VisionQuest showrunner Terry Matalas says we'll see plenty of Ultron in his scary robot form throughout the new Disney Plus show, but that it was more important to showcase James Spader and Paul Bettany's complicated father-and-son chemistry.

"It's funny, people say it's a budget thing, it's not, it's a James Spader thing," Matalas tells Polygon. "I love James Spader. Who doesn't love James Spader? I just want to see James and I want to see Bettany. You'll get plenty of robot action in the show. The show is very much inspired by that last scene in Age of Ultron between the two of them," he continued. "But watching Spader and Bettany chew up the scenery was something I saw in my head from the very beginning."

Of course, Ultron and Vision won't be the only robot we see in human form: the cast includes Orla Brady as FRIDAY, Emily Hampshire as EDITH, and James D'Arcy as JARVIS (yes, that Jarvis). You might recall that FRIDAY is the AI who was there in the final moments of Tony Stark's life (which is something the show will indeed explore).

It's also worth noting that it's Vision who requests that the AIs each take a human form while living under his roof, in order to make for some "happy home" vibes. It'll be interesting to see how happy of a home it can be with Ultron just running around in there.

Adds Matalas: "It is prohibitively expensive to do a CGI robot 24/7, but I also don't want to see a CGI robot. It's not going to be able to emote and do the things that James Spader can do with just the twitch of an eyebrow. So that's pretty much the main reason."

VisionQuest arrives this October 14. In the meantime, check out our guide to all the upcoming Marvel movies and shows for everything else that's on the way.

Asa Germann has been cast as Angel in the MCU's upcoming X-Men movie, and this is the best casting choice thus far.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Germann initially auditioned for Scott Summers aka Cyclops, which ultimately went to Heartstopper star Kit Connor.

Germann is best known for his role as Sam Riordan in The Boys spin-off Gen V, which centered on a group of young Supes at a Supes-only university. Sam was not among the student population, but was kidnapped and experimented on by the people in charge of the university in order to help create a virus that would kill all Supes.

Germann's performance as Sam is captivating, and he brings so much vulnerability, raw intensity, and a dark psychological complexity to the role. That's exactly what it takes to play Angel, who was quite literally introduced on-screen in X-Men: The Last Stand as a child cutting off his own wings. Marvel really hit the nail on the head with this one, and I am so ridiculously stoked.

The rest of the cast includes Maya Boyd as Storm, Christopher Abbott as Professor Charles Xavier, Adam Driver as Mister Sinister, and Samara Weaving as Emma Frost, respectively. Sadie Sink made her debut as Jean Grey in Spider-Man: Brand New Day.

X-Men hits theaters on May 5, 2028. For more, check out our guide to everything announced at D23 2026. We've also rounded up all of the upcoming Marvel movies and shows on the way in 2026 and beyond.

VisionQuest showrunner Terry Matalas has revealed the two MCU scenes that inspired the Disney Plus show – as well as Kevin Feige's one mandate.

The show brings back Paul Bettany's Vision after the events of WandaVision, which saw Wanda bring the synthezoid back from the dead in her magical Hex. In the end, she brought down the Hex, but White Vision escaped with all of the regular Vision's memories.

"The two scenes that really inspired the show are two of my favorite scenes in all of Marvel canon, which is the last scene with him in Age of Ultron, and the Ship of Theseus scene in WandaVision. That was the basis of the series," Matalas told Polygon.

The Ship of Theseus scene is a discussion between Hex Vision and White Vision, in which the Hex version explains the philosophical issue of the ship: if all of its parts are replaced over time, is it still the same ship? This applies to White Vision in the new show, since he has regular Vision's memories, but he is a separate creation.

The last scene of Age of Ultron sees Vision destroy the last of the Ultron robots, after the two have a brief conversation on the nature of humanity. Vision is far more optimistic than Ultron, who brands the synthezoid "naive." James Spader's Ultron will be returning in VisionQuest.

As for Feige's mandate, it was surprisingly simple. "There's always a direct line of communication with Kevin and [Marvel's head of television] Brad Winderbaum. They're a text away. But for the most part, we had a lot of creative freedom to tell Vision's story the way we wanted to. There were no borders we needed to be mindful of," Matalas explained.

"Kevin was very receptive to this crazy idea from the beginning. He called me and said that it's the story of Vision, he's going to meet his son, and he's like, 'The rest is up to you.'"

Vision's son, Tommy Shepherd, will be played by Ruaridh Mollica in the show. Billy Maximoff, meanwhile, appeared in Agatha All Along, played by Joe Locke.

VisionQuest arrives this October 14. In the meantime, check out our guide to all the upcoming Marvel movies and shows for everything else that's on the way.

In the aftermath of Spider-Man: Brand New Day and as Avengers: Doomsday approaches, Marvel has recorded its biggest month ever on Disney Plus.

That's according to The Hollywood Reporter journalist Borys Kit, who writes on Twitter: "News: Disney says domestic pre-sales for AVENGERS: DOOMSDAY have crossed $50 million… with still over 3 months to go." He added: "Disney also saying it's seeing a major lift thanks to Doomsday and SPIDER-MAN: BRAND NEW DAY. Case in point: Marvel recorded its highest hours in Disney Plus history with over 420M hours for the month of August."

Brand New Day has taken the box office by storm, too, currently standing at $2.4 billion globally. The film introduces Sadie Sink's Jean Grey and seems to set up the X-Men movie – more cast members, including Adam Driver's Mr Sinister and Inde Navarette's Rogue, were announced at this year's D23.

Doomsday, meanwhile, is set to be Marvel's biggest movie yet. Its supersized cast list includes the likes of Anthony Mackie's Captain America, Chris Hemsworth's Thor, Chris Evans's Steve Rogers, and Robert Downey Jr.'s Doctor Doom.

"I feel very at home with the role," Evans has said. "I feel very not just comfortable, but precious. I care about the arc of all these characters, and we wouldn’t be doing it unless there was going to be a really interesting situation to put him in."

Doomsday arrives this December 18, and Brand New Day is in theaters now. For more, check out our guide to all the upcoming Marvel movies and TV shows for everything else that's on the way.

Upcoming MCU show VisionQuest looks like a suitably trippy affair, with the grieving synthezoid retreating into his own head following the events of WandaVision and somehow coming into contact with his teenage son, Tommy Shepherd. But where exactly the show slots onto the Marvel timeline has been something of a mystery until now.

"Years have passed since WandaVision," VisionQuest showrunner Terry Matalas confirmed to Polygon. "I would say we're about current with Spider-Man: Brand New Day." If we can take Matalas' word as gospel, that means VisionQuest is set in 2028, as this is when Brand New Day takes place, some four years after the events of Spider-Man: No Way Home.

Alongside Brand New Day, that puts VisionQuest furthest along the MCU timeline ahead of the release of Avengers: Doomsday in December. Though it doesn't seem like VisionQuest will directly lead into Doomsday, Matalas did recently confirm that the show will offer a heartbreaking new perspective on Iron Man's death.

Despite being billed as the conclusion of the WandaVision trilogy following the 2021 show and the 2024 series Agatha All Along, Matalas told SFX that's it's actually more of a sequel, and they have ideas for subsequent seasons. Paul Bettany also recently revealed why WandaVision/Agatha showrunner Jac Schaeffer stepped away from VisionQuest, leaving the door open for Star Trek: Picard's Matalas.

After dying (twice) and losing the love of his life, Wanda Maximoff, off-screen in Doctor Strange 2, VisionQuest sees the superpowered android back in Scotland, where he once lived with Wanda (aww). By day, he works in a pub, but by night he goes soul-searching in his own mind palace, learning what it means to be human through the oddball AI constructs in his head. Among them, Vision's creator and former threat to the planet Ultron, who's been trapped in Vision's head since their final conversation at the climax of Avengers: Age of Ultron.

One person who won't be appearing in VisionQuest, however, is Wanda. At least, that's what Matalas wants us to believe. "There’s a moment late in the season that we were running towards, but we didn’t know exactly how we would get there," Matalas told SFX. "Paul had an amazing idea for the kind of scene it should be. Who he is within that particular scene is kind of amazing, and that we were able to pull that off. I want to make sure that people don’t think I’m teasing Wanda, because I’m not teasing Wanda."

As far as we know, neither Paul Bettany's Vision (white or otherwise), nor Elizabeth Olsen's Scarlet Witch are part of the massive ensemble cast of Avengers: Doomsday, as they weren't part of the cast reveal livestream. But there's still plenty of time to squeeze them into Avengers: Secret Wars…

VisionQuest releases on Disney Plus on October 14. For more, check out our guide to all the upcoming Marvel movies and TV shows for everything else the MCU has in store.

Thor was one of the first movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and really set the tone for Chris Hemsworth's God of Thunder. Directed by Kenneth Branagh, the visual style of the movie was extremely distinctive, relying heavily on canted angles (or Dutch angles) throughout.

These are shots where the camera is slanted to create diagonal lines on screen, rather than more traditional vertical and horizontal lines. If you revisit the movie, you'll realize that Thor is absolutely full of these moments.

However, it seems like not everyone at Marvel Studios was on board with this filmmaking choice. Speaking to the On Film…With Kevin McCarthy podcast, Branagh revealed: "I know there was a conversation at some point in some part of the Marvel universe where they had a conversation about, 'What would it cost to horizontalize this movie?' And I am glad to say that the cash price for that process was so prohibitive."

Branagh went on to justify the filming choice, saying it was inspired by the classic comic book runs of Thor. "It was just more about visual impact," he explained. "It was just what would hit you in a world, in a story about gods." The actor and director added: "I felt as though there was a reason for everything, and it was also the way you could put yourself behind it."

Thor will return soon in the upcoming Avengers: Doomsday, where he'll reunite with the classic Avengers as well as the Fantastic Four and the New Avengers to face Doctor Doom. As teased in the trailers, we'll see the God of Thunder face off against the new foe on the battlefield, with some catastrophic consequences.

Meanwhile, Branagh is starring opposite Ryan Reynolds in action comedy Mayday for Apple TV. The directors recently told us how their Top Gun homage in the film even got the thumbs-up from Tom Cruise himself.

If you're planning to rewatch Thor, here's our guide to watching the Marvel movies in order.

We still have over three months to wait until Avengers: Doomsday hits the big screen, but the MCU movie has already broken a major record in ticket resales.

While Global Box Office previously indicated that Doomsday had already crossed $40 million in domestic pre-sales in the US, Disney has since confirmed that Avengers: Doomsday has actually surpassed $50 million. This figure was shared by Disney SEVP and CFO Hugh Johnston during the Goldman Sachs Communacopia + Technology Conference. And it makes the Marvel movie the first film in history to achieve that number of presales a whole 100 days before its release.

This is quite the feat for the first Avengers movie in seven years. Historically, all Avengers movies have fared well on the big screen, with Avengers: Endgame still holding the title of highest-grossing Marvel movie of all time worldwide, and the second overall, with a whopping $2.79 billion. But with how Doomsday is performing right now, the new movie could beat that record.

However, Doomsday has some competition from inside, as Spider-Man: Brand New Day is still in theaters and is fast approaching Endgame's record. Plus, the movie is set to release on the same day in the US as Dune: Part 3, and has already lost out to the Denis Villeneuve movie on exclusive US IMAX rights for the first three weeks. Disney is attempting to bypass this by introducing its own premium format, Infinity Vision.

Directed by Joe Russo and Anthony Russo, Doomsday follows "beloved heroes from three distinct universes as they’re set on a deadly collision course and face an existential threat unlike anything they’ve ever encountered," as per the official synopsis. The movie welcomes back The Fantastic Four, The Thunderbolts, Thor, Steve Rogers, the original Fox-era X-Men, and more, as they unite to face Robert Downey Jr.'s green-cloaked villain Doctor Doom.

However, just before Doomsday hits theaters, Endgame is heading back to cinemas on September 25. Officially titled Avengers: Endgame Encore, the re-release is set to bridge the gap between the 2019 movie and Avengers: Doomsday, with added footage and a new post-credits tease.

Avengers: Doomsday hits theaters on December 18, 2026. For more, check out our guide on how to watch the Marvel movies in order, and keep up with new Marvel movies and shows heading your way.

Marvel boss Kevin Feige has shared some new teases for Avengers: Secret Wars. Marvel Comics recently rereleased Jonathan Hickman's acclaimed Secret Wars comic storyline from 2015 with a new foreword from Feige containing some intriguing tidbits about the MCU adaptation.

Per The Direct, in his introduction, he meditated on how the comic reinvented the Marvel universe, creating "something new, seamlessly picking up where the old universe left off, but branching out in all-new, all-different directions". Feige says that this is also the aim of the MCU.

"We pick and choose from Marvel's rich, nearly 90-year comics history and make movies that honor the source but become something entirely different," he continued. "That cycle continues as we head toward the Marvel Cinematic Universe's own version of Secret Wars. Like Loki gathering up branches of the timeline at the end of all things, we'll pick up the threads of Hickman and Ribic's run and all those who came before and weave a new story inspired by the vast tapestry of our comics and films."

Currently, it's not clear which version of Secret Wars the MCU will be adapting, as there have been a few variations. However, it seems Feige is implying they'll be picking and choosing different aspects as they bring it to the screen, which is standard practice for the MCU.

"We will bring together the characters we know and love in pinch-me moments that we as fans have always dreamed of but have never seen realized," Feige continued. "And we will call on Doctor Doom, the greatest villain in the history of the Marvel universe, to become a centerpiece of that story."

This is our best tease yet for the upcoming Avengers movie, with relatively few details revealed so far. We're expecting to get a much better idea of what it sets up when Avengers: Doomsday releases on December 18.

However, there has been some news trickling through, including the casting of Hamnet star Noah Jupe in an unnamed role. Speculation is he could be either the Beyonder or a grown-up Franklin Richards in the upcoming sequel.

For more on Marvel, here's our breakdown of the Marvel timeline as well as our guide to watching the Marvel movies in order.

Avengers: Doomsday could be arriving sooner than you think in some locations. The hugely anticipated new Marvel movie is officially hitting theaters on December 18, but there has been an advance screening added, which could let you see it two days earlier.

As shared on Reddit, one fan booked on to what's being billed as a "special advance screening" in California. This is available for the 7.30pm showing on December 16 at the Grenada Hills 9 theater branch of Regency Theaters.

This seems to be the earliest screening for the film at their Los Angeles locations, with the next ones available on December 17. Interestingly, on the official Avengers: Doomsday website, the earliest listings are for this date too, making the Regency Theaters screening the first we can find.

Preview tickets for the movie have been available for the past month and the movie has already been breaking records. According to the latest box office data from Global Box Office, Doomsday has already hit $40 million in pre-sale tickets.

The upcoming Marvel Phase 6 movie brings back Robert Downey Jr. to the MCU in a new role as Victor Von Doom. According to the official synopsis, "beloved heroes from three distinct universes will be set on a deadly collision course and face an existential threat unlike anything they've ever encountered."

We'll get a new look at the movie very soon with the release of Avengers: Endgame Encore, which will feature footage and a special tease for the film. That hits theaters on September 25.

For more on upcoming superhero movies, check out our guide to new Marvel movies and shows and our breakdown of how to watch the Marvel movies in order.

WandaVision showrunner Jac Schaeffer was originally going to showrun VisionQuest, the third instalment in a trilogy of Disney Plus shows that also includes Agatha All Along.

However, she ultimately stepped away for "personal reasons," according to Vision actor Paul Bettany in a new interview with Entertainment Weekly. She was replaced by Star Trek: Picard showrunner Terry Matalas.

"I felt like the rug had been pulled from under my feet," Bettany shared. "I love her very much and we made a lovely thing together. I had been waiting and looking forward to having my turn with Jac. And then 24 hours later, I was at a lunch with Terry, because that's the speed at which Marvel move."

While these three shows do form a trio, Matalas has shared that he views VisionQuest as more of a sequel to WandaVision, rather than completing the trilogy.

"I would say, if anything, it's definitely more of a sequel to WandaVision in a lot of ways," he shared.

"But it really exists on its own," he added. "It's more the Vision story, just because we're going to dig into so much of who he is in ways that the films and WandaVision couldn't, including some deeper parts of his origin that may go back even further than what we believed. So it's very much its own entity, but it does obviously touch upon what has come before for this guy."

VisionQuest arrives on Disney Plus this October 14. For more, check out our guide to all the upcoming Marvel movies and TV shows for everything else the MCU has in store.

Star Wars fans are worried that another project is being left behind at Lucasfilm. It's been three years since a new solo movie starring Daisy Ridley as Rey was announced at Star Wars Celebration.

A director and writer were initially attached, as we heard some details on what the film would follow. Due to be set some 15 years after The Rise of Skywalker, it was going to see Rey rebuilding the Jedi Order.

However, since 2024, there has been very little news on the development of the project. The latest update from Ridley came in 2025 when she promised that "the wait will be worth it" as she spoke about the hurdles that films have to overcome to get made.

Despite that positive update, the Star Wars community is growing more certain that this movie won't ever make it off the page. Posting on Reddit, one wrote: "It's been over three years since Daisy Ridley was brought out at Celebration to announce the Rey movie and there isn't even a script written yet. Will this eventually come out? When can we expect to see Rey onscreen again?"

The response from other fans was pretty unanimous: this isn't a movie that's going to get made. "My rule for Star Wars content is that it doesn’t exist until there is a trailer AND release date," wrote one, while another added: "Probably never. Changing leadership can sideline projects."

They weren't alone either, with a third commenting: "Agree 100%. Daisy Ridley has been absolutely done dirty." Another simply put it: "This right here is probably the biggest issue with Star Wars. Announcements. Don't tell us you're making it, just make it."

Several Star Wars projects have been announced but not made it out of the development phase. Star Wars Rebels co-creator Simon Kinberg was due to make a Star Wars trilogy, Indiana Jones 5 director James Mangold was announced to be making a film set thousands of years before the Jedi, and Taika Waititi has long been linked to making his own movie set in a galaxy far, far away. Who knows if any of them will one day happen.

Currently, there are only two projects on the horizon for Star Wars that are definitely happening: Ahsoka season 2 has been filmed and arrives in January 20, 2027, and Ryan Gosling's Starfighter is set for a May 28, 2027 release date.

For all the announced Star Wars movies and shows on the horizon, here's our guide to new Star Wars.

Star Wars actor Adria Arjona almost played a very different role in the galaxy far, far away. The Andor star was almost cast as Qi'ra in Solo: A Star Wars movie before the role went to Game of Thrones star Emilia Clarke.

Speaking about the experience on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, the actor revealed she tested for the part with the film's original directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, alongside Han Solo star Alden Ehrenreich.

"I was with Alden and Phil and Chris were there," she recalled. "I don't think I've ever been so nervous in my life. They put you in a suit and my biggest dream ever was to be in a Star Wars movie. I hadn't necessarily seen a Latin American woman like myself in Star Wars. It almost felt like I had to break that wall or at least somebody else, another Latin American, should break that wall and I would always root for them. But to me testing, it's like 'Oh my God, it's gonna be me.'"

The part ultimately went to Clarke, which Arjona says she has no hard feelings about. "I just wanted to be in Star Wars and the fact that I had the opportunity to be a leading character in a Star Wars movie was like, 'Wow this would be insane,'" she continued. "I didn't think too much of it. Then Emilia got it and she's probably one of the best actresses out there, she's amazing."

It was lucky too that she didn't end up getting the role as she went on to star as Bix Caleen in Andor. Andor ran for two seasons and is widely considered one of the best Star Wars shows ever made, while Solo got decidedly mixed reviews when it was released.

"I'm so thankful I didn't get it because then I wouldn't have been in Andor and Bix is the only character I've tattooed on my body," Arjona added.

The actor is soon making the switch from space to superheroes in the upcoming DC movie Man of Tomorrow. She'll be starring in an unknown role in the Superman follow-up, but it is widely rumored that she'll be playing Wonder Woman.

For more from a galaxy far, far away, check out our guide to all the upcoming Star Wars shows and movies.

Sebastian Stan may be one of the MCU's most beloved mainstays, having played Bucky Barnes since Captain America: The First Avenger back in 2011. However, the actor recently acknowledged he's never led a movie for Marvel, and apparently he has the perfect idea.

Stan said he pitched a "Sicario-esque" Winter Soldier film to Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige. "We keep a real small budget," he recalled in an interview with New York Magazine. "It's about a guy who thinks he recog­nizes someone from his past that had something to do with when, you know, he was brain­washed, and he gets obsessed with this per­son. He goes on a whole jour­ney to try to fig­ure out who this per­son is. It’s a thriller."

While the movie has yet to materialize, Stan added that Feige humored him, telling him, "'Yeah, that sounds cool!'" I've got to admit, I think it's an incredible pitch. Bucky has long been one of the best characters in the MCU, straddling the line between hero and villain. Thunderbolts* looked set to be a new opportunity for him to take the limelight, but instead he was underused.

Stan will be reprising the role as part of the New Avengers in the upcoming Avengers: Doomsday, but it's pretty unclear at the moment how much he'll be part of the story. Speaking earlier this year, he revealed that he'd never received the full script.

"We were just shooting scattered scenes," he explained. "It's a different way of working, continuous, constantly evolving. The producers didn't want us to read it in its entirety, to avoid journalists asking us questions."

Stan is busy filming The Batman 2 as well, where he'll be starring opposite Robert Pattinson's Caped Crusader. There's been no confirmation yet about who he's playing – and he refused to confirm it in the New York Magazine article too, but it's widely speculated that he'll be Harvey Dent.

For more on all the upcoming superhero movies on the way, check out our guides to upcoming Marvel movies and upcoming DC movies.

The MCU's post-Avengers: Secret Wars slate is dominated by big hitters like X-Men, Ghost Rider and Black Panther 3, but one under-the-radar movie in development is Nova, about Nova Centurion Richard Rider. The Nova movie is still currently undated, but despite being years out, screenwriter Michael Waldron has dropped the first hint of what the movie might be about.

In the comics, Nova inherits the mantle of Nova Centurion when the last surviving member of the planet Xandar's elite Nova Corps, Rhomann Dey, dies. The Nova Corps, if you'll recall, are wiped out off-screen in the MCU before the events of Avengers: Infinity War by Thanos in pursuit of the Power Stone. According to Waldron, the destruction of the Nova Corps will need to be addressed in the Nova movie. "They would have to reckon with that. Yeah," Waldron told The Wrap.

Noting that "however we expand the cosmic side of the MCU will be really cool," suggesting that the Nova movie will do exactly that, Waldron touched on some of his favorite Nova comic runs. "Annihilation is, I mean, I guess that’s the go-to, right?" Waldron said, referring to the 2006 comic series. "But the character spans a lot of generations, and I think maybe that’s why it’s taken some time to get him to the screen, figuring out 'Where do you start that story?' Do you start him on Earth? Do you start in space, as part of the Nova Corps? Whoever does it, I hope they do a good job."

Waldron is couching his quotes with a few qualifiers here, as his upcoming Marvel movie isn't officially on the release schedule just yet. The best we have for the time being is Kevin Feige himself confirming that Nova would be a movie, and not a TV show, at San Diego Comic-Con 2026. And you can't blame Waldron for playing it safe given Marvel's zipped-lips policy.

"I don’t know if I can say anything about anything I’m doing with Marvel. But I will say, I love Nova. I love Rich Rider," Waldron said. Spoken like a person who's well aware of the consequences for breaking an NDA.

Since co-creating Loki, Waldron has become a go-to screenwriter for Marvel Studios. In the years since, he has penned Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and is a credited co-writer on Avengers: Doomsday, alongside Spider-Man regulars Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers. Stephen McFeely is Doomsday's main writer. Despite having four credited writers, however, co-director Joe Russo recently said that Doomsday went into production without a finished script, as this allows "magic" to happen. Whatever you say, Joe.

Nova does not currently have a release date. Avengers: Doomsday releases on December 18. While you wait, check out our guide to all the upcoming Marvel movies and shows for everything else the MCU has in store.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day director Destin Daniel Cretton has revealed that he had to ask Kevin Feige to use the Hulk in the Marvel Phase 6 movie.

Mark Ruffalo's Bruce Banner has a brief but impactful role in the movie, giving Peter Parker some advice – and later Hulking out thanks to Sadie Sink's Jean Grey and her mind-control powers.

"Kevin's not necessarily ever pushing things on us," Cretton commented on NPR's Fresh Air podcast, while discussing bringing Jean Grey into the movie. "Once we know what we want, we have to go to him and ask, like, 'Is that going to work? Can we use this character in our movie?' The same with Hulk, too. We had to ask Kevin. It made sense to our movie to have the Hulk, it wasn't a mandate to put him in. We had to request, and Kevin let us do it."

Brand New Day picks up with Peter Parker in the aftermath of the No Way Home ending, which erased him from the memories of everyone he knows. That means the new film is more of a grounded, emotional tale dealing with Peter's loneliness.

"When we made Brand New Day, we set out saying, 'Well, we'll never make more than No Way Home, never make it bigger than No Way Home. So, let's just go deeper and make it special," Feige previously said during a panel at this year's D23 celebrating 65 years of Spider-Man, attended by GamesRadar+.

"And I have a memory, we were on set of No Way Home, which of course was about Tobey [Maguire] and Andrew [Garfield] and Tom, three Spider-Men together," he continued. "How do you get bigger than three Spider-Men together? Well, sitting on a golf cart outside the set were Zendaya and Jacob [Batalon] and Tom. And it occurred to me, looking at those three, that that trio is as iconic as the three Spider-Men. And now Brand New Day has proved that."

Brand New Day is in theaters now. For more, check out our Spider-Man: Brand New Day review, or see our guide on how to watch the Marvel movies in order.

Before landing the role of Tommy Shepherd in upcoming MCU series VisionQuest, Ruaridh Mollica has revealed that he previously auditioned for a mystery MCU role.

"It’s one of those things as an actor – I maybe only ever had one other Marvel audition in my whole time of getting auditions. When they come through it’s like a lottery ticket, almost," said Mollica in the latest issue of SFX magazine.

However, not even Mollica knows what role he auditioned for. "I don’t know. It was all fake names, sides, fake everything. So I actually will never, never know."

Alas, Mollica will soon make his MCU debut in VisionQuest as Tommy Shepherd, aka Vision's suspected son, Tommy Maximoff. In Marvel Comics, Tommy is one of the reincarnated sons of Wanda Maximoff (Scarlet Witch) and Vision. The hero later goes by his superhero name Speed, bearing similar powers to Quicksilver.

However, the official VisionQuest synopsis on Disney Plus spells Tommy's last name as 'Shepard' rather than as it is in the comics, 'Shepherd.' This may be Disney's way of throwing us off the scent. Or, maybe Tommy is a bigger mystery than we thought...

The synopsis reads, "A rebooted Vision has been hiding from those who seek to weaponize him. While laying low he consults the AI personas embedded in his programming, including the infamous Ultron, to find his true meaning. This quiet life of self-reflection ends when a bounty placed on his head thrusts him on the run alongside Thomas Shepard, a mysterious boy who may be Vision's son reincarnate."

The series is set soon after the events of WandaVision, welcoming back Paul Bettany. However, the series will also see the return of James Spader's Ultron, who made his MCU debut in the 2015 movie Avengers: Age of Ultron.

VisionQuest premieres on Disney Plus on October 14. For more, keep up with upcoming Marvel movies and shows and new TV shows on the way in 2026 and beyond.

It sounds like we could see Paul Bettany's Vision again after VisionQuest, as the actor teases the upcoming Marvel show sets up a new future for the synthezoid.

"We start off the show where we left him as White Vision, who has been repurposed as a weapon," Bettany told SFX magazine. "I think that where we get to at the end of this, he's clearly escaped the confines of whoever repurposed him, and he is looking for agency. By the end of our show, I think you'll see that it's a really exciting springboard for what Vision might do in the future."

Of course, Vision has actually died twice in the MCU – once in Infinity War (technically twice, since Wanda killed him, then Thanos reversed time to kill him again) and once more in WandaVision when Wanda brings down the Hex. However, Vision first transferred his memories to White Vision, who fled the scene.

Since the events of WandaVision, Wanda herself has also seemingly perished, as seen in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. In VisionQuest, Vision will be aware of her fate, showrunner Terry Matalas has confirmed.

James Spader's Ultron will also be back in the new show, and it seems he's been relaxing ever since his defeat in Age of Ultron. "He's had access to the internet, television, history, and he's just been consuming... and he's been painting," Spader revealed. "[Ultron and Vision] have a sort of father-son-therapist-psychopath relationship."

VisionQuest arrives this October 14 on Disney Plus. For more, check out our guide to all the upcoming Marvel movies and shows for everything else the MCU has in store.

VisionQuest is set to be the end of the WandaVision trilogy on Disney Plus, but that wasn't how showrunner Terry Matalas approached it.

Asked if he was told to create a story that completed the trilogy, which also features WandaVision and Agatha All Along, he reveals this wasn't his initial brief. "No, not really. I would say, if anything, it’s definitely more of a sequel to WandaVision in a lot of ways," he told SFX magazine in the new issue, which features the Disney Plus show on the cover.

"But it really exists on its own. It’s more the Vision story, just because we’re going to dig into so much of who he is in ways that the films and WandaVision couldn’t, including some deeper parts of his origin that may go back even further than what we believed. So it's very much its own entity, but it does obviously touch upon what has come before for this guy."

What's more, Matalas went on to say that he doesn't think this needs to be the end of the story for Vision either (Paul Bettany thinks it could be a "springboard" for more Vision stories as well). In fact, Matalas has several ideas about how the story can continue beyond just one season.

"The second we wrapped, Paul, James, and I were immediately ready to go into 10 more seasons of whatever this could be," he added. "But that's up to Marvel Studios and the television gods as to what happens."

Despite being a WandaVision follow-up, VisionQuest is very much Vision's show. Following White Vision – who has been loaded with Vision's memories – the series centers on the synthezoid as he tries to understand who he is. Part of this involves retreating into his mind palace, where he speaks to other Marvel AIs and his creator, Ultron. All the while, he's being hunted by a bounty hunter and dealing with the arrival of his son into his life.

Elizabeth Olsen is not returning as Wanda Maximoff in the show, bowing out of the MCU after Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness. This is something Matalas wants to make clear too, referencing a key moment "late in the season".

"There’s a moment late in the season that we were running towards, but we didn’t know exactly how we would get there," he continued. "Paul had an amazing idea for the kind of scene it should be. Who he is within that particular scene is kind of amazing, and that we were able to pull that off. I want to make sure that people don’t think I’m teasing Wanda, because I’m not teasing Wanda."

Elsewhere in the issue, Matalas teased how VisionQuest will offer a new, heartbreaking perspective on Iron Man's death, while Tommy Shepherd star Ruaridh Mollica revealed he previously auditioned to play a character in the MCU, but he still doesn't know which one.

VisionQuest arrives on Disney Plus on October 14. For more MCU, here's our guide on how to watch the Marvel movies in order.

VisionQuest showrunner Terry Matalas will approach Iron Man's death in Avengers: Endgame from an AI perspective.

"It brought all these really interesting questions that we get to bring to the surface here when we bring them all together," Matalas told SFX magazine in the new issue, which features the Disney Plus show on the cover. "Like, FRIDAY was there when Tony Stark died. What’s that like for an AI, to not be able to protect the one they’re programmed to protect? I guess the [bigger] question is, are they corporeal? Or, are they digital? Are they avatars? Can they be corporeal? Do some characters want to be corporeal? Some definitely do not. But that's a question that the pilot will very quickly answer."

FRIDAY took over for JARVIS, Tony's AI assistant, in Avengers: Age of Ultron. In his final moments, JARVIS monitored his failing vitals and ultimately announced his death to the Avengers heroes.

AI could bring an interesting perspective for sure, because it doesn't really dawn on you that FRIDAY is sentient, with "feelings" of her own. VisionQuest puts a spotlight on this, with each AI getting their own human form.

The cast includes Paul Bettany as Vision, with Orla Brady as FRIDAY, Emily Hampshire as EDITH, T'Nia Miller as Jocasta, James D'Arcy as JARVIS (yes, that Jarvis), James Spader as Ultron (aka Peepaw), and Ruaridh Mollica as Tommy Maximoff. Up until Endgame, FRIDAY was voiced by Kerry Condon. Brady takes over the role, showcasing the AI's preferred human form at Vision's request.

VisionQuest arrives on Disney Plus on October 14. For more MCU, here's our guide on how to watch the Marvel movies in order.

Don't miss out on The Mandalorian Lego special. The delightful animated short has arrived on Disney Plus (alongside its live-action big sibling, The Mandalorian and Grogu), and, while it might not be canon, it is a laugh-out-loud, joyful 45 minutes every Star Wars fan needs to tune in for.

The special has an adorable premise: Din Djarin's pals have thrown him a party – and it's not even his birthday! – which he begrudgingly attends with baby Grogu. While the duo are there in their party hats, a gang of their closest friends retell their story so far, all the way up to the events of the new movie.

The result is an irreverent, self-referential blast – exactly what you'd expect from a Lego special – that's also pretty much a perfect way to recap the Disney Plus show. What more could you ask for?

Getting the band back together

Probably the biggest selling point of any Lego special is just how damn hilarious they are, and The Mandalorian's is no different. The 45-minute runtime is packed with jokes that poke gentle fun at The Mandalorian and Star Wars as a whole, including Mando and Grogu's reunion taking place in a different series, IG-11's tendency to go straight for self-destruct mode, and Luke Skywalker having no luck with his Jedi students. I got to watch the special at this year's D23 in a crowd of Star Wars fans that laughed at every gag, and it only enhanced the experience.

The wacky premise doesn't just allow for laughs, too: it also gets the whole Mando gang back together again. There are cameos aplenty in the special, which means original actors return to their roles. Listen out for Rosario Dawson as Ahsoka Tano, Temuera Morrison as Boba Fett, Giancarlo Esposito as Moff Gideon, Amy Sedaris as Peli Motto, Katee Sackhoff as Bo-Katan Kryze, Timothy Olyphant as Cobb Vanth, and even Bill Burr as Migs Mayfeld (he's on hand to recount the events of season 2, which, he points out, he witnessed a whole 20% of).

Of course, any Mandalorian project – Lego or not – needs to include its fair share of heartwarming Clan of Two moments. The special doesn't just recreate the tearjerking scenes you know and love from the show (the special's version of Mando and Grogu's goodbye in the season 2 finale did indeed remind me of how many tears I shed back in December 2020), but it also includes a few new moments of its own. Highlights include Mando urging Grogu to make his signature cooing sound more intimidating if he's going to be a bounty hunter, Grogu using the Force to levitate a party hat onto Mando's beskar helmeted head, and Grogu having his own miniature steering wheel in the Razor Crest. If you've been missing Din Djarin and Din Grogu since their big-screen outing earlier this year, then you can't go wrong with the Lego special.

Assembled with love

The special is also set after The Mandalorian and Grogu on the Star Wars timeline, as revealed by the Razor Crest's distinctive yellow paint – and an appearance from Zeb Orrelios to tell this part of the story, before he's interrupted. Of course, Lego releases aren't Star Wars canon, so nothing that happens in this special is actually part of the saga's ongoing story. But, it does give a nice window into the kind of life you'd like to imagine Mando and Grogu living in between missions for the New Republic. What better way to spend their downtime than a party with friends?

And, while it might not be canon, and the premise is indeed silly fun, every second of the special makes it obvious that it was made with clear, reverent love for The Mandalorian and Star Wars as a whole. The story goes beyond just a party, encompassing Mando's growth across his tale so far as he comes to accept he's no longer a loner. Yes, this Lego special gets pretty deep, in between all the fun.

At the moment, it's unclear when we'll see Din Djarin and Din Grogu again, as nothing has been confirmed about their future (either in The Mandalorian season 4 or another movie). So, while we wait to be reunited with the Clan of Two, there's no better way to pass the time than with Lego Star Wars: The Mandalorian.

Lego Star Wars: The Mandalorian is streaming on Disney Plus now. See what else the galaxy far, far away has in store with our guide to all the upcoming Star Wars movies and TV shows.

The Mandalorian and Grogu director Jon Favreau has talked about his working relationship with Dave Filoni, and how the film and Disney Plus show reflect it.

"I think the show and the film is a reflection of our partnership," Favreau told Filoni, on the official The Mandalorian and Grogu podcast. "Like two musicians who play together. It changes the way we play, I think. And it makes me feel very comfortable when I get to tell stories with you."

Filoni was in agreement. "We come together and we do some things a little separately, then I bring you things to watch, which is always super helpful," he said. "Because that's the other thing, too, especially if we're shooting separately at times, we see what the other shot, you get those fresh eyes to look at something. And you are, in a lot of ways, the ultimate audience member. Because if you don't understand it, you'll tell me."

Filoni, who is the co-president of Lucasfilm, directed the puppet unit on The Mandalorian and Grogu, and he also directed multiple episodes of The Mandalorian TV show.

Next up for Star Wars is Filoni's Ahsoka season 2, which dropped its first trailer at this year's D23. It teased the return of Grand Admiral Thrawn to the galaxy, Hayden Christensen's Anakin Skywalker back as a Force ghost to guide Ahsoka Tano, and Ezra Bridger back in action.

Ahsoka season 2 arrives on January 20, while The Mandalorian and Grogu and the official podcast are streaming on Disney Plus now.

Check out our guide to all the upcoming Star Wars movies and TV shows for everything else the galaxy far, far away has in store.

Industrial Light & Magic animation supervisor Hal Hickel says that impossibly sweet scene in The Mandalorian and Grogu where Rotta and Grogu play together on the beach meant a lot to director Jon Favreau (and me, personally).

"That was maybe the most important scene to Jon. It's the heart of the whole movie for him," Hickel told StarWars.com.

The scene is a moment of stillness in the movie, and it comes shortly after Rotta the Hutt (voiced by Jeremy Allen White) is rescued by Mando from almost being killed in a rotten deal that kept him trapped as a fighter in order to entertain the people of Shakari. Grogu and Rotta simply pass a ball back and forth, and it seems like the worst is over.

Not only that, but also, the scene represents how Rotta never really got the chance to be a playful, carefree kiddo, thanks to being related to the absolutely terrifying and terrible Hutt family. So we love a multi-layered moment that makes us cry a little.

As there likely won't be another season of The Mandalorian, it's unclear when we'll see Rotta the Hutt again. Next up for Star Wars is Ahsoka season 2, which hits Disney Plus in the new year.

The Mandalorian and Grogu is streaming on Disney Plus now, and you can read our guide to all the other The Mandalorian and Grogu Easter eggs through the link.

For more, check out our guide to all the upcoming Star Wars movies and TV shows, or our The Mandalorian and Grogu review.

While Han Solo doesn't appear in The Mandalorian and Grogu, a sneaky, unintentional Easter egg referencing him does – and it involves Rotta the Hutt.

In the original trilogy, Han was in a lot of trouble with Rotta's dad, Jabba the Hutt. In one scene in the 1997 Special Edition of Star Wars: A New Hope, Jabba even comes to speak with Han by the Millennium Falcon while it's docked in Mos Eisely. During this chat, Han walks over Jabba's tail, which Jabba doesn't seem too pleased about.

In The Mandalorian and Grogu, Rotta fights Din Djarin in a gladatorial ring, and everything comes full circle...

"It goes by super fast, but there is actually a moment during their fight when Mando circles behind Rotta, steps on his tail to get a little height, and then knocks his arm out of the way," Industrial Light & Magic animation supervisor Hal Hickel told StarWars.com.

"We didn't put that in there as a wink to the original gag, but still – it's like poetry, it rhymes," he added.

Even though the call back wasn't on purpose, it certainly is a nice parallel between father and son – though, of course, Rotta is pretty adamant that he's nothing like his dad.

Next up for Star Wars is Ahsoka season 2, which lands on Disney Plus on January 20. The first trailer was finally unveiled to the public at this year's D23, and it features Hayden Christensen as Anakin Skywalker, Grand Admiral Thrawn going up against the New Republic, and Ezra Bridger back in action.

The Mandalorian and Grogu is streaming on Disney Plus now, and you can read our guide to all the other The Mandalorian and Grogu Easter eggs through the link.

For more, check out our guide to all the upcoming Star Wars movies and TV shows, or our The Mandalorian and Grogu review.

Co-director of Avengers: Doomsday, Joe Russo, has addressed going into production on the Marvel Phase 6 film without a finished script.

The movie was originally set to be Avengers: The Kang Dynasty; however Marvel pivoted away after Jonathan Majors was convicted of assault. The Russos took over, and shooting began without a finished script.

However, according to Joe Russo, that's not necessarily a drawback. "We always view the script as a living organism," Joe told AP News. "We're improvisation-based, rehearsal-based directors. We like to see what the actors bring to the characters, and sometimes you don't get the actors until a few days or few weeks before you shoot them. And a lot of the time, that's when the magic happens."

The supersized Doomsday cast list includes Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Anthony Mackie as Captain America, Chris Evans as Steve Rogers, the Thunderbolts, the Fantastic Four, Letitia Wright's Shuri, Tom Hiddleston's Loki, and, of course, Robert Downey Jr.'s Doctor Doom.

"Honestly, I have absolutely no idea because we didn't even have a script," Bucky Barnes actor Sebastian Stan revealed, when asked by Le Journal du Dimanche what to expect from Doomsday. "We were just shooting scattered scenes. It's a different way of working, continuous, constantly evolving. The producers didn't want us to read it in its entirety, to avoid journalists asking us questions."

But, Nightcrawler actor Alan Cumming did lay eyes on a script. "We eventually saw a script. It took a while, but we had a script," he told ET.

"Yeah, I did read a full script, but those scripts change quite a bit. You know what? Probably not, it probably didn't have a full, like, third act. I don't think it had an ending. I don't think anyone gets to see that stuff," The Thing star Ebon Moss-Bachrach told the Happy Sad Confused podcast.

Avengers: Doomsday arrives this December 18. While you wait, check out our guide to all the upcoming Marvel movies and shows for everything else the MCU has in store.

The Mandalorian and Grogu are coming home. Four months after the Star Wars film brought the saga back to the big screen for the first time in seven years, the Razor Crest is touching down on Disney Plus this September 2.

The film arrived a lengthy three years after its (less well-received) third season and didn't quite set the box office on fire. It scored a reasonably low 60% on Rotten Tomatoes, and many have questioned the wisdom of turning a streaming show into a theatrical movie – or criticized the film for focusing on a standalone adventure story rather than weaving in the wider galaxy.

Still, despite it all, I firmly believe there was no better film to kickstart Star Wars's theatrical comeback than The Mandalorian and Grogu.

Welcome back

That might seem like a nuclear take, but I have my reasons. Personally, I simply loved the movie: an all-grown-up Rotta the Hutt became my surprise MVP; Grogu, continuing to grow into his Mandalorian and Jedi potential, was a delight; and I thought the whole thing was a good old-fashioned, fun adventure tale with cool and creepy critters, spectacular action set-pieces, and all the heartwarming Clan of Two moments you could ask for.

I'm not alone in this, either: the film was well-liked by the audiences who showed up for Din Djarin and Din Grogu, with a healthy 86% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes and an A- CinemaScore on opening night. The box office may have been a somewhat underwhelming $345.8 million (though, on a budget of $165 million, that's not a total disaster), but the film succeeded elsewhere. It returned us to the Mando-verse era of the Star Wars timeline just in time for Ahsoka season 2, and it also seemed to give the three seasons of the flagship show a boost: The Mandalorian was Disney Plus's third most-watched original series in the first half of 2026 with 2.4 billion minutes viewed, according to Luminate. That's particularly noteworthy considering the show hasn't released a new episode in three years.

Aside from the film deserving a much warmer reception and boosting the show's streaming fortunes, though, it was also the right choice for getting audiences used to Star Wars as a theatrical experience again. Seven long years have passed since The Rise of Skywalker, and, in that time, the franchise has released a whole host of Disney Plus shows. Like Marvel, this seems to have contributed to a certain dilution of the franchise, with every new Star Wars project no longer feeling like an unmissable event – unthinkable even 10 years ago – regardless of each show's quality. But, despite the more lukewarm reception to season 3, Mando and Grogu have remained instantly recognizable Star Wars icons, even though they originated on streaming themselves. Choosing this duo to launch Star Wars's return to theaters made total sense.

While the film drew criticism for its self-contained story, going in such a standalone direction was also a wise move. There's nothing more off-putting than feeling like you need to do your homework before you head to the theater, after all. And, since the film is so self-contained, it's also primed to be a new generation's introduction to Star Wars.

Maybe most importantly for the saga at large, though, The Mandalorian and Grogu set the stage for Star Wars: Starfighter. Any film tasked with bringing Star Wars back to the big screen was going to face a great deal of scrutiny – and the pressure of high expectations – but, now that Mando has broken that barrier already, Starfighter has something of a clearer runway.

Next moves

Judging by The Mandalorian's streaming boost, it's likely that the movie will do very well on Disney Plus. In the wake of The Mandalorian and Grogu's theatrical performance, it's hard to imagine Disney and Lucasfilm won't pivot when it comes to its theatrical slate. I would bet that Dave Filoni's movie, announced at Star Wars Celebration 2023 and set to tie together the Disney Plus shows, will be reconfigured into a streaming event (most likely an Heir to the Empire-style showdown against Grand Admiral Thrawn, considering the Ahsoka season 2 trailer).

The future of Star Wars on the small screen seems less certain, with nothing live-action confirmed past Ahsoka. It's doubtful that Lucasfilm will abandon TV entirely, but I expect the days of multiple Star Wars shows a year are long behind us.

But for the saga's return to the big screen, I'm glad Lucasfilm chose The Mandalorian and Grogu. If nothing else, the film was a fun few hours at the theater this summer, and it reunited me with two of my favorite Star Wars guys. This is the way.

The Mandalorian and Grogu is streaming on Disney Plus now. See what else the galaxy far, far away has in store with our guide to all the upcoming Star Wars movies and TV shows, or check out our The Mandalorian and Grogu review.

Star Wars fans think Zero Company is the perfect game for lovers of The Clone Wars and Bad Batch.

The new strategy game is set in the Clone Wars-era of the Star Wars timeline, and you play as Hawks, leader of the titular Zero Company.

"If you love Clone Wars / The Bad Batch, do yourself a favor and play Zero Company," says one fan on Reddit. "For the story and worldbuilding alone, this game is amazing. Even if you don't usually like tactical games (I personally had no experience with them) this game is clearly made as a labor of love for CW and TBB. I'm honestly having a lot of fun with the gameplay and customization too but the planets, references, lore, it's really awesome."

It seems everyone is in agreement. "It's really great so far. It's nice having an isolated story that references the larger ongoings of the galaxy. Not to mention it looks great, and the characters you create actually feel like real characters as well," says one fan.

"You can definitely feel that this game had some of the writers from the Jedi games. Their love for the Star Wars universe, particularly animation, is on full display in Zero Company. For anyone who loves the story of the clones in particular, ZC is an absolute must-play," says another person.

"100% Agree. Would love an animated TV spinoff of Zero Company," thinks another player, while another says: "I can't believe how wonderful the dialogue is in this game. The banter between characters feels so authentic to Star Wars."

"Honestly, if you love the Clone Wars era in general, play this game. One of the best stories told during the era and has callbacks to many other movies, shows, and games that take place during the Clone Wars," thinks another fan.

The game debuted to strong reviews, with our own Star Wars: Zero Company review reading: "Star Wars: Zero Company does exactly what it promises: XCOM, but in a galaxy far, far away. It might not reinvent the format like Midnight Suns, but it's a rare treat to see the tactics genre given this kind of big-budget treatment, and lightsabers only sweeten the deal."

Next up for Star Wars is Ahsoka season 2, which arrives on January 20. The new season will bring back Hayden Christensen's Anakin Skywalker and see Admiral Ackbar go head to head with Grand Admiral Thrawn, while Ahsoka Tano and Sabine Wren remain stranded on Peridea.

While you wait, check out our guide to all the upcoming Star Wars movies and TV shows for everything else that's on the way. Star Wars: Zero Company, meanwhile, is available to play on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.

Eternals star Kit Harington loved the setup for his character's future in the MCU, but he doesn't think it will ever happen.

The actor played Dane Whitman in the 2021 movie, and in the post-credits scene he was seen opening a box containing the Ebony Blade. Mahershala Ali's Blade then asked him if he was "ready", setting him up for his transformation into Marvel comic book character Black Knight.

However, we've yet to see his character return, and Marvel's Blade movie has also since fallen through. Harington was recently asked if there was still a part of the character that he'd like to explore.

"I mean I'd love to," he replied to MovieWeb. "I don't think there's any plan to, I hate to break it to you, but I think he's a wicked character. There's a part of him that, that whole Ebony Blade stuff where the more he kills, the more he gets, the more addicted. I think he's such a great parable of addiction. I think he's someone who starts good, goes bad, and I think it's great. But we'll see; I don't know if there's any plan."

The Eternals set up a whole load of storylines which have seemingly been lost in the Marvel ether. Harry Styles notably appeared in one of the other post-credits scenes as Thanos' brother Eros. However, that was the one and only time we saw the musician appear in the MCU.

Kevin Feige has also confirmed there are no plans to make a sequel to the movie, and the main characters have not yet appeared in any other films. With plans for the MCU all leading to Avengers: Doomsday and the introduction of a new generation of X-Men, it does seem unlikely we'll see Black Knight any time soon.

Harington is being kept busy, though, with his upcoming role in the second season of the HBO Harry Potter series. He's taking over from Nicholas Hoult as Gilderoy Lockhart, a role he previously played in the Audible audiobook recordings.

Next up for Marvel is VisionQuest. For more upcoming superhero movies, check out our guide to upcoming Marvel movies and shows.

Marvel fans are wondering if Marvel has forgotten all about Loki's frost giant backstory considering his time with the TVA – though it seems like there's a simple explanation.

Magic is nullified within the TVA headquarters, but Loki's frost giant appearance – blue skin and red eyes – is not revealed when he begins his work there. In response to a Reddit post questioning why his true self wasn't revealed, as well as whether Marvel "forgot" his backstory, some MCU fans have pointed out why Loki's Asgardian guise remains.

"Pretty sure his transformation into appearing Asgardian by default was permanent, not sustained magic like his disguises," says one person, with another adding: "He only reverts when near Frost Giants or their artifacts."

"Exactly, it's not something he's constantly casting on himself. It's something Odin already did to him a very long time ago," echoes someone else.

"He only turns blue near the Frost Giant artifacts. Like I think it's kind of a permanent spell. Like if someone came to the TVA from Earth after Strange's spell in NWH, they won't suddenly remember Peter Parker," agrees another person.

Plus, others have pointed out that his Frost Giant heritage is still part of the MCU, just in a more subtle way. "It’s been a while, but after Thanos snapped his neck at the start of Infinity War, didn't he turn blue as he died? Not just in an asphyxia sense, but in a frost giant way?" says one person.

"''Almighty Thanos, I, Loki, Prince of Asgard, Odinson, the rightful king of Jotunheim*, God of Mischief, do hereby pledge to you my undying fidelity.' - Loki (Infinity War)*" points out someone else.

"In that weird little propaganda play on Asgard in Thor: Ragnarok the actor playing him as a child is blue," says another person.

We'll next see Loki in Avengers: Doomsday, though how he factors into the plot is a mystery for now, especially considering the Loki season 2 ending saw the God of Mischief become the God of Stories and hold the multiverse together.

Doomsday arrives this December 18. In the meantime, check out our guide to all the upcoming Marvel movies and TV shows for everything else the MCU has in store.

Chris Evans says it was a no-brainer to return as Steve Rogers in Avengers: Doomsday, given that he cares deeply about the role.

"I feel very at home with the role," Evans said during a panel at Fan Expo Boston. "I feel very not just comfortable, but precious. I care about the arc of all these characters, and we wouldn’t be doing it unless there was going to be a really interesting situation to put him in."

The actor is set to appear in both Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars, the latter of which is out next year. You might recall that Steve Rogers received a pretty definitive ending in Avengers: Endgame, in which he declined returning to the future and went back into the past in order to have a normal family life with Peggy Carter.

The first teaser showed Rogers cradling the baby they share. The second showed him handling Thor's hammer with ease, much to the God of Thunder's disbelief. Our only real clue as to how Rogers was able to return to Earth-616 is via Loki's TVA card, which he appears to be holding in the newest trailer.

Evans previously teased that "interesting situation," saying: "The Russos love beating up Steve Rogers. Their favourite thing to do is to just beat the crap out of him. To them, that's what makes a hero, and that's someone who gets punched so many times but still gets up."

Avengers: Doomsday arrives this December 18. While you wait, check out our guide to all the upcoming Marvel movies and shows for everything else the MCU has in store.

The elevator pitch for Hulu's Furious may not seem like the most original premise to fans of Killing Eve, but it's certainly a good hook. A female FBI agent hunts a female serial killer who is periodically knocking off wealthy men in staged drug overdoses. It's a classic cat-and-mouse game, right? Well, the new TV show certainly is that, but it's also so much more.

Created by Elizabeth Meriwether – who is the mind behind New Girl and Hulu's Dying for Sex – the series is loosely based on the 1987 movie Black Widow (not to be confused with the MCU character). It centers around Alice Black, an FBI rookie who is drawn into a case unravelling a series of mysterious deaths by her former NYPD colleague. It's told through dual perspectives as we meet the woman responsible, an unassuming figure named Catherine Grace who hunts her victims while dealing with an extremely traumatic past as a former sex worker and trafficking victim.

As with any good crime thriller, it's full of twists and turns. As Alice edges closer to her subject, curveballs come her way in the form of federal red tape, inept male colleagues, and a complicated past of her own. Yet, what elevates the show beyond a run-of-the-mill noir is how much it subverts the expectations of its genre into something feminist, funny, and entirely unique.

Not your usual noir

I could probably count the number of female serial killer dramas I've watched on one hand. More often than not, it's a male protagonist doing the evil, and more often than not, it's women that they're doing the evil to. By switching up this usual dynamic, Furious features a refreshing absence of mutilated female bodies, but it's no less dark in its subject matter.

Dealing with sexual abuse, murder, and domestic violence, the show deftly balances the line of feeling extremely contemporary by mirroring many real-life cases and also treading the balance of fiction. Such a tonal tightrope is held together by its two female leads. Emmy Rossum, the more recognisable of the two thanks to her role in Shameless, is absolutely brilliant as Alice. Meriwether has written her as a complicated, damaged and morally grey character, and Rossum runs with it, able to be deeply unlikeable as well as the audience's champion.

No less brilliant is her co-star Lola Petticrew as Catherine, a serial killer hell-bent on revenge. As she switches from a wide-eyed innocent to a ruthless murderer from one scene to the next, she's extremely compelling to watch. The pair are held up by an impressive supporting cast, including The White Lotus' Jake Lacy playing another easy-to-hate privileged man, and Argo's Scoot McNairy is a well-meaning NYPD cop.

But no one in this show is putting in the level of performance that comes from Quincy Tyler Bernstine's Nora Washington. As the battle-hardened head of the FBI's sex crime unit, she's both terrifying and absolutely hilarious, oscillating between taking on her superiors and donning a Hawaiian shirt to sing dreadful karaoke. And it's through her that the series is able to carve its own space.

As she delivers lines with a cadence to make you chortle out loud, while also delving into physical comedy as she takes her time to report something to her superior, it's clear that Furious isn't only one of the year's darkest shows so far, it's also one of the funniest.

Steve Way's Alden, introduced later in the series, is equally brilliant at bringing dark humor to the harrowing story. He is particularly side-splitting when riffing off McNairy's Danny and his law enforcement colleagues in episode six. Such a deft navigation of tone allows Furious to stand out amidst a sea of crime dramas and is enough to make it well worth your time.

Hell hath no fury

For me, too, as the series has gone on, its brilliance has only become clearer as its title truly comes into its own. Furious is about female anger, but not in a way I've ever seen portrayed before. Gone are the tropes that usually accompany this topic; there's not much hysterical screaming, nor do we have dialogue filled with catty comments.

Instead, the fury is much more insidious, deeply baked into a set of characters who are hollowed out by the terrible things that have happened to them and a society that more often than not manages to bury them. Furious does have angry protagonists, but it will also make you angry too as you watch it, drawing inevitable real-life parallels to cases that usually don't result in justice.

There's only one episode left of the show to arrive on Hulu, and it will hopefully tie up where all this leads for Alice and Catherine. Though a second season has now been confirmed, we don't yet know which characters will return. However it ends, Merriwether hasn't created a show that relies on its conclusion to live or die. It's already said so much.

And while it's early in the year to pick out a TV show of the year, I feel sure that Furious will be up there for me. Don't let this hidden gem slip under your radar.

Furious episodes 1-7 are available to stream on Hulu and Disney+ now. The season finale is available on Monday, August 31.

For what else to watch, check out our guides to the best Disney Plus shows and the best Disney Plus movies.

Marvel Studios' lead casting director Sarah Halley Finn has recalled Chris Pratt's failed Captain America audition – and how it put the then-Parks and Recreation actor on the MCU's radar.

Finn, who has helped cast the likes of Tom Holland, Robert Downey Jr., and Chadwick Boseman in the MCU, revealed her reaction to Pratt's reading during an SDCC appearance on The Brandon Davis Show.

"He did a speech which was not comedic at all, it was kind of a rallying cry," Finn recounted. "I don't think this particular [speech] ended up in [Captain America: The First Avenger]. He's trying to inspire and encourage somebody to move forward with courage. It was really simple, it was very heartfelt. There was just that touch of nobility you want to see in your heroes… after that audition, I was paying attention."

And pay attention she did. Finn eventually got Pratt into a room with James Gunn for Guardians of the Galaxy and the lead role of Peter Quill/Star-Lord – despite the actor's best efforts.

"I was stuck on him," Finn said. "He didn't want to audition for that at all… I was so persistent to the point of being annoying. Even at that point, James Gunn was convinced he wasn't right and didn't want to see him."

Three Guardians of the Galaxy movies and multiple Avengers movies later, it turned out just fine for Chris Pratt in the end – even if he didn't get the first role he was angling for.

Of course, Chris Evans would be picked to play Steve Rogers. Other notable actors who auditioned include Wilson Bethel, who went on to play Daredevil villain Bullseye, one-time Reed Richards multiverse actor John Krasinski, John Walker actor Wyatt Russell, and a certain Sebastian Stan.

So, if anyone else out there has auditioned for Captain America, you probably have a Marvel role in your future.

Want to relive the MCU's best moments? Here's our essential guide on how to watch the Marvel movies in order.

One of X-Men's biggest fumbles wants a do-over with her mutant character.

Lana Condor, who dazzled as Jubilee in the briefest of cameos in X-Men: Apocalypse (32 seconds, by the count of a popular YouTube round-up of her scenes), says she is desperate to play the hero once more.

"We filmed more Jubilee than was in the film… I obviously wanted so much more for Jubilee and, at the time, I thought we were going to get some of that," Condor told Get Rec'd with Straw Hat Goofy.

"I desperately want to play Jubilee again, but I want to be utilized, and I want it to mean something. I know it meant something in Apocalypse, but I think that she's just such a fabulous and phenomenal character; she's so vibrant, and she's so full of vitality and life. You can't reduce that."

In a separate interview with The Direct, Condor confirmed she had spoken to those on the Marvel end about a return, presumably with an eye to appearing in 2028's X-Men movie reboot.

"I've talked to the filmmakers and been like, 'Hey, listen, I'm 10 years older now. I know more. Bring me back.' So we'll see."

Right now, we know Marvel Studios is going full steam ahead on its own X-Men movie.

At D23, the main cast for the Jake Schreier-directed movie was confirmed: Sadie Sink as Jean Grey; Kit Connor as Cyclops; Christopher Abbott as Professor X; Inde Navarette as Rogue; Maya Boyd as Storm; Samara Weaving as Emma Frost; Adam Driver as Mister Sinister. Could Lana Condor add to that list?

X-Men hits cinemas on May 5, 2028.

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

One Star Wars fan artist has recreated the iconic Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi duel in Revenge of the Sith in the most incredible way.

The artist, who goes by the Tumblr username idk-i-was-bored, shared the artwork of the fiery Mustafar duel – which is actually recreated from every single line of dialogue in Revenge of the Sith, written out by hand. Check it out below.

"I decided to do something a little bit insane. I sat down and typed every word spoken in Revenge of the Sith so I could then hand write every word to create this scene redraw. I am very pleased with the final result I'm not gonna lie," the artist captioned the post.

In the comments, he also revealed a little more about the process – and it sounds like serious dedication went into the artwork. "1. My hands were fine after doing this. I spaced out how often I'd do write the words and my handwriting got looser in the end so there was less pressure. Also literally every hobby and activity I do heavily involves my wrists, so they're kind of used to this," they wrote.

"2. Yes I’m aware there are scripts online for this movie. But the ones I found weren't accurate or were of the uncut 4 hour version therefore I'd have to watch the movie again anyway to work out which parts exactly were in the movie. So I just decided to do it myself," he added.

And, as for how long it might have taken: "3. Idk how much time this actually took to make I'm not gonna lie. Procreate says there was about 12 hours of pen to canvas time spent arranging of the text, actually writing, and drawing and colouring the image. But typing up all the words in the movie took absolutely ages. And like I said. Everything was very spaced out so I didn't hurt my wrists. So I actually have no idea how many hours it was from having the idea to posting the image"

Plus, it sounds like we might be able to look forward to more artwork in a similar style. "4. I know this is mildly insane but I actually had a lot of fun doing it and I'll probably end up making more of other movies at some point," they said. In the immortal words of Sheev Palpatine: we will watch your career with great interest…

We'll soon be seeing Hayden Christensen's Anakin Skywalker again in Ahsoka season 2, which sees him return both as a Force ghost and in Clone Wars-era flashbacks on the Star Wars timeline. As for Ewan McGregor, nothing has been confirmed, but the actor is so keen to return he pitched a comeback to Lucasfilm co-president Dave Filoni on the Ahsoka season 2 set (his wife, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, plays Hera Syndulla in the show).

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

Five years after we last saw him, Jeremy Renner seems to be teasing a return to the MCU as Hawkeye.

The actor shared a close up image of his costume to his Instagram story, though cryptically without any kind of caption.

So, what does this mean? Renner isn't part of the cast list for Avengers: Doomsday, and, so far, nothing has been announced about who will return for Avengers: Secret Wars. This could just be a tease to tie into the imminent release of Avengers: Endgame Encore, however.

The last time Renner's Hawkeye was seen was in his own solo show on Disney Plus, aptly titled Hawkeye, which was released in 2021. There's been no official word of a season 2 yet. "It's really not my decision to make," Renner has shared. "For a second season, that was always the idea to continue that narrative, even in the Christmas framework of it all, too, because they love that world in New York."

But, Renner has also revealed a second season almost happened. "They asked me to do season 2, and they offered me half the money," he commented. "I'm like, 'Well, it's going to take me twice the amount of work for half the amount of money, and eight months of my time, essentially, to do it for half the amount'."

Referring to his near-fatal 2023 accident, he added: "I'm like, 'I'm sorry? Why? Did you think I'm only half the Jeremy because I got ran over? Maybe that's why you want to pay me half of what I made on the first season.'"

Whether Renner is returning soon or not remains to be seen, but hopefully this OG Avenger can find his way back to the team.

Doomsday arrives this December 18. In the meantime, check out our guide to all the upcoming Marvel movies and shows for everything else the MCU has in store.

Three years later, Marvel fans want Disney Plus series Secret Invasion erased from MCU canon because of how it changed Rhodey.

The discussion started when one Marvel fan took to Twitter and said that they think the 'Rhodey' who comforts a dying Tony Stark at the end of Avengers: Endgame is actually the real Rhodey. Another replied, "They should straight up just say Secret Invasion doesn’t exist in the main timeline. I’m not even joking. No one will give Feige shit for coming out and basically going ‘our fault, gang’."

Now, if you have seen Endgame but haven't yet had a chance to catch up to the 2023 show, you may be wondering what the fan means by the 'real Rhodey'. In Secret Invasion, it is revealed that Colonel James Rhodes, AKA Rhodey, was actually replaced by a Skrull named Raava a while back. In the finale, we see the real Rhodey rescued, but the question still remains: when was the real Rhodey replaced on the Marvel timeline?

Many believe Rhodey could have been swapped out as far back as Captain America: Civil War, which is when we last saw Rhodey wear his leg braces. This is evidenced by Rhodey wearing the same hospital gown at the end of Civil War as he does when he is saved at the end of Secret Invasion. Fast forward to Avengers: Infinity War, the braces are nowhere to be seen. That would mean that the Rhodey we saw attend his best friend Stark's funeral was just a Skrull, which is pretty heartbreaking.

However, others believe that is the real Rhodey in Endgame. "The deleted scenes from Falcon and the Winter Soldier basically confirmed that it is Rhodey in Endgame," said one fan. "Rhodey mentions going in for an upgrade procedure on his legs, and at the end of 'Secret Invasion' he's in a hospital gown. Switch occurred post-Endgame, not earlier."

Either way, now that the first Avengers: Endgame Encore trailer has hit the internet, it seems that Marvel fans are in agreement that Rhodey's identity switch in Secret Invasion should be forgotten about. Fans will be able to see War Machine back on the big screen once again as Marvel rereleases the 2019 movie with four minutes of added footage, which is set to bridge the gap to Avengers: Doomsday. However, as far as we know, Don Cheadle's Rhodey is not set to return in Doomsday.

Avengers: Endgame Encore hits cinemas on September 25. For more, check out our guide to the other upcoming Marvel movies and shows.

Vision knows Wanda's fate, VisionQuest showrunner Terry Matalas has revealed.

The version of Vision returning in the new show is White Vision, who has Vision's memories but is a new version of the synthezoid created during WandaVision. Wanda, meanwhile, seemingly died in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness – and, since Vision hasn't been seen since the WandaVision finale, it was reasonable to assume he might not know what happened to her.

As it turns out, though, Vision knows, as revealed in a new Empire magazine interview. "He's watched all the movies," Matalas joked. Indeed, in the trailer for the show, Vision is actually sitting in a home theater watching Age of Ultron. So, this might not really be a joke from the showrunner.

There is some doubt if Wanda actually died in the film, since we don't see the Scarlet Witch's actual death or her body. But, it seems everyone in-universe is assuming she's gone, including Vision.

In the same interview, Matalas also explained why Ultron is returning. "My first thought was, 'Well, we don't have Wanda, and we need someone really strong for Vision to play off of," he shared. "Within a millisecond, I was like, 'It's [James] Spader.' Then everything else started to fall into place."

Ultron is returning in a human form in the new Disney Plus show, and it seems he's been living a pretty simple life since his defeat in Age of Ultron. "He's had access to the internet, television, history, and he's just been consuming... and he's been painting," Spader revealed. "[Ultron and Vision] have a sort of father-son-therapist-psychopath relationship."

"He lives in this kind of fantastic prison loft and I go to him for advice," Bettany added. "He's just been imprisoned for... by now it would be 14 years or something."

VisionQuest arrives this October 13 in the US and October 14 in the UK. In the meantime, check out our guide to all the upcoming Marvel movies and shows for everything else the MCU has in store.

Ms. Marvel star Iman Vellani is co-hosting a new podcast in the lead-up to Avengers: Doomsday. Appearing alongside YouTuber Frank Alvarez, the first episode sees them revisiting The Avengers (2012), and Vellani shared how she thinks it may be connected to the upcoming Doomsday.

Asked by her co-host whether she thinks anything in this movie will be called back to, she replied: "I strongly believe Loki is going to. I mean, he's God of Stories now? What an arc; this man has been killed and redeemed more times than I can count. As long as Tom Hiddleston's playing Loki, I'm always gonna be for it. So I think Loki's arc is going to be really interesting in Doomsday; I have no idea what they're going to be doing or Dooming…"

Tom Hiddleston will be back as Loki in Avengers: Doomsday, and we even saw a glimpse of him in the film's first trailer. He appeared in a blink-and-you'll-miss-it shot, looking worried. The camera then pans to a hand holding a TVA card with a wedding ring on it, which led many to believe this is Steve Rogers' hand.

In Marvel's official watchlist ahead of the new movie, the Disney Plus Loki show is mentioned, leading us to think he could form a crucial part of the story. However, it's really not clear how at the moment.

At the end of Loki season 2, he has become the God of Stories, holding the dying multiverse together as the center of a giant world tree. This isn't the version of Loki we see in the trailer for Doomsday, though, so could he be part of a flashback? Given his connection to Steve, could this be how he returns?

There are a lot of possibilities at the moment, and we don't know much about what's going to happen in Doomsday at all. The early trailers have teased a connection between the Fantastic Four and Victor Von Doom as well as several MCU superheroes teaming up to face a new threat.

We'll hopefully find out a bit more when Avengers: Endgame Encore is released at the end of September. New footage that directly sets up Doomsday has been promised, which sounds pretty exciting to us.

For more on the MCU, check out upcoming Marvel movies and shows as well as our breakdown of how to watch the Marvel movies in order.

The Ahsoka season 2 trailer brings with it plenty to get excited about, but – for me, anyway – the most exciting part is the return of Hayden Christensen's Anakin Skywalker. Anakin will be back not just in flashbacks to The Clone Wars, but also as a Force ghost watching over his old Padawan Ahsoka Tano.

Anakin's ghostly return quickly sparked discussion online, with some Star Wars fans pointing out that he seemed to be neglecting his children, Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa, in favor of guiding Ahsoka. "Don't you have like a son or something?" asked one fan, while another said: "You have two children who are fighting for their lives out in the galaxy. Go help them, you bum."

As much as some of the jokes were funny, I figured the reason why Anakin seemed to be spending all his afterlife time with Snips was pretty simple: Leia's aversion to her biological father has been well-established in canon novels already, while Anakin is probably visiting Luke off-screen (after all, one of the last shots in Return of the Jedi is Anakin joining Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda in watching over him). Since neither of the Skywalker twins is currently set to appear in a new Star Wars project (that we know of), the answer will have to remain speculation, and that's a symptom of a larger issue.

Darkness rises

Judging by the new trailer, Ahsoka season 2 is going to have galactic consequences. Grand Admiral Thrawn has returned with his chilling sights set on the Rebel Alliance (or, as it's actually known at this stage on the Star Wars timeline, the New Republic), and the galaxy's heroes are mobilizing to stop him. If that's the case, though, there are a couple of glaring absences: Luke and Leia themselves.

Before Thrawn's return, both of them being busy off-screen made sense. Luke – as we saw in The Book of Boba Fett – is busy trying to build his new Jedi school, while Leia surely has her hands full with the fledgling New Republic.

But it's very hard to imagine both of them would sit out a confrontation with Thrawn and the greatest Imperial threat they've seen since the Age of the Empire. Surely, these icons of the Rebellion would be on the front lines of such a struggle, alongside the likes of Hera Syndulla and Ezra Bridger. Even Admiral Ackbar is returning for a showdown with Thrawn. It's hard to imagine why Luke and Leia wouldn't step up, except for the obvious behind-the-scenes reasons that keep these characters from returning in a big way.

To the future

Luke and Leia have had a presence in Star Wars these past few years, however. Luke made a triumphant return in The Mandalorian season 2 and featured heavily in The Book of Boba Fett (where he was even revealed to know Ahsoka already), while Leia intervened in Hera's council meeting via C-3PO in Ahsoka. Luke hasn't been seen since 2021, however, and Leia hasn't been seen since the sequel trilogy. When Luke did return, it was via CGI wizardry that created a digital version of the character that looked and sounded very much like Mark Hamill (who himself was involved in the process), while similar efforts were taken to bring a younger version of the late Carrie Fisher's Leia back to the big screen in Rogue One and The Rise of Skywalker. The technology is certainly impressive, but it's hard to overlook the ethical issues that come with recreating an actor digitally, especially after their death. Then there's also the fact that, no matter how sleek the effect, something about it will always carry a hint of the uncanny valley.

There is a very simple solution to all these problems: recasting. This is something Lucasfilm seems wary of after Solo, starring Alden Ehrenreich as a young Han Solo, disappointed at the box office. But if this period of the Star Wars timeline is going to continue to be explored, the absence of characters like Luke and Leia – and, indeed, Han and Chewbacca – will only seem stranger. Of course, it's much trickier when it comes to Leia after Carrie Fisher's incredibly tragic death. I have no doubt that Lucasfilm could find a respectful way forward that honors her iconic character and her memory, however.

Beyond Ahsoka season 2, we know that Dave Filoni is set to direct a film that will tie together the Disney Plus shows, which surely means the culmination of the struggle against the Imperial remnants and Thrawn. If this is truly heading towards an Heir to the Empire-style story, where the fate of the galaxy is at stake, then Luke and Leia's absence would be even more baffling. They wouldn't need to be the main characters, since this is the story of Ahsoka first and foremost, along with Sabine Wren and the rest of the Ghost crew. But they do need to be there. There's simply no real, believable reason why they wouldn't be.

So, while it makes complete sense for Anakin to be guiding his one-time Padawan from beyond (and seeing Anakin and Ahsoka together again is a true delight), the jokesters on Twitter have a point, too. If heavy hitters like Anakin Skywalker and Ahsoka Tano are still around, surely Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa should be, too. It would seem their story isn't over just yet.

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

Marvel and Disney have introduced Infinity Vision to the world. But what is it? And does it really matter that much when it comes to deciding which Avengers: Endgame Encore tickets to buy?

All fair questions, and ones we intend to answer. Below, you'll find a quick, essential guide on all things Infinity Vision, including whether it's better than IMAX, where Infinity Vision screens are located, and what it means for the MCU's latest projects, including Avengers: Doomsday.

Then, dive into the Marvel timeline and our guide on the best way to watch The Odyssey in theatres.

What is Infinity Vision? Is it better than IMAX?

Marvel and Disney have their own definition of Infinity Vision – so let's start there before digging into what it actually means, and whether it's an improvement on IMAX.

As per a press release for Avengers: Endgame Encore, Infinity Vision is "a new certification for Premium Large Format (PLF) cinemas that guarantees moviegoers an exceptional film presentation with big screens, bright images and outstanding sound."

Simple enough, right? Bigger, better, louder. But it's actually a bit more nuanced than that.

Instead of IMAX screenings, where it's all about the technology used, any screen can be Infinity Vision certified – as long as they meet certain criteria. Only then will they be officially deemed an Infinity Vision-approved cinema.

So, the rules and regulations: An Infinity Vision screen must have a screen width of at least 45 feet, include either a Dolby Surround 7.1 sound system (or an immersive sound system equivalent), and a specific brightness level of 14 footlamberts. No, we're not exactly sure what that is either.

As of writing, Infinity Vision is a certification only to be used for upcoming screenings of Avengers: Endgame Encore and Avengers: Doomsday.

Do we recommend it over IMAX? It depends on what you're looking for. IMAX-specific scenes and movies (such as The Odyssey) undoubtedly work better in the format, but Infinity Vision is still a step up from most screens. You're getting a premium, high-quality experience regardless and aren't missing out on anything if you choose one over the other, at least in terms of Endgame's re-release.

Where can I find Infinity Vision screens near me?

When booking tickets, each cinema will have 'Infinity Vision' labels on eligible screens. That means they meet the standards listed above.

An exact number, though, is a little trickier to pin down. Upon the Infinity Vision announcement at this year's Cinema Con, it was revealed that – at that time – there were under 100 theaters for Infinity Vision in the US, and around 300 worldwide.

A later June report in Deadline, however, said 7,500 exhibitors worldwide had requested Infinity Vision certification. There is likely to be even more than that in the coming weeks, meaning the format should be readily available in most large cities.

In some regions, Infinity Vision tickets won't go on sale until September 1, so we won't know for sure which screens are Infinity Vision-certified until then. But, by and large, bigger venues will almost certainly be a lock for it.

Is Infinity Vision only for Avengers: Endgame Encore and Avengers: Doomsday?

Right now, that certainly seems to be the case. However, some cinema chains have made reference to Infinity Vision being used as a label for "future" Disney movies.

Disney's 2027 and 2028 slate includes the likes of Avengers: Secret Wars, X-Men, the Tangled live-action remake, Star Wars: Starfighter, and Frozen 3 – and could all be candidates for Infinity Vision down the line.

For more, head on over to our guide on how to watch the Marvel movies in order and all the new Disney movies on the way.

Avengers: Endgame is heading back to theaters with a special new edition featuring some new footage. Billed with the addition of Encore in the title, the Russo brothers have teased that it will feature some essential extra details that will help set up Avengers: Doomsday.

It's been confirmed that four minutes of added footage will make it into the film, as well as there being a special additional tease for fans watching in IMAX and Infinity Vision. However, at the moment, there has been no confirmation about how the new scenes will work into the movie.

The Marvel community has been speculating about this, wondering whether we can expect more scenes in the main runtime or just an ending tag for Doctor Doom. Posting on Reddit, one suggested: "I'm 95% certain that the extended runtime is literally just 4 minutes of a sneak peek of Doomsday tacked on at the end of the credits. Kinda like how there was a 5-minute preview of Dune 3 at some Odyssey screenings. Endgame itself will be unchanged, is my guess."

Meanwhile, another pointed out: "They have to announce where the new stuff is. If I'm going to give this movie more time and money to see new stuff, I don't want to risk missing the new stuff." A third argued: "Struggling to think how the extra footage won't feel shoehorned in."

However, others think the fact that one line is included in the new trailer may be setting up the focus of new footage. "'You mess with time, time tends to mess back' sounds very foreshadowing," suggested one, as another agreed, pointing out, "'You mess with time, time tends to mess back' is definitely going to be an important line in how this leads to Doomsday. Especially as Tony is the one who says it to Steve."

Interestingly, this is the only change from the original movie that we've spotted in the trailer so far. In Avengers: Endgame, the line is simply, "You mess with time, it tends to mess back." Could this be where the new footage will be included? There's a whole bunch of theories that erupt when you delve into this a bit deeper, but we're betting that the fact that Tony Stark says this is going to be important.

Avengers: Endgame Encore releases on September 25, 2026. For more, check out our guides to upcoming Marvel movies and shows, as well as all the new superhero movies you need to know about.

Avengers: Endgame Encore will help set up Avengers: Doomsday with new footage, but it seems it will also look different to the original movie.

Social media has been flooded with comparisons between the original film and the new trailer for the Encore edition, which seem to show the color grading has been improved to make the new film far more vibrant.

However, we should note that these screenshots can easily be edited, and the footage will look different depending on your device and other factors. Still, the trailer does appear to be more colorful than the original movie.

"Thank god. So sick of grey movies," said one fan, while another said: "Oh wow, the color grading and contrast difference actually look so much cleaner. Def getting IMAX tickets."

"It's gonna connect the story of the two movies," Joe Russo has said of the new edition. "There's a natural progression from Endgame into Doomsday, which is also inclusive of all the other stories that have been playing out. I think it's required viewing for following the story in Doomsday."

Added co-director Anthony: "If you saw Endgame when it was originally released, you couldn't see this coming."

Already, fans have noticed one piece of dialogue has been altered in the trailer, while another has a theory that connects the two films and revolves around Doctor Strange.

Avengers: Endgame Encore arrives this September 25, while Avengers: Doomsday lands this December 18. While you wait, check out our guide to all the upcoming Marvel movies and TV shows for everything else the MCU has in store.

The first Avengers: Endgame release trailer has been online for less than a day, but the theories on how Marvel will connect the 2019 movie to Avengers: Doomsday are already coming in thick and fast. But one fan may have already cracked the code.

"Doctor Doom is the reason Doctor Strange saw only ONE universe where the Avengers won," said Mavel Mania on Twitter, adding that they believe Doom is actually a Tony Stark variant. "One Tony variant could have survived the snap or found another way to defeat Thanos without sacrificing himself. Strange saw what Tony would eventually become and deliberately pushed him toward the sacrifice, preventing the future where Tony became Doom."

If true, this would explain why Marvel chose to cast Downey, who played Tony Stark in the MCU for over a decade, as Doctor Doom. If Doctor Strange saw an alternate timeline where Stark would survive, but would be a villain, it is no surprise that he chose the timeline where the Avengers beat Thanos, even if that did mean letting Stark die.

The upcoming re-release, officially titled Avengers Endgame Encore, promises to bridge the gap between the 2019 film and Doomsday, including four extra minutes of footage. In an interview with Fandango, director Joe Russo said, "There's a natural progression from Endgame into Doomsday... I think it's required viewing for following the story in Doomsday."

The fan theory also explains why Chris Evans' Steve Rogers is back in the present timeline looking the same-ish age he did in Endgame. "He could be from that same universe, where the Endgame battle still happened, Tony survived, and Steve never truly retired." Rogers' return has left many Marvel fans puzzled, as the last time we saw Rogers, he went back in time to live out his life with Peggy Carter. Then when he was old and grey, he handed the Captain America mantle to Sam Wilson.

Avengers: Endgame Encore is out in cinemas on September 25. For more, check out our guides to Marvel Phase 6 and upcoming Marvel movies.

Lucasfilm co-president Dave Filoni has teased what to expect from Ahsoka season 2, and it sounds like it's going to have the feeling of a classic tale.

"For me, this is a grand adventure in the sense of stories I grew up watching," Filoni told On the Red Carpet at this year's D23. "I'd say it's no short thing to say. There's maybe a little Jason and the Argonauts feeling to it."

Jason and the Argonauts refers to the fantasy adventure film released in 1963, based on the Greek myth that chronicles Jason and a band of heroes on a quest to claim the mythical Golden Fleece.

Filoni added: "The adventure is bigger and better, it's the simplest way to say it. And a big part for me, I love the people I work with in every discipline, and I'm so proud of the work they do. And I'm a firm believer that that shows up on screen, and so hopefully that's what people are feeling as well."

The first trailer for the new season debuted at this year's D23, and it shows off more Anakin Skywalker, Grand Admiral Thrawn setting his sights on restoring the Empire, and Ahsoka Tano and Sabine Wren exploring mysterious Peridea (read our Ahsoka season 2 trailer breakdown for all our theories).

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

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

Disney has confirmed an "additional sneak peek" of Avengers: Doomsday will be exclusive to certain screenings of Avengers: Endgame Encore.

As per an Avengers: Endgame Encore press release, every screening of the re-release will include an "exclusive look" at Doomsday.

However, "an additional sneak peek at the film will also be available to audiences" at IMAX and Infinity Vision screenings.

What is Infinity Vision, you may ask? In effect, it's a Disney and Marvel certification for screens of a certain size (45 feet wide or more) with Dolby 7.1 surround sound and requisite brightness.

Be sure to look for the 'Infinity Vision' branding at your local cinema chain to see if they have been given the certification – as that will be one of the only ways to see the bonus footage.

It is unclear at this stage if the Avengers: Endgame Encore re-release's four minutes of bonus footage will encompass both the standard look at Doomsday and the IMAX and Infinity Vision-exclusive sneak peek. But for those who want everything, be warned that you'll need to go to an IMAX or Infinity Vision screening this September.

Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Endgame director Joe Russo confirmed that the Encore re-release will act as a narrative bridge between the two movies, stating it is "required viewing" for Doomsday.

"It's gonna connect the story of the two movies," Russo told Fandango. "There's a natural progression from Endgame into Doomsday, which is also inclusive of all the other stories that have been playing out. I think it's required viewing for following the story in Doomsday."

Avengers: Endgame Encore releases in cinemas on September 25.

For more, check out the upcoming Marvel movies, as well as our guide on how to watch the Marvel movies in order – required reading before Doomsday.

The first trailer for Avengers: Endgame Encore has arrived, and it changes one major line of dialogue in a very subtle way.

In the trailer, Tony Stark's line from the 2019 original, "You mess with time, it tends to mess back," has been changed to, "You mess with time, time tends to mess back." In the film, Tony says this to Steve Rogers after Thanos and his army arrive in the present-day timeline.

This is a very minor change, but the line is fairly significant, considering it sums up one of the film's rules of time travel. Could this be a hint about why Robert Downey Jr. is returning to play Doctor Doom in Avengers: Doomsday? Or is it just an alternate take of the same line that sounds better in a trailer than the original?

"That's definitely for the trailer only because NO WAY they reshot that scene just to change one word," thinks one fan.

"The V.O. dialogue is probably only for the trailer to emphasize "Encore and Doomsday's" main theme (similar to what many other movie trailers do)," says someone else.

"This is definitely linked to Doomsday in some way and they want that line to be important," predicts another fan.

"This is presumably (hopefully) just an edit to make the trailer more dramatic. There’s no way they’d actually re-dub lines to retroactively make Endgame a Doomsday setup movie… right?" says another person.

"Does this coincide with the time stone not being shown in any Doomsday promo? Or is that all just a coincidence?" questions someone else.

We'll find out what it all means when Avengers: Endgame Encore arrives this September 25. Avengers: Doomsday, meanwhile, arrives on December 18.

In the meantime, check out our guide to all the upcoming Marvel movies and shows for everything else the MCU has in store.

Directing duo Joe and Anthony Russo say that Avengers: Endgame Encore is a must-see before heading to theater to watch Avengers: Doomsday.

"It's gonna connect the story of the two movies," Joe Russo told Fandango. "There's a natural progression from Endgame into Doomsday, which is also inclusive of all the other stories that have been playing out. I think it's required viewing for following the story in Doomsday."

Added Anthony: "If you saw Endgame when it was originally released, you couldn't see this coming."

What makes Encore different? Well, it's not just a theatrical re-release: it's color-graded, and the confirmed runtime of 185 minutes means we're getting four or minutes of bonus footage (not the rumored 7-10 minutes). It's also nice to have a refresher, since Avengers: Doomsday marks the first Avengers movie since 2019's Endgame.

I'll be honest in saying that I have no idea what those four bonus minutes could be, or how they could connect to the story of Doomsday... though my feeling is that they might be Tony Stark-related, given what a massive deal it is that Robert Downey Jr. is playing Doctor Doom in Doomsday and that the MCU is currently without an Iron Man. Some fan theories have suggested that Doom is a Tony Stark variant (though this is not comic book accurate), while others have posited that Downey is simply going to play another Tony Stark from another universe in addition to Doom. Only time will tell.

Avengers: Endgame Encore is out in cinemas on September 25. For more, check out our list of upcoming Marvel movies.

The first trailer for Avengers: Endgame's re-release is here, and it shows why Encore is essential viewing on the road to Avengers: Doomsday.

Not only does it promise an "exclusive look" at Doomsday (whatever that may entail), Endgame Encore's trailer also takes us back to 2019 and that electric atmosphere in theatres.

If you were hugging random strangers during the portals scene or Captain America catching Mjolnir, you weren't alone. And now you can do it all over again.

In case you needed a reminder, Avengers: Endgame deals with the fallout from Thanos' snap at the conclusion of Avengers: Infinity War.

With half of the universe (and its heroes) dusted, Earth's Mightiest Heroes aim to strike back at the Mad Titan and, later, travel back in time for the ultimate universe-saving heist.

If reliving moments such as the Portals sequence or Thor's swift defeat of Thanos wasn't enough to tempt you back into the cinemas to watch Avengers: Endgame once more, a glimpse of what else is included just might.

"It’s critically important to re-release the movie, and, in fact, we’ll be re-releasing the film with footage that is set in the Doomsday story that we have added to Avengers: Endgame," co-director Joe Russo said during an appearance at Sands Film Festival (via Deadline).

Russo added, "We can enhance the story of Doomsday by bridging it to Endgame."

Encore's confirmed runtime of 185 minutes suggests we're getting four minutes of bonus footage.

Avengers: Endgame Encore is out in cinemas on September 25.

For more, we have an essential guide to upcoming Marvel movies.

Anakin Skywalker star Hayden Christensen wants to work with Padmé Amidala actor Natalie Portman in Star Wars again.

The duo starred together in prequel movies Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith, but despite both Christensen and Obi-Wan Kenobi actor Ewan McGregor returning to Star Wars since, Portman has yet to reprise her role.

"I would love to get to work with her again and play these characters together," Christensen told USA Today at D23. "I think there's still opportunity to do that. I love the whole Clone Wars timeline in Star Wars and it's been a lot of fun to get to explore that a little bit in this series [Ahsoka]. So, I would love to get to do that with her at some point."

Christensen will return in Ahsoka season 2, both as a Force ghost and in Clone Wars-era flashbacks on the Star Wars timeline, as revealed by the first trailer and a display at D23 (you can read our Ahsoka season 2 trailer breakdown for all our theories).

Portman isn't the only prequel actor Christensen would like to reunite with, either. "I know that Ewan McGregor would love to do more with it," Christensen shared on the Hey Jonas podcast. "I've heard Natalie [Portman] would love to come back. Sam Jackson. So you could get the band back together."

Whether we ever do get a reunion remains to be seen, though McGregor is apparently so keen to return he pitched some ideas to Dave Filoni on the set of Ahsoka season 2, which stars his wife Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Hera Syndulla.

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

Bill Metzger actor Trammell Tillman has some theories on what his Marvel character is doing after the ending of Spider-Man: Brand New Day.

In the film, his fate is left ambiguous, though it would seem he escaped after the Punisher accidentally shot Peter Parker while aiming for Sadie Sink's Jean Grey.

"He's on the apology tour," Tillman joked to Polygon. "I don't know. Probably taking a vacation. He encountered some pretty heavy stuff. I remember having this conversation with [director] Destin [Daniel Cretton] and Justin [Kuritzkes], the writer that I was working with. We were talking about what it would be like to experience power like Jean Grey. And as a result of the experimentation that he was doing on Jean, it intensified. Metzger got a front-row seat to experience that.

"So I imagine he's probably hiding out somewhere trying to recoup," he continued. "Because that's intense. Like near death. The glass was right in his eyes. He probably thought he was going to die."

In the Spider-Man: Brand New Day ending, Jean does indeed almost kill Metzger as retribution for her sister, who was kidnapped, experimented on, and ultimately killed by Metzger's Damage Control.

While Jean will soon be seen in Marvel's X-Men movie, it's unclear when – or if – we'll ever see Metzger again. Still, with Peter Parker creating a universal inhibitor chip that suppresses superpowered DNA, it seems likely Damage Control will continue to be a big part of the MCU moving forward.

Next up for Marvel is VisionQuest on October 13 in the US and October 14 in the UK, followed by Avengers: Doomsday on December 18.

While you wait, fill out your watchlist with our guide to all the upcoming Marvel movies and shows.

Kingdom Hearts is celebrating its 25th anniversary next year with the release of Kingdom Hearts 4. While it doesn't have a release date yet, it was also revealed that a Kingdom Hearts animated series is in development for Disney's streaming platforms. However, this is apparently just the beginning of the franchise's plans, according to Disney's director of games, Nana Gadd.

In an interview with 4Gamer that's been translated by GamesRadar+, Gadd discussed the new Kingdom Hearts 4 trailer and anime announcement that were part of Disney's biennial fan convention D23. The series, which features a mash-up of Disney and Final Fantasy characters with original roles sprinkled in, is already known for its expansiveness, but it seems Disney is eager for more.

So far, Kingdom Hearts has been mostly focused on gaming, with over a dozen releases spanning a wide range of genres. While there are also manga and light novels, the majority of the fandom focuses on video games. However, with the announcement of the animated series, it's clear that Disney is hoping to expand.

"Even though Kingdom Hearts has been around for 25 years, there are so many things we want to do," says Gadd. "The announcement of the animated series is truly just the first step."

The franchise is already known for its complicated story, where you need to experience every piece of media just to have a hope of figuring it out. With that in mind, this statement has an exciting yet threatening aura.

Kingdom Hearts 4 features Pixar's Coco because Tetsuya Nomura thought it "would be the best world" for Sora's story