It ain't no lie, Fortnite has just added an epic new emote for Marvel fans. On Monday, Fortnite's official media accounts announced that a "Bye Bye Bye" Emote is officially available in the game's Item Shop. The dance, which was first created for *NSYNC's 2000 hit song "Bye Bye Bye", recently reached a whole new audience thanks to its use in this summer's Deadpool & Wolverine. The emote is currently available in the Fortnite Item Shop for 500 V-bucks.

More specifically, the song was utilized in Deadpool & Wolverine's opening credits sequence, as Wade Wilson / Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds) violently murdered a swath of Time Variance Authority agents with the Adamantium corpse of Logan Howlett / Wolverine (Hugh Jackman). The needle drop helped the song have a resurgence on social media, as well as charting on the Billboard and Spotify charts.

All good battles need choreography

Say bye to your opponents with the Bye Bye Bye Emote - out now: https://t.co/ix7B9rZIqd

?: @nsync pic.twitter.com/IeyflakKUJ

-- Fortnite (@FortniteGame) September 24, 2024

What Is the New Marvel Fortnite Season About?

In "Absolute Doom", wielding the ancient power of Pandora's Box, Marvel's armored despot Doctor Doom has transplanted his Latvarian domain to the Battle Royale Island and seized a foothold with his army of loyal henchmen. Once his empowered armor is complete, he'll reap total control. Doctor Doom and his lieutenants must be defeated! Whatever it takes.

Marvel's War Machine, Gwenpool, and the Wakandan royal Shuri join Captain Jones and Peelverine as first on the scene to defend against Doctor Doom and his forces. They'll need all the help they can get!

What Is Deadpool & Wolverine About?

In Marvel Studios' Deadpool & Wolverine, Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds) will change the history of the Marvel Cinematic Universe with Wolverine (Hugh Jackman). The film also stars Matthew Macfadyen as Paradox, and Emma Corrin as Cassandra Nova, with the return of Deadpool alums Morena Baccarin as Vanessa Carlysle, Leslie Uggams as Blind Al, Karan Soni as Dopinder, Stefan Kapi?i? as Piotr Rasputin/Colossus, Brianna Hildebrand as Negasonic Teenage Warhead, Rob Delaney as Peter, and Lewis Tan as Shatterstar.

Kevin Feige, Ryan Reynolds, Shawn Levy and Lauren Shuler Donner produce with Louis D'Esposito, Wendy Jacobson, Mary McLaglen, Josh McLaglen, Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick, George Dewey and Simon Kinberg serving as executive producers. Deadpool & Wolverine is written by Ryan Reynolds & Rhett Reese & Paul Wernick & Zeb Wells & Shawn Levy. Deadpool & Wolverine was released exclusively in theaters on July 26th.

One Piece has officially taken its first steps into the Elbaf arc as Luffy and the Straw Hats find themselves lost in a mysterious new area, and the newest chapter of the series made a great throwback to the original core crew! One Piece is now in the midst of the Final Saga of Eiichiro Oda's long running manga series, and Luffy and the Straw Hats have gone through many adventures together since it all began. But the crew really started to come together during the East Blue saga as Luffy was looking for those who could support him on his journey to becoming King of the Pirates.

The East Blue saga of One Piece then introduced Luffy to Zoro, Nami, Usopp and Sanji, and ever since fans have loved seeing them fight alongside one another and the rest of the Straw Hat crew. But it seems like the core group has been separated from all of the others ahead of their arrival on Elbaf. The new arc has gotten off to a mysterious start as the core Straw Hat crew is now in a dangerous area full of massive animals, and Nami brings this all full circle when she cries out for help from these fellow core members.

One Piece Kicks Off the Elbaf Arc

One Piece Chapter 1127 picks up right after Nami wakes up in a mysterious castle in a giant like outfit. This turns out to be the Bigstein Castle, and Nami has no idea how she got there. After being attacked by bees, Nami then specifically cries out for help from the members of the core Straw Hat group. Calling out for Luffy, Zoro, Sanji and "even Usopp," it's a fun throwback to the fact that while the Straw Hat crew has grown to double its size since the East Blue saga, Nami has been traveling together with these specific crew members for much longer.

Soon coming across Usopp (who's also changed his outfit to something more Elbaf appropriate), the two briefly think about whether or not they're hallucinating all of the giant attacking monsters. After soundly discovering they aren't, it's not long before they are reunited with Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji. It's been quite a long time since this particular group has been all together on an island adventure to kick off an arc of the series, and now it's made Elbaf seem more like a throwback than ever.

One Piece: What's Next for the Straw Hats?

With One Piece now starting the Elbaf Arc, the rest of the crew was previously shown still out to sea. It was teased that it might be a while before the arc actually got started, but now as of this chapter it's clearer that it really just meant that it's going to be a while before the Straw Hats are all fully together again along with the rest of the giants. But as fans know full well about this particular group, it's not long before Luffy and the others will stir up trouble and get the crew involved in some other kind of mess before Elbaf can even officially begin.

With Elbaf being teased as a legendary location since the East Blue saga, the core Straw Hat crew being the first ones that seemingly also make it to the island first brings it all full circle. This group has been waiting to get to this place for a very long time, and now they'll get to essentially enjoy it a bit before things eventually fall into chaos like they always do.

Former WWE CEO Vince McMahon is taking public issue with an upcoming Netflix documentary series, which focuses on his career with the company. The founder of World Wrestling Entertainment, McMahon is no longer involved with the company in any capacity, following various sexual assault allegations and a sex trafficking lawsuit from former employee Janel Grant.

Netflix's upcoming documentary series, Mr. McMahon, takes its name from the in-ring persona that McMahon developed within WWE over the years. The negative aspects of the character have become synonymous with McMahon, especially in recent years as more and more allegations of his behavior have come to light. McMahon, however, believes that he's not been painted accurately by the doc. Having watched an early cut of the series, McMahon claims the series has "misrepresented" a lot about him and will cause viewers to believe false narratives.

"I don't regret participating in this Netflix documentary," McMahon wrote in a statement released on social media channels Monday night. "The producers had an opportunity to tell an objective story about my life and the incredible business I built, which were equally filled with excitement, drama, fun, and a fair amount of controversy and life lessons. Unfortunately, based on an early partial cut I've seen, this doc falls short and takes the predictable path of conflating the 'Mr. McMahon' character with my true self, Vince. The title and promos alone make that evident.'

"A lot has been misrepresented or left out entirely in an effort to leave viewers intentionally confused. The producers use typical editing tricks with out of context footage and dated soundbites etc. to distort the viewers' perception and support a deceptive narrative. In an attempt to further their misleading account, the producers use a lawsuit based on an affair I ended as evidence that I am, in fact, 'Mr. McMahon.' I hope the viewer will keep an open mind and remember that there are two sides to every story."

pic.twitter.com/feI8wah51u

-- Vince McMahon (@VinceMcMahon) September 23, 2024

Grant's attorney, Ann Callis, issued a statement on Monday evening responding to McMahon's words about the upcoming documentary.

"Vince McMahon physically and emotionally abused, sexually assaulted and human trafficked Janel Grant for more than two years. Calling this horrific behavior 'an affair' is delusional and nothing more than a sad attempt to save his shredded reputation. Although Ms. Grant has not seen the Mr. McMahon docuseries, we hope it shines a bright light on his abhorrent and criminal actions by accurately portraying the realities of his abusive and explosive behavior.

"Ms. Grant will no longer be silenced by McMahon. Her story, though deeply troubling and exceptionally painful, is one that can help other abuse survivors find their voices. We seek to hold McMahon, John Laurinaitis and WWE accountable and to give Ms. Grant her day in court."

Ann Callis, attorney for Janel Grant, the former WWE employee and sexual assault and human trafficking survivor responded to @VinceMcMahon tonight: https://t.co/lAUIGBt6yp pic.twitter.com/rZNn19U9Zl

-- Kendra Barkoff Lamy (@kabarkoff) September 24, 2024

The Mr. McMahon series is a six-part documentary that is meant to explore the former CEO's "controversial reign" as the head of the company. Mr. McMahon comes from director Chris Smith, who previously directed Netflix's hit Tiger King documentary series. Smith was working on the series before many of the current allegations against McMahon came to light, causing changes to the project on the fly.

"Over the four years of production, the story evolved in truly shocking ways, culminating in some extremely harrowing allegations," Smith said. "The final product is a revealing documentary that we believe offers a rich and nuanced portrait of the man and the complex legacy he left behind."

Mr. McMahon a six-part documentary series that will debut on Netflix this Wednesday. This documentary will ultimately serve as a first step to a massive new partnership between Netflix and the WWE, with the streamer taking over as the exclusive home of flagship series Monday Night Raw in 2025.

To open tonight's episode of WWE Monday Night Raw, Dominik Mysterio and Liv Morgan arrived to the show in style with a Rey Mysterio-esque ride. The Judgment Day duo rolled into the arena in the iconic cherry red Lucha Low Rider that Rey Mysterio rolled around WrestleMania 39 in paying homage to the late Eddie Guerrero. They were there to celebrate but Rhea Ripley very quickly rained on their parade. She doesn't care about their little victory lap, she wants to get down to business ahead of WWE Bad Blood next weekend. Morgan teased Ripley about her knee, wondering if that's what she came to the ring to announce -- her not being cleared to compete.

#WWERaw kicks off with @DomMysterio35 & Women's World Champion @YaOnlyLivvOnce arriving in the Lucha Low Rider!@Mattel pic.twitter.com/KxAW7FIpIH

-- WWE (@WWE) September 24, 2024

In May Dom spoke with ComicBook about paying homage to Eddie in his career in which he pokes fun at his storyline from the early 2000s. "I mean, I think so, you know, if you look at wrestling, everyone does everyone's moves, right? Who gives a s***. But at the end of the day, if you look back in the history books and you watch the Eddie Guerrero promo, you think next time you judge me for doing anything. You remember who he said was gonna carry on the Guerrero name. Just throwing that [out there] at the end of the day. He knew something we all didn't in 2005, 20 plus years ago. He knew something that we all didn't know. So I'm just doing old pops a favor at this point."

Unfortunately for Morgan, Ripley said quite the opposite. She's more than cleared to wrestle Morgan for the Women's World Championship, she's actually there to address Dirty Dom. As he loves to meddle in Morgan's matches and has prevented Ripley from beating her in the past, he will have nowhere to run next weekend. While many fans have expected to see the two women inside a cage, it is Dominik who will be in a cage -- a shark cage, that is.

He will be hanging above the ring, helpless and unable to help Morgan retain her championship. While that handles Dom, there are still several other members of the group that even Priest can't fend off by himself. In recent weeks Jey Uso has aligned with the duo, so perhaps he will help Mami pull out a victory over her rival once and for all.

What do you think of Dom and Liv's new ride? Are you excited to see Ripley challenge at Bad Blood? Let me know your thoughts on X and Bluesky @haleyanne_!

To paraphrase Fight Club: "In Project Thunderbolts*, we have no names." But rather than Robert "Bob" Paulson, his name is Robert "Bob" Reynolds. "I'm Bob," stammers Lewis Pullman's Bob in the just-released trailer for Marvel Studios' Thunderbolts*, where Black Widow (Florence Pugh), U.S. Agent (Wyatt Russell), Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen), and Taskmaster (Olga Kurylenko) draw their weapons on the disheveled, patient gown-clad Bob deep within an underground vault.

The trailer is set to the Pixies song "Where is My Mind" which, not coincidentally, also features in Fight Club, David Fincher's 1999 cult classic about a seemingly unassuming man (Edward Norton) whose mental illness manifests as a split personality: his dark and violent alter-ego, Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt). If glimpses of an "S"-shaped belt buckle and an "S" symbol didn't tip you off, these are all references to The Sentry, Bob's solar-powered superhero persona in the comics.

Are you ready for the secret of... The Sentry? You asked for it, loyal readers! Introducing the greatest hero of them all -- The Golden Guardian of Good!

Introduced in the pages of 2000's Sentry #1 by writer Paul Jenkins and artist Jae Lee, Bob Reynolds was the greatest Marvel hero you'd never heard of. A Jack Kirby-inspired Silver Age comic book-within-a-comic, titled Startling Stories featuring The Sentry, revealed the Sentry's origins as high school freshman "Robby" Reynolds. After drinking a vial of an enigmatic professor's secret formula -- an experimental chemical serum that granted him the "power of a million exploding suns" -- Bob took the name Sentry, as it was his duty to "watch over the world."

You want to remember, Sentry, but you can't. Something happened... it was something very bad.

Only Bob Reynolds remembered his heroic exploits saving the world alongside the likes of the Fantastic Four and the Avengers, Spider-Man, the X-Men, and the Hulk. As the forgotten hero investigated what made everyone forget he ever existed, Bob warned of the return of his arch-nemesis: a dark entity known only as The Void.

Now is a time for vigilance.

After Bob triggered the memories of Reed Richards, the 2001 one-shot Sentry/The Void #1 revealed the truth about the Sentry: Bob Reynolds is the Void. By ingesting the Golden Sentry Serum, Bob's mentally ill psyche created two personas -- the golden boy superhero and his villainous alter-ego -- and as the Void, Bob subconsciously killed a million people in an attack that destroyed half a city.

The Sentry. If we ever remember him... in the name of humanity, promise me you'll do whatever you can to make us forget.

To prevent the end of existence, Bob conspired with Reed and the sorcerer Doctor Strange to make everyone forget the Sentry existed using a mesmeric induction device to transmit a virus that effectively erased him from existence. As the antithesis of the Sentry, the Void vanished alongside Bob's superhero alter-ego.

That's Robert Reynolds. He went by the name of The Sentry. He's, maybe, according to Reed Richards, the most powerful superhero on the planet Earth.

Bob resurfaced as a prisoner of The Raft, S.H.I.E.L.D.'s maximum security prison for supervillains, in New Avengers #1 by Brian Michael Bendis and David Finch. The Sentry's return unleashed the Void, who fought the combined forces of the Avengers, the X-Men, the Fantastic Four, the Inhumans, and S.H.I.E.L.D. until the mutant psychic Emma Frost was able to penetrate Bob's psyche and reveal how the mutant named Mastermind used his psionic powers to effectively retcon Sentry's existence in the public's mind.

The 2005-2006 miniseries Sentry Vol. 2 eventually revealed that Bob Reynolds' true personality is the malevolent Void, and that the Sentry is the manufactured persona. In Sentry #8, by Jenkins and artist John Romita Jr., Sentry's secret origin was altered again with the revelation that the serum that gave him his powers was the creation of "Project Sentry," an attempt to recreate the super-soldier serum that transformed Steve Rogers into Captain America.

"Robby" Reynolds was really a diagnosed schizophrenic with generalized anxiety disorder and agoraphobia who stole the Professor's vial of serum to get high. Becoming addicted to the power, Void told Sentry: "If it could turn a meek young freshman into both the greatest hero and the greatest threat the planet had ever known, it could do the same to everyone. That's the big secret, Sentry: we're nothing special. That serum would have worked on anybody."

And this is how it goes for you: always the Sentry, ever the Void. So it will be until the end of time... you must remain vigilant, for you are humanity's only hope.

After former Thunderbolts leader Norman Osborn assembled a H.A.M.M.E.R. squad of villains misappropriating the likenesses of Earth's mightiest heroes, including Spider-Man (Scorpion), Hawkeye (Bullseye), Wolverine (Daken), and Ms. Marvel (Moonstone), the Sentry joined Osborn's Avengers*: the Dark Avengers. When the Void returned during Osborn's siege on new Asgard in the four-issue series Siege, the New Avengers battled the Void, who briefly reverted back to Bob upon defeat. The Void pleaded with the Avengers to kill him, so Thor summoned a bolt of lightning that killed Bob, and the thunder god laid his remains in the heart of the Sun.

DAN DA DAN is going to finally make its highly anticipated premiere next month as part of the Fall 2024 anime schedule, and a new trailer for the series has shared a new look at its English dub release ahead of its debut. DAN DA DAN is leading the pack of the new anime adaptations that will finally be making their debut this Fall. This season in particular seems to be stacked with some of the biggest blockbuster releases fans have been waiting to see all year, and DAN DA DAN is likely the one that fans have been especially excited to see above all else.

DAN DA DAN will finally be making its premiere this October, and it will be debuting worldwide with both a Japanese and English language release. While fans have been able to see some of the anime in action this month with the special theatrical early premiere for the series (which has actually been extended thanks to its box office success), now even more fans have gotten a much fuller look at the English dubbed release of the anime with a new trailer for DAN DA DAN. You can check out the new trailer highlighting its English dubbed launch below.

The supernatural hijinks of DAN DA DAN starts soon! ?

Episode 1 premieres October 3rd 09:00 PT/October 4 01:00 JT! ??#DANDADAN pic.twitter.com/APCun1vNLD

-- DAN DA DAN Anime EN (@animeDANDADANen) September 23, 2024

What to Know for DAN DA DAN

Dandadan will be making its debut on October 3rd as part of the Fall 2024 anime schedule, and will be streaming its new episodes with Crunchyroll, Netflix, Hulu, ADN and Muse alongside their release in Japan. Directed by Fuga Yamashiro at Science SARU (which most recently produced Scott Pilgrim Takes Off for Netflix), Hiroshi Seko is supervising and writing the scripts, kensuke ushio is composing the music, Naoyuki Onda is designing the characters and Yoshimichi Kameda is designing the aliens and monsters. Creepy Nuts will be performing the opening theme for the anime, "Otokone" and ZUTOMAYO will be providing the ending theme, "TAIDADA."

The voice cast for the English dub is stacked to the brim with talent too. The announced members of the cast thus far includes the likes of Abby Trott as Momo, A.J. Beckles as Okarun, Kari Wahlgren as Seiko, Lisa Reimold as Aira, Aleks Le as JiJi, Barbara Goodson as Turbo Granny, and Den Diskin as Serpoian. The rest of the voice cast will be filled out as the anime continues to introduce wild new creatures and characters, but thankfully it's not going to be too much longer until we get to all see it in action.

Why You Should Watch DAN DA DAN

DAN DA DAN has been standing out as one of the biggest new releases of the year because of how unique it seems when compared to many of the other franchises to come from Shueisha's Jump+ app. Yukinobu Tatsu's original manga series might not have been the most popular series heading into 2024, but ever since the anime was officially announced, the series has gone to a much higher level of notoriety because of that uniqueness. Now it's going to get animated, and thus enter a whole new realm of recognition.

The series follows Momo and Ken, two kids who end up in a wild new mess. Momo believes in ghosts, and Ken believes in aliens, so the two of them fight all the time about which of the two is actually right. As it turns out, they are both correct and both aliens and ghosts actually exist. They're very deadly too, and soon Momo and Ken need to fight their way out of increasingly tougher situations as the series gets wackier and wackier. It's going to be a big one to watch.

Spice and Wolf's big anime remake has wrapped up its run of episodes for the year, and it's going to continue with a second season of the series! As part of the 15th anniversary for the debut of the original TV anime adaptation of Isuna Hasekura and Ju Ayakura's original light novel series, Spice and Wolf made a comeback this year with a brand new anime series. Spice and Wolf: merchant meets the wise wolf made its debut earlier this Spring, and had a full two cour run taking on arcs fans might have seen in the original anime series from years ago.

The second half of the new series then kicked its run in even more with a new arc that had not been adapted in that original anime series. This was the first time fans got to see this new arc animated with its take on the Legend of the Pagan Gods arc, and it's opened up the remake series to a whole new kind of potential future. Thankfully, that future is looking bright as the anime has confirmed that the new series is coming back for a whole new run of episodes with Season 2 now in the works.

Spice and Wolf Remake to Continue With Season 2

Following the release of the final episode of Spice and Wolf: merchant meets the wise wolf for the Summer, it was officially announced that the series would be returning for Season 2. Outside of the new visual celebrating the announcement featuring a new look at Holo, there is currently no available release window or date for the new episodes as of the time of this publication. The first season of this remake kicked off its two cour run earlier this Spring, and ran for over 20 episodes before it came to an end with the ending Summer season.

Spice and Wolf: merchant meets the wise wolf has already started to adapt new material from the original light novels not seen in the first TV anime series, and a second season opens the reboot up to even more possibilities. The first TV anime series ran for 24 episodes with two OVA specials during its run, and now this remake will be officially crossing that mark when it returns for a new season. If that new season has even more episodes in tow, then the franchise will be expanding with its fullest adaptation of the original light novels yet.

What Is Spice and Wolf?

Spice and Wolf: merchant meets the wise wolf is a remade version of the TV anime adaptation for the Spice and Wolf light novels. This new series takes it all on from the very beginning as a young merchant named Kraft Lawrence is traveling around the world and soon meets a young girl named Holo, a girl with ears and a tail. She reveals herself to actually be the god of harvest, and has grown disillusioned with the fact that the rest of the people in the small town around her having seemingly forgotten to pay their respects.

Teaming up with Kraft from that point on, Holo wants to head home as she and Kraft travel across the land and deal with things that happen along the way. It's a quiet story focused on these two characters, so it's definitely worth a visit if you are even slightly interested in all of it. Especially after it's been brought back in a whole new way thanks to this remade version. You can now find all episodes of Spice and Wolf: merchant meets the wise wolf so far now streaming with Crunchyroll.

The Power Rangers franchise might not be coming back any time soon, but it's sparking up conversations all over again as the first look at a potentially cancelled animated reboot has surfaced online. The Power Rangers franchise recently celebrated its 31st anniversary, and over the three decades the series has gone on to inspire multiple iterations of the TV series, video games, comic books, and even a few feature films over the years. But there's one avenue that the franchise has yet to explore in all this time, an animated one as the series has not gotten an animated project of any kind.

But it seems like an animated project could have happened as a surfaced animated film for the Power Rangers franchise has popped up online. The touted cancelled film, Power Rangers: Origins, would have been developed by Saban Brands and Zag Entertainment (the production studio behind Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir), and would have featured a new take on the original team from the first season of the Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers TV series. Posters and other promotional material for the cancelled project have appeared on eBay (as spotted by @RangerBoard on X) and you can check them out below.

[1/2] Listed on ebay (https://t.co/T3pQVQstTk) - Here's a great look at posters for the cancelled #PowerRangers Origins animated movie!

What do you think of these designs? (Especially that Megazord...) Would you like something like this?
? Discussion: https://t.co/yBR5arsUvM pic.twitter.com/4I2uZckxqc

-- ? RangerBoard.com ? (@RangerBoard) September 21, 2024

What Is Power Rangers: Origins?

Details for this reportedly cancelled project are scarce due to the secretive nature of its development, but Power Rangers: Origins was apparently in development for Saban Brands in the period where they owned the franchise and were looking ahead to what could be coming next. This was during the era following Saban Brands buying the franchise back from Disney, and developing new projects. Which means it was also during the period in the 2010s before the franchise rights were sold to Hasbro, but for one reason or another this animated take on the franchise never came to pass (much also like the recently cancelled Netflix reboot).

From the looks at the material, it looks to be a fully animated rebooted take on the original Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers line up of Jason, Kimberly, Billy, Zack and Trini. Though their respective characters might have gotten redesigns for the new era, it seems like the rest of the franchise would have been redesigned as well with new designs for the zords as seen through the promotional materials as well. But an animated version of the franchise is still something many fans are hoping to see in action someday.

Will There Ever Be an Animated Power Rangers?

Desire for a fully animated Power Rangers series is something fans of the franchise have been vocal about for quite some time. As the live-action TV shows and movies are currently inactive, fans had hoped to see some kind of animated take bring the franchise in a whole new kind of direction that can't be replicated with real suit actors as seen in the Tokusatsu adaptations. But there could be several different reasons why the franchise has yet to make an animated debut with the central being potential licensing issues.

Given that the Power Rangers franchise adapts Toei's Super Sentai series in Japan, there are a number of deals likely in place to use the characters in different ways. Whether changing these designs and squarely focusing on the Power Rangers versions of the characters makes it easier for some kind of project, it's all holding back an animated take. Unlike some of the other Hasbro brands enjoying their animated runs, Power Rangers just might be more complicated in getting an animated version out there. Especially now that the TV series seems to have gone dormant for the time being.

Hal Jordan / Green Lantern continues to be a part of the pop culture conversation, especially after confirmation that Kyle Chandler is set to portray the character in the DC Universe's forthcoming Lanterns television show. As fans prepare for Hal's newest foray into live-action, a new comic is paying tribute to one of his most beloved partnerships.

As part of DC's December 2024 solicitations, DC announced Green Lantern/Green Arrow: World's Finest Special #1, a new one-shot that will be released wherever comics are sold on Wednesday, December 18th. Written by Jeremy Adams with art by Lucas Meyer and Travis Mercer, the one-shot will reunite Hal and Oliver Queen / Green Arrow in a new adventure, continuing the legacy of Dennis O'Neil and Neal Adams' beloved "Hard Travelin' Heroes" run of the 1970s.

What Is Green Lantern/Green Arrow: World's Finest Special #1 About?

Written by JEREMY ADAMS

Art by LUCAS MEYER and TRAVIS MERCER

Cover by DAN MORA

Variant covers by HOWARD PORTER and V. KEN MARION 1:25 variant cover by CRYSTAL KUNG

$5.99 US | 48 pages | Variant $6.99 US (card stock)

ON SALE 12/18/24

Everyone's favorite hard-travelin' heroes are back and brought to you through the iconic lens of World's Finest! In the not-too-distant past, Oliver Queen and Hal Jordan find themselves at a crossroads...and only teaming up together once more will save them from the scope of the mysterious bounty hunter known in whispered tones throughout the underworld as Deathstroke the Terminator. Plus, writer Jeremy Adams returns to the world of the Flash to weave a twisted tale of Barry Allen on the road to cri-sis--it's a World's Finest adventure you cannot miss in this special, oversize one-shot spectacular!

What Is Lanterns About?

Lanterns follows new recruit John Stewart and Lantern legend Hal Jordan, two intergalactic cops drawn into a dark, earth-based mystery as they investigate a murder in the American heartland. The roles of John has yet to be cast at this time.

"We are elated to be reuniting with both Chris Mundy and Damon Lindelof as they partner with Tom for this fresh take on DC's 'Green Lantern,'" Casey Bloys, Chairman and CEO, HBO and Max Content, said in a statement. "As part of James and Peter's vision for the DC Universe, this first new live action series will mark an exciting new era."

As mentioned above, Green Lantern/Green Arrow: World's Finest Special #1 will be released wherever comics are sold on Wednesday, December 18th

If you have been an anime since the '10s, then you know what Nichijou is. The series is hard to describe, and we can thank its surreal comedy for that. Creator Keiichi Arawi brought Nichijou to life in 2006 with their manga, and with help from Kyoto Animation, the comedy became a cult hit. Now, the studio is teaming up with the creator of Nichijou once more, so the anime fandom better brace itself.

Not long ago, Kyoto Animation shared its new slate of projects, and it was there Arawi came into focus. The creator of Nichijou is working with Kyoto Animation to bring their manga City to the small screen. According to the studio, City will premiere in 2025, and it will mark a big milestone for Kyoto Animation. After all, the studio has not pursued any new IPs in about six years, but City will break that streak.

Kyoto Animation Goes From Nichijou to City

For those unfamiliar with City, the series got started after Nichijou ended its run. The comedy is slice-of-life, and it often delves into surreal topics and tropes. City tells the story of the Mont Blanc Trio, a group of university students who find each other in the city as they navigate life as young adults. Midori Nagumo, Ayumu Nikura, and Wako Izumi are very different when it comes to personality. Given their close friendships, the Mont Blanc Trio often finds itself in wild situations, and Arawki makes sure to stress their surreal sense of humor.

If this story sounds similar to Nichijou, well - that is because the tales are not far out from one another. Arawi has a clear style, and if it isn't broke then don't fix it. With Nichijou, the series is a slice-of-life that follows the citizens of Tokisadame. From Yuko Aioi to Mai Minakami, we meet plenty of colorful characters in Nichijou. In the anime, a great majority of the takes place in a high school as Nano Shinonome finds her place amongst her peers. That is a tall order when you consider Nano is a rather anxious android, but hey. Everybody has their cross to bear.

What's Next for Kyoto Animation

With an adaptation of City in the works, Kyoto Animation is getting ready to embark on a new era. The project is set to release in 2025, and City comes after the release of Sound Euphonium 3 in 2024. Kyoto Animation is also working on an anime adaptation of Hiro Yuki's 20 Seiki Denki Mokuroku and the first film dedicated to Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid. The movie will be set after season two of Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid, and it is expected to launch in 2025.

What do you make of this latest anime order? Are you ready for Kyoto Animation to team up with Nichijou's creator once more? Give me a shout at @meganwpeters with your take! You can also let us know what you think over on X (Twitter) and Instagram.

Despite having just released Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2, the team at Saber Interactive already has ideas for a potential Space Marine 3. By all accounts, Space Marine 2 has been one of the biggest hits of 2024 both critically and commercially. Longtime Warhammer fans have been lavishing heaps of praise upon the throwback third-person shooter and it has ranked near the top of Steam's sales chart since the moment it launched. As such, the future of the Space Marine sub-series looks brighter than ever before and Saber very much intends to capitalize on it.

In a conversation with IGN, Saber Interactive boss Tim Willits confirmed that there is already talk of Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 3. Willits said that the director of Space Marine 2, Dmitry Grigorenko, has brought forth some ideas for a new story in the series. However, what's currently unknown is if this story would be told in an eventual Space Marine 3 or if it would instead be as DLC for Space Marine 2.

"Our game director Dmitry Grigorenko, he has proposed some story ideas that could either be DLC or a sequel," Willits said. "We're literally just catching our breath. This is two weeks out. We just need to get the dust to settle. But I can confidently say that we will not disappoint our Warhammer fans in the future. It's too big of a success! I know that's an obvious thing to say, but hopefully we'll be working on Space Marine content for a long time."

Again, given the major success of Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2, it's not shocking in the slightest that Saber is going to now double down on the franchise. With that said, though, expectations for a potential Space Marine 3 are now going to be far higher, which Willits says can be "dangerous." After seeing how well fans have responded to SM2 and Saber itself having now found success with the game, Willits thinks that this success is what will drive the company in the years ahead.

"With Space Marine 2, it really does change everything," Willits added. "As employees, and I know this firsthand, when you have a big hit and you have that internet kind of popularity, there's more passion and there's more responsibility for the quality that you do. And you look at yourself through a different lens. And sometimes that success lens can be a little dangerous because then you get so paranoid about making sure everything is great that you overstress about things, but it's that success lens that really drives amazing games into the future. So I do believe that through the success lens that we have, we will just make far better products in the future."

Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 is available now across PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC platforms.

One Piece is continuing to work its way through the Egghead Arc to fill in the gaps of what's happening to the rest of the seas, and the newest episode of the anime has revealed the final three of the Seraphim that Government has created. One Piece: Egghead Arc has temporarily turned its attention away from the events of the future island laboratory itself as Luffy and the Straw Hats try and escape it, and the episodes thus far have been revealing more of the secrets happening in the rest of the ocean. The biggest of which involves the World Government as they have many plans in place.

As the One Piece anime continues to work through the Final Saga of Eiichiro Oda's original manga series, the Government has been revealing some major secrets about their real control over the rest of the world. Not only are Imu and the Five Elders even more sinister than fans might have realized, but their machinations are continuing to bear fruit thanks to all of the work Dr. Vegapunk has done. This includes the Seraphim weapons, and One Piece Episode 1120 revealed the final three of these weapons in the anime's latest episode.

Doflamingo, Moria, and Crocodile Seraphims official color schemes! #OnePiece pic.twitter.com/4gtz2NY8Ad

-- Artur - Library of Ohara (@newworldartur) September 22, 2024

One Piece: What Are the Seraphim?

As introduced during the Egghead Arc in One Piece's previous episodes, the World Government decided to get rid of the Seven Warlords System as one of the decisions they made during the Reverie. The fallout led to those former Warlords all splitting off in their own ways, and during the Straw Hats' landing on Egghead fans got to see why. The Marines had gotten rid of this system because they were able to develop a Pacifista that was much stronger than any of the others they had built based on Kuma's body.

These Seraphim are modeled after the former Seven Warlords lineup. The four seen attacking Luffy and the Straw Hats on Egghead had been based on Jimbei, Boa Hancock, Hawkeye Mihawk, and Kuma. This is clearly modeled after the first incarnation of the Warlords and not the other line ups that came later with shake up introductions from the likes of Trafalgar Law or Buggy. But now thanks to One Piece Episode 1120, the final three of these powerful Seraphim weapons have been revealed in full. And much like the others, they are younger versions of the ones they're based off of.

Who Are the New Seraphim?

The three new Seraphim revealed in One Piece Episode 1120 appear to be modeled after Donquixote Doflamingo, Sir Crocodile, and Gecko Moria. With these three being the final members of the original Seven Warlords line up, these are also likely the final of the Seraphim weapons that we'll see. Barring Dr. Vegapunk secretly crafting yet another powerful weapon (which is unlikely given that his island is currently being wiped out by the Government),this is the full line up for the Seraphim weapons.

The Seven Warlords once worked with the World Government to create a sort of stalemate where neither would get too involved in one another's business, but the Government has since thrown the rest of the seas into chaos as the balance of power between the pirates and the marines have been disrupted in such a way. It's why each subsequent arc has been one intense event after another, and it's clear that it's all going to get a lot messier before it gets better. Especially if these new Seraphim are just as strong as the ones we have gotten to see in action already.

One of the people behind-the-scenes at Marvel Studios reveal which Ghost Rider they'd like to see in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Ghost Rider may not be as much of a household name like Captain America or Spider-Man, but the Spirit of Vengeance has a loyal legion of fans. We've seen Nicholas Cage portray Johnny Cage's Ghost Rider on the big screen, with Gabriel Luna playing the Robbie Reyes version of Ghost Rider on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. There's been some debate amongst fans on which Ghost Rider should show up next in the MCU, but Marvel's head of television has chimed in with his opinion.

Collider spoke with Brad Winderbaum, Marvel Studios' Head of Streaming, Television, and Animation, for Agatha All Along, where the end of the interview turned to the topic of Ghost Rider. When asked if he could snap his fingers and greenlight any series, Winderbaum chose Ghost Rider. However, instead of selecting the most popular Ghost Rider, Johnny Blaze, Winderbaum went with Blaze's brother-in-hellfire, Danny Ketch.

"I would wanna do the Danny Ketch era of Ghost Rider. I think there are a lot of people who would be here for some Ghost Rider," he said.

Of course, this doesn't mean that fans should expect Danny Ketch's Ghost Rider to appear whenever the Spirit of Vengeance makes his MCU debut. While Brad Winderbaum is over Marvel's streaming output on Disney+, someone at Marvel Studios could decide Ghost Rider would make the perfect addition to a feature film.

A major Marvel villain is the new Ghost Rider

Over in the comics, a villain took over the role of Ghost Rider. Earlier this year, Marvel released a new series titled Ghost Rider: Final Vengeance, after teasing that Johnny Blaze would be losing the Spirit of Vengeance. In a surprising turn of events. Parker Robbins, aka The Hood, is consumed by the Spirit of Vengeance named Zarathos and turned into Ghost Rider. Ghost Rider: Final Vengeance concluded with a showdown between Johnny Blaze and The Hood, setting the stage for the next evolution of Ghost Rider.

Next week sees the release of Ghost Rider: Robbie Reyes Special #1, part of the Marvel's Voices line celebrating Hispanic & Latin American Heritage Month. There will be three stories written and drawn by a host of acclaimed talent and rising stars including the return of Robbie Reyes' co-creator Felipe Smith. In addition, Ghost Rider: Robbie Reyes Special #1 brings back Fantasma, the Ghost Rider created by Luciano Vecchio for last year's New Champions variant cover program. This will mark Fantasma's official Marvel debut inside a comic.

I Know What You Did Last Summer star Freddie Prinze Jr. is officially confirmed to be coming back for Sony's upcoming sequel film. Prinze Jr. played the character of Ray Bronson in the original 1997 film (an adaptation of Lois Duncan's hit YA horror novel) and returned for its 1998 sequel, I Still Know What You Did Last Summer; his character was the blue-collar boyfriend of Julie James (franchise star Jennifer Love Hewitt), who provided some red-herring misleads before ultimately being validated as a noble guy.

It was originally reported that both Freddie Prinze Jr. and Jennifer Love Hewitt were in talks to return for the I Know What You Did Last Summer "franchise continuation project"; Prinze is the first to make it official. Fans will now be looking at Hewitt with laser-like focus to see if she also commits to the project. Having both her and Freddie Prinze Jr. back would give this new film the stamp of authenticity it needs to rekindle the fanbase.

I Know What You Did Last Summer followed the story of four teens - timid girl Julie James (Hewitt), dockworker Ray Bronson (Prinze Jr.), Barry Cox (Ryan Phillippe), and beauty queen Helen Shivers (Sarah Michelle Gellar) - who hit a man while partying ad driving down the road one night, and made the dark decision to get rid of the body and cover up the crime. A year later, all four teens are in mental/emotional distress - which becomes peril when a mysterious killer begins stalking them one by one, making the impossible claim to know what the kids have done.

This new installment has already snagged a young cast of actors, including Madelyn Cline (Outer Banks), Tyriq Withers (Atlanta), Jonah Hauer-King (The Little Mermaid), and Tony Award-nominated Sarah Pidgeon. Riverdale star Camila Mendes was originally cast in a major role but had to drop out due to scheduling conflicts. Bodies Bodies Bodies star Chase Sui Wonders was reportedly in talks to replace her.

Jennifer Kaytin Robinson (Do Revenge) is directing the film and has already revealed to fans that this new installment will indeed acknowledge the previous two films. That said, it's still unclear whether or not this new I Know What You Did Last Summer film is a traditional threequel or more like a "requel" that will use legacy characters and the same continuity to hand the franchise reigns to a new set of characters, while slightly updating the franchise framework. That approach has worked out for the Scream franchise, another breakout horror franchise of the '90s.

The new I Know What You Did Last Summer has a release date of July 18, 2025.

via Deadline

Jujutsu Kaisen is about to end, and with each new chapter, the series sparks more questions. Gege Akutami is slated to wrap his hit manga in less than a week's time, so expectations are high for our heroes. After taking down Sukuna, Yuji has been through a whirlwind of last-minute coups and revivals. So of course, Jujutsu Kaisen chapter 270 made everybody double take when it teased the revival of a surprising character.

And no, we're not talking about Gojo Satoru. We have no update on the Six Eyes users, but what we do have is a teaser about Geto. The man's body is back in action, so the question is how is behind the steering wheel.

Is Geto (or Kenjaku) Still Alive?

As you can see above, Jujutsu Kaisen made everybody geek out when chapter 270 checked in on Takaba. It turns out the man did survive the final fight with Sukuna, and he isn't alone. We visit Takaba while he eats a meal out with someone, and Akutami makes sure to keep the other person's face hidden. However, any Jujutsu Kaisen fan could tell the character eating with Takaba is Geto. Or at least, it is someone using Geto's body.

The body's broad frame and posture is easy to recognize, for one. Then there is also the issue with its hair. Geto was known for wearing his long locks half-up, half-down. The style was adopted by Kenjaku after the sorcerer coopted Geto's corpse, and now that hairstyle is haunting us once more. Jujutsu Kaisen went as far as to hide Geto's face with a text bubble, but c'mon - Geto stands will know the man anywhere.

Given Takaba's interaction with Kenjaku during the Shinjuku Showdown arc, fans are eager to see how this aside plays out. Akutami could be trolling fans with a Geto lookalike, but Jujutsu Kaisen is pretty purposeful with its teasers. Whether Geto has returned to life or Kenjaku managed a final hijack, we will find out soon enough. Jujutsu Kaisen has one chapter left to go, and this thread is too integral to leave loose.

Jujutsu Kaisen Will End in One Chapter

For those eager to check out Jujutsu Kaisen's ending, the series will close on September 30. Akutami has been working hard on the final chapter, and the manga's epilogue has given fans a good bit of resolution. From Megumi's return to the end of the New Shadow Style School, jujutsu society is in flux. The defeat of Sukuna has ushered in a new era that Yuji will help lead. But still, there are several things Jujutsu Kaisen has yet to tackle.

The biggest question mark is Gojo Satoru, of course. The sorcerer is the most popular character in Jujutsu Kaisen, and it has been over a year since his death against Sukuna. Given the epilogue's recent revivals, fans are hopeful Akutami finds a way to bring Gojo back to life even if it takes a Binding Vow. The sorcerer has yet to come up in discussion, and the clock is ticking on his return. Jujutsu Kaisen will end in a week's time and who knows? Maybe his return will come complete with Geto's own revival?

What do you think about this Jujutsu Kaisen update? Are you excited to see how the manga wraps things up with its final chapter? Give me a shout at @meganwpeters with your take! You can also let us know what you think over on X (Twitter) and Instagram.

Rick and Morty: The Anime has been hinting at something happening to Space Morty in the episodes thus far, and the preview for Episode 7 of the series finally reveals his ultimate fate. Rick and Morty: The Anime kicked off its premiere earlier this Summer by messing with space and time. It had gone to such a level that the premiere told its story both out of order, but also revealed multiple stories across the multiverse happening at the same time. This trend continued with every other episode since that have been steadily building a much larger puzzle to solve by season's end.

Rick and Morty: The Anime has also been alluding to the fact that the mysterious Space Morty had fallen to some kind of fate that left both his version of Rick and Elle to then float around and mess with time (which ultimately started everything in the first place), and now it seems it's confirmed that Space Morty was actually killed in action. Through the preview for Episode 7 of the series, Rick and Morty: The Anime is helping to fill in the gaps by finally revealing how it all went down. Check it out below as released by Adult Swim:

Who Is Space Morty?

Rick and Morty: The Anime might have first introduced fans to a new anime take on the titular duo (who are the same versions of the duo seen in the main animated series) when the series premiered, but also introduced some brand new faces. One of these was a different multiverse iteration of Rick and Morty themselves that have seen some better days. Rick was revealed to have lost his Morty somewhere, and ever since starting messing with space and time with a new entropy device that caused all of the issues seen in the premiere.

It was then alluded to in the episodes that followed that this new Rick's Morty was actually known as "Space Morty." This version of Morty was then seen battling the members of the Galactic Federation with ease. Wearing a special suit, Space Morty was becoming a hero among the plants for all of the big victories he was a part of. But this also put a big target on his back, and something had apparently happened to him before the events of the series. Now it's confirmed to be a full death of the character.

How to Watch Rick and Morty: The Anime Episode 7

Seeing Space Morty's death play out on screen certainly helps to answer at least one of the questions we've seen in the series before, and will likely only spark even further questions as this version of Rick and Space Beth are still dealing with the Galactic Federation in the later episodes. As for Elle's role in it all, it also remains to be seen how her connection with Space Morty leads to the romantic connection with the anime Morty as seen in the episodes thus far. But we'll see it all work out soon.

As for when we'll be able to actually see the episode, Rick and Morty: The Anime Episode 7 is titled "When We Meet In Our Dreams" and will be premiering its English dub release with Adult Swim on Thursday, September 26th at midnight before airing its Japanese release on Saturday, September 28th as part of the Toonami programming block. (with the episode then being available to stream with Max the next day). The episode is teased as such, "When a Morty goes down, a Rick takes action. Nothing bad could happen to the universe, right?"

A surprising new report has indicated that Microsoft spends roughly $1 billion per year on bringing third-party titles to Xbox Game Pass. Despite being one of Xbox's biggest avenues to bring in money for Microsoft, Game Pass is also a service that the company has needed to continuously pour funds into. Previously, details regarding the total amount that Microsoft actually spends on Game Pass have been shrouded in mystery, but that's no longer the case.

According to Bloomberg, Microsoft currently "spends $1 billion a year getting third-party games on the subscription service." This total is said to be based on not only the "flat fees of millions of dollars" that Microsoft pays various studios and publishers, but also a "portion of subscription revenue" that is then paid out. Further details on Microsoft's process of determining how much each publisher should earn for being part of Game Pass wasn't revealed, but more high-profile, AAA titles are surely the ones that cost the most to join the service.

While this might seem like an asinine amount of money (which it is), Xbox Game Pass typically makes back this much relatively quickly. Based on previous information that has been made public, there are a little more than 30 million Game Pass subscribers at the moment. Assuming that each subscriber then pays an average of $15 or so, it would suggest that Microsoft makes back its investment in Game Pass over a period of two or three months.

Still, with video game development costs quickly rising, there's a good chance that Microsoft will have to begin offering even more to various publishers to add their titles to Xbox Game Pass. As a result, this $1 billion amount will almost certainly pale in comparison a few years from now to the total that Microsoft invests in the service today. For all of these reasons and more, this is likely why Microsoft chose to raise the price of Game Pass this month while also introducing new tiers of the subscription platform.

This afternoon wrestling fans began to notice that a key piece of AEW's Nigel McGuinness and Bryan Danielson story was removed from YouTube, pointing to a supposed DMCA claim WWE made that removed the video from AEW's YouTube channel. While it's raises many questions, the answer might not be as malicious as things appears. McGuinness worked for WWE for several years as a WWE commentator and during that time there was a special highlight on his Ring of Honor career on WWE Network. He was also part of a Ring of Honor roundtable with Seth Rollins and Cesaro. A lot of Ring of Honor footage was in the aforementioned special, so WWE's systems very well could have flagged the footage in the case it was the same.

As AEW President Tony Khan now owns Ring of Honor and the footage, it seemed to be a quick fix as the video has now made its way back to the channel. After a near two decade long rivalry, McGuinness and Danielson will battle one last time at AEW Grand Slam in New York, pending Danielson's clearance to wrestle. Their feud was a defining part of ROH's early years, and the very last time they ever met in a ring was all the way in 2009.

On AEW Collision this past weekend, McGuinness addressed Danielson one final time before their match is set to take place. He accused the AEW World Champion of faking his injury and that by him having yet to accept the challenge, he's afraid of McGuinness. Ahead of the match, McGuinness has been on a media tour discussing his decision to return to the ring at AEW All In to now dusting off the boots for a match with his greatest rival.

Nigel McGuinness Reveals Real Reason He Retired

"There is a lot of confusion and misinformation. The truth of the matter is when I stepped away from wrestling, it was purely because I couldn't make a living as a wrestler anymore," McGuinness clarified to TVInsider about his decision to retire in 2011. "I could have gone back to Ring of Honor and wrestled that style, but I wouldn't have made enough money to even afford health insurance, let alone save for the rest of my life. That style in Ring of Honor just wasn't doable. WWE wasn't interested in me because of an old arm injury, even though it was perfectly healed. I didn't want to go back to TNA given what happened there. That was it. There was no AEW or anywhere else to make a living wrestling. I had no choice."

Stay tuned to ComicBook for updates.

The first look at Ryan Coogler and Michael B. Jordan's highly anticipated vampire movie is coming very soon. The project has been shrouded in mystery since it was first announced, with the only information about it being that it's a movie about a vampire hunter set in the South. On Monday, Warner Bros. gave movie fans a big surprise by revealing the film's official title, and confirming that the trailer would drop on Tuesday.

Coogler and Jordan's new collaboration is called Sinners. The teaser that Warner Bros. released on social media simply shared the title over the sound of eerie string instruments, using blood illustrations around the text to really drive home the whole vampire element. You can check out the announcement below!

Sinners are coming. #SinnersMovie pic.twitter.com/l4zUBpyK6V

-- Warner Bros. Pictures (@wbpictures) September 23, 2024

There's no word as to what time the first trailer for Sinners is set to drop online, but it will be our first chance to see what Coogler and Jordan are up to in their latest collaboration. To-date, Jordan has appeared in every single film Coogler has directed. He starred in Fruitvale Station, Creed, and Black Panther; before returning for a surprise cameo role in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.

We do know that Jordan will be surrounded by an all-star cast for Sinners. The lineup also includes Hailee Steinfeld, Jack O'Connell, Wunmi Mosaku, Li Jun Li, and Delroy Lindo. Nothing about the actual roles have been confirmed at this time, but it has been rumored that Jordan may be playing twins in the film.

There has been a lot of chatter about Sinners being influenced in some way by the character of Blade from Marvel Comics. It makes sense, given that the film is about a Black vampire hunter, but a lot of the comparisons are probably a timing issue. Sinners was initially announced when Marvel's Blade reboot was in the news for going through another creative overhaul. The project has been plagued with issues for years, from creative differences to industry-wide strikes. Blade hasn't been able to get off the ground, although Mahershala Ali remains on board to star.

As those issues were going on, one of the most successful directors at Marvel Studios teamed up with his former Marvel star to make a potentially similar film at a rival studio. For a lot of people, this felt like Coogler and Jordan doing their own spin on Blade, but it remains to be seen just how much DNA their film will share with Marvel's Daywalker.

Sinners is being released in theaters on March 7, 2025.

At one point in time, there was set to be a "Dark Universe" of Universal Monster reboots, though with Tom Cruise's The Mummy failing to ignite much interest in that shared cinematic universe, those plans were largely abandoned. In 2020, however, Leigh Whannell's The Invisible Man managed to be a hit with both audiences and critics, returning to the world of beloved monsters with a new take on The Wolf Man for a project he calls a "companion piece" to his previous adventure. This isn't to say that these projects will connect in any substantial narrative way, though, and will merely serve as a thematic extension of what he started in 2020. Wolf Man is set to land in theaters on January 17, 2025.

"I was watching a lot of domestic thrillers when I wrote The Invisible Man, because I love that genre. [Wolf Man] is me saying, 'I just wanted to make something that is straight-up, pure horror,'" Whannell detailed to Empire Magazine. "I think of it as a companion piece to The Invisible Man ... I didn't want this film to be a nostalgic or a retro Wolf Man film in any way."

He continued, "[I was] actually writing down in my notepad everything that's been done, and then saying, 'Okay, that's the list of what not to do' ... I'm hoping that you go in and say, 'Oh wow, I haven't seen that werewolf movie before,' when the lights come up."

Cruise's The Mummy suffered largely due to not quite knowing what it wanted to be, as it attempted to honor the horror elements of the original take on the monster, though also injected hefty amounts of action and adventure as seen in the Brendan Fraser-starring The Mummy films, while also trying to establish a conceit that would allow for spinoffs and sequels. The result was a messy and overstuffed experience, which only sits at 15% positive critical reactions on Rotten Tomatoes.

Whannell's Invisible Man took the original concepts of a man with a fragile mental state descending into darkness due to rendering himself invisible and injected some contemporary themes into it, instead telling the story of an abusive man who fakes his own death and utilizes a suit that makes him invisible to terrorize his ex-girlfriend from seemingly beyond the grave. While the original mythology seen in 1941's The Wolf Man saw a man being transformed into a werewolf under select conditions throughout the year, first looks at Whannell's Wolf Man look to be much more contained to one major instance of terror.

Fans are especially excited to see how the monstrous creature will look in the upcoming film, as the only small glimpse we've been given of the creature came during the in-person Halloween Horror Nights event, which didn't build much confidence among fans for the monster's on-screen look.

Wolf Man is set to hit theaters on January 17, 2025.

Are you looking forward to the new movie? Contact Patrick Cavanaugh directly on Twitter or on Instagram to talk all things Star Wars and horror!

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles will be having a major crossover with Naruto later this Fall, and the artist behind the series has dropped a new sneak peek at the highly anticipated team up with some special new art. Masashi Kishimoto's Naruto is now officially celebrating the 25th anniversary of the manga's original debut in Shuieisha's Weekly Shonen Jump magazine, and that means we're likely to see all kinds of fun new projects celebrating how far Naruto has come in that time. This has led to the announcement of not only a new live-action movie in the works, but a fun new crossover event too.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles x Naruto is a fun team up between IDW Publishing, Shueisha and Viz Media launching later this November that will see the Hidden Leaf Village colliding with New York, and it's going to spark a whole new conflict between all of these famous ninjas. The artist behind the second issue of the new crossover, Jorge Jimenez, took to social media to share a new sneak peek at the crossover that highlights both Donatello and Naruto's Kyubi form to great results. Check it out below:

What Is TMNT x Naruto About?

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles x Naruto teases that it will kick off when April O' Neil has a meeting with the Fifth Hokage, Tsunade. This secret meeting not only catches the attention of the Hidden Leaf Village (which seems to already exist within the Turtles' version of New York), but of the Turtles' own ninja foes, the Foot Clan. So naturally it's not long before the two have to join forces to take on an even bigger threat. Speaking with ComicBook earlier this Summer about the highly anticipated crossover, series writer Caleb Goellner opened up about bringing the two franchises together.

In incorporating Naruto into the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles' world, Goellner revealed that the Hidden Leaf Village was fully brought into the universe, "Team 7 will actually be headed to a new version of the TMNT's turf! We metaphorically (and I guess literally) added a TMNT section to the world of Naruto for this story so we could make it feel as lived-in and authentic as possible. Series artist Hendry Prasetya has done a ton of truly stunning design work to make this possible, of course. He's got powerful design jutsu."

When Does TMNT x Naruto Come Out?

In bringing these universes together, Goellner also explained why they felt this crossover is already seemingly perfect, "The magic of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles x Naruto is pretty self-evident, but the main reason it works in my opinion is that the TMNT as a concept already has so much innate shonen energy. I mean, I've always loved the two Japanese TMNT anime OVAs and the resulting toys. I could easily imagine a TMNT series created specifically for Shonen Jump." And by the looks of this newest cover art, the two are already a perfect team before the first issue hits just as the writer says.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles x Naruto is currently scheduled to hit comic shop shelves beginning on November 20th, and will be running for four issues to tell its story written by Caleb Goellner with illustrations provided by both Jorge Jimenez and Hendry Prasetya. Each of the issues will also likely have multiple variants, so fans of both franchises will want to keep an eye out for all of the cool crossover art that will be coming our way with this new limited series launching later this Fall,.

NetherRealm Studios boss Ed Boon says that the developer has been working on its next game after Mortal Kombat 1 to some degree for three years. As of this week, Year 2 of MK1 is beginning, notably with the release of the story expansion Khaos Reigns. After this, NetherRealm still has a handful of DLC fighters for MK1 that will roll out and include Ghostface, the T-1000 Terminator, and Conan the Barbarian. Whether or not this will be the final major content drop for MK1 isn't yet known, but further down the line, NetherRealm already knows what it will do next.

In an interview with ComicBook, Boon told us that NetherRealm decided three years ago on its next title. Given the nature of game development, Boon said that NetherRealm has to make decisions far in advance of what its future project will end up being. This combined with the need to keep various members of the studio busy at all times resulted in NetherRealm choosing its follow-up to Mortal Kombat 1 before the game even launched.

"I've said this before but we start planning the next game long before we're done with the previous game," Boon said. "There is so much prep work, research, and planning. It is absolutely not the case that when we finish the game we go, 'Okay, what're we going to do next?' There's a lot of people who need to be working on something. We've known what our next game was going to be three years ago and we've been working on it in some capacity ever since."

Outside of this confirmation, Boon didn't provide any additional details on the nature of this project. Prior to the launch of MK1, though, Boon revealed that it was his hope to eventually "get back to the Injustice games." Following Mortal Kombat 11, many fans believed that Injustice 3 would be the next project NetherRealm would create. Instead, it ended up being Mortal Kombat 1, which has led to calls for Injustice 3 growing even louder.

Even if Injustice 3 is the game that NetherRealm opts to create next, we likely won't learn about its existence until 2025, 2026, or even beyond. To that end, the studio's latest output, Mortal Kombat 1: Khaos Reigns, releases tomorrow, September 24th, across PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.

Transformers One is the start of a whole new origin story for the Autobots and Decepticons and the director behind the film is teasing plans for a potential trilogy of movies to come. Transformers One has already been a marked success for the franchise as it's not only done well with critics, but it's also one of the best received releases by fans in quite some time. The new film goes all the way back to the beginning before the Autobots and Decepticons fought over Cybertron, and it ends with the tease that this war would be at hand soon.

Transformers One comes to an end with the versions of Optimus Prime and Megatron that fans have seen in other entries, and it seemed like it was setting up for more. Speaking with The Wrap about a potential continuation for the feature film, director Josh Cooley is hinting at what could be coming next, "There's definitely more story to tell." Teasing that we could see a new version of the traditional story between Autobots and Decepticons in future projects, Cooley is definitely open to the idea.

Will Transformers One Get a Trilogy?

"We're used to seeing the story begin once the planet's dying and they leave for Earth, so there's a whole war that happens once they break apart and once they leave the planet," Cooley stated. "So there's a lot more story to tell there and it could be really fun." Transformers One introduced a new take on Orion Pax and D-16 before they became the Optimus Prime and Megatron that fans might recognize in other entries, and saw the Autobots successfully take control of Cybertron at film's end.

It seemed like the story was really just getting started as there is quite literally the story that Cooley is referring to here. Optimus and Megatron still need to fight for Cybertron, and get it to the point where we eventually see in the first moments of the original version of the story as they all need to escape the war torn Cybertron and eventually make their way to Earth. It's the story fans have gotten to see in all kinds of ways through the decades thus far, and one that will likely see once more through these films as they continue with new entries.

Is Transformers One A Success?

Producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura teased how there would be plans in place to continue Transformers One that would have more of a character focus coming in the future entries. But first it comes to this first entry having enough success in the box office to make it viable, "Number one, if we're successful with this [Transformers] movie, we're going to do a sequel for this. And we already have, I think, the beginnings of a really interesting story for the second one, which is also character-based, the way the first [is]," the producer stated.

Transformers One has done well ratings wise with both critics and audiences on the likes of Rotten Tomatoes, and has even marked a first for the franchise as both critics and fans agreed as to the quality of the actual release. If the box office success is able to match how well it's been received overall, then it likely won't be too long before we find out whether or not there will be any plans to continue. At least for now, there's a potential story path to follow in the films to come in the future from the sounds of things.

HT - The Wrap

Iron Man star Jeff Bridges may have just teased his Marvel Cinematic Universe return in a new interview. Bridges played the very first MCU "big bad" Obadiah Stane, the man who helped Howard Stark turn Stark Industries into a corporate powerhouse. When Tony Stark developed the Iron Man armor, Stane (and his puppets, the Ten Rings) developed the dreaded Iron Monger armor out of Tony's original Iron Man prototype. In the final battle between Iron Man and Iron Monger (known as the "Duel of Los Angeles") Stane (seemingly) is fatally electrocuted by his prototype arc reactor when it explodes under him. He fell into the reactor, which then exploded.

MCU fans have kept a spark of hope alive that Obadiah Stane could make a comic book-style return, with his death (and SHIELD's whole cover story about it) getting debunked by a surprise return. With the Iron Man side of the MCU about to get rebooted through projects like the Ironheart TV series and Armor Wars movies, now would be the suitable time for Obidiah Stane to re-enter the chat.

While talking to Josh Horowitz during the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Jeff Bridges not only acknowledged that there's room for Obadiah - or any multiverse variant of him - to return in the MCU ("Who knows? It's all science fiction and I could maybe pop up again..."), he explained that an original version of the Iron Man script set that up that very scenario:

"Well when I read the script, Obadiah Stane falls into that vat at the end," Bridges explained. "In the script that I read and agreed to do, they pulled it [the armor] out and they opened it and I'm not there."

It doesn't sound like Iron Man director Jon Favreau ever shot that sequence of Iron Man, but that doesn't mean a future MCU project can't reveal it as a major flashback twist. It would be interesting to see what Stane has been up to in the years since Iron Man, given the reveal that the Ten Rings wasn't at all what it seemed.

Then there's the more obvious and timely scenario of having an Obadiah Stane variant from another MCU reality appear in an upcoming MCU Multiverse Saga project. A lot of fans will instantly jump to the idea of seeing Bridges and his Iron Man co-star Robert Downey Jr. reunite onscreen. Avengers: Doomsday will see RDJ's Doctor Doom menace the MCU Multiverse - it would be interesting to see Bridges' Stane playing a different kind of role in and a different reality - maybe where he's a heroic industrialist (iron Man?), and RDJ as the archvillain.

Bridges seemed excited by Downey's MCU return ("But he's playing a bad guy! I love that!") so who knows?

Iron Man is now streaming on Disney+.

• Free Batman 1992 Polybag with LEGO DC Batman purchases of $40 or more. See eligible sets at LEGO
• Double and Triple LEGO Insiders Points on select LEGO DC Batman sets. See eligible sets at LEGO
• LEGO BrickHeadz Limited Edition Batman 85th Anniversary set is available for 3000 LEGO Insiders Points - See at LEGO
• You can sign up for a free LEGO Insiders account right here.

Note that the 76252 Batcave Shadow Box is one of the DC Batman sets that's eligible for 3x LEGO Insiders Points. It clocks in with a hefty 3981 pieces, and recreates the entire Batcave from the 1992 film Batman Returns in high detail. Naturally, the Batmobile is also included and buildable in the set. The 76252 Batcave Shadow Box is priced at $399.99 and can be ordered right here at LEGO.com now.

When the Batman LEGO shadow box is closed, you'll see elements of the interior through the Batman emblem. When opened, you'll get the full Batcave complete with gadgets, moveable elements, and minifigures that include Max Shreck, The Penguin, Catwoman, 2 versions of Batman, Alfred Pennyworth and Bruce Wayne. Basically, it offers you two awesome options for display.

Special features of the set include the ability to change the computer screen and open and close the tool store and illuminated (light brick) Batsuit vault. The Batmobile also has a roof that opens to accommodate a Batman minifigure and a cog that can be turned to unveil two blasters.

Another LEGO Batman set to consider is the Batman: The Animated Series Gotham City (76271) set that allows fans to build a 3D recreation of the Gotham City skyline complete with loads of Easter eggs in 4120 pieces. The set will also include minifigures of Batman, Catwoman, The Joker, and Harley Quinn. It's available here at the LEGO shop priced at $299.99 and will score you 2x LEGO Insiders Points during the Batman Day promotion.

Additional features of the Batman: The Animated Series Gotham City (76271) LEGO set include brick-built locations and from the series such as Gotham City Court, Arkham Asylum, Wayne Manor, the Batcave and more. You'll also be able to view what's happening inside these locations thanks to 15 removable panels. Naturally, Batmobile and Batwing vehicles are included in the display along with a Bat Signal. Note that the LEGO Gotham City set can be mounted on a wall or stood on a surface using a flip-out stand when complete.

You can take advantage of LEGO Insiders offers by signing up for a free account right here. Keep tabs on LEGO's offers page for updates on promotions. You can find all of the upcoming releases here in the "Coming Soon" section. After the launch, they will shift here in the "Available Now" section. Some of the new releases will be available here on Amazon, but in most cases you'll want to stick with LEGO to take advantage of their promotions.

Sonic the Hedgehog has been enjoying quite the renaissance over the last few years, in large part due to the live-action movies. The success of those films has resulted in a lot more interest in Sega's blue blur, resulting in new cartoons, merchandise, and a whole lot more. Fans will learn more about Sega's future plans for the character in a new Sonic Central stream, which will take place on Tuesday, September 24th. The event will begin at 9 a.m. PT, and will offer "a sneak peek of some of our upcoming projects, partnerships, and events happening through 2025."

A graphic revealing the event can be found below. Those interested in watching the event live can do so on Twitch at the link right here, or on Youtube right here.

Hopefully the showcase will have a lot for Sonic fans to enjoy! It's a safe bet that we'll see Sonic x Shadow Generations in some capacity. The game is set to be released on October 25th, and there have been rumors about a fourth playable character; tomorrow's showcase would seem like a great place to announce that! We could also learn more about the game's animated tie-in, Sonic x Shadow Generations: Dark Beginnings. As of this writing, the three-part special does not have a release date.

It's also possible we could get some kind of news connected to Sonic the Hedgehog 3. Paramount and Sega are clearly ramping up the marketing for the movie, and there are still a lot of things we don't know about it. December 20th is still a few months away, so there's a lot of time for us to get more details, but tomorrow's showcase might be a good place for some new information, or maybe even a clip from the film.

Those are just some possibilities we could see, but at this point, it's pretty much anyone's guess! Unfortunately, Sega has offered no information about how long the stream will last, so there's really no telling how meaty this one will be. Thankfully, with the show less than 24 hours out, we don't have to wait much longer to find out!

Are you planning to watch this week's Sonic Central event? What are you hoping to see during the stream? Share your thoughts with me directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp, on Bluesky at @Marcdachamp, or on Instagram at @Dachampgaming!

Two of WWE's biggest storylines in the modern era are writing massive chapters at WWE Bad Blood. After eight months of trash talk and two bouts with bloodshed, CM Punk and Drew McIntyre are set to culminate their rivalry inside Hell in a Cell. Nearly three years since their paths first crossed and two WWE WrestleMania main events later, WWE Champion Cody Rhodes and Roman Reigns are set to join forces for the first time to take on The Bloodline's Solo Sikoa and Jacob Fatu. These two titanic tussles have boosted WWE Bad Blood to feeling much bigger than a typical B-tier premium live event, but they have also presented a problem: which match gets the main event spot?

Report: WWE Bad Blood Main Event Revealed

The Bloodline's premium live event parking spot has not changed.

As reported by Fightful Select, WWE has internally scheduled WWE Champion Cody Rhodes and Roman Reigns vs. Solo Sikoa and Jacob Fatu to main event WWE Bad Blood. There is no word on how the rest of the card is currently organized.

Rhodes and Reigns vs. Sikoa and Fatu has had the headlining spot "as of last week," meaning things could still shift around come the day of the premium live event. It's worth noting that WWE once scheduled Rhea Ripley vs. Charlotte Flair for the WWE SmackDown Women's Championship to headline WWE WrestleMania 39 Night 1 but eventually pivoted to The Usos vs. Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn for the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championships closer to the day of.

WWE Bad Blood's Embarrassment of Riches

Fans have pushed for CM Punk and Drew McIntyre's Hell in a Cell match, a stipulation typically reserved for the definitive conclusion to a blood feud, to close WWE Bad Blood. Punk and McIntyre's story has been building since WWE Royal Rumble in January and their televised segments have drawn Attitude Era-level viewership spikes.

Rhodes and Reigns have been intertwined for nearly three years now and are largely responsible for the two most successful WWE WrestleMania events of all time. That said, their story is currently in an epilogue stage, operating somewhere that is long before their next singles clash.

WWE has instigated this booking before, where star power takes precedence over story. WWE Survivor Series 2011 comes to mind, a show that saw John Cena and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson vs. The Miz and R-Truth headline over CM Punk's official coronation as WWE Champion. WWE Over The Limit 2012 also saw this, when Cena vs. Monday Night Raw general manager John Laurinaitis in a glorified comedy match got the top spot over Punk vs. Daniel Bryan for the WWE Championship. Rhodes and Reigns's story against The Bloodline is far stronger than those aforementioned examples, but it does bear the question of whether they are in that spot because their story is the biggest on the card or if it is more so because of their star power.

WWE Bad Blood goes down on Saturday, October 5th.

The most prominent examples of this include removing the exposed underwear of some female characters, replacing Larry Chiang, changing Cheryl's dress to make it less revealing, removing the erotica genre, and removing the "sexiest shot" scene.

As you would expect, these changes have received some negative attention and push back from parts of the Internet. That said, the changes, or at least some of them, aren't very surprising. We've now seen quite a few remasters and remakes of games from a different era tone down or outright remove various content, usually of the more lewd and sexual variety.

The video below doesn't contain all of the changes, but it highlights the most prominent. There are more though, including several dialogue changes.

"Man, they really did a number on this remaster. What a terrible tragedy to remaster, and just chop-up and strip-out whatever someone didn't like. It's fine to remaster it, but the intent is to keep the material the same," writes on fan unhappy with the changes. "The erotic photo shoot was never meant to be disrespectful to women, it was to show how sleazy Kent was on top of everything else," adds another fan.

Capcom hasn't said anything about these various changes, and it is unlikely it is going to budge on this position of silence. If it does, we will be sure to update the story accordingly. In the meantime, for more coverage on it, click here.

When it comes to romantic dramas, no one is carrying anime quite like My Happy Marriage. The series is has been around since 2019, and since its launch, we have seen Miyo Saimori endure her share of trauma. From arranged marriages to supernatural awakenings, My Happy Marriage has done it all. All eyes are on the series now that its second season is on the horizon, and we've just been given a first look at the comeback thanks to Netflix.

As you can see below, the first trailer for My Happy Marriage season two is live, and it brings our favorite couple center stage. Miyo Saimori can be found hand-in-hand with Kioyka Kudou. In the wake of season one, My Happy Marriage has put this couple on a level field, but all is not peaceful in the Taisho era. With forces still threatening the pair, Miyo and Kiyoka will be forced to work together against the coming threats. And of course, there is also the issue of Miyo and her budding feelings for her would-be husband.

The long-awaited second season of My Happy Marriage is here, along with new cast members!

Ryotaro Okiayu as Tadakiyo Kudo
Kikuko Inoue as Fuyu Kudo
Yuuya Uchida as Naoshi Usui

Coming to Netflix in January 2025 ? pic.twitter.com/Au8KZqnLg5

-- Netflix Anime (@NetflixAnime) September 23, 2024

When Does My Happy Marriage Come Out?

This latest peek at My Happy Marriage is nothing short of gorgeous, and it proves Kinema Citrus is in top form. The studio plans to release the anime's new season in just a few months, after all. My Happy Marriage season two is set to release in January 2025. The main cast and crew behind season one is expected to return for season two, so My Happy Marriage has high expectations to meet.

After all, the romantic drama became a massive hit upon its launch in July 2023. My Happy Marriage made its first run on the screen with a live-action film adaptation, but its anime had a much wider appeal. Thanks to its impressive writing and pacing, My Happy Marriage is the perfect blend of action and romance. It did not take long for Kinema Citrus to order a season two for the anime. Now, we are on the cusp of its return, and this new trailer for My Happy Marriage is just what fans wanted to see.

What's Next for Netflix and Anime?

With My Happy Marriage on the horizon, Netflix is stacking up some big anime releases. The streaming service has been investing in the industry for years at this point. From original series to exclusive licenses, Netflix has its eye on anime, so My Happy Marriage can count itself lucky for being in that group.

After all, Netflix is also eyeing two big releases with Dandadan and Sakamoto Days. The former is slated for an October 2024 launch, and so far, Dandadan looks like a strong contender for Anime of the Year. As for Sakamoto Days, the Netflix exclusive will make its debut in early 2025. So when the new year comes around, it will bring with it tons of anime goodies.

What do you think about this latest peek at My Happy Marriage? Are you excited for the anime's second season? Give me a shout at @meganwpeters with your take! You can also let us know what you think over on X (Twitter) and Instagram.

While the remake of Resident Evil 3 can be found on just about every single current platform, the same can't be said for the version released back in 1999. Thankfully, that will be rectified this week, as Resident Evil 3: Nemesis is coming to PC via GOG on Wednesday, September 25th. The game will be offered for $9.99, or it can be obtained in a $24.99 bundle that also contains the first two games in the series. For those that never played the original Resident Evil trilogy, this would seem like the perfect opportunity to experience the roots of the franchise.

For those that never played the game, Resident Evil 3: Nemesis puts players in the role of Jill Valentine, following her appearance in the first Resident Evil. The game marked the introduction of Nemesis, one of the most memorable villains to appear in the Resident Evil franchise. Despite the numbering, the game actually starts prior to the events in Resident Evil 2, but time passes, and eventually the two games start to take place concurrently. Resident Evil 3 isn't held in quite the same regard as some other entries in the series, but there's a lot to like about it, especially for those that enjoyed the first two games.

Unfortunately, there's still no word from Capcom about whether these games might eventually make their way to consoles, as well. Over the last few years, Capcom has increasingly made its back catalog easier to obtain through various compilations. We've seen it happen with Mega Man, Phoenix Wright, and even the company's various fighting games. For some reason, the original Resident Evil games have not gotten the same treatment, despite frequent requests from fans.

The arrival of the first three Resident Evil games on GOG was announced back in June. The three games are based on the Windows 95 versions, as opposed to those released on PlayStation, Dreamcast, and N64. From everything revealed thus far, it seems GOG was involved with the porting process. If that is the case, it might mean that there's a timed exclusivity agreement in place, or that there are no plans to release the original trilogy elsewhere. Hopefully that's not the case!

Do you plan on downloading Resident Evil 3? Are you happy about the game's return? Share your thoughts with me directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp, on Bluesky at @Marcdachamp, or on Instagram at @Dachampgaming!

WWE is taking the grandest show of them all, WrestleMania, to Las Vegas, Nevada in 2025. The news was announced over the summer but at that time WWE hadn't announced any further details on when tickets would go on sale. A bit unusual as they've never waited quite this long before, but with all of the Premium Live Events happening it makes sense for them to withhold it as long as possible. Tickets are set to go on sale just before Halloween on October 25th at 1 p.m. ET via Ticketmaster.

For fans that are looking for Priority Pass ticket packages from WWE's hospitality partner On Location, those are also slated to go on sale soon. With the packages, it gives fans an opportunity to get premium seating, pre-show hospitality with appearances from your favorite WWE stars and legends, ringside photo opportunities and so much more.

WrestleMania 41 will move to the end of April as opposed to its usual early April slot. Instead, it will emanate from Allegiant Stadium on Saturday, April 19 and Sunday, April 20, 2025. Fans looking to attend next year's event can now sign up for pre-sale opportunities so they don't miss a chance at the best seats possible.

As always, WWE makes a huge deal out of WrestleMania, so fans can also expect week-long fun in Sin City with WWE Raw, SmackDown, NXT Stand & Deliver, and the 2025 WWE Hall of Fame ceremony to also take place. They are also bringing back WWE World which was a hit in Philly as it provided fans with the chance to see unforgettable memorabilia like ring gear, title belts, and other iconic WWE props. There was also a plethora of merchandise on sale as well as the chance to get fun WWE themed tattoos. WWE is also looking to host a variety of local outreach events designed to give back to the Las Vegas community.

This year's WrestleMania 40 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania quickly became the highest-grossing WrestleMania of all time with stars like The Rock, Roman Reigns, Cody Rhodes, Rhea Ripley, Bianca Belair, Seth Rollins and Becky Lynch all headlining the event. It's hard to say what will be in store in Vegas, however The Rock has stated on record that he plans on being there as well as Stone Cold Steve Austin who has hinted at his own involvement. Additionally, John Cena's retirement tour is kicking off in 2025 and he has made his intentions of competing in his final WrestleMania very clear.

Stay tuned to ComicBook for further updates.

"There are good guys, and you're bad guys," Julia Louis-Dreyfus' Valentina Allegra de Fontaine remarks in the new Thunderbolts* trailer. "But there are worse guys." Before Marvel Studios assembles the anti-Avengers -- a motley crew of anti-heroes and reformed villains that includes Black Widow Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh), Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan), John Walker/U.S. Agent (Wyatt Russell), Ava Starr/Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen), Antonia Dreykov/Taskmaster (Olga Kurylenko), Alexei Shostakov/Red Guardian (David Harbour), and Bob Reynolds/Sentry (Lewis Pullman) -- Marvel Comics is assembling the comics that inspired the movie*.

* New trade paperbacks set to release in 2025 include Thunderbolts: The Saga of Yelena Belova, which compiles the earliest appearances of the Red Room's top assassin-spy in the Marvel Universe, and Thunderbolts: Winter Soldiers, collecting the complete 12-issue run of the Bucky Barnes-fronted Thunderbolts Vol. 3 by Jim Zub and Jon Malin.

Out March 4th, 2025, Thunderbolts: Winter Soldiers sees the non-lethal Thunderbolts squad led by Winter Soldier --Atlas, Moonstone, Mach-X, Fixer, Kobik, and Songbird -- battle S.H.I.E.L.D., the Squadron Supreme, and the original Thunderbolts: Baron Zemo and the Masters of Evil, a group of supervillains who posed as superheroes in the absence of the Avengers.

Thunderbolts: The Saga of Yelena Belova, on sale March 11th, includes Natasha Romanoff/Natalia Romanova's first self-titled solo series, 1999's Marvel Knights: Black Widow limited series by Devin Grayson and J.G. Jones, which pit Black Widow against Black Widow when Natasha met Yelena for the first time during a mission to Rhapastan. Also included in the 376-page trade paperback is 2001's Black Widow Vol. 2, co-starring both Black Widows, the 2020 one-shot comic Widowmakers: Red Guardian and Yelena Belova, the four-issue limited series Winter Guard (featuring White Widow, Red Guardian, and Russia's premiere super-team), and the four-issue "I Am the Black Widow" arc from Kelly Thompson and Elena Casagrande's 2020 Black Widow run.

Also slated for release in May is the Marvel Epic Collection Thunderbolts: Targeted for Death, which follows Hawkeye's Thunderbolts during writer Kurt Busiek and artist Mark Bagley's run on the '90s first volume.

Thunderbolts: Winter Soldiers

The Winter Soldier leads a new team of Thunderbolts!

Out of the ashes of AVENGERS: STANDOFF, Bucky Barnes recruits a squad of renegades -- but are they heroes or villains? Do even they know for sure?! They're on a rampage across the Marvel Universe, hunting down and destroying bizarre, mind-bending threats -- all the while harboring one of their own! And among their number is the serial manipulator Moonstone! What could go wrong? How about a gut-wrenching battle for leadership, an alien threat and super-team showdowns with the All-New Inhumans and the Squadron Supreme?! As CIVIL WAR II rages, the Winter Soldier takes on Spider-Man! But Steve Rogers wants to know where Bucky's loyalties lie. Plus: The Thunderbolts used to be the Masters of Evil -- and if Baron Zemo has his way, their villainous legacy will be reclaimed with the infinite power of a Cosmic Cube!

COLLECTING: Thunderbolts (2016) 1-12

Thunderbolts: The Saga of Yelena Belova

Yelena Belova's journey from adversary to ally of the Black Widow!

Natasha Romanoff's time as the Black Widow may be running out -- because Yelena Belova is gunning for the mantle! Yelena is the first student in Red Room history to exceed Natasha's skills -- and now she's determined to eliminate her predecessor and claim the title for her own! It's a war of the Widows that will rage from the Middle East's deserts to New York's Upper West Side! But Yelena's path will soon place her square in the crosshairs of her home country, alongside Alexei Shostakov, the Red Guardian! Together, they face a race across Russia...pursued by the Winter Guard! And Yelena finds her destiny as the White Widow, helping Natasha protect San Francisco from a terrible threat!

COLLECTING: Black Widow (1999) 1-3, Black Widow (2001) 1-3, Widowmakers: Red Guardian and Yelena Belova (2020) 1, Winter Guard (2021) 1-4, Black Widow (2020) 7-10

Thunderbolts Epic Collection: Targeted for Death

Marvel's villains turned heroes, the Thunderbolts, continue their quest for redemption!

For the good of his team, MACH-1 gave up his liberty to atone for his sins. Now he's in prison, surrounded by the super villains who used to be his peers -- and who now want him dead! Meanwhile, the Thunderbolts have a new leader in Hawkeye, a new headquarters, a new ship and a new mission: to prove themselves heroes by taking down the biggest villains at large! But with Graviton next on their list, will Archangel join the team? Citizen V returns, the T-Bolts have a rematch with the Hulk, Scourge targets Baron Zemo, and you won't believe the identity of the new Beetle! Clint Barton leads the T-Bolts into hell and back for a fallen Avenger -- but when he locks lips with Moonstone, there's only one word for it: uh-oh! Plus: Enter, Sandman!

COLLECTING: Thunderbolts (1997) 26-41, Thunderbolts Annual 2000, Avengers Annual 2000

Marvel's Thunderbolts* hits theaters on May 2nd, 2025.

Deadpool and Wolverine are taking their lovefest from the big screen to the comics page with a new series featuring the two X-Men characters. Audiences have wrapped their arms around Deadpool & Wolverine to the astounding sound of box office records being broken. Marvel Comics has provided stories for Deadpool & Wolverine audiences to seek out, such as the Deadpool/Wolverine: WWII miniseries and the Weapon X-Traction backup story, but an upcoming ongoing series will pair the Merc With a Mouth and Logan together as they battle a returning X-Men villain and uncover mysteries involving their shared history.

Marvel's ongoing Deadpool/Wolverine series comes from writer Benjamin Percy and artist Joshua Cassara. Deadpool/Wolverine is a reunion between Percy and Cassara, who were the creative team that launched X-Force during the X-Men's Krakoa era. X-Force featured Wolverine in a main role, with Deadpool also making appearances during its run. As Cassara's cover for Deadpool/Wolverine #1 illustrates, fans can expect the same bloody and violent action that moviegoers witnessed in their MCU film.

"Josh and I really hit it off when we were working together on X-Force and became great friends," Percy told IGN. "When he made the jump to X-Men, it was honestly a little traumatic for us both--but if you get the opportunity to draw a flagship title, you have to go for it. And he drew the living shit out of that series. We never stopped texting or hanging out at cons. We're always trading stupid jokes (and many hundreds of Arnold Schwarzenegger GIFs). I even helped his wife locate one of the elusive 12-foot Home Depot skeletons recently, so we'll both be celebrating Halloween like bosses. This is all to say: we were both so damn excited to get the band back together. Deadpool/Wolverine is us cartwheeling onto the stage and shredding our guitars once more while smoke machines churn and pyrotechnics explode all around us."

Along with writing X-Force, Percy also penned Wolverine's solo series and was a writer on the Wolverine: The Long Night podcast, so he has extensive knowledge and experience penning Logan's extreme adventures.

"Well, in some ways it simply feels like business as usual," Percy said. "Since 2017--with the Wolverine: The Long Night podcast--I've never stopped writing Logan for Marvel, and this is simply the next chapter in his journey. But of course things have changed for the mutants, and we're leaning in to this new normal in the series."

How Deadpool/Wolverine comic is different from MCU movie

Percy also revealed how Deadpool/Wolverine was in development long before Deadpool & Wolverine found its way into theaters, and while fans of the movie will find much to enjoy, the comic is its own separate beast.

"The film was both a hit and a hoot, but we started working on this series long before we ever saw Hugh Jackman and Ryan Reynolds tear each other apart in a Honda Odyssey," Percy said. "So I can't say it was an influence, but I can say the dynamic between the characters will feel familiar to theatergoers: fun, thrilling, and both adversarial and bro-mancey (not to mention violent as hell)."

Finally, Percy ended with a tease of the X-Men villain that will be the antagonist in Deadpool/Wolverine. "That's a big crazy reveal at the end of Issue 1, so I'm not sure I should say just now," he teased. "But both the future and the past are coming together in the present in a cataclysmic way, and it's up to our favorite superhero odd couple to save the day (and maybe the world)."

It is almost time for Re:Zero to make its comeback. Back in 2020, the hit isekai series dropped season two to great fanfare, and now Re:Zero - Starting Life in Another World has its comeback laid out. In October, White Fox will bring Subaru Natsuki back to the small screen with season three, and we have been given a first look at its big premiere.

As you can see below, a first look has been posted for Re:Zero season three, episode one. The update shows what "Theatrical Malice" will bring to the screen on October 2. From Subaru to Garfield, we have see a ton of characters in this sneak peek at season three. So if you are eager to check out Re:Zero's return, its 90-minute comeback will go live in just a few days.

What to Expect From Re:Zero Season 3

When it comes to content, Re:Zero - Starting Life in Another World has a lot of story to cover in season three. Given what we have seen from the trailers, the show's comeback will put a focus on two specific arcs. If Re:Zero is given a two-cour order for season three, you can expect the light novel's fifth and sixth arcs to come into play.

If you have followed the isekai for awhile, you know the fifth arc is titled "The Stars That Engrave History". The story began in 2014, and it focuses on Anastasia as she brings a number of camps to a special gathering. The groups arrive in Watergate City only for teh Witch Cult to appear, leaving Subaru to unite the factions invited by Anastastia in hopes of defeating the villains.

And as for arc six, the story is known as "The Corridor of Memories", and its run lasted a whopping 90 chapters. It follows Subaru in the wake of the Watergate City battle as his group heads to Pleiades Watchtower. It is there the group is faced with the tower's three trials, and as the game gets underway, Subaru is confronted by several familiar (and unwanted) faces from the past.

The Fall 2024 Anime Season is Stacked

With Re:Zero season three on the horizon, all eyes are on the Fall 2024 anime season and for good reason. The fall cour is always stacked so far as anime is concerned, and that goes doubly this year. Not only is Re:Zero slated for a comeback on October 2, but other releases like Dragon Ball Daima, Dandadan, Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War, and more on the horizon.

As far as Re:Zero is concerned, you can catch up on the isekai easily enough. The show's first two seasons are streaming on Crunchyroll as well as Hulu. The Re:Zero manga is also available thanks to the team at Yen Press. And next month, Re:Zero season three will begin streaming on Crunchyroll with a simulcast.

What do you think about this new peek at Re:Zero? Give me a shout at @meganwpeters with your take! You can also let us know what you think over on X (Twitter) and Instagram.

A new Bethesda game may tease the setting of The Elder Scrolls 6. It has been six years since Bethesda announced The Elder Scrolls VI. Since then, it has shown nothing and said virtually nothing about the game. The main reason for this though was because until last summer Bethesda Game Studios was busy with Starfield. Now that Starfield is out, it has turned its attention to The Elder Scrolls 6, which means we should be hearing about it soon. Until then, it seems Bethesda may be doing some teasing.

This year, Bethesda released The Elder Scrolls: Castles, a free-to-play mobile game not too dissimilar to Fallout Shelter. In it, you rule over your own castle, among other things. For your castle, there are two options: a Redguard style and what looks like a Breton style. This is interesting because previous teases and rumors have suggested the game will be set in Hammerfell and possibly High Rock as well.

To date, the most prominent tease was in an early Starfield trailer,. In it, a character can be seen flying in a ship, and etched into the side of the ship is a little drawing. In the trailer, it just looks like chipped paint, but if you zoom in it is a rough map of High Rock, Iliac Bay, and Hammerfell.

Whether The Elder Scrolls: Castle is making a similar tease, or future-proofing for the release of The Elder Scrolls 6 or whether this is nothing, it is all adding up. At this point, The Elder Scrolls fans on Reddit and elsewhere are convinced the game is heading to Hammerfell, and probably High Rock as well.

Elder Scrolls Castles hinting at ES6?
by u/No-Source-7974 in TESVI

For those unfamiliar with Hammerfell and High Rock, the former is the home of the Redguard. A western province, it boarders Skyrim to the northeast, Cyrodiil to the east and southeast, and High Rock to the north. It features many biomes, but it is best known for the very rigid and desolate Alik'r Desert. Meanwhile, High Rock is the home of the Bretons and only borders Hammerfell. Geographically, it is far less diverse, mostly consisting of forests and countrysides, as well as lots of coastline.

At this point, based on everything so far, it will be a complete surprise if The Elder Scrolls 6 is not set in Hammerfell. The question is whether this will be the only location or if other provinces, such as High Rock, will be introduced. The Elder Scrolls 6: Castles may just be suggesting it is the latter.

It continues to sound as though Microsoft is going to get into the handheld space with a new Xbox device. Over the past year, rumors have continued to grow suggesting that an Xbox handheld is in the works at Microsoft. This is something that Xbox boss Phil Spencer seems to have even alluded to on a couple of different occasions. Now, new reporting has come about to further corroborate these past rumors and might give us an idea of when the Xbox hardware could launch.

Coming from Windows Central, the publication reports that Xbox is internally developing "its own take on the Steam Deck." Further details on the handheld are still limited, but this Steam Deck comparison is one that lines up with what those at Microsoft itself have previously said. Specifically, Spencer stated earlier in 2024 that it would be important for any potential handheld tied to Xbox to be able to play games natively. While cloud streaming is something that Xbox has invested heavily in over the years, it seems this technology won't be at the center of this much-theorized handheld.

Beyond this, the report goes on to state that 2026 could be the year in which the Xbox handheld would launch. The reason for this is twofold as 2026 will mark the 25th anniversary of the Xbox brand. Microsoft itself even recently teased that it's "building plans for the 25th anniversary of Halo and Xbox" for 2026. Whether or not part of this celebration would result in the release of a new handheld isn't known for certain, but it would make sense.

The other reason that 2026 is being eyed in this manner is because Microsoft is choosing to skip out on releasing a mid-generation upgrade of the Xbox Series X. While the previous generation saw Microsoft release the Xbox One X as a way of competing with the PS4 Pro, that won't be the case this time around as Sony is gearing up to let loose the PS5 Pro. As a result, Microsoft seems to have altered its timelines for new hardware releases, which further puts a spotlight on 2026.

Perhaps the biggest question tied to a potential Xbox handheld, though, would be whether or not it can change Microsoft's hardware sales. Based on what we know, the Xbox Series X and S have failed to meet the expectations of Microsoft, which is one reason why Xbox seems to now be releasing more of its games on competing platforms. Whether or not a dedicated Xbox handheld could do drastically change Microsoft's fortune as a hardware company isn't known, but it'll be worth monitoring in the months and years ahead.

Kyle Chandler is going from Friday Night Lights to Green Lantern's light. The Friday Night Lights actor, who won an Emmy for his role as high school football coach Eric Taylor on the sports drama, has been chosen to wear the ring as the Green Lantern Hal Jordan in DC and HBO's Lanterns. According to The Hollywood Reporter, which broke the news, the live-action series is currently casting and in the middle of hiring directors ahead of a planned January 2025 shooting start in Atlanta.

News of Chandler's casting comes after Avengers and Dune star Josh Brolin reportedly passed on the role as the test pilot turned space cop in the True Detective-type mystery series produced by James Gunn (Superman) and Peter Safran (Aquaman) for DC Studios.

The live-action Green Lantern series received the green light in June and is from showrunner Chris Mundy (Netflix's Ozark), who serves as executive producer and co-writer with Damon Lindelof (HBO's Watchmen and The Leftovers) and Eisner Award-winning comic book writer Tom King (Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow).

Lanterns is "a terrestrial-based mystery that leads into the overall story that we're telling throughout the different movies and television shows," DC Studios co-chairman and CEO Gunn said when announcing the series early last year. "We find this ancient horror on Earth, and these guys are basically supercops on 'Precinct Earth.'" As the Green Lanterns of Sector 2814, Jordan and his prot?g?, fellow power ring-wielding human John Stewart, are tasked by the Green Lantern Corps with investigating a mysterious threat that could cross over with the Gunn-directed Superman and the upcoming feature films Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow and Swamp Thing.

A revamped version of the since-scrapped Green Lanterns TV series from prolific Arrowverse producer Greg Berlanti that was in the works at Max, Lanterns is inspired in part by the "Sinestro's Law" arc started in the 2016 Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps: Rebirth one-shot and Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps issues #1-7, which saw the tyrannical Sinestro and his Yellow Lanterns impose their rule over the universe.

"John Stewart and Hal Jordan are two of DC's most compelling characters, and Lanterns brings them to life in an original detective story that is a foundational part of the unified DCU we're launching next summer with Superman," Gunn and Safran said at the time of the series announcement. The new DC Universe kicks off in December with the Max original animated series Creature Commandos, created and written by Gunn, before officially launching with Gunn's Superman movie in July 2025.

Along with his five-season role as Coach Taylor on Friday Night Lights, Chandler's television credits include the ABC period drama Homefront, Early Edition, and Bloodline, and episodes of Grey's Anatomy, Catch-22, and the Showtime anthology Super Pumped. Chandler portrayed astronaut Deke Slayton in the 2018 film First Man, and has appeared in such films as Godzilla: King of the Monsters, Godzilla vs. Kong, and the Oscar-winning dramas Argo and Zero Dark Thirty.

Marvel's Thunderbolts* teaser trailer has dropped and it reveals that Scarlett Johansson is making a return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe in a very unexpected way. That's because the cast and crew listings for Thunderbolts* have revealed that Johansson is part of the film... as an executive producer! That makes sense, as Johansson was an executive producer on Marvel's Black Widow (2021) - one of several MCU projects being pulled together for this Thunderbolts* ensemble film and having Johansson back as EP on Thunderbolts* - which will continue the stories of Key Black Widow characters - tracks.

As Variety shared in its synopsis for Thunderbolts*:

Based on Kurt Busiek's comic series of the same name, "Thunderbolts*" is directed by Jake Schreier, with Kevin Feige producing. Louis D'Esposito, Brian Chapek, Jason Tamez and Scarlett Johansson serve as executive producers. The screenplay is written by Eric Pearson ("Black Widow," "Thor: Ragnarok," "Transformers One," "The Fantastic Four: First Steps"), "Beef" creator Lee Sung Jin and co-showrunner of "The Bear" Joanna Calo.

Back in 2021, news broke that Marvel President Kevin Feige and Scarlett Johansson were working together as producers on an MCU project:

"We are already working with Scarlett on another non-Black Widow-related top-secret Marvel Studios project with her as a producer," Feige said at the time. "Scarlett is one of the most talented, versatile and beloved actors of our time. It has truly been a pleasure to work with someone of her caliber. From those epic training sessions preparing for the hallway fight in Iron Man 2, to the around the world press tour in Avengers: Endgame to partnering with you as a producer on Black Widow, working with you Scarlett has truly been one of the most memorable and rewarding collaborations of my career."

Johansson fielded questions about the project whenever she was doing press - including in 2023 when she confirmed that her MCU project "It is still happening. Yes. It is still happening, [but] not currently because nothing is happening right now [due to the WGA Strike]. We're all sort of in this holding pattern... Right before the strike, we were in the middle of developing it, and now everything is at a simmer."

Looking back now, it's easy to fill in the gaps and surmise that Scarlett Johansson was making references to Thunderbolts*. The film started production in June 2023; the Writers' Strike delayed it, and then the Actors' Strike. Now, with the reveal that Johansson is getting an EP credit for Thunderbolts*, this may be one MCU mystery we can put to bed. There will be some fans who are upset that Johansson wasn't

The just-released trailer for Marvel Studios' Thunderbolts* featured a funny final moment -- but some fans have noticed that in addition to being amusing on its face, that moment was a callback to one of the most popular movies in the whole of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. In the final seconds of the trailer, Bucky Barnes is tailing a vehicle in which the rest of the Thunderbolts are riding. He fires a shot at them, and it totally destabilizes the entire rear end of the car.

That's because he's using the same gun he used to take out Nick Fury's car in Captain America: The Winter Soldier. It's not exactly an Easter egg -- I mean, he's just using gear that is established to be part of his canonical arsenal -- but it's certainly a cool thing to see back in action after a decade away.

Thunderbolts* brings together a batch of former Marvel antagonists, including Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh), Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan), Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen), Taskmaster (Olga Kurylenko), Red Guardian (David Harbour) and U.S. Agent (Wyatt Russell). They're gathered, seemingly, by Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) and the team up...doesn't seem to be a smooth one, as evidenced by the cannon shot in question.

The characters' competing interests and loyalties repeatedly boil over in the teaser trailer, but it does seem like Val (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) is both the person who currently owns (or at least operates) Avengers Tower, and that she is putting together her own, darker version of The Avengers. Could that be what the Thunderbolts asterisk is about?

Depending on timing and cutting, it could be that the former villains are screwing each other over throughout, or just that all this fighting happens before the team actually comes together. It's hard to guess what is more likely at this point.

It's definitely smart to expect some kind of twist, though; the Thunderbolts brand is built largely on a single, spectacular twist from back in the first-ever Thunderbolts #1. After being introduced as a fairly generic superhero team made up of new and original characters, the Thunderbolts retired to their HQ in the last few pages and revealed themselves to be a group of existing villains who were running a long con.

"We are not the good guys," Harbour said in a recent interview. "We are not capable. [We're not] Captain America responsible. We don't show up on time. Punctuality is not our strong suit."

Thunderbolts* will arrive in theaters on May 2nd.

One thing Marvel fans may be asking themselves after watching the first trailer for Thunderbolts* is, "Why is there an asterik at the end of the name?" It's definitely an interesting question, especially because the asterik was added last year after Marvel Studios made some adjustments to its release calendar. Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige even confirmed the asterik was an official part of the Thunderbolts* title, though he didn't elaborate on exactly what it means. Of course, that isn't going to stop us from speculating, and there are some clues that point us to some adaptations from the comics that are tied to the Avengers.

Thunderbolts* features a diverse cast of characters, headlined by Florence Pugh (Yelena Belova), Sebastian Stan (Bucky Barnes / Winter Soldier), David Harbour (Alexei / The Red Guardian), and Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine). As Yelena referenced in the trailer, every member of the Thunderbolts has a shady past. After the conclusion of Avengers: Endgame, there doesn't appear to be an official team of Avengers operating in the MCU. This leaves a void that the Thunderbolts are perfectly suitable to fill. Valentina may also be the person who purchased Avengers Tower, which is another clue to the Thunderbolts* asterik. What if the Thunderbolts are meant to replace the Avengers, even taking on their name?

Are the Thunderbolts really the Dark Avengers?

Following the Secret Invasion event, which saw the alien Skrulls infiltrate and attack Earth, Marvel Comics transitioned to its "Dark Reign" publishing initiative, with Norman Osborn put in charge of the global peacekeeping entity known as S.H.I.E.L.D. Norman renamed S.H.I.E.L.D. into H.A.M.M.E.R. and dressed up some of Marvel's most infamous villains as fan-favorite heroes, dubbing them the Dark Avengers. Norman gained this rise in prominence by helping to defeat the Skrulls during Secret Invasion.

The Dark Avengers roster included Norman Osborn as Iron Patriot, Venom (Mac Gargan) as Spider-Man, Bullseye as Hawkeye, Noh-Varr as Captain Marvel, Moonstone as Ms. Marvel, and Logan's son Daken as Wolverine. The whole point of the Dark Avengers is so Norman can gain the public's trust and adulation, even though he's widely known as the villainous Spider-Man nemesis the Green Goblin.

Something similar could be at play in Thunderbolts*. Ever since Julia Louis-Dreyfus made a surprise appearance in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, she seems to be making connections to individuals with the sole purpose of putting together a team. So far she's recruited US Agent, and was a handler for Yelena Belova when she was sent to murder Clint Barton in Hawkeye. Is this all leading to the end-credits of Thunderbolts* revealing the title is merely a stand-in for Dark Avengers?

Or are the Thunderbots the Secret Avengers?

Another Avengers team the Thunderbolts could be stand-ins for are the Secret Avengers. Once the Avengers reassembled to take down Norman Osborn, the "Dark Reign" publishing initiative gave way to the "Heroic Age." Steve Rogers took over Norman's role as the person responsible for the United States' security and law enforcement. Along with that came the reformation of the Avengers, but Steve also created a black ops team that worked in the shadows called the Secret Avengers.

Heroes like Black Widow, Beast, Moon Knight, Nova, and Sharon Carter make up the first Secret Avengers team, with several characters coming and going during its run. A version of the Secret Avengers have already operated in the MCU. When Captain America, Black Widow, and Falcon went rogue against the Sokovia Accords following Captain America: Civil War, they continued to fight the good fight and take down terrorists by working under the radar of the government. Fans quickly dubbed them the Secret Avengers, and the group was also adapted for the Avengers Assemble animated series. If the Thunderbolts were the Secret Avengers, they would come off as slightly more heroic than being the Dark Avengers.

The Thunderbolts asterik is a huge MCU mystery

Dark Avengers and Secret Avengers are only two of the theories floating around regarding the asterik in Thunderbolts*. David Harbour, who returns as Red Guardian in Thunderbolts*, recently teased what the film is about, while adding fuel to the fire with the asterik speculation.

"I mean, they retroactively put the asterisk [in]," Harbour said while speaking to ComicBook about his role as BoxLunch's brand ambassador. "The asterisk was an idea that that someone had.....What can I say that's not going to get me in trouble? ...The asterisk is very cool. I understand why people might put an asterisk there. I'm excited for the viewers to see that as well. But I, again, I just can't say anymore."

The mystery behind the asterik should be revealed when Thunderbolts* arrives in theaters in May 2, 2025.

At last, Sony has confirmed that it will be holding a new PlayStation State of Play broadcast to close out September 2024. For over a month, rumors and reports have circled suggesting that the next State of Play would end up transpiring at some point in September. After all, Sony has held a State of Play or PlayStation Showcase event in this month for five years in a row, which made it seem likely to happen once again. Now, after this constant period of speculation, Sony has provided official details on the live stream.

As expected, this new State of Play will transpire tomorrow, September 24th, and will go live at 6pm ET/3pm PT. As always, the event will be broadcast across YouTube and Twitch in both English and Japanese. This time around, Sony says it plans to highlight 20 games in total that span PlayStation 5 and PlayStation VR2 platforms. In total, this State of Play is said to clock in for a little more than 30 minutes. Other than this, further details weren't provided.

Leading up to this State of Play, PlayStation has had a couple of leaks that might point to impending reveals. Just last week, the ESRB revealed a new remaster of Horizon Zero Dawn for PS5, which seems likely to be unveiled at this event. Additionally, it has been rumored that PlayStation is also working on a remaster of Days Gone. Whether or not one or both of these games end up being shown off during tomorrow's event isn't known.

Beyond this, there's a good chance that there could be a major focus on games from Japanese studios during this State of Play. The reason for this is primarily because the Tokyo Game Show 2024 is set to transpire at the end of this week. As a result, it would make sense for various developers that are going to be present at the convention to show off their games with new trailers or gameplay footage ahead of time.

As always, be sure to stay tuned to our coverage here on ComicBook as we'll bring you all of the latest news from this State of Play once it transpires.

The anime adaptation of the Tokyo Ghoul manga series from Sui Ishida launched in 2014, introducing Ken Kaneki and his fellow ghouls to legions of fans that remain loyal to this day. A follow up series Tokyo Ghoul: re, wrapped up in 2018. Now you can get every episode of Tokyo Ghoul, Tokyo Ghoul ?A, and Tokyo Ghoul:re in a single Blu-ray collection for the first time ever. Pre-orders are available here at the Crunchyroll store and here on Amazon now with a release date set for December 31st.

"The art outside the box is newly commissioned artwork from the animation studio Pierrot that features the main character Kaneki and visual references to the fan-favorite opening song "Unravel" by TK from Ling Toshite Sigure. Special features will include select episode audio and video commentaries, the "Jack" and "Pinto" OVAs, the "Kaneki in Black and White" featurette with the English dub cast and crew that discusses questions and themes of the anime, and more." A full breakdown of the special features can be found below.

Tokyo Ghoul - 10th Anniversary Box Set Special Features

• Textless Opening & Ending Songs
• Episode Commentary
• Kaneki in Black and White
• Commercials
• Promo Videos
• Trailers
• Tokyo Ghoul:re - Cast and Crew Answer Your Tweets
• Tokyo Ghoul: Jack - OVA
• Tokyo Ghoul: Pinto - OVA

Tokyo Ghoul Episode Commentary:

• Episode 4 - with Austin Tindle, Brina Palencia, J. Michael Tatum, Mike McFarland
• Episode 12 - with Austin Tindle, Monica Rial, Christopher R. Sabat, Mike McFarland

Tokyo Ghoul ?A

• Episode 1 - with Brandon Potter, Mike McFarland, Todd Haberkorn
• Episode 7 - Video Commentary - with Mike McFarland, Maxy Whitehead, Lindsey Sydel, Brandon Potter
• Episode 21 - with Austin Tindle, Mike McFarland, Brina Palencia, Cliff Chapin

Tokyo Ghoul:re

• Episode 1 Commentary - with Mike McFarland, Austin Tindle, Adam Gibbs, Mikaela Krantz
• Episode 21 Commentary - with Mikaela Krantz, Caitlin Glass, Philip Weber
• Episode 24 Commentary - with Mike McFarland, Austin Tindle, Dave Trosko

Will Tokyo Ghoul Return To Anime?

Despite Tokyo Ghoul fans spending years attempting to will Ken Kaneki's animated return into existence, there has been nothing confirmed regarding Sui Ishida's series receiving a new anime adaptation. For those who might not be familiar, Ken's story has only been animated by Studio Pierrot, the production house responsible for anime such as Naruto, Bleach, Yu Yu Hakusho, and Black Clover to name a few. Pierrot may have been able to take on additional anime in the past but their new approach might make returning to Kaneki's world a bit more difficult.

In the past, Pierrot has confirmed that rather than overloading its staff by working on a never-ending schedule for its anime works, the production house is instead taking a more "seasonal" approach. Following the success of Demon Slayer and Ufotable's approach to the Demon Slayer Corps, Pierrot decided to follow suit, taking its time with the likes of Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War for example. This has made it so that franchises including Naruto and Black Clover have yet to receive return dates, let alone new projects such as a Tokyo Ghoul revival.

Since the horror master Junji Ito first picked up his pen to draw manga that would send shivers down readers' spines, it has appeared impossible to adapt the mangaka's works. Thanks to the level of detail and skin-crawling imagery that Ito has employed throughout the decades, anime adaptations have tried, but for the most part failed, to bring the artist's works to life in relation to fan expectations. All that has changed with Toonami, Studio Drive, and Production I.G.'s Uzumaki, as the limited series has done what many believed was impossible, capturing the essence of Junji Ito's art and created the perfect anime for the Halloween season.

Uzumaki follows the two high-school teenagers Kirie and Shuichi. The pair live in a mountain town where things are beginning to go awry in some unexpected ways. In the first episode of the anime adaptation, viewers are given glimpses into how an obsession with spirals can become horrifying abominations that twist and distort the villagers unfortunate enough to fall under their sway. As things continue to get worse, Shuichi and Kirie need to survive and see if it is even possible to dodge a curse that has unexpected ramifications for the town and its residents.

Uzumaki's plot is a strong one, in terms of Junji Ito's overall horror library. Often, the series is considered one of the horror artist's greatest works, and for good reason. While it does have its two main characters in Shuichi and Kirie, it will often branch out from them and tell the stories of handfuls of characters unfortunate enough to be cursed in rather unique ways. This works in a way to create an anthology-style tale that is also cohesive in its overall plot. Shuichi, for example, is dragged into a specific curse thanks to his father's obsession with spirals, as the young boy even explains to his girlfriend how ridiculous it sounds on the surface, while documenting how terrifying it is to see it with his own eyes. That's Ito's work in a nutshell; concepts that, on paper, sound hilarious but put into practice, make for the stuff of nightmares.

What works so well about the horror aspect here is how unsettling so many of the moments are in relation to the "spiral curse." For example, Shuichi's mother, in an effort to "escape" her husband's obsession post-mortem, begins cutting off her own fingertips to eliminate spirals from her body. A young boy is transforming into a slug in an embarrassing yet skin-crawling way that hits close to home for those who might have been bullied. Perhaps the creepiest of all in the first episode is a young girl who has a mark on her forehead that has long since benefited her romantic life but begins to grow and distort in such a way that it has become one of Ito's most recognizable images to this day.

Of course, we would be remiss to not touch upon the animation style used here to perfectly capture Junji Ito's art style. Studio Drive incorporates both 2-D and CG animation to bring the story to life and, obviously, it's no easy feat to recreate the work of the horror master, yet the production house does so. The characters themselves appear to have something of a "marionette" style that adds to the creepiness factor of the series, while the animation perfectly captures the uneasiness of the curse lying in wait. The world itself feels like it's "breathing," ready to pounce and to heighten the horror to levels that will drag viewers in. Past attempts at fulfilling the promise of adapting Ito's works have fallen flat in countless respects but that assuredly is not the case here.

Musical artist Colin Stetson was an inspired choice to create the soundtrack for Uzumaki, as the saxophonist's tracks work well in once again lending to a feeling of uneasiness in the portrayal of the cursed town. Stetson's work helps to set the mood and exquisitely accompanies the madness that is a part of the series. On top of the soundtrack, both the Japanese and English Dub work is stellar here, so its up to anime fans which method they'll want to experience Uzumaki in when it begins on Adult Swim on September 28th.

Horror anime is something that viewers don't nearly get enough of and so it is beyond satisfying to finally see what might be the perfect example of the genre arrive right in time for the spooky season. Adult Swim's Uzumaki might have taken years to finally arrive but it was beyond worth the wait. Junji Ito's latest anime endeavor is sure to be one that anime fans will revisit on an annual basis when Halloween rolls around and we can't wait to dig our teeth into the rest of the four-episode miniseries following its premiere.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Uzumaki premieres on Adult Swim on August 28th.

The Super Mario RPG on Nintendo Switch is the lowest price it ever has been thanks to a new sale. A remake of the 1996 SNES classic of the same name, Super Mario RPG was released back in November of last year by developer ArtePiazza and Nintendo. Upon release, the remake got an 84 on Metacritic, a very respectable score. How well it sold, we don't know, but as Nintendo fans will know, Nintendo-made games rarely go on sale and when they do the discounts are rarely notable.

Right now though, for a limited time -- or more specifically, as supplies last -- retailer Woot has dropped the Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch Lite, and Nintendo Switch OLED game by 47%, the biggest discount it has ever received. As a result, it is only $31.99 for a limited time.

This deal is specifically for a brand-new physical copy of the game, which ships via Amazon. This also means shipping is free for those with an Amazon Prime subscription.

"Mario, Bowser, and Peach partner up to repair the wish-granting Star Road in this approachable role-playing adventure," reads an official blurb about the game for those unfamiliar with it. "Team up with an oddball group of heroes to save Star Road and stop the troublemaking Smithy Gang. This colorful RPG has updated graphics and cinematics that add even more charm to the unexpected alliance between Mario, Bowser, Peach, and original characters Mallow and Geno. Enter (or revisit) this world of eccentric allies and offbeat enemies in an RPG for everyone."

"Super Mario RPG has aged fantastically well, with great gameplay, a terrific story, and some excellent characterization," reads a snippet of our official review of the game. "Developer ArtePiazza has added just enough quality of life improvements to refine the experience, while still maintaining the elements that made it a classic in the first place. For those that have never played it before, Super Mario RPG is a very easy recommendation, but those that have played through it a number of times over the last 27 years might find that there isn't enough new content to rationalize the $60."

Percy Jackson and the Olympians continues to round out its Camp Half-Blood ensemble. The serialized adaptation of Rick Riordan's best-selling novels centers around Walker Scobell's titular demigod while simultaneously telling auxiliary stories of the sons and daughters of Mount Olympus's mightiest. At the time of The Lightning Thief, Percy, a son of Poseidon, is thought to be the only living child of the Big Three (Poseidon, Zeus, Hades). As the core pentalogy plays out, it is slowly revealed that demigod sons and daughters of the god of lightning and god of the dead are also roaming the mortal world.

Percy Jackson Season 2 Casts Thalia Grace

The daughter of Zeus has been found.

As reported by TheWrap, Tamara Smart (Resident Evil) has been cast as Thalia Grace. Thalia, the daughter of Zeus, is a centerpiece of Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Sea of Monsters, the novel that Percy Jackson Season 2 is based on. Her backstory was detailed by Luke (Charlie Bushnell) in a conversation with Percy (Walker Scobell) in Percy Jackson Season 1 Episode 2.

Prior to the events of Season 1, Thalia is attacked by monsters on her way to Camp Half-Blood. Zeus spares her life by turning her into a tree that gives Camp Half-Blood a magical protective barrier. In The Sea of Monsters, someone poisons Thalia's Tree, leading a group of demigods to venture to that sub-titular ocean to find The Golden Fleece, a mystical object capable of restoring life to whoever or whatever wears it. In the book, The Golden Fleece works overtime and brings Thalia back to life from out of the tree itself. It's unclear as to if Percy Jackson Season 2 will utilize Smart in just the finale episode or if she will also film flashback scenes.

Speaking to ComicBook while promoting the upcoming Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Wrath of the Triple Goddess book, author Rick Riordan described the role as "the most anticipated casting announcement" among Percy Jackson fans.

"We are announcing the casting for Thalia Grace, who is probably the most anticipated casting announcement among the fans. That wasn't my decision, Disney just said, 'Hey, okay, today we can do this,' and I was like, 'Wow, cool!'"

Riordan described Smart as "so perfect" for the role of Thalia, teasing that "the story" of how the casting came to be is "worthy of a movie."

"I am so thrilled with the person we got, and the story of how we got them and why is so perfect," Riordan added. "It is itself like worthy of a movie. It's really incredible."

Riordan added that he will speak more on Thalia's casting during his upcoming virtual Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Wrath of the Triple Goddess events, which go down on Tuesday, September 24th and Wednesday, September 25th. Tickets for each event can be found at those respective links.

"I'll be able to talk about it a little bit in more in detail during the virtual events over the next couple of nights for for The Wrath of the Triple Goddess," Riordan added. "If viewers are interested and they can tune into those, they can find out more."

Percy Jackson and the Olympians Season 2 is currently in production. Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Wrath of the Triple Goddess hits bookshelves on Tuesday, September 24th.

Note that the Batman '89 5 Points figures are only sold as a set, and you can pre-order it here at Entertainment Earth for $59.99. The Batmobile sold separately here at Entertainment Earth for $49.99. Both are set to launch in April and you won't be charged until that time. Note that U.S. shipping is free at Entertainment Earth on orders over $99 (flat $7.95 shipping fee on everything else), so you'll be good to go if you get the figures and the vehicle. A full breakdown of the accessories in the figure set can be found below.

Accessories for Batman, Joker, and Joker Good 5 Points figures:

• One (1) Batman head portrait
• Four (4) Batman arms: One (1) pair of regular arms (L&R), One (1) pair of arms with weapon holding hands (L&R)
• One (1) batarang
• One (1) speargun
• Two (2) Joker head portraits
• Four (4) Joker arms: One (1) pair of regular arms (L&R), One (1) arm with cane holding hand (L), One (1) arm with megaphone holding hand (R)
• One (1) cane
• One (1) megaphone
• Two (2) Goon head portraits
• Four (4) Goon arms: One (1) pair of regular arms (L&R), One (1) pair of arms with weapon holding hands (L&R)
• Two (2) swords
• One (1) knife
• One (1) camera

In other Batman Day news, McFarlane Toys launched another wave of DC Multiverse figures that includes a Batman Beyond from the 2023 limited series Batman Beyond: Neo Gothic, Batman from the 2011 Batman: No?l graphic novel that was inspired by Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, a Silver Age Batman with Ace the Bat-Hound, and a Gold Label exclusive Batman with Bat-Glider that's based on on The Thirteenth Hour issue of The Court of Owls series from Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo. Pre-orders for these releases are available in the list below.

• DC Multiverse Batman - Batman Beyond Neo Gothic Figure ($22.99) - See at Entertainment Earth / Amazon
• DC Multiverse Batman - Batman: Noel Figure ($22.99) - See at Entertainment Earth / Amazon
• DC Multiverse Batman - Batman and Ace the Bat-Hound Silver Age Figure Set ($22.99) - See at Entertainment Earth / Amazon
• DC Multiverse Batman - Batman with Bat-Glider Gold Label Figure - Amazon Exclusive
• Hot Toys also launched a Batman Returns 1/6th scale figure. You can order it here in standard and deluxe versions.
• You can check out more recent McFarlane Toys releases right here.

Transformers One star Keegan-Michael Key admits that he no longer sees his longtime comedy partner Jordan Peele very often, calling the change a "tragedy." Nevertheless, the actor and comedian says there's no bad blood, just two people who moved in different directions in their careers. While Key is becoming increasingly known as a serious actor, Peele has become a power player behind the camera, directing and/or producing a number of genre hits in the years since his acclaimed directorial debut Get Out in 2017. Neither of those shifts happened on accident, and working hard in different areas of the industry has left the two with less time together.

"We don't see each other that often anymore," Key recently told People "Which is, to me, a tragedy."

In the interview, Key said that the pair, who met on MAD TV and went on to star in their own sketch comedy show Key & Peele, "shared a creative language," adding, "when we were on camera, it was alchemy. It was just like, 'Why is this working?'"

In the years since Key & Peele ended and the pair started get famous, they have appeared together in Keanu, Fargo, Toy Story 4, and Wendell & Wild. They have also had a number of shared cameos, including a memorable one in "Weird Al" Yankovic's video for "White and Nerdy."

Directed by Josh Cooley (Toy Story 4) with a screenplay from Andrew Barrer (Ant-Man and the Wasp), Gabriel Ferrari (No Exit), and Steve Desmond (Knock at the Cabin) for Paramount Animation with animation by Industrial Light & Magic, Transformers One releases on September 20th. The film features the main cast of Chris Hemsworth as Orion Pax / Optimus Prime, Brian Tyree Henry as D-16 / Megatron, Scarlett Johansson as Elita-1, Keegan-Michael Key as B-127 / Bumblebee, Jon Hamm as Sentinel Prime, Laurence Fishburne as Autobot Alpha Trion, and Steve Buscemi as Starscream.

Lorenzo di Bonaventura is set as producer for Di Vonaventura Pictures, live-action Transformers film director Michael Bay is on board as producer as well with Tom DeSanto, Don Murphy, Mark Vahradian, and Aaron Dem.

Per its official synopsis, "Transformers One is the untold origin story of Optimus Prime and Megatron, better known as sworn enemies, but once were friends bonded like brothers who changed the fate of Cybertron forever. In the first-ever fully CG-animated Transformers movie, TRANSFORMERS ONE features a star-studded voice cast, including Chris Hemsworth, Brian Tyree Henry, Scarlett Johansson, Keegan-Michael Key, Steve Buscemi, with Laurence Fishburne, and Jon Hamm."