S. Nowlin (The Maze Runner). The movie was originally supposed to hit theaters on March 26, 2027 but was delayed to May 7, and ultimately pushed forward to April 30.

For more, check out our guides on upcoming video game movies and the best Zelda games.

PATCH NOTES: V08.06.2026 – Rockstar Games just confirmed that an extended look at Grand Theft Auto 6 will be unveiled on August 27, 2026. In an unprecedented move, the gameplay reveal will premiere on Netflix – a bold partnership which underscores the belief that GTA 6 will be an unstoppable entertainment juggernaut.

What's the latest on GTA 6?

• Rockstar just announced that an extended look at GTA 6 is coming August 27
• The extended look will premiere on Netflix before hitting the internet

Why you should care

• GTA 6 trailer 2 landed over a year ago
• The game is set to release in 104 days

Who said what?

Meta Shift

• Netflix has six hours of exclusivity over the GTA 6 gameplay reveal

There's been this feeling that Marvel is finally starting to regain some momentum. Spider-Man: Brand New Day is shattering records, becoming the highest-grossing movie of 2026 after generating $1.15 billion from the box office in just seven days. It's the second-fastest movie to hit a one billion revenue threshold of all-time; that crown still belongs to Avengers: Endgame.

The success of Brand New Day does lend some credence to the idea that superhero fatigue isn't quite as pronounced as is frequently claimed, and that its success could even point towards Avengers: Doomsday being on-track to do the impossible come December 18 – surpassing 2013's Grand Theft Auto 5 as the biggest entertainment release of all-time.

Today's announcement that Grand Theft Auto 6 will launch an extended look at its action on August 27, premiering exclusively on Netflix, is a stark reminder of just how much of an entertainment juggernaut this thing is going to be. And that it's more than a video game – it's a monocultural moment that should be treated similar to the biggest entertainment IP in the world.

Netflix calls the reveal a "first-of-its-kind partnership," one which acts as a "reflection of what we hope Netflix is becoming: a place where the most ambitious storytelling, from any medium, can find the biggest possible audience."

In reality, I suspect that this partnership only helps ensure that Netflix obtains the biggest possible subscriber base. While the footage will land on YouTube and other platforms six hours late, there's little doubt in my mind that this reveal will spike month-on-month subscriptions as players (both core and casual) grapple with the FOMO of not being on the frontlines of this conversation.

It's been over a year since GTA 6 Trailer 2 landed, which Rockstar claims reached over 475 million viewers cross-platforms within 24 hours. It's impossible to know what heights this third trailer will reach, but with Netflix adding an air of prestige to the entire event, get ready for Rockstar to shatter records once again.

Known Issue

• There are just 104 days left on the Countdown to GTA 6 and Rockstar is still yet to show very little of the upcoming open-world experience.

Starring Jason and Lucia, GTA 6 will take us back to Vice City and push us out into the wider state of Leonida. After an easy score goes wrong, the two protagonists find themselves enveloped in a criminal conspiracy, forcing the pair to rely on each other more than they ever have before to make it out alive.

That's the basic premise of GTA 6 and, after years of teasers and speculation, we really don't know all that much else. Rockstar has always worked in mysterious ways, although the way it is presenting and marketing this long-awaited sequel is particularly condensed.

With little over 100 days until GTA 6 is due to release, the public hasn't seen any true gameplay – nor has the press had an opportunity to cut through the marketing lines and bring you any sort of first impressions. What are the biggest changes, evolutions, and boundary breaking ideas that will make putting a GTA 6 pre-order down worth it? I honestly couldn't tell you.

Given the anticipation, and how little of this project has been shown, it's a little disappointing that the publisher has effectively locked the first look at GTA 6 behind a paywall. It's not the sort of thing anybody else could get away with in this industry, but that only demonstrates the power that GTA 6 wields over the collective consciousness.

Ultimately, when we're all settling in for what will likely be a 30 minute gameplay showcase on August 27 – detailing the interplay between the two protagonists, how new heist systems intersect with a more socially-connected cohort of NPCs, and the most ambitious open-world in Rockstar's history – we probably won't care all that much.

Patch Notes summary

Rockstar Games works on its own schedule, and the decision to partner with Netflix for an extended look at GTA 6 gameplay speaks volumes for how the developer wants this release to be consumed by the world at large. It's more than a video game – it's a force of nature that's going to draw the sort of attention and discussion that Marvel's 2026 Avengers and Spider-Man movies could only dream of.

The battle for the entertainment throne is fully underway now. Spider-Man: Brand New Day will continue to break records, and I expect there to be a hell of a lot of eyes on Avengers: Doomsday come December. But whether either of these monstrously massive franchises really have the staying power to compete with Grand Theft Auto remains to be seen. I suspect that, come end of year, GTA 6 will reign supreme as the biggest entertainment release of all time.

Up Next:

Looking for the best new shows and movies to stream this weekend? Then you've come to the right place. From season finales to brand new movies and everything in between, the options on offer this week run the full gamut of what streaming does best.

Highlights this week include new Netflix thriller The Last House, which is guaranteed to keep you hooked, the long-awaited House of the Dragon season 3 finale, and the return of Ted Lasso a few years after the divisive third season. There's even a new Star Wars show to get obsessed with.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day may be dominating in theaters, but don't overlook the best streaming services this weekend, as there's plenty to get stuck into. So read on for our streaming picks of the week, and where to find them.

House of the Dragon season 3 finale

Available: US/UK
Where to watch: HBO Max (US), HBO Max and NOW (UK)

The House of the Dragon season 3 finale is almost here, and it's about to go down in Tumbleton. The Game of Thrones spin-off has had its ups and downs this season, but it certainly hasn't skimped on the bloodshed. With around a dozen major deaths still to come before the end of the show, don't be surprised if some major players are taken out of the game this week.

With just one more season to go, the Dance of the Dragons is almost over. The good news is, Game of Thrones is going nowhere. Be sure to check out our list of upcoming Game of Thrones movies and TV shows heading your way, including A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms season 2.

For more, check out our list of the best HBO Max TV shows.

X-Men '97 season 2 episode 8

Available: US/UK
Where to watch: Disney Plus

The penultimate episode of X-Men '97 season 2 released earlier this week, making this the perfect time to catch up on the animated revival's second season ahead of next Wednesday's season 2 finale. Let's just say, it's another weapons-grade tearjerker…

If you're up to speed, you'll know this season's apocalyptic threat has now taken a surprising new form, as the X-Men, X-Force and X-Factor unite in the face of a seemingly insurmountable foe. Of course, it's a great time to be an X-Men fan, with a certain major mutant introduced in Spider-Man: Brand New Day.

While we wait for the final episode, fill out your watchlist with the 30 best shows on Disney Plus.

The Last House

Available: US/UK
Where to watch: Netflix

This post-COVID horror-thriller imagines a world where apocalyptic rain falls and everyone finds they are locked in their homes. Brrr, imagine that? Wagner Moura and Greta Lee star as parents who have to keep their family alive by rationing, growing crops in their living room and chimney fishing (it'll make sense when you see it).

Directed by Louis Leterrier (The Incredible Hulk, Fast X), it's a movie in the M. Night Shyamalan mould, with the question of who – or what – is keeping everyone stuck indoors bound to leave you guessing till the truth is revealed. A word of warning: if you're sensitive to animal violence, you might want to avoid this one.

Looking for more? Here are the best movies on Netflix.

Ted Lasso season 4

Available: US/UK
Where to watch: Netflix

Whether it's because everyone hated the season 3 finale, who can say, but moustachioed underdog soccer coach Ted Lasso has returned to his old haunting grounds of AFC Richmond for a fourth season, only this time he's coaching the women's team.

Much of the main cast is back, including Jason Sudeikis as Ted and Brett Goldstein as fan-favorite grump Roy Kent. The less said about Beard, the better. But in going back to basics, season 4 manages to recapture some of the magic of the very first season, which is no bad thing.

Did Ted Lasso make the cut in our list of the best Apple TV shows? Click through to find out.

Star Wars: Visions Presents – The Ninth Jedi

Available: US/UK
Where to watch: Hulu/Disney Plus

A series-length spin-off of a non-canon animated anthology series is about as niche a prospect as Star Wars can offer, but this anime twist on a galaxy far, far away is well worth checking out. Set in the far future, where Jedi are a thing of the past, it imagines how a dream to resurrect the Jedi and restore order to the galaxy might come to pass.

Star Wars has always been rooted in Japanese culture – Kurosawa's The Hidden Fortress was a major influence on George Lucas, after all – so a mash-up of Star Wars and anime makes for a perfect combination. Both original Visions Ninth Jedi episodes are currently streaming for free on the Star Wars YouTube channel, if you want a taste of what to expect.

Caught the anime bug? Here's our list of the best Crunchyroll anime.

The Shards

Available: US/UK
Where to watch: Hulu/Disney Plus

Based on the semi-autobiographical novel by controversial American Psycho writer Bret Easton Ellis and brought to the screen by prolific titan of TV Ryan Murphy, The Shards is a garish mix of prep school politics and teen slasher.

Set in 1981 LA, it orbits Buckley prep school, where the life of 17-year-old Bret is turned upside down by the arrival of new student, Robert. Not least because his arrival coincides with serial killer The Trawler striking around town. Two episodes are available to watch now.

After you've watched The Shards, check out our list of the best shows on Hulu.

If nothing on our list seems right for you, have a read of our guides to the best Prime Video shows, and the best Apple TV movies you can watch right now.

Do exclusives still matter? It's a question Xbox and PlayStation have been asking themselves almost this entire generation, but Netflix thinks it's a pretty definitive yes. In fact, the streamer is so sure about its answer that it's paid to lock down an extended look at GTA 6, streaming exclusively on Netflix for… six hours?

As announced earlier today, Grand Theft Auto 6: An Extended Look debuts for Netflix subscribers on August 27 at 3pm ET (or 12pm PT, 8PM BST), before it goes live on Rockstar Games' YouTube channel and website six hours later. Perhaps the shortest timed exclusivity window in all of gaming.

It's an unconventional move, for sure, and fans are just as bewildered by GTA 6's patchy marketing.

"I know this community can be extreme sometimes, but this has to be the weirdest marketing I've ever seen for a videogame," one Redditor who probably doesn't remember the Xbox 360 MTV campaign writes. "A trailer for a trailer? A Netflix exclusive first? WTF is going on."

Another fan notes that maybe Rockstar Games has finally become the capitalist beast it's been satirizing for decades (others would argue that's been the case for years already): "Kinda feel like the whole idea of GTA games constantly criticizing capitalist America starts to show within Rockstar itself... A Netflix special for that? I feel like I’m in a GTA game."

"So this is a bad portent for what's to come with them monetizing the sh** out of every aspect of this game going forward. They found a way to paywall a f****** trailer," says a third. Rockstar already caught some flak for locking certain in-game shops and features behind GTA 6's $100 Ultimate Edition, so the Netflix exclusivity isn't leaving folks more hopeful about the game's monetization.

It's a sentiment echoed across social media forums, too. "Rockstar and T2 will make a buck anyway they possibly can. Can't wait to see what the new online will look like," one fan ponders.

Another GTA 6 delay "would not" shock a former GTA 5 dev who says it wouldn't "hurt" Rockstar at all

Fallout season 3 is currently filming, and candid snaps from the set may have revealed that a lesser-known subdivision of the Brotherhood of Steel is being introduced next season.

As spotted by eagle-eyed fans over on the Fallout subreddit, Fallout season 3 is currently filming on location at the Natural History Museum in LA; the familiar(ish) Brotherhood of Steel banners hanging around the stacks are something of a giveaway. However, look closely, and you might notice something a little different about those banners – a quill writing in a book. Check it out below.

This is a pretty clear hint that the Order of the Quill, a subdivision of the Brotherhood of Steel, is being introduced in Fallout season 3. Though it's never been a major part of the games, the Brotherhood of Steel is split into three subdivisions: the Order of the Sword (responsible for weapons development), the Order of the Shield (responsible for defensive research), and the Order of the Quill. The latter handles book/holotape retrieval and archival, and records the Brotherhood's history for posterity.

As we know from the Fallout season 2 post-credits scene, the Brotherhood has gotten its hands on the blueprints for Liberty Prime Alpha, a giant robotic suit of power armor that has recurred in the games, appearing in Fallout 3's Broken Steel DLC and in Fallout 4. In both games, Liberty Prime is eventually destroyed (along with a chapter of the Brotherhood, depending on the Sole Survivor's choices). Given the TV show is set some 9 years after Fallout 4 in 2296, the Order of the Quill may prove key to unearthing knowledge necessary to rebuild Liberty Alpha Prime.

"Makes me wonder if they're showing off a different Brotherhood chapter," theorizes one fan. "Max's chapter absolutely has a nerd division, but I would think they'd be heavily pushed to the side at this point in time to divert resources to Quintus's war aspirations."

"Honestly, it would be interesting if we see a BoS chapter focused on knowledge rather than warfare and technology," adds another fan. "Especially since season 2 showed most BoS chapters have devolved into pretty much raiders."

Fallout season 3 details are still few and far between, though Bethesda bigwig Todd Howard has said that the next season will include "new things" that have "never [been] seen before in the games." We also know that season 3 will be heading to a new location for Fallout, Colorado, where Cooper Howard's family is seemingly being held.

When GamesRadar+ arrives on the set of Reacher season 4, star Alan Ritchson is kicking a gun out of the hand of an oncoming thug in the doorframe of a dilapidated hallway. He does this about seven or eight times, and we watch each time as they yell cut, replace broken glass, sweep away kicked-up dust, and unruffle everyone's shirts. Director Sam Hill tells us that they've been filming this particular fight scene for a few weeks now, and that it'll last for all of 12 seconds on screen.

"We're right up against those final moments," Hill tells us, explaining that the fight scene takes place towards the end of the season. "Everybody's gonna get what they deserve. It's like the event. The closer to the end of the season you get... now things are on fire." Hill laughs before being pulled back into the madness, where they run the entire scene over again a few more times.

Reacher season 3 ended with Jack killing his nemesis Xavier Quinn with one swift stab to the chest before riding off into the sunset on his trusty motorbike… and we can't help but wonder how the journey took him to a rundown, asbestos-filled apartment building. The new season takes place in New York City, but we're standing on a studio lot in Toronto, Canada. Production designer Nazgol Goshtasbpour takes us up some rickety stairs and right into the three-floor apartment that serves as one of the central set pieces.

It took a minute for me, an avid reader of Lee Child's Jack Reacher book series, to realize where we were, but a computer system setup and a few empty cots tipped me off. Season 4 adapts the novel Gone Tomorrow, which sees Reacher witness a suicide attempt on a subway that sends him into a whirlwind of terrorists, corrupt politicians, and the 1980 Soviet-Afghan war. We're standing in one of the decrepit buildings that Reacher discovers in the South Side of Philadelphia (though it's located on 58th Street in Manhattan in the novel), belonging to main antagonists Lila and Amisha Hoth (played by Agnez Mo and Anggun, respectively).

It's an almost-reproduction of an abandoned building that they shot on location in Philly, right down to the working 1920s-era elevator they built for scenes that take place between floors. Goshtasbpour goes into the meticulousness of each detail, right down to carefully placing each piece of debris and using hot glue to make light-catching cobwebs. Lila and her criminal crew even have their own little kitchen and fireplace, though the toilet is broken and both the wiring and plumbing are exposed.

"And a lot of times with Reacher… I make this joke on set. I say, 'We're not making a feature. We're making Reacher.' Because I think it's just much more complicated," she says. "Our sets are more elaborate than a feature film." We're inclined to agree: a wall of photos offers a glimpse of another fully built (and now-destroyed) set, including a custom-built bridge with a fake road underneath. Elsewhere in Canada, they turned a piece of land into an Indonesian village, complete with an army base. Everything is practical, except for the taller palm trees and helicopters, which will be added in post. Careful not to spoil anything, Goshtasbpour explains that this is for a flashback sequence (likely for Lila and Amisha).

Fight or Flight

When we meet back up with director Sam Hill, filming is done for the day. It's mid-November, and they're still months away from being fully wrapped, as ADR and post-production tend to take a while. He takes a seat in front of the wall of set photos, one of which features the decaying hideout we just toured, prompting the group to ask about the level of danger Reacher faces from Lila and Amisha Hoth.

"What's new and exciting about every season isn't necessarily like, 'Oh, this person's a bigger, badder person to fight,' or, 'This is a bigger, harder challenge.' It's this whole new group of people reacting to a Reacher perspective on the world," Hill says. "Certainly for me, that's one of the most attractive things about this project in general, is the Reacher figure himself doesn't really arc over any given novel or over any given season, but it's all the people around him in that orbit who do."

Hill goes on to praise showrunner Nick Santora for his ability to "take this character that Lee Child created" and "weigh him against all these new people and environments." It's a non-spoilery way of saying that Reacher is definitely in over his head this season, as the Hoths are nothing like season 1's KJ Kliner or Beck and Quinn of season 3.

Without giving too much away, the Hoths are criminals with unimaginably violent pasts, and they're so skilled in the art of manipulation that even Reacher falls victim to it for a second (at least in the novel). Mo and Anggun, who play mother-and-daughter duo Amisha and Lila, are Indonesian superstars known primarily for their music. Both actors tell us during a brief chat later that day that they play strong women who have lived through a lot of atrocities and are in America with the intention of finding Lila's birth father... though that's not all they're there for.

When asked about the decision to change the book's New York City setting to Philadelphia, Hill explains that it's really just because season 2 already took place in New York and its surrounding areas. As for the Philadelphia landmarks that show up during the new season: "I'm pretty certain that Reacher as a character would not be interested in the Rocky statue at all."

For the final question, someone points out that many of the novels are from the first-person perspective of Jack Reacher, while the show itself is absent of monologues and inner dialogue. "And yet the show still communicates the interiority of Reacher. How?"

"The first is you cast a guy named Alan Ritchson as Reacher. That is step number one," Hill replies. "Step number two is put a camera as close to him as you can and let him do his thing."

Reach for the stars

"This is the worst day for you guys to be here. I'm so embarrassed," Alan Ritchson says when he sits down for our long-awaited group interview. We'd all excitedly told him that we watched him kick a gun upwards of 20 times. He immediately wished we would've come by on a more exciting shoot day. "That is mortifying. Of all the days. The most mundane, difficult. It's like a Price Is Right game."

But there's plenty more gun-kicking where that came from: "I think in the first three weeks we shot more fights than all the other seasons combined." Ritchson thinks the fight count for the entire season is around 30, and mentions that they're always running out of fake blood. As far as book-accuracy goes, this tracks: Reacher takes on multiple baddies from all angles in Gone Tomorrow. Of course, this all leads up to him fighting Lila and Amisha in a three-against-one.

"We're not in Margrave," he says, referring to the show's first season, which feels rather tame in comparison. "And it's fun. It's always funny, sorta seeing Reacher in these new situations with these new women and how he handles it… I'm always wondering what he's gonna do in these moments. I'm also waiting to see what feels right in the moment.

"And I think [Lila's] secrets and her presence and her pursuit really turned it into something really interesting," he continues. "Because he doesn't see it coming at all, and it does put him on his heels in a way that we haven't really seen, where he's like, 'What do I do with this?'"

He tells us about a set piece that we didn't get to see: a bowling alley where an all-out brawl takes place. "It's kind of a hilarious set piece for something like this, for something gory to take place, but it is probably one of the most epic fights I have ever shot in my career. We even have these great angles where it's like the old Indiana Jones moments." This is not in the book, so color me intrigued.

Ritchson has a flight to catch, but wants to make sure we don't have a doubt in our minds about Reacher season 4: "I would bet my life that this is going to be, by whatever metric you [you use], better than anything we've done."

Reacher season 4 releases on Prime Video on August 12, with the first three episodes. For more, check out our list of the best new TV shows coming in 2026 and beyond.

One of the biggest questions following Spider-Man: Brand New Day is how does Ned remember Peter at the end of the movie. Well, one Marvel fan may have cracked the case.

Brand New Day picks up four years after Doctor Strange erased the world's memory of Spider-Man's real identity in Spider-Man: No Way Home. However, the spell worked a little too well, as when Parker is finally ready to reunite with his girlfriend MJ and best bud Ned Leeds, he soon realises that nothing he does can jog their memory.

However, right at the end of the movie, Peter visits his local store and sees Ned sitting alone. But just as Peter is about to exit the store, he walks up to Ned and introduces himself. Then, as they go to shake hands, they automatically do their signature best friends handshake, and Ned remembers that Peter is, well, Peter. Read our Spider-Man: Brand New Day ending explained for the full breakdown.

But how does Ned, who is supposedly under Strange's spell, remember Peter? Well, one Marvel fan thinks that Ned's short stint as a wizard has something to do with it. "What if Ned and Peter accidentally created a spell during that handshake, and that's why he remembered because of it," said the fan on Twitter.

In No Way Home, Peter and Ned did their special handshake whilst Ned was wearing the Sling Ring, but right when the pair clicked their fingers, a spark shot out of the ring. Although he is not a fully trained wizard, it was revealed that Ned has natural magic abilities and was able to open portal gateways in the last Spidey movie. So, what if Ned accidentally put some kind of spell on the handshake, which in turn was triggered when the two shook hands at the end of Brand New Day?

With that in mind, Ned's underlying powers may have broken the spell. However, with MJ it's a completely different story. Zendaya's character told Tom Holland's Peter Parker that she simply doesn't remember him, and because of that, she doesn't love him anymore. Ouch. Let's hope Ned can work more magic in the next Spidey movie.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day is out now. For more on Spidey, check out our Spider-Man: Brand New Day review and our list of Spider-Man: Brand New Day Easter eggs and cameos.

It sounds as though DC's next movie will lean more into the horror genre in more ways than we first thought, as director James Watkins says Evil Dead helmer Sam Raimi was a huge influence on the upcoming DCU Chapter One film Clayface.

"There were definitely some Sam Raimi influences," said Watkins to Empire. "The way that Sam Raimi can push horror almost to ridiculousness, and humor. I mean ridiculousness in a good way. But pushing it where we're all walking that line of 'Oh man this is extreme, and we know it's extreme and we're in it together.' The boldness of what he does."

Raimi is best known for his gory and wacky Evil Dead franchise, which pushes the boundaries of horror and heavily impacted the comedy-horror subgenre we know today. However, much like Watkins, Raimi did move from horror to the superhero genre, directing the beloved '00s Spider-Man trilogy.

Batman villain Clayface is the perfect subject for this kind of "extreme" body horror. So far in the trailers, we haven't yet seen Clayface go full on gloop, but it sounds as though it's coming. However, Watkins has previously confirmed that the full transformation won't be shown in any promotional material, so we will have to wait until release day for that. The most recent Clayface trailer does give us a glimpse of the titular character experiencing terrifying bodily changes, though, including his eyelids sticking together.

We already knew that Clayface would be an all-out horror movie. Aside from being directed by the See No Evil and The Woman in Black helmer, it is penned by horror legend Mike Flanagan. The film, which focuses on the Hollywood actor iteration of Clayface known as Matt Hagen, has been described as "violent" and "highly disturbing" by members of the press who were able to view footage early.

However, Watkins went on to say that another "massive inspiration" is Brian De Palma. "When you see the movie, you'll see," said Watkins. De Palma is best known for his crime movies such as Scarface and The Untouchables, but he also helmed the original 1976 Carrie adaptation.

Clayface is set to hit theaters on October 23. For more, check out our guides to upcoming DC movies and shows as well as our breakdown of how to watch the DC movies in order.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day is on a generational run at the box office. Not only did the Marvel movie beat Avengers: Endgame's all-time opening weekend record in the US, it's already become the highest-grossing movie of 2026 in less than a week. And now it could be on track to top Star Wars: The Force Awakens' all-time record haul at the US box office.

Per the number-crunchers over at the box office subreddit, Spider-Man: Brand New Day is heading towards a $150+ million second weekend at the US box office. That would put the Marvel Phase 6 movie at over $600 million in the US in less than two weeks, and on track to finally topple Star Wars: The Force Awakens' record gross of $936 million at the domestic box office.

The 2015 Star Wars movie's domestic record has proven unbeatable in over a decade. Even the likes of Avengers: Endgame and Avatar: The Way of Water haven't come close, with Endgame falling short by almost $80 million. Brand New Day, however, has taken off like a rocket ship and blown past even the most optimistic box office projections, all despite having no IMAX screens on opening weekend thanks to The Odyssey. Though if you want to see Spider-Man: Brand New Day on the biggest screen possible, you'll finally be able to this weekend.

Audiences, evidently, can't get enough of Spider-Man as Brand New Day became the highest-grossing movie of the year this week, sailing past Toy Story 5 after just six days on release. That's good news for Marvel, as Kevin Feige recently revealed that Sadie Sink's [redacted character] has "immense significance" and will play a "key role in the future of the MCU." Another person hoping to return is Scorpion actor Michael Mando, who says we've only seen "level one" of Scorpion's potential, with the final level being "the ultimate form of Venom."

Spider-Man: Brand New Day is out now. For more, check out our Spider-Man: Brand New Day review or our list of Spider-Man: Brand New Day Easter eggs and cameos.

After taking a decade-long break from Spider-Man movies, Scorpion star Michael Mando is back as the pointy-tailed villain Mac Gargan in Spider-Man: Brand New Day. But it sounds as though the baddie may just stick around this time, and maybe even reach his full "potential" as one of Venom's hosts.

"The potential growth of [Mac Gargan] is enormous," said Mando to The Hollywood Reporter. "Brand New Day is level one of this character’s potential, and he has at least two or three levels up from here, one of them being the ultimate form of Venom."

First introduced to the Spider-Man comics in 1964, Scorpion is a private investigator turned professional criminal who uses his full-body battle suit fitted with a stinger to take down his enemies, mostly Spider-Man. However, down the line, Mac became the third host of the alien symbiote known as Venom. We have already seen Tom Hardy take shape as reporter Eddie Brock, who becomes physically attached to the alien entity in Sony's Venom film franchise. However, Brock has yet to join the MCU.

Mando made his MCU debut in Tom Holland's first Spidey movie, Spider-Man: Homecoming. The 2016 film saw Scorpion, real name Mac Gargan, engage in dodgy dealings with Michael Keaton’s Vulture, which eventually landed him in prison. But, despite the Homecoming post-credits scene teasing Vulture and Scorpion's plan for revenge, Scorpion was absent from Spider-Man: Far From Home and Spider-Man: No Way Home. All the while, Mando was working on Breaking Bad prequel Better Call Saul.

However, now he is back, it sounds as though Mando is keen to stick around. But the star doesn't want to jinx anything. "That’s exciting to think about for a moment, but I’ve got to let it go because it’s in the hands of Kevin Feige and Amy Pascal," added Mando. "They know what they’re doing, and I have to trust that… I don’t try to predict my destiny in any way."

Marvel may want to utilise all it can from the new Spidey movie. Brand New Day has so far smashed all expectations, kicking off its theatrical run with an unbelievable opening weekend, marking the biggest domestic opening ever in the US.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day is out now. For more on Spidey, check out our Spider-Man: Brand New Day review, Spider-Man: Brand New Day ending explained, and our list of Spider-Man: Brand New Day Easter eggs and cameos.

Nintendo has finally made big moves into movies in recent years, with this year's The Super Mario Galaxy Movie crossing $1bn at the global box office. The company's latest financial results explain why, and the reason is not just 'loads of money.'

Buried in the graph-packed document is a single page on Nintendo's movie business, which goes some way to explaining why the Japanese powerhouse has finally embraced movies after decades of shunning Hollywood: "We believe that our initiatives in movies and videos can transcend the boundaries of the dedicated video game platform business," the document says. "And provide opportunities for people all over the world to become aware of Nintendo characters."

In plain English, then, Nintendo is saying it can reach a wider audience with movies than it can with games, especially in parts of the world where consoles are not widely available. "In particular, it serves as an opportunity for consumers in regions where dedicated video game platforms are not yet widely adopted to experience Nintendo content for the first time," Nintendo adds.

As the report notes, 2023's The Super Mario Bros. Movie is currently the highest-grossing video game adaptation of all time, with $1.36 billion. This year's The Super Mario Galaxy Movie made significantly less, earning just over $1 billion worldwide by the end of its theatrical run. That was still enough to briefly make it the highest-grossing movie of the year, until Spider-Man: Brand New Day crossed that threshold in less than a week.

Next up for Nintendo on the big screen is Wes Ball's live-action The Legend of Zelda movie. "Going forward, we will take a variety of approaches to continually create contact points with Nintendo characters all over the world," Nintendo's financial report notes, reaffirming that we will likely see a mix of animated and live-action movies from Nintendo going forward. Little is currently known about the live-action Legend of Zelda, though Link actor Benjamin Evan Ainsworth recently told us that he was too young to play Breath of the Wild when it released.

As for Nintendo's video game business, that's not going too badly either: the report confirms that the Switch 2 is still Nintendo's fastest-selling hardware ever, and sales have already surpassed the GameCube's lifetime totals.

The Legend of Zelda movie releases on April 30, 2027. For more, check out our list of every major upcoming video game movie.

These days, it's easy to look at a movie's box office number and declare it a success or, in the case of both live-action remake Moana and Star Wars feature The Mandalorian and Grogu, a dismal failure.

New Disney CEO Josh D'Amaro clearly doesn't subscribe to such binary thinking, declaring on the company's earnings call (via Variety), "Even when our franchise films don’t meet our box office expectations, as with The Mandalorian and Grogu and the live-action Moana, our investments in these core properties fuel other parts of our company."

Disney CFO Hugh Johnston added, "Theatrical performance is important to us, of course, and we certainly aspire to deliver consistent financial results for our films. But the nature of the film industry is such that it is more of a portfolio game. The good news for us is our diversified business helps us basically cover the volatility that comes out of the film business."

As the pair of Disney leaders allude to, The Mandalorian and Grogu and Moana aren't film-only concerns. There is, of course, immense value in adding them to streaming on Disney Plus. That's without factoring in merchandise and synergy with Disney's theme park and cruise ship businesses.

Released on May 22, The Mandalorian and Grogu marked the next chapter in Din Djarin's journey in a galaxy far, far away after three seasons on Disney's streaming success.

Unfortunately, a low-stakes plot and general disinterest in the series led to disappointing takings at the box office, with the Star Wars movie only grossing $345 million – a record low for a live-action film in the franchise.

The Moana remake fared less well when stacked up against the gold rush of Disney live-action movies in recent years.

It's currently only just made more than its $250 million budget, a stark contrast to last year's Lilo and Stitch remake ($1.03 billion). It's not a disaster Disney is sweeping under the carpet, but it's certainly one the House of Mouse is taking positives from.

For more, check out the new Disney movies in the works, plus all the movie release dates we still have to look forward to in 2026.

Destin Daniel Cretton doesn't want the Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings post-credits scene to be an open cliffhanger forever.

In one scene, Xialing takes over the Ten Rings organization, and in another, the Rings themselves are discovered to be sending a signal into space – though what exactly it means has never been explained, and Shang-Chi hasn't been seen again in live-action since the film's 2021 release date.

Cretton's latest film, Spider-Man: Brand New Day, has a similarly open-ended post-credits scene, which features the Spidey tracker loacting the webslinger in outer space.

Speaking to TheWrap, Cretton promised that we "will find out" what that Spidey scene means.

"I do think it's frustrating when these things are like left out in the open, and you never see them. And Shang-Chi is one of those. It's still hanging out there," he explained. "I have every intention of answering the question."

We'll next see Shang-Chi in Avengers: Doomsday. The Marvel crossover movie has a supersized cast list that also includes the likes of Anthony Mackie's Captain America and Chris Hemsworth's Thor – though, interestingly, no Spider-Man.

Instead, the Brand New Day post-credits could be setting up Doomsday's sequel, Avengers: Secret Wars.

Cretton is also the co-creator of MCU show Wonder Man, and Wonder Man season 2 was recently cancelled despite the show previously getting an official renewal.

"I love that show to death. If it were up to me, we would be making that show," Cretton shared. "And I do believe that if – and I know this sounds weird – but if it were up to Kevin, we would be doing that show."

Doomsday arrives this December 18. In the meantime, check out our guide to all the upcoming Marvel movies and shows for everything else that's on the way.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day actor Niyi Akin may not be a household name, but he stole the show in his brief time on screen.

So much so, in fact, that audiences worldwide have given an outpouring of love and admiration to Akin, who played David – the man psychically 'hijacked' by Sadie Sink's Jean Grey to taunt Tom Holland's Spider-Man during one particularly tense moment in the super-powered cat-and-mouse chase.

In response, Akin posted a series of behind-the-scenes images from Brand New Day on Instagram showcasing the actor in wire training and meeting Tom Holland.

Akin wrote, "Thank you so much for the love and support guys. I was just happy to be a part of it! I remember saying to my family 'I hope I get to be in [Spider-Man] one day" WE THANK GOD, CAUSE IT HAPPENED. This a dream come true [your] friendly neighbourhood superfan."

One image posted, though, may get the Spidey-Senses working and the tear ducts flowing: that of Akin, as a child, holding a Spider-Man figure. In the background, an image from Spider-Man: The Animated Series can be seen.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day isn't just making childhood dreams come true, however. It's also breaking records at the box office – with the highest opening weekend in history in the US and already swinging past $1 billion worldwide.

No word on Spider-Man 5 yet, with Tom Holland saying the path ahead is "unclear".

"Whatever happens with Spider-Man, it'll be very bright and lovely," the Spider-Man actor told Serieously. In the same interview, he also hinted that he knew Miles Morales would join the MCU.

For more, check out our guides on upcoming Marvel movies and the Marvel timeline.

Filming on Daredevil: Born Again season 3 has wrapped – but Marvel fans are worried about the future.

News recently broke that Wonder Man season 2 was cancelled, despite the show being previously officially renewed. That, combined with the fact that there are no live-action Marvel shows on the release slate past Born Again season 3 next year, has fans thinking the age of MCU TV might be coming to an end.

"I have a feeling this is the last season because S2 didn't have as [many] viewers as S1 did... and after Wonder Man you never know," says one fan.

"I really hope this season won't be the last time we see everyone," says someone else. "Man, please don't be the last," asks another fan.

"Crazy how it's looking like Daredevil Born Again S3 will be the last season of live action Marvel television for a while… An end to a very interesting era in the MCU," is another person's thoughts.

"I hope it's not the last one," says another person. "Probably the final season," predicts another person.

"I think it's gonna wrap up in the 3rd one, and honestly, as long as there's something for the future of the Defenders and a big role in the next MCU movies, I'll be satisfied," says another fan.

"Sorry it took so long to say, but THAT'S A WRAP on production for Season 3 of Daredevil Born Again," showrunner Dario Scardapane wrote on his Instagram story. "Thank you to Marvel and the magnificent cast and crew that made this season something very, very, very special. I'm humbled daily by the talent I get to work with. Cannot wait for you to see what all these twisted minds have come up with. #BestCrewEver"

It's unclear at the moment whether this really is the end of the road for Daredevil. What is clear, though, is that Wonder Man season 2 definitely isn't happening.

"I love that show to death. If it were up to me, we would be making that show," co-creator Destin Daniel Cretton said recently. "And I do believe that if – and I know this sounds weird – but if it were up to Kevin [Feige], we would be doing that show."

Daredevil: Born Again season 3 arrives next March. While you wait, check out our guide to all the most exciting upcoming Marvel movies and TV shows.

Ewan McGregor has revealed the "unfinished" part of Obi-Wan's story that could bridge the gap between Disney Plus miniseries Obi-Wan Kenobi and A New Hope.

When responding to a quickfire question from The End of Oak Street co-star Anne Hathaway with Esquire about what he considers 'unfinished' in Obi-Wan's timeline, McGregor pointed to the decade pre-A New Hope that has largely been left untouched by wider Star Wars media.

"Everything that we did between the end of the TV series that we did and Alec Guinness [in A New Hope]. There's 10 years of something happening to Obi-Wan," McGregor said. "At the end of the series, I leave Luke on Tatooine, Princess Leia is safe, and I go off into the desert on my camel – a eopie, I think they're called."

McGregor returned to the role in 2022's Obi-Wan Kenobi, which also reunited him with Anakin actor Hayden Christensen. Despite that, there's probably plenty of narrative juice left to squeeze out of one of the few characters unexplored during the rise of the Empire.

Even if nothing comes to fruition on the screen with McGregor, Star Wars comics have filled in the blanks somewhat with Obi-Wan's time in exile.

Marvel's 2015 Star Wars series included a series of journal entries from an elderly Obi-Wan, charting his time on Tatooine watching over Luke Skywalker.

There's also 2022's Obi-Wan comic miniseries, a five-issue run that sees the Jedi recount stories from his past while in a hut on the desert planet.

Elsewhere in a galaxy far, far away, Ahsoka season 2 is just over the horizon – presumably in 2027.

Star Wars: Starfighter, directed by Shawn Levy and starring Ryan Gosling, is set for release on May 28, 2027. The pair will team up again for Marvel's Ghost Rider movie, which was announced at last month's SDCC panel.

For more, check out the full Star Wars timeline and our guide on upcoming Star Wars movies.

New DCU movie Supergirl has officially finished its worldwide theatrical run, and its total gross is the lowest for any DC movie in decades.

Supergirl has ended its global theatrical run at $125.8 million worldwide, as per Box Office Mojo. That's over $45 million lower than 2022 DC flop Morbius, which earned $167 million, and $83 million less than Joker 2.

In fact, Supergirl marks the lowest box office return for any DC movie since Catwoman in 2004, which earned $82 million. But that was over 20 years ago, so considering inflation, Supergirl fared far worse.

This isn't a huge surprise, as Supergirl has struggled on screen from the very start. The movie opened to $37.1 million in the US and just over $62 million globally. But the Woman of Tomorrow adaptation failed to grow from that point on, seeing massive dips week by week. In the end, Supergirl only managed to scrape in total what last year's Superman made on opening weekend alone last year.

The movie marks a financial loss for DC Studios, as it cost around $170 million to make and perhaps tens of millions more to market. Worse yet, Supergirl is only the second movie in James Gunn's new DCU, following last year's Superman, which made more during its first weekend on screen than Supergirl did in its entire run. Superman went on to gross over $618 million worldwide.

It is not clear why the movie flopped so hard. Starring Milly Alcock as Kara Zor-El, Supergirl follows the titular hero as she puts her partying days behind her to help a new friend seek revenge on the same villain responsible for harming her dog, Krypto. The movie opened to mixed reviews and a 56% score on Rotten Tomatoes, which is not so bad when compared to Morbius' 15% score.

However, in June, DC Studios co-head Peter Safran told The New York Times that although Supergirl's opening was disappointing, the team remains "confident" in their overall strategy. DCU Chapter One: Gods and Monsters continues this year both on the small screen with Lanterns this August, and on the big screen with Clayface this October.

For more, check out our Supergirl review and keep up with upcoming DC movies and shows.

Legendary director James Cameron is thinking about what the rest of his career looks like, which may or may not involve the next two Avatar movies.

After receiving the Canadian Governor General’s Prize, Cameron told GG Awards what's next for him. "There's been momentum in the Avatar universe for 21 years at this point because we started in 2005. It's been kind of an unbroken continuum," said Cameron. "So this is the point where I'm looking at the landscape and asking, 'What are the other stories I want to tell? How many of them do I need to direct myself versus writing and/or producing with other filmmakers?'"

It sounds like Cameron's future may not include Avatar at all, as the director shared that "over the last two weeks" he has "literally mapped out" what his last act of filmmaking looks like. "I started with, 'What will do the most good?' I put that in block letters at the top," added Cameron. "And I started looking at all the projects I'm most fond of, asking, 'How's this going to improve our condition? How's that going to make the world better for our kids?'"

This is a complete 180 from Cameron's comments just two years ago. Following reports in 2024 that Cameron might not direct the next two Avatar movies, the director told The Hollywood Reporter, "They're going to have to stop me. I've got plenty of energy, I love doing what I'm doing," adding that the only way "somebody else is going to do it" is if "I get hit by a bus and I'm in an iron lung."

However, that was before Avatar: Fire and Ash had hit screens. As we know, Avatar movies take a very long time to make, and as Hollywood studios continue to cut budgets, movies like Avatar may fade out. In May, Cameron told Empire that Avatar movies are "simply too massive, too expensive, and too time-consuming to keep making the same way." Avatar 4 officially entered production in 2022. However, despite targeting a 2029 release, the fourquel is still very much "floating," according to Cameron.

But we might not have to worry right away, as Cameron assured GG Awards, "I haven't made any decisions yet. I'm still in this liminal state of mapping out, you know, kind of the last act. And I don't know if that last act will last a year or 20 years."

For more, check out our guide to upcoming movies and keep up with 2026 movie release dates.

Eli Roth, director of the much-reviled Borderlands adaptation, has spoken out on exactly what went wrong with the film.

The movie holds a Rotten Tomatoes score of just 10%, and it grossed only $33 million worldwide.

"As things grow bigger, studios just naturally become more risk averse," Roth told Variety. "My nature as a filmmaker is to do the thing that's left of center, because that's what has worked for me."

The film was rated PG-13, and studio executives pushed for changes to ensure the classification – a somewhat eyebrow-raising move, considering the games' level of violence and irreverent sense of humor.

"You got something that belonged to nobody," Roth added. "It's not a kids' movie, but it's trying to appeal to everybody. It's for gamers, but it doesn't have the violence the gamers want because it can't be that extreme because it costs too much. You just wind up with a movie that's neither fish nor fowl."

Despite a starry cast – Cate Blanchett, Jack Black, Kevin Hart, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Ariana Greenblatt all had leading roles – the film was a critical and commercial flop.

"The Gearbox title gamers loved has spawned a frenetic and disorderly shambles they're likelier to loathe. Claptrap? You said it," reads our 2-star Borderlands review.

Still, the future looks bright with video game adaptations like The Legend of Zelda movie and God of War TV show on the way.

You can keep up to date with everything that's on the way with our guide to all the upcoming video game adaptations.

A Spider-Man fan has compared Brand New Day to the Insomniac games, and the similarities are undeniable.

The video, which you can see below, showcases the many, many moves pulled off by Tom Holland's wallcrawler that has its origins in Insomniac's trio of Spider-Man PlayStation titles.

They include Spidey flinging himself from a New York rooftop during the opening act of the fourth Spider-Man MCU movie, propelling himself into an acrobatic flip before swinging through the skyline, a handful of web-based finishers on grunts, and even an eerily similar set-piece as the webhead hurtles towards the ground on a crumbling building.

Director Destin Daniel Cretton has also been vocal about just how much of Insomniac's titles made their way into the finished product of the billion-dollar-grossing megahit.

Cretton told Polygon, "I surrounded myself with people who were obsessive gamers. So a lot of the people in our stunt department loved playing those video games. So they would do screen grabs of their play and bring it in and say like, 'Can we pull this move off?' So that was a great inspiration for things."

That synergy of game design and big-screen spectacle has certainly factored into why Spider-Man: Brand New Day has been such a success.

Already, it holds the record for the biggest US domestic opening at the box office, and is well on its way to a staggering $2 billion total gross worldwide.

The Spider-Man: Brand New Day ending also set up Sadie Sink's Jean Grey for an exciting MCU future, though some are still a little baffled by Ned's 'revelation' in the final scene. Don't be. We have an explainer about that handshake to clear up any confusion.

For more, check out our breakdown of the Spider-Man: Brand New Day post-credits scene. Then, away from Insomniac's undoubted influence, we have more references, winks, and nods listed here in our essential guide to Spider-Man: Brand New Day Easter eggs.

Shang-Chi director Destin Daniel Cretton has doubled down on his previous comments about the state of the industry regarding Shang-Chi 2's very delayed status.

“When you really look at what happened to the industry, at least from my perspective, it was just like everything went to shit after that," Cretton told TheWrap. "I feel like if Marvel was where it was before, we would have had maybe two sequels already. Who knows?"

Cretton previously told Deadline's Crew Call Podcast that a sequel to the beloved 2021 film was still on the way, but that it's the post-pandemic nature of the industry that has put something of a blocker on it. Cretton himself has also been a bit busy directing Spider-Man: Brand New Day, which is already breaking some box office records.

The film stars Simu Liu as Shang-Chi, a martial arts master who is forced to confront the past he thought he left behind when he becomes involved with the mysterious Ten Rings organization. It's also worth noting that Shang-Chi hasn't appeared in any other movies or in a Disney Plus series, which made fans pretty worried about the sequel's fate until it was announced that Shang-Chi would star in Avengers: Doomsday. He can also be seen facing off with Alan Cumming's Nightcrawler in the trailer.

Shang-Chi 2 does not yet have a release date. Spider-Man: Brand New Day is in theaters now. Avengers: Doomsday hit theaters on December 18. For more, check out our guide on how to watch the Spider-Man movies in order, and keep up with upcoming Marvel movies.

Disney Plus Wonder Man series co-creator Destin Daniel Cretton says he's just as confused and heartbroken as the rest of us over the show's cancellation... but that it wasn't Marvel boss Kevin Feige's decision.

"I love that show to death. If it were up to me, we would be making that show," Cretton told TheWrap. “And I do believe that if – and I know this sounds weird – but if it were up to Kevin, we would be doing that show.”

Continued Cretton: "I'm just talking; I don’t fully understand the business of streaming, but if the business was right, we would be making that show because I know Kevin loves that show as much as I do. It's a bummer. I’m heartbroken about it. But I need to fully understand the why."

The statement comes just a day after co-creator Andrew Guest confirmed that the cancellation was "not a marketing stunt" and that "there is no movie in the works." He also clarified that there were no issues with anyone's schedules, including Cretton's (who has a lot on his plate after directing Spider-Man: Brand New Day).

Wonder Man follows Simon Williams (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II), a struggling actor with secret superpowers, as he auditions for the lead role in a superhero movie. He crosses paths with the rather eccentric Trevor Slattery (Ben Kingsley), and the two strike up an unlikely friendship. The series currently sits at a Rotten Tomatoes score of 91%, and a rather impressive audience rating of 88%. A second season was announced back in March (and I am still really, really sad about this).

For more, check out our list of all the upcoming Marvel movies and shows in 2026 and beyond.