Warner Bros. looks to be returning to its army of animated Looney Tunes characters and putting all the attention on one of its fastest, with news that a Speedy Gonzales film is in the works. The fastest mouse in all of Mexico has been handed over to director Jorge R. Gutiérrez, who teased the announcement on social media.

The director posted a photo on Instagram wearing a similar hat and bandanna that Speedy was synonymous with, and holding a toy version of the character. Gutiérrez wrote, “Guess what movie I might be developing at Warner Brothers Pictures Animation,” which has now been confirmed by The Hollywood Reporter. Currently, no writers or plot details have been confirmed for the project, which will be the most recent attempt to give the animated mouse his own movie.

Back in 2010, a live-action/animated film was announced, with George Lopez set to voice Speedy, before it got lost in development hell. Five years later, an all-new effort was revealed, set to be fully animated and featuring Eugenio Derbez as the voice of the character. Unfortunately, by 2024, Derbez was doubtful of any development, revealing to UPI, "I feel that the studios are afraid that, nowadays, it's so politically incorrect. I've been telling them constantly that we love Speedy Gonzales in Mexico.”

Even with these false starts for Speedy, it’s hard not to get excited about the latest attempt, especially given the director involved. Gutiérrez’s work to date has consisted of eye-popping animation, including the short-lived Netflix series Maya and the Three and the 2014 film The Book of Life. Even now, being over a decade old, the Guillermo del Toro-produced picture was a great watch, and we can only hope Speedy’s solo story has the same energy.

The biggest concern, however, is whether Warner Bros. actually lets Speedy Gonzales reach the finish line, given the tumultuous handling of their other Looney Tunes-centric picture, Wile E. Coyote. The completed movie, set for a 2023 release, was shelved, leading to fan outcry and even cast members (including John Cena) speaking out about giving Wile E. his time to shine. After a lengthy process, Ketchup Entertainment acquired the film, and it's now heading to theaters on August 28, 2026. To keep up to date on what else is hitting screens this year, head here.

Netflix is seemingly on track to complete its $82.7 billion Warner Bros. acquisition, though Paramount has recently reacted with a competitive $100.7 billion bid. What makes these film industry behemoths so eager to knock each other down? Well, it certainly isn't Warner Bros. Games.

In fact, Netflix co-CEO Gregory Peters said during an investor call (originally reported by PocketGamer.biz) that, sure, Warner Bros. had done some "great work in the game space," but "we actually didn't attribute any value to that from the get-go because they're relatively minor compared to the grand scheme of things."

It's harsh, but hard to deny. With over 30 million units sold, Warner Bros. Games' 2023 ARPG Hogwarts Legacy is one of the best-selling single-player titles in history – but even Warner Bros. knows a single hit isn't enough to sustain a studio for years. In 2025, the publisher decided to triple down on its biggest, most mainstream IP – Harry Potter, Game of Thrones, Mortal Kombat, and DC – but it hasn't yet had anything to show for itself.

"Now we are super excited because some of those properties that they've built, Hogwarts is a great example of that, have been done quite well, and we think that we can incorporate that into what we're offering," Peters continued. Netflix has its own slate of games (of ranging quality) so teaming up with Warner Bros. will at least give it access to the "great studios and great folks working there. So we think that there's definitely an opportunity there. But just to be clear, we haven't built that into our deal model."

The release of Hogwarts Legacy has been the subject of criticism and debate due to J.K. Rowling's public stance on gender identity, which continues to challenge the inclusivity at the heart of the Harry Potter community. Here is our explainer on the Hogwarts Legacy controversy.

Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos has responded to concerns that Warner Bros.' theatrical releases will be impacted after the streamer bought the studio for $82.7 billion last week.

"The theatrical business we have not talked a lot about in the past, about wanting to do it, because we’ve never been in that business. When this deal closes, we are in that business, and we’re going to do it," Sarandos said at a UBS conference in New York (via The Hollywood Reporter). "We didn’t buy this company to destroy that value."

Netflix movies have historically not had much in the way of big-screen releases. Some titles, like Knives Out 3, receive a two-week window in theaters, but only on a limited number of screens.

"We’re deeply committed to releasing [Warner Bros.] movies exactly the way they release those movies today," Sarandos continued. "If we did this deal 24 months ago, all those movies we saw this year do so well at the box office for Warner Bros. would have been released in the same way in theaters, talking about Minecraft, Superman, Weapons, Sinners, all those movies. With the Warner Bros. operating entity, we think it’s really important the way that they create and the way that they drive value."

A Minecraft Movie alone made almost $1 billion at the global box office against a budget of $150 million earlier this year, and Superman and Sinners cumulatively almost made another billion. In short, it's been a great year for Warner Bros. at the box office.

Since Netflix's deal was confirmed last Friday (December 5), Paramount has since launched a cash bid of $100 billion, with the studio stating that Warner Bros. Discovery "never engaged meaningfully" with their previous attempts to negotiate a deal.

For more on the biggest new films coming to the big and small screens, check out our guide to the rest of 2025's best upcoming movies.

The grandson of Warner Bros.' founder Jack Warner has expressed concerns over the studio's sale to Netflix, and what it means for the future of its film distribution.

"The potential sale of WBD does not sit well with me," Gregory Orr told The Hollywood Reporter last week, before the sale was confirmed on Friday (December 5). "The industry stands at a crossroads and Netflix does too. It would be buying the deep assets of WB, which includes a successful creative management team and an unmatched theatrical distribution arm."

The streaming giant bought Warner Bros., which has released 2025 hits like Superman, Sinners, and Weapons, for $82.7 billion last week. Historically, Netflix has only given its movies limited theatrical releases (like Knives Out 3, AKA Wake Up Dead Man), with titles hitting just a small number of theaters for a maximum of two weeks.

"Netflix would have to enlarge the idea of itself as not just a streaming pioneer, but a steward of a very worthy and necessary theatrical experience," he continued. "Watching a screen at home is convenient and pleasurable, but it's not the same as watching a shared screen in a movie theater. And in this world of fewer shared experiences and growing isolation, being with others in a dark theater seems a necessary resource for our mental health."

Warner Bros. owns HBO and DC Studios, as well as franchises like Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings, which will now fall under Netflix's ownership. "The idea of only making 'content' is such a low bar for the medium of film and TV," Orr added. "It's like saying all paintings need only satisfy the needs of a dental waiting room."

For more on what to watch, check out our guide to the best upcoming movies on the way in 2025 and beyond.

Streaming giant Netflix has shaken up Hollywood once again this week, following its purchase of Warner Bros, with everyone and their cinephile aunt having an opinion on the matter. It’s understandable, really. Concerns about the future of theatrical releases from the now-acquired studio are high after Netflix boss Ted Sarandos expressed his dislike for "long exclusive windows." One key pair that has weighed in on the issue, however, are James Gunn and Peter Safran, the co-heads of DC Studios and the brains behind Superman, one of the year's biggest films.

Speaking to Bloomberg about the new development, Gunn assured that “the communal, theatrical experience is something that is incredibly important and remarkably well suited to our big spectacle films.” Of course, the DC universe is still in its infancy, having only let Superman, Peacemaker, and the Creature Commandos out of the gate. The next batch to be added to the roster in 2026 will be Supergirl in theaters, along with the Lanterns series set to air on HBO Max. In Zaslav’s eyes, this split between the big and small screen is the right one. “The DC universe is big enough and strong enough that it should be available on all platforms,” he explained. “There are some stories that are important to be told in theaters around the world, and some stories that are important to be told as series.”

As it stands, Gunn and Safran aren’t sweating about their universe-sized baby that comes with capes and otherworldly powers. “What makes us irreplaceable is truly the mind of James Gunn. He’s been the architect of this grand vision,” Safran assured. For Sarandos, though, this grand vision might not have expanded as far as it could.

In an investment call on December 5, Sarandos advised that following the deal, “You should think about ways that you can explore all these IP universes beyond that of just making tentpole movies. Examples would be some of the earlier moves from the DC universe, for things like Penguin has turned into great television.”

For now, we can only sit and wait and see how things pan out. The only hope is that whatever theatrical releases from the DCU do make an appearance, they stick around a while before they end up, up and away on the streaming service they’ll inevitably find themselves on. Speaking of the DCU, here’s our guide to every movie and show heading our way that might end up with a big red N on the front eventually.

Lisan al-Gaib! Production is moving along nicely on Denis Villeneuve's Dune 3, as Timothée Chalamet, who portrays uprising leader Paul Atreides, has confirmed he’s done filming the sci-fi epic. His time on-set ended mere days ago, in fact.

Chalamet sat down with Adam Sandler at Fairfax High School in Los Angeles for a back-and-forth over their career and work (and a little basketball). During the conversation, as captured by The Hollywood Reporter, Chalamet discusses his work on Dune: Part Two, before revealing he's just wrapped on the third, to a round of applause.

"It's moving to me that something as out there as Dune, and I'm talking about themes even in the book," he says, "has taken this personal resonance on."

As is typical, he gives us little more than that, but it's exciting in and of itself, because it means Villeneuve's trilogy-ender is nearing completion. Adapting Dune: Messiah, the next book in Frank Herbert's sprawling, cosmic narrative, the plot here will continue with Paul at the forefront of the intergalactic war between the Fremen and near enough every other political entity in the galaxy for control of the Spice.

At the end of Part Two, Paul won the Emperor's throne, but the other Houses rebelled against his ascension, pushing them and the Fremen into open combat. Chani, Zendaya's character and love interest to Paul, becomes nomadic when the young Atreides requests the hand of Princess Irulan in his demands of the Emperor.

It's all very operatic. Part Three is primed to be weirder and darker than the prior two if it adapts even half of what Messiah covers, and Villeneuve has proven he's more than keen to dive into the idiosyncrasies of Herbert’s work.

Dune: Part Three comes out December 18, 2026. Our upcoming movies list will make sure your cinematic spice flows at all times.

After the first became one of the highest-grossing R-rated movies ever, expectations were high for Joker: Folie à Deux. Sadly, the sequel didn't manage the same benchmark, critically or commercially, and Lady Gaga, who plays love interest Harleen ‘Lee’ Quinzel in the film, remembers finding the reaction quite absurd.

She reflected on the saga for Rolling Stone, discussing how she internalized being in something so divisive. "I wasn't, like, unfazed," she says. "It's funny, I'm almost nervous to share my reaction. But the truth is, when it first started happening, I started laughing. Because it was just getting so unhinged."

Where a huge audience gravitated toward the violence and anarchic nature of Joker, they were practically the opposite for Folie à Deux. Making it a musical was a bold move to start, the set-pieces and grand spectacle making the whole thing much more upbeat than the grim and gritty predecessor, not to mention minimizing the gorgeous, gloomy strings of Hildur Guðnadóttir.

Director Todd Phillips, who co-wrote the script for Joker 2 with Scott Silver, clearly had a different vision for what another installment should look like compared to a lot of Joker’s fans. Sitting at just 31% on Rotten Tomatoes, from both critics and the general audience, Joker: Folie à Deux finished in cinemas with a global taking of just over $207 million, a far cry from the billion-dollars-plus Joker brought.

To be fair, Gaga was brilliant opposite Joaquin Phoenix's Arthur Fleck in the twisted gothic halls of Arkham. She brought incredible energy to the song performances, complementing Phoenix as needed. The long tail of criticism toward the film did take its toll on the multi-hyphenate.

"When it takes a while for something to kind of dissipate, that can be a little bit more painful," she adds. "Only because I put a lot of myself into it." Gaga is rumored to return to the big screen next year for The Devil Wears Prada 2.

To make sure you don't miss any feature films worth seeing, keep our upcoming movies guide handy.

Battle commenced at NYCC this weekend as the cast of Mortal Kombat II took to the stage to get fans hyped for the second round in the bone-snapping, head-splitting franchise. Johnny Cage, Kitana, Jade, and Shao Kahn, also known as Karl Urban, Adeline Rudolph, Tati Gabrielle, and Martyn Ford, respectively, arrived on the scene and brought with them a behind-the-scenes featurette that sees our heroes throw down with beloved toothy fella Baraka. Besides that, the cast and crew also broke the news that the upcoming sequel wouldn’t be the final round in the recently revamped franchise.

Joining the cast at the New York Comic-Con was screenwriter Jeremy Slater, who announced to the audience that a third film was already in the early development stage. "Our friends at New Line and Warner Bros. are so happy with this movie," said Slater. "They are so excited, they are so convinced that there is a giant fanbase waiting for it, they've already hired me to start writing the next installment."

Just what that will involve is unknown, given that the second film hasn’t even arrived. Set for release on May 15, 2026, Mortal Kombat II was originally scheduled for October 24, 2025, a move that director Simon McQuoid assured fans was actually a great decision for the franchise going forward. Defending the date change, McQuoid told the audience, "We’ve created a massive summer blockbuster. We should be proud of the fact that Mortal Kombat as the movie and the franchise is just gonna kick off summer next year. Yes, we have to wait but it’s gonna feel massive. That’s the reason."

You’ll be able to see if the date change was worth the wait when Mortal Kombat steps in for another fight next year. In the meantime, check out our list of the best ever video game movies here.

Michael Keaton, Christian Bale, Robert Pattinson – throughout the decades, these actors have all been Batman in their own way. And that's great. But, unfortunately, they've never been made of Lego, and Superman filmmaker and DC Studios co-CEO James Gunn says the upcoming Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight action game might offer the most comprehensive look at the brooding hero so far.

"There's Batman as the do-gooder. Batman as the Dark Knight, this creature of vengeance," Gunn says in a new behind-the-scenes video posted to the Warner Bros. Games YouTube channel. "One of the many great things about Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight is that it manifests all these different elements of Batman that we've loved over the years. People can experience this character maybe as fully as they ever have."

This latest installment of the funny and fun Lego Batman series – set to release sometime in 2026 – will channel Rocksteady's iconic Arkham games in presenting a vast Gotham City to sneak around in. Because of this, our Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight preview notes gameplay "depth far beyond what I was expecting."

James Gunn seems to know that's what we're thinking. He adds in Warner Bros.' behind-the-scenes video, "I love when a story defies expectation. I love the fact that we're going into Lego Batman, it actually has real emotion and stakes."

"I love this combination of DC and Lego," Gunn says. "I like them working together. There's something about Lego that just opens our mind to play and creativity – and kind of our own personal artistic expression."

Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight's combat was inspired by the Arkham series: "We also wanted to bring our own Lego approach to that foundation."

Stumbling upon some Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight footage on social media in the dead of night, I found myself reaching for my Bat-Glasses, unsure what I was looking at. In a doomscroll delirium, the little video – Magic: The Gathering card-sized on my gaming Bat-Monitor – made everything blend together. Oh, I realized – that's not actually the new Lego Batman. That's just a Batman: Arkham City mod to make it look like it's a Lego game. Then it hit me. No – that's definitely the new Lego Batman. PlayStation posted this. But it looks exactly like Batman Arkham. I'm still not sure this isn't an elaborate prank targeting me specifically.

As the clip auto-replayed over and over, I hit maximize to get a better look at the footage – the dark blue hues of Gotham City's sky by night and the green glow underlighting its old architecture reflecting off my glasses. My eyes narrowed as my brain did thousands of calculations a second, trying to make sense of how I could be confusing a Lego game with a decidedly un-Lego like series. Especially considering I've already looked at this game a lot and even edited our own previews about the dark knight's latest bricky outing. What in the name of Zur-En-Arrh is going on?

In the brief Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight clip – now one among hundreds of minutes of footage I've scoured like the good detective I am – we see Batman glide towards a platform, grapple to it in midair, then hold onto the side of the building. From there he shimmies along the edge briefly, targeting a higher overhang (which looks almost exactly like a specific one from Batman: Arkham City in the Industrial District), the on-screen grapple prompt appearing and then having Batman briefly jump away from the wall before firing up at it.

I am so familiar with that play sequence already. I know that exact animation – the way it feels to enact it, the timing with which it occurs. After hundreds of hours chasing full completion in the Batman Arkham games, this simply is a tiny slice of Batman Arkham gameplay, albeit in a completely different game. Just as I briefly thought I was looking at modded footage, so too could the opposite hold true – if you replaced the Lego Batman character I'm looking at with the grizzled, muscular, costume-ripped version from Rocksteady's legendary series I also wouldn't blink.

Even the wonderfully lit buildings of Gotham in Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight do, at a glance, look believably like the normal buildings you'd see in a non-Lego game until you get closer and clock that, yes, there are Lego pieces involved in construction. Even when Batman later glides to ground level and assembles a Batmobile around him out of bricks, blasting off down the street, its heft reminds me of the unique tanky way the vehicle is controlled in Batman: Arkham Knight.

The link between Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight and Batman Arkham isn't a complete revelation. I'd already seen plenty of combat footage that makes it clear the new block 'em and sock 'em fisticuffs riffs heavily on the rhythmic brawls of Rocksteady's games. But there, camera pulled in, and on-screen comic-styled Thakks and Krunches flying, it's clear it's still a Lego-styled game. What really shook me about watching Lego Batman navigate Gotham is how much it really did genuinely make me think for a second I was looking at an actual Batman Arkham game.

After all, a new Batman Arkham is what long-time fans of the caped crusader like me really crave – and we're happy to get it even if it comes in a differently designed package. Suicide Squad Kill the Justice League – the Rocksteady developed Batman Arkham successor – even outside of how disappointing it was a live service multiplayer (and you do not want to see my unjustifiable hour count on that one), was not that in the slightest.

It's not necessarily about trotting out the exact same thing again and again, but Rocksteady hit upon a Batman formula that really worked, and applying it to new situations is just as much fun to see explored. Just as I'd have happily taken a Nightwing game, or something with Damian Wayne – I'm happy to see the Batman Arkham style brought out of the Lazarus Pit for more more go around with Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight.

After more adventures with the dark knight? Check out our best Batman games ranking for what to play next!

If you can't beat 'em, leave 'em in the dust. A number of developers who worked on EA's Black Panther game before it was canceled have now joined Magic: The Gathering publisher and D&D game house Wizards of the Coast to nurture a new title under Shadow of Mordor director Michael de Plater.

Wizards of the Coast president John Hight tells GamesIndustry.biz that de Plater and "14 key people that he's worked with" at Cliffhanger Games – which EA shut down suddenly this summer – are starting "to incubate a new game for us." Some of these developers had also worked with de Plater at former home Monolith, which Warner Bros. closed at the start of 2025.

At the moment, de Plater's secret project is just in its beginning stages, but Hight can already tell it's "something very cool and new."

"And that part I can't tell you yet," he continues.

It doesn't seem de Plater has many specifics nailed down yet, as Hight explains, "We'll go through a fairly lengthy concept process where they're going to look at a lot of different ideas."

Ultimately, Wizards of the Coast wants "to give [de Plater] time" to create.

The publisher is currently also working with Dragon Age: The Veilguard co-director Corrine Busche, who left BioWare this spring before EA began cutting Dragon Age staff to shift its "full focus" on Mass Effect, and Star Wars Jedi: Survivor director Stig Asmussen, who Hight says is getting similar treatment as de Plater from Wizards regarding his untitled Dungeons & Dragons game. There's currently no indication that this new incubation project will be yet another D&D game.

"Of course" Baldur's Gate 4 is going to happen, Wizards of the Coast boss says, but that's not the D&D game Star Wars Jedi and God of War 3's director is working on.

Warner Bros. Games is in a hole. It's been choking on dirt since 2024, after it reportedly lost $200 million on the hugely disappointing Suicide Squad shooter Kill the Justice League, whose failure supposedly led to Warner Bros. choosing to axe its planned open-world Wonder Woman game, alongside Monolith Productions. But like any glutton for punishment, the Hogwarts Legacy publisher is back for more, now appearing to hire for a new live service title, or titles.

The associated job listing seems deliberately vague. Otherwise, it's standard stuff: the executive producer position requires someone to "lead the development of a high-quality AAA game based on one of the iconic IPs from the vast Warner Bros. and DC Comics catalog," but it interestingly also specifically requires guiding "post-launch content and live service strategy, ensuring ongoing player engagement."

"You will oversee the entire production lifecycle – from concept to launch and beyond – ensuring the game meets the highest standards of quality, innovation, and player engagement," the Warner Bros. listing says. "You will work closely with the Creative Director and studio leadership to [...] ensure the project delivers on time, on budget, and to critical and commercial success."

That last part seems crucial – "critical and commercial success." This spring, Warner Bros. revealed in a financial report that its gaming revenue was down 48%, and that its spending on games had dipped by 66%. The company collected itself and stood back up in the summer, announcing a grand restructuring plan that revolves around only the "Harry Potter, Game of Thrones, Mortal Kombat and DC" franchises. But filtering any of those IPs – in this case, it seems like Warner Bros. could be hiring for DC – through live service seems like a death sentence.

PlayStation is still "continuing to invest in new live services," and has "reviewed our processes" following Concord's failure.

The EU Stop Killing Games initiative recently surpassed its goal of one million signatures, so it seems like everyone in Europe is ready to defend fragile online games to the death… except for those doing the killing.

In response to the Stop Killing Games movement's growing avalanche of support, Video Games Europe – a lobbying group whose board includes executives and legal representation from publishers like Warner Bros. and Microsoft – was dismissive in a new statement. Published both as a blurb on its website and as a full position paper, the statement dismisses Stop Killing Games as "disproportionate."

"It is not clear what the initiators of the stop killing games petition seek to achieve as a legal change," Video Games Europe says in its position paper.

To the group's point, the Stop Killing Games petition page can, at points, read more like a manifesto than a policy proposal; "An increasing number of video games are sold effectively as goods – with no stated expiration date – but designed to be completely unplayable as soon as support from the publisher ends," it says. "This practice is a form of planned obsolescence."

The movement explains its vagueness on its FAQ page by saying that "it is best to keep the demand as simple as possible to minimize any chance of misinterpretation."

But Video Games Europe thinks it's half-hearted. The movement's ask "appears to be a combination of a requirement to provide online services for as long as a consumer wants them," says the group, "regardless of price paid, and/or a requirement to provide a very specific form of end-of-life plan where the game is altered to enable private servers to operate. We do not believe these are proportionate demands."

Among risking security, IP rights, and reputational damage, Video Games Europe says requiring companies to sustain online games past the point where they are "commercially viable" would generally "have a chilling effect on game design, and act as a disincentive to making such games available in Europe."

More specifically, as the lobbying group writes in a summary on its website, "the decision to discontinue online services is multi-faceted, never taken lightly and must be an option" in order not to "curtail developer choice by making these video games prohibitively expensive to create."

"Fuck you," say many responses on Twitter.

Stop Killing Games reaches its 1 million signature goal after a desperate month where it seemed doomed to fail, but it's looking for more because "there's a chance a significant number of them aren't real."

Tom Cruise is going to have to hold his breath a little longer for his new film, Deeper, with Ana de Armas, after reports that Warner Bros. has halted development on the next project because of budgetary issues.

News from Puck reveals that the star has been trying to nail down a price tag of $275 million for the film's production, which the studio is not on board with, and is looking to settle for $230 million instead (have they not checked the back of their sofa?). Sources close to the site have revealed that the water tower isn't willing to spill any more on the film, forcing Cruise to take the project elsewhere and find another studio to agree to his required number. Regardless of this happening, though, it will leave a lot of work that Warner Bros. has already done in developing the project.

Directed by Doug Liman, the film features Cruise as a discredited astronaut who embarks on a deep-sea mission to explore a newly discovered ocean trench, with De Armas along for the ride. The two encounter trouble, however, when they uncover a dangerous and forgotten presence hidden in the depths.

As an alternative, Cruise has swiftly shopped the movie to Universal, who are supposedly close to taking over and willing to meet the number the star is aiming for. If all goes smoothly, they'll need to get a move on, as the original plan was for cameras to start rolling this summer.

It's an understandably concerning setback for Cruise, who would be making his first movie not linked to a franchise since 2017's American Made. There's also the important detail that, following Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, which earned $566.8 million against a budget of nearly $400 million, Warner Bros. may be somewhat reluctant to invest in a film not linked to an existing IP that comes with an already established audience. It's a bit of a shame, given that the plotline for this one sounds fantastic. Fingers crossed, then, that Universal saves the day and Cruise gets to go Deeper, after all. Should you want to fill your Cruise quota with a film this week, why not check out our ranking of the star's best work here.

Trying to bring what is widely regarded as one of the greatest animes ever made into the real world is no easy task, so much so that after more than 20 years, Warner Bros. has finally given up on their hopes for an Akira movie, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The history of the studio's struggle to get the project off the ground now feels as epic as the source material. Based on the 1982 manga series by Katsuhiro Otomo, Akira was adapted into the now-iconic anime in 1988 and follows Shōtarō Kaneda as he attempts to rescue his best friend and fellow biker gang member, Tetsuo Shima, who has been captured by the government and experimented on to awaken his psychic abilities. The transformation eventually leads to a battle that tears the futuristic world of Neo Tokyo apart.

Warner Bros. acquired the rights to adapt the story in 2002. Since then, a handful of directors and writers have either been approached or taken on the project only to abandon what feels like a borderline unfilmable endeavor. Blade director Stephen Norrington was the first to accept the gig, immediately making changes by depicting Kaneda and Tetsuo as brothers. Unfortunately, he didn't get very far and left the project, likely due to the fallout from the box-office failure he helmed before it – The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.

From there, writers like Rogue One's Gary Whitta, followed by Jaume Collet-Serra (Black Adam, The Shallows, Carry On), stepped in and out, trying to bring Akira to life. Nevertheless, by 2012, the studio continued to move forward, even forming a cast that included Garrett Hedlund, Kristen Stewart, Ken Watanabe, and Helena Bonham Carter, before plans collapsed once again.

By 2017, more potential directors were rumored to be in discussions or approached about taking on what was quickly becoming a cursed project. George Miller, Christopher Nolan, Jordan Peele (who pays homage to the anime in Nope with that now-iconic bike skid), David Sandberg, and Daniel Espinosa were all reportedly on the list before Warner Bros. finally made a deal with Taika Waititi.

The daring filmmaker made considerable progress with it, even attempting to secure an all-Japanese cast. Sadly, however, development began to slow down again, with Waititi focusing on other projects, including his Oscar-winning Jojo Rabbit. In 2020, the director effectively confirmed it was off the table, saying, “I think eventually it will happen, I’m just not sure if I’ll be doing it.” Now, with the rights out in the wild once more, whatever Waititi had planned, we're certainly never going to see it.

So what now? Well, with the rights available for competing studios to get a hold of, someone else could try to take on what Warner Bros. couldn't accomplish in over two decades. We'll be sure to keep an eye out for whether someone dares and, if so, how long before they end up screaming "Tetsuo!" to the heavens for a story that might be best staying as is.

Never mind, though. At least there are plenty more anime to watch. In fact, here's a list of essential viewing from 2025 you should watch right now.

Warner Bros. Games has just announced it will reshuffle its organization around the Harry Potter, Game of Thrones, Mortal Kombat, and DC franchises.

This news comes a month after Warner Bros.' first quarter financial report revealed the publisher's games revenue "decreased 48% ex-FX," or excluding foreign exchange. The company also pinned its 66% dip in gaming expenses compared to the same quarter last year on "impairment related to Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League and lower games revenue in the current quarter."

Earlier this year, Warner Bros. canceled its Wonder Woman game and closed Shadow of Mordor studio Monolith after reportedly losing $200 million on Suicide Squad, and then another $100 million on the disappointing MultiVersus and Quidditch Champions.

In a press release, Warner Bros. says that Warner Bros. Games Montréal studio head Yves Lachance will now serve as senior vice president of development and tend to teams involved in Harry Potter and Game of Thrones projects.

Mortal Kombat will continue to remain under the purview of NetherRealm studio head Shaun Himmerick, who has also been promoted to senior vice president of development, in which capacity he will also look after DC games.

"All Warner Bros. Games development studios and production publishing teams will report to Lachance and Himmerick aligned to the franchises for which they are creating games," Warner Bros. says in its press release. It does not share if layoffs are part of its new "franchise focused structure"; GamesRadar+ has reached out for comment.

"Our company is home to some of the biggest franchises in the world, and we are optimizing our team structure to develop long-term franchise roadmaps to delight players and fans of Harry Potter, Game of Thrones, Mortal Kombat and DC games," says Warner Bros. CEO of global streaming and games JB Perrette. "We are very fortunate to have a strong stable of development and technology talent."

More layoffs reportedly hit Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League dev Rocksteady, including another cut to QA.

Immediately after Warner Bros. shut down Shadow of Mordor studio Monolith this year, amid condolences and anxiety for the future of the video game industry, people worried about losing the developer's patented Nemesis System for good. Excitingly, it seems that Black Panther developer Cliffhanger Games – formed in 2021 by a team of Monolith leads – has been toiling on a workaround to the System's patent rules… the only problem is, EA just closed Cliffhanger and canceled its game, too.

Bloomberg journalist Jason Schreier shares in a new report that those familiar say Black Panther would have pit the Marvel heroes against each other in a bid to become the supernaturally powerful Black Panther; the player would control one of these characters, and the rest would become their adversaries.

This rivalry infrastructure indeed sounds similar to what's found in 2014 Lord of the Rings game Shadow of Mordor, in which Uruks battle with both each other and the playable ranger character to attain hierarchical status and make longterm enemies.

Schreier says that Black Panther would have elaborated on this original Nemesis System, too; Strange Scaffold studio lead Xalavier Nelson Jr. predicted studios would get creative like this while the Nemesis System waits out the remaining 11 years on its patent in a recent issue of Edge magazine.

In addition to squabbling with each other, Black Panther's protagonists would have had to take on the humanoid Skrulls, a fleet of shapeshifting aliens, who could have cunningly presented themselves as friends, or held grudges against the player like the Uruks in Shadows of Mordor.

Overall, it sounds like Black Panther could have presented a fascinating reincarnation of the Nemesis System – if only publishers had let any version of it live.

EA's canceled Black Panther game was "amazing and stunning," and its devs are "so sad" it'll never be released.

The Hunt for Gollum is still 18 months away, but news from Middle-earth is arriving faster than the Eagle flies, as the new Lord of the Rings movie inches closer and closer to filming.

After that recent cast reveal, where we learned that Fifty Shades of Grey star Jamie Dornan is taking over from Viggo Mortensen as Aragorn, it was announced that Furiosa and Dune star Anya Taylor-Joy is joining the cast as a movie-original character. And you can bet Lord of the Rings fans have strong feelings about it. We also have some exclusive insights from Elijah Wood himself about returning as Frodo.

For all that and more, we've got your complete guide to The Hunt for Gollum right here, including where it falls on the Lord of the Rings timeline and plot details. It's time to head back to Middle-earth for one of the most exciting upcoming movies.

The Hunt for Gollum release date

The Hunt for Gollum's release date has been revealed as December 17, 2027. This news was announced by Warner Bros on May 8, 2025, and we couldn't be more excited. Initially, the film was planned for a December 2026 release window. However, it was revealed during the Fan Expo Vancouver 2025 event (via The Direct) that the movie had been pushed back to 2027.

Although the movie has yet to start filming, star Elijah Wood confirmed to us that he'll be heading to New Zealand to shoot the movie, even if he has a relatively small part to play.

"I mean, it's sort of like getting the band back together a little bit with that film," Wood told GamesRadar+. "A lot of the creative team who were part of Lord of the Rings are part of Hunt for Gollum. I'm just looking forward to seeing all those people again. It feels like a family reunion. My part to play is relatively small, but I'm just excited to go back and spend some time in New Zealand and see old friends."

Expect filming to get underway soon to hit that late 2027 release date. Hopefully, the additional time in development will result in one of the best fantasy movies of the year!

It's got stiff competition on that day, however, as both Avengers: Secret Wars and The Housemaid's Secret are scheduled to release on the same day. Who's going to blink first?

What is The Hunt for Gollum plot?

While we don't know how the Hunt for Gollum will expand on Tolkien's work (a terrifying thought), we do know that it's based on the appendices of Tolkien's novel. It will take place primarily 17 years after Bilbo's birthday, when he handed over the One Ring to Frodo. Although Peter Jackson's films didn't really show off the lengthy timeline before Frodo left for Rivendell, the events of the movie take place before our main hobbits even leave the Shire.

Basically, worried about the nefarious nature of Frodo's "magic ring," Gandalf is concerned that Gollum would be captured and subsequently reveal information about what he suspects is the One Ring to Sauron's dark forces. In order to try and get to Gollum before Sauron, Gandalf reaches out to Aragorn and asks him to make use of his ranger skills to track the wretched creature down before it's too late.

This results in Aragorn and Gandalf teaming up periodically to search for Gollum together (often resulting in cold trails). Unfortunately, if you've seen or read The Lord of the Rings, you know that Gollum ventured into Mordor and was captured. Gandalf went to dive into researching the One Ring some more to confirm his suspicions, while Aragorn continued the hunt for Gollum, and Gollum continued to be tortured by Sauron in the meantime.

Eventually, Sauron released Gollum after getting all he could out of him, and poor Gollum got himself captured by Aragorn shortly after his newfound freedom. The pair travels for around 50 days, avoiding the enemy when they can, as Aragorn ventures to a safe place to imprison Gollum for interrogation later. Gandalf does get to question Gollum, where he gets further confirmation that Frodo's ring is none other than the One Ring belonging to Sauron.

This led to a sense of urgency and fully kicked off the action that we see in Fellowship as Gandalf returned to the Shire to inform Frodo on his next steps, the Ringwraiths entered the Shire, and a bunch of Orcs allowed Gollum to escape his prison.

There is a lot to go through in terms of the upcoming movie's plot here, but a lot of it involves time skips and simple travel without much confrontation. So we expect the Hunt for Gollum movie to make some changes. There was a fan-made Hunt for Gollum movie that was released back in 2009. This film featured an original story, though, using Tolkien's work as a jumping-off point. So it'll be interesting to see if Warner Bros takes a similar route here.

However, don't expect The Hunt for Gollum to completely follow Peter Jackson's trilogy, as director and star Andy Serkis said to Empire, "We have a very specific task ahead of us. A return to Middle-earth, that satisfies the passion and the love that generations of Lord Of The Rings fans have for these stories, whilst also presenting something completely fresh and new for first-timers to Middle-earth."

In terms of the script, fans can rest easy that the pen is in the capable hands of Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens. At DesertCon in Mexico (via The Direct), Froddo star Elijah Wood confirmed he knows "a great deal" about the script, and that "it's really good." Walsh and Boyens notably helped pen both The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies.

"The brain trust behind Lord of the Rings, Fran, Peter, Philippa, they are heavily involved," said Wood. "It feels like getting that old machine up and running again with all of the right people."

Then later, in an interview with Empire, writer Boyens described the installment as an "adventure story with a really strong psychological, interior story that’s going on as well."

Where does The Hunt for Gollum fit in the Lord of the Rings timeline?

The Hunt for Gollum technically starts as far back as TA 2944, only a few years after Bilbo's quest in The Hobbit, where Gandalf wished to know how Gollum got the ring in the first place. The Hunt picks up again in TA 3001 after Bilbo's 111th birthday party, where Gandalf's suspicions about the ring heat up to a fever pitch. The Hunt for Gollum then concludes in TA 3018. This is also the year when Frodo and his friends start their journey to Rivendell.

Currently, it's unclear what timeline the upcoming movie will present. The main action of The Hunt for Gollum spans over 17 years. So we are curious to see how Jackson and his team plan to adapt Tolkien's work to fit into a film. Stay tuned for updates!

The Hunt for Gollum cast

The full cast of The Hunt for Gollum was confirmed at 2026's CinemaCon. This features several returning cast members, a major recasting, and some newcomers as well. Read on for the full details of who will be starring in the movie.

• Andy Serkis – Gollum/Sméagol
• Jamie Dornan – Strider/Aragorn
• Sir Ian McKellen – Gandalf
• Elijah Wood – Frodo Baggins
• Lee Pace – Thranduil
• Kate Winslet – Marigol
• Leo Woodall – Halvard
• Anya Taylor-Joy – Seren

The news of Anya Taylor-Joy's inclusion was announced a little later, in June 2026. She'll be playing Seren, a Sindar Elf of the Woodland Realm who is described as "a trusted and lethal agent of King Thranduil." The lifelong Lord of the Rings fan has made no secret of her desire to play a Middle-earth elf, but fans are divided on yet another non-canon character being added to the movie.

It is worth noting, too, that this may not be everyone involved in the upcoming film. Warner Bros. may be keeping some surprises up its sleeve, and more names may be on the way. For his part, Orlando Bloom has said he hasn't heard anything, but he wouldn't want to see anyone else play the part.

"I have not heard a peep, actually. I don't know. I know it's focusing on Gollum, so anything's possible," Bloom said on Today. "Listen, I'd hate to see anyone else play Legolas, you know what I mean? What are they going to do? Are they going to put somebody else in as Legolas? With AI they can do anything these days!" Watch this space.

And, while Viggo Mortensen may not be returning as Aragorn, he's given his seal of approval for his replacement. "We are thrilled that Jamie's doing it. We're absolutely thrilled. And, by the way, so is Viggo," Serkis said.

Is there a The Hunt for Gollum trailer?

Currently, there is no trailer for the Hunt for Gollum. However, since we now have a release date, we'll likely see a teaser soon. Our money is that the first trailer will drop during San Diego Comic-Con in July this year.

While we wait for the trailer, you can watch the 2009 fan-made movie, The Hunt For Gollum, now on YouTube. Or if you want to dive into a Middle-earth refresher, you can also read our guide on how to watch all the Lord of the Rings movies in order as well.

For more Tolkien fun, check out our list of the best Lord of the Rings games to play today.

Like they were in a doomed romance, it seemed like players were fated to part with Monolith Productions' patented Nemesis System for 11 years after WB Games shut the studio down this winter. But industry experts say there's still hope for the genius combat structure to thrive in the meantime.

"The Nemesis patent still gives other designers significant space to operate around," Strange Scaffold studio lead Xalavier Nelson Jr. tells Edge in its new magazine issue 410.

"I think you can see some similar design language in the Mercenary system in Assassin's Creed: Odyssey and some other things Ubisoft has done since then."

Introduced by Lord of the Rings orc extravaganza Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor in 2014, the Nemesis System makes it so enemies exist in a bustling hierarchy; vulgar Uruk-hai remember you and seek constant revenge, vying for more power but sometimes losing it in a a perpetual battle up and down enemy ranks.

2018's Assassin's Creed: Odyssey doesn't use every intricacy of this system for its own Mercenary design – it can't, not with a patent in place – but it does borrow the Nemesis System's core concept with a tiered enemy list. Kill the ranked mercenaries, and gain notoriety.

For this reason, Nelson continues to say that "the language and specificity of the [Nemesis] patent is not so significant that, if I had a game concept that would benefit from similar ideas, I would be scared away from doing it, personally."

Patent attorney and partner at law firm Banner Witcoff Scott Kelly agrees with the sentiment, telling Edge that "our whole video game industry is built on the shoulders of what came before us."

"I think people can keep this in mind," he continues encouragingly, "and can find a way to use the parts that they like that will make a really good game, without infringing the specific technology that Warner Bros. patented here."

Hot on the heels of its open-world Wonder Woman game cancelation, Warner Bros. Games is apparently working on a "new unannounced IP" that's set to launch this year.

After 36 years, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, the sequel to Tim Burton's iconic 1988 horror-comedy, is finally in cinemas and well, it's proving to be such a hit that fans are already itching for a third movie. (For obvious reasons, some people just want it to happen so Warner Bros. can call it Beetlejuice Beetlejuice Beetlejuice).

Hopes and reality, though, are two very different things – a lesson Michael Keaton's titular bio-exorcist learns the hard way in his pursuit of Lydia Deetz (Winona Ryder) in the new flick. So, is there any chance of a Beetlejuice 3 actually happening? We weigh in below.

We breakdown the final few moments of the follow-up, which admittedly do kind of suggest there could be more to explore in this world, as well as comments from Burton and the like regarding the future of the franchise... So, what are you waiting for? Scroll on down, and we'll chew on a dog!

How does Beetlejuice Beetlejuice set up a potential sequel?

Given that it took the best part of four decades to make a second film, we never really bought into the idea that a third was on the horizon. That was, until, we actually saw how the film ends...

After helping rescue Astrid (Jenna Ortega) from the Afterlife, Beetlejuice holds Lydia to her deal to marry him and co-opts hers and Rory's Halloween-night wedding for their long-awaited nuptials. The ceremony, though, is interrupted by a whole host of characters from Delores, Beetlejuice's vengeful ex-wife, Wolf Jackson, a dead B-movie actor, and well, a giant (and, more importantly, hungry) sandworm.

All of the chaos provides the Deetz women to shout Beetlejuice's name three times, banishing him to the Afterlife once again. 

Later, seemingly free of Beetlejuice (and her leech-of-a-boyfriend Rory), Lydia embraces her new lease on life and daydreams of a future with Astrid: globetrotting to Dracula's castle, witnessing the youngster getting married, and then watching her give birth to her first grandchild. The visions take a horrifying turn, though, when Astrid welcomes a Beetlejuice baby, which causes gooey carnage before making a beeline for Lydia. With that, she wakes up in fright in bed, confirming that everything we've just witnessed didn't actually happen. But the nightmare isn't over yet, as she imagines Beetlejuice lying next to her. 

Now, you can read this in three ways; it's simply a nod to the fact that Lydia will never really escape the Ghost with the Most. He is already dead, after all, so it'd be pretty tough – though not impossible – to get rid of him for good. It's just a joke. Or, it's a not-so-subtle hint that the green-haired ghoul will return at some point.

What has Tim Burton and co said about a Beetlejuice 3?

"We haven't talked about where it could go from here, we just talked about making one really good movie," producer Tommy Harper previously told Total Film magazine, which is sure to please those wanting more. "Make it the best you can, and then anything could happen."

Burton, however, is a little less enthusiastic, having joked to The Hollywood Reporter recently: "Well, if [the same] time frame goes on, I'll be about 100. So maybe. I doubt it."

"Why'd you stop at three?" Keaton joked to Fandango back in early August. "For a long time, [Tim] and I had said don't touch it. Just leave it alone, let it be its own thing, and it took us such a long time to find something where we thought, 'Yeah, maybe this one.' But I always thought the second one should've been called Beetlejuice Beetlejuice; it just made sense."

"I feel like the world might explode if a third movie gets made," Ortega laughed in the same interview. "Who knows? Maybe in another... how many years. It would be fun. But I will say, one of the special things about this movie is that it's so original and so absurd, and feels like such a fever dream, that I think there's so much originality that could still be found in that world. It's a very flexible environment."

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is in cinemas now. For more, 

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice stars Monica Bellucci and Willem Dafoe say they were "surprised and shocked" by how much emotion was in the horror-comedy sequel when they saw it for the first time.

The duo play Afterlife dwellers Delores, Beetlejuice's vengeful ex-wife, and Wolf Jackson, a try-hard B-movie actor who just can't shake the detective role that made him famous, respectively. They're self-proclaimed supporting players, which meant that they weren't on set to see the movie's more heart-wrenching scenes between Winona Ryder's beloved Lydia Deetz and her distant daughter Astrid (Jenna Ortega) play out.

"There were huge sections that, of course, I'm not involved in because I'm part of the ensemble," Dafoe tells GamesRadar+. "I think, just occasionally, there are surges of emotion that you don't expect. I mean, it's clear there's lots of comedy and there's lots of great gags and odd spins on things. But every once a while, in the family story, some kind of surge of emotion comes."

Bellucci was similarly taken aback. "Even though I knew the script, I was so surprised and shocked when I saw the movie, because there are so many elements [to it]," she says. "The film is scary, but also funny and also full of emotion and is darkly comic and Gothic. So, I mean, I think that is the kind of movie for all generations."

Directed by Tim Burton, from a script by Wednesday showrunners Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice sees the Deetzes return to Winter River, Connecticut following a family tragedy. There, Lydia is forced to turn to the eponymous green-haired ghoul for help when Astrid unknowingly bridges the gap between the living and the dead.

Aside from Keaton as Beetlejuice, Bellucci and Dafoe definitely have the most elaborate makeup and prosthetics, which they say both say helped get them into the mindset of their characters.

"It's nice to have a mask, something to work against or help you make what you're doing specific or condition what you're doing," notes Dafoe. "It's not fun because it takes a little while, but it makes everything very specific and particular."

"I'm a woman, so I'm used to makeup, as all women are..." Bellucci begins, as Dafoe laughs and interjects: "Hey, I'm an actor, I'm used to makeup, too."

"Well, I'm an actor and a woman," Bellucci smiles. "I had three hours of makeup every day. But, you know, I knew that it was part of the game, actually, and it was very helpful to get into the character and to get into these beautiful sets, to wear those amazing costumes of Colleen Atwood. Tim loves to draw, so he would show us beautiful drawings of these characters in certain situations, too, and that was very helpful."

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice releases on September 6. In the meantime, check out our guide to the most exciting upcoming movies heading our way.

Winona Ryder, Catherine O'Hara, and Michael Keaton are back in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, 36 years after Tim Burton's beloved original was released. With so much time having passed, there's a bunch of new people in Lydia and Delia's life, including the former's daughter Astrid (Jenna Ortega) and her producer-turned-partner Rory.

In a new interview with GamesRadar+ and Inside Total Film, Justin Theroux, who plays Rory, explained how he combatted his initial on-set nerves and revealed the unlikely inspiration behind the character, too, citing his mother's exes as influences.

"He's sort of a shake bag of people I know, some people that we've all met. It's so fun to play someone who is so codependent. I would often think about my mom, who was a single mom, so occasionally she would bring back a boyfriend that would be a little bit too, like, familiar in the house, you know?" he laughs. 

"That kind of thing is just cringey. So I was really trying to capture a little bit of that, and then stuff that just made me and Tim laugh, like the stupid ponytail and the bad haircut; how he's so quick to tears and too emotional. All those little elements just made us giggle."

When we first meet Rory in the film, he's coaxing Lydia from the sidelines as she hosts a new episode of her paranormal reality show. Think Most Haunted and Ghost Hunters... After seeing an apparition of Beetlejuice in the audience, Lydia freaks out and pops a pill in the studio bathroom that, we can only assume from Rory's reaction, blocks her clairvoyant capabilities. 

Giving his gothy girlfriend a pep talk, Rory chucks the pills away, but soon finds himself frantically fishing through the trash, sweaty fringe falling in his face, when he realizes how flustered Lydia is. 

Did Theroux find joining the Tim Burton-directed sequel a similarly flap-worthy experience? "I didn't really even think about the outside noise, because the script was really good; the sets were really good, the costumes were really good, and Tim is really fucking good at what he does," he tells us. "In a weird way, 95% of the work is done for you, and then all you have to do is remember your lines and try to make them funny and play them with intention. 

"I got less nervous the more I was on set, because I felt like I was in such good hands. We were really giggling a lot. Sometimes when you go to work, you're like, 'Long day ahead. We've gotta shoot a lot of stuff.' This was the opposite, where you were giddy to get to set, and then at the end of the day you were like, 'Oh man, I've gotta go back to my hotel and wait until tomorrow.'"

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice releases on September 6. In the meantime, check out our guide to the most exciting upcoming movies heading our way.

Listen out for more of our chat with Theroux on the upcoming episode of the Inside Total Film podcast, which is available on Apple, Audioboom, Spotify, and more.

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice star Jenna Ortega has opened up on Tim Burton's hands-off approach to directing, and how she ensured her character wasn't just a rehash of the franchise's original teen, Winona Ryder's Lydia Deetz.

In the long-awaited sequel, which picks up with the Deetzes 36 years on from the original, Ortega plays Lydia's teen daughter Astrid. After their previous encounter with the titular ghoul, the family have found themselves in New York City – Astrid at boarding school, Delia (Catherine O'Hara) curating avant-garde art shows, and Lydia hosting a paranormal reality show called Ghost House. When Charles Deetz dies suddenly, though, the trio finds itself back at Winter River, navigating their tension-filled relationships as they start being, quite literally, haunted by their past.

"There actually weren't a lot of conversations with other people, which I think is really exciting and [the thing that's so] different about working with Tim, because usually you do have those conversations," Ortega tells GamesRadar+ and Inside Total Film, explaining how she brought Astrid to life. "I love being able to share and collaborate on ideas for a character, but Tim just kind of takes a step back and lets you do what you need to do. 

"If you have questions or if you have concerns, he'll talk to you about them. But for the most part, we just kind of showed up and we did it," she smiles. "I didn't want [Astrid] to be Lydia, so I just made sure she had similar characteristics, like just being very self-assured and opinionated and very aware of who she was. The writers also did a wonderful job of establishing that for me, then it was more so just working with Catherine and Winona a lot of the time, and they're so great at what they do, and so nice and so comforting that I didn't have to worry about chemistry too much, everything just kind of fell into place."

O'Hara, who worked with Burton on the 1988 flick, had a similar experience. "We just winged the whole thing," she laughs, before adding: "No, it's so freeing to just be trusted in that way, to you know, just come in and do it. Of course, you've got the script to work with. But Tim is also really collaborative and really loose about letting you improvise, and encouraging that, and improvising himself. It's very creative. It's a very creative vibe."

In the first film, the ghost-seeing Lydia regularly clashes with her eccentric, screechy stepmother Delia, as the latter sulks about moving to the suburbs. In the follow-up, Astrid and Lydia have become semi-estranged since the death of Astrid's father, due to Lydia's busy schedule and former's lack of belief in all things otherworldly. 

"It wasn't really discussed, but we all just knew that Delia and Lydia would be in a new place," says O'Hara. "And I think I got to show that I actually loved my husband. Delia was in a rough place in the first movie. He'd taken her from where she thinks she's comfortable; in the urban environment with her artist friends, well, people she thinks are her friends. She doesn't really have any friends. Nobody appreciates her art. Her husband paid for her gallery show that we see [in the sequel]. I'm sure that was never discussed. But, you know, you just make up stuff, help your own character."

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice releases on September 6. In the meantime, check out our guide to the most exciting upcoming movies heading our way.

Listen out for more of our chat with Ortega and O'Hara on the upcoming episode of the Inside Total Film podcast, which is available on Apple, Audioboom, Spotify, and more.

Michael Keaton may play the Ghost with the Most in long-awaited sequel Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, but in the eyes of his co-star Justin Theroux, he's the Lead We All Need.

After 36 years, the Batman actor teams up with Tim Burton once again to reprise his role as the eponymous bio-exorcist, as Lydia Deetz (Winona Ryder) and her family return to Winter River following her father's sudden death. 

"You feel his spontaneity. His mind is like a spark plug; he's sparky in life, his mind works quickly. He hops around," Theroux says of Keaton, in an exclusive interview with GamesRadar+ and Inside Total Film. "So Beetlejuice is sort of like, if you took all the volume knobs on Michael, turned them up, and then put this voice on it. It must be very fun to play that character because, you know, the ego is so out of control, and he can't be a villain. 

"There's nothing he can say that's going to make you hate him, you know? The more he says that's awful, or the more things he does that are awful, the more you kind of like him," the Leftovers actor goes on. "He gets away with things normal people wouldn't."

Well, when it comes to audiences anyway... In the film, Lydia is less than thrilled about coming toe-to-toe with the green-haired ghoul once again, having been shaking off waking nightmares of him since her teens. The pair cross paths again when Lydia's daughter Astrid (Jenna Ortega) gets caught up in some afterlife-related drama and she's forced to turn to her former foe for help.

Ryder and Keaton aren't the only ones returning, either, Catherine O'Hara is also back as Lydia's eccentric artist stepmother Delia Deetz. "It's sort of like having the late '80s Chicago Bulls playing at the peak of their game, and then having to step on the court and play ball with them, you know?" Theroux laughs, having joined the follow-up as Lydia's cringe-worthy, co-dependent partner Rory. 

"You don't want to mess up what they're going to do, because you know they're going to do it beautifully, because they're all so talented," he continues. "You want to make sure you're just singing in the same key that they're singing in. Once I got over the nerves of that, I had a really good time. It was a really fun part to play."

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice releases on September 6. While we wait, check out our picks of the most exciting upcoming movies heading our way. 

Listen out for more of our chat with Theroux on the upcoming episode of the Inside Total Film podcast, which is available on Apple, Audioboom, Spotify, and more.

Warner Bros has said it plans to focus on free-to-play and live-service games going forward, despite premium, standalone, single-player RPG Hogwarts Legacy being the best-selling game of 2023.

As highlighted by Gamespot, Warner Bros Discovery gaming boss J.B. Perrette recently spoke at a Morgan Stanley Technology conference, where he discussed the company's plans, which include a pivot to free-to-play and live-service games. This revelation is surprising as Warner Bros' biggest release last year was Hogwarts Legacy, which doesn't feature either of these elements. 

"We're doubling down on games as an area where we think there is a lot more growth opportunity that we can tap into with the IP that we have and some of the capabilities we have on the studio where we're uniquely positioned as both a publisher and a developer of games," Perrette said .

Despite the company's previous success with AAA games for consoles, Perrette said the market is "volatile" and that success is never guaranteed - as demonstrated by both Hogwarts Legacy and Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League's launches. To combat this, the exec says the company plans to instead focus on core franchises and bring some of them to the mobile and free-to-play market, as well as continuing to invest in live-service games that players will spend money on over time.

This doesn't mean that Warner Bros will stop developing single-player AAA games entirely; "rather than just launching a one-and-done console game, how do we develop a game around, for example, a Hogwarts Legacy or Harry Potter, that is a live service where people can live and work and build and play in that world in an ongoing basis?" the exec asks. 

Following this, industry analyst Mat Piscatella shared his thoughts on the Warner Bros news to Twitter, writing: "When a company points out that they believe making the best-selling premium game of the year did not provide enough return to not pivot the franchise that game was based on to f2p/live service... well that's a problem."

Take a look at our new games 2024 list to find out what else we can expect from the year ahead. 

A little secret among fighting game players is despite the clear success stories that are Street Fighter and Tekken, Mortal Kombat is far and away the biggest fighting game series of the lot, dwarfing the lifetime sales totals of its rivals with a remarkable eighty million copies sold. It's not even a close-run thing – Mortal Kombat is the king of the fighters, so to speak – and, if Mortal Kombat 1 is any indication, the series shows no sign of slowing down any time soon.

This outlandish popularity is an important factor, because it means that Mortal Kombat has always had to spin a few more plates than many of its genre-mates. For every ultra-competitive player who enters tournaments and knows every single piece of frame-data there's someone who just picks the game up, runs through the story mode, and never touches it again. NetherRealm has to deliver compelling content to cater to them all – even those Mileena fans who keep coming at creative director Ed Boon on social media when he threatens to exclude her from one of the games.

Back to basics

Mortal Kombat 1 is disruptive by design. A reboot of the entire MK universe, bringing about sweeping changes to combat and characters in ways that might surprise you. So while Mortal Kombat 1 certainly builds on the foundations of its predecessor, Mortal Kombat 11, the addition of Kameo characters offers a considerable change to the tried and tested formula. Jabbing R1/RB and a direction on the d-pad brings a selected Kameo fighter into battle to perform a particular move – drawing from a selection of grabs, combo extenders, trap moves, and more, all of which can be used to compliment your chosen fighter's strengths and weaknesses. 

At its most basic level, the Kameo system is a smart way to reintroduce a collection of fringe Mortal Kombat favorites back into the series – Stryker, Darius, and Motaro being particular standouts. At a more technical level, however, Kameos add some significant strategic depth to the proceedings, as simply switching out your chosen Kameo for another can change the way you'll need to approach a match with your chosen main, giving you or your opponent new problems to solve. It's so refreshingly fast and loose, too, allowing you to get away with some really sneaky, dirty tactics in a time where most developers strive for their systems to be fair and balanced. Above all else, Mortal Kombat 1 prioritizes fun.

It's not just the combat that NetherRealm are having a lot of fun mixing up this time around either, with the continuing Mortal Kombat story receiving a substantial overhaul. A problem with past installments has been that it's difficult to know what to expect from the series' story mode – NetherRealm has now had to canonically reboot its own timeline twice to undo some of the wild absurdities that have occurred and, despite Mortal Kombat 1 offering a fresh start of sorts to the Mortal Kombat world and its most famous fighters, it isn't long before things get characteristically daft.

Mortal Kombat 1's rebooted universe is ultimately a nice excuse to bring back the classic martial arts tournament setting, and throw some beloved characters into the mix – regardless of whether or not they'd been killed off, or had suffered an otherwise bizarre fate in previous titles. In the 10 or so hours it'll take you to play through the Mortal Kombat 1 story there's plenty of twists and turns that impact the sanctity of Liu Kang's 'peaceful' version of the Mortal Kombat universe; it's daft, violent, and full of brilliant little nods and winks for the hardcore MK fan to spot. It is, once again, exceptionally fun. 

It also looks absolutely phenomenal. Mortal Kombat 11 was a pretty good looking game and while it is hard to spot considerable improvements in the character models, better lighting, greater detail, and native 4K output mean that the backgrounds that the fights take place in are some of the finest seen within the genre. There's so much going on and at such high fidelity, they're really impressive to look at. The facial capture during the story mode cutscenes is also at a level that is almost real, nearly breaking through the 'uncanny valley'.

Expanding play

Once you're done with the story mode, your options are a bit more limited but of a high standard nonetheless. There's the obligatory 'arcade' mode towers, which include an ending sequence for every character and then, after that, the only thing going for the single player fighting game fan is the 'Invasions' mode – Mortal Kombat 1's 'live service' style portion that is going to run throughout the life cycle of the game. 

It's really enjoyable, reminiscent somewhat of Soulcalibur's excellent 'Edge Master' mode, where you travel around a big board and get in unique encounters that usually have you challenging other fighters in scraps with some specific modifiers to them. Stuff like low gravity, multi-man battles, or even boss fights that have some sections where you're dodging projectiles fired in from outside the arena while you chip away at their considerable health bar.

To level the playing field a bit, you gain experience points and gold 'koins' for every win, which you can use to raise stat points and give your chosen character more damage and health, for instance, as well as buy items that can refill your health or talismans that give you access to new special moves, which can also be leveled up and improved. 

There's also a currency that allows you to buy seasonal content – costumes and color palettes, basically – whilst the current season is running. This is going to add a bit of longevity to Mortal Kombat 1, providing NetherRealm can find a way to keep forthcoming seasons of content interesting and the purchasable items worthwhile, but it is off to a solid start.

There is, of course, the slightly unfortunate inclusion of a 'premium' store. Same as any other game that includes one, it is a series of cycling items that can only be purchased with 'Dragon Krystals', a currency that can only be bought with real money – there doesn't appear to be a way to get these costumes via in-game play. Another slight downer is the removal of the Krypt, Mortal Kombat's usual vault full of unlockable bits and pieces. 

Now, for what it is worth, all of this stuff is included in Mortal Kombat 1 throughout the different modes, but the Krypt itself (specifically the one in MK11) was a fantastic combination of virtual Mortal Kombat museum, Myst-lite island puzzle, and unlockables menu that was full of cool touches for anyone who considers themselves a fan of all things MK. 

Sure, the Krypt wasn't without its issues – it required a lot of grinding for currency, and didn't include any items for any of the many DLC characters, so quickly became a bit obsolete, but it is a shame that NetherRealm removed it completely instead of finding a way to refine the experience. However, by ensuring that MK1 still has a boatload of unlockables from concept artwork to hats for Raiden and everything in between, it doesn't feel as much of a miss as it could've been.

Fighting with friends

Outside of those modes, it's a case of getting down to the real hardcore business of getting better at the game and challenging yourself against real life players. The tutorials, although hidden in a menu, are actually extremely detailed and full of practical examples to try out. They even go so far as to explain concepts such as frame advantage and how to maintain a pressure string against an opponent, so there's enough here for those who are trying to take their game to the next level, rather than just starting out. 

The practice mode itself also has the usual options to ensure that players have everything they need to drill any situation, including on screen frame data displays and the ability to make the practice dummy do whatever it is you need them to do. It isn't quite as user-friendly and instantly understandable as Street Fighter 6's 'Simple Practice' options and visual frame data meter, but everything is present regardless.

Online is also a fair bit less interesting than Capcom's offering. There's no online environment like the Battle Hub to meet and challenge players in, just a few different options for the type of fight you'd like to have and the ranked 'Kombat League', which again runs for a month or so, allows players to get as high up the leaderboard as they can, dishes out some rewards then resets to zero for everyone to go again. 

It does, brilliantly, force you to play a best out of three set rather than having people dip after a win but unfortunately doesn't have a way to filter out Wi-Fi users or others with a poor connection. In fact, once you've been matched against someone, you have to play the set even if it is like playing in quicksand. When everything works fine, which is most of the time to be fair, Mortal Kombat 1's netcode is excellent.

Mortal Kombat 1 is a superbly presented fighting game with a combat system that manages to be familiar to what the series has provided in previous games but also requires a whole new approach due to how much the Kameo fighters can change a single character's gameplan. It is almost like each Kameo creates a different version of each main character, such is the variety within the Kameo's movesets and how they can blend with the moves of whoever you have selected from the main roster. Although NetherRealm have already confirmed the first DLC run of Mortal Kombat 1 characters, it is going to be extremely interesting if they drop any new Kameo fighters into the game because that could potentially be just as big a deal in regards to keeping the game fresh and exciting. 

Despite lacking a few of the additional modes the series is known for, the content on offer throughout Mortal Kombat 1 is all brilliant fun. Regardless of whether you are a casual MK fan, someone looking to get into the series, or a competitive player looking to hit this game until whatever numbered Mortal Kombat is next drops, you're going to find an exceptional, confident fighting game. People said that the last generation of fighting games was a real golden era. Well, we're two major titles into the new generation and both of them beat the brakes off their previous iterations. Things are looking pretty rosy for fans of people getting punched in the face.

Mortal Kombat 1 was reviewed on PS5, with code provided by the publisher

Netflix is about to get even better as a whole load of HBO classics make their way onto the streaming platform. Per Variety, Issa Rae’s award-winning Insecure is the first show to be made available, with several others set to follow.

War dramas Band of Brothers and The Pacific will join Netflix at a later date, as well the Alan Ball-created Six Feet Under. Ballers, which stars Dwayne Johnson, is also heading to the streamer as well, not too long after its final season was released back in 2019.

Outside of the US, True Blood will also be available on the platform. The vampire series is based on the novels by Charlaine Harris and helped catapult the careers of stars like Alexander Skarsgård and Deborah Ann Woll. 

This is all part of a deal with Warner Bros. Discovery that sees Netflix licensing some of their shows. The company has made no secret of its cost-cutting measures, which has seen it remove original shows from MAX and cancel whole movies like Batgirl.

WBD also made a partnership earlier this year with free, ad-supported channels to air HBO shows on there as well. Among the series that were shifted to the model were Westworld, Raised by Wolves, and The Nevers. 

The move across streaming platforms at least means that these shows will not follow the same fate as others that have been removed entirely from digital access. Streamers like Max and Disney Plus have been cutting back on original content online, which is a real worry amid the demise of physical media copies.

For what else you can stream now, here are the best Netflix shows and the best Netflix movies currently available.

Mortal Kombat 1 is finally here. After a long four year wait, developer NetherRealm has unleashed one of the best fighting games of the modern era. While it's easy to get lost in all the blood and guts strewn across its stages, beneath the gore is an exceptional, confident fighting game that shouldn't be ignored. 

Below you'll find everything you need to know about Mortal Kombat 1. Including details on the Mortal Kombat 1 release date, full character roster, platform availability, and the DLC that we expect to see land in the future. 

MK 1 Review

Mortal Kombat 1 release date

The Mortal Kombat 1 is out now. The game released on September 19, 2023 following a period of Mortal Kombat 1 early access which began on September 14 for players who purchased the Premium or Kollector's Edition.

Mortal Kombat 1 platforms

Mortal Kombat 1 is available on PC, PS5, Xbox Series X, and Nintendo Switch, with a Mortal Kombat 1 PS4 release that's sadly absent. NetherRealm has confirmed that it is handling the new-gen versions of the game in-house, while it will be collaborating with external developers for the other editions. Shiver Entertainment and Saber Interactive are collaborating with the Mortal Kombat creators on the Switch version, while QLOC is handling the Epic Games Store and Steam versions of the game. 

Mortal Kombat 1 price and editions

There are three Mortal Kombat 1 editions available, some of which will allow access to Shang Tsung as an in-game playable character. The Mortal Kombat 1 price and editions are as follows: 

• Mortal Kombat 1 Standard Edition ($69.99) pre-order will give you access to the August beta and make Shang Tsung a part of the in-game roster. 
• Mortal Kombat 1 Premium Edition ($109.99) contains everything in the Standard Edition, and will give you early access to the entire game beginning September 14. The Premium Edition also contains 1,250 Dragon Krystals and the Kombat Pack, which will give you a Johnny Cage skin modeled on Jean-Claude Van Damme and eventual early access to six new playable characters and five new Kameo Fighters. 
• Mortal Kombat 1 Kollector's Edition ($249.99) is only available on PS5 and Xbox Series X. The limited physical collection includes everything available in the Premium Edition, along with a 16.5-inch Liu Kang sculpture, a unique Liu Kang in-game character skin, three exclusive art prints, a steel case, and an additional 1,450 Dragon Krystals. 

Mortal Kombat 1 roster

NetherRealm has revealed the Mortal Kombat 1 characters list, although this will expand over time through DLC. Below you'll find the full MK1 roster that is available in the game at launch:

• Ashrah
• Baraka
• Ermac (Kombat Pack 1)
• General Shao
• Geras
• Homelander (Kombat Pack 1, available 2024)
• Havik
• Johnny Cage
• Kenshi
• Kitana
• Kung Lao
• Li Mei
• Liu Kang
• Mileena
• Nitara
• Omni-Man (Kombat Pack 1)
• Peacemaker (Kombat Pack 1)
• Quan Chi (Kombat Pack 1)
• Raiden
• Rain
• Reptile
• Scorpion
• Shang Tsung (pre-order exclusive)
• Sindel
• Smoke
• Sub-Zero
• Tanya
• Takeda Takahashi (Kombat Pack 1)

Mortal Kombat 1 Kameo Fighter System

NetherRealm is introducing a brand new way to play Mortal Kombat, through the introduction of the Kameo Fighter system. This is designed to bring "a unique roster of partner characters into the mix," as series creator Ed Boon explains it. What this essentially means is that you'll be able to team characters from the main roster up with a selection from a special secondary roster – based on a klassic versions of the characters pulled from over 30 years of Mortal Kombat history – and call them into battles to fight along side you.

You could team up two Sub Zero variants, or Scorpion with Goro (whatever combination you want), and then make use of special offensive and support-based moves. You'll use one button actions to activate attacks from your Kameo fighter, all of which can be used pretty much anytime you want to create new and unique combos – including devastating Fatal Blows, brutal Fatalities, and defensive Breakers. Oh, and don't worry about imbalance or attack spam, there's a meter governing usage of Kameo fighters. 

Mortal Kombat 1 Kameo Fighters roster 

• Cyrax
• Darrius
• Frost
• Ferra (Kombat Pack 1)
• Goro
• Khameleon (Kombat Pack 1)
• Johnny Cage (Kombat Pack 1)
• Jackson "Jax" Briggs
• Kano
• Kung Lao
• Motaro
• Mavado (Kombat Pack 1)
• Sareena
• Sektor
• Scorpion
• Shujinko
• Sonya Blade
• Stryker
• Sub-Zero
• Tremor (Kombat Pack 1)

Mortal Kombat 1 DLC

NetherRealm is yet to detail the shape of Mortal Kombat 1 DLC, although it has been confirmed that Kombat Packs will be launching in the future. Included in the Premium and Kollector's Edition versions of the game is early access to six new playable characters and five new Kameo Fighters, so expect this to be just the beginning. This DLC rollout follows a similar trajectory to MK1's 2019 predecessor, with Mortal Kombat 11 gaining six additional characters as part of the first Kombat Pack release shortly after launch, which was later followed with the Aftermath story expansion and a second Kombat Pack. 

Mortal Kombat 1 system requirements

NetherRealm has confirmed that Mortal Kombat 1 system requirements, and you might want to spend the next couple of months improving your rig to get the most out of this fighting game. Particular attention will need to be paid to your hard-drive, as it would appear that the Mortal Kombat 1 install size runs 100GB. 

Minimum specs: 

• OS: Windows 10 64-bit
• Processor: Intel Core i5-6600 / AMD Ryzen 3 3100 or Ryzen 5 2600
• Memory: 8 GB RAM
• Graphics: Nvidia GeForce GTX 980 / AMD Radeon RX 470 / Intel Arc A750
• DirectX: Version 12
• Storage: 100 GB available space

Recommended specs: 

• OS: Windows 10 / Windows 11 64-bit
• Processor: Intel Core i5-8400 / AMD Ryzen 5 3600X
• Memory: 8 GB RAM
• Graphics: Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 Ti / AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT / Intel Arc A770
• DirectX: Version 12
• Storage: 100 GB available space

Light the Bat-Signal! Amazon Prime Video is bringing three new Bat-Projects to our screens, officially ordering two seasons of Batman: Caped Crusader, along with new movie Merry Little Batman and spin-off series Bat-Family. 

Caped Crusader looks very much like the spiritual successor to Batman: The Animated Series. It's executive produced by an exciting mix of talent, too – The Animated Series's Bruce Timm is onboard, along with J.J. Abrams, Matt Reeves, Ed Brubaker, and Sam Register (president of Warner Bros. Animation and Cartoon Network Studios). Amazon describes the show as a "reimagining of the Batman mythology," which will make use of "state-of-the-art animation techniques" featuring the rogue's gallery and "sophisticated storytelling, nuanced characters, and intense action sequences, all set in a visually striking world." Sign us up. 

As for Merry Little Batman, this project will be a holiday movie revolving around a young Damian Wayne, Bruce Wayne's son (and one of the Robins in the comics). Alone in Wayne Manor on Christmas Eve, he becomes "Little Batman" to protect his home – and Gotham – from supervillains and criminals alike who have designs on the holidays. Regular Show's Mike Roth directs, while Teen Titans Go's Morgan Evans penned the screenplay. Roth and Register executive produce. 

Then, Bat-Family will follow on from the film and focus on Batman, Alfred, and Damian, now officially Little Batman. They, alongside an intriguingly referenced "few newcomers" to Wayne Manor, will "navigate the fun and frustrations of life as a super family" in the series. Roth, Register, and Jase Ricci executive produce. 

Damian isn't just starring in these animated projects, though. He'll also be Robin in the upcoming Batman: The Brave and the Bold, which is part of DCU Chapter One: Gods and Monsters. 

Next up on the DC release slate is The Flash, which arrives this June 23. In the meantime, check out our guide to all the upcoming DC movies and TV shows for everything else in store. 

Batman: Caped Crusader has reportedly found a new home at Amazon after being scrapped from a planned HBO Max release by Warner Bros. Discovery, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Batman: Caped Crusader was originally ordered straight to series by HBO Max following the success of director Matt Reeves' The Batman. Reeves produces the series alongside his former Felicity creative partner JJ Abrams and Batman: The Animated Series co-creator Bruce Timm.

Caped Crusader was pulled from HBO Max in August 2022 during a wave of cuts by Warner Bros. Discovery which also brought the cancellation of a fully filmed Batgirl movie and numerous other animated series and streaming projects.

Following its removal from HBO Max's schedule, Batman: Caped Crusader was reportedly shopped to several streaming services including Hulu, Apple, and Netflix, with Amazon now said to be nearing a finalized agreement to air the animated series, though no official word on the matter has been handed down from Amazon or Warner Bros. Discovery.

Aside from the apparent new lease on life for Batman: Caped Crusader, director Matt Reeves is also prepping a film sequel titled The Batman 2, which will take place outside of the main DC Studios continuity as part of an initiative titled Elseworlds. The Elseworlds name is a term taken from comic books, and will include projects such as Reeves' Batman films and director Todd Phillips' Joker: Folie a Deux.

Meanwhile, DC Studios is also prepping a separate Batman film titled The Brave and the Bold which will focus on the relationship between Batman and his son Damian Wayne, the current Robin. 

Read up on the best Batman comics ever.

Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League is now available in early access for those who pre-ordered the Deluxe Edition of the game, with the official release date set for February 2. That means that many players are taking their first steps into Metropolis right now, jumping into the shoes of the Suicide Squad to take on members of the Justice League who have been corrupted by an invading Brainiac. 

Swapping out the Caped Crusader's exploits to hone in on DC's mismatched band of miscreants themselves, Rocksteady is recasting Harley Quinn, Captain Boomerang, Deadshot, and King Shark recast as heroes. The good guys are set to go dark side as a brainwashed, corrupted Superman and company go head-to-head in the ultimate script-flipped showdown. And yes, Rocksteady says "we really do Kill the Justice League", so don't hold out for another Batman Arkham game any time soon.

We can't wait to step into Metropolis and experience the Batman Arkham universe in a whole new light; we mean that literally, since KTJL does not look like it's set in the midst of a perpetual night time anymore. Lucky for all of us, Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League is launching very, very soon. Here's everything you need to know about what Rocksteady's been working on.

Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League release date

The Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League release date is set for February 2, 2024, with a pre-order early access period commencing on January 30th. This comes following a delay implemented by Rocksteady early in 2023. 

Rumours of this delay had been circulating for some time already. This comes off the back of an initial Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League delay that pushed the game out of 2022. When Hill announced the news back in March 2022, he said: "I know a delay is frustrating but that time is going into making the best game we can. I look forward to bringing the chaos to Metropolis together. Thanks for your patience."  

Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League preview

We went hands-on with Rocksteady's upcoming action shooter in our Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League preview. 

"Running amok through the city of Metropolis was never going to be anything like the Batman Arkham games. Gone is the gritty, brooding, permanently nighttime world of Gotham, and in its place is a technicolor playground where there's no such thing as being too flashy," writes Jasmine Gould-Wilson, GR+'s Staff Writer. "At the heart of it, Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice league is an all-out party. It's way more fun than I thought it would be – especially in the face of last year's backlash."

Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League platforms

Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League will launch on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X. While Rocksteady Studios and WB Games Interactive are yet to comment directly on why Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League won't be coming to PS4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch, it is only inevitable that developers are beginning to focus their attention on the ninth generation of home consoles – two years after the introduction of the PS5 and Xbox Series X to the market. 

Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League gameplay

In a series of insider clips, our most recent look at Kill the Justice League gameplay introduces us to each character and their unique traversal capabilities. Boomerang seems to be using...well, a boomerang, while Harley's more momentum-based grapple swinging looks it it carries her across Metropolis entirely differently.

Each character moves up, down, and across the map in unique ways that speak to each of their characteristics and qualities. From what we've seen so far, it looks like a great opportunity to experiment with which character's moves best match your own playstyle.

The gameplay clip above also walks us through some of the Squad's weapons and special abilities, including King Shark's Suicide Strike and how effortless it feels to pull off Boomerang's juggle kills. Deadshot is also, predictably, pretty spiffy with a sniper rifle. Baked into all of this is what Rocksteady describes as a "reimagined version of the counter system" as seen in the Arkham games, something that will be a familiar sight to returning fans.

Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League trailer

There have been three Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League trailers released so far. The first was released alongside the Suicide Squad's reveal at DC Fandome in 2020, setting the stage for what is sure to be an absurd adventure. The second trailer arrived in October 2021, focusing on story as it introduced the great array of famous super heroes the Suicide Squad will need to take on in Metropolis. We received the first Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League gameplay trailer in December 2021, which gives us a glimpse into each character's unique combat and traversal mechanics, and how the four can play off of one another in co-op. Be sure to watch the Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League gameplay trailer above.

Oh, and there's even a couple of Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League easter eggs that you may have missed from that story trailer. The prison uniforms that each of the former inmates are wearing carry a number that corresponds to the character's first appearances in comic books – issues of The Flash, Batman, and Superboy. Naturally, Harley Quinn has no inmate number, as she actually made her debut in Batman: The Animated series. 

Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League setting and story

Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League is far larger in scope than any of the Rocksteady Batman: Arkham games. The city of Metropolis is being invaded by an alien force, and Brainiac has somehow corrupted the minds of some of the most famous DC super heroes that call it home – turning the likes of Superman and Flash against the people they once vowed to protect. Metropolis' only hope? Four DC super villains whose heads could explode at the first sign of defiance. 

Rocksteady has written an original story for Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, but if you've ever come across the Suicide Squad – be it in the comic books in which Task Force X was born, or in the movies that followed – you'll have some idea of what to expect in terms of tone and the general carnage that this team is capable of creating. We know that Amanda Waller recruits most of this motley crew from Arkham Asylum (rather than the Belle Reve Federal Penitentiary), although Rocksteady is yet to confirm whether we'll be able to explore Arkham or the surrounding Gotham City. 

Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League traversal

Developed by Rocksteady Studios, the Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League traversal systems are expected to build on the flow and momentum exhibited in the Batman: Arkham trilogy. Naturally, given the presence of four playable characters – and a mission to take down The Justice League – the scope of play will be massively expanded. Creative director Sefton Hill describes Suicide Squad as "a hybrid of Rocksteady's experience of bringing characters like Batman to life, combined with really awesome gunplay."

"Each one of them has a richer moveset, more things you can do, and more skill required to master them than you even had with Batman," Hill adds. So, how does that look within the open-world of Metropolis? Deadshot, Captain Boomerang, King Shark, and Harley Quinn will each have their own unique melee and ranged weapons, as well as individual ways to traverse the city. For example: master marksman Deadshot is able to wield a long-range rifle, when up-close-and-personal Harley will be able to whip out a baseball bat, and Boomerang appears to be able to tap into the Speed Force to quickly burst across the environment.  

If you're worried about choosing between the four, Hill has confirmed that "you're never locked to any particular character for any particular section of the game." In single-player, Suicide Squad will have AI bots controlling three of the villains around you at all-times, and you can switch between each character at any time. "If you want to play as Deadshot, jet-packing around and sniping enemies, you can do that; and then boom, just instantly switch to playing as Harley, swinging around and flying into enemies with a baseball bat around the head." 

Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League battle pass

Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League will indeed have a battle pass, but developer Rocksteady says it won't offer any sort of gameplay advantage. "Rocksteady will continue its legacy of supporting the game after its launch," one speaker said in the gameplay showcase released during Sony's State of Play showcase in February. "We're gonna deliver a lot of new content to our players. We're gonna have new playable characters, new weapons, and new missions. For players who like to customize their looks, we'll offer a battle pass that only contains cosmetic items."

Rocksteady has confirmed that all new Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League content will be free for one year post-launch, including the new characters to be added to its roster of playable anti-heroes. One of these we already know will be The Joker, but it's not a retcon of his death in Arkham Knight. Instead, Rocksteady is implementing a form of multiverse in KTJL by way of Elseworlds, and this playable Joker is actually already part of the gang in an alternate universe.

Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League co-op

Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League has full support for four-player co-op and Suicide Squad Kill the Justice League crossplay. You can have any squad configuration that you want, with AI bots filling out the rest of your squad. Creative director Sefton Hill has teased seamless drop-in, drop-out functionality: "If you want to play multiplayer with your friends, they can join in and take the role of one of the other squad members, and the great thing is that this is a dynamic experience. You can play some of the story single-player, some multiplayer – the whole game is accessible in single-player and multiplayer, in and out of those two modes, however you want to do it." 

There's no word yet from Rocksteady on whether there will be Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League crossplay support between PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X. However, Warner Bros. Games Interactive is publishing another superhero co-op game this year, Gotham Knights, which has no support for cross-platform multiplayer. Whether that's indicative of how WB will ultimately handle this aspect of Suicide Squad remains to be seen, but you shouldn't get your hopes up.

Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League characters

There are four playable Suicide Squad Kill the Justice League characters, and they are undoubtedly some of the best Suicide Squad members of all time: Captain Boomerang (George Harkness), Deadshot (Floyd Lawton), Harley Quinn (Harleen Quinzel), and King Shark (Nanaue). Deadshot and Harley Quinn have both appeared in previous Batman: Arkham games, although Captain Boomerang and King Shark have only appeared in the 2014 animated movie Batman: Assault on Arkham – which is canon to the wider Arkhamverse. 

The main members of the Suicide Squad aren't the only characters we'll come into contact with throughout Kill the Justice League. Amanda Waller, director of A.R.G.U.S., will be in place to run the Suicide Squad program, while genius inventor Gizmo appears to be in place to help supply the squad with new gadgets and improved weapons. 

There is some question as to whether Wonder Woman will be foe or reluctant friend, but given that Diana Prince can be see in the Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League trailers both fighting Superman and whipping the Lasso of Truth around Captain Boomerang, it'll probably be a little of column A and a lot of column B. 

Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League villains

In the wider Arkhamverse, The Justice League is an already established entity. Before the Batman: Arkham Knight incident, its roster was made up of: Batman, The Flash, Green Lantern, Superman, and Wonder Woman. Following the (and apologies for the seven-year-old game spoiler here) supposed death of Bruce Wayne, The Justice League is made up of just four heroes – three of which are confirmed Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League villains. Sadly, there's no indication that the likes of Aquaman, Martian Manhunter, or Green Arrow are a part of the Arkhamverse Justice League.

Naturally, Braniac will be the key villain in the game, using his powers of telepathy and possession to control members of The Justice League to destroy Metropolis. Brainiac appears to have the strongest grip over Superman, although Flash and Green Lantern do appear to have some sentience. Wonder Woman's affiliation is yet to be confirmed. Additionally, we have a confirmed sighting of the Penguin, but it's likely Oswald Cobblepot will be the butt of a few jokes while the squad is recruited from Arkham Asylum, rather than a villain with any skin in the game. 

Is Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League in the Arkhamverse?

Rocksteady has confirmed that Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League is a part of the Arkhamverse. That means that Suicide Squad is set in the same universe as Rocksteady's Batman: Arkham Asylum (2009), Batman: Arkham City (2011), and Batman: Arkham Knight (2015). Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League is a sequel to Arkham Knight, set months after the supposed death of Bruce Wayne – so don't expect to see Batman in Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League. 

This isn't the first time the Batman: Arkham games have shown the Suicide Squad. The taskforce of DC super villains was actually established in a post-credits scene of WB Games Montreal's Batman: Arkham Origins (2013). In it, we see Amanda Waller recruiting Deathstroke to join the squad, while in Armature Studio's 3DS effort Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate (2013), Deadshot and Bronze Tiger link up with Task Force X – with Bane said to be under consideration. Rocksteady is yet to confirm whether Deathstroke, Bronze Tiger, and Bane are alive or dead in the Arkhamverse. 

Here's a fun piece of trivia for you: Captain Boomerang and King Shark are actually supposed to be already dead in the Arkhamverse. This universe extends far beyond the Batman: Arkham video games, encompassing animated movies and comic books that are supposedly canon. Captain Boomerang was executed by Deadshot in Batman Arkham Knight #8, Volume 1 after an attempt to assassinate Bruce Wayne goes horribly wrong; while Killer Shark had the bomb implanted in his neck detonated by Amanda Waller, killing him instantly, as part of the Batman: Assault on Arkham film. 

Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League is set to launch on February 2, 2024. While you wait, why not check out some of the other highly anticipated upcoming PS5 games and upcoming Xbox Series X games. 

James Gunn’s comments at the unveiling of DC Studios’ new slate was badly received by some at Warner Bros. according to a new report.

Gunn, who is leading the new era of DC projects alongside DC Studios co-CEO Peter Safran, mentioned how the outgoing Superman actor Henry Cavill was "dicked around" by previous leadership. Safran also drew ire for his comments on the "not releasable" Batgirl.

"For me, for this story, it isn't Henry. I like Henry. He's a great guy. I think he’s gotten dicked around by a lot of people, including former regimes of this company. But this Superman isn't Henry for a number of reasons," Gunn explained (H/T Deadline).

The Hollywood Reporter suggests those words didn’t go down well, with "quite a few ruffled feathers" at Warners.

Gunn recently revealed DC’s next few years of projects as part of DCU’s Chapter One, titled 'Gods and Monsters.' That consists of five movies (Superman: Legacy, The Brave and the Bold, Swamp Thing, Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, and The Authority) and five shows (Paradise Lost, Lanterns, Booster Gold, Creature Commandos, and Waller). The Batman and Joker sequels will exist outside of the DCU as part of DC’s new ‘Elseworlds’ label.

While only the James Gunn-penned Superman: Legacy has a release date (July 11, 2025), one project could have another name attached. Logan director James Mangold is believed to be in "early talks" to direct Swamp Thing.

For more on what’s flying to cinema, check out our guides to upcoming DC movies and shows and new superhero movies.

Jason Momoa has revealed that he filmed Aquaman 2 with more than one Batman actor – meaning it's a mystery which version will make it into the finished film. 

Michael Keaton reportedly filmed a cameo as Batman in the movie, per The Hollywood Reporter, but test audiences found the actor's inclusion confusing. Keaton will also be reprising his Batman role in The Flash, which at one point was shifted to release after Aquaman 2, but has since moved back to release ahead of the sequel.

Momoa also shared a picture with Ben Affleck from the set of Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, meaning Affleck also filmed as his version of the Caped Crusader. 

"I shot with a couple different Batmans, but you just don't know what's going on and we'll see what the end product is," Momoa told TheWrap. 

The actor also addressed his DC future, following a cryptic video showing Momoa extremely excited about something following a meeting with Warner Bros., thanking studio boss David Zaslav and DC Studios co-CEOs James Gunn and Peter Safran in the clip. 

"[I'm feeling] really fucking good," he commented. "Aquaman's not going anywhere so it's alright." He added: "Everything's gonna be good, we're still here and then I might be dipping into some other things too."

The actor's future as Aquaman was uncertain following a major upheaval for DC after Gunn and Safran took the reins, and there is speculation that Momoa could end up playing anti-hero Lobo in the DCU going forward. Momoa hasn't confirmed anything just yet, but it seems entirely possible that he could end up playing more than one DC character going forward. 

What is certain, though, is that Henry Cavill is officially out as Superman and Patty Jenkins won't be returning to direct Wonder Woman 3, which has been scrapped in its current incarnation. Gunn and Safran are set to reveal more from the new DC slate this January, so expect news imminently.

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom hits theaters this December 25. In the meantime, fill out your watchlist with our guide to all the upcoming major movie release dates. 

Warner Bros.' mass spree of cancelations that plagued 2022 are seemingly over – at least according to one of its bosses. Last year, movies like Batgirl and Scoob!: Holiday Haunt were pulled before they hit the screen, while shows like Westworld and The Time Traveler’s Wife were also axed.

Per Variety, Warner Bros. Discovery CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels has now announced that in the next 12 months, they will instead be looking to grow the business. 

"We took a little bit of time to make sure that we do it properly," he said at Citi’s 2023 Communications, Media & Entertainment Conference. "For some of the titles, we’ve found new homes elsewhere. That’s why this took six or seven months. But I think we’ve come to great solutions and, most importantly, we’re done with that chapter."

According to the publication, following the acquisition of WarnerMedia by Discovery, the company had to cut $3 billion in costs. By the end of 2022, this had risen to $3.5 billion, leading to even more cuts.

Alongside the cancelations, Warner Bros.’ streaming service HBO Max has also been pulling content as well. Some shows like Westworld, The Nevers, and Raised By Wolves are being shifted to ad-supported streaming services, while others, including several hundred episodes of Looney Tunes and The Flintstones, have been removed completely.

Speaking about the recent axing of Westworld, star James Marsden recently spoke of his "disappointment". He told Rolling Stone: "I totally understand it’s an expensive show and big shows have to have big audiences to merit the expense, I just wish it was about more than financial success."

If you’re looking to fill up your 2023 watchlist, here are all of the new TV shows and upcoming movies on the way.

Dwayne Johnson's unrealized plans for the DC movie universe have been further unveiled in a new report – and, unsurprisingly, they involved Black Adam and Superman.

According to Variety, Johnson directly pitched CEO David Zaslav on a multi-year plan for Black Adam and a Henry Cavill-led Superman shortly after the Warner Bros. Discovery merger closed in April. The pitch reportedly involved the two properties interweaving, setting up a Superman-versus-Black Adam showdown. 

This move reportedly ruffled feathers internally, according to Variety's sources. "Dwayne went around everyone, which didn’t sit well," said one. Cavill's Superman did make a cameo in the Black Adam post-credits scene, but he was out of the role again just two months later. 

Black Adam, which was released in October 2022, made $391 million at the box office against a reported budget of $195 million and $40 million in reshoots. With big names attached to the project like Johnson and Pierce Brosnan, these figures were deemed a box office disappointment. 

James Gunn and Peter Safran are now co-CEOs of DC Studios and big changes are afoot – the pair have a plan for the next eight to 10 years, with some of that set to be announced later this month. As well as Cavill's Superman exit, Patty Jenkins' Wonder Woman 3 has also been canceled, while Jason Momoa's future as Aquaman is also uncertain. 

Next up for the DCU is Shazam! Fury of the Gods, which hits the big screen on March 17. In the meantime, check out our guide to all the other upcoming DC movies on the horizon.

Newly appointed co-head of DC Studios James Gunn has spoken out about the news that Wonder Woman 3 and Man of Steel 2 have been canceled. 

"As for the story yesterday in the Hollywood Reporter, some of it is true, some of it is half-true, some of it is not true, and some of it we haven’t decided yet whether it’s true or not," Gunn explained via Twitter. 

The Hollywood Reporter announced that Wonder Woman 3 had been officially canceled at DC Studios, and that a sequel to Henry Cavill's Man of Steel was now up in the air as part of Gunn and fellow co-head Peter Safran's new plans for DC.

"Although this first month at DC has been fruitful, building the next ten years of story takes time & we’re still just beginning," Gunn continued. "Peter and I chose to helm DC Studios knowing we were coming into a fractious environment, both in the stories being told & in the audience itself & there would be an unavoidable transitional period as we moved into telling a cohesive story across film, TV, animation, and gaming.

But, in the end, the drawbacks of that transitional period were dwarfed by the creative possibilities & the opportunity to build upon what has worked in DC so far & to help rectify what has not."

An earlier report from Warner Bros. Discovery claimed that the company wants to revitalize class characters like Superman, and potentially give the hero a new series of standalone films that better re-establish his brand identity – which is contrary to the Man of Steel 2 cancellation news.

"We know we are not going to make every single person happy every step of the way, but we can promise everything we do is done in the service of the STORY and in the service of the DC CHARACTERS we know you cherish and we have cherished our whole lives," Gunn continued on Twitter. 

He added: "As for more answers about the future of the DCU, I will sadly have to ask you to wait. We are giving these characters and the stories the time and attention they deserve and we ourselves still have a lot more questions to ask and answer."

The filmmaker ended his statement with a photo of the Justice League, whom he had also featured in his HBO Max series Peacemaker. Clearly Gunn is a fan of the classic heroes, and we'll just have to wait and see what happens next.

For more, check out our list of all the new superhero movies flying your way in 2023 and beyond.

Warner Bros. wants more Harry Potter movies, at least according to CEO David Zaslav. During an investor's call, he explained that the company is "going to have a real focus on franchises" going forward, despite having just shelved the Fantastic Beasts series – set in the Harry Potter universe – for the time being.

"We haven't had a Superman movie in 13 years. We haven't done a Harry Potter in 15 years. The DC movies and the Harry Potter movies provided a lot of the profits for Warner Bros. … over the past 25 years," he claimed (via Deadline). 

Zaslav then added that the only way the studio would want to expand its Wizarding World output is if J.K. Rowling was involved. According to Variety, though, there are currently "no active discussions" between the Harry Potter author and the company regarding future films.

Rowling has become somewhat of a controversial figure in the years since Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them was released, having been accused of sharing transphobic views online. She was not involved in HBO's reunion special, though she later said she'd declined an invite to appear. 

When Harry Potter fans noticed that her name was omitted from the first trailer for Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, Warner Bros. released a statement that read: "For 20 years, Warner Bros., J.K. Rowling, and her team have worked together to delight fans around the world with spectacular storytelling and the magic of the Wizarding World."

Between 2001 and 2011, Warner Bros. released eight Harry Potter flicks, grossing $7.7 billion globally. So far, the Fantastic Beasts trilogy has accumulated $1.8 billion, despite diminishing returns upon the release of each follow-up. (The Secrets of Dumbledore made $405.2 million as opposed to Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them's $812.5 million).

Originally intended to be a five-movie series, the prequel series has had its own share of controversies offscreen. First, original Grindelwald actor Johnny Depp was replaced with Mads Mikkelsen following his public domestic violence dispute with ex-wife Amber Heard. Ezra Miller, who played Credence Barebone, has since been accused of felony and burglary. The Secrets of Dumbledore had a surprisingly neat ending for a movie that would reportedly spawn two sequels, so it's hardly a shock that Warner Bros. has put a pin in the spin-off's five-picture arc for now.

While we wait to see whether Warner Bros. manages to make more Harry Potter films, check out our list of the most exciting upcoming movies coming our way across the rest of 2022 and beyond.

Could more The Lord of the Rings movies be in the works? During an investors call, Warner Bros. Discovery boss David Zaslav talked about wanting to expand the company's best-known franchises and made a point of mentioning the fantasy series. The studio has not been involved with the recent Prime Video series The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, but did previously release Peter Jackson's award-winning trilogy.

"We haven’t had a Superman movie in 13 years," Zaslav said, per Deadline. "We haven’t had a Harry Potter movie in 15 years. The DC movies and the Harry Potter movies provided a lot of profits to Warner Bros motion pictures over the last 25 years. House of the Dragon is a big example of that; Game of Thrones, taking advantage of Sex and the City. Lord of the Rings – we still have the right to do Lord of the Rings movies."

Since the late '90s, Warner Bros. has held the rights to adapt J.R.R. Tolkien's books for the big screen, leading to two award-winning trilogies: The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. The company is currently working on an animated film titled The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim which is set hundreds of years before Jackson’s trilogy and focuses on the fortress of Helm’s Deep. The movie is currently dated for release on April 12, 2024.

No new plans have been announced yet for further movies from Tolkien’s universe, but the success of The Rings of Power is no doubt an influence. The epic prequel series was made by Amazon Studios in association with New Line Cinema and broke streaming records for the company. 

If you want more The Lord of the Rings, check out our guide to The Rings of Power season 2 and our comprehensive The Lord of the Rings timeline.

Taking advice from this Gotham Knights guide will help get you up to speed, so you can prepare to deal with the criminal elements rising up in the aftermath of Batman's demise. These lawbreakers are taking full advantage of the circumstances to cause chaos across Gotham City, so you need to step in and lead the Batman Family to stop the unfolding mayhem. To do this, you'll need to keep the people safe by stopping a multitude of crimes and investigating prolific criminal figures to discover their secrets. If you're searching for tips, character advice, suit transmogs, and more, then I've covered all of that with the suite of Gotham Knights guides listed here.

Tips

If you're looking for some pointers for how to get started or improve your progress, then I've got a set of Gotham Knights tips to steer you in the right direction. Whether you're trying to get better at combat, level up faster, or find new crimes to solve, there's plenty of advice there to help you out.

Best character

With four members of the Batman Family to choose from, it can be hard to decide which is the Gotham Knights best character for you. To help you out with that choice, I've got a breakdown of each superhero's strengths and advantages so you can match one to your preferred playstyle.

Switch characters

Of course, you don't want to be tied to your initial choice of superhero, especially as each of them also have their own set of unique side missions. Thankfully that's not an issue though, and I've got the lowdown on how and when you can switch characters in Gotham Knights.

Smoke bombs

The Gotham Knights smoke bomb is a sort of 'get out of jail free' card when it comes to combat, allowing you to escape while disorientating your enemies so you can return to stealth mode. It's not the most intuitive item to use, however, so I've got an explanation of how to deploy this distraction device.

Unlock and transmog suits

If you want to fully customize your appearance while still retaining the best stats for your character, then you need to know how to unlock and transmog Gotham Knights suits. I've got a full explanation of the process, so you are no longer tied to the standard look each outfit comes with.

Free the scientists from STAR Labs

If you start working through the Mr Freeze case, you'll reach a stage at the end of your initial mission where you need to free the scientists from STAR Labs in Gotham Knights. If you follow your objectives literally at that point you could end up stuck there indefinitely fighting waves of enemies, so I've got an explanation of how to clear that section.

© GamesRadar+. Not to be reproduced without permission.

Even the citizens of Gotham City are sick of it all. Bored of the crime, the corruption, and the capes who drive across city streets at such pedestrian speeds that they are always within earshot of even a whispered insult: "The gangs will eat you alive, Red Hood." It's a common refrain that I hear time and time again while playing Gotham Knights, as integral to the city's soundscape as wailing sirens. Think what you will about the state of vigilante justice in Gotham, but I wouldn't goad the guy who crawled free of a Lazarus Pit with only some semblance of his sanity intact. 

Then again, biting asides are a welcomed alternative to the tired greetings received by Batgirl and Robin, or the audible confusion around who Nightwing is; many years spent as a guardian of Gotham, and it was all for nothing. 

Gotham Knights invites you into a DC Universe that is rich with history, but ultimately lacking in texture. It introduces you to four playable heroes who lack any discernible character. It draws you into a world that's large in scale, but too shallow to be worth exploring. And it frequently pushes you into scenarios where the extent of your interaction is a light or heavy attack; repetition made rhythmic. 

Gotham Knights doesn't know what it wants to be, and that's a problem no amount of heroics can overcome. 

Beware the Court of Owls…

Batman has always cast a long shadow over Gotham in the DCU, but never quite like this. Gotham Knights opens with the death of Bruce Wayne; it's an impactful staging that allows an established gallery of rogues to flood the streets, and leaves four of Batman's closest disciples as the last line of defense. By day, Barbara Gordon, Dick Grayson, Jason Todd, and Tim Drake spend their time in The Belfry – a makeshift base of operations. Here they are free to annoy a grieving Alfred, set high scores on a fully-functioning Spy Hunter cabinet, field emails from members of the Teen Titans and The Justice League, and maintain message threads so that the group can freely debate the finer points of podcasting. 

By night, Batgirl, Nightwing, Red Hood, and Robin patrol a lifeless Gotham City. It's an expansive space with wide streets, few pedestrians to meet, and even fewer activities to complete. You'll see most of it from the Bat-Cycle, which pushes forward slowly against a sputtering framerate, and moves stiffly through street furniture that has no firm collision detection. Sluggishly grapple to a rooftop and you'll see neon lights pierce thick blankets of fog that obscure the horizon, and triangular icons which indicate that one of three core factions is completing one of 13 types of crime in your vicinity. 

You'll meet Mr. Freeze and Clayface, Harley Quinn and The Court of Owls in truly, terribly monotonous boss battles throughout your adventures in Gotham Knights, but you'll spend the vast majority of your time battling the punks (Freaks), the geeks (Regulators), and the jocks (Mobsters); archetypal John Hughes characters turned true scourge of Gotham. 

Other criminal entities enter the fray eventually, but that doesn't address the core dichotomy that's felt all throughout Gotham Knights. Civilians and street gangs never seem all that bothered by your presence, while the Gotham City Police Department and the most famous supervillains DC has to offer are keenly aware of your capabilities, and history in the city. It's both odd, and at odds with the way the story is framed – where four experienced heroes are battling against weathered villains and tortured events from their respective pasts.

If you can keep ahold of all the dangling lore threads, that is. There's an expectation of knowledge with the four main characters, and their relationships with any named NPCs. While Gotham Knights isn't totally aligned with the canon of the core DC Universe, it skirts it closely enough for comic book buffs to fill in some essential blanks; the rest of you should strap in and prepare for a bumpy, potentially confusing ride. This makes it difficult to really invest in the parallel narrative arcs, the characters that inhabit them, and the fates of anybody whom you come into contact with. Gotham Knights certainly has its moments, though its storytelling lacks refinement.

Lost in the dark

Speaking of Batman and the casting of long shadows, it's probably time that we talked about the Arkham games. Gotham Knights isn't a part of the Arkhamverse, but that doesn't stop it from grappling with familial comparisons throughout its runtime. That isn't necessarily because WB Games Montreal's last game was Batman: Arkham Origins, or even that this is another WBIE-published game set in Gotham. Rather it's that Batman: Arkham Knight set a high bar for melee-based action adventures in 2015, working tirelessly to establish that you are the World's Greatest Detective. Everything Arkham Knight did was in service of maintaining that central fantasy. It was powerful. 

But do you remember the famous story arc where Batgirl got murdered by a palette-swap street thug because he had a level 20 power rating, and Barbara mistakenly waded into battle with a level 10 Tonfa? No, neither do I, because it would make for a lousy end to a character who successfully rehabilitated from having her spinal cord severed by the Joker. And maybe I'm being needlessly facetious here, but I can't overstate how misplaced the customization and crafting systems are in Gotham Knights. They undermine the fantasy of stepping into the boots of an experienced hero in an established world. 

Marvel's Avengers had a similar problem, and Gotham Knights idly repeats many of the same mistakes with respect to character development and progression. Gotham Knights is constantly rewarding you with crafting resources for a job well done, but once you settle on a favorite of the four characters, you're best off blindly pouring materials into whatever suit or signature weapon has the higher available power level. While it is possible to better complement your crafted equipment with minor modifications, as well as unlocked passive and active abilities, personalization is wholly unnecessary and utterly unsatisfying. Particularly as menu navigation and keeping track of your limited inventory space is a chore.

The larger issue at play is that there's very little discernible difference between the four heroes. Basic movesets don't evolve so much as they become incrementally less minimalistic. The heroes fight and control largely the same, while small differentials in agility and weapon sets have little material impact on the cadence of play. There's a simple string of attacks that build to a repeating combo, a dodge that can double as a counter, and a small suite of unlockable abilities tied to a momentum meter which are both forgettable and hidden beneath a messy user interface. It isn't that Gotham Knights handles poorly in combat – quite to the contrary, it's well animated and perfectly serviceable in short bursts – but you will have a sense of the system's limitations just hours in, and it barely grows to meet even those modest boundaries over time. 

Gotham Knights has no defining characteristic to help set it apart from the character-action games that have come before it. It lacks the high-energy of Marvel's Spider-Man, the pleasingly simple counter-combat that drove Middle-Earth: Shadow of War, and the syncopated rhythm and fluidity that made the Batman: Arkham series legendary. Instead, you're largely pushed to engage enemies one at a time as queues form off-screen – obscured behind a camera that clings too closely to your chosen hero, and struggles to appropriately track motion – for their turn to be button-bashed into Gotham General Hospital's ICU. 

The inability to truly control crowds – even if you do invest in something like Robin's decoy, or Batgirl's attack drone – is not only inauthentic to the characters as we know them from existing stories, but especially strange for an experience that delights in funneling large groups of enemies into claustrophobic corridors and clearly delineated combat arenas. I never felt as if I had the option to fully control a space or take command of a situation, and I longed for the option to more playfully rip through mobs and make better use of environments. 

Some mysteries can't be solved

There's a tension at the heart of Gotham Knights' design. That's palpable from the completion of its first story mission through to the umpteenth time you turn in a repeatable quest to The Penguin, receiving some unidentifiable crafting resources in return. The level-gating placed in front of the scripted, more entertaining missions forces you to patrol the open world in search of XP, but with so little to do or see outside the main case and its supporting stories, I rarely felt an impulse to spend time in such an artificial, infrequently beautiful rendering of Gotham – time trials and batarang-hunting be damned. 

There's a compelling game in Gotham Knights, but it's hidden away behind a messy UX, needless crafting and customization systems, and combat mechanics that have been stretched paper thin to accommodate four heroes. I do believe that WB Games Montreal is capable of greatness, but this isn't the game that Gotham deserves after the death of Bruce Wayne, and it's not the one it needs right now following Rocksteady's retreat to Metropolis for Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League. 

Gotham Knights was reviewed on PS5, with code provided by the publisher.

Kevin Smith did not hold back about his thoughts on the Batgirl cancelation. The filmmaker, actor, and comic book writer called out Warner Bros. Discovery for pulling the movie while it was in post-production.

"It’s an incredibly bad look to cancel the Latina Batgirl movie," Smith said on his Hollywood Babble-On YouTube show, referencing the fact Leslie Grace, a Latina actor, was due to lead the movie as Barbara Gordon.

"I don’t give a shit if the movie was absolute fucking dogshit – I guarantee you that it wasn’t. The two directors [Bilall Fallah and Adil El Arbi] who directed that movie did a couple of episodes of Ms. Marvel, and it was a wonderful fucking show and they had more money to do Batgirl than they had to do an episode of Ms. Marvel and stuff."

Batgirl had already finished filming on a $90million shoot when Warner Bros. Discovery confirmed it would not be releasing it on HBO Max or in theaters. The movie was scrapped along with the animated movie Scoob: Holiday Haunt in what was believed to be a cost-cutting move. However, CEO David Zaslav said it was because the movie was "not ready" for release.

Batgirl’s lead Grace issued a statement over the cancellation, expressing how she was "proud of the love, hard work and intention all of our incredible cast and tireless crew put into this film". She also shared a series of behind-the-scenes snaps from the movie's shoot on Instagram.

In one, she’s seen getting into costume as Gordon while singing Whitney Houston, while another features her looking battered and bruised in stage make-up as Batgirl. You can see these in the post above.

Director Adil El Arbi also recently shared an exclusive image of the scrapped film. In the shot shared on social media, Grace’s Batgirl and Michael Keaton’s Batman are pictured in full costume on the gloomy-looking streets of Gotham.

While Batgirl has been canceled, there are plenty of other confirmed new superhero movies on the way.

More details on Batgirl’s test screening have been revealed thanks to a new report – and it potentially shoots down any lingering idea that Warner Bros. Discovery’s decision to scrap the DC movie was down to quality control.

"A very early version" of Batgirl, with temporary effects and score, was screened to audiences according to The Hollywood Reporter. The solitary screening received an audience score in the low 60s. By comparison, both It and Shazam both gained scores in the 60s during test screenings, which did little to harm their box office success. According to sources close to the industry trade, Batgirl "would recoup more of its budget as a tax write-down than as a theatrical or HBO Max release" – which may have contributed to its cancelation.

Warner Bros. Discovery released its own statement, pointing towards a “strategic shift” being behind the move to can Batgirl.

"The decision to not release Batgirl reflects our leadership's strategic shift as it relates to the DC universe and HBO Max," reads the statement, per Deadline. "Leslie Grace is an incredibly talented actor and this decision is not a reflection of her performance. We are incredibly grateful to the filmmakers of Batgirl and Scoob! Holiday Haunt and their respective casts and we hope to collaborate with everyone again in the near future."

The fallout from the Batgirl cancelation has continued in recent days. DC fans have reacted to the "ridiculous" decision to scrap the nearly finished movie, while directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah were "saddened and shocked" by the news.

With the DC landscape changing rapidly, keep up to speed with the upcoming schedule in our guide to new superhero movies.

Warner Bros. has quietly pulled six streaming-exclusive films from HBO Max – in what Variety believes is an effort to cut costs.

During the month of July, six Max Originals disappeared from the streaming service: the Cole Sprouse and Lana Condor sci-fi romantic comedy Moonshot; Doug Liman's 2021 romantic comedy heist Locked Down starring Anne Hathaway and Chiwetel Ejiofor; the 2020 Melissa McCarthy-led comedy Superintelligence; Charm City Kings; the Seth Rogen comedy An American Pickle; and the 2020 Robert Zemeckis remake of The Witches.

The discovery comes just hours after Warner Bros. made the decision to scrap Batgirl, despite the film being completed, in post-production, and slated for an HBO Max debut. The decision has left many DC fans heartbroken. The LeBron James reboot of House Party was also pulled from the release calendar, as well as the animated Scoob sequel Scooby Doo's Holiday Haunt. All eight Harry Potter films are also being removed from the streaming platform, though they can still be streamed in the US on Peacock. The reason for the cancellations of the unreleased films has been posed as a possible tax write-down.

HBO Max streaming exclusives such as Kimi, The Fallout, No Sudden Move, Unpregnant, Let Them All Talk, 8-Bit Christmas, and the 2022 remake of Father of the Bride have not been removed. Viewers are expecting even more news to come out as part of Warner Bros. Discovery quarterly report on Thursday, August 4 – with some theorizing that HBO Max will merge with Discovery Plus as part of Discovery's previous merger with Warner Bros.

For more, check out our list of the most exciting upcoming movies in 2022 and beyond.

Warner Bros. has issued an official statement on the cancelation of Batgirl, which has been scrapped despite having already completed filming. The DCEU movie was set to star In the Heights actor Leslie Grace as the titular hero, with Michael Keaton reprising his Batman role. Batgirl wasn't the only film on the chopping block, either, with Scoob! Holiday Haunt also canceled entirely. 

"The decision to not release Batgirl reflects our leadership's strategic shift as it relates to the DC universe and HBO Max," reads the statement, per Deadline. "Leslie Grace is an incredibly talented actor and this decision is not a reflection of her performance. We are incredibly grateful to the filmmakers of Batgirl and Scoob! Holiday Haunt and their respective casts and we hope to collaborate with everyone again in the near future."

According to Deadline's report, the cancelation comes down to a rejection of former WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar's strategy, which prioritized streaming and HBO Max. The publication notes that other movies aren't expected to be scrapped, because Batgirl and Scoob! are said to have been canceled partly due to a "purchase accounting" opportunity that expires this month. 

Deadline adds that Batgirl was set to introduce characters that Warner Bros. wanted to keep for DC's theatrical releases The Flash and Aquaman 2, and the film wasn't conceived as competitive big-screen blockbuster, having been commissioned for HBO Max. Instead of spending more for a theatrical release, Warner Bros. felt it made more sense to pull the plug.

Another trade website, Variety, adds that the cancelations of Batgirl and Scoob were both partly down to a tax write-down. "Several sources say it will almost certainly take a tax write-down on both films, seen internally as the most financially sound way to recoup the costs," the publication states. 

Essentially, because both movies were commissioned before Warner Bros. merged with Discovery, the newly formed company Warner Bros. Discovery can receive tax benefits if it doesn't use materials from pre-merger for profit. The company had until mid-August to make a decision on the write-downs, hence why the decision was made briskly. In other words, a lot of this came down to money rather than talent, as Warner is reportedly looking to work with the directors and leading actors again.

Brendan Fraser was set to appear in Batgirl as the villain Firefly, while J.K. Simmons was also back as Jim Gordon. 

The next DC project to hit the big screen is Black Adam, which arrives this October 21. In the meantime, check out our guide to all the upcoming superhero movies flying your way through 2022 and beyond. 

Warner Bros. looks set to double down on Harry Potter content, with reports emerging that the studio's new boss is looking to meet with author JK Rowling to discuss the franchise's future.

According to the Wall Street Journal, David Zaslav – who stepped in as Warner Bros. CEO following the merger between AT&T and Discovery – is looking to arrange the meeting. Warner Bros. has overseen the cinematic adaptations of the original Harry Potter book series, as well as its spin-off Fantastic Beasts movies. 

Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore marks the latest installment in the Wizarding World, the movie grossing $379 million worldwide so far – the lowest of the trilogy so far, coming behind The Crimes of Grindelwald ($648 million) and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them ($811 million). Fantastic Beasts was initially billed as five films, but there’s been no confirmation yet if the series will be coming back for a fourth film.

It will be interesting to see if Warner Bros. decides to take the Harry Potter franchise in a new direction. Rowling has said she is not planning to write any more Harry Potter books. However, there have been reports that Harry Potter could make a comeback on the small screen. This comes after reports that HBO Max is considering developing a live-action television series based in the magical world. 

There’s also the sequel play Harry Potter and The Cursed Child, written by Jack Thorne along with Rowling and John Tiffany. While there’s been no indication that this could be adapted for the screen yet, it remains a possibility.

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Why was Johnny Depp replaced by Mads Mikkelsen as Gellert Grindelwald in Fantastic Beasts 3, AKA Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore? If you're a casual movie-goer who does not pay too much attention to the scandals around your favorite cinematic adventures, then that's a fair question. Depp played the villain in two previous Fantastic Beasts movies, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindlewald. However, with the third, the Pirates of the Caribbean actor is no longer a part of the franchise, and the split was not an amicable one.

Back in 2020, The Hollywood Reporter published a piece revealing that Depp had been filming the third installment in the Harry Potter prequel series when a decision was made by Warner Bros. chairman Toby Emmerich to remove the actor from the project. The move followed a court ruled that the British tabloid The Sun won a legal battle against Depp after the newspaper labeled him a "wife-beater". 

"The judge’s ruling makes it a lot easier for news outlets to use similar depictions when referring to Depp’s stormy two-year marriage to actress Amber Heard, creating a PR headache for the studio," the report reads.

The studio had allegedly wanted to see the outcome of the court case before making a decision to recast Depp. Following the verdict, Depp released a statement, reading: "I wish to let you know that I have been asked to resign by Warner Bros from my role as Grindelwald in Fantastic Beasts and I have respected and agreed to that request."

Though Depp had only filmed one scene for Fantastic Beasts 3, the studio allegedly had to pay out an "eight-figure salary" to the actor, due to his so-called pay-or-play contract. Jude Law, who plays a young Albus Dumbledore in the series, later confirmed that Depp had filmed scenes, saying: “It was unusual for me because, in fact, on this particular role, Johnny had actually only done a day’s filming, I think, on his own.”

Fantastic Beasts fans began petitioning for Colin Farrell to return as Grindelwald, having played the character (in disguise) in the first Fantastic Beasts. However, it was later confirmed that Farrell’s work playing Oswald ‘Penguin’ Cobblepot on The Batman meant a return was not possible. Then, the first reports emerged that Mads Mikkelsen was in discussions to play the character

Mikkelsen was soon officially cast in the role, and told Total Film that making Fantastic Beasts 3 "was a lovely experience." He also compared taking over as Grindelwald from Depp to re-interpreting Hannibal following Anthony Hopkins' iconic portrayal of the character in Silence of the Lambs.

"We have done a few bridges that will allow us to recognize [Grindelwald], but we’ve also said we have to make it our own," he said. "I have been a fan of Johnny Depp since I saw him as a young man, and to try to bring his intensity and his way of doing it into my work is a no-go. I have to find my own, because his is unique, and I just have to let that be, and find a different path."

The Total Film review later stated that "Mads Mikkelsen brings a chilling, understated ruthlessness (and a hint of Hannibal) to Grindelwald, becoming the perfect successor to Johnny Depp’s white-haired whisperer," while critics generally praised Mikkelsen's version of the antagonist.

For more, check out our explainer on all the biggest questions left over from the Fantastic Beasts 3 ending, and here's our guide to when Fantastic Beasts 3 is on HBO Max.

Having earned rave reviews when it previewed last month, there's a fair bit of hype surrounding Harry Potter and the Cursed Child right now. J.K. Rowling had previously been quoted as saying that the play would not make the jump to the big screen, but it seems like there's a chance that the eighth chapter of the Harry Potter saga could be seen in cinemas after all.

Intellectual property solicitor Brian Conroy has noticed that Warner Bros. - the studio responsible for the eight Harry Potter movies in addition to the upcoming Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them trilogy - filed the trademark for the movie rights earlier this month. Seeing as WB wouldn't be able to do that without having the rights to it, it's likely that the studio has already come to some sort of agreement with Rowling. 

If this does come to pass, we probably won't see Harry and co back on the silver screen until after the Fantastic Beasts franchise concludes in 2020, which would be nine years after Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2. I'd be curious to see whether the actors from the previous films would come back; Daniel Radcliffe recently stated that his return is dependent on the script, so we'll put this one down under 'maybe'. 

Starring Jamie Parker, Paul Thornley, and Noma Dumezweni, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child opens on July 30, 2016 at the Palace Theatre in London.

Late last week we were treated to a new Batman v Superman TV spot that showed the Batmobile coming off a little worse for wear after colliding with the Man of Steel. Thanks to a new clip debuted by director Zack Snyder on Conan last night, we now know what happens in the immediate aftermath. Check it out below...

This was a very smart clip to unveil; the focus is back where it should have been all along - on the conflict between Batman and Superman - and having seen parts of this scene before in trailers, the new footage adds context instead of revealing something completely unseen. You're learning, Warner Bros. marketing!

The scene itself is an extended version of the "Do you bleed?" encounter, which features Kal-El giving the Dark Knight a stern warning to cease and desist any and all vigilante activity. Something tells us Batman won't be so easily shut down...

Directed by Zack Snyder and starring Henry Cavill, Ben Affleck, Diane Lane, Gal Gadot, Jesse Eisenberg, Jeremy Irons, Laurence Fishburne and Amy Adams, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice will arrive in UK and US cinemas on March 25, 2016.

Images: Warner Bros

The marketing for Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice has kicked up a notch in the past few days, but Warner Bros. isn't forgetting about its other 2016 superhero flick Suicide Squad. In addition to a brand new image of the gang in action (see above), director David Ayer has been talking with USA Today about what makes his film unique from others in the genre.

"We all need good guys and everything — yay, good guys — but at the end of the day, they’re kinda boring. They’re always going to do the right thing. When you’re dealing with the baddies, it’s easy to get ahead of the audience and invert expectations."

With Ben Affleck's Batman confirmed to make a cameo, we do know that Suicide Squad will feature at least one good guy. "We made him fight," Ayer says. "He's awesome (as Batman)... you really sense that but for the grace of God he himself would be doing some really foul stuff out in the world".

For his part, Affleck remarked that being in Suicide Squad is like having a "cool cousin" and spoke about how his version of the Dark Knight differs from his predecessors. "He's a guy who had been through that experience already for many years and was kind of burnt out and asking himself what the point of it all was and going through an existential crisis." Affleck continues: "Batman is covered up by a suit and sometimes a car and sometimes a lot of vehicles and weapons, whereas Bruce Wayne is much more naked — it’s just you and a suit of clothes."

We may yet get another snippet of Batfleck in action when the second trailer for Suicide Squad is released later this month.

Directed by David Ayer and starring Will Smith, Margot Robbie, Jared Leto, Jai Courtney, and Joel Kinnaman, Suicide Squad will open in the UK and US on August 5, 2016.

Images: Warner Bros.

There are some comic book films coming out next year, which share similarities with one another, and there are others that promise to be unlike anything we've seen before. Suicide Squad is most definitely in the latter category, and Warner Bros has unveiled a brand new (slightly disturbing) synopsis for the highly anticipated film.

Check it out below...

It feels good to be bad… Assemble a team of the world’s most dangerous, incarcerated Super Villains, provide them with the most powerful arsenal at the government’s disposal, and send them off on a mission to defeat an enigmatic, insuperable entity. U.S. intelligence officer Amanda Waller has determined only a secretly convened group of disparate, despicable individuals with next to nothing to lose will do. However, once they realize they weren’t picked to succeed but chosen for their patent culpability when they inevitably fail, will the Suicide Squad resolve to die trying, or decide it’s every man for himself?

The interesting tidbit to speculate on here is who the "enigmatic, insuperable entity" could be. The Joker definitely fits the description, but there are other rumours which suggest that Cara Delevigne's Enchantress could be the baddie the Suicide Squad have been sent to hunt. There's a good chance that information will be revealed when the second trailer hits next year.

Directed by David Ayer and starring Will Smith, Jared Leto, Margot Robbie, Cara Delevingne, Joel Kinnaman, Viola Davis, and Jai Courtney, Suicide Squad will open in UK and US cinemas on August 5, 2016.

Images: Warner Bros