After stumbling slightly with Supergirl, it looks like James Gunn's DCU is back on form as new series Lanterns sets a major record for DC Studios.

As per Variety, Lanterns season 1 episode 1 pulled in a whopping 9.3 million viewers in its first three days on HBO and HBO Max worldwide, marking the biggest series premiere for a DC Studios show ever. Plus, 6.6 million of those views came from the US.

This is quite the feat, as Lanterns has beaten Creatures and Commandos, Peacemaker, and even beloved Batman spin-off The Penguin, which took eleven whole days to amass the amount of views Lanterns hit in just three days. Lanterns now sits in the top five series premieres on HBO behind Game of Thrones spin-off A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, which opened to 6.7 million viewers in the US earlier this year.

The massive viewership is not too much of a surprise, as the show hit HBO to rave reviews on Sunday, August 16. Lanterns currently stands at an impressive 94%. In our Lanterns review, we awarded the new DCU project 4.5 out of 5 stars, calling it a "captivating murder mystery that prides itself on relentless pacing and masterful character work from Kyle Chandler's Hal Jordan and Aaron Pierre's John Stewart."

Although it's only early days, there have been some rumblings around a possible Lanterns season 2, with scribe Chris Mundy already back in the writers' room working on new stories. Lanterns' success also follows a bit of a shake-up for Gunn's DCU Chapter One as Peacemaker spin-off Waller and Wonder Woman show Paradise Lost have been scrapped.

The show follows Chandler's Green Lantern and Intergalactic Cop Hal Jordan as he trains Pierre's new recruit John Stewart to take over the mantle. However, the unlikely duo are quickly pulled into a dark, earth-based mystery as they investigate a murder that seems to have extraterrestrial ties. Lanterns also stars Kelly Macdonald, Garret Dillahunt, Poorna Jagannathan, Jason Ritter, Ulrich Thomsen, and Nathan Fillion.

Lanterns continues to air weekly on HBO Max. See our Lanterns release schedule for exact timings. For more, keep up with upcoming DC movies and shows on the way.

A new trailer for Blue Eye Samurai season 2 has finally arrived, and with a release date in tow.

In the brief clip, which can be viewed above, Mizu is on a boat headed to London when a storm nearly causes a shipwreck. At the very end, we learn that new episodes are set to arrive in January 2027. A clip from season 2 was previously shown at Annecy, which saw Mizu arrive in London and become part of an underground fighting ring... where all the men underestimate her before she kicks some serious butt.

Per the official logline: "In Season 2, Mizu's bloody quest continues in London, where she faces new friends, old foes, and her own demons. In Japan, Akemi and Taigen navigate Edo Castle under a dangerous new Shogun, while Ringo searches for new purpose." The new trailer comes as part of Netflix's anime slate for Anime NYC.

"Mizu's journey remains the same. Revenge is her religion," Noizumi previously said of the new season, when we received a first-look trailer back in 2025.

Blue Eye Samurai hit Netflix back in November 2023 and was swiftly renewed for a second season that same December. Created by husband-and-wife team Amber Noizumi and Michael Green, the series follows a female warrior onna-musha who seeks revenge against four men, one of whom is her father. The impressive voice cast includes Kenneth Branagh, Brenda Song, George Takei, Masi Oka, and Randall Park.

For more, check out the best anime shows to watch right now.

As revealed at Anime NYC, Cyberpunk: Edgerunners season 2 hits Netflix on October 20 – and has a chrome-filled new trailer to whet the appetite before we set foot in Night City once more.

The Edgerunners season 2 teaser, which you can see above, introduces us to all the key players who we'll follow in the latest batch of episodes.

As you may have noticed, these aren't David's crew from the first season of Edgerunners. The Studio Trigger anime – co-produced by CD Projekt Red – is going anthology style, introducing a new band of netrunners and metallic ne'er-do-wells.

The bulk of the trailer revolves around Clancy Brown's Weak Kingsley, who appears to go cyberpsycho in one moment and, in a more tender scene, is protecting Talia (Kimoy Lee), a girl who may or may not be her daughter.

Rounding out the cast is camera-wielding Roman Carax (Valeria Rodriguez) and Snake Nation member D. (Nazeeh Tarsha), who each get mixed up in the blood-and-metal mayhem that the second season of Edgerunners is cooking up.

One moment in particular, that of an Arasaka building being bombed, may conjure up the legendary exploits of V. and Johnny Silverhand from Cyberpunk 2077, as well as the ill-fated David's confrontation with Atom Smasher at the end of the first season. Either way, it seems the corporation is very much still around in the anime.

The first episode was already shown at this year's Anime Expo, with first reactions calling it "very special." The creatives behind the series also compared the upcoming season to a Martin Scorsese film, as if there wasn't reason to be excited about Cyberpunk: Edgerunners season 2 enough.

For more, check out our guide to new anime, as well as the best anime you should be watching in 2026.

Hayden Christensen says he wants to make a live-action Clone Wars series with the OG cast of the prequel series... and that everyone would be down to come back.

"I know that Ewan McGregor would love to do more with it," Christensen said on the Hey Jonas podcast, when asked by Kevin Jonas if there would ever be a live-action Anakin series. "I've heard Natalie [Portman] would love to come back. Sam Jackson. So you could get the band back together."

As a defender of the prequels, this makes me irrationally happy. Until Ahsoka season 1, Christensen had not revisited Anakin since 2005 (though his vocal 'cameo' in The Rise of Skywalker does technically count). In The Clone Wars TV show, we learn that Ahsoka and Anakin have some serious history together (I also find it endearing that he calls her 'Snips' and she calls him 'Skyguy'). It only made sense that this would carry over into the live-action Ahsoka series.

"I'm ready whenever they are. They just seem to not be ready, but I'm up for it," McGregor previously stated in regards to returning as Obi-Wan. It's been four years since his standalone limited Disney Plus series. The actor reportedly followed Dave Filoni around on set of Ahsoka season 2 (in which his wife Mary Elizabeth Winstead plays Hera) in order to pitch his character's comeback.

Ahsoka season 2 hits Disney Plus on January 20, 2027. The trailer for the new season was released at D23 and you can check out our Ahsoka season 2 trailer breakdown for all the major moments.

The first trailer for Golden Axe has arrived, and it's a silly, action-packed jaunt through medieval times.

In the brief clip, which can be viewed above, legendary warriors Ax Battler (Liam McIntyre), Tyris Flare (Lisa Gilory) and Gilius Thunderhead (Matthew Rhys) are forced to reunite in order to save Yuria from the evil giant Death Adder, who just won’t seem to stay dead.

Per the official synopsis, "their quest is complicated by Hampton Squib (Danny Pudi), an inexperienced and wildly underprepared adventurer whose dream of heroism far exceeds his abilities. Forced to work together despite their flaws, they must find a way to stop Death Adder once and for all." Additionally, Saturday Night Live writer Carl Tart provides the voice for a humanoid panther named Chronos "Evil" Lait.

The animated series was created by Mike McMahan (Star Trek: Lower Decks) and Joe Chandler (American Dad), with Chandler serving as showrunner.

The beat 'em up video game was released in 1989, as both an arcade game and for the Sega Genesis. The player controls one of three characters, Ax, Tyris, or Gilius, with the intention of saving the fantastical land of Yuria from the evil Death Adder. Comedy Central announced a 10-episode order for the series back in 2024.

Golden Axe is set to hit Paramount Plus on September 16. For more, check out our list of all the upcoming video game movies, or, check out our list of all the new TV Shows you should have on your radar.

The first episode of Lanterns ended with a huge twist: Hal Jordan is dead. Discovered by John Stewart and Sheriff Kane in Rushville, we see Hal's frozen body sitting upright with a bullet in his head at the end of the episode.

This sets up a major mystery about who's behind the big death (you can read our list of suspects here). However, one viewer has noticed something in the show's trailer, which might have blown the case wide open.

Sharing a few screenshots from the new Lanterns trailer on Reddit, they saw a body with a similar wound as well as a similar skull. Check this out below.

"The body Hal drags out from the morgue has a wound on its forehead, exactly where "Hal's" wound is at the end of episode 1," they wrote. "And the skull John picks up also has what looks to be a healed wound in a similar area. Lends me to suspect Hal's still alive, and these are all aliens being murdered."

Another viewer agreed, pointing out that elsewhere in the same trailer, Hal can be seen dragging the body from the morgue into the same football field that his body was found in.

Redditors have been running with the theory. "That's an actually insane discovery. If true, this would be exceptional foreshadowing," one wrote, while another added: "Don't forget they made a HUGE point to tell the audience that there are species of aliens who can shapeshift so well that they can even fool medical scans without an issue."

We've got to admit, we're hoping there's something to this theory. While we'll likely see more of Hal in the series, we're holding out hope that he might somehow be still alive.

For more on Lanterns, check out our Lanterns review as well as our breakdown of the Lanterns release schedule.

Following Marvel Studios showing off its upcoming movie slate at San Diego Comic-Con 2026 and D23, you may have noticed that the studio failed to announce any new shows. However, it sounds as though the superhero studio has a few projects up its sleeve.

According to Puck's What I'm Hearing, there are multiple live-action Marvel series in development over at Disney Plus, with official announcements set to arrive soon.

Now, we don't know what the new projects are, but more may be revealed at New York Comic Con 2026. The Marvel Television and Marvel Animation panel takes place at NYCC on Thursday, October 8th. The listing reads, "Join special guests for an inside look at Marvel Television and Marvel Animation’s most anticipated upcoming series on Disney Plus."

The only new live-action TV show Marvel has on the way is WandaVision spin-off VisionQuest, welcoming back Paul Bettany as the hero in his own solo adventure. In terms of renewals, we know that season 2 of animated show Your Friendly Neighbourhood Spider-Man is set to hit Disney Plus in January 2027. Daredevil: Born Again season 3 and X-Men '97 season 3 (and 4) are currently in development too.

However, Marvel TV has had a bit of a shakeup this year. The studio decided to cancel original superhero show Wonder Man after previously renewing it for a second season. Plus, at SDCC 2026, Marvel head Kevin Feige confirmed the upcoming Nova project, which was previously announced as a TV show, is now going forward as a movie.

Marvel movies, on the other hand, are flourishing. Last month, Spider-Man: Brand New Day hit screens to record-breaking box office takings, and Avengers: Doomsday is set to hit screens this December. More sequels are on the way too, including Avengers: Secret Wars and Black Panther 3. Aside from follow-ups, Marvel announced its upcoming Ghost Rider movie at SDCC and revealed the cast of Marvel's X-Men at D23.

The next Marvel project set to hit screens is TV show VisionQuest on October 14, 2026, on Disney Plus. For more, check out our guide to watching the Marvel movies in order, and keep up with new Marvel movies and TV shows.

Lanterns showrunner Chris Mundy says season 2 is being mapped out right now and will be told in a "slightly different way"

"The question is whether [season two] is a story people are interested in," Mundy told The Hollywood Reporter. "If that's the case, then we’ll get to do another one. We'll tell it in a slightly different way, so that it feels fresh, with characters you know and care about."

Of the ongoing pre-production plans, Mundy added, "We're about six weeks into laying out a season, and then we'll talk to folks about it really soon."

Given the title of Lanterns, there had been some expectation – including from myself, admittedly – that each season would go full True Detective and follow a different Lantern and new crime each season.

But given the talk of "characters you know and care about", there could be some familiar faces back and rocking the ring instead. So, likely no Kyle Rayner, Jessica Cruz, or more obscure Lanterns like Saarek.

Is that a good thing? Well, I'll just say this: I didn't know how much I wanted a Guy Gardner and John Stewart buddy cop duo until now. Make it happen, James Gunn.

Speaking of Gunn, Mundy reaffirmed that the DC Studios boss never meddled in the narrative ahead of John Stewart's appearance in 2027 Superman sequel Man of Tomorrow.

"We knew we were putting John on his feet, but there wasn’t an actual story point that we had to land him on," Mundy said. "In one way, it makes it scarier because it could be anything, but at the same time, we weren’t shoehorned into anything at all."

Lanterns is currently airing new episodes every Sunday on HBO and HBO Max.

For more, check out the Lanterns release schedule. We also have a list of prime suspects behind episode 1's shocking whodunnit.

The name's Lantern. Green Lantern.

Whether he intended to or not, Henry Winkler's recent social media activity added another name to the long, long list of actors who are on audience's wishlists to play the new James Bond.

"Aaron Pierre should be the next BOND," Winkler tweeted on Sunday night after watching the British actor step onto the scene as rookie Lantern-in-training John Stewart on HBO's Lanterns.

In the 2026 scenes, it's hard to disagree. Pierre takes over the show in style (literally, too, thanks to that trendy winter attire), showcasing the blend of charm and command that could easily see him working for His Majesty's Secret Service on the big screen.

Lanterns co-star Kelly Macdonald, who plays Sheriff Kane in the series, wants Pierre to keep on trucking with his role as John Stewart, however.

"I just feel sorry for anybody that gets [linked] – it sort of gets spoken about too much," Macdonald tells GamesRadar+. "Saying yes to a Bond film is a big, big, deal. Lots of people get thrown in the mix. It feels like every week there's a new person."

Macdonald adds, "He certainly could be [Bond], but I hope to see him as a Green Lantern for many years to come."

When we mention Winkler's tweet to Pierre himself, the John Stewart actor – who is set to reprise the role in 2027's Man of Tomorrow – remained humble over the links.

"I think that is an enormous compliment, and I appreciate it greatly. That's very kind. It's a very kind thing for someone to say."

The hunt for the next 007 continues, with producer Amy Pascal recently saying the next Bond actor will be "different" and announced by the end of the year (via Deadline).

Whether he likes his martinis shaken or stirred, it appears Pierre is blocking out the noise – from the spy world or otherwise. Still, Lanterns could yet be an audition for him to earn the number.

Lanterns is now streaming on HBO Max in the UK and Ireland.

For more, here's all the latest on DCU Chapter One.

The future of Doctor Who is pretty uncertain at the moment following the cancelation of the latest season's Christmas special and announcement of Ncuti Gatwa's exit. The long-running BBC sci-fi show has now been put out to tender to see if another production company will pick up the franchise for a reboot.

However, Doctor Who writer and actor Mark Gatiss isn't feeling too hopeful about its return. "I think the fact that Doctor Who had a second act of 21 years is absolutely amazing," he told the Radio Times. "And for it to come back, possibly even more popular than it was in the first run… But I think maybe it's just time for a break, because these things, all good things come to an end. I think the BBC putting out for tender is a perfectly great idea, but we've been here before."

He cited the show's cancelation at the end of the '80s. "They put it out to tender then and it just quietly didn't happen and I have a feeling maybe that's what's going to happen," Gatiss continued. "I feel very doomy."

The actor added that he thinks it will come back again but viewers need to "miss it" before it does and perhaps a new generation needs to take the helm.

Gatiss has worked on the show both in front of and behind the camera. He wrote nine televised episodes and appeared as a villainous scientist and a dying World War I soldier in the modern series, as well as penning several official Who books.

Earlier this year, Doctor Who showrunner Russell T Davies addressed the cancelation of Doctor Who on Instagram too, saying a heartfelt "goodbye" to fans of the show.

Check out our guide to all the upcoming TV shows you need to know about.

Ewan McGregor has made no secret about how much he wants to return as Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Star Wars universe. However, apparently he's so keen, he's even been pitching to Lucasfilm boss Dave Filoni and considering time traveling love stories.

"It was very casual, but I said there's got to be something," McGregor told Variety about his pitch to Filoni on the set of Ahsoka, which his wife Mary Elizabeth Winstead stars in. "Yoda's somewhere else. After the end of Episode III', when we all go to the four or five corners of the galaxy – or however many corners it's got – I won't have been in touch with him. But he's out there. So I think there could be a story there where I'm trying to reach out to him."

He's not just considered a Yoda-centric story either, but also once harbored hopes he could star opposite Winstead's New Republic general Hera Syndulla as well. "I got very excited when Mary started working on Ahsoka," he added to Variety. "I thought, maybe this is the big love story – Obi-Wan and Hera." However, he has come to acknowledge the characters are in different timeframes with Ahsoka set years after Obi-Wan's death.

McGregor's comments come shortly after his last plea to Disney to revive his character once again. Speaking at the recent premiere of The End of Oak Street, he said: "I'm ready whenever they are. They just seem to not be ready, but I'm up for it."

While Obi-Wan's Star Wars future is still unclear, Winstead will be returning soon in Ahsoka season 2. The trailer for the new season was released at D23 and you can check out our Ahsoka season 2 trailer breakdown for all the major moments.

Lanterns isn't Aaron Pierre's first DC rodeo.

Almost a decade ago, a baby-faced Pierre formed part of the cast of Krypton, a SyFy series that charted the domestic court of Krypton and the lives of Superman's ancestors, including his grandfather, Seg-El.

There, Pierre played Dev-Em, a part worlds away from a far more iconic DC role – as John Stewart in Lanterns. But that doesn't mean it wasn't able to influence his step-up in comic book roles when the time came.

"I think they're two unique and individual experiences," Pierre tells GamesRadar+ during a Lanterns press event in London.

"One thing that I did take from my experience on Krypton to the set of Lanterns is – I'm still young now, but I was even younger on Krypton – I took the experience of being on a set of that enormity and that magnitude. And how do you honor your character, service the character, and do the same thing for the story in such a grand environment and in such a grand set?"

Pierre concludes, "That's that's the sort of education that I brought with me to this, and I had a blast doing it."

Pierre went from Krypton, via Pride Rock in Mufasa, to Rushville, Nebraska as part of the Lanterns cast. Next, he's going to reprise his role as John Stewart in Superman sequel Man of Tomorrow, while also blasting off to a galaxy far, far away in Star Wars: Starfighter.

Lanterns is now streaming on HBO Max in the UK and Ireland.

For more, check out the Lanterns release schedule and our guide to DCU Chapter One.

We're only 1 episode into new DCU Chapter One show Lanterns, but the theories are already starting to roll in. The latest being that fans think that Kelly MacDonald's character Kerry is a Gothamite in disguise.

Despite Lanterns being set in Nebraska, DC fans are positive that the local sheriff is actually from Gotham City. That's right, the same place where Batman himself resides. In episode 1, Kerry is seen talking on the phone to a police Commissioner when she says, "Tell Barb I said hey." Could Kerry be talking to Gotham's Commissioner Gordon? In DC comics, Gordon's wife is named Barbara, but in some stories his daughter is named Barbara Gordon, otherwise known as Batgirl.

This could just be a little DC Easter egg, or maybe it is James Gunn''s way of slipping in context for the DCU's upcoming Batman movie, The Brave and the Bold. But there's more, as Portuguese DC fan page Caverna do Morcego points out on Twitter. "Her full name is Kerry Kane. The Kane family is one of the most influential in Gotham. Bruce Wayne's mother was a Kane," reads the post.

It is true that in traditional DC comics, Batman's mother's maiden name is Martha Kane. However, a few other characters share that last name too, including Bruce Wayne's cousin, Kate (Katherine) Kane, who later became Batwoman. At this point, we don't know what 'Kerry' is short for, meaning there is the possibility that Kerry is Katherine. But that may be a bit of a reach this early on in the series.

This isn't the first time that fans have drawn a connection from Lanterns to the Batman comics. Towards the end of episode 1, Aaron Pierre's Jon Stewart walks past a poster for Janus Cosmetics, which shows a woman's face half covered in black feathers. However, in DC comics, Janus is owned by Roman Sionis, aka Batman Villain Black Mask. Following the downfall, the baddie businessman goes after Bruce Wayne after Wayne Enterprises publicly bails him out. Boy, these Gothamites really are everywhere.

Lanterns airs weekly on HBO Max and NOW. See our Lanterns release schedule for exact timings. For more, check out our Lanterns review, and find out where Lanterns takes place on the DCU timeline.

In celebration of Breaking Bad Day this year, fans will be able to see the show's top-rated episode on the big screen for the first time 15 years after it aired.

On September 7, US movie theater chain Alamo Drafthouse will host special interactive screenings of Breaking Bad season 4 episode 13, as per Collider. The one-day event is set to take place across the US in Alamo theatres in New York, Los Angeles, Austin, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, DC Metro Area, Denver, Laredo, Omaha, Northern Virginia, Raleigh, San Francisco Bay Area, St. Louis, and Springfield.

Better yet, tickets are free with any $10 food and drink purchase, which makes sense as Alamo cinemas are known for serving dinner and drinks during screenings. There will also be a costume contest, so make sure to wear your best Los Pollos T-shirts and yellow cleansuits for a chance to win a prize. If that sounds up your street, make sure to reserve your spot today over at Drafthouse.com.

You may be wondering why Alamo is screening the season 4 finale rather than the series finale. Well, season 4 episode 13, titled 'Face Off,' is turning 25 years old this October, so there's no better time than Breaking Bad Day 2026 to celebrate it. Face Off is also the highest-rated Breaking Bad episode on IMDb, tied with the series finale.

Face Off marks the final showdown between Bryan Cranston's science teacher turned meth maker Walter White and Giancarlo Esposito's villainous restaurant owner and criminal Gus Fring. The installment ends with Gus' face being blown off in an old folks home courtesy of a bell-ringing ex-criminal named Hector, hence the title.

Fans will be able to play along with the episode, as attendees will also get a bag full of Breaking Bad swag, including a Heisenberg hat, blue rock candy, Hector's call bell, and a Gus Fring half-face mask. Oh what fun.

For more, check out the new TV shows heading your way very soon.

Lanterns writer Damon Lindelof is no stranger to bringing out our emotions as part of Lost, The Leftovers, and Watchmen – but even we didn't see the first episode's narrative gambit coming.

Kyle Chandler's Hal Jordan is dead and, as Lindelof told Collider, it's a story beat he initially wasn't on board with.

"We can't do that, everyone is gonna hate us and it feels gimmicky," Lindelof said. "But [showrunner Chris Mundy] was like, 'I don't feel that it's gimmicky. I think that it will actually infuse the entire story with a lot of emotionality, especially if the audience understands that John and Hal were not in a good place at the time that Hal died.'"

Lindelof revealed they "gradually" started coming round to the idea, but acknowledged that "a lot of people are going to be angry."

"'I waited this long for another live-action version of Hal, having not gotten him since the Ryan Reynolds film, and then basically 50 minutes after getting me to fall in love with Kyle Chandler, you're killing him off? Fuck you.'" Lindelof said.

"I guess our feeling is, let's see how you feel at the end of Episode 8, and if you still feel like it was exploitative or unnecessary, or that it wasn't exactly what had to happen in order for this story to get told, then we deserve it. But I think we're willing to absorb the boos from the audience in the first inning, as long as we still have a shot at winning the game."

In-universe, Hal Jordan is surviving – but not quite thriving – as 'hail' comes to Rushville, Nebraska as of 2016. There's even a decade-old 'Halogram' as part of his Lantern ring that muddies the waters slightly.

But in 2026, he appears definitively dead, his frozen body slumped out on the rafters – a fitting end to a character played by a Friday Night Lights lead, perhaps, but a sad one nonetheless.

We spoke to Kyle Chandler about the reveal, and he teased that the story won't be a "slow burn" from hereon out.

Adding to the mystery, it's been confirmed that Guy Gardner has Hal Jordan's ring. There's every reason, then, why our list of prime murder suspects is so long. But we'll have to seemingly wait until the finale to find out whodunnit.

For more, check our where Lanterns takes place on the DCU timeline, as well as our interview with Aaron Pierre as he talks Superman sequel Man of Tomorrow.

The first episode of Lanterns ended, fittingly, in blackest night with a dead body.

Despite the premiere shocker – as part of a 2026 flash-forward – reframing the whole show already, Hal Jordan actor Kyle Chandler promises what follows isn't going to be a "slow burn" before we get to the grand reveal.

Be warned, major spoilers for Lanterns episode 1 within.

So, Hal Jordan is dead. How he got there, who killed him, and whether we're actually looking at Hal slumped in the snowy rafters in Rushville remain a mystery

But what Chandler is transparent about when we spoke to him about that moment is that it's going to be pedal to the (green) metal all the way through – but he warned that "everyone is going to have to watch and find out to make their own decision" on the first episode's rug-pull.

"I think it turns out great," Chandler says. "I think there's a lot of different moves in the whole deal. It's an exciting poker game."

Chandler adds, "We didn't have all the scripts starting out. They started coming in… it's not a slow burn. It goes from one world into another, and grows into that."

We already have one answer courtesy of the show's creatives. It's confirmed that Guy Gardner has Hal Jordan's ring as of the events of Superman. Good luck trying to get anything else out of them – it's among Sector 2814's biggest current secrets in the DCU.

Lanterns is available on HBO Max in the UK and Ireland.

For more, we have a list of the main suspects who could have killed Hal Jordan.

Then, we shine a light on DC's bright future with our guide to DCU Chapter One.

The new subscriber-only Crunchyroll store has officially launched after a controversial overhaul, and it's left every book and most Blu-rays behind.

Last month, Crunchyroll, now owned by Sony's Funimation after a 2021 deal, announced a new store portal that will only allow Crunchyroll Mega and Ultimate-tier subscribers to make purchases. An everything-must-go sale accompanying the news implied that reams of physical media would be delisted with this relaunch, and, if anything, the outcome is even worse than expected.

As MangaAlerts flagged on Bluesky, all manga, light novels, manhwa (Korean comics), and danmei (Chinese yaoi literature, basically) have vanished from the Crunchyroll store after today's update.

With a clear focus on figures, clothes, and similar merch, the categories under the new store's "shop all" page are limited to:

• New
• Accessories
• Apparel
• Collectibles
• Games
• Home
• Home Entertainment
• Music

Physical media is hard to come by in this selection. The music page reveals just 10 CD and vinyl options. Home entertainment hides a scant 387 Blu-ray and DVD sets (with those CDs and vinyl mixed in), representing a massive reduction from the store's previous catalog.

It's worth noting that the whole store is looking pretty piecemeal at the moment, with just one entry for the whole games category – the Naruto Shippuden Clue board game. Thank goodness we have that.

More items will surely be added, even outside the rotating limited-time merch drops heavily emphasized in the new store, but it's unclear whether entire categories – like, say, for the books that are now harder to buy since Crunchyroll absorbed popular Asian goods shop RightStuf a few years ago – will be restored. I'm not expecting a big danmei button in the store, but the complete abandonment of books makes me wince.

Likewise, the countless missing Blu-ray options – which, MangaAlerts rightly points out, tend to be from studios not under the Sony anime empire – may remain absent.

I've reached out to Crunchyroll for comment on the store's selection of physical media. As it stands, Sony has simply destroyed RightStuf and yet more of its own physical goods lineup as PlayStation marches toward the 2028 death of discs.

Phantom Blade Zero State of Play bravely leaves comments on, is flooded with PlayStation fans telling Sony "no disc no buy."

John Stewart actor Aaron Pierre says filming Lanterns for over 100 days prepared him for taking the next step in the DCU in 2027's Superman sequel Man of Tomorrow .

"For me, what was an enormous gift was having those eight hours of HBO [television] to live with before going onto Man of Tomorrow," Pierre tells GamesRadar+ of his DCU bow as rookie Lantern-in-training John Stewart.

It wasn't just the canvas of eight hours of television on which Pierre could paint. He embodied John Stewart across almost all of production, an opportunity he cherished – and offered a chance to build out the character.

"I was on the phone to [showrunner] Chris Mundy the other day. He was like, 'Congratulations, man. You filmed for 106 days out of 112.' Just on that note, to have 106 days with a character before going on in the DC cinematic universe is a gift. That is not a given. I am very grateful I had that," Pierre said.

On how his time on Lanterns shaped his Man of Tomorrow performance, Pierre added, "That's just the way it worked out. I don't know how intentional it was or wasn't, but I'm forever grateful for that. It allowed me to step onto the Man of Tomorrow set with a deep understanding of who my man John is."

Pierre is joining a Man of Tomorrow cast which is a mega-DCU crossover in all but name. The Superman follow-up stars David Corenswet, Rachel Brosnahan, and Nicholas Hoult from the core cast; Mr. Terrific actor Edi Gathegi, Guy Gardner's Nathan Fillion, Hawkgirl's Isabela Merced, as well as Supergirl's Milly Alcock, Lars Eidinger's Brainiac, and Blue Beetle actor Xolo Maridueña.

Despite John Stewart bridging the gap between Lanterns and Man of Tomorrow, showrunner Chris Mundy told SFX that he wasn't given a mandate on where to leave off with the character by the show's season finale.

"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 said. "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."

Lanterns is available exclusively on HBO Max in the UK and Ireland.

For more, check out the Lanterns release schedule and everything else coming your way as part of DCU Chapter One.

Chainsaw Man anime actor Ryan Colt Levy has weighed in on the controversy surrounding the manga's ending. Earlier this year mangaka Tatsuki Fujimoto released the final chapter of the show's source material, taking Denji's story in an unexpected direction.

Veering into the surreal, the manga concluded with Pochita erasing Chainsaw Man from existence, sending the narrative into an alternate reality. The series ends with Porchita and Chainsaw Man back at the beginning of the story, having never met Denji. It was a bold choice and one that really split long-time readers with some criticism over several untied storylines.

However, it seems like Denji's English voice actor was a fan of the twist. Speaking to ComicBook.com, he said he's been having a lot of conversations about the manga.

"Online, it can sometimes seem vitriolic and all over the place," Levy explained. "It’s been out for three months, and I travel a lot, talking with a lot of people in-person. In-person, the response to the finale is overwhelmingly positive. Everyone's allowed to have their opinions, but Fujimoto, as a writer, isn’t there to make you happy; he's there to tell his story. Take it or leave it. I love the ending because to me, it feels like the appropriate finishing point to the story that I had always been reading, if that makes sense."

He went on to add that he feels the signs were there for this conclusion right from the start. "From the very first page, I felt like Fujimoto was going somewhere specifically with what he was trying to say," he added. "It's almost a deconstruction of shonen manga and anime, exploring what being a hero is and the value of yourself."

It's certainly an interesting take and it will be intriguing to see how the anime show adapts it when the time comes. In the meantime, next up is Chainsaw Man season 2. The series is in production with a teaser trailer out but no release date has been announced yet.

For more, check out our guide to the best anime to watch right now and all the new anime you need to know about.

Lanterns may have only just begun on HBO Max, but the new DC story has already started planting major Easter eggs. In the opening episode, one viewer spotted a tease for an iconic Batman villain lurking in plain sight.

Towards the end of the first episode, a poster for Janus Cosmetics can be seen behind John Stewart (Aaron Pierre). Alongside the logo is a picture of a woman's face covered partially by black feathers. Those who know their Batman villains well will recognise the name of Janus Cosmetics as the brand that's owned by Roman Sionis, whose alter ego is the Black Mask. Check out the moment below.

First introduced in the DC comics back in the '80s, the Black Mask is a Gotham City crime lord and founder of the False Face Society. After his company fell into ruin and he had to accept a bailout from Wayne Enterprises, Sionis was driven mad by revenge, targeting Bruce Wayne in a series of attacks.

If this Easter egg is teasing the character's introduction, this wouldn't be the first time we've seen them on screen. He's appeared in the animated series The Batman as well as in Birds of Prey, where he is played by Ewan McGregor.

We haven't yet met James Gunn's version of Batman, but we do know that the character is still set to be introduced in the next few years. Lanterns features the biggest tease yet for the iconic character and we wouldn't be surprised if a few more Easter eggs may be hiding in the remaining episodes of the show.

Lanterns airs weekly on HBO Max and NOW. Check out our Lanterns release schedule to make sure you don't miss a moment as well as our Lanterns review for what we think of the show.

It's been nearly 10 months since It: Welcome to Derry premiered, and HBO Max has finally given it the green light for season 2.

HBO released a brief teaser, which you can watch below, that takes us all the way back to 1935... as season 1 took place in 1962 and It returns to Derry every 27 years (though keep in mind that this timeline is adjusted from the Stephen King novel in order for It to die in a more modern 2016, rather than 1985). Andy Muschietti has plans for two more seasons of the hit prequel series, which means a third season would take us even further back to 1908. We can expect this season to focus on the bloody massacre of the Bradley Gang, whose lore was touched on in the first season (and you know you've always wanted to see Pennywise dressed like a gangster holding a machine gun).

The series explores the origins of It and how he came to take on his favorite persona, which is none other than Pennywise the Dancing Clown. Season 1 holds an 80% on Rotten Tomatoes, with reviews skewing mostly positive, with others taking issue with changes in lore, pacing, and how many times we actually see Pennywise in the show. Creator Andy Muschietti previously said that the new season will get even darker (as if the first season wasn't dark enough), and won't shy away from real-life topics i.e. The Great Depression and racial injustice.

It: Welcome to Derry season 2 does not yet have a release date. For more, check out our guide to the best shows on HBO, and keep up with new TV shows on the way.

DCU overseer James Gunn has defended the cinematic universe from complaints about tonal whiplash, especially in the wake of Lanterns' gritty murder mystery premiere.

A fan on Threads raised a common concern for those who have been on the ground floor since DCU: Chapter One launched with Creature Commandos.

They wrote, "As an 'Elseworlds' story, this first episode of Lanterns is way better than the conceit of 'True Detective meets DCU'. That said—and along with Supergirl, Creature Commandos, and the upcoming Clayface movie—I can’t comprehend this slate toward building a shared narrative universe."

Gunn, not one to keep his social media six-shooter in its holster, disagreed. He replied: "In the same way DC comics have. Certainly the DC works of Alan Moore, Darwyn Cooke, Grant Morrison, Jack Kirby, Paul Dini & Tom King can't be considered "of one tone". For me & others raised on DC comics, a huge part of the fun was enjoying a variety of stories in various genres & seeing inventive ways these tones interacted & interwove. For some of the authors - notably Moore & Morrison (& Tom King in Strange Adventures and more) that tonal interweaving became a part of the stories themselves."

While it certainly hasn't mirrored the MCU in terms of building out a universe using a tried-and-tested formula of superhero movies, there can be no doubt that the DCU has been ambitious – and attempting to appeal to a large cross-section of genre fans.

We've already had weird and wonderful animation (Creature Commandos), an anarchic season of television filled with parallel dimensions (Peacemaker season 2), a big-budget blockbuster (Superman), a flawed hero navigating the cosmos (Supergirl) and, now, Lanterns, a more intimate, grounded crime drama featuring characters who normally go big and bold with their superpowers. Body horror is also on the menu, too, with Clayface later this year.

Whatever your take, it appears that Lanterns is a hit with fans. It's currently sitting at 95% on Rotten Tomatoes. Our own Lanterns review was effusive in its praise, stating, "The DCU is back on track. Lanterns is a captivating murder mystery that prides itself on relentless pacing and masterful character work from Kyle Chandler's Hal Jordan and Aaron Pierre's John Stewart to ensure DC's superhero rivals will turn green with envy."

Lanterns, starring Aaron Pierre and Kyle Chandler, sees rookie John Stewart team with Green Lantern veteran Hal Jordan to investigate a murder with possibly extraterrestrial culprits. The first episode also includes a shock cliffhanger and a fresh whodunnit. We have a list of suspects here but, be warned, spoilers are within.

For more, here's how to watch the DC movies in order. If you're still not on board with the Green Lantern series, here's what to watch before Lanterns.

Lanterns has just debuted on HBO, and the DCU show is off to a spectacular start. But a crucial tidbit revealed by Lanterns co-creator Tom King on the official Lanterns podcast has me wondering how Lanterns fits into the DCU timeline.

Warning: Spoilers for Lanterns episode 1 follow.

At the end of Lanterns' first episode, it's revealed that Earth's Green Lantern, Hal Jordan, is murdered in 2026. Not only that, but his Power Ring is nowhere to be found. Without getting into the decision to kill Hal (we have plenty of thoughts on that here) or who precisely could have killed him (we have thoughts on the prime suspects as well!), my theory brain has been in overdrive ever since listening to the official podcast, where a comment from Tom King piqued my interest.

"At the end of this episode, Hal is dead," King says. "But also, you see John [Stewart]'s hand; he's not wearing that ring. Guy [Gardner] has the ring. So why does Guy end up with the ring, and where do we go after this, cause this moves us forward."

Now, this is interesting. If you'll recall, Green Lantern Guy Gardner is well-established as a Green Lantern on Earth in Superman; he's even part of a super-team in the Justice Gang, and has history with Supes before the movie starts. Superman is set in 2025, however, and Hal is murdered in 2026, which means Hal must lose his ring long before his death; years before, potentially. The Lanterns timeline just got a lot more confusing.

Of course, it's entirely possible – probable, in fact – that Lanterns will address this question in future episodes as Nathan Fillion's Guy Gardner is set to appear in the show, bowl cut and all. But with the line of succession for Hal Jordan's ring made clear as day by the show, precisely how and why Guy is chosen by the ring instead of John is a fascinating question.

Lanterns is the DCU's gritty take on the traditionally cosmic superhero series, and tells a ground-level murder mystery set over multiple timelines. Showrunner Chris Mundy (True Detective: Night Country) told us realism was "totally the goal" because they're "trying to tell a real story." Co-creators Damon Lindelof and Tom King, meanwhile, bring comic-book legitimacy to the HBO show, noting in a conversation with GamesRadar+ that the idea was to "bring out the visions" of Green Lantern comic book writers.

Lanterns episode 1 is streaming now on HBO Max in the US and UK, and on NOW in the UK. For more, check out our Lanterns review, and be sure to bookmark our Lanterns release schedule so you never miss an episode.

Kingdom Hearts creator Tetsuya Nomura says a "hint" for the anime's premise is hiding in its first artwork, and it's exactly the sort of clue-hunting and obscure narrative tease that I want from one of my favorite game franchises.

At D23, the surprise announcement of a Kingdom Hearts anime was made. True to form with the crossover Disney series, very little detail was attached – save for the first key art, which you can see below.

According to Nomura, however, the figure (who may or may not be Sora) is the key to unlocking the mysteries of the upcoming anime.

"I imagine you're surprised by this sudden announcement. Some of you may be wondering, 'What will it be about?'" Nomura offered on Twitter.

"We can't discuss all the details just yet, but I've been in close discussions with the scenario team, including myself, and when needed, we've also enlisted the art team's cooperation, even creating multiple new character designs specifically for this project. I can't say anything more right now, but the hint is in the single piece of key art that's been revealed. Please let your imaginations run wild while you await further updates."

For the uninitiated, Kingdom Hearts revolves around the coming-of-age journey of teenage boy Sora and his friends, Riku and Kairi.

Once tied to their home of Destiny Islands, they are suddenly thrust on a journey to stop evil across several Disney worlds, flanked by familiar characters and allies such as Donald, Goofy, and Mickey Mouse.

But that's just the start. What begins as a fairly basic run through the plots of Disney movies soon transforms into a wild (and frequently maddening) tale of surrogate bodies, evil organizations, time travel, and lost realms.

By the time we reach Kingdom Hearts 3, many may have fell off the lore train, such was its increasingly knotty and dense nature. The trilogy didn't even wrap in satisfying fashion; sacrilege to some, but a joy for someone like me who delights in hearing Nomura has hidden story beats for the series in a Japan-exclusive hotel (yes, that really happened).

Kingdom Hearts 4 may be next up, but it's the anime that has me more intrigued.

After all, that project has been in development for several years and it was announced at D23 that the next instalment would finally be released in late 2027. Answers, then, are just around the corner. Boo.

A trailer teased more of the next step in Sora's journey, including a stopover in a Coco-themed world. That suggests we're getting slightly more traditional fare in line with the first Kingdom Hearts for at least its first act.

But I want to embrace the weirdness, madness, and years of theorycraft.

The Kingdom Hearts anime's key art is just unknowable enough to kickstart another journey that promises to prove frustratingly obtuse and joyously cathartic at the same time. Is it a prequel? Sequel? Both? All is possible with Kingdom Hearts. I can't wait to see what Nomura and company are cooking with this anime.

For more, check out other new anime in the works, plus all the upcoming PS5 games just over the horizon.

Unlike other heroes who fight using tech or magic, the Green Lanterns are powered solely by their imagination. Yet HBO's new show Lanterns is so imaginative that many fans have pushed back against it, outraged by the shocking changes it's made to the Green Lantern mythos. And that was before the premiere ended with an even more surprising twist that's sure to rile people up further.

The controversy started early on when it was revealed that Lanterns would be more grounded in its approach. Eschewing most of the space-led antics, this version of the story was sold as a True Detective-style buddy cop show where Hal Jordan (Kyle Chandler) teaches John Stewart (Aaron Pierre) what it means to be a Green Lantern.

Much of the first episode unfolds exactly like that. There's very little action to speak of, especially of the superhero variety. When the ring is used, it's only to make a bottle opener or a protective bubble. Even when Jordan flies, there's no signature green aura that fans are familiar with from the comics.

None of that is necessarily a bad thing, however. 2011's atrocious Green Lantern film served as a strong warning against anyone who might lean too far into the cosmic elements of this franchise without considering the humanity that underpins it. Lanterns simply swings super far the other way, putting a new spin on this decades-old story.

Such an approach worked extremely well for HBO's adaptation of Watchmen, which Lanterns co-creator Damon Lindelof also worked on. And just like that acclaimed series, the first episode of this new DC show also makes some significant changes, especially when it comes to the fate of its central character.

Note: major spoilers for Lanterns episode 1 follow.

Hal on Earth

After Jordan and Stewart spend most of the premiere hunting for aliens in Rushville, Nebraska, the final scenes jump from 2016 to 2026, where we meet an older version of John as he returns to the town 10 years later. Or, what's left of the town.

Driving past wreckage in the dead of night, Stewart reunites with Kerry (Kelly Macdonald), who still appears to be working as the Sheriff of Rushville. The pair briefly exchange small talk, and then John asks Kerry if anyone else knows… That's when we see Hal frozen outside, and it's clear that he's actually dead.

Yep, Hal Jordan, Earth's first Green Lantern (in the DCU), is already killed off by the end of episode one.

As shocking as this might be, it won't have come as a surprise to everyone.

Prior to the release of Lanterns, some major leaks predicted this exactly, even citing the two timelines and Hal's different involvement in them. It didn't help that HBO's legal team asked various people reporting on the leak to stop sharing it and take the information down, which seemed to confirm that the leak was indeed true.

The news enraged a lot of fans at the time, and it will undoubtedly enrage them further now that Jordan's death in the show has played out for real. And honestly, it's easy to see why.

Hal Jordan hasn't exactly fared well on screen up until this point. Unlike other DC stalwarts, Green Lantern was skipped over by Zack Snyder's Justice League, presumably because of budgetary concerns and just how poorly Jordan's live-action debut in 2011 fared.

Finally giving Hal a chance to shine on screen, only to kill him off so quickly doesn't feel fair for fans who have loved this character over the decades. In many ways, Jordan is the definitive Green Lantern, which makes his sudden death even more surprising.

Green Light

However, there is something to be said for just how ballsy this twist is. If it weren't for that leak, no one would have expected this in a million years. And when it comes to source material this long-lived, isn't this exactly what we want from new adaptations? A fresh new perspective to shake things up?

By reframing a galactic superhero story into a murder mystery of sorts, Lanterns refuses to play it safe, tackling a notoriously tricky franchise with a daring new spin. It's also gratifying to see John Stewart take the spotlight he's long deserved. The character, one of the most prominent Black superheroes ever created, was first introduced all the way back in 1971, yet aside from his role in the noughties Justice League cartoon, he's often still sidelined when it comes to adaptations onscreen.

And crucially, it's not like we've been robbed of Jordan completely. With so much of this first season taking place in the past, Hal will still be extremely prominent throughout the main noughties arc, not to mention the "Halogram" who channels his essence still (presumably beyond death).

It's also worth noting that superheroes rarely stay dead for long. Hal himself was actually killed off in the comics after he became the villain Parallax and ended up sacrificing himself to save the galaxy. It took a few years for him to eventually return and resume the mantle of Green Lantern in the comics.

That's not to say Chandler's live-action Hal will have necessarily died so heroically. The point is we still don't know what's actually happened to him just yet. And therein lies the real mystery of the show. Stewart isn't just investigating an extraterrestrial case alongside Jordan. He's also investigating what happened to Jordan to cause his death, ten years on.

It's an unusual setup for a Green Lantern show, and an extremely imaginative one at that. What remains to be seen is whether Lanterns can stick the landing and justify such a cataclysmic twist, not just to the fans who instantly balk at such a choice, but for those of us who are actually open to seeing where this adventurous spin on the show might take us.

Lanterns episode 1 is streaming now on HBO Max in the US and UK, and also on NOW in the UK. For more, check out our Lanterns review, and never miss an episode with our Lanterns release schedule.

The Ahsoka season 2 trailer finally arrived at D23, and, not only was GamesRadar+ in the room to watch all the action unfold, we also have lots to talk about from the new footage.

Below, we've listed the 16 most interesting Star Wars details in the new trailer, as well as our thoughts on what might be going on. It's been three long years since season 1, but it's finally time to start getting excited about the return of Ahsoka Tano.

So, head on down for our full Ahsoka season 2 trailer breakdown. For more, check out our D23 live-blog for all the other major announcements.

The Clone Wars

After the Star Wars show's D23 display teased flashbacks to The Clone Wars era, the trailer confirmed we are indeed returning to this point on the Star Wars timeline. We see Anakin and Ahsoka in a snowy forest, fighting someone with a double-bladed green lightsaber. Now, what this might mean isn't clear just yet. Naturally, there are theories aplenty to be found on Reddit, with fans speculating this mysterious enemy could be a younger Baylan Skoll, Marrok or the Crow, or just a renegade Jedi.

Force ghost Anakin

Anakin Skywalker's return was confirmed at Star Wars Celebration 2025. The trailer shows Anakin both in the past in a Clone Wars-era moment and as a Force ghost on Peridea. Clearly, Anakin is still watching over Snips: in fact, he says he's always walking by her side. Aww.

Thrawn declares war

Grand Admiral Thrawn returned to the main galaxy at the end of Ahsoka season 1. In the trailer, he declares war against the Rebel Alliance, which includes his old foe Hera Syndulla. This looks to be building to an Heir to the Empire-style confrontation, which could culminate in the Dave Filoni movie announced at Star Wars Celebration 2023.

Xiono returns

Senator Xiono is back in season 2. In the first season, Xiono refused to believe Thrawn could return, so it seems likely he'll continue to be a thorn in Hera's side.

Another hallway fight

One thing Star Wars absolutely loves is a good hallway fight: Darth Vader in Rogue One, Luke Skywalker in The Mandalorian season 2, Maul in The Clone Wars, and, now, the Nightsisters of Dathomir in Ahsoka season 2.

Nightsisters of Dathomir

Concept art at D23 teased the Nightsisters wielding energy bows of some kind, and, in the trailer, we see them in action. They seem to be attacking the Rebel Alliance, so we'd wager this is a skirmish organized by Thrawn.

Dathomir

A red planet can briefly be seen in the trailer. Could this be Dathomir? It certainly looks like it. Dathomir, of course, is home world to both the Nightsisters and one Darth Maul.

Sabine's new hair

Sabine Wren is never one to keep the same look for long, and, in Ahsoka season 2, she's growing out her hair again – and it seems to have been dyed a very pale shade of lilac. Sabine cut her hair in season 1 to symbolise her return to facing her destiny, and, in season 2, the pale hair could tie into Ahsoka's Gandalf the White-style appearance. This could mean Sabine is embracing Ahsoka's teachings (but with her own edge, hence the hint of lilac), or that she has a fresh perspective like Snips after meeting Anakin in the World Between Worlds. Now, where Sabine is finding a hair salon on Peridea remains a mystery...

Space battles

Ezra Bridger actor Eman Esfandi has teased space battles are coming, and we get a glimpse at them in the trailer. Thanks to Celebration 2025, we know that Admiral Ackbar is returning to face off against Thrawn, too. Expect a galactic showdown for the ages.

Strange rocks

Ahsoka and Sabine can be seen approaching a carving on a rock on Peridea. Considering the first piece of concept art for season 2 teased the Mortis gods, we'd guess this has something to do with those Force beings or the World Between Worlds. After all, it seems this is what Baylan is trying to access.

Anakin knows Baylan

"Baylan claims to have knowledge of a power. One that could end wars," says Anakin in the trailer. This is not only confirmation that the two did indeed know each other, as Baylan suggested in season 1, but also sets up Baylan's mysterious quest for the World Between Worlds.

Zeb Orrelios

After making his live-action debut in The Mandalorian season 3 and earning a starring role in The Mandalorian and Grogu, Zeb Orrelios is appearing in Ahsoka season 2. That means a full Ghost crew reunion could be on the cards, if Sabine makes it home.

Ezra Bridger vs Enoch

Ezra can be seen in lightsaber combat with Enoch, the mysterious gold-masked stormtrooper from season 1. Some people theorized that Enoch was actually Ezra himself, which turned out not to be true. Who the masked figure is remains to be seen. Enoch also has a flaming green lightsaber, which could suggest Nightsister magic (and looks pretty cool).

Huyang faces Shin Hati

Huyang goes full General Grievous and wields multiple lightsabers in a face-off with Shin Hati. This means Shin finds Ahsoka's ship, though we still suspect the Padawan might be on the path to redemption. She approaches Baylan in the trailer too, but Baylan abandoned her in season 1, so a happy reunion seems unlikely.

Ahsoka and Sabine fight together

Both Ahsoka and Sabine wield their lightsabers in a battle with white droids across a symbol that has circles and lines similar to the World Between Worlds. Are they closing in on this mystical realm, too? Ahsoka does have experience with it, after all, and concept art displayed at D23 reveals Morai, the convor bird associated with the Daughter, is still watching over Ahsoka.

Ahsoka might become a Jedi again

Anakin's voiceover in the trailer questions, "Are you a Jedi or not?" Ahsoka walked away from the Jedi Order during The Clone Wars after she was falsely accused of a crime she did not commit and put on trial. Could Ahsoka find her way back? We're willing to guess yes, since Ahsoka embodies all the qualities of a Jedi and even has her own Padawan.

Ahsoka season 2 arrives January 20, 2027. In the meantime, check out our guide to all the upcoming Star Wars movies and TV shows for everything else the galaxy far, far away has in store.

Lanterns co-creators Damon Lindelof and Tom King say they made sure to depict Hal Jordan and John Stewart's comic book origins in a way that honors various Green Lantern comic book writers, rather than one that relies on fan service.

"It transcends the idea of doing fan service to say that there's certain aspects of the canon that are essential," Lindelof tells GamesRadar+, when it comes to deciding how to work Hal Jordan and John Stewart's various comic book origin stories into the new show. "And you have to kinda throw them in the blender when you're making your smoothie. But at the same time, when you drink the smoothie, you can add one flavor too many, and it becomes overwhelming, or two flavors aren't necessarily combining in a good way."

"So I think that you put everything out on the table and you say these are the things that make John Stewart a legacy character. These are the things that make Hal Jordan a legacy character," adds Lindelof. "These are different stories about how they got the ring. These are different stories about adventures that they went on as Green Lanterns. And, and then you educate yourself, and then you know it all. And then you kind of, like, have to put all of that stuff away and start over and say, 'What's the story that we wanna tell?'"

Lanterns is a True Detective-esque take on Hal Jordan (Kyle Chandler) and John Stewart (Aaron Pierre), who find themselves embroiled in a mystery set in rural Rushville, Nebraska. In the show, Hal is Earth's first Green Lantern (though technically Alan Scott was the first human to wear the Green Lantern moniker in the comics), though he wasn't chosen first (and we'll let you watch the show to learn more about that lest we spoil it). John Stewart is his trainee, and the two have a mutual respect but otherwise resentment toward one another. John's backstory has been retconned a few times throughout DC comic history, though the show honors his later origin story as a US Marine.

The series also works backwards, giving us Hal and Jordan's present-day dilemmas before going into how their partnership came to be, and effectively adapting the Green Lantern comic Beware My Power which introduced John to the world back in 1972.

"From a comic book nerd, which I say proudly, point of view, you know...two different characters have very different sort of comic book histories," King says. "Hal has been very consistent in his origin stories over, over the years since, like, the early '60s when he was born. Um, John has not been consistent, and sort of rewritten and redone and not just in this medium. You know, a lot of John's origin story comes from what Dwayne McDuffie did in the Justice League, in the Justice League Unlimited cartoon."

Continues King: "But if you look at it, look at it closely and go back to those origins, you see, like, John's first appearance with Neal Adams and Denny O'Neil, there is that idea that he is chosen, and He will not accept the Lantern world that's given to him, and Hal is a little resentful of that and is rebellious against that. That's all in his first issue. And then if you look at what Dwayne did in the cartoon, that idea of sort of a military guy who's been under such pressure his whole life and has so much emotion that he has to sort of suppress, that's all in there. So it was bringing out the visions of those creators and bringing them into this world."

Lanterns is streaming now on HBO Max. For more, check out our Lanterns review, or stay up to date with our Lanterns release schedule. For more, check out our list of upcoming DC movies and shows.

Just in case there was ever any doubt, the newly announced Kingdom Hearts anime series coming to Disney Plus is bringing on board the Kingdom Hearts 4 development team and the series' co-creator Tetsuya Nomura, who says fans should "let your imaginations run wild."

Announced last night at the D23 Disney Entertainment Showcase panel, the Kingdom Hearts anime is telling an original story within the universe-hopping world of the games. Details were very light outside of a mysterious bit of art work depicting a mysterious Keyblade wielder's silhouette.

But series co-creator and frequent game director Tetsuya Nomura has given fans an update in his usually enigmatic style. "The production of a Kingdom Hearts animated series has been confirmed," he writes in a memo to fans. "I imagine you're surprised by this sudden announcement. Some of you may be wondering, 'What will it be about?'"

Nomura notes that he can't disclose any concrete details for now, but he confirms he's been "in close discussions with the scenario team" behind the anime project, which has also enlisted the help of Kingdom Hearts 4's developers. Specifically, the art team created "multiple new character designs specifically for this project."

"I can't say anything more right now, but the hint is in the single piece of key art that's been revealed. Please let your imaginations run wild while you await further updates," Nomura teases.

Kingdom Hearts fans frequently let their imaginations run wild, anyway, but rarely are they this directly encouraged to do so by Tetsuya Nomura. Regardless, the game series has built up a massive world with a long history. The show could take place ages before Sora and his friends were even born, it could have us follow a different Keyblade wielder dealing with the same darkness that swallowed Sora's island, or it could be something else entirely. You heard Nomura.

Kingdom Hearts 4 finally comes out "late 2027," and Pixar's Coco joins the JRPG as the first Disney world announced so far

At D23, Lucasfilm has finally dropped the first trailer for Ahsoka season 2, and Grand Admiral Thrawn has declared war on the Rebel Alliance.

In the trailer, which you can watch above, Hayden Christensen's Anakin returns as both Force ghost and for a snowy Clone Wars-era flashbacks. In the present, Grand Admiral Thrawn is back in a galaxy far, far away and declares war on the Rebel Alliance – expect plenty of space battles, then. Quick flashes of action also reveal Huyang wielding multiple lightsabers like General Grievous for a fight with Shin Hati. The question of Ahsoka Tano's Jedi status will also be addressed, by the sound of things.

Season 2 will pick up with Ahsoka Tano and Sabine Wren stranded on Peridea after the Ahsoka season 1 ending, while Ezra Bridger and Grand Admiral Thrawn escaped back to the main galaxy. Also remaining on Peridea are Baylan Skoll and Shin Hati – following the tragic loss of Ray Stevenson, Rory McCann will take over as Baylan in season 2.

At Star Wars Celebration 2025, we learned that Hayden Christensen will return as Anakin Skywalker and Admiral Ackbar will face off against Thrawn. There was also a first look of sorts shown behind closed doors, which teased battles across two galaxies and giant, evil droids.

"Anybody who saw the sequels knows that there's a First Order coming in, like, 20 years from where we are now in the storyline," The Mandalorian and Grogu director Jon Favreau has shared. "And then Ahsoka season 2 is coming out – which I've seen all of – and that's definitely more dealing with the larger [picture], a higher level. That's about the officers and we're the enlisted men – this is more of a ground-level experience of what's going on. You're seeing the backdrop – which, by the way, is what the first Star Wars started off as."

Ahsoka season 2 arrives on January 20, 2027 on Disney Plus. In the meantime, check out our guide to all the upcoming Star Wars movies and shows for everything else the galaxy far, far away has in store.

For even more, keep up with our D23 live blog.

The first trailer for VisionQuest has arrived at D23, and it's a wild trip into Vision's glitchy mind.

The trailer, which you can watch above, is the climax of the WandaVision trilogy, which continued with 2024's Agatha All Along. Seemingly set in the mind of White Vision, where Vision's human avatar lives out a colorful life alongside a host of Marvel universe AI characters, it's also set to reintroduce a teenage Tommy Maximoff (aka Speed). Perhaps most excitingly of all, James Spader is back as the genocidal Ultron, who seems to be taking over Vision's mind. Check the trailer out above.

Paul Bettany returns as Vision, with the rest of the cast including James Spader as Ultron, Orla Brady as Friday, Emily Hampshire as E.D.I.T.H., T'Nia Miller as Jocasta, James D'Arcy as Jarvis, and Ruaridh Mollica as Tommy Maximoff.

"I think that Terry [Matalas, showrunner] realized, and agreed with me, that I feel like Marvel gets rewarded when it takes really big swings," Bettany has previously said of the show.

"And I think that he just understood in his bones who Vision is. And Vision is for the kid that I was when I was a kid – the kid that felt like an outsider and felt like they had no community that they fit into. And he knew who these stories are for and who Vision is for. And I think we made a really fun and entertaining show about a guy who's an outsider and trying to find out who he is."

VisionQuest arrives this October 14, and from October 15 in the UK. In the meantime, check out our guide to all the most exciting upcoming Marvel movies and shows for everything else that's in the works.

You can also keep up to date with our D23 liveblog.

Kingdom Hearts 4 may be imminent, but Disney's plans for the universes-colliding RPG series now extend beyond video games, as the Mouse House has announced a Kingdom Hearts anime series is in the works at Disney Plus.

The news arrived at Disney's semi-regular convention D23, where not only was it revealed that the land of the dead from Coco will be a new world in Kingdom Hearts 4, but also that a Kingdom Hearts anime series is 'coming soon' to Disney Plus. Beyond that, details were scant beyond the fact it will tell an original story, and not adapt any of the games. We also got some teaser art featuring Sora and the Keyblade, which you can check out below.

Recently, Disney revealed that the Kingdom Hearts franchise is one of nine to have made over $1 billion for the Mickey Corporation, so it makes sense why a multimedia expansion is underway. Precisely what the show will be about is anyone's guess right now, perhaps we'll get more news at the D23 Kingdom Hearts panel.

Kingdom Hearts 4 finally got a long-awaited new trailer this summer. Stay tuned for further coverage of the Kingdom Hearts D23 panel across the weekend, where more news and perhaps a fresh look are expected.

Kingdom Hearts is coming soon to Disney Plus. While we wait, check out our list of all the new anime heading our way across the year (and beyond).

Lanterns showrunner and co-creator Chris Mundy says the new DC show is meant to suspend disbelief and put you in the middle of a thrilling murder-mystery.

"That was totally the goal," Mundy tells GamesRadar+, when asked whether the goal was to get the viewer completely locked in to the point where they forget they're watching a superhero show. "When I first talked to James Hawes about directing, he was in London, so it was on Zoom, and it seemed like we all kind of matched up in the way we would wanna do it. One of the first things he said was, like, 'We have to talk about flying.' He's like, 'I don't know if I'm gonna direct this, depending on what the flying is,' you know? And, and we wanted everything to feel like it was of the world. So okay, if this really happens, how does it work? What's the relationship to the ground around him and the people around him?"

The new series is a True Detective-esque mystery thriller that sees Green Lantern Hal Jordan (Kyle Chandler) and his trainee John Stewart (Aaron Pierre) end up in rural Rushville, Nebraska, where an otherworldly mystery is brewing. It's tonally different than anything we've seen in the DCU just yet, and isn't afraid to bring darker themes and senseless violence to the forefront.

One of my favorite things about the show is how normal the usually over-the-top superhero elements feel, which include the aforementioned flying and even the fact that the Green Lantern ring itself needs to be charged like an iPhone. Unlike the super fans we see crowding around in masks and other homemade merch in the Marvel world, the citizens in Lanterns are mostly unfazed by Hal Jordan being the "guardian" of Earth, and don't see why a local cop couldn't do just as good of a job when it comes to solving a mystery.

Continues Mundy: "If you're gonna do something that has a fantastical element, but you're trying to tell a real story, it's like, what would that actually be like if it existed? Instead of it being hyperreal, you know? So, everything was very intentional. I mean, we had more meetings than you could ever imagine about every tiny detail in terms of the world, and the look, and the feel, and the texture of things, you know?

Lanterns is streaming now on HBO Max. For more, check out our Lanterns review, or stay up to date with our Lanterns release schedule.

An Ahsoka season 2 display at D23 has given away some fascinating hints about what might be to come in the second season of the Star Wars show.

GamesRadar+ is on the ground at this year's D23, which means we got to explore the Ahsoka display for ourselves. The main point of excitement is the costumes on display: as you can see in the post below, both Anakin Skywalker and a younger Ahsoka Tano have new outfits for season 2, suggesting we might see the return of Ariana Greenblatt as Padawan-era Snips.

They're both dressed in cold weather gear, intriguingly – though whether that means a flashback to the snowy events of season 1 episode 'Trespass' or a new scenario remains to be seen.

Some concept art is also on display, which reveals the return of Morai after the bird's appearance in season 1. Morai is a convor that watches over Ahsoka, associated with the Daughter Force god from the Mortis arc of Clone Wars. Put simply, the Daughter is a personification of the light side of the Force, and she sacrificed herself to resurrect Ahsoka during the events of that arc (read more in our World Between Worlds explainer). In one piece of art, the convor can be seen observing Ahsoka and Sabine Wren on Peridea.

Also seen in the artwork is Huyang wielding multiple lightsabers and going up against Shin Hati, as well as Grand Admiral Thrawn looking at a map on his ship, the Nightsisters of Dathomir using what look to be energy bows, and the return of Enoch the mysterious gold-masked stormtrooper wielding a green lightsaber.

At the convention, Ezra Bridger actor Eman Esfandi also shared more about the upcoming second season.

"There's going to be more lightsabers. A lot more lightsaber action. There's going to be some space battles, some space action, and there's going to be witches, and swords, and explosions galore," he teased. "It's going to be really fun, really fast-paced, and we may or may not hear something about that a little later today. So, stay tuned here at D23 for Ahsoka season 2."

Ahsoka season 2 is coming in 2027. While you wait, check out our guide to all the upcoming Star Wars movies and shows for everything else that's on the way – and keep your eyes on GamesRadar+ for updates from D23's main studio panel for news on Ahsoka and more.

At D23, Ezra Bridger star Eman Esfandi has teased what's to come in Ahsoka season 2 – and it sounds pretty epic.

"There's going to be more lightsabers. A lot more lightsaber action. There's going to be some space battles, some space action, and there's going to be witches, and swords, and explosions galore," the actor shared during a talk attended by GamesRadar+ at the Disney convention. "It's going to be really fun, really fast-paced, and we may or may not hear something about that a little later today. So, stay tuned here at D23 for Ahsoka season 2."

Ahsoka season 2 is set to feature the return of Admiral Ackbar, who will face off against Grand Admiral Thrawn – which might be one of the space battles Esfandi is talking about. It also sounds like we can expect to see more of the fearsome Nightsisters of Dathomir.

The new season will also see the return of Hayden Christensen as Anakin Skywalker, while Game of Thrones star Rory McCann takes over the role of Baylan Skoll from the late Ray Stevenson.

"A lot of action. Fights, battles, explosions, lightsabers, lasers," Esfandi has previously teased of season 2. "I'm having a flashback. So a lot of action, and I think everybody's gonna love it. Dave [Filoni] went nuts, and all of us were ready to follow suit of our fearless leader, and it's gonna be a lot of fun."

Ahsoka season 2 doesn't yet have a release date. While you wait, check out our guide to all the upcoming Star Wars movies and shows for everything else that's on the way – and keep your eyes on GamesRadar+ for updates from D23's main studio panel for news on Ahsoka and more.

Dead bodies. Danger. A small-town conspiracy. A grizzled vet and a plucky upstart trying to crack the case.

Stop me if you've heard this one before.

At first glance, Lanterns treads old, murderous ground in the 'backwater' of Rushville, Nebraska after a mass shooting at a high school football game. The grimy tendrils of True Detective, Top of the Lake, and even Fargo stretch out in familiar fashion across the grounded superhero detective show's first seven episodes.

But then, a flash of green light and we're suddenly stepping into the territory of two sets of three letters: HBO and – perhaps more intriguingly for comic book fans and crime aficionados alike – the DCU.

Those hungry for a prestige procedural, as fans of the channel that brought us The Wire and Mare of Easttown can rest easy, even if they may be quick to raise an eyebrow over its DC trappings.

The origins of the incumbent Green Lantern Hal Jordan (Kyle Chandler, in superbly irascible form throughout) – essentially a space cop, with jurisdiction over Earth in 'Sector 2814' – are wisely breezed over in favor of Lanterns' magnetic not-so-buddy-buddy cop dynamic.

Hal, world-weary and just as quick with a vicious barb as he is at manifesting green-hued matter through his Lantern ring, has been in the job for decades by the time we meet him in 2016. There, he descends on a town filled with upstanding law enforcement, suspicious benefactors, and a John Dutton-esque patriarch in the shape of Garrett Dillahunt's fearsome cowboy William Macon.

In Hal's rear-view mirror is his trainee: hungry young lion John Stewart (Aaron Pierre), all restless charisma and eager to prove he's more than a "backup quarterback."

In brightest day...

A promising premise if ever there was one, only bolstered by an all-star creative team (Ozark's Chris Mundy, Watchmen and The Leftovers' Damon Lindelof, and comic book legend Tom King) injecting the sort of narrative momentum that puts most glacially-paced miniseries to shame.

In Lanterns, cliffhangers are sudden and meaningful. Each episode ends on a beat that will make the week-long gap between new entries excruciating and exciting in equal measure.

The plot, too, moves with such immediacy that you'll scarcely have time to take in the vivid and sharply-drawn wider cast, including Kelly Macdonald as the perma-conflicted Sheriff Kane and Laura Linney as a matter-of-fact Guardian of the Universe pulling strings in the background (not to be confused with James Gunn's Guardians of the Galaxy, it should be said).

One mid-season episode could even be mistaken for a finale; such is the speed the investigation – which soon introduces an alien race familiar to DC fans – unspools and later resolves itself.

Thrillingly, the writers appear to have thrown plot armor to the wayside, too. Rushville is a nasty, odd, and lethal place to live – and Lanterns makes that known at every turn.

It's a brave and bold approach which, from the jump, turns this DC adventure from a twist on standard comic book fare into HBO's most dangerous show since Boardwalk Empire or classic Game of Thrones. At any given juncture, no one is safe, and Big Moments can happen at any time.

But this isn't just about the crime; it's mostly about the characters. In Hal Jordan and John Stewart, Lanterns couldn't have chosen a better pairing. It also ensures any danger of the HBO series falling into comfortable, uninspired genre rhythms is soon swept away in favor of exploring the fiery side to the duo's relationship – and a shared history that, admittedly, dilutes the uniqueness of how Green Lanterns are chosen. More on that in a moment.

Not only does the pair being at constant loggerheads scratch the Rust Cohle and Marty Hart itch we've been clamoring for ever since True Detective's first season, it skilfully turns expectations on what a hero truly is in this fledgling universe on its head.

This isn't Superman's good-natured intentions, nor is it a flawed Supergirl or Guy Gardner's cocky bluster. Lanterns teases something far richer, the sort of emotional complexities that can only be drawn out by spending eight hours with our protagonists. There are even shades of Damon Lindelof's Watchmen in how Lanterns subtly confronts deep-rooted race issues in America alongside Hal's rapidly decaying sense of self-worth.

...in darkest night

Yet, it's not all perfect. There are times, particularly in an oddly-placed third episode that over-explains John Stewart's backstory, where Lanterns loses faith in itself and attempts to outwit an imaginary comic book audience.

In a series of events that will likely rankle with a dyed-in-the-wool DC pack, Green Lanterns lore is twisted, reframing John's lay-up of a hero's journey as a faintly unpalatable 'destiny' that robs him of most agency and comes dangerously close to a dual act of character assassination for both John and Hal, who also has an indirect part to play in John's childhood.

Those misdemeanors, though, are mild and don't derail the show – even if the lack of faith partially betrays Lanterns' primary mission of frontloading narrative shocks amid a surprisingly restrained use of CGI and color.

Yes, let's talk about the green elephant in the room. No, Lanterns is not a wide-eyed spectacle that looks like it's leapt off the pages of Geoff Johns' classic Green Lantern run. Its palette is frequently brown, muddy, and muted. Nor does it come close to approaching cosmic territory, save for a sprinkling of Sinestro (Ulrich Thomsen) that feels almost unfair in both how good it is and how infrequently the DC supervillain is deployed.

But does it matter? Absolutely not. This is, in many ways, a deliberate departure from 2011's Green Lantern movie. Not that you'll be thinking about the Ryan Reynolds bomb here. You'll be too busy getting lost in a captivating mystery, drenched in subtle character work and wrapped around a masterful Hal/John dynamic that almost begs to be wrung dry across multiple seasons.

Dead bodies. Danger. A small-town conspiracy. You know the rest. Yes, we've been here before. Lanterns, though, is a fascinating blend of comic book caper and murder mystery. Its core pairing of Hal Jordan and John Stewart – despite some controversial deviations from their traditional origins – crackles with tension and genuine physical threat in a manner that feels novel to both the superhero genre and the many detective shows it successfully emulates.

Better yet, it's a confident story being told at a time when the foundations of the DCU are at their shakiest. After all, Supergirl faltered big time at the box office, and James Gunn's post-Man of Tomorrow plans have not yet materialized. The DCU needed this win.

Whether it's in brightest day or blackest night for the DCU, Lanterns is guaranteed to be a shining beacon of light among its superhero TV contemporaries – and close to essential viewing, whether you're a DC fan or otherwise.

Lanterns airs on HBO and HBO Max Sunday, August 16 in the US and on HBO Max in the UK on August 17.

For more on what that means for you, check out our Lanterns release schedule.

One thing has really stood out in all of the trailers for upcoming DC show Lanterns so far, and that's Kyle Chandler's Hal Jordan suited up. We've had a brief look at him in the Green Lantern suit in the early clips, and it looks pretty incredible.

However, it turns out that this was a pretty late addition to the series. Speaking on the Jimmy Kimmel Show, Chandler revealed: "So they weren't sure whether there was going to be a suit as I understand it. Then towards the end they decide let's have a suit. Then they had to design a suit, they came up with three different designs."

The actor went on to describe how the costume designers created the final piece, which he described as having "battle scars on it." He added: "It's an incredible suit, they built something that was just incredible. It took a while, it was in pieces. It took about 45 minutes to get it on."

The choice was clearly made to make sure the Green Lantern suit looked authentic too, given the backlash to Ryan Reynolds' CGI version in the panned 2011 movie. Lanterns takes place in a much more grounded reality as it combines the superhero genre with crime noir.

It follows Jordan as he teams up with a new recruit, Aaron Pierre's John Stewart, to solve a mysterious case in small-town America, which they believe has cosmic implications.

Lanterns begins on August 16 on HBO Max in the US and August 17 on NOW in the UK. For more, check out our Lanterns release schedule and our guide to all the upcoming DC movies and shows.

An actor behind cancelled Marvel TV show New Warriors has revealed a treasure trove of behind-the-scenes images from the MCU project, as well a heartfelt tribute to the series-that-never-was.

Derek Theler, who was set to play Mr. Immortal in the New Warriors pilot, took to Instagram to explain more about the show, which featured the unlikely C-list team of Squirrel Girl, Night Thrasher, Speedball, Microbe, and Debrii protecting Cleveland, Ohio, of all places.

"The concept was hilarious," Theler wrote. "A group of young adults with superpowers trying to figure out how to actually become superheroes, all while being followed by a documentary camera crew. Basically, Marvel meets The Office."

Despite filming a pilot that, according to Theler, was well-received, the show eventually fell by the wayside.

Theler wrote, "Eventually, the show disappeared into Hollywood limbo. No dramatic cancellation. No real explanation. We just never came back."

While it joins the long list of other scrapped superhero projects, from Marvel or otherwise, Theler has at least shared clips and photos from production, including Milana Vayntrub's Squirrel Girl in costume – which you can see below.

"We were FORBIDDEN from taking photos or videos on set… but there was no chance I was letting my introduction to the MCU go completely undocumented," Theler said. "So I secretly captured some BTS footage. As far as I know, it’s the only footage from our shoot outside whatever Marvel has locked away in a vault."

Theler even shared his own personal thoughts on the project's termination. He wrote, "Every once in a while, I wonder what could have been. Would people have loved it? Would we have gotten multiple seasons?"

New Warriors, though, has shown no signs of life since. Squirrel Girl's actor Milana Vayntrub went on to voice the character in Marvel Rivals, however.

Marvel Studios has pared back on its television output, too, with Daredevil: Born Again season 3 and VisionQuest among its very few MCU projects on Disney Plus in the next 12 months.

For more, check out our guide to upcoming Marvel movies.

Yet another upcoming TV show has been scrapped this week, as reports suggest Disney's Power Rangers series is dead in the water.

According to Deadline, Disney is no longer moving forward with its live-action Power Rangers series, which was intended to screen on Disney Plus. Deadline reports that the reasons for Power Rangers' cancelation is budget related.

Shows of that nature, much like Marvel or any other superhero undertaking, often come with a hefty price tag. Moreover, a major IP like Power Rangers is a big investment, especially as Disney does not own the brand. Like Barbie and Masters of the Universe, Hasbro owns the Power Rangers.

The series was announced in March 2025, but is said to have entered development as early as 2024. However, not much was known about the show. The project was written and executive produced by Jonathan E. Steinberg and Dan Shotz. The duo is best known for serving as producers and showrunners on the much-loved Disney Plus show Percy Jackson and the Olympians, which has season 3 in the works.

However, the Power Rangers have had successful stints on television before. The franchise kicked off in 1993 with Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, which spawned multiple series running for 30 seasons. The show solidified the colourful heroes in popular culture, leading to a successful merchandise line. Since then, we have seen the color-coded heroes leap to the big screen, including the most recent 2017 movie, Power Rangers

However, the latest movie flopped, earning $142 million worldwide against its predicted $110 million budget. The movie was supposed to kickstart a new franchise with three more movies to follow. But that never happened. Earlier this year, star Dacre Montgomery revealed that Lionsgate planned to do with Power Rangers what it had done with The Hunger Games franchise.

For more, check out our guide to the best shows on Disney Plus, and keep up with new TV shows still to come in 2026.

The first season of new DCU show Lanterns hasn't even hit HBO yet, but there is already talk of a second season.

At the Lanterns premiere, ScreenRant asked co-creator Damon Lindelof if he has plans for Lanterns season 2. "If it's successful and people love it, there's a lot of runway to launch into future seasons," said Lindelof. "But I think Chris Mundy has already started a new writers' room, figuring out what new stories could be for Lanterns."

Although he didn't reveal what season 2 might entail, Lindelof did list several actors he would want to see in the next installment, including Watchmen star Regina King, The Leftovers actors Justin Theroux and Carrie Coon, and Wonder Man himself. "I worked with a great actor, Yahya Abdul Mateen II, who would be great," said Lindelof. "He was already in the old version of the DCU. He played the bad guy in the Aquaman movies."

There have been rumblings of Lanterns season 2 this week, after the series landed a new co-showrunner ahead of a possible second outing. According to The Ankler, comic writer and producer Christopher Cantwell has joined as co-showrunner alongside Chris Mundy. However, Lanterns has yet to receive an official renewal from HBO or DC Studios.

It seems that anything is possible in the DCU right now, as DCU: Chapter One has undergone a massive shake-up. On August 12, it was reported that upcoming DC shows Waller and Wonder Woman series Paradise Lost had been scrapped. But Booster Gold, which has been hit with cancellation rumors, remains in development.

However, Lindelof admits that when he approached Lanterns, he only had the first season on his mind. "We came into this with the sort of attitude that this was a mystery with a beginning, middle, and end," said the long-time DC collaborator. "We had a story to tell about characters that we really cared about, and we would want the audience to kind of get to know them over the course of the first season and really invest in them, and then that story ended."

Lanterns follows Green Lantern and intergalactic cop Hal Jordan (Kyle Chandler) and his trainee John Stewart (Aaron Pierre) as they investigate a mysterious murder. The season is set across two timelines in 2016 and 2026, and also stars Kelly Macdonald as a local sheriff, Ulrich Thomsen as Sinestro, and Nathan Fillion as Guy Gardner.

Lanterns hits HBO Max on August 16. See our Lanterns release schedule for exact timings. For more, keep up with upcoming DC movies and shows on the way.

A new look at VisionQuest has debuted at D23 and it's seemingly revealed a major new character. Shared on social media by attendees, the promotional art shows a figure on fire, surrounded by flames.

Plenty of Marvel fans on Reddit have already put two and two together and think this may be the Original Human Torch. The character has a fascinating history in the comics. Real name Jim Hammond, he first appeared back in 1939 as part of Timely Comics, Marvel's predecessor.

He was an android created by a scientist under the watch of Victor Timely (who we met in Loki season 2) and had the ability to control flames. He was one of the three main original heroes, alongside Captain America and Namor, before he fell mostly into obscurity and was repurposed into a member of the Fantastic Four in the '50s.

However, it's his connection with Vision that will likely be the most fertile ground for the upcoming TV show. In an Avengers storyline from the '70s, it was revealed that Torch's body was used to create Vision by none other than Ultron, who we know will play a key role in VisionQuest.

We have seen Vision's origins in the MCU already in Avengers: Age of Ultron. He was created by Ultron combining a vibranium body, synthetic tissue, and the Mind Stone. Tony Stark, Bruce Banner, and Thor intercepted the transfer, uploading J.A.R.V.I.S. to him, making the Vision we know and love, played by Paul Bettany. This could be expanded in VisionQuest though, especially if the show dives into Ultron's origins of creating Vision.

This also isn't the first time that we've had a nod to Hammond in the MCU either. Back in Captain America: The First Avenger, Howard Stark's Stark Expo showcased an android in a glass case. Called Phineas Horton's "Synthetic Man", this was a nod to the original Human Torch. It will be interesting to see that Easter egg finally expanded in the MCU, almost 15 years later.

VisionQuest releases on October 14, 2026 on Disney Plus. This makes it the next MCU project ahead of Avengers: Doomsday in December. For more upcoming superhero movies, check out our guide to all the new Marvel movies and shows you need to know about.

With the DCU being in its infancy, it's absolutely true that there isn't a lot to watch before Lanterns. This isn't the MCU, with its hours of streaming 'homework' and other essential movies to catch up on before diving headlong into its newest release.

But if you're new to the DCU or to Green Lantern as a character, there are still multiple movies and shows we'd regard as either essential or recommend viewing. Not only will it ground you on who exactly Hal Jordan and John Stewart are before they make their in-universe bows, but our lists will also offer some much-needed context on the weirder and more cosmic side of the cinematic universe.

So, join us as we run through everything to watch before Lanterns. Then, take a look ahead to everything James Gunn and Peter Safran are cooking up as part of DCU Chapter One: Gods and Monsters.

The DCU essentials

Let's start with the DCU. While none of the current projects directly set up Lanterns, we would absolutely suggest starting with Superman if you haven't done so already.

Not only does it introduce another Green Lantern in Guy Gardner (so you can get to grips with his ego and skillset), but it also operates as an introduction to the DCU-at-large – and all the heroes that inhabit the world.

Even better, Superman's 2027 sequel, Man of Tomorrow, is confirmed to include Aaron Pierre's John Stewart. So becoming familiar with that side of the DCU is imperative before jumping onboard with Lanterns and, then, the next step in Stewart's story.

Elsewhere, Creature Commandos and Supergirl are perfect primers for fans who aren't aware of DC's zanier, more cosmic side. This isn't all Batman battering goons, you know. Creature Commandos has an eclectic cast of characters that fall right in line with the wider roster of Green Lanterns, including a living planet and a squirrel (yes, really).

While Lanterns appears to be a grounded detective drama, it may yet shoot for the stars. This year's Supergirl was another adventure among the cosmos, so is well worth seeking out too.

Green Lantern: The Animated Series

The DCU isn't the only time Hal Jordan has been on the screen. 2010s show Green Lantern: The Animated Series follows Jordan in a starbound adventure, which should give you a taste of exactly who Hal is and how he works both solo and as part of the Green Lantern Corps.

Justice League Unlimited

John Stewart has been around in the comics for decades, but Justice League and its follow-up DCAU (DC Animated Universe) series Justice League Unlimited put Stewart on the map in a big way.

The nature of the series (and the superhero group) means it's more of an ensemble piece, but there are plenty of Green Lantern-adjacent and John Stewart-centric episodes to watch. We would recommend season 1 episode 'Hunter's Moon' and season 3's 'Far From Home'.

HBO Max in the US also has other animated projects, including Green Lantern: Beware My Power and Emerald Knights.

For more, check out how to watch the DC movies in order.

Matthew McConaughey has revealed that he turned down the role of Joel in HBO's The Last of Us TV show.

"I wasn’t really acting at that point," McConaughey told Josh Horowitz on the Happy Sad Confused podcast. "That was when I was doing more writing and looking at leadership roles in life. It was really good. I was excited. Correct me if I’m wrong, I’m not a huge TV watcher, we pulled off a real coup with True Detective at a time when series were not something that actors like myself or Woody Harrelson would hop over and go do. That one succeeded in a real royal fashion. Last of Us was really good but it wasn’t for me at the time."

The role ultimately went to Pedro Pascal, and effectively cemented his status as a household name. The TV series is based on the massively popular video game of the same name, which is set in a post-apocalyptic world ravaged by disease and follows an immune girl named Ellie who develops an unlikely father-daughter-esque bond with a morally gray man named Joel. Ellie is portrayed first as a 13-year-old in season 1, as the first season adapts the first game, and is 19 in season 2, which adapts the sequel.

The show, which premiered in 2023, has been nominated for countless Emmy and Golden Globe Awards, though it may be set to end after its third season (despite previous announcements of a fourth).

McConaughey was no doubt asked to play Joel after his award-winning performance in True Detective (and because Joel also has a southern accent), and while the casting would've made sense, it would've been a completely different show (and I would just spend every episode waiting for Harrelson to show up.)

The Last of Us season 3 is expected to premiere on HBO in 2027. For more, check out our guide to the best shows on HBO Max, and keep up with new TV shows on the way.

The X-Files reboot is slowly moving ahead with Sinners director Ryan Coogler the mastermind behind the new series. We also know that it will feature two new leads, played by Till's Danielle Deadwyler and The Odyssey's Himesh Patel.

However, there has been a question mark over just how connected it will be to the original series, which starred David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson as Fox Mulder and Dana Scully. Now it seems like Chris Carter, who created the show, has let slip a key connection.

“At least Gillian, I think, is going to appear in the Coogler version," he told Polygon. "And I'm assuming David will too, so you will see Mulder and Scully there." Intriguing…

Carter would be in the know too as he's an executive producer on the new version. However, it's not entirely a surprise that Anderson has some involvement as she previously revealed that she's read the pilot script.

"We've had a few conversations," she said of Coogler at Washington DC's Awesome Con back in March. "He's such a cool guy and so talented, and the pilot script is really good. So, I would say, 'Have an open mind and give it a chance because it's gonna be f***ing cool.' It really is. It's something different. It's different and it's special."

To tide you over in the meantime, a new version of The X-Files: I Want to Believe has just arrived on Disney Plus and Hulu. This features Carter's directors' cut, which brings in some of the horror elements that were removed from the original 2008 movie.

For what else to stream, check out our guide to the best movies on Disney Plus and all the new TV shows you need on your radar.

Sadly, X-Men '97 season 2 has come to an end, and with it has taken one of our favorite mutants. But, according to producer Jake Castorena, that death may not be as permanent as it looked.

Warning, the following contains major spoilers for X-Men '97 season 2 episode 9, so turn back now if you haven't caught up. But first, read our spoiler-free X-Men '97 season 2 review.

During the action-packed X-Men '97 season 2 finale, a couple of characters met their end in the battle against Apocalypse. However, the biggest death has to be Nightcrawler, real name Kurt Wagner. The blue-skinned mutant sacrificed himself to the Celestial in order to save his sister Rogue. You can read more about that in our X-Men '97 season 2 ending explained.

However, we may see Wagner again. In an interview with ScreenRant, Castorena was asked whether Nightcrawler and other mutants who died earlier in the season could return. "First and foremost, I will say: is anyone ever really dead in comics? Is anyone ever really dead?" said the producer. "Make no mistake, Nightcrawler is dead, you'll just have to watch season 3 to see how it all may play out. That's what I can say."

That's a little confusing, but what it sounds like Castorena is saying is that even though certain mutants may have died, they can always be brought back. It wouldn't be the first time a mutant had been revived in the animated series. In season 2, Gambit was resurrected by Apocalypse after being murdered in season 1. Maybe we will see Nightcrawler in X-Men '97 season 3, which is expected to premiere sometime in 2027.

However, Marvel fans will get to see another version of Nightcrawler again very soon. Original Nightcrawler star Alan Cumming is set to return as the mutant in Avengers: Doomsday alongside some of his Fox-era X-Men co-stars, including Patrick Stewart's Professor X, Ian McKellen's Magneto, James Marsden's Cyclops, and more. Cumming notably played the character in the 2003 movie X2: X-Men United.

X-Men '97 season 2 is now streaming in full on Disney Plus. For more, check out our guide on how to watch the X-Men movies in order, and keep up with upcoming Marvel movies and shows on the way.

Ewan McGregor is waiting for Disney's call to bring him back as Obi-Wan Kenobi. Speaking ahead of the release of his new movie The End of Oak Street (which is getting rave reviews), the actor says there is plenty more to explore with his Star Wars character.

"I’m ready whenever they are," he told E! News. "They just seem to not be ready, but I'm up for it." He went on to share a few ideas about where we last saw Obi-Wan in the Star Wars universe at the end of the Obi-Wan Kenobi series back in 2022.

"At the end of the Obi-Wan series, I’m walking off into the desert and I’ve decided to leave. I’ve realized I can’t keep the pressure on Luke," he explains. "I realized he has to have his own childhood, so I leave him with Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru. And I wander off… and Qui-Gon's back. And we go off… but where are we going? What happens between those two moments is what I want to do and spend the rest of my career doing these stories."

The actor ended with a plea for Disney, which echoes his previous calls for the return of the character. "We’ve got plenty of time; I’ve got 10 years before I am Alec Guinesses’ age. So come on, Disney!"

The Star Wars universe on screen is looking a bit sparse over the next few years. Despite a lot of announcements, the only projects that appear to be in active development are Star Wars: Starfighter, which is a standalone movie starring Ryan Gosling, and Ahsoka season 2, which has finished filming.

D23 is around the corner, so more Star Wars stories could be announced there, especially after the release of The Mandalorian and Grogu earlier this year. However, it seems like there will be no Kenobi announcement yet.

For more on the galaxy far, far away, check out our guide to the Star Wars timeline and our round-up of all the upcoming Star Wars movies and shows.

The DCU is making some changes to its previously announced roster, and this reportedly includes scrapping Waller and Paradise Lost.

According to The Ankler, Waller and Paradise Lost are "both dead at DC, which also heard pitches for series built around Poison Ivy and Catwoman, though DC/HBO passed on both projects." Though Booster Gold was hit with cancellation rumors, the show "remains in development, and a search for a new writer is underway."

Waller was first announced as part of DCU's 'Chapter One,' when James Gunn and Peter Safran took control of DC Studios in 2023. The series, starring Viola Davis's Amanda Waller, was set to pick up after the events of Peacemaker season 2. Back in February 2025, Safran said that scripts "still haven't been able to land," which didn't bode well for future announcements.

Paradise Lost was also announced as part of the initial slate, and was described by Safran as a "Game of Thrones-ish story about Themyscira," the home of the Amazons and birthplace of Wonder Woman. The two projects join The Authority, which was also scrapped back in April.

In some positive news, a co-showrunner has reportedly already been hired for Lanterns season 2... which hits HBO Max on August 16.

For more, check out our list of upcoming DC movies and shows.

After the events of House of the Dragon season 3, Rhaenyra and Daenerys Targaryen have a lot more in common than blonde hair and a love of all things dragons.

The current ruler on the Iron Throne, Rhaenyra, creeps into despot territory during the House of the Dragon season 3 ending, delivering a speech full of hubris – and mimicking Dany's centuries-later victory declaration outside the Red Keep as she aims to take the Iron Throne at King's Landing during Game of Thrones season 8.

As showrunner Ryan Condal reveals to Business Insider, those parallels were very much intentional, and acted as a means to connect the two HBO series.

"We're certainly aware of [the connection]," Condal said. "I think it's important that the show has echoes of the original series in it, in some ways, so that they remain connected. Because they are very much connected."

Condal continued, "This is the reason that Daenerys is begging for a crown across the Narrow Sea, and the dragons are all dead. Because of this story. So I think those connections are important to make to remind people that these two periods in history are intimately connected with one another."

So, the end cometh for one strand of the Targaryen family tree (something that Rhaenyra actor Emma D'Arcy agrees with) and provides a warning through history that will fall on deaf ears.

House of the Dragon season 4, meanwhile, is set to be the show's last.

For more, check out our guide on new TV shows currently in the works.

Jenna Ortega has broken her silence on Wednesday season 3, teasing that a coming-of-age story is in store for students still at Nevermore.

The second season of Wednesday ended with a litany of cliffhangers and unresolved story threads, not least of which involved the introduction of Aunt Ophelia into the Addams Family mix. On top of that, Enid transformed into an alpha werewolf, and Tyler joined a pack of Hyders.

It seems everyone has something personal to contend with. So it's little surprise, then, that Ortega is at pains to point out in an interview with Esquire how Wednesday season 3 will deal with supernatural teenagers being on the "precipice of adulthood."

"This season, especially because the kids are seniors in high school now, we’re dealing with more confrontational feelings regarding family and what it means to be an adult and what you see for your life," Ortega teased. "It’s not really until you get to the precipice of adulthood that you start to realize, Oh, God, well, maybe I’ve got to have a plan."

Amid the turmoil of most of Nevermore's major players, Wednesday season 3 will be adding a handful of newcomers into the fray.

Eva Green will portray the aforementioned Ophelia, while Winona Ryder switches the Upside Down for Jericho as Tabitha. Game of Thrones actor Lena Headey will also guest star.

No word yet on when Wednesday season 3 will land on Netflix, but you can see Jenna Ortega next in Taika Waititi's Klara and the Sun.

For more, check out our lists of the best Netflix shows and best Netflix movies.

If you've been counting down the days till Pluribus season 2 after that cliffhanger Pluribus season 1 ending, you'd be wise to keep expectations in check, as the latest update from Apple TV boss Eddy Cue suggests Carol and co. won't be back on screens for some time yet.

Speaking to ScreenRant on the Ted Lasso season 4 red carpet, Apple TV head Eddy Cue was asked for an update on Pluribus season 2's scripts and offered a brief but illuminating response. "I haven't seen them. I know they're being worked on. [Vince Gilligan's] amazing. So I'm not worried. I know it will be amazing."

Not to contradict Mr Cue, but this is a little worrying. Pluribus season 1 debuted 9 months ago to rave reviews (among them, GamesRadar+'s Pluribus season 1 review) that labelled it among the best shows of the year. Filming wrapped a year before that, even, in September 2024. Over two years with no completed scripts to show for it does not bode well for season 2 arriving anytime soon. Two-year gaps between seasons has become the norm in the streaming era, but don't be surprised if Pluribus season 2 takes upwards of 3 years to hit screens, meaning a late 2028 release.

Of course, this is all supposition. And it's possible there's a season of completed scripts sitting in Eddy Cue's inbox that he hasn't gotten around to reading yet (I dread to think how many unread emails that man has, as the person who oversees all of Apple's content services). But creator Vince Gilligan has suggested repeatedly that Pluribus season 2 will take time. Earlier this year, Gilligan clarified that "It ain't gonna be The Pitt," with new seasons releasing like clockwork every year, though he was "deeper into the process" of season 2 at that stage than he predicted. That's a small silver lining, at least…

Hopefully the cast aren't still being kept in the dark. When we caught up with Zosia actor Karolina Wyrda following the season 1 finale, Wyrda said that she knew nothing about season 2, and liked it that way, claiming "Vince Gilligan keeps everything to himself." Even lead Rhea Seehorn doesn't know what the, ahem, fallout of Carol's explosive decision to have a nuke delivered to her front door will mean for season 2. "I honestly don't know… Even if Vince [Gilligan] was saying we don't know where we're going with it, usually as an actor I would make an intentional decision about what I think Carol's plan is. I honestly think Carol is not sure. I didn't do it out of laziness."

Pluribus season 2 is currently updated. In the meantime, check out all the new TV shows heading our way in the near future, and fill out your watchlist with our guide to the best Apple TV shows.