The first trailer for X-Men '97 season 2 has arrived...

In the brief clip, which can be viewed above, we hear Apocalypse declare that he's about to "usher in a new era forged in iron and blood." We hear another voice say, "The ones you care for will be your undoing," to which Xavier replies, "They are how we survive." We also see Polaris, who is Magneto's biological mutant daughter in the comics, get a quick butt-kicking moment of her own (which is interesting given that the only other time we've seen her was in the forgotten Hulu-Marvel live-action show The Gifted).

Perhaps the most interesting thing, however, is the release schedule that includes the full list of episode titles... which give away some plot details. Episode 5, 'Weapon X, Lies, and DVDS,' will likely center on Wolverine (who all but died in season 1). Episode 6, 'Danger,' will likely be about Danger, who is the sentient, physical manifestation of the X-Men's training simulator built by Xavier. It could be a long shot, but it looks to me like episode 8, titled, 'The Dead Man's Hand,' will be about Gambit. In the post-credits scene of the season 1 finale, we see Apocalypse pick up one of Gambit's playing cards. One of the popular fan theories at the time was that Gambit would be resurrected as one of Apocalypse's Four Horsemen (which happens in the comics), but only time will tell.

Per the official synopsis, Season 2 "continues with the heroic mutant team of X-Men, divided and thrown across different eras in time as they struggle to navigate their return home. Meanwhile, back in the 1990s, suspicious foes and new strains of mutant intolerance are on the rise in the wake of the X-Men’s absence."

X-Men '97 season 2 is set to hit Disney Plus on July 1, with the first three episodes in tow. For more, check out our guide to all the upcoming Marvel movies and shows for everything else that's on the way.

The first look at Aardman's upcoming Pokemon animated series is here.

At the Annecy Animation Film Festival over the weekend, Aardman chief creative director Sarah Cox and The Pokemon Company's director of original animation Phil Rynda took the stage and revealed the first real look at Pokemon Tales: The Misadventures of Sirfetch’d & Pichu. The poster, which has since been posted on Twitter, gives us our first look at Sirfetch’d and Pichu. Check out the image below.

Despite Aardman teasing the show in 2025, this is the first time we have seen the characters in full. As reported by Variety, the duo also gave audience members a sneak peek at the show's first episode and a closer look at how Aardman brought Sirfetch’d and Pichu to life using claymation and cutting-edge special effects. The series, which is still in development, is expected to be released sometime in 2027.

"This project gives us a unique opportunity to tell stories from the point of view of Pokemon, made possible by Aardman’s extraordinary craft," said Rynda. Cox added, "Director Tom Parkinson and his team have created a hand-crafted spin on the wonderful Pokémon we all know and love, with comedic storytelling that celebrates the quirks, eccentricities, and charms of our heroes as they explore Galar on a delightfully offbeat Quest."

However, the most interesting detail is that the series will be set in Pokémon’s Galar region, which shares many similarities with the UK, where Aardman is based. The panel also revealed that the Pokémon show will adapt the same British sense of humor as Aardman's other works, such as Wallace and Gromit and Chicken Run, with Gromit's 'signature move' even incorporated.

From the official synopsis, it sounds as though the series will take a page from The Lord of the Rings, as both Sirfetch’d and Pichu are notably small Pokémon, but they are mighty. The synopsis reads, "Our heroes embark on a gallant quest to help and protect Pokémon across the region. Their missions rarely go as planned, but their noble deeds forge their friendship as they step bravely into the unknown. Peril, alliances, rivalries, extraordinary Pokémon, and endless laughs await them."

For more, check out our guide on how to watch Pokémon movies and shows in order, and keep up with new anime shows heading your way.

Back in 2003, FOX aired the first season of Arrested Development, featuring Will Arnett as Gob Bluth, a member of The Alliance of Magicians. While Gob was relatively normal (looking, at least), the rest were dressed like absolute freaks, which contrasted wildly with their slogan: "We Demand To Be Taken Seriously." It's a motto that, without irony, often spills out into superhero fandom, and has played out with fans of DC's Snyder-verse, which took a dead serious, mythological approach to the comic book heroes.

Shockingly, while many likely expected James Gunn's rebooted DCU to go in the other direction, with rare exceptions it's been more extreme, more violent, and far more sexual than the previous iteration, catering to an aging fanbase that craves what they perceive to be the trappings of adulthood while grasping desperately at the last vestiges of their childhood. The antidote to this disparity between source material and fan desires? My Adventures With Superman, which returns for its third season on Adult Swim and HBO Max, and shows exactly what all of James Gunn's DCU should be; yet decidedly is not.

First airing in 2023, My Adventures With Superman stars Jack Quaid as Clark Kent/Superman, initially introduced as an intern at the Daily Planet. Along with fellow interns Lois Lane (Alice Lee) and Jimmy Olsen (Ishmel Sahid), the Shonen anime-inspired series rebuilds the Superman mythos from the ground up (where else can you find Chris Parnell as a dangerously sexy Deathstroke?), expertly mixing heart and humor with big action sequences, reinvented villains and origins, and even new powers for Superman that draw heavily from Eastern comics and animation instead of Western. The result is something that feels fresh, new, and decidedly modern, while not ignoring the core of what has made Superman one of the most popular and recognizable characters in the world since 1938.

It's on, like Krypton

To loop this back to the Alliance of Magicians, there's a reason this show airs at Midnight during Adult Swim's Toonami block… It doesn't take itself seriously, featuring wall-to-wall jokes ranging from recurring audio cues (every time Jimmy says the name of his startup news app Flamebird, a bird cry is heard in the distance) alongside deeply felt twists and epic action beats as Clark discovers his darker-than-in-the-comics origins. My Adventures With Superman knows how to be both silly and earnest, often in the same scene; and the whiplash of tones works because of how well modulated the scripts are, and how razor-focused they are on the main trio of characters – now a quartet in season 3, thanks to the addition of Kara Zor-El (Kiana Madeira).

Contrast that with Superman on the big screen from James Gunn, a hyperkinetic ode to Silver Age comics that has its charms, but also features oddly modulated commentary on the modern world alongside superheroes gleefully murdering people. Or to talk about an upcoming release, how about the My Adventures With Superman version of Supergirl, who spent most of her life brainwashed and corrupted by Brainiac (Michael Emerson) and now spends season 4 obsessed with hot dogs and dating, singing and dancing, and still brings a mean punch. Meanwhile, the big screen version of Supergirl played by Milly Alcock is a drunken mess who – spoilers for the book by Tom King and Bilquis Evely – goes on a mission of revenge after Krypto the Superdog gets shot with a poisoned arrow and seems likely to die. Hot dogs or dead dogs… Which would you rather watch?

In fact, to dig deeper into Gunn's DCU, most of it is for the "We Demand To Be Taken Seriously" fans to the exclusion of nearly anyone else. The Suicide Squad featured sex scenes, profanity, and massive amounts of violence. Creature Commandos highlighted nude, animated monster sex. This fall brings Clayface, a likely R-rated body horror movie. Lanterns is on HBO, and while we don't know the exact content yet, it is intended to be True Detective with superheroes; i.e. dark, twisted, and potentially also full of nudity and sex. And Peacemaker? Full frontal nudity and orgies, alongside wall-to-wall profanity and graphic violence.

Blue world order

None of this is an aspersion on the quality of Gunn's productions – and for a point of clarity, My Adventures With Superman is also produced by Gunn's DC Studios, so it's not like he's in a battle for control of the future of DC superheroes with a rogue animated series or anything. But the carefully curated nature of the DCU that has Gunn not producing any scripts before they're 100% done, while laudable, has front-loaded the rebooted franchise with fare almost exclusively appropriate for adults that does not open the door for new fans, or those who are superhero-curious. Superman came the closest, but any DCU follow-ups – with Supergirl potentially included – aren't appealing to the same crowd.

My Adventures With Superman, technically classified as an "Elseworlds," so not connected in any way to the live-action shows and films (or Creature Commandos and the upcoming, also likely extremely adult, based on the source material Mister Miracle), lays out the welcome mat that the DCU eschews. It feels exceedingly dumb to say, "hey did you know anime is popular," but it is, and taking the characters of Superman and his amazing pals to where the non-aging audience lives means these stories can continue for another generation, and perhaps more.

Add in the upcoming My Adventures With Green Lantern spinoff – another direct contrast with the blunt instrument of Nathan Fillion's bowl-cut Guy Gardner, and the adult shenanigans of Hal Jordan (Kyle Chandler) and John Stewart (Aaron Pierre) on Lanterns – and you have a path forward that Gunn should have taken, but instead he walked backwards.

It's not too late, though, for Gunn to look at the approach My Adventures With Superman has pioneered and adapt that for the big and small screen of the DCU. And all it would take is for Gunn to embrace another Gob Bluth catchphrase: "I've made a huge mistake."

My Adventures with Superman season 3 is streaming now on HBO Max. For more, here's everything still to come in DCU: Chapter One, or here's our rundown of the best anime to watch in 2026.

Move aside The Last of Us and Fallout, there's a new video game TV adaptation in town based on the highly popular online multiplayer Among Us. However, the creator of the new series says you don't have to have played the game to enjoy the new project.

"I think anyone who played the game is going to love it. I also think that anyone who wants to watch an animated TV show, or a mystery, or comedy, it works outside of just being a game adaptation," says Owen Dennis to GamesRadar+. "I don't want to make things that are just an adaptation of something else. I want to be able to stand on its own merits, so this does stand on its own merits. This is its own thing."

In fact, voice actors Kimiko Glenn, who plays crystal-loving Cyan, Randall Park, who plays the captain Red, Yvette Brown, who voices HR manager Orange, and Elijah Wood, who voices intern Green, have never actually played the game before. "I think anyone who starts watching is going to have a hard time stopping, just because it's so smart and so funny," said Glenn, and Park added, "If you're a fan of sci-fi, if you're a fan of mystery and suspense and horror, even, this show touches on all of that."

However, there are hidden Easter eggs for fans, and some are more obvious than others, such as crewmates calling meetings and how using vents automatically makes you susocious – we won't spoil the rest for you here. But Dennis says he never wanted to "shoehorn in Easter eggs if they don't work for the story," and that everything included "has a reason for existing, besides just it was in the game." This is so "someone who has never watched the game won't need backstory, and won't need to go do homework to learn to understand what's happening."

Among Us is a murder mystery deduction game, where players suit up as little colour-coded astronauts who must complete tasks to keep the spacecraft running. However, amongst the crewmates, there is an imposter or two who sabotage tasks and pick players off one by one. The TV show follows a similar premise, but due to the mini game not having much of a storyline compared to heavily scripted games, Dennis had the liberty of creating the drama. Dennis, known for his other animated series The Regular Show, took inspiration from sci-fi classics like The Thing and Alien, which share similarities with the game itself.

Because of the nature of the game, Dennis sees the possibility of making more seasons. "I know roughly how I would want to carry it on. I would try to take further inspiration from the fact that every time you play the game, it's a little bit different," said the creator. "I would want to take further inspiration from that idea, and that's, I think, about as far as I can say."

Among Us is out now on Paramount Plus. See our Among Us review for our verdict. For more, check out our guide to the best shows on Paramount Plus, and keep up with upcoming video game movies.

The creator of the new video game adaptation Among Us, which just shadow-dropped at Summer Games Fest, says he took on the animated series because of his love of the sci-fi genre, as the game reminded him of John Carpenter's The Thing.

"I like murder mysteries. Love them. Every time you play the game, it's a murder mystery, and so I like murder mysteries," says Owen Dennis in an exclusive interview with GamesRadar+. "I like The Thing, I like Alien. Like, it's basically everything that I like wrapped up into a game, so like I'm into it."

When you break the video game down, it really does mimic Carpenter's 1982 classic. Just swap out the isolated research centre for a space setting like Ridley Scott's Alien. Set on a ship travelling through the galaxy, Among Us follows a group of little astronauts delivering ore to a neighbouring planet. Before players enter the game, they are given the role of either crewmate or imposter. Crewmates must complete tasks to keep the ship running, while the Impostors try to kill all crewmates.

Much like The Thing, Among Us forces players to question one another. It is easy to forget what you are playing the game, but the Imposter isn't just a frantic serial killer; it has been possessed by a man-eating shape-shifting alien. The TV show follows a similar premise to the game, seeing a bunch of paranoid crewmates being picked off one by one. However, the show leans further into the alien theme, delivering a more exaggerated creature and a whole stack of gruesome deaths. Dennis says this is his way of "furthering the genre in some way."

Dennis' love for sci-fi also helped him translate the mini-game to screen, as unlike many other video game adaptations like The Last of Us, Until Dawn, and Fallout, Among Us doesn't really have a clear storyline. "So you take inspiration from what the game was taking inspiration from, like Alien and The Thing and Star Trek," explains Dennis, "And you start going 'Oh, where are some of the things that are similar across those?' Like every ship has a captain, every ship has a security person… and you sort of start building around that, and that's where we started."

Among Us has a stacked crew, led by Captain Red (Randall Park), alongside HR manager Orange (Yvette Nicole Brown), eccentric researcher Cyan (Kimiko Glenn), geologist Black (Liv Hewson), head of security Purple (Ashley Johnson), maintenance guy Lime (Wayne Knight), cooks Brown and Yellow (Phil LaMarr ad Debra Wilson), onboard doctor Blue (Dan Stevens) and interns Green and White (Elijah Wood and Patton Oswalt).

Among Us is out now on Paramount Plus. See our Among Us review for our verdict. For more, check out our guide to the best shows on Paramount Plus, and keep up with upcoming video game movies.

As announced on June 5 at Summer Games Fest, new video game adaptation Among Us has suddenly dropped on Paramount Plus. Although we knew the show was in the works, there has been no real run-up to the animated series, meaning you may be a little confused as to what it is about and who is part of the project. Well, worry no more, as we break down who is voicing who in the Among Us TV show.

Based on the hit online multiplayer game of the same name, Among Us follows a group of little astronauts travelling in a spacecraft delivering ore to a neighbouring planet. However, the trip across space soon turns into a fight for survival when a shapeshifting alien masking as one of the astronauts starts to pick off crewmates one by one. The crew is made up of many little colour-coded characters who have their own set of tasks they must complete in order to keep the ship running, which is also how the game works.

However, with so many characters to keep track of, we have created a handy Among Us character guide to break down which characters are responsible for what tasks, how they relate to the game, and which Hollywood star is voicing who. For more, check out our Among Us review for our verdict, and our interview with creator Owen Dennis on what attracted him to the project.

Orange

Orange, played by Community star Yvette Nicole Brown, is probably the voice you'll hear the most, as they are the onboard HR manager keeping tabs on the crewmates and making sure they are following the company's strict code of conduct. Orange doesn't really have a task from the game, but their role in the show is to explain how the game works for viewers at home who may not be familiar with Among Us. The Among Us corporation, MIRA, is basically like the Weyland-Yutani group in Alien. MIRA has just one objective: deliver as much ore to the neighboring planet as possible.

Red

Red is the ship's captain, and much like in the game, he doesn't really do much. In the Among Us multiplayer, the task that takes place in the ship's cockpit requires players to sit in the captain's chair and 'clear asteroids,' i.e., click on the screen a few times. This lackluster task is reflected in Red, who acts as though he knows what he is doing, when in fact, all he does is play video games in the cockpit while the crewmates keep the ship running. Red is voiced by Randall Park, who you may know from The Interview, The Office and as WandaVision character Jimmy Woo.

Green

Green, voiced by Lord of the Rings star Elijah Wood, is the company's super enthusiastic, unpaid intern. As he loves to talk about, all the time, Green grew up on a worm farm, but his rural community gathered all of their beans and sent him off to MIRA, where he could live out his dream of becoming an astronaut. In an interview with GamesRadar+, Wood said that even if he could go back and choose to play a different character, he would still want to voice Green. "I like green. He's got moxie," said the star. "He's really wet behind the ears, and I kind of like that."

Cyan and Black

Cyan, voiced by Orange is the New Black star Kimiko Glenn, is the ultra-spiritual, crystal-loving gemologist (which Black will tell you is not the same as a geologist). Black, on the other hand, is a geologist and is the polar opposite of Cyan, with a rather morbid outlook on life. Black is voiced by Yellowjackets' Liv Hewson. Together, they spend most of their time in the Storage room, where the ore is kept. In the game, players in this room complete the task of fueling the engines. But it seems as though Cyan and Black just count the rocks and examine them, instead.

Purple

Purple, voiced by Ashley Johnson is the ship's security guard, and spends most of their time sitting in front of a pile of screens checking security cameras. Among Us fans will know this is a very important task, and can quickly weed out Imposters. If the person completing the security task sees you in the Medical Bay, for example, and then a dead boy shows up there, you could be at risk of being accused and sent off of the ship.

Yellow and Brown

Both Yellow and Brown are the ship's cooks. They spend most of their time making pizza, and the other portion challenging Orange over workers rights. Those who have played the game know that the cafeteria plays a huge role. It is the hub of the ship and where players meet whenever a meeting is called to discuss who the Imposter could be. Yellow is voiced by Debra Wilson, who also provides the voice for the ship's computer, and Brown is voiced by Phil LaMarr.

Lime

Lime is the ship's engineer who prefers to spend his time hidden in the vents. In the game, players are often tasked with cleaning the vents, and engineers are able to use the vents whenever they please. However, this can land you in hot water, as Imposters can also travel through vents, meaning if you are an engineer, you may automatically become suspicious. It also doesn't help that Lime, voiced by Jurassic Park and Five Nights at Freddy's 2 star Wayne Knight, is super eccentric and often does things that would raise an eyebrow.

Blue

The Among Us TV show doesn't hold back in suggesting that Blue is the series' dreamboat, even though he is still just a little astronaut like everyone else. Seemingly based on Patrick Dempsey's Greys Anatomy character Dr. Derek Shepherd, Blue has hit work cut out for him when bodies start to pile up. However, the doctor, voiced by Beauty and the Beast's Dan Stevens, has the task of scanning the other players, which is a real task from the game that helps prove who is innocent. However Imposters usually just pretend to be scanned.

White

White is the nonchalant super-rich dude who won a ride on the ship after his butler found him the wining token. So, he's kind of like Verruca Salt in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Like Green, White represents a new player, who is experiencing the world of Among Us for the very first time, and learning what tasks need to be be completed in order to keep the ship afloat. White is voiced by Ratatouille's Remy voice star Patton Oswalt.

Among Us is out now on Paramount Plus. For more, check out our guide to the best shows on Paramount Plus, and keep up with upcoming video game movies.

Surprise! As announced at Summer Game Fest, a new animated TV adaptation of Among Us has shadow-dropped on Paramount Plus, which seems strange in an industry currently obsessed with teasing the life out of every single project (just see the Spider-Man Brand: New Day 24-hour trailer event). However, creator Owen Dennis says shadow dropping the series makes sense, as it's just one more surprise the who-dunnit has up its sleeve.

"People like surprises," Dennis tells GamesRadar+. "The whole show is full of surprises. That's what we did. Make the show full of surprises, and then surprise people to get into the show in the first place. Make everything a surprise. Let's go!"

The news was revealed on June 5, live on stage at Summer Game Fest by voice stars Yvette Nicole Brown and Liv Hewson. Fans at the event were also treated to the first official trailer, which you can watch below.

Embracing the unexpected makes sense as the new show is based on the wildly successful video game of the same name, which revolves around a group of players trying to work out who the shapeshifting killers are amongst them (much like the classic parlor game Murder in the Dark). The game is set on a spacecraft where each crewmate has to complete tasks to keep the ship running. The catch is, before the game starts, an imposter or two is selected, and their job is to sabotage the tasks and pick off each crew member before they are spotted.

The show follows a very similar premise, constantly leaving the crewmates and viewers at home wondering just who the alien imposter could be. Alongside Brown as Orange and Hewson as Black, the cast also includes Kimiko Glenn as Cyan, Ashley Johnson as Purple, Wayne Knight as Lime, Phil LaMarr as Brown, Randall Park as Red, Dan Stevens as Blue, Debra Wilson as Yellow, Patton Oswalt as White, and Elijah Wood as Green.

Ahead of the announcement, we asked some of the voice cast what they thought of the series being shadow-dropped. Park, who plays the ship's captain, said, "I think it's kind of cool. It's kind of like a surprise album drop." Glenn, who plays the ultra-spiritual Cyan, adds, "People's attention spans are so limited these days. I feel like you see something and then the next day you forget about it, so it's like, why wait? Let's just drop it."

Not only has Paramount released the series the same day as the trailer, but all 10 episodes are available to stream at once, so fans won't have to wait weeks on end to find out who the imposter is. Brown feels as though this works with the murder mystery nature of the show. "There are cliffhangers in each episode, you want to immediately get to the next episode," says Brown, who plays HR manager Orange. "I love that we don't have to wait, that we can just binge it when it comes out."

Among Us is out now on Paramount Plus. See our Among Us review for our verdict. For more, check out our guide to the best shows on Paramount Plus, and keep up with upcoming video game movies.

After the Avatar: The Legend of Aang movie leak, another Avatar project might be in the sights of hackers.

That's according to the original leaker, known as ImStillDissin. In a new deep dive from The Hollywood Reporter, the leaker revealed that hackers are targeting Seven Havens, an upcoming animated series that is a sequel to The Legend of Korra.

"There are a substantial number of people who have access to internal stuff like this," said ImStillDissin. "There's more under the tip of the iceberg."

Back in April, ImStillDissin claimed to have been "accidentally emailed" the entire movie, though the new report says that wasn't the case (THR has the full breakdown, but the report says third-party screening company Vision Media is "investigating whether the leak can be traced back to security vulnerabilities in its platform").

Full, non-watermarked versions of the film soon leaked online via a separate user, and the movie even appeared in Letterboxd's "popular this week" list.

"I saw it's just a Paramount Plus thing, so I decided I'd troll a little bit," original leaker ImStillDissin said, noting they didn't plan on sharing the entire movie.

The film is indeed a streaming release, though one animator has argued against using the release strategy as a justification for engaging with leaks. "I don't like seeing people use Paramount's awful decision to remove the movie from theaters to justify leaking it," said Julia Schoel after the leak. "I totally understand folks not wanting to pay for/support Paramount Plus, but pirating the movie after its release would have at least been better than this. This is incredibly disrespectful to all of the hard work the artists put in."

The Legend of Aang: The Last Airbender will release on Paramount Plus this October 9. In the meantime, check out our guide to all the most exciting upcoming movies and upcoming shows.

Devil May Cry is back for a third – and final – season, and showrunner Adi Shankar had a lot to say about it.

"The success of Devil May Cry Season 1 and Season 2 has clarified something that most people suspected, some people feared, and a few trolls are still emotionally negotiating with: Adi Shankar is a generational talent," Shankar wrote on Twitter.

"I am a generational talent in the measurable sense. In the 'Adi Shankar can take a globally beloved video game franchise, metabolize twenty-plus years of iconography, preserve its soul, re-arrange its body, expand its audience, trigger its purists, convert its skeptics, and still make the algorithm bend the knee' sense.

"My Devil May Cry anime wiped the floor with AAA IP adaptations with millions of dollars in marketing. I am a ratings God …. Two seasons in a row," he continued.

"I set out to make American animation cool. I set out to expand the footprint of Devil May Cry by orders of magnitude so that there can be more of it. I set out to prove that video game adaptations do not have to be flavorless corporate sludge assembled in a content factory by emotionally vacant brand managers who secretly loathe the source material.

"Mission accomplished. For those of you who have been paying attention to the episode names, I have been showing you the structure the entire time. Season 3 was an inevitability.

"This was always Dante’s Divine Comedy with guns and a red coat Season 1 was Inferno. Season 2 was Purgatorio. Season 3 is Paradiso.

"These three seasons make up 'The Force Edge Saga'. Since inception 'The Force Edge Saga' was designed as a movie trilogy disguised as a television series.

"One last thing … '3' is not going to be a normal third 'season' of a TV show. With 'Season 3,' I am doing something very different. I am crafting a blueprint for how this game is won. See You all in 'Paradise,'" he concluded.

According to Netflix, Devil May Cry season 1 drew 21.7 million views in 2025, and season 2 has brought in 6.4 million views in two weeks. Just what to expect from season 3 isn't clear yet, but, judging by Shankar's comments, we can expect something seismic.

"I'm fortunate to be in a spot where I have so much control over the show [and] the destiny of the show," Shankar told us recently.

"There's an art by committee thing that has proliferated through Hollywood as a result of, really, the 'Marvel-ification' of movies, right? The art by committee thing has seeped its way into a lot of things IP, and also not IP," he added.

"I'm in a fortunate position where I'm not part of that. Netflix and Capcom [are] like, 'You have a vision, go execute your vision,'" he explained. "Which I think is pretty rare in today's day and age. But I come from the film world, and all the people who mentored me were all auteurs."

Devil May Cry season 3 doesn't yet have a release date. While you wait, check out our guide to all the upcoming video game adaptations worth getting excited about.

The first trailer for X-Men '97 season 2 has arrived... and we're ready for an intergalactic battle through time starring our favorite supergroup.

In the brief clip, which can be viewed above, we pick up right where season 1 left off with the X-Men scattered across space and time. Jean Grey and Cyclops are stuck in 3960 A.D., with Rogue, Nightcrawler, and Beast in Ancient Egypt circa 3000 B.C. Logan also appears to be alive and well, despite having had his adamantium skeleton ripped apart by Magneto in the season 1 finale. We met a young Apocalypse in the season 1 finale, but according to the trailer, it looks like present-day Apocalypse is ready to destroy the X-Men throughout every single timeline.

We also get two very cool Easter eggs: Morph shapeshifting into Deadpool (see below), and the final shot of the trailer paying homage to the cover of Wolverine Vol. 1.

Per the official synopsis, Season 2 "continues with the heroic mutant team of X-Men, divided and thrown across different eras in time as they struggle to navigate their return home. Meanwhile, back in the 1990s, suspicious foes and new strains of mutant intolerance are on the rise in the wake of the X-Men’s absence."

The returning voice cast includes Ross Marquand as Professor X, Matthew Waterson as Magneto, Ray Chase as Cyclops, Jennifer Hale as Jean Grey, Alison Sealy-Smith as Storm, Cal Dodd as Wolverine, Lenore Zann as Rogue, and George Buza as Beast.

X-Men '97 season 2 is set to hit Disney Plus on July 1, with nine episodes airing weekly. For more, check out our guide to all the upcoming Marvel movies and shows for everything else that's on the way.

Nicolas Cage says it was his idea to film new superhero series Spider-Noir in both color and monochrome in order to appeal to a wider audience.

"I'm all about the black and white. I designed my performance for black and white, and I'm glad I saw it that way," Cage said on the red carpet at the Spider-Noir premiere.

"It was actually one of my ideas to shoot it in color, because I am aware of teenagers, and I'm aware they don't have that much experience with black and white. So the dream is that they watch it in color, then they check it out in black and white and learn something and they go, 'Hey, I wanna see some of these movie references,' and then they just open a treasure trove of wealth of great American cinema."

Cage plays Ben Reilly, AKA The Spider, an older, alternate version of Spider-Man in '30s New York City. He's a jaded, down-on-his-luck private detective who reluctantly returns to being a superhero after a personal tragedy. Cage played an animated version of The Spider in Into the Spider-Verse, and he'll reprise the role in 2027's Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse.

In the show, the Cage's Spidey will come up against a rogues gallery that includes Jack Huston's Sandman, Brendan Gleeson's Silvermane, and Li Jun Li's Cat Hardy (AKA Black Cat).

Spider-Noir premieres on MGM Plus on May 25 before hitting Prime Video on May 27. In the meantime, check out our guide to the other best new TV shows on the way in 2026.

Rick and Morty is back on our screens with ten new episodes that are "all certified bangers" if the synopsis for season nine is to be believed. "No AI slop! Just Grade A organic slop, made by real humans with real human traits like back hair and cysts. Please watch, or we'll have neglected our families for nothing."

In recent years, some longtime fans might have questioned whether it was worth the animators "neglecting" their families for what felt like a significant downturn in quality. That's not to say Rick and Morty has ever been slop in the truly derogatory sense of the term, but there's certainly been a growing consensus that the glory days of the show are behind it.

Early seasons subverted expectations to such a high standard that it was only a matter of time until Rick and Morty was crushed under the weight of that pressure. How do you continue to surprise when viewers expect to be constantly surprised without losing the essence of the story and characters at hand?

But just when I thought I might have to pack it all up and move to a different dimension, one where Rick and Morty never wavered, the team at Adult Swim has begun to steer things in the right direction again.

About time

Now, don't get me wrong. Season nine doesn't have a "certified banger" that's up there with classic episodes like "Total Rickall" or "Rick Potion #9". There's not even a "Pickle Rick," really. Yet season nine is still far more consistent than the show has been in recent years, with a few episodes that'll absolutely reaffirm your decision to stick with the Sanchez family for at least a little while longer.

Season nine takes things back to basics in more ways than one. And by "basic," I mean less basic, actually. While the last couple of seasons grew repetitive and even uninspired at points, often resorting to simple parody without anything new to say, multiple episodes here surprise in ways that remind me of the show in its heyday.

Key to this is a stronger balance between epic sagas that occasionally tap into continuity, the kind that longtime fans often crave, and more focused character-driven episodes, which succeed as memorable one-offs.

The premiere presents an intriguing mix of the two, leading us down one somewhat generic path before completely switching to become something else entirely. That one is shrouded in more secrecy than the rest, however (hence how vague I'm being in my description).

In terms of emotional impact, the second episode stands out early on, finding new ways to tap into just how damaged Rick really is with what seems to start out as just another simple side adventure. Again, it's the subversion of expectation that works so well, doing all it can to avoid the easy path.

Former glories

Speaking of the basics, there's a renewed focus on Rick's drinking in that episode and beyond, highlighting what was once a staple of the show before it was largely sidelined or forgotten in recent years. One particular mystery around this, which you might not have even thought of before, is answered quite smartly here a few episodes in.

Pre-launch, it's hard to go into more plot specifics, but just know that a few fan-favorite characters, including one we haven't seen in a very long time, come back in meaningful ways that go beyond mere fan service.

More time is also given to the family at large, who no longer feel so much like a subplot in their own home. Rick and Morty remain the focus, but Jerry, Summer and the two Beths are incorporated more seamlessly here than they have been in quite some time.

The same is also true of voice actors Ian Cardoni and Harry Belden who, three seasons in, feel just as integral to the show as Rick and Morty themselves. Long gone are those initial stumbles in season seven, to the point where I don't even notice Justin Roiland's absence anymore following his firing in 2023.

This is all to say that it feels like there's more ambition again suddenly, as if the writers' room has been re-energised approaching the end of Rick and Morty's initial ten-season order. But as nice as it is to see the show still strive for greatness, thirteen years in, is this a case of too little too late?

Season eight's premiere was the least viewed yet, with audience numbers of around 300,000 on Adult Swim. The rise of streaming aside, this downward turn doesn't exactly bode well for the future of the series, and if nothing else, it's become increasingly clear that the show's cultural impact is no longer what it once was.

But if you're thinking about giving up on Rick and Morty, or did already and simply came here through sheer curiosity, trust me when I say that 2026 is the year you should give the pair another chance. Few shows like this continue to evolve nine seasons in, and as the show itself puts it, this is "Grade A organic slop" you won't want to miss.

Rick and Morty season 9 releases on Adult Swim on May 24. For more, here are the new TV shows still to come in 2026. Plus, there's a look back at some of the best Rick and Morty episodes ever.

Ever left something behind and immediately wanted to go back? We've all been here. So has Aaron Paul, seemingly, after teasing a return to Invincible just months after revealing he would be stepping away from the role of villain Powerplex.

Taking to his Instagram Stories, the Breaking Bad actor posted a black-and-white image of a new Invincible script with the caption 'light reading.'

If this really is Paul's comeback after departing the show post-Invincible season 3, it marks a considerable turnaround for the voice behind Powerplex.

"They asked me to come back for the next season. That show, I'm such a fan of – I watch every episode. But it was just way too grueling on my psyche," Paul told Kinda Funny Games back in November.

He continued, "I have so much respect for what they're doing, but Powerplex, man. He's not just messing around; he's going through turmoil. How I approach everything I do, I really put myself in that skin. It was a skin I didn't feel comfortable in. I didn't want to do it anymore."

Paul is also now tied to another big Prime Video name in the shape of Fallout. While his role is presumably locked in a vault, he will star alongside the likes of Walton Goggins and Ella Purnell in the upcoming third season.

Invincible season 5 should debut on Prime Video next year, with Robert Kirkman and his team aiming for annual releases for the animated series. Kirkman has even said more original storylines are on the way, despite the poor reaction to the fourth season's Hell-centric episode.

For more, check out our curated picks of the best shows on Prime Video.

Devil May Cry season 2 shares more than just a number with Devil May Cry 2.

The Netflix series follows up its first animated effort by bringing in a handful of characters and lore from the much-maligned Devil May Cry 2, universally regarded as a low point for the hack-and-slash franchise. That includes Uroboros corporate overlord Arius and his ploy to reawaken the demon lord Argosax.

So, why choose to adapt a divisive entry instead of one of Devil May Cry's more storied chapters? That's a question we posed to showrunner and creator Adi Shankar.

"I found the characters interesting," Shankar says matter-of-factly. "A lot of times, movies, TV shows, video games, comic books, the ones that hit right and are 10 out of 10 – to adapt them, it's like, 'It all works, great.' But what I find more interesting are the things that have great concepts that don't work."

Shankar continues, "There are so many movies and TV shows that have great concepts, there's something to like about them, but they don't always land the plane. I find that interesting to work with."

The showrunner, who also adapted Castlevania for Netflix, pointed to his own experience filling in the gaps of Devil May Cry 2's infamously sparse and uninspired story as a launching pad for the new season.

"When I played Devil May Cry 2, my mind was creating story and storylines…you're playing and then you're reading the back [of the box] and telling you the story of the game. Your mind is creating and extrapolating this whole universe that isn't on screen and doesn't really exist," Shankar says. "In a lot of ways, it's not necessarily a do-over, but it is very much like how I saw Devil May Cry 2."

Devil May Cry season 2 is now streaming on Netflix.

For more, read our curated guide to the best shows on Netflix as well as our spoiler-filled breakdown of the Devil May Cry season 2 ending.

Adi Shankar is one of the most prolific creatives in the video game adaptation space – even before it exploded into the trend we now see across cinemas and television.

But despite being pressed by friends – and asked by GamesRadar+ – whether he would be open to adapting Capcom's latest hit Pragmata, it appears he is heading in a different direction.

"The amount of people that texted me [I should adapt Pragmata] was concerning," Shankar jokes. "They were like, 'Oh my god, you've gotta do this next!'"

But Shankar confirmed: "The next two things beyond Devil May Cry are originals."

For those who haven't engaged their thrusters yet, Pragmata is a sci-fi shooter centering around protagonist Hugh and android Diana as they fight against an army of rogue robots on a spaceship. Fans lauded the novel combat system, which sees Hugh and Diana team up to hack enemies, leaving them open for attack.

At once refreshingly new and harkening back to the 360/PS3 era of action games, our own Pragmata review described it as "nostalgia wrapped in a shiny new spacesuit with plenty of cool tricks up its pressurized sleeve." And with plenty of OTT set-pieces and dazzling action, would seemingly be the perfect fit for Shankar. But that's not to be the case, even if he has only good things to say about the title.

"I feel like one of the reasons people are raving about Pragmata is because it's original. It's not a Dead Space reboot or The Last of Us 3," Shankar says. "I'm very pumped about originals. I think there's room for all of it. [But] the success I've had in the past few years has opened up new lanes for me to do things."

So, despite being "very excited that I was part of the hand that pushed the domino", Shankar, who has adapted both Castlevania and Devil May Cry for Netflix, will be looking to achieve something original in the next few years. Sorry, Hugh.

Devil May Cry season 2 is now streaming on Netflix.

If you've already binged the whole of Dante's adventures, check out our spoiler-filled breakdown of the Devil May Cry season 2 ending.

Ahead of Devil May Cry's return to Netflix, showrunner Adi Shankar promised that "Season 2 is a vvvvveryyyyy different show." As a fan, your mileage for such a bold statement is going to depend entirely on how you felt about season one.

Critics raved about that first run almost unanimously, present company excluded, with many declaring it to be an audacious love letter to the video games that inspired it. Longtime Capcom lovers were a little more mixed, however, as some didn't appreciate how the show would occasionally sideline or weaken Dante (Johnny Yong Bosch) compared to his regular power level in the games.

Shankar seems acutely aware of this, reassuring fans in the same tweet that Dante will level up this time around: "His skills improve and you’ll see him embrace more of the iconic badassery fans of the game expect."

Still, that perceived lack of "iconic badassery" didn't stop season one of Devil May Cry from being viewed for over 20 million hours in the first week alone on Netflix. It was no surprise then when that inevitable season two renewal shot into view quicker than anything fired by Ebony or Ivory.

That brings us to where we are now, except things aren't looking so hot for Dante, even with Hell now officially in the picture.

Brothers in arms

The last time we saw the Legendary Devil Hunter, he had been cryogenically frozen by Darkcom, separated from his sword and amulet. The timing couldn't have been worse, not with the President's plan to invade Hell and claim it for America. Oh, and there's also the matter of Dante's long-lost brother, Vergil, suddenly returning to do the work of bad guy King Mundus.

As such, season two really does feel like a "vvvvveryyyyy" different show at first. With Operation Inferno underway, the premiere is a bloody mess, deliberately so, as soldiers fight to colonise the underworld. Lady (Scout Taylor-Compton) takes centre stage here in the brawl that ensues, although it's not long before she's competing for space with Vergil (Robbie Daymond), who's just as cocky as Dante, except he's way more serious about it.

Dante himself is almost nowhere to be seen in the first episode, which is pretty bold for a show that relies so heavily on the charm that the "Wacky WooHoo Pizza Man" brings. In his absence, the flaws of the previous season come even sharper into focus, channeling adolescent urges that feel like a noughties throwback in the worst way possible.

But thankfully, it's not long until Dante does return with a swish of his signature red coat and white mane. As a result, Devil May Cry immediately comes back to life for what turns out to be a new and improved version of what's come before.

Like they did in season one, the animators toy with different styles occasionally, including child-like scribbles and 90s-style anime when the story calls for it, while Dante plays around with quips and weapons alike. It's still corny, of course. Not even Dante can get away with lines like "Don’t write, don’t call… Long distance must be pricey from the demon realm," but way more of the jokes do land this time around.

While the first season tried too hard to convince us of Dante's inherent swag, season two feels much more confident in that respect, trusting in the natural appeal of the character that's done him well in the 25 years since he first air hiked his way onto PS2.

There's a scene early on that captures this best, where Lady and Nell Goldstein, a character from the light novels, watch in awe as Dante flips his pistols into the air, reloading them with the kind of video game physics you'd never see in real life. It's definitely included to remind us that we're supposed to admire Dante for being Dante, but with fewer scenes like this in the episodes that follow, this becomes more of a bridge between the two seasons, segueing into a more mature second outing.

To hell and back

Ok, "mature" might not be quite the right word. Devil May Cry is still silly at points, lacking the sophistication of Shankar's previous efforts like Castlevania and Captain Laserhawk: A Blood Dragon Remix. Yet efforts to ground the action and aura farming really pay off here, thanks in large part to the full introduction of Vergil and what that means for Dante.

Multiple flashbacks dig deeper into the trauma that's embedded within this familial bond, pitting the brothers against each other even as they both continue to mourn the loss of their mother. It's hardly subtle – just look at scenes where child versions of Dante and Vergil play-fight wearing their same signature red and blue colours – but there's an emotional throughline now that carries this show through its weaker moments.

Watching Dante and Vergil argue about who their lost mum loved more is almost as heartbreaking as the picture frame depicting them all together that each episode ends on. Bosch and Daymond bring that dynamic to life with relish, and the rest of the voice acting across the board ably balances the show's often camp dialogue with all the gravitas that apocalyptic demon fighting calls for.

It's not all backflips and severed body parts, though. Perhaps the most joyful moment of the series so far comes with no dialogue at all, set to the Noughties anthem “Sk8er Boi” by Avril Lavigne. As Dante says at one point, "We work better with music," and that's true of the show as a whole, which expertly mines noughties nostalgia via Korn and Papa Roach to cheesy yet exhilarating effect.

You won't believe the audacity behind this season's use of Evanescence, especially when the guitars kick in from one of their biggest songs.

In a prior press release, Shankar declared that his mission for season two "was to capture the feeling of a 2000s film franchise entry where the audience can’t predict the next turn." While there are some surprises along the way, many of the story beats are rather predictable, especially when it comes to the lessons that Dante must learn to overcome what's holding him back.

Still, fans who felt season one nerfed our hero will definitely be happier this time around, and the heightened emotional stakes represent a big step up, bringing us a more mature Dante, and therefore a more mature show in the process. Season two is "vvvvveryyyyy different" in all the right ways, although there's still work to do when it comes to the somewhat inevitable third season that's probably shooting our way sooner rather than later.

Devil May Cry season 2 is streaming now on Netflix. For more check out our list of upcoming video game movies and shows, or fill out your watchlist with our guide to the best shows on Netflix.

There are more video game movies and shows being made than ever. For every Super Mario Mario shooting for the stars at the box office, however, there are several more middling efforts – including Prime Video's recent live-action Yakuza series and Return to Silent Hill – that didn't quite recapture the magic players experienced on consoles.

But, still, there is gold in them there video game hills. And a rush has ensued: Helldivers, Duke Nukem, It Takes Two, and Metal Gear Solid have all been unveiled as potential projects over the past few years.

Now, there are more video game adaptations being unveiled than at any other point. “Video game adaptations have been on the rise since the second half of 2023, with no fewer than 25 being announced in each half-year since," analyst Ricardo Parsons recently told The Wrap.

But Devil May Cry showrunner Adi Shankar, in typically outspoken form during an interview with GamesRadar+, is certain most of those are going to fall by the wayside.

"I just don't think most of these things are going to come to fruition, because there's so many stakeholders," Shankar says. "It's easy to [say] we're gonna adapt this game. But that's nothing new. There have been announcements of comic book movies, video game movies and TV shows. That's been part of the media cycle since the '90s, for sure."

Shankar adds, "We're not going to get to a point where 50 a year are going to be made. They're announcing a lot… If we're talking straight adaptations – like we're treating this video game as a novel – [and] we have 50 of those a year, at that point the audience is going to be really excited about original stuff."

Even those that do make it past the initial announcement phase, in Shankar's eyes, won't be up to scratch – whether that's because of the various corporate hoops it needs to jump through or, in some cases, those series already being weighed down by being a huge brand unto themselves.

"I think inevitably, most video game adaptations that come out will be cringe, because when you look at the video games that are massively successful, they're not really run by the people that made the games. They're run by corporations who have now assigned brand managers to manage them, right?" Shankar posits.

"It's also a brand. At that point,when a video game gets treated like a brand that long, it becomes a logo. You're slapping the logo onto things [and] you've got countless spin offs and mobile games and whatnot… Well, now everything's a brand, man. At that point, you're like, well, where's the Captain Crunch movie?"

Devil May Cry, though, aims to sidestep that for something that captures the spirit of Capcom's hack-and-slash series without outright copying it. Devil May Cry season 2, out next week, even teases a fraught family reunion as Vergil enters twin brother Dante's crosshairs.

Devil May Cry season 2 hits Netflix on May 12.

For more, here are all the upcoming video game movies currently in the works.

Netflix's Devil May Cry creator and showrunner Adi Shankar has praised the amount of free rein given to him by the streamer and Capcom, the video game franchise's custodians.

"I'm fortunate to be in a spot where I have so much control over the show [and] the destiny of the show," Shankar begins in an interview with GamesRadar+ – before turning his attention towards what he dubs an "art by committee" way of thinking.

"There's an art by committee thing that has proliferated through Hollywood as a result of, really, the 'Marvel-ification' of movies, right? The art by committee thing has seeped its way into a lot of things IP, and also not IP," Shankar says.

Marvel has come under fire in recent years, with the over-saturation of streaming content and a noticeable dip in quality as the focus moved towards a newer generation of heroes. That all culminated in a post-Endgame sense of dissatisfaction among its audience and MCU becoming pop culture shorthand for the current age of CGI-heavy blockbusters and limited series, which are tinkered with by various creatives and producers instead of one visionary.

"I'm in a fortunate position where I'm not part of that. Netflix and Capcom [are] like, 'You have a vision, go execute your vision,'" Shankar continues. Which I think is pretty rare in today's day and age. But I come from the film world, and all the people who mentored me were all auteurs."

Shankar's vision, particularly when it comes to video games, has certainly not been diluted over at Netflix. The first season of Devil May Cry was a cacophony of heavy metal, action, and angst as series protagonist Dante hunted the White Rabbit.

Previously, he has also seen acclaim for his adaptation of Konami's Castlevania and the singular Captain Laserhawk, which presented a twisted take on Ubisoft's most iconic game franchises, including Splinter Cell, Rayman, and Assassin's Creed. Once you put Rayman snorting illicit substances in a show, you'd best believe the leash starts to feel a little looser.

Devil May Cry, meanwhile, is returning for a second season, which focuses on the reunion of Dante and his twin brother, Vergil. You can watch the latest trailer now.

Devil May Cry season 2 is streaming on Netflix from May 12.

For more, check out our picks for the best anime on Netflix.

The first trailer for King of the Hill season 15 has arrived, and it includes pocket sand.

In the brief clip, which can be viewed below, we get a pretty cool montage that takes us through scenes from all 14 seasons of King of the Hill before giving us our first look at season 15... which sees Hank, being the boomer that he is, frustrated in a convenience store that has a bunch of its products behind glass. The scenes take us from the episode where Bobby gets hooked on caffeine, to the absolutely iconic use of Dale Gribble's pocket sand, and gives us a glimpse of Luanne in season 13... which made me cry a little bit, not gonna lie.

After King of the Hill season 14 was a critical and commercial success, a 15th season was swiftly announced... followed by a confirmed 16 and 17th. The 14th season took us back to Arlen, Texas, where Hank (Mike Judge) and Peggy (Kathy Najimy) had finally returned after spending some time in Saudi Arabia. The returning voice cast also includes Stephen Root as Bill Dauterive, Pamela Adlon as Bobby Hill, Johnny Hardwick as Dale Gribble , and Lauren Tom as both Connie and Minh Souphanousinphone. The next three seasons will see Toby Huss take over as Dale for the late Hardwick.

We knew more King of the Hill was coming, especially after season 14 beat out X-Men '97 for title of most popular animated show across Hulu and Disney Plus. It's a bleak world out there right now, but at least we have propane, WD-40, and each other.

King of the Hill season 15 For more, check out our picks for the 32 greatest animated shows of all time.

With its mixed reviews and #7 debut in Netflix's Top 10, Stranger Things: Tales From '85 may not be the runaway hit its creators had anticipated, but showrunner Eric Robles is hopeful that the animated spin-off will find its audience in season 2. Much like how Star Wars: The Clone Wars grew in popularity in the early 2010s.

As news of its return landed online, Robles teased what to expect from Tales From '85's next chapter and revealed that, while he has "a number in [his] head" as to how long the cartoon will run for, he's keen not to "overstay [his] welcome."

"Right out the gate, everybody was like, 'The Clone Wars?' Then all of a sudden, people started watching it and were like, 'Wait a second.' They gave it a chance, and then got into the Star Wars of it all, understanding that these were their own unique adventures," he told The Hollywood Reporter. "This is going to be a really fun ride for the story that I want to tell."

Set between Stranger Things seasons 2 and 3, Tales From '85 catches us up on what Eleven, Will, and the rest of our Hawkins heroes got up to between the Snow Ball and the opening of the Starcourt Mall. With the gate to the Upside Down closed, they start relaxing into everyday life again, only for their plans of spending the winter playing Dungeons & Dragons and introducing Eleven to deep-dish pizza to be upended when new monsters start wreaking havoc across town.

As they investigate the plant-like creatures, The Party meets new kid Nikki Baxter, who's just moved to Hawkins with her science teacher mom. Nikki, of course, isn't in Stranger Things season 3, and has never been mentioned by any of the characters, so fans are curious as to how the spin-off will stick to canon as it expands.

"I have an idea of what feels right for me, creatively, in terms of the story introducing Nikki – her not being around anymore and what that means. Technically, she doesn't fit into the timeline. It's not in the cards, in the sense that this was developed when the Duffers were in [postproduction on] season four," said Robles. "What I can say is that I understand the responsibility of ending this story for this series correctly – what the kids process, how they move forward after that, how it connects perfectly to season three, and why they don't talk about her.

"Is it going to be perfect? I don't know. But I'm going to do my best with my team. It's not going to satisfy everybody. That is the most impossible task ever. But I can tell you that we will satisfy this story."

Stranger Things: Tales From '85 is streaming now. For more, check out our picks of the best Netflix shows for some watchlist inspiration.

Stranger Things: Tales From '85 is coming back for season 2, and it's set to premiere way sooner than you think: this fall.

The early renewal comes after the series debuted at number 7 in the Netflix Global Top 10, which puts it in the top 15 animated series debuts of all time for the streamer.

Per the official press release, "After uncovering a fearsome mystery at the end of Season 1, Eleven (Brooklyn Davey Norstedt), Mike (Luca Diaz), Will (Benjamin Plessala), Dustin (Braxton Quinney), Lucas (Elisha 'EJ' Williams), Max (Jolie Hoang-Rappaport), and Nikki (Odessa A'zion) will take on another perilous threat when new episodes head to Netflix this fall."

The first season of Tales From '85 takes place between Stranger Things seasons 2 and 3, in the winter after the kids attended their school's Snow Ball. Given Nikki's presumably still a part of the gang (and the snow in the teaser below), the next chapter will be set shortly after. Honestly, I'm not sure how else they'd do it given that Nikki is not in the live-action show and the show is supposed to be canon to the series...

The first season saw the DnD-loving Party fight off new plant-based monsters. The second season, according to the promo, will see the youngsters investigate "a haunting."

Stranger Things: Tales from '85 season 1 is streaming now on Netflix, along with all episodes of Stranger Things. For more, check out our Stranger Things: Tales From '85 review or our breakdown of the Stranger Things season 5 finale explained.

Invincible's gender-swapped Tech Jacket helped fix a major comic "shortcoming" according to creator Robert Kirkman.

In Kirkman's Invincible comics, Tech Jacket is Zack Thompson, a hero perhaps best known for bonding with his father over each growing facial hair during their time apart.

Invincible's TV show opted for a different direction. Instead, the Prime Video adaptation features a different Tech Jacket: Zoe, played by Zoey Deutch. Same tech, same jacket, same can-do attitude – and a way for Kirkman to give a do-over to what was, back in the 2000s, a very homogenous cast.

“One of the downsides of Invincible is [co-creator] Cory Walker and I were like 23 and 21 when we started that book, and your default when you're not really paying attention is yourself," Kirkman explained to The Wrap. "Every time we introduce another character, 'Oh look! It's another white male! Who knew?' It's just a shortcoming that we hadn't quite noticed and done our due diligence to correct."

On the decision to bring in Zoe instead of Zack, Kirkman pointed to the testosterone-fueled younger characters already filling up several spots in the Viltrumite War.

"If Zack were to show up, there's not a lot that you're gonna get from that character that you're not getting from Oliver or Mark," Kirkman said. "There's just a lot of similarities there."

Invincible changing a character from its jump from the comics to the screen is nothing new. Both Mark and Debbie are depicted with Korean heritage, reflecting actors Steven Yeun and Sandra Oh respectively. The fourth season also saw Darkblood's history delved into further with a Hell-centric original episode not present in the source material.

Invincible season 5 has been announced. For more on the show, read our breakdown of the Invincible season 4 ending and Invincible season 4 post-credits scene.

I know I'm not the only one who thought that Stranger Things season 5 was a bit of a disappointment. After 10 years of build-up, and a fairly promising Vol. 1, the show's final chapter wrapped things up with a lackluster final battle, an overlong epilogue, and a frustratingly ambiguous farewell to Eleven – and, ultimately, dropped the (Magic 8) ball.

While it can't tell us whether Eleven did really sacrifice herself in 'The Rightside Up', given that it takes place between seasons 2 and 3, new animated series Stranger Things: Tales From '85 goes some way to making up for that forgettable final showdown with Vecna, with an epic battle sequence that deftly blends action, suspense, and heart. Warning! Major spoilers to follow.

Having uncovered the mystery and fallen into the ground underneath the Baxter house at the start of episode 10, Mike, Will, and co find themselves facing off against The Queen and her army of plant-y minions in Tales From '85's fast-paced finale. Her Royal Nastiness, as The Party dub her, gets a power-up when she eats Mrs. Baxter's sticky-fingered boyfriend Daniel and the vials of botanical-boosting serum he was holding at the time, and starts opening a gate to the Upside Down. With that, the gang vow to pull out all the stops to take her down – and the 20 minutes that follow are genuinely thrilling.

Unlike Stranger Things season 5's big fight, which saw certain characters just standing around while the likes of Dustin, Steve, and Eleven took on Vecna and the Mind Flayer, Tales From '85's manages to give every hero a moment to shine. Will, armed with a mallet, new kid Nikki modified just for him, bats off beasties to buy the latter time to fix her light blaster. Elsewhere, Lucas and Max use Dustin as bait to ambush a couple more, slingshotting them in the eyes or burning them from below as they weave in and out of their legs, while Eleven uses her telekinetic powers against The Queen.

Moving moments... and monsters

Since it's animated, and therefore doesn't have to contend with dangerous, expensive, or CGI-reliant stunts, the action is kinetic and colorful, as the camera darts around, oscillating between sped-up and slow-mo shots. Backed by a gloriously dramatic score, it is SO much more engaging than its live-action counterpart, even when we know that all of them are going to make it out of the sewers alive…

What struck me most, though, is how writers Ryan Little, Kevin Burke, and Chris Wyatt find the time for genuinely emotional beats in amongst all of the chaos. One sequence sees both Max and Lucas pinned down by two monsters, and the former yells out, "Lucas, get out of here! I told you, 'I can take care of myself!'" "And I told you, I'd never forgive myself if something happened to you," Lucas shouts back. Now, if you're a franchise fan like me, then the line will likely make you whimper, as the image of Caleb McLaughlin's solemn-looking Lucas holding the hand of Sadie Sink's unconscious Max flashes in front of your eyes.

If the cynics among you think that the lines are only effective thanks to our Stranger Things-loving history, then think again, too, because another touching scene sees Nikki – who has spent the last nine episodes opening up on how difficult it has been to move around constantly – cry out to her nomadic mother as she struggles to patch up her light blaster. "I can't do this. We need to just run and get out of here," she says with teary eyes. "Baby girl," her mom replies, "I have been running my entire life. Not you, never you. You never run. You do this, "she continues, handing her tinker daughter a screwdriver. "Now take a breath, and create." Genuinely lovely stuff. Five hours ago, I didn't even know Nikki and Mrs. Baxter, but in true Stranger Things fashion, they won my affections in an instant.

Turn it up to Eleven

The best thing about Tales From '85's climax, though, has got to be Eleven dealing a final, fatal blow to The Queen.

While some people seemed to vibe with it being Winona Ryder's Joyce who lopped off Vecna's head with an axe in Stranger Things season 5, I personally felt like it was a little random. Here, after the others have weakened the Queen, a shrieking, bloody-nosed Eleven levitates into the air and slams each side of the widening gate onto the neon-lit villain, squishing it into a giant puddle of green goo. "I love her!" Mrs Baxter shouts as the kids collapse into a group hug. Same here, and it's something the Duffer brothers would've done well to remember when they were concluding the flagship series.

So, okay, maybe the events of Stranger Things: Tales From '85 don't matter, in the sense that the characters never talked about Jerk O'Lanterns or the pink-haired punk they made friends one winter outside of it. But it reminded me of Stranger Things' glory days – and for a franchise built on nostalgia, that seems fitting to me.

Stranger Things: Tales From '85 is streaming now. For more, check out our picks of the best Netflix shows for some watchlist inspiration.

With it being set between Stranger Things seasons 2 and 3, it's hard to imagine Stranger Things: Tales From '85 matching its predecessor's 10-year run. It might have a few more chapters up the sleeve of its Hellfire Club tee, though, says showrunner Eric Robles.

"I think it's a little bit of both, you know?" he tells GamesRadar+ when we ask whether they imagine the show will return to plug more gaps in the future, or if they'd want to explore doing more of a What If? thing. "I can't predict how big this thing can grow. Like, it might become something that everybody wants more of, and then we'll just continue to grow and see where it goes from there. I'm happy to do that. We're all happy to do that, because I feel like we've only just started creating this world that's becoming its own thing."

"The more ownership that we have as, not only the filmmakers, but as a community of people who enjoy this," he continues. "Then we can start to kind of branch out and keep growing."

'Keep growing' is an appropriate turn of phrase given what Tales From '85 is about – and, specifically, what happens right before the season 1 finale cuts to black. Since Eleven closed the Gate to the Upside Down, there aren't any Demogorgons running around Hawkins in January 1985. Instead, the kids find themselves up against some ferocious flora. Warning! The rest of this article contains spoilers for Stranger Things: Tales From '85.

After realising that new substitute teacher Mrs. Baxter wasn't intentionally trying to create monsters with her plant-reviving serum, and that her thieving boyfriend Dan was wanted to steal her scientific glory rather than unleash the botanical beasties, The Party manages to kill the Queen and stop it from opening another gate. As everyone settles back into their quiet lives rightside up, the scene cuts back to a slain creature in the Upside Down, as a flower grows out of its back, glows blue, and sprouts a Demogorgon head and screeches. A sign of what's to come, perhaps?

"We do have fun plugging a couple little holes throughout. You know what I mean? As we're kind of going through, we're just kind of like, 'Oh, that's a cool little Easter egg that we can do,'" adds Robles. "So I think we kind of service both at the same time. I think as long as people don't try to put us in a perfect box and just enjoy the ride, I think you're gonna have fun on the adventure."

Stranger Things: Tales From '85 is streaming now. For more, check out our picks of the best Netflix shows for some watchlist inspiration.

Not everything has to be canon. In fact, who made the rule that a spin-off can't just be a cool story that exists within the same world? Stranger Things: Tales from '85 is cute, fun, and quite possibly the most kid-friendly entry in the franchise… but it's tainted by that five-letter word that everyone loves to throw around.

Tales From '85 takes place between Stranger Things seasons 2 and 3, after Eleven closes the gate in Hawkins Lab and releases Will from the Mind Flayer's grasp, and before the Party meets Robin and Steve becomes the world's greatest babysitter. As winter break approaches, Mike, Will, and co. uncover a new threat to Hawkins – of the Upside Down variety, of course.

These creatures, which are sort of like Demogorgons mixed with plants a la Audrey 2 from Little Shop of Horrors on steroids, are not only kidnapping various Hawkins residents by swallowing and keeping them alive in their stomachs but also using their victims' bodies as hosts… explained to the Party by a substitute teacher using the same science and logic from Ridley Scott's Alien.

Take me back

Showrunner Eric Robles, who is perhaps best known as the creator of the underrated Nickelodeon cartoon Fanboy and Chum Chum, told press that the show wouldn't just be a "monster of the week" show, and that there would be one "intentional" serialized storyline that stretches across 10 episodes. This, however, is what traps the show into what's known as "hard" rather than "soft" canon. We're introduced to a new species of Demogorgon that we never see or hear about again in the main series… which is a little odd given that the Party does mention the Demogorgons and the Demodogs by name quite frequently throughout the live-action show.

We're also introduced to an absolutely delightful and badass new character named Nikki Baxter (voiced by Odessa A'zion), who we also never hear of again in the mothership show. This is explained away by the fact that her mom is covering for Mr. Clarke (who is yassified in the show's rather soft and dreamy animation style) while he's away on sabbatical… though it doesn't make it any less of a bummer.

What's consistent is Hopper's (understandable) helicopter parenting over Eleven, Max and Lucas's budding relationship, Dustin and Steve's big brother/little brother bond, and Will still struggling to find himself after surviving what can only be described as the unimaginable. But it still isn't enough to make it feel like part of the franchise's greater timeline.

That would be perfectly fine if Tales from '85 wasn't supposed to be part of it. At its core, it's a light-hearted, easily digestible, and enjoyable story that makes you nostalgic for the early days of Stranger Things. It made me go back and watch the first two seasons, and made me miss the days when we knew so much less about Demogorgons, Hawkins Lab, and the Upside Down.

Almost canon, but not quite

Part of the problem with Stranger Things play, The First Shadow, is the exceptionally large emphasis placed on canon, and how every single thing (plot hole or otherwise) had to be connected to the main show… only to be touched on in a brief scene where Max takes Holly through Henry's high school memories during the final season. There are quite a few inconsistencies in The First Shadow that have to be considered retcons in order to actually be canon… and it took me out of the story completely.

This is also the case for Tales From '85: You can't just put a one-and-done story into a canon-heavy franchise where a) the creators told us to pay close attention and look for clues that would eventually connect to the end of the story and b) the ending was so broadly unsatisfying that fans are desperate for resolutions to dozens of unanswered questions (to the point that a conspiracy theory around a fake ninth episode took off). By making the animated spin-off canon to the main storyline, it distracts from what the writers and showrunners are trying to do… which is to give fans a new story in a familiar world that follows their favorite characters.

Instead, I found myself wondering constantly why this specific adventure was never talked about again, why we never see these new monsters again, why we never see these new characters again, and how much of this is actually believable as canon. And you could argue that Tales from '85 is supposed to be "soft canon" or "optional canon," but I don't think those terms really exist in a world with a fandom this intense.

Missed opportunity

I guess, if you were a kid in a time before social media, and a friend moved away… you probably wouldn't talk about them again. But the fact that Nikki is such an integral part of this story, paired with the fact that we will never get to see her in live-action, makes me kind of sad.

I could also say the same for Rosario, who has a pretty cute enemies-to-frenemies and potentially lovers arc with Dustin. Because their union stems from the fact that the two are a pretty big target for bullies… Dustin and Rosario getting together actually makes quite a bit more sense than Dustin and his live-action girlfriend Susie (who we never see again in the live-action show after season 3).

As an avid fan of the franchise (who even has a little season 1 Christmas lights tattoo), I wish Netflix, the showrunner, the press releases, etc., had never mentioned that the animated show was canon. At its core, a spin-off doesn't need to be. Otherwise, it turns a show that had the potential to be an enjoyable TV experience into one that demands to be scrutinized.

There will never be a follow-up to Stranger Things season 5 that feels satisfying; in all likelihood, there will never be a follow-up at all. It's better to enjoy Tales From '85 for what it is: a fun little story created by clear fans of the flagship show, making this animated series more of a love letter to the early years of Stranger Things than something to "fill in the gaps between seasons." And Nikki Baxter, I will never forget you.

Stranger Things: Tales from '85 is streaming now on Netflix. For more, check out our list of the best Netflix shows to stream right now.

Invincible season 5 is officially on the way, but with all the destruction and death that Mark and his allies have suffered through recently, we can't imagine it will be all sunshine and roses for Earth's protectors.

With likely a full year until Invincible returns to our screens, we've got plenty of time to figure out where the show is heading. For that, and more, we've put together a constantly evolving guide on Invincible season 5. There's release date speculation – using creator Robert Kirkman's own words as our North Star – cast updates, talk of trailers, and a deeper dive into the comics for a look ahead to where the story is going next.

So, join us as we look ahead to Invincible season 5. If you're in dire need of a watchlist refresh, check out our picks for the best shows on Prime Video and best movies on Prime Video.

Invincible season 5 release date speculation

Invincible season 5 was greenlit by Amazon last July. Barring unforeseen circumstances, we expect Invincible season 5 to premiere in early 2027, in either February or March.

Why? Ever since the second season, Invincible has been released on a pretty steady annual basis. Robert Kirkman previously told Discussing Film that his "goal" is to release new seasons of the show around February every year.

Invincible season 5 story: which comic issues are being adapted next?

The Viltrumite War may be over as of the Invincible season 4 ending, but there's plenty of roadblocks – super-powered or otherwise – getting in Mark's way very soon.

While the Viltrumite threat appears to have been sidelined for now thanks to Mark and Thragg agreeing to a truce-of-sorts, the specter of Thaddeus' Scourge Virus remains.

The Invincible season 4 post-credits scene teed up the next season nicely with Thaddeus tasking Allen to use the virus to eliminate all Vitrumite life – including his own allies.

So, that should be a major focus of the season (and, if it follows the comics, expect that to be a main storyline next year). There's also the small matter of Robot and Monster Girl's loose end. We last saw D.A. Sinclair and Cecil attempt to hop dimensions to get them back, but their efforts have been in vain. Those who have read ahead in the series will be acutely aware that the pair will return – and factor into the narrative in a surprising way in season 5 and beyond.

On a more personal level, Mark and Eve will be dealing with Eve's decision to terminate their unborn child while Mark was fighting in outer space. Nolan and Debbie are currently en route to visit an injured Oliver, though it remains to be seen whether the pair will reconcile after all they've been through.

If you're reading along in the comics, Invincible season 5 should pick up from issue #79 (and parts of #80).

Invincible season 5 cast: who is returning?

All the major players for Invincible are expected to return in season 5. They include Steven Yeun (Mark), Gillian Jacobs (Atom Eve), J.K. Simmons (Nolan/Omni-Man), Sandra Oh (Debbie), Walton Goggins (Cecil), Seth Rogen (Allen the Alien), and Christian Convery (Oliver).

After only having a small role to play in the fourth season, Matthew Rhys' Dinosaurus is poised to factor into Invincible season 5 in a major way as one of its main recurring villains. The dino-themed character fought Mark in the season 4 premiere, though if the series continues to follow the comics closely, he will be one of Invincible's foes next season.

When could we see an Invincible season 5 trailer?

Traditionally, Invincible first teases its next season with a Burger Mart-centric sitdown between two protagonists. Previous seasons have included Cecil, Mark, and Eve tucking into some fast foods with a short vignette that often precedes a teaser or trailer.

Usually, those videos are released by Prime Video around four to five months before release, so we'd be confident in saying that we will get something later this year.

Is Invincible season 5 the final season?

While we may be in the second half of Invincible's overall adaptation, there is still plenty of juice left in the tank – and plenty more seasons left to come if Robert Kirkman has his way.

The comic creator previously told GamesRadar+ he regrets putting a number on how many seasons the show could run for, but Kirkman previously mapped around eight seasons to complete Mark's story. That plan, however, is now more "malleable" than in the past.

So, no Invincible season 5 won't be the final season, but we're inching ever closer to the show's endgame. Expect to see some narrative breadcrumbs for the final handful of seasons sprinkled throughout next year's episodes.

For more from the world of superheroes, check out our guide on how to watch the Marvel movies in order.

The new Devil May Cry season 2 trailer has landed, and the follow-up to Netflix's animated video game adaptation is keeping it in the family as brothers Dante and Vergil head on a demonic collision course.

While the new trailer, which you can see above, begins by showing Dante in full flow and firing off his twin guns Ebony and Ivory, he's soon stopped in his tracks by Vergil, who has returned and is seemingly serving the demon Mundus.

As expected from the franchise, there's lashings of heavy metal, family angst, and frenetic fight scenes for viewers to get tucked into as Adi Shankar's show promises to expand the mythology of the hack-and-slash series further.

This season's synopsis reads, "A war between worlds ignites as Dante must battle the only force that mirrors his own: his estranged twin brother Vergil…Dante must confront his own devils and the feeling of family he lost as a child. With the reemergence of Vergil, will Dante lay to rest old demons or fall victim to them?"

Devil May Cry performed admirably upon the release of its first season last year, becoming Netflix's most-watched video game adaptation in its first week with over 20 million hours viewed. Eat your heart out, Cyberpunk: Edgerunners.

Whatever comes next, don't expect it to be more of the same. Shankar has been transparent about being anything but predictable this season.

"I’m allergic to formula," Shankar said in a prior press release. "I dislike when successful shows turn into comfort food. Devil May Cry won’t be TV that loops. My mission for Season 2 was to capture the feeling of a 2000s film franchise entry where the audience can’t predict the next turn."

Devil May Cry season 2 hits Netflix on May 12.

Need something to watch in the meantime? Here is our collection of the best Netflix shows and best anime on Netflix.

We're only a couple of days away from the release of Stranger Things: Tales From '85, a new animated spin-off that'll reunite us with our favorite Hawkins heroes.

If you've seen the trailers, you'll have already realised that the show isn't a direct follow-up to the live-action series – the world isn't ending, Eleven's still around and Will's back rocking his bowl cut, for starters. In fact, showrunner Eric Robles has previously described it as kind of a "lost season". We wouldn't blame you, then, if you were a little confused as to when exactly it takes place in relation to the flagship show...

Well, thanks to the franchise's love of explicit timestamps, it's actually not as complicated as you might think. Below, we spell out which live-action seasons Tales From '85 is wedged between. So scroll on, Hellfire Club members, and get up to speed!

Stranger Things timeline, explained

• Stranger Things: The First Shadow (1959)
• Stranger Things season 1 (1983)
• Stranger Things season 2 (1984)
• Stranger Things: Tales From '85 (1985)
• Stranger Things season 3 (1985)
• Stranger Things season 4 (1986)
• Stranger Things season 5 (1987)

If we're considering every title canon within the Stranger Things universe, then stage show Stranger Things: The First Shadow kicks off the timeline. Set predominantly in 1959, it sees a young Henry Creel – AKA Baby Vecna – and his family relocate to Hawkins, Indiana from Nevada. There, he falls hard and fast for a sweet-natured local called Patty Newby, as he grapples with his emerging telekinetic powers. It also charts how he got said abilities from coming into contact with the Mind Flayer in its original, particle-like state.

Season 1 famously opens on November 6, 1983, with the events that follow spreading across seven or so days.

If you want to get real nerdy with it and were looking to do more of a chronological rewatch, you could watch Stranger Things season 4, episode 7, before hitting play on season 1. The episode, officially titled 'The Massacre at Hawkins Lab', showcases how Eleven overpowered Henry Creel/001 and sent him to the Upside Down in September 1979, a whole four years before the events of the series premiere.

While this is far from the only flashback across Stranger Things, it's arguably the most significant, and we'd argue that it might make for an elevated viewing experience if we knew of Jamie Campbell Bower's big bad Vecna prior to season 4.

Season 2 takes place at the end of October 1984. It wraps up with Eleven, Will, and the other youngsters attending Hawkins Middle School's winter formal in mid-December. Stranger Things: Tales From '85 picks up just less than 4 weeks later, on January 10, 1985, as the kids settle back into school following their Christmas break.

Season 3 kicks off in June 1985. Season 4 is set in February 1986, while season 5 rolls out across November 1987.

All 10 episodes of Stranger Things: Tales From '85 will drop on April 23. Never miss one with our guide to the Stranger Things: Tales From '85 release schedule, or check out our picks of the best Netflix shows for some watchlist inspiration while we wait.

Despite taking place in between Stranger Things seasons 2 and 3, showrunner Eric Robles says Stranger Things: Tales From '85 is more than just filler and that everything in the upcoming animated show happens for a reason.

"It really has all the feels," Robles explains in the new issue of SFX magazine. "We didn't want to just do a Monster Of The Week show. We want to make sure that things happen for a reason, and there's not just creatures for the sake of creatures. Everything that happens in the show, whether it's monster-related or character-related, there's a reason for it, and it's not just a miscellaneous monster. So if you follow from episode one to the finale, you'll understand how every single piece mattered within the season as a whole."

Per the official tagline, the "epic new animated series" sees the original characters "fight new monsters and unravel a paranormal mystery." Since Tales From '85 is canon to the flagship show, I'm curious to see how they'll explain the fact that these "new monsters" are never seen again? Especially given the fact that, at least according to the trailer, these creatures don't look anything like Demogorgons or Demodogs. The Stranger Things play is meant to be a prequel to the series, with season 5 reflecting some of the scenes we saw on stage... but I'm hoping all of it connects somehow.

The voice cast includes Brett Gipson as Hopper, Luca Diaz as Mike, Brooklyn Davey Norstedt as Eleven, Braxton Quinney as Dustin, Elisha Williams as Lucas, Ben Plessala as Will, Jolie Hoang-Rappaport as Max, and Odessa A'Zion as new character Nikki Baxter.

Stranger Things: Tales from '85 is set to hit Netflix on April 23. All episodes of Stranger Things are streaming now. For more, check out our breakdown of the Stranger Things season 5 finale explained, or see our Stranger Things season 5 finale review.

Given that she's clearly not present in Stranger Things season 3, those preparing to tune into upcoming spin-off Stranger Things: Tales From '85 are justifiably concerned about new character Nikki Baxter. Will she move away at the end of 10 episodes? Fall out with Eleven and co? Die?!

As is stands, anything's possible, since Netflix is keeping details of the animated series firmly under wraps. But whatever happens, showrunner Eric Robles has an ironclad explanation prepared as to why we never hear The Party mention pink-haired punk Nikki following their snow-filled adventures...

"One thing that's probably hard for a lot of people to understand is that in the '80s, it wasn't like it is now – you would have a friend that you would meet for summertime, if you went to camp, and they'd be amazing friends, and you'd have amazing adventures for that one summer," he explains in the new issue of SFX magazine, which features Tales From '85 on the cover. "It wasn't like you stayed in touch via Instagram or anything.

"If you got a phone number, maybe you stay in touch. But for the most part, people came in and out of your life, and they were your best friend ever for the two weeks or three months that you were with them, and then they're out of your life. It's the same concept with Nikki, but we'll see what happens to her at the end of this thing."

Executive produced by the Duffer Brothers, Stranger Things: Tales From '85 follows Eleven (voiced by Brooklyn Davey Norstedt), Mike (Luca Diaz), Will (Ben Plessala), Dustin (Braxton Quinney), Lucas (Elisha Williams), and Max (Jolie Hoang-Rappaport).

Fresh from their Christmas holidays (and El closing the gate to the Upside Down), the youngsters are excited for going back to school, pizza nights, and kicking off their next D&D session. But their dreams of resuming regular smalltown-kid activities are cut short when strange monsters start terrorizing the town.

Stranger Things: Tales From '85 premieres on April 23. While we wait, check out our picks of the best Netflix shows for some watchlist inspiration.

Stranger Things: Tales From '85 is set to reunite us with Eleven, Will, and co as it fills us in on what the youngsters got up to between the winter-themed Snow Ball and the opening of Starcourt Mall. All in animated form, too.

It'll also introduce us to Hawkins' newest new kid: Nikki Baxter...

Now, it's fair to say that fans have been a little dubious as to Nikki's involvement so far. She's got a super alternative look that many – read: those who seem to have forgotten Eddie Munson already – argue doesn't fit in with the show's small-town aesthetic and we know that The Party isn't still hanging out with her in season 3, since it takes place 5 months beforehand. So she's either a baddie or... well, she'll die?

We won't spoil that here, but when we sat down with showrunner Eric Robles recently, he couldn't hide his fondness for the pink-haired punk. "I really fell in love with this idea of Nikki in those early days with the Duffer Brothers," he tells GamesRadar+. "One of the things that they do so well is introduce new characters to the show and at first we're all like, 'Oh, I don't know about this Max character… Are they bringing a girl into this?' And then we end up being like, 'We need Max!', right? Same with Robin, with Eddie. When we were talking about it, we're like, 'Well, if this a DnD party, then they're missing the barbarian, right? They need the barbarian. "

In the 10-episode spin-off, which Robles would prefer you not to refer to as a 'Saturday morning cartoon', Nikki (voiced by /Until Dawn's Odessa A'zion) strikes up a fast friendship with Will (Ben Plessala) after she defends him from a school bully. She overhears the kid that's picking on him call him 'Zombie Boy' and since she's fresh to the school and has no idea where that stems from, she innocently thinks it's a rad moniker – and encourages Will to embrace it.

"When we were talking about what she could bring to the table, we realized that Will really has gone through a lot but he hasn't got anybody to really talk to, right?" adds Robles. "Mike is caught up in the relationship with El right now. Lucas and Max are dealing with their own drama at the same time and Dustin's out for the next big adventure, right?

"There just wasn't somebody that Will could really connect to in that way. So we liked the idea of bringing somebody in who's never gonna judge [him], and just look at him like, 'Zombie Boy is an awesome nickname. Are you kidding me? Own that, dude'. That idea of somebody giving him that strength was really great and allowed us to give him someone to talk to and grow from."

Robles concludes by suggesting that Nikki is retroactively "the catalyst" for Will stepping into himself in Stranger Things' later seasons – and finding the strength to stand up to big bad Vecna. "He really evolved and we're just hoping that a little bit of that came about because Nikki was in his life," he smiles. Cute, or what?

Stranger Things: Tales From '85 premieres on April 23. While we wait, check out our picks of the best Netflix shows for some watchlist inspiration.

The art style. The slightly more child-friendly tone. The episodic cliffhangers? It's no wonder we're all getting big "Saturday morning cartoon" vibes from Netflix's new animated series Stranger Things: Tales From '85. Hell, it's even set during the time cereal-munching kids would plonk themselves in front of the telly to kickstart their weekend...

In a recent interview with GamesRadar+, though, showrunner Eric Robles explained why he's deliberately "trying to stay away from the term" in the run-up to its release.

"[It] could mean anything from Care Bears to He-Man to Robotech," he tells us. "Look, I'm a Saturday morning kid myself, but it's so vague that it pops different ideas in people's minds. I would hate to use that nowadays, because somebody may be like, 'Oh, it's going to be super kiddie. And it's like, 'No, it's not right'. I didn't try to make it feel young for the sake of it."

Executive produced by the Duffer Brothers, Stranger Things: Tales From '85 fills us in on what the D&D-playing youngsters got up to in the winter after the Snow Ball. If you're a long-time fan of the flagship series, you'll remember that season 2 opened on Halloween and the summer-set season 3 took place around July 4th – so there's plenty of gaps to plug. It's heavy on the mystery and while there are plenty of "awesome monsters" across its 10 episodes, it skews a little lighter than its live-action counterpart.

For Robles, the tone of the show was inspired by illustrator Kyle Lambert's official Stranger Things posters. "I looked at those things like I looked at Drew Struzan's Back to the Future posters as a kid, and my imagination would just go wild. I thought to myself, 'If we can bring those posters to life with that kind of authenticity and those brush strokes and that artistic kind of approach, we'll have ourselves a pretty cool show."

He goes on to say that he grew up watching the likes of The Lost Boys, Friday the 13th and Nightmare on Elm Street with his dad – and that he wanted to create some of his own darkly fun moments in Tales.

"With all these movies, there's horror involved, but it's going to be okay. These kids are going to be okay. We're going to figure it out," Robles notes. "And that's all we wanted to do. I wanted to really capture that sense of real danger and make a show that wasn't Scooby Doo Light, but also not super heavy."

Stranger Things: Tales From '85 premieres on April 23. While we wait, check out our picks of the best Netflix shows for some watchlist inspiration.

Invincible's animation woes continue as Thragg's epic fight scene contains an embarrassing mistake that really should have been noticed in advance.

Spoilers for Invincible season 4 follow.

As spotted by viewers in Invincible season 4's penultimate episode, the Viltrumite War in space sees a character literally disappearing from the frame.

The moment in question, as you can see below, features Tech-Jacket firing an explosive projectile at a Viltrumite and sending him flying across the stars. But, bizarrely, he quite literally gets removed from the frame at the very end of the scene.

As many will attest, Invincible's animation has taken a noticeable dip since the first season's electric debut.

Then, Invincible had the benefit of multiple years of pre-production and concept work before hitting our screens. Now, creator Robert Kirkman has been open about slightly shorter turnarounds, and it appears the work has suffered somewhat. But this is by far the most egregious example to date.

Invincible season 4 has been one of peaks and troughs so far. Its Hell-centric episode, an original idea from Kirkman not present in the comics, is among the show's lowest-rated episodes on IMDb.

But the Prime Video series quickly bounced back with its fifth and seventh episodes reaching close to series highs for Invincible.

Invincible may even make its long-awaited jump to live-action in the future.

"It's definitely a long process, and it's something that hopefully will come together sooner rather than later," Kirkman told ScreenRant earlier this year. At the very least, there won't be any animation snafus to worry about.

For more, check out the Invincible season 4 release schedule and our picks for the best shows on Prime Video.

Given that it's set between seasons 2 and 3 of Stranger Things, it was kind of a necessity that upcoming spin-off Tales From '85 be animated. It's been nine whole years since the flagship series' second chapter premiered on Netflix and, well, the actors who played Eleven, Will, and co. have had serious growth spurts since then.

Another big benefit of ditching live-action though, says showrunner Eric Robles, is that the creative team were "able to do things that are so fun, so extreme, so big". Things, in short, they wouldn't have been able to do if they were having to film them for real...

"When we were talking about the development of this thing, it really was like, 'why animation?' Like, if we're going to do it, why animation? And the proof is in the pudding, as they say, right? It's because we're able to do things that are so fun, so extreme, so big in a way that you probably couldn't do in the live action – and the budget would probably be insane if we did it in that way," he laughs in an exclusive interview with GamesRadar+.

"There's an art to what we're doing here. There's a different style of art, right? And it really is. Every animator, every artist that's involved in this is literally fans of the [flagship] show, and we're all putting so much love into it for that reason."

With the likes of Hopper, Nancy, Jonathan, and Steve merely cameoing in the show, Stranger Things: Tales From '85 revolves almost entirely around The Party; Eleven (voiced by Brooklyn Davey Norstedt), Mike (Luca Diaz), Will (Ben Plessala), Dustin (Braxton Quinney), Lucas (Elisha Williams), and Max (Jolie Hoang-Rappaport).

Fresh from their Christmas holidays (and El closing the gate to the Upside Down), the youngsters are excited for snow ball fights, pizza nights, and kicking off their next D&D session. But their dreams of getting back to regular smalltown-kid activities are cut short when strange new monsters start terrorizing the town.

According to Robles, none of the Stranger Things cast have seen the show yet, but thanks to a fleeting visit to the studio during production, Dustin Henderson actor Gaten Matarazzo has already given it his seal of approval.

"He was having such a blast seeing all the likenesses of the characters," Robles recalls. "We showed him a scene with Braxton, who plays Dustin in the show, in it and he was like, 'Is that my voice?' We were like, 'No, that's the voice actor'. He was just like, 'Oh my gosh, that sounds like me.' It was great to hear that he, you know, gave us the thumbs up on that."

Stranger Things: Tales From '85 premieres on April 23. While we wait, check out our picks of the best Netflix shows for some watchlist inspiration.

It's safe to say that fans were… disappointed when it was announced recently that Billy Hargrove and Joyce Byers wouldn't be appearing in the upcoming Netflix series Stranger Things: Tales From '85. But at least we have brief scenes with Steve Harrington and Jim Hopper, right?

Turns out, though, that the flagship show's adult characters were originally going to play a much bigger part of the new animated spin-off.

"In those early stages, we were leaning a little bit heavier; live-action style with bigger stories and some more of the adult characters and what have you," showrunner Eric Robles tells GamesRadar+. "But we felt like once we started focusing too much on the adult story, we lost the youthful innocence of what the journey was supposed to be. We kind of reset ourselves, and said, 'You know what? Let's buckle down and figure out what these kids are really kind of figuring out in this mystery.'"

Just a week out from the show's debut, the kinds of secrets cartoon Eleven, Mike, and co. will have to unravel across the 10 episodes are still being kept under wraps. But Robles has made no secret of the fact that the adventure will feature a bunch of "awesome monsters".

We also know that it'll bridge the gap between seasons 2 and 3, as we're clued in on what our pint-sized Hawkins heroes got up to in the weeks that followed the Snow Ball – and that it'll feel notably small-scale fresh off their 3D counterparts' confrontation with Vecna.

"One of the big things we talked about is that these versions of the kids were not worrying about saving the world – once we got to those later seasons, the stakes were pretty high," Robles explains. "And there's just something really nice about the idea of, like, trying to save their town, trying to save just their friends or community.

"Things hadn't gotten that dramatic yet. The relationships are still very fresh. You know, Mike hasn't seen El for so, so long. You know, she's been gone, right? And he didn't even know if she was still alive, and he was just hoping that that would be a thing.

"Now these two kind of get to spend more time together now that you know that she's there and she's around," he concludes. "We didn't really get to see that relationship develop between seasons 2 and 3 in the flagship series."

Stranger Things: Tales From '85 premieres on April 23. While we wait, check out our picks of the best Netflix shows for some watchlist inspiration.

The anime adaptation of Ascendance of a Bookworm has returned for a fourth season almost four years to the day after the April 2022 beginning of season 3. The fantasy isekai anime is now being handled by Attack on Titan and The Ancient Magus' Bride studio Wit rather than Ajiado, the studio behind Izetta: The Last Witch and Kakushigoto. It is, bar none, my favorite isekai anime, and it's looking better than ever.

Ascendance of a Bookworm stars a young peasant girl named Myne. Internally, the girl is Motosu Urano, an early-20s Japanese college student who died in an earthquake and was reincarnated in a fantasy world of magic, feudalism, and, horrifyingly, next to no books. Unable to accept a world without books, Myne uses the knowledge of her past life and help from some lower-city muscle to develop printing methods and promote literacy in her new, medieval world while struggling with the chronic health problems of her new body.

This is one of the only isekai series that does something meaningful with the central conceit of the genre – awakening in a new world – and actually pays off its own ideas. The severity of Myne's struggles has always set Bookworm apart. The isekai genre is filled with frictionless, feel-good power fantasies designed to turn normal Japanese boys into peerless heroes in lit RPG worlds set up for their success. Bookworm is anti-power fantasy. The entire story is about Myne resisting the chains the world would put on her and making the best of bad situations. Unlike nearly every isekai protagonist, she very rarely gets her way; when she does, it's with clear effort and sacrifice.

Beyond her health and restrained passions, Myne grapples with her new socio-economic status, the foreign and primitive standards of the world around her (especially that world's view of women and girls), rampant corruption among the nobility, and the loneliness that comes with her knowledge and maturity. Every time Myne wins some new comfort, new dangers and responsibilities are, without fail, close behind.

The season 4 opening animation – now scrubbed of the ugly AI-generated art which Wit Studio has apologized for – plunges Bookworm into what it's best at: political drama tied up in the sim-like development of industries and kingdoms, spearheaded by folks caught in Myne's gravitational pull.

If you've enjoyed anime like That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime (as I have), which is also getting its fourth season this spring, but want to see things play out at a smaller, slower scale with a protagonist facing actual stakes, you can't do any better. Isekai trappings aside, it's just a good drama, set in a more low-fantasy world than what we usually see in anime. (There's magic, yes, but decidedly not for everyone.)

In the four-year gap since season 3, the series of novels by Miya Kazuki that the Bookworm anime is based on concluded with volume 33. As someone who savored the source books right up to the end, it's nice to see Bookworm receive the kind of animation that many other fantasy anime have enjoyed.

The first two episodes of season 4, which you can watch on Crunchyroll, carry the same energy as the three prior seasons but bring noticeably greater flourish and detail. Actions and emotions are sharper, and movements and magics are lush and complex, embellishing an ever-growing cast of characters.

To my immense relief, the new Bookworm looks fantastic, and better still, it hasn't abandoned the divergent art styles and visual metaphors that the anime was known for. Ascendance of a Bookworm is one of the shows that I point to when people understandably say that the isekai boom has been a strict negative for anime, and I am once again hungry for every new episode.

New anime in 2026: the biggest upcoming and ongoing shows.

Primer co-creator Tom Krajewski has hinted that an animated series based on the colorful teen hero could be in the works at DC Studios.

A DC fan account recovered a conversation from December 2025 between the comic book writer and another IG user, which is still available in the comment section of the first pinned post on Krajewski's personal Instagram account. A fan wrote, "They definitely need to make an animated series about Primer. She could be DC's equivalent to Marvel's Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur show." Krajewski replied, "Strong agree! And maybe we already are..."

Primer was first released as a graphic novel back in 2020, and introduces a teen artist named Ashley Rayburn who stumbles upon a set of body paints (developed for the military) that, when applied to the wearer, grant them a pretty wild range of special powers (sort of like the opposite of Miss Goldenweek's evil body paint powers in One Piece). There's also an arc in the comics where she wants to join the Teen Titans.

Because Primer is aimed at a middle-grade audience (i.e., 8-12 years old), it's possible that the animated series would differ from the rest of Gunn's very adult projects and be created for a much younger audience, similar to the way Marvel's Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur show is rated TV-Y7, indicating an audience of ages seven-years-old and up. Given that Gunn likes to spotlight underrated superheroes, a Primer series is not out of the realm of possibility.

Next up for DC is Supergirl, which hits theaters on June 26. For more, check out our guide to all the upcoming DC movies and shows that are currently in the works.

Shortly after apologizing for generative AI use in its opening credits, Ascendance of a Bookworm studio Wit has replaced the intro.

When season 4 debuted, fans spotted that the opening might have used AI. According to a statement posted by Wit, the studio investigated the claims and discovered generative AI had indeed been used in the background art and promised to replace the art in question before episode 2. The production committee also shared an apology online, pledging to replace the OP for the physical releases and on streaming (via Anime News Network).

Now, a new OP has been unveiled, which you can check out below (H/T ComicBook). It's the same as the first intro, only now without the AI use in the backgrounds. That's an extremely fast turnaround for a new opening that has beautiful art and a perfectly fitting whimsical energy.

Ascendance of a Bookworm is based on Miya Kazuki and You Shiina's light novel, and it sees a student killed by a stack of books in an earthquake, who is then reincarnated as a child in a world where books are only for the elite.

This is far from the first time an AI controversy has hit the anime world. A ChatGPT prompt was found in the German subtitles for Necronomico and the Cosmic Horror Show on Crunchyroll, while Amazon was criticized for using AI English dubbing for Banana Fish.

You can keep up to date with all the most exciting new anime coming soon with our guide through the link, or see our roundup of the best anime to watch now to fill out your watchlist.

As Disney Plus continues to roll out new episodes of Star Wars: Maul – Shadow Lord, fans of the franchise can't stop gushing about how far Lucasfilm Animation's style has come over the last 20 years.

Following the small-screen spin-off's double-bill premiere, a viewer shared a comparison shot of Ahsoka Tano in an early season of Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Shadow Lord's Devon Izara on Reddit – and commended the studio's artists for doing such an "incredible job" on the latest tale's visuals.

"They deserve every amount of praise for how beautiful Maul – Shadow Lord looks," the poster added, as another fan wrote in the replies: "Ever since Clone Wars season 7, [Star Wars] animation has been peak in all of animation imo. I've yet to find a style I enjoy more."

"I say this pretty much whenever a new trailer/series in this style comes out. It's insane how far this style has come, it's basically unrecognizable at this point," said another. "And every time they manage to improve it even further and make it better still between projects."

Some expressed that they'd love to see The Clone Wars get a "graphical refresh". Meanwhile, others seem to so impressed with how cool Star Wars: Maul – Shadow Lord looks that it's convinced them that all future projects set in a galaxy far, far away should be animated...

"Every time a new animated show comes out, the level of animation is always nearly staggering. The environments especially look damn near photo realistic. Makes me feel that Star Wars movies should switch going forward," said one commenter.

"With as good as animation is getting sci-fi in general should start moving that direction in a lot of cases IMO," added another. "It simply allows for far more flexible storytelling."

Set between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope, Star Wars: Maul – Shadow Lord sees the eponymous former Sith try to rebuild his criminal syndicate and claim a new apprentice, Devon Izara.

The first two episodes are streaming now on Disney Plus, with new ones dropping every Monday. Ensure you never miss one with our Maul – Shadow Lord release schedule, or check out our verdict in our Maul – Shadow Lord review.

We're over halfway through Dr. Stone's Science Future arc. It's a season that started way back in January 2025 and, finally, Senku's journey is about to conclude.

To help guide you through Dr. Stone's endgame, we have the Science Future episode 32 release date and US/UK streaming time on Crunchyroll below. We also have speculation on episode counts and confirmation on where to watch new Dr. Stone episodes.

For more, we have a complete guide to 2026's new anime, plus the latest on the mind-melting JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Steel Ball Run release schedule.

Dr. Stone Science Future episode 32 release date: what time is the new episode on Crunchyroll?

Dr. Stone Science Future episode 32 releases on May 21 at 7:00 AM Pacific/10:00 AM Eastern. That's 3:00 PM BST in the UK.

Dr. Stone Science Future Part 3 release schedule: when are new episodes out?

New episodes from Dr. Stone Science Future Part 3 release every Thursday.

That follows an epic run for the sci-fi anime's final season, which began in January 2025-March 2025 with an initial batch of 12 episodes before picking up again in July 2025 through until September 2025.

The current confirmed Dr. Stone Science Future Part 3 release schedule is below.

• Dr. Stone Science Future episode 25: April 2, 2026 - out now!
• Dr. Stone Science Future episode 26: April 9, 2026 - out now!
• Dr. Stone Science Future episode 27: April 16, 2026 - out now!
• Dr. Stone Science Future episode 28: April 23, 2026 - out now!
• Dr. Stone Science Future episode 29: April 30, 2026 - out now!
• Dr. Stone Science Future episode 30: May 7, 2026 - out now!
• Dr. Stone Science Future episode 31: May 14, 2026 - out now!
• Dr. Stone Science Future episode 32: May 21, 2026

Where to watch Dr. Stone Science Future Part 3

Dr. Stone Science Future Part 3 is streaming exclusively on Crunchyroll for paid subscribers.

As per the streamer, the series will be available in the following territories and regions: North America, Central America, South America, Europe, Africa, Oceania, the Middle East, CIS, India and Southeast Asia.

Dr. Stone Science Future Part 3 episode count and is it the final season?

Much like its first two parts, we anticipate Dr. Stone Science Future Part 3 will consist of 12 episodes. Seven episodes have aired so far.

And, yes, this is the final season, which means it's the latest anime to end in the past 12 months alongside the likes of My Hero Academia and Fire Force.

For more, check out all the latest on Demon Slayer Infinity Castle 2 and Vinland Saga season 3.

Invincible is back for season 4, and though the show is a fan-favorite with strong critical reception, the latest episode, 'Hurm,' is the lowest rated episode of the series.

That comes from IMDb's user ratings, which aggregate the general opinion of fans through ratings of 0-10 stars. Don't worry though, because even though Invincible season 4 episode 4 is the lowest rated of the show's episodes, it still ranks at a 7.2 - a respectable rating that represents a relatively small dip in user opinions.

Here's the IMDb logline for the episode: "A family confronts a fire danger. A cave exploration uncovers an unexpectedly shallow 'bottomless' pit. Art makes something fresh for Mark. Eve handles surprise guests. Mark gains wisdom from an unusual mentor."

Invincible season 4 is ramping up for a massive showdown between Invincible, Omni-Man, and their allies against the Viltrumite empire led by Thragg (voiced by Lee Pace), who is often considered the primary antagonist of Invincible and the main threat in the comic that gave rise to the animated series.

"There's this Viltrumite subplot that's been running through all the seasons that pays off in some really huge ways [this year]. Fans are always asking for more Omni-Man, and more Coalition of Planets, and more Allen and all that stuff," Invincible creator Robert Kirkman previously told GamesRadar+. "It's been drips and drabs in the show thus far because it's not the focus. The focus was establishing Mark and building Mark as a character and showing what's going on on Earth. But this season is different. This season, people are finally going to get what they're asking for."

The first four episodes of Invincible season 4 are now streaming, with new episodes arriving on Prime Video every week. For more, check out our picks for the best Prime Video shows and the Invincible season 4 release schedule.

The first full trailer for Stranger Things: Tales from '85 is here – and it's giving us big Scooby-Doo: Monsters Unleashed. And as a 30... something who grew up on the Mystery Inc's live-action flicks, I mean that as a compliment.

Set between seasons 2 and 3 of the original show, the animated spin-off is set to see Eleven (voiced by Brooklyn Davey Norstedt) and co kick off a new D&D campaign and wind up "unravelling a paranormal mystery". In short, business as usual.

Well, kind of... If you're a Stranger Things fan, then you'll know 1985 was the year the Starcourt Mall was built – and subsequently burnt down, too, during our Hawkins heroes' encounter with the dreaded Mind Flayer. It doesn't seem likely that we'll see the big guy pop up in the new show, though, with the recently released promo teasing all the terrifying new creatures The Party will be forced to face off against this time around.

"I grew up watching [Jaws], and we play with the same trope in the sense [that] underneath all that snow, there's something lurking," showrunner Eric Robles teased to Tudum, as he opened up about one particularly shark-like enemy. "You just never know where that thing's going to come out and grab you,” he explains.

As teased in the clip, which you can watch above, the first episode picks up shortly after the Snow Ball and clues us in on what the fantasy-loving youngsters got up to in the wintery months that followed. The whole gang's present, from Will (Benjamin Plessala) and Mike (Luca Diaz) to Steve (Jeremy Jordan), but as it stands, we're most intrigued by Nikki (Marty Supreme's Odessa A'zion).

The pink-haired newcomer obviously didn't feature in season 3, so we hope that doesn't mean something terrible happens to her in the show. Showrunner Eric Robles has assured fans she's simply a transfer student with a nomadic family but after what the franchise did to Joseph Quinn's Eddie, we've learned not to get too attached.

Other fresh faces are set to include Anna Baxter (Janeane Garofalo), Daniel Fischer (Lou Diamond Phillips), and Cosmo, who'll be voiced by horror icon Robert Englund, having brought Henry Creel's ill-fated father Victor in the original series.

Stranger Things: Tales from '85 releases on April 23. While we wait, check out our picks of the best Netflix shows for some watchlist inspiration.

A new trailer for Maul – Shadow Lord has dropped, teasing even more exciting action in the animated Star Wars spin-off.

Set around a year after the events of The Clone Wars (i.e. between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope), the show sees Maul cross paths with a young Jedi Padawan named Devon Izara as he attempts to rebuild his criminal syndicate away from the Empire.

However, detective Brander Lawson is hot on his heels, and wants to put a stop to Maul's criminal activities before they attract the attention of the Empire. "Our target is a syndicate leader. He is associated with several criminal organizations. And proficient with a laser sword," Brander says as the trailer opens.

"We’ve kind of never done a full-on, for lack of a better word, cops-and-robbers kind of Star Wars," the show's animation supervisor Keith Kellogg said recently.

The voiceover then switches to Maul as he tries to convince Devon to become his new apprentice. "The Empire tried to kill me. Their betrayal demands consequence," he says. "And that consequence requires a weapon. Together, we can destroy the Empire… Let us have our revenge."

Then, we get a taste of some pretty impressive lightsaber duels and fight scenes as Maul and Devon take on an army of Storm Troopers. "We're not gonna take out the whole Empire," Devon says, to which Maul just laughs.

Sam Witwer leads the show's voice cast as Maul, alongside Gideon Adlon as Devon Izara, Wagner Moura as Brander Lawson, and Richard Ayoade as the droid Two-Boots.

Star Wars: Maul – Shadow Lord debuts on Disney Plus on April 6. In the meantime, check out our guide to the other upcoming Star Wars movies and shows to get up to speed one everything else on the way from the galaxy far, far away.

In recent years, it's been all the rage for episodes of long-running shows not only to balloon in length, but to bring their stories home with a feature-length finale. See: Stranger Things, and this week's Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man. But on the eve of Invincible season 4, co-showrunners Robert Kirkman and Simon Racioppa say the Prime Video superhero series will stay true to its small-screen origins to the very end.

"I'll regret saying this if we ever do it, but I think that when a television show moves into a movie finale, the structure doesn't usually translate, and it feels off to me," Kirkman says, in conversation with GamesRadar+ ahead of season 4's debut. "Maybe there's a way to do it that just hasn't really been done yet, where it would work and be a good payoff. But I think that you don't want to truncate your final stories to fit in a movie. The beauty of television is that you get this large canvas to play on. So, I'm against it until we do it, and then I've changed my mind!"

In the past, Kirkman and co. have suggested that Invincible would need to run for 7-8 seasons to faithfully cover the events of the comics, though he tells GamesRadar+ that plan is somewhat "malleable". Despite this, one thing fans definitely shouldn't expect is for Invincible's grand finale to be feature-length.

"The promise of the show is these hour-long episodes that take you to a place you haven't been before across a season," notes Racioppa. "I think that's how it should end, but you know what? Let's do screenings of the last episodes in theaters. Like, there you could have it both ways, right?"

"Yeah. Come on, Peaky Blinders. Give me another season," adds Kirkman, with a grin.

Invincible season 4 is almost upon us, and Kirkman says fans "finally going to get what they're asking for" this year with the introduction of Grand Regent of the Viltrum Empire, Thragg (Lee Pace), and an escalation in the Viltrumite threat. "The focus [previously] was establishing Mark and building Mark as a character and showing what's going on on Earth. But this season is different."

Stars Steven Yeun and Gillian Jacobs also discussed where we find Mark and Eve at the beginning of season 4. "Right now you're watching Mark as he's coming to understand maybe a little bit of the loss of his attachment to his idealism," Yeun told GamesRadar+. If our glowing Invincible season 4 review is anything to go by, this season is not to be missed.

Invincible season 4 releases on Prime Video from March 18. Make sure you never miss an episode with our Invincible season 4 release schedule.

New animated Star Wars spin-off Maul – Shadow Lord will be the galaxy far, far away's first "cops and robbers" story, according to the team behind the scenes.

"We’ve kind of never done a full-on, for lack of a better word, cops-and-robbers kind of Star Wars," animation supervisor Keith Kellogg told Animation Magazine of the new show, which picks up with former Sith after the events of The Clone Wars, between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope. The cop in question is Brander Lawson, while the robber, in this instance, is Maul.

"The thing that Dave [Filoni, Lucasfilm president and chief creative officer] put to us is, how do we tell this portion of this guy’s story? What is he doing when the Empire rises? What is he doing, trying to get revenge?" added supervising director Brad Rau. "He only has, like, two lines in Phantom Menace, so he’s just always been this mysterious, interesting character that we felt like the time was right to tell his story."

Per the show's official synopsis, the series will see Maul "plot to rebuild his criminal syndicate on a planet untouched by the Empire. There, he crosses paths with a disillusioned young Jedi Padawan, who could be the apprentice he is seeking, that will aid him in his relentless pursuit for revenge."

"We keep a measure of mystery around him," Rau continued. "It’s an interesting narrative balance. How do we focus on facets of this character without ruining him by telling you too much?"

Star Wars: Maul – Shadow Lord debuts on Disney Plus on April 6. For more from the galaxy far, far away, check out our guide to the other upcoming Star Wars movies and shows.

Invincible season 4 is almost upon us, and after a close encounter with Conquest that almost cost them their lives in the season 3 finale, things are set to go from bad to worse for Mark and Eve in season 4, according to stars Steven Yeun and Gillian Jacobs.

Speaking to GamesRadar+ over Zoom, Yeun and Jacobs say that Mark and Eve are facing hardships ahead in season 4, and not just of the Viltrumite variety. "Right now you're watching Mark as he's coming to understand maybe a little bit of the loss of his attachment to his idealism," Yeun says. As for Eve, the matter manipulator starts to experience a Spider-Man 2-style loss of power at the start of the season.

"In earlier seasons, she had her powers, but was unsure if she wanted to continue being a superhero," Jacobs says. "And I feel like she found a way, with this company that she started with Mark, to find a way to use it and feel good about it. But now, I think for the first time since she was a child, she's really having to grapple with like 'Who am I without these powers? What is happening?' And I think it's something that she's probably taken for granted. So, it's a real dilemma for her."

While season 4 is set to up the stakes significantly with the introduction of Thragg, the Grand Regent of the Viltrum Empire, and the return of Nolan/Omni-Man into his son's life, the more down to Earth story of a young man coming to terms with his new found abilities, and what he chooses to do with them, will still drive much of Mark's story in season 4.

"The thing that excites me about the process of making this show is that I get the script and then I'm very judging of Mark and where he's at, and then I do the scenes and come to realize his position," Yeun says with a smile. "I'm much older than Mark in life, and so I'm always navigating this in between, and I think the tension of where I'm at as an adult [versus] where he's at is always fun to revisit."

Invincible creator Robert Kirkman recently echoed this in a conversation with GamesRadar+, noting: "Fans are always asking for more Omni-Man, and more Coalition of Planets, and more Allen and all that stuff. It's been drips and drabs in the show thus far because it's not the focus. The focus was establishing Mark and building Mark as a character and showing what's going on on Earth. But this season is different. This season, people are finally going to get what they're asking for."

Invincible season 4 releases on Prime Video from March 18. Make sure you never miss an episode with our Invincible season 4 release schedule, and while you wait, check out our Invincible season 4 review.

Browncoats rejoice, the beloved '00s sci-fi western Firefly is returning to TV, albeit this time as an animated series.

Star Nathan Fillion, who played Captain Malcolm Reynolds on the short-lived series, revealed the news at a live recording of his and co-star Alan Tudyk's podcast, Once We Were Spacemen, held at Awesome Con on Sunday.

The animated series, which appears to currently be working under the title Firefly: Still Flyin', will reunite all of the show's surviving cast. That's Fillion, Tudyk, Gina Torres, Jewel Staite, Morena Baccarin, Sean Maher, Adam Baldwin, and Summer Glau. Ron Glass, who played Shepherd Book on the show, died in 2016.

The announcement follows several weeks of short Instagram videos showing Fillion reuniting with his old cast-mates one by one, prompting speculation that a new Firefly project was in the works.

The original show followed a gang of outcast renegades and outlaws on the beaten-up transport ship Serenity, and ran for a single season in 2002. Despite its now infamously short-sighted cancelation, the show sold well on home release and has always had a passionate and dedicated fanbase. A well-received sequel film, Serenity, was released in 2005. The new show takes place in the gap between the show and the movie.

The new project has been developed by Fillion's production company, Collision33, in partnership with 20th Television Animation and Disney. It will be showrun by the writer-producer team of Marc Guggenheim and Tara Butters, who have also written the pilot script. Concept art for the show has been developed with the Oscar-winning animation studio ShadowMachine. Deadline is reporting that the show will be shopped around to potential buyers shortly. Fillion has also released a short video urging fans of the show to share it and get the word out.

Firefly's creator, Joss Whedon, has given the project his blessing, but otherwise does not appear to be involved in the planned new series.

The news came just a day after it was revealed that another Whedon-based project, a revival of Buffy the Vampire Slayer starring Sarah Michelle Gellar, has not been picked up at Hulu.

While we wait for Firefly: Still Flyin', why not fill out your watchlist with our guide to the best new TV shows to watch in 2026, and beyond.

After three seasons of universal, multiversal threats, Invincible is (somehow) raising the stakes again in season 4. Entering the Invincible-verse for the first time this year is Thragg, the Grand Regent of the Viltrum Empire, and a moustachioed menace that makes Omni-Man look like an also-ran.

Voiced by Lee Pace, Thragg is effectively Invincible's Thanos – a threat so large it'll take the, ahem, assembled might of Mark, Nolan, Eve, and plenty more to stop him. For fans, an escalation in the show's Viltrumite subplot, which was largely put on ice after Nolan left planet Earth at the end of season 1, has been a long time coming, but that's all been by design according to co-showrunners Robert Kirkman and Simon Racioppa.

"We couldn't be more excited about how much of a culmination of the first three seasons this is going to feel like," Kirkman tells GamesRadar+. "There's this Viltrumite subplot that's been running through all the seasons that pays off in some really huge ways [this year]. Fans are always asking for more Omni-Man, and more Coalition of Planets, and more Allen and all that stuff. It's been drips and drabs in the show thus far because it's not the focus. The focus was establishing Mark and building Mark as a character and showing what's going on on Earth. But this season is different. This season, people are finally going to get what they're asking for."

While the threat of a Viltrumite invasion has been in the offing ever since Omni-Man massacred the Guardians of the Globe in the very first episode of the show, it wasn't until Conquest's arrival on Earth at the climax of season 3 that the near-unkillable Viltrumites once again became a clear and present danger. As for the casting of Pace – who famously played another intergalactic villain, Ronan the Accuser, in the MCU – Kirkman says there was no other choice.

"Lee Pace is just the greatest," Kirkman says. "We couldn't think of another actor to play Thragg. He was our first choice, only choice, and we couldn't be more thrilled that he was able to come in and do it."

"And also, he's the sweetest guy as opposed to Thragg in the show," adds Racioppa, with a smile. "You've seen little bits of the Viltrumites. You've met a couple of them, but we've also been like, 'They're coming. They're coming.' So, finally, we deliver on that promise."

Invincible season 4 streams on Prime Video from March 18. Make sure you never miss an episode with our Invincible season 4 release schedule, and while you wait, check out our list of the Best Prime Video shows.

Invincible season 4 has all wrapped up, which means you might be looking ahead to what the future holds for Mark.

But if you're not caught up and want to (sensibly) avoid spoilers on the latest season, we have an episode count guide for you.

When you're done, check out our Invincible season 4 review for our verdict. Then dive into our breakdown of the Invincible season 4 ending and what to expect from Invincible season 5.

Invincible season 4 release schedule: when were new episodes released?

As has become Prime Video tradition in recent years, Invincible season 4 released the first three episodes in one batch. New episodes dropped weekly across March and April.

The full Invincible season 4 release schedule looks like this:

• Invincible season 4, episode 1: March 18 - out now!
• Invincible season 4, episode 2: March 18 - out now!
• Invincible season 4, episode 3: March 18 - out now!
• Invincible season 4, episode 4: March 25 - out now!
• Invincible season 4, episode 5: April 1 - out now!
• Invincible season 4, episode 6: April 8 - out now!
• Invincible season 4, episode 7: April 15 - out now!
• Invincible season 4, episode 8: April 22 - out now!

Where to watch Invincible season 4 and confirmed episode count

Invincible season 4 consists of eight episodes and is available for all Prime Video subscribers.

While you're still doom-scrolling on Prime Video, be sure to check out the best shows on Amazon Prime.

From a certain perspective, the 'low angle Frieren' image that went viral at the end of 2025 is an example of the anime community at its best.

When Reddit user SpaceDev1 shared their effort at drawing Frieren from an awkward angle – complete with awkwardly pointy chin – they could never have predicted the attention that would soon follow.

Animation aces and novice fans alike replied in their droves with advice, support, and suggestions for the budding artist. It gained wider attention thanks to Frieren actor Mallorie Rodak, who quickly adopted it as her Twitter profile picture.

Frieren from r/Frieren

For Rodak, speaking months after the unlikeliest of social media sensations, it was a "wholesome" moment that will stick with her.

"I absolutely love 'low angle Frieren'", Rodak, who voices Frieren in the English dub, tells GamesRadar+.

"As soon as I saw the drawing before it had really even taken off, I immediately just felt a connection to it. It was such a wonderful, wholesome thing on the internet where the original artist posted it and just wanted feedback on how to draw what is quite a difficult angle to draw from. Then just to see the whole community come together and just be honest and open about how hard it is to draw was beautiful," Rodak says.

The Frieren actor, who has also voiced characters in Dr. Stone and Black Clover, adds, "I was just scrolling through my feed and seeing pictures of Frieren one after the other, so I was just having the best day ever. To me, it was such a wonderful, wholesome movement that features my favorite character. So, win-win."

Frieren: Beyond Journey's End season 2, which is now adapting the Divine Revolte arc, is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

For more, check out the Frieren: Beyond Journey's End season 2 release schedule and our picks for the best anime on Crunchyroll.