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.

Lyra Valkyria just made her WWE video game debut in the Global Superstars pack for WWE 2K24, a huge milestone for any WWE Superstar. She also recently returned to NXT to team up with her old partner Tatum Paxley, so it's been a busy few weeks for the Raw superstar. That said, when she's not taking on opponents in the ring, there's one particular franchise that she loves returning to, and that happens to be Lord of the Rings. ComicBook recently had the chance to speak to Valkyria all about her WWE 2K24 debut, but we also asked about Rings of Power and if there was a role she would love to bring to life in the franchise. The answer will delight many longtime fans, as she highlighted one of the mythology's most beloved couples in Beren and L?thien.

Nothing I Love More

With Rings of Power well into season 2, we had to ask what she thought of the season so far. Valkyria hasn't had a chance to dive into season 2 just yet, but she's excited to dive in, and she's also hyped for the upcoming animated prequel series Lord of the Rings: War of Rohirrim. When Lord of the Rings came up, Valkyria said, "There is nothing I love more in life. It's my be-all-end-all. Rings of Power looks incredible. I've yet to dive into season 2, and there's also the animation that's coming out. There's so much, there's so much to delve into there."

Then I had to ask if she could play a role in the series, who would she want to play. The answer jumps back in time all the way to the first human and elven couple, known in song and in the mythology as the beloved love story of Beren and L?thien. "Oh, my goodness, yes, like to have any part," Valkyria said. "The story of Beren and L?thien I've always thought was very beautiful. So maybe something along those lines, who knows?"

An All-Time Love Story

The story of Beren and L?thien is referred to several times in Lord of the Rings, but it often highlights very specific traits of Beren and L?thien as opposed to going into great detail about their thrilling love story. It's not until you read The Silmarillion that you really discover their story in full, and this was later expanded upon in The History of Middle-earth. Both dive much further into the whirlwind romance that stretches even beyond the mortal realm.

Following a betrayal that left everyone dead but him, Beren wanders into the Kingdom of Doriath and meets the immortal beauty L?thien. It's love at first sight, but L?thien's father Thingol lays a challenge at their feet before they can wed. They must retrieve a Silmaril from Morgoth's crown, and Thingol thinks this impossible, so their wedding is essentially forever halted.

Thingol however underestimates his own daughter considerably, as she goes on to save Beren along his journey to attain the Silmaril time and time again. Along with a giant dog named Huan, L?thien frees Beren from Sauron, sings everyone to sleep so Beren can take the Silmaril, heals Beren after he gets his hand bitten off by a werewolf, and then successfully confronts the Gods to bring Beren back to life after he is killed by that same werewolf. The cost of that last heroic act is her immortality, but despite that, the two go on to live a long and prosperous life together.

As you can clearly see, this is a story more than deserving of not just an appearance in a series, but frankly its own series, and hopefully we get to see that story brought to life in some way soon. The story was also given more spotlight in 2017's Beren And L?thien, which showed how the story has changed in subsequent tellings.

How would you like to see this story brought to life? You can talk all things wrestling, TV, and more with me on Threads and Twitter @mattaguilarcb!

The Harley Quinn animated series has become a beloved aspect of DC's movies and television shows, thanks to its distinct and adult-oriented approach to superheroes and supervillains. The show's popularity has even led to a spinoff series, Kite Man: Hell Yeah!, which made its debut on Max earlier this summer. As fans wait to see if Kite Man gets renewed for a sophomore season, it sounds like the overall franchise isn't stopping anytime soon. While speaking to ComicBook about his work on both shows, executive producer Dean Lorey teased that there are more Harley spinoffs in the works, but he is unable to provide any details about what they might entail.

"We love where we're at right now with what we've been calling the 'Harleyverse,'" Lorey explained. "It's very exciting to have multiple projects coming out that we've been working on. I mean, Kite Man was a major step for us, to be able to bring that out. I know that a lot of people were kind of wondering why we would pick Kite Man as the first character to come out with, because there are a lot of characters. And we talked about many things, but we thought he was sort of a fun, easy person to start with. Plus, he has a giant potential redemption arc for himself. And so we thought we would do that. We have a lot of other ones that we're really hoping to bring out, things that are pretty deep in development. We really want to build the universe out, and we've gotten a lot of support from James Gunn and Peter Safran, and Warner Brothers Animation is really behind it. So we're really looking forward to building out this world."

"I wish I could [say more]," Lorey added. "In fact, I'm desperate to. But I can't. I'm hoping to have some news relatively soon on at least one of them. Believe me, nobody wants to talk about it more than me."

What Is Kite Man: Hell Yeah! About?

In Kite Man: Hell Yeah!, Kite Man and Golden Glider take their relationship to the next level by opening a bar in the shadow of Lex Luthor's Legion of Doom. Nobody said serving cold ones to the most dangerous rogues outside of Arkham Asylum would be easy, but sometimes you want to go where everybody knows your name, and how to hide a body.

The cast of Kite Man: Hell Yeah! includes Matt Oberg as Kite Man, Stephanie Hsu as Golden Glider, James Adomian as Bane, Natasia Demetriou as Malice, Janelle James as Queen of Fables, Jonathan Banks as Noonan, Keith David as Darkseid, Michael Imperioli as Joe/Moe Dubelz, Rory Scovel as Gus the Goon, Lance Reddick as Lex Luthor, and Judith Light as Helen Villigan.

Harley Quinn and Kite Man: Hell Yeah! are both streaming exclusively on Max.

James Gunn and Peter Safran's new DC Universe is about to become a reality, beginning with the animated series Creature Commandos. Written by Gunn, the series' take on the DC team of the same name boasts an impressive ensemble cast and crew, including veteran DC executive producer Dean Lorey. While speaking to ComicBook about his work on Harley Quinn and Kite Man: Hell Yeah!, Lorey offered high praise for Creature Commandos, teasing that fans will be blown away by the eclectic cast of characters when the series makes its debut in December.

"It was great, and it was really different in the sense that James Gunn had written all of the scripts before we started shooting," Lorey explained. "Usually, I'm one of the writers on a show, even if I'm running it. But James had fully written the scripts. They were great scripts. Everybody was really, really excited about them. So the process went into production quicker than normal, because there were scripts that were ready to go. And we were really lucky to get voice cast that [we have]. I think the Harley voice cast is great, and Kite Man, and I think the Creature Commandos voice cast is easily the equal of those. It just was a pure pleasure to be working with James, who had such a very clear vision of what he wanted the show to be. He really knows that world. He knows it backwards and forwards. So just in terms of making the show, it's been a pleasure, and everybody has been great to work with. I think it's going to be a significant release. I don't know if people really know what they're in for yet, but it's fantastic. We're so proud of it."

"God, I love them all," Lorey said when asked about his favorite character. "I really do love them all. But in a way, my heart is with G.I. Robot. I just love him. He's played by Sean Gunn, and I was really curious when Sean came in to record, because I didn't really have a take on what that would sound like, how robot-y would it be, and all of that. He brought such a beautiful humanity to it. He also played Weasel, another great character. Every one of those characters is heavily featured in different episodes, so you really get to fully know all those characters... It's definitely an adult show. There's a real sweetness to it, though, to many of the characters, as you get into their stories."

What Is Creature Commandos About?

Creature Commandos tracks a secret team of incarcerated monsters recruited for missions deemed too dangerous for humans. When all else fails... they're your last, worst option.

The cast of Creature Commandos includes Steve Agee as Economos, Maria Bakalova as Princess Ilana, Anya Chalotra as Circe, Zoe Chao as Nina Mazursky, Frank Grillo as Rick Flag Sr., Sean Gunn as GI Robot & Weasel, David Harbour as Frankenstein, Alan Tudyk as Dr. Phosphorus, Indira Varma as The Bride, and Viola Davis as Amanda Waller. The series is written and executive produced by James Gunn. Based on DC characters and produced by DC Studios and Warner Bros. Animation; additional executive producers include Peter Safran, Dean Lorey, and Sam Register; Rick Morales serves as a supervising producer.

Creature Commandos will premiere exclusively on Max on Thursday, December 5th.

For several years now, DC's Harley Quinn animated series has been providing viewers with a one-of-a-kind take on the franchise's mythos. Created by Patrick Schumacker, Justin Halpern, and Dean Lorey, the series has navigated multiple streaming services to become a bonafide fan-favorite. The franchise's first spinoff series, Kite Man: Hell Yeah!, even premiered its debut season earlier this summer.

Lorey recently sat down with ComicBook to discuss the wackiest parts of showrunning Kite Man's first season, the future of the "Harleyverse", his involvement with James Gunn's forthcoming Creature Commandos animated series, and more.

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ComicBook: As a DC fan, I've really loved seeing the continued success of the Harley universe. How does it feel, from a creative perspective, to now be at the point where the show has tie-in comics, a spinoff, and all of this love from fans?

Dean Lorey: We love where we're at right now with what we've been calling the "Harleyverse." It's very exciting to have multiple projects coming out that we've been working on. I mean, Kite Man was a major step for us, to be able to bring that out. I know that a lot of people were kind of wondering why we would pick Kite Man as the first character to come out with, because there are a lot of characters. And we talked about many things, but we thought he was sort of a fun, easy person to start with. Plus, he has a giant potential redemption arc for himself. And so we thought we would do that. We have a lot of other ones that we're really hoping to bring out, things that are pretty deep in development. We really want to build the universe out, and we've gotten a lot of support from James Gunn and Peter Safran, and Warner Brothers Animation is really behind it. So we're really looking forward to building out this world.

Can you tease anything at all about the things that are in development?

I wish I could. In fact, I'm desperate to. But I can't. I'm hoping to have some news relatively soon on at least one of them. Believe me, nobody wants to talk about it more than me.

I've spoken to Justin and Patrick about Harley versus Kite Man, and how they really gave you the creative reins this time around. What was it like to take that step in the creative partnership that you guys have had across all the shows you've worked on?

Well, we created Harley together many years ago, and the three of us ran it in seasons one and two. Then I went off and did a show called Big Shot, and they were off doing their thing, so we weren't really in charge for three and four. And so I came on on five to run that season. And it was fun to do, because it was kind of odd. I've been part of the creation of the thing, and then I came back and sort of inherited a world that other people had been working on and all that, which was kind of interesting to do, actually. I really did enjoy that. We wanted to get back to basics a little bit on Harley season five, so we have a new environment for it, and a new villain that was more than a little teased at the end of Kite Man. So that was enormous fun, to be able to come back on.

And there's a lot of people that I've been working with, and people that I've wanted to bring up as showrunners. On Harley, I worked quite a bit with Katie Rich. I expect that she'll be running a show hopefully soon. And then with Kite Man, there's a guy named Chris Mars that worked with me. He was like my number two on the show, and if there's further seasons of Kite Man -- and I wish there are -- he'll likely run those. So it's been really fun to do that. It was kind of a lot to juggle for a little bit because, ultimately, I was doing Kite Man, Harley season five, and Creature Commandos at the same time. So it was kind of a lot, and that's why I really had to rely on good people around.

Cheers has been a huge touchstone for Kite Man, ever since it was announced as Noonan's. What do you think it is about anchoring it around a bar that is so inherently has so much potential in terms of storytelling?

Well, first of all, I'm a giant fan of the Hitman comic by Garth Ennis. In fact, some years back, I wrote a pilot for the Sci-Fi Network, hoping to get a Hitman show. I always had a real soft spot in my heart for Noonan's, just as a concept. We were looking for ways to distinguish Kite Man from Harley, and we decided that maybe what we'd do is just a spin on the multi-cam -- even though we go way outside of what a multi-cam normally would do -- but do a more character-driven group of dregs and villains and people that normally wouldn't be taken seriously by anybody. Whereas Harley and gang, a lot of them were sort of known, they're bigger villains and all of that. But in Kite Man, they tend to be the smaller ones, so that was one of the ways we distinguished. And we just really liked the idea of, like in Cheers, that it's a place for people to gather that don't have anywhere else to go. That was, fundamentally, what we wanted to do there.

When we talked before the series premiere, you couldn't really talk the spoilers of the Beast Mode arc. Now that we can, how important was it to tackle toxic masculinity in such a ridiculous way?

It was very important to us because, when we were designing Beast Mode, we knew that we wanted Kite Man's goal [and] overall arc for the season was to get a power, because that was the one thing he didn't have, and it made him feel lesser than everybody else. We wanted to give him a power, at least for a period of time, and we didn't know what it should be. We batted around a lot of ideas and finally we decided, 'Well, he's the nicest guy around. Everybody likes to be with him. He really is thoughtful and caring about other people. He's barely a villain, in a way. We should just make him the opposite of that.' And the opposite of that seemed to be a very toxic, male energy kind of dude. It took us a little while because, initially, he turned into that in the earlier scripts of it, and he was just a douche. But then we hit on the idea of: Kite Man doesn't want to be that. He got into this thing that he doesn't know how to get out of, and he's desperate for somebody to help him.

We love the idea about his humanity poking through Beast Mode, and that all he really wants to do is go back to being the person that he used to be. Beast Mode seemed like a great expression of the opposite of Kite Man. And it was fun for us to see that side of Kite Man, and also to make fun of all the bullies and people who used to give us all kind of grief in high school. So we spent a lot of time just pitching out 'What are his powers?' His powers were just, basically, anything that makes him an asshole. And so, we had a lot of fun doing that.

Another spoilery arc I have to ask about, of course, is the time-traveling toilet. How did that pitch kind of come about? Was there any sort of pushback or back and forth in bringing that to life?

There wasn't really any pushback. We decided that it would be really fun to place Bane in the 80s. I don't know why. We just sort of thought like that might be a nice decade to see Bane in. I grew up in the 80s and it seemed like everything that was dangerous and sort of naughty that Bane would really get into, like candy cigarettes were one. That's when they put asbestos into homes, and stuff like that. And then we were trying to figure out, 'Okay, if we're going to do a time travel thing, how do we get them there?' And I don't remember who came up with it, but we sort of thought, 'Let's not like have it be another villain with a power or a cosmic device or anything like that. Like, let's just be in a normal object.'

And then, we spent a lot of time coming up with the rules of how the portal potty works. What do you have to do to go back in time? That turned out to be a number two and a flush. I'm not even sure we ever specified this, but then returning back to the present involved, I think, peeing and then a flush. There's a lot more to it that we haven't really explored yet, but we built out a lot of the rules of the portal potty.

Now that the entire season of Kite Man is out into the world, what would you say you're the most proudest of?

First of all, I think the romance between Golden Glider and Kite Man, I think we did a really good job of making it distinct from the Poison Ivy relationship that he had in Harley. We always sort of felt like that relationship was built on the idea that Ivy is just way out of Kite Man's league. There's no real reason in the world for her to date him. Originally, it was in episode two, the Bar Mitzvah episode of Harley season one, that we introduced him. We just needed like the worst D-list villain to be hitting on Ivy to show 'This is what she has to put up with, guys like this.' And then, we kind of fell in love with the character. So for Kite Man, we were looking for a relationship where you'd feel like 'We like these two together. We'd like to see them happy, and we'd like to see it move forward.' I think we did a pretty good job of building that relationship, giving them problems and all of that, but making you care about them in a way that was different from Kite Man and Ivy.

The other thing that I was really happy with it was the resolve of Kite Man's dilemma. We had started with a problem we didn't have an answer to. We always knew we wanted to have Kite Man, for some reason, face off with Darkseid over the Anti-Life Equation. But then the question was, how could Kite Man defeat Darkseid? We've already established he can't really do anything. What would that look like, and what would be satisfying? And then, somewhere in there, we started thinking about, 'Maybe it's just his basic decency.' What allows him to win is that he's the only one who can control the Anti-Life Equation, at least for a small amount of time, before letting it consume him, because he doesn't have much ego to have his will bent. The way that that resolved, I was very happy with. I like that it came from a good place for him, and I was particularly happy with Exorcist rules. So I love it.

I have seen a lot of love for Powerless on social media lately. People are really arguing that the show was before its time, and really highlighting parts of it. I know it didn't really get its due while it was on air, but how do you feel about the legacy of it, all of these years after the fact?

I mean, I really enjoyed making it with those guys. It was a little tough at the beginning, because we had this show that was, fundamentally, a superhero show. The one mandate that we had was that we had to go really, really light on the superhero stuff, and we were kind of like, 'Well then, why did you ask us to do this?' And then there got to be a point, a few episodes in, where it became clear the network was no longer really interested in it. They sort of backed off and let us do more what we wanted to do from the start, and I think that those episodes became more, more fun. And we were able to bring people onto that show that we later used heavily in Harley Quinn. Ron Funches was a lead on the show. Alan Tudyk, he played several roles for us. Natalie Morales was on it, we had her on the show. Matt Oberg was in it for an episode, and we always knew we wanted to use him. So it was fun in that way. I miss the show. I like working with all those people. It's fun to work in live action. Most of my career has been live action, the animated stuff is relatively new, but Justin, Pat, and I really have loved working there.

I have to ask about Creature Commandos. What has that creative process been like, versus your work on the Harleyverse?

It was great, and it was really different in the sense that James Gunn had written all of the scripts before we started shooting. Usually, I'm one of the writers on a show, even if I'm running it. But James had fully written [it]. They were great scripts. Everybody was really, really excited about them. So the process went into production quicker than normal, because there were scripts that were ready to go. And we were really lucky to get voice cast that [we have]. I think the Harley voice cast is great, and Kite Man, and I think the Creature Commandos voice cast is easily the equal of those. It just was a pure pleasure to be working with James, who had such a very clear vision of what he wanted the show to be. He really knows that world backwards and forwards. So just in terms of like making the show, it's been a pleasure, and everybody has been great to work with. I think it's going to be a significant release. I don't know if people really know what they're in for yet, but it's fantastic. We're so proud of it.

For you, personally, which character on Creature Commandos are you most excited for people to meet?

God, I love them all. I really do love them all. But in a way, my heart is with G.I. Robot. I just love him. He's played by Sean Gunn, and I was really curious when Sean came in to record, because I didn't really have a take on what that would sound like, how robot-y would it be, and all of that. He brought such a beautiful humanity to it. He also played Weasel, another great character. Every one of those characters is heavily featured in different episodes, so you really get to fully know all those characters.

It's definitely an adult show. There's a real sweetness to it, though, to many of the characters, as you get into their stories.

At this point, you've probably done years of interviews about the Harleyverse and about working in DC. What's one thing that you've always wanted people to ask you that you haven't been asked yet?

Oh, wow. If the question was 'What's the best thing that ever happened to you in making the show?' Probably the best thing that ever happened to us was that nobody was really paying close attention to it while we were making it. It was just this animated thing that I'm not sure anybody had any real expectations for. It was going to be going on DC Universe, which wasn't even a thing at the time, and wasn't a thing too long after it started. There were some people that were passionate about it at Warner Brothers Animation, but nobody was really paying attention, and because of that we really got to make the show that we wanted to make.

It wasn't until much later that, because it tested really highly, people started paying attention. And then they were like, 'What is this? What are you doing?' And I think there was a moment of panic because they had no idea that we were making a show as R rated as it is, but they left us [alone]. Had we gone through the usual development process, I don't know that we would have been able to end up with a show that was so purely what we wanted to do. And then, that's just informed the universe of it. You look at Kite Man, and you can feel it's very much in the same universe. And, hopefully there will be other ones to announce that people will be excited about.

Harley Quinn and Kite Man: Hell Yeah! are both streaming exclusively on Max.

DC's The Batman universe has expanded with HBO's much anticpated Penguin series, and the series wasted no time hitting the ground running with a major turning point happening in the show's first 15 minutes. In fact, many of the elements seen in the show's introductory episode set the tone for the rest of the series, highlighting several aspects of Oz Cobb that will be at the core of even more decisions to come. ComicBook had the chance to speak to Executive Producer and director of episodes 1 through 3 Craig Zobel all about Oz's big decision and how it's emblematic of Oz's best and worst traits throughout the series.

Working His Way To The Top

The Penguin stole the show throughout his limited time in The Batman, but in the series, Zobel and the rest of the team had the chance to make the iconic villain the main feature, expanding on several elements of the character only teased in the film. "What was so fun was that you get a sense of him in the movie, but you kind of don't know very much about his backstory or anything like that. And what was fun about this was exploring and seeing what Lauren LeFranc did with the writing in terms of telling the story of this guy who isn't the Penguin that we've seen before at all," Zobel said. "In the movie, he wears kind of flashy clothes and has a purple car, but that's because he's, like, peacocking almost.

"He's sort of strutting, trying to show that he's a person who has money and power and stuff because he's actually a person that came from a very working-class background and is trying to pull himself up," Zobel said. "And he's a mid-level guy in the crime family, not the top, and it was fun to kind of start him there and send him hopefully to the top by the end. It was sort of what the goal or the hope of the show is."

Back Against The Wall

The show's very first episode puts two of Oz's key traits on display. The first is his unpredictable nature and the violent edge that accompanies it. As we see in the show, that leads to some difficult and challenging situations for Oz, and quite a few of them are self-inflicted. That said, that leads to the other core element, which is the fact that Oz tends to be at his lethal best when his back is against a wall, and that just happens to be around 80% of the time.

"This new thing that isn't as much explored in the movie is like, Oz is a character who probably does his best work getting out of a problematic situation, right? And so there's actually some part of his personality that... he can't resist shoving himself into problematic situations, pushing himself into a corner so that he has to get himself out of that corner," Zobel said. "He has like an impulse that just happens, that doesn't come from a conscious place. Some element of his personality has him do brash things, and those brash things kind of put him into a place where then he has to problem-solve his way out of it. It was fun. It's a thing you see in the first episode, and then you recognize kind of repeatedly throughout the course of the series."

Expanding The World

While you will get even more out of the series if you've also watched The Batman, Zobel and the team wanted to create a show that could capture your interest whether you've seen the film or not. For those who have watched the film, they will see just how Riddler's actions in the film affected Gotham in the days immediately after and beyond.

"I think that the goal was to make something that you didn't have to know, really, the story of the film in order to still enjoy. Hopefully, this could be a mob show that you could just watch, but if you did know the Matt Reeves world that he had created, this would be a big primer and kind of constantly have little winks and nods toward where we're going in the bigger picture," Zobel said. "It was also fun because when you watch superhero movies, the climax of the movie has something big and destructive happen and it was fun to be like, well, what was two days after that, what was happening? It was a cool place to set a story."

The Penguin's first episode is now streaming on Max, and will air on HBO this Sunday.

What did you think of The Penguin's premiere episode? You can talk all things Penguin and DC with me on Threads and Twitter @mattaguilarcb!

The blue brand has a new home. Earlier this month, WWE officially pivoted WWE SmackDown from FOX to USA Network, returning the Friday-based show to the channel it aired on from 2016 until 2019. WWE SmackDown shifting locations is the first of three major migrations for WWE in the coming months, as WWE NXT is set to leave USA Network for The CW in October and WWE Monday Night Raw also exits USA for Netflix in January. While on-screen storylines have operated as usual over this transition period, WWE made an added effort to give WWE SmackDown a total facelift come moving day.

"It's crazy because like I said, sometimes when you're in the mix, you don't realize things around you," WWE SmackDown star Carmelo Hayes told ComicBook. "That makes me realize like, I didn't really take the moment in the moment to realize what was going on around me. It was really cool and at the same time, as far as SmackDown goes, it feels like it's the beginning of a new era. It's super special that I get to be a part of that for sure."

That's Carmelo Hayes, one of WWE SmackDown's first round selections from the WWE Draft earlier this year. Carmelo joined the main roster with much fanfare, coming off a decorated run in WWE NXT that saw him headline multiple NXT premium live events and hold the NXT Championship.

"It feels more like when we went to 2.0," Carmelo said when asked about how WWE SmackDown changing networks compared to WWE NXT rebranded three years ago. "It was like that switch of, 'Hey guys, we're getting ready to do something different, getting ready to do something special.' It definitely had that feeling in the air, that same feeling in the air I felt when we switched to 2.0 when we in revealed that new set. That's probably the closest I'd say that I felt to that."

Carmelo has gradually cemented himself as one of WWE SmackDown's most reliable TV talents. He kicked off his blue brand run by matching up against WWE Champion Cody Rhodes and impressed audiences in recent weeks with his series of matches against Andrade.

"The only direction that was given was don't hold back," Carmelo noted regarding his WWE SmackDown on USA Network premiere match against Andrade on September 13th. "When you tell two talents who are very hungry in their careers and just want to make a name for themselves 'don't hold back,' I think that's what you get. It's one of those things where to get their trust and for me being so new, it's something that I needed coming to the main roster. It's hard to try to get in where you fit in, especially on the main roster which is full of guys who are stars, made stars, Romans and Codys and KOs and Randys and LA Knights. I'm glad I was able to do that thing with Andrade."

On the topic of those main event-caliber stars, Carmelo added that he feels himself evolving just by rubbing shoulders with WWE SmackDown's titans.

"I feel like there's like an unlimited amount of knowledge around me at all times. It really makes me want to level up," Carmelo added. "Being on the main roster, there's just so many levels to this game and when you think you unlock the new one, there's another one right after that. I think I had talked to Cody one time and he admitted the same thing. He's like, 'Shoot, I'm still trying to figure it out too.' Being around all these top guys, it's good company to keep."

One of those top guys is Roman Reigns. Reigns returned to programming this past August at WWE SummerSlam after a four-month hiatus and has slowly interwoven himself back into weekly WWE SmackDown broadcasts.

"Obviously it's a little bit more, you know, the ante is a little bit more up," Carmelo said of how the WWE SmackDown atmosphere changes when Reigns is on the show. "But we all still go out the same way and go out and try and kill it, regardless of whether Roman is there or not. The stakes are still high. We still want to put on a good show."

That "put on a good show" mentality is not just a heat-of-the-moment mindset. While significant spotlight will shift to WWE NXT and WWE Monday Night Raw when they make their moves to The CW and Netflix, respectively, Carmelo plans to remain locked in on making WWE SmackDown the best it can be.

"I'm just focused on playing my position on my brand, wherever I'm at," Carmelo said. "A lot of people used to talk about competition between the brands and things like that, but really, it's just where you're at in that moment, how can you make it the best that you possibly can? That's just been my mindset even when I was in NXT. Shawn would always tell me to stop worrying about the main roster, focus on what's in front of you. That's kind of been my mindset ever since. Now that I'm in the main roster, let me focus on what I'm doing on SmackDown. I'm not thinking, 'Oh, well, what if I got to go to Raw?' No, let me just focus on week to week.

"I'm super excited for NXT moving to The CW. That first show looks so stacked. Even that St. Louis card looks stacked. Then going to the Netflix deal, I'm excited for that too. That helps everybody because we'll all be on Netflix at that point. It's going to open up so many more eyes to the product. So many people that didn't tune into wrestling now have the opportunity to watch the replays of SmackDown, the replays of NXT, and then Raw live."

WWE SmackDown airs live on USA Network every Friday at 8 PM ET.

Last year's Transformers: Rise of the Beasts concluded with a tease for the long-awaited crossover with that franchise and the world of G.I. Joe, and franchise producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura confirmed this month that this crossover will be the next live-action Transformers entry. What that means for former G.I. Joe stars is yet to be revealed, with Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins star Samara Weaving being entirely oblivious to that project and what it could mean about Scarlett's return. In the meantime, fans will be able to see Weaving in Azrael, which hits select theaters on September 27th and hits Shudder on October 25th.

While speaking with ComicBook in support of Azrael, when alerted to the fact that a Transformers and G.I. Joe crossover was on the way, Weaving confirmed this was the first she heard of it, noting, "Yeah, I had no idea. I don't know what that means." As for what this means for her schedule, she joked, "I've got so many calls to make now," though expressed, "Perfect, I'm there."

The G.I. Joe franchise earned two live-action installments, which hit theaters in 2009 and 2013, with Snake Eyes meant to serve as both a reboot and prequel for the titular character, played by Henry Golding. Weaving played Major Scarlett O'Hara, with that film teasing in its conclusion that Snake Eyes would be joining the Joes.

Snake Eyes was one of many highly anticipated projects that saw complications due to the coronavirus pandemic, as it was initially scheduled to hit theaters in early 2020, only to ultimately debut in July of 2021. Despite other high-profile projects having been released in theaters at that point, the theatrical landscape was far from what it was pre-pandemic.

Potentially complicating Weaving's involvement in such the planned crossover is that Snake Eyes was a prequel, so it's possible that the timeline of the upcoming crossover could see her character being entirely detached from the narrative.

As fans wait for updates on the future of G.I. Joe, they can see Weaving in Azrael.

Azrael is described, "In a world in which no one speaks, a mysterious, devout community hunts down a young woman named Azrael (Samara Weaving) who has escaped their imprisonment. Recaptured by its ruthless leaders, she is to be sacrificed to pacify an evil which resides deep within the surrounding wilderness - but Azrael will stop at nothing to ensure her own freedom and survival. From the seeds of this gritty, relentless parable of sacrifice and salvation, comes an immersive, real-time, action horror tale from the visionary minds of Simon Barrett and E.L. Katz."

Stay tuned for updates on the Transformers and G.I. Joe crossover. Azrael hits select theaters on September 27th and hits Shudder on October 25th.

Would you like to see Weaving return as Scarlett? Contact Patrick Cavanaugh directly on Twitter or on Instagram to talk all things Star Wars and horror!

The horror comedy Ready or Not proved to be a major hit with genre audiences, which also offered star Samara Weaving her breakout role. The open-ended nature of the film's finale and the mythology teased at in the narrative have left fans wondering whether we could get a follow-up film that further explored this world. A sequel was announced earlier this year, and while it was assumed that Weaving would return, the actor confirmed she was "all in" on the upcoming project. While Ready or Not 2 doesn't yet have a release date, Weaving can next be seen in Azrael, which hits select theaters on September 27th and lands on Shudder on October 25th.

While speaking with ComicBook in support of Azrael and when asked about the status of the Ready or Not sequel, Weaving confirmed, "I'm all in. I think we're all in, I don't know. I think we're all in. I don't know if we've had our blood handshake, but pretty much. We've done the spit handshake, but we haven't cut each other's hands and rubbed our blood together."

As far as when the project could move forward, Weaving joked, "I've just gotten home, I need to make some calls."

The original movie starred Weaving as newlywed Grace who, on the night of her wedding, was forced to participate in a deadly game of hide and seek, with her in-laws hunting her down due to a supernatural tradition. The movie was directed by Tyler Gillett and Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, who have since directed Scream, Scream VI, and Abigail. Adam Robitel has reportedly been tapped to direct the sequel.

Luckily for Grace, she survived the encounter, though her in-laws met their demise in massive explosions of blood. Back in 2019, Weaving teased that she thought authorities might not believe her when they came to investigate what had happened to the affluent family.

"I wonder what happens afterwards. Does she go to jail? Does she go to an asylum for psychiatric help? Does she inherit everything? I don't know," Weaving had revealed to ComicBook. "Or the police would say that she did it on purpose. I don't know ... Sitting in a jail cell for 90 minutes, just going insane."

As fans wait for updates on Ready or Not 2, they can check out another blood-soaked adventure in Azrael.

Azrael is described, "In a world in which no one speaks, a mysterious, devout community hunts down a young woman named Azrael (Samara Weaving) who has escaped their imprisonment. Recaptured by its ruthless leaders, she is to be sacrificed to pacify an evil which resides deep within the surrounding wilderness - but Azrael will stop at nothing to ensure her own freedom and survival. From the seeds of this gritty, relentless parable of sacrifice and salvation, comes an immersive, real-time, action horror tale from the visionary minds of Simon Barrett and E.L. Katz."

Stay tuned for updates on the Ready or Not sequel. Azrael lands in select theaters on September 27th and on Shudder on October 25th.

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

Gotham's pawns are slowly falling into place. 2022's The Batman introduced audiences to a new live-action world centered around the Caped Crusader, picking up with Robert Pattinson's titular vigilante in his second year under the cowl. Just as Batman is learning finding his footing in Gotham City, simultaneously so is his rogue's gallery. Director Matt Reeves left off with The Riddler (Paul Dano) forming an unholy alliance with The Joker (Barry Keoghan) inside Arkham Asylum, Jim Gordon (Jeffrey Wright) still a couple of ranks below police commissioner, and The Penguin (Colin Farrell) seeking ascension within Gotham's criminal underground after the death of Carmine Falcone (John Turturro), the latter of which is set to be explored in HBO's The Penguin miniseries.

The Penguin: Colin Farrell's Oz "Not Thinking" About Batman

Gotham's Gentleman of Crime is not bothered by Gotham City's new protector.

Speaking to ComicBook at The Penguin world premiere in New York City, star Colin Farrell noted that The Batman's overarching presence within Gotham did not impact his performance as Oz Cobb in the standalone series.

"He's not thinking about The Bat at all," Farrell said. "I'm sure maybe there's a scene we did, a night where he's wondering is that guy gonna turn up, but there's so much s--t happening to him already that the immediate present is something that he's struggling with greatly."

Farrell's Oz and Robert Pattinson's Dark Knight shared the screen three times in The Batman (2022). The two future adversaries first meet in the Iceberg Lounge, a nightclub for Gotham's dirtiest, and then come to blows during a car chase. Batman and Jeffrey Wright's Jim Gordon interrogate Oz after running him off the road, ultimately ending with Oz helping the two solve the "el rata alada" riddle.

"As much as I had some version of a tet-a-tet with him in the film, he's not what he is becoming evermore, and will possibly, I assume, become more of in the second film," Farrell continued. "Oz has other things on his mind, [that being] the immediate present as experienced by how he's tainted by his past. He's very, very focused on the now. He has to be because he's someone who's got so many plates juggling, so many plates in the air. They're all spinning out of control and he's trying to keep his s--t together. He's trying to create this ideal of filling the power vacuum that Carmine Falcone's death has created."

The Penguin premieres on Max on Thursday, September 19th.

The latest episode of Prime Video's The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power brings Cynthia Addai-Robinson's Regent M?riel's long-running arc to its first of likely many more climactic moments to come. Right before Lloyd Owen's Elendil is set to stand trial by abyss, M?riel steps in to stand the trial in his place. As her power-hungry husband Pharazon (Trystan Gravelle) watches on, M?riel is brought under by the sea creature, the surrounding residents of Numenor watching on with baited breath. Unexpectedly, M?riel is thrashed back to the surface, surviving the trial by abyss, resulting in both an innocent verdict as well as a flashy new royal title.

Cynthia Addai-Robinson's Climactic Rings of Power Scene

All hail the Queen of the Sea.

Speaking to ComicBook, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power actress Cynthia Addai-Robinson reflected on M?riel's journey to reach her newfound royal status.

"In Season 1, really, for me, it was about just learning who she was, establishing her and being able to then move her forward into future seasons," Addai-Robinson said. "In Season 2, by the time we were starting, I didn't actually know what the arc was going to be at all. The number one question I got from people is, 'Is M?riel still blind?' People were shocked when she was blinded at the end of Season 1. What were the implications going to be for her moving forward? Was this a sort of permanent condition? What did that then mean, not just for her as a character, but even for me as an actor?"

M?riel's absolution in The Rings of Power Season 2 Episode 6 truly begins in the scene before she stands the trial by abyss. When speaking to Elendil, her longtime friend and the original man set to stand the trial, Elendil reinforces his belief in M?riel to be "this kingdom's true heir" and challenges her to stare death in the face by noting that he would "rather die with a heart that is whole than one that is broken by cowardice."

"He and I spent a lot of time once we got our scripts and we got these scenes. We would go off to our little corner and really kind of discuss what ultimately these scenes are about in the bigger picture," Addai-Robinson said of working alongside Elendil actor Lloyd Owen. "It goes without saying that the idea of faith, and not just religious faith, but really having a belief in something. There is that tension between the sort of thing you are supposed to believe, potentially blind faith, versus what your heart and your soul and your gut are telling you. It becomes a question of, 'Am I meant to believe in something that is distasteful to me just because I'm supposed to believe it, if every fiber of my being says this is wrong?"

Not all were thrilled to see M?riel emerge victorious in the trial by abyss. Pharazon, M?riel's husband from a forced marriage and the current king of Numenor, is seen watching his wife with frustration and fear as she is showered in "Queen of the Sea" chants.

"Certainly her victory is a humiliation, right?" Addai-Robinson said of Pharazon's reaction to M?riel's innocence. "This is now, as a matter of public record, the people who are witnessing this as much as people are turning away from their more traditional beliefs, these sort of markers and tests. It kind of feels like, 'How do you refute her victory?' It's going to be difficult for him to explain that away or say, 'Just kidding! She survived the trial, but I'm still the ruler!'

"What I really loved, and obviously I wasn't present for it, even though I read it, is when Pharazon goes to the palantir himself," Addai-Robinson continued, alluding to Pharazon utilizing the mythical object that showcases glimpses of the future. "Everything that we're sort of setting up in Numenor, we're sort of slightly separated from some of the other parts of Middle Earth, but as evil spreads across the land, we soon are going to get our own visit and our own sort of connection and link to this evil. This flash of what fares on I thought was quite interesting personally because that is sort of laying the groundwork for something down the line."

And what comes down the line, considering what's come up to this point, is anyone's guess. The Rings of Power has made some pivots within the source material, especially evident in M?riel's arc in particular. On the page, M?riel is rendered relatively redundant by the time Pharazon takes power. The show makes an added effort to give her a true sense of three-dimensionality and her own personal story rather than just have her be auxiliary to others'.

"I wouldn't necessarily call it a departure because at the end of the day, this isn't the end point," Addai-Robinson said of M?riel's changes in the series. "What happens after this doesn't necessarily stray from the lore. We can sort of, I would say, add to things that don't change the outcome. That really comes more from what the showrunners establish as opposed to anything that the actors can guide. Because this isn't the end point, we can't necessarily say that it is a departure. It might be a detour, but we're still going in the direction that we're going, and I myself don't necessarily know what happens after what we've established in this season.

"What always continues to impress me is that the showrunners again can take a circuitous route but still sort of hit the points of the lore that they need to hit," Addai-Robinson added. "I would say that even though she triumphs in this moment, it's not necessarily a definitive triumph."

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2 airs new episodes every Thursday on Prime Video.

WWE 2K24's Global Superstars Pack is finally here, bringing a number of hotly anticpated superstars to the roster. One of the most requested superstars is Monday Night Raw superstar Lyra Valkyria, who is making not just her 2K24 debut, but her WWE video game debut as well. She's with elite company too, as Valkyria joins Jade Cargill, Nia Jax, Carlito, Kairi Sane, Michelle McCool, and Dragon Lee. ComicBook had the chance to speak to Valkyria and get her reaction to her video game debut, though we also got her dream DLC match-up and found out which of her gears she hopes fans create in the game first.

A Stellar Debut

It's a truly unforgettable moment to see yourself in a video game, and 2K went all out, recreating every facet of her entrance and gear to make sure things lined up perfectly. Valkyria was pretty floored by what they were able to create in the game, and it's a pretty crazy journey from selling 2K games in a game store to now being in the actual game.

"Seeing the entrance online was incredible. Like they nailed it. The wooo chants, the way I move, they got it all down like I'm so excited to just get my hands on it and get into it," Valkyria said. "But as well, just being part of the the highest rated game in the franchise history like, what a way to make my 2K debut. I used to work in a video game shop as well, and 2K was always like, I've spent so many times, so so long labeling the games, and to be in one myself, now, it's absolutely amazing."

Dream Match Scenario

Valkyria joins the game alongside some heavyweights, including two current Champions in Jax and Cargill. That's why we wanted to know out of all of the superstars featured in the DLC with her, who would be the person she would love to have a dream match against. The answer was easy, and it was all about McCool. "Like Michelle McCool would be amazing," Valkyria said. "So run back a little loser leaves, you know. That would be amazing."

There's no one who would pass up on that match-up, and that would be a perfect thing to tease in the upcoming Royal Rumble. The Rumble hits in February, so who knows, perhaps McCool and Valkyria could start rolling there.

The Perfect Gear

We'll just have to wait and see if that match becomes a reality, but one thing we won't have to wait too long for is the creations community to start updating 2K24 with new gears and looks for all the new Superstars, and Valkyria is certainly going to be in that mix. When we asked what gear she would love to see fans bring into the game first, there was one gear that instantly came to mind.

"My Queen of the Ring attire with the big wings and stuff. I feel like that was pretty. That was one of my best looks, so to see that in the game would be cool," Valkyria said. The gear was all black and then featured the slick wings that expanded pretty far, and as you can see in the image below, it is a look that deserves to make its way into 2K24.

Hopefully, someone can figure out how to bring the wings into the game, though Valkyria also loves the gear 2K used, as it holds some special memories for her, including her classic match-up against The Man Becky Lynch.

"The gear that I'm wearing in the entrance that went up, that's my favorite gear as well," Valkyria said. "I wore that in the Becky, my Becky title match. It's my favorite set, so like I feel like it's just all very perfect."

You can download the Global Superstars Pack right now, and WWE 2K24 is available for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X. The Standard Edition is also on sale currently for 50% off on Xbox platforms through September 30th, while the WrestleMania Edition is on sale for 45% on PlayStation platforms through September 25th and on Xbox platforms through September 30th.

What do you think of the new DLC? You can talk all things wrestling and WWE 2K24 with me on Threads and Twitter @mattaguilarcb!

Any actor or filmmaker who was involved in the ABC series Lost is quite familiar with being in a project that ignites endless speculation about what's happening currently or where it could be going, and actor Harold Perrineau is no different. Perrineau also currently stars in From, the MGM+ series that feels like the heir apparent to that series, given the tonal similarities of such a compelling and confounding narrative. Despite how many theories surround From, Perrineau recently reflected on how he opts to avoid any such discussions so he can focus solely on bringing his Boyd Stevens to life. From Season 3 premieres on MGM+ Sunday, September 22nd.

"I won't know what's happening. If they did guess it, I won't even know. I don't know, I don't wanna know," Perrineau shared with ComicBook of how little he knows about the series' trajectory. "That being said, I don't follow too many of the fan theories. I try to be as open to whatever's happening as I can, you know what I'm saying? I try to find a way to make sure Boyd just responds the way Boyd might respond, without any other noise. My head can get noisy."

FROM unravels the mystery of a nightmarish town that traps all those who enter. As the unwilling residents fight to keep a sense of normalcy and search for a way out, they must also survive the threats of the surrounding forest - including the terrifying creatures that come out when the sun goes down. In the wake of Season 2's epic cliffhanger, escape will become a tantalizing and very real possibility as the true nature of the town comes into focus, and the townspeople go on offense against the myriad horrors surrounding them.

Another trend in Perrineau's career is playing characters that are trapped in their situation, whether those be his characters in From or Lost who are mysteriously stuck in a confined environment or a character like the one he played in Oz, who was incarcerated. In a sense, his previous roles in Oz and Lost are culminating with his work as Boyd in From.

"The thing that's been really lucky about all of those shows is that they've all had amazing writers. [Oz's] Tom Fontana and [Lost's] Damon Lindelof and now John Griffin, all really amazing writers and what they write really well are human beings," the actor detailed. "What they're really able to do is to stay away from caricatures and they're looking for real responses to things and so in those places, for instance, in Oz, I know, knew a lot of people who'd been to prison for long times, short times, and what can happen to you and what can happen to your mind in there. Those choices that people make, when those people said to me, 'Yo, I've seen that before,' or, 'I know that feeling,' that makes me feel really, really great that I'm actually doing the job because I'm really trying to explore the range of human possibility within my work."

He continued, "Oz gave me a really good foundation of trying to find the human being. Lost took it to another place, because Lost, we just didn't know what the hell was ever happening, ever. Being able to still try to be grounded was really good, because now, in From, where we also don't know a lot about what's going on, I feel like all of those things help me make Boyd as grounded as possible without ever getting too caught up in any stereotype or archetype of a character, archetype of a sheriff, or archetype of the guy who saves the town -- if I save the town, I don't actually know. I can stay grounded in the person that Boyd Stevens is and what he's trying to achieve."

Neither fans nor viewers quite know how much time has passed in the world of From and how long these characters have been stranded, though we've been able to witness Boyd's growth and also his struggles in the previous two seasons, with Season 3 starting with him in a much different place from what we saw in the series premiere.

"I think this season, the town is just messing with him, man. The town is just relentlessly just poking him, like a bully, all this time, in the chest," Perrineau explained of Boyd's growth over the years. "At the end of last season, he was questioning his own brain and I think when we start up in this next season, the questions become bigger and not so much about his brain, but about his leadership. 'Is this right? Am I doing this right?' And then doggedly going, 'Yes, I am!' and then being wrong. It's gonna be a lot of that."

From has never shied away from depicting intense violence, but in the Season 3 premiere of the series, the filmmakers opted to focus on Boyd's reaction to what was unfolding than showcase the brutality of the encounter.

"They told me a lot about what he was watching. Then I had to take those ideas and switch them into things that I could actually see," Perrineau confessed of how he depicted being a witness to such carnage. "Things that I could actually imagine, because we're in a place of creatures that are unimaginable so then I have to transfer that into something that, not only I imagine, maybe even seen and been through to give you the idea that what he's seeing is this treatment. It was pretty wild and that's just a small piece of the two hours we were there doing that. 'Let's try it again, let's think about this.'"

From Season 3 premieres on Sunday, September 22nd on MGM+.

The Caped Crusader's rogues gallery expands. 2022's The Batman pitted Robert Pattinson's titular vigilante against Paul Dano's The Riddler while simultaneously bringing ascending adversaries Catwoman (Zoe Kravitz) and The Penguin (Colin Farrell) into the fold. Just before the credits rolled, director Matt Reeves snuck Batman's most famed foe into the picture, as Barry Keoghan subtly showed face as The Joker, offering his hand in friendship to Riddler. It remains to be seen as to how active The Batman Epic Crime Saga's Joker has been up until his imprisonment in Arkham Asylum, but the man behind the makeup is already familiar with his new franchise's larger ensemble.

Colin Farrell and Barry Keoghan's Batman Saga Parallels

While fans await a Penguin and Joker scene on screen, the Irishmen behind the roles have already chatted about their shared franchise.

Speaking to ComicBook at The Penguin world premiere in New York City, star Colin Farrell noted that he and Barry Keoghan "had a giggle" about where they fall in The Batman Epic Crime Saga.

"The two of us had a giggle about it," Farrell said. "He's The Joker and I'm The Penguin, and we're both from the north side of Dublin. It's bizarre and lovely and it's the kind of thing that makes you a bit giddy. You just have a laugh about it, you realize your good fortune."

While 17 years apart, Farrell and Keoghan's acting careers have run somewhat parallel to one another in recent memory. The two Dublin natives first shared the screen together in The Killing of a Sacred Deer (2017) and then again in The Banshees of Inisherin (2022), the latter of which they both received Academy Award nominations for.

Farrell and Keoghan suiting up as Batman adversaries continue a pattern of Irishmen standing opposite Bruce Wayne on the big screen. Within Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight trilogy, Cork's Cillian Murphy portrayed Jonathan Crane (Scarecrow) in all the movies while Northern Ireland's Liam Neeson showed face as Ra's Al Ghul in Batman Begins and The Dark Knight Rises.

There's no word on when Keoghan's Joker will make his presence properly felt within The Batman Epic Crime Saga. Director Matt Reeves shared a deleted scene of the character being interrogated by Batman on social media shortly after The Batman hit theaters, leaving a small hint that the Clown Prince of Crime secured a means to escape his Arkham imprisonment.

"I can't say much. We'll see where that goes. It was an incredible experience," Keoghan said in a recent interview when asked about his Joker's future. "Yeah, I can't say."

The Penguin premieres on Max on Thursday, September 19th.

We're just a few months away from the launch of Creature Commandos, the inaugural entry into James Gunn and Peter Safran's new DC Universe. The Max-exclusive animated series features an all-star cast of voice actors, including Stranger Things and Thunderbolts* star David Harbour as Victor Frankenstein. Before Creature Commandos' premiere, Harbour is already looking ahead to the character's larger DCU tenure. While speaking to ComicBook about his role as BoxLunch's Giving Ambassador, Harbour touched on the future of Creature Commandos -- specifically, the notion that the cast will reprise their roles in live-action.

"I don't know if I'm waiting for the phone call," Harbour explained. "I mean, I'm not like down by the phone. but no, there's nothing specific yet or at least I haven't heard anything specific. But I know that what tends to happen with these things is like the project's really good. And I just have a feeling... I think Frank (Grillo's) already moved into Peacemaker. I have a feeling it probably will come up. The project's really good. We'll talk about it at New York Comic Con, but it's like it's it's very special, very funny. I think you've probably seen the trailer. It's really great. All those all those characters, Dr. Phosphorus and the Bride... I can't imagine they wouldn't want to do it live action, but we'll have to see. That's all in the mind of the wacky, brilliant James Gunn."

"I wonder what it would be," Harbour said of whether Frankenstein would be rendered practically or in CGI. "I'm...yeah, I'm not thrilled about that. I think they might do...if they did it. I think they might do the CGI thing that they did with Taika [Waititi's Korg] in Thor: Ragnarok. I feel like there's probably a universe of that nowadays. I feel like the practical stuff, although I love it, is really falling a bit by the wayside."

What Is Creature Commandos About?

Creature Commandos tracks a secret team of incarcerated monsters recruited for missions deemed too dangerous for humans. When all else fails... they're your last, worst option.

The cast of Creature Commandos includes Steve Agee as Economos, Maria Bakalova as Princess Ilana, Anya Chalotra as Circe, Zoe Chao as Nina Mazursky, Frank Grillo as Rick Flag Sr., Sean Gunn as GI Robot & Weasel, David Harbour as Frankenstein, Alan Tudyk as Dr. Phosphorus, Indira Varma as The Bride, and Viola Davis as Amanda Waller. The series is written and executive produced by James Gunn. Based on DC characters and produced by DC Studios and Warner Bros. Animation; additional executive producers include Peter Safran, Dean Lorey, and Sam Register; Rick Morales serves as a supervising producer.

Creature Commandos will premiere exclusively on Max on Thursday, December 5th.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is poised to get a major shake-up next year, with the release of the new ensemble movie Thunderbolts*. The film will see a number of returning MCU heroes and antiheroes join forces in a deadly new fight, including Black Widow fan-favorite Alexei Shostakov / Red Guardian (David Harbour). As fans wait for the project's first trailer to be officially released, Marvel Studios has already courted a lot of speculation by adding an asterisk to Thunderbolts' title, without explaining exactly what it could mean. While speaking to ComicBook about his role as BoxLunch's brand ambassador, Harbour teased the significance of Thunderbolts* asterisk, as well as what fans can expect from the film as a whole.

"I mean, they retroactively put the asterisk [in]," Harbour explained. "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."

When asked about the rumor mill surrounding Thunderbolts*, Harbour revealed that "I've started to move away from all of that because I feel like I just run into AI articles. I'm like, who wrote this? This isn't even English. But but I think that the it can get dangerous because I don't want to hear what everyone's opinion is about all kinds of stuff about me. But we are very comic book true, which I was pleased about. I think there might be some speculation of what people understand about the comics as opposed to people that have actually read the comics. I think there's a lot of experts out there that get very annoyed at things. And if you go back and you actually look at it, you might see something different. I think that we're very into that idea, and yet it is, of course, very surprising because, you know, I don't think Red Guardian is in any of the Thunderbolts stuff. So they are adding things like they are adding and surprising you with things. But, you know, there's a lot of stuff, a lot of stuff that we've done to make it comic accurate as well."

"Making a movie, you can't really look outside for critiques because everybody, everybody sees the poster and they have an opinion," Harbour continued. "You're like, 'just watch the two hour movie and if you still hate it. Great. Love it? Great.' But, like, you've got to give us a chance. I think all the speculation in the world is like my fantasies about dying or what. I mean, it's like you can fantasize about horrific things or whatever until you actually see the thing. I'm very proud of this movie, what we shot. I hear it's playing well internally and I'm excited for people to see it. I think it's going to really surprise people. I think people have seen from the trailer, from the shots. I think it's a pretty cool direction of the MCU's sort of making now. And I'm excited to be a part of that."

What Is Marvel's Thunderbolts* About?

Thunderbolts* is expected to be based on the Marvel Comics team of the same name, an alliance of antiheroes and villains who reluctantly work for the government. The cast of Thunderbolts includes Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova, Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes / Winter Soldier, David Harbour as Red Guardian, Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, Wyatt Russell as John Walker / U.S. Agent, Hannah John-Kamen as Ava Starr / Ghost, and Olgya Kurylenko as Taskmaster. New cast members will include Lewis Pullman as Bob, and Geraldine Viswanathan in a mystery role.

"Our characters are going to interact with something that we don't really understand, and it fundamentally changes the course of the way things expand," Harbour told ComicBook in a previous interview at San Diego Comic-Con. "That's all I'm saying. Oh my God, I'm getting calls tomorrow."

Thunderbolts* will be released exclusively in theaters on May 2, 2025.

In October of last year, Stranger Things and Marvel star David Harbour was given a brand new title, the BoxLunch Giving Ambassador. Embracing both Harbour's passion for food accessibility and ending hunger in America with his status as a major figure in pop culture, it was an easy partnership for the actor and BoxLunch. Since then Harbour has appeared in a marketing campaign for the brand and helped raise money for Feeding America at the annual BoxLunch Holiday Gala (where he personally donated $200,000).

ComicBook caught up with Harbour recently on a day he was volunteering at the Atlanta Community Food Bank, which distributes over 36 million pounds of fresh produce annually. Over the course of a few hours Harbour worked alongside other associates from the BoxLunch retail stores across Georgia, Florida and Alabama to volunteer at the center. Speaking with us in an exclusive interview, Harbour broke down what the past year of working with BoxLunch has been like for him, how it has changed his perspective on food insecurity, and how the larger issue of hunger in America can be addressed further.

ComicBook.com: It's been about 10 months since you became the brand ambassador for BoxLunch. How has your perspective on that changed?

David Harbour: I mean, I've seen there's been a huge increase in food insecurity in this country, and I kind of can't believe it with inflation rising. Even this particular facility has increased its output like 60% or something in the past, I think it's in the past year. So I think I've been kind of overwhelmed by the necessity of the work that these people do, and just the overwhelming amount of people in this country that are food insecure. I think that's been the most profound learning (moment). You tend to think of America as a pretty well-off country compared to a lot of other countries in this world. Then you start to see numbers like this and the numbers are kind of incomprehensible at a certain point, but they do give an impression of... we're not as well-off as I generally think we are and we need to do a lot of work to change that. That's really been a big part of the journey is the amount of work that needs to get done.

CB: It's easy to see those numbers on a sheet or hear someone say those numbers. Does coming to a facility like this really put it into perspective what those numbers are?

David Harbour: Yeah, because you can't... As human beings I think we are such visualizers of space. So you come here and you see the enormity of the operation. You see volunteers just coming in for three-hour shifts. And, yeah, there's just a lot of work to be done. I mean, I am also, not to be too dark about it because I am inspired by the amounts of people that are (here), this facility is so vast. People are showing up to volunteer here and then people do work here full-time. They are working on expanding their structure. So that's very inspiring. But, yeah, it does help to see it in the flesh. It gives it a whole new dimension, no pun intended, but it becomes three-dimensional.

And I heard you talking about it out there, but you've been in Atlanta for stuff for years now. I'm sure people down there immediately recognize you from any number of things. So what does it mean to you to see this community in action that you've been a part of for so long?

David Harbour: I really love it, and it's nice to be on this side of it. The funny thing is Atlanta has a huge film industry now, and I know that when I drive to work, I drive through some pretty poor neighborhoods. Then I get to my very nice studio and treated very well and given nice catering and nice food and stuff. I do think every time I drive through these neighborhoods that we should be doing more. But we're all hell-bent on making fun shows for people to watch and people to have catharsis. And again, I think that's important, too. But it is something that I think about almost every day when I drive through these neighborhoods. So it's nice to be able to come to a place like this to see that work being done and give me an idea of how we could do it even more locally, how my friends at the studio and my fellow castmates and stuff could make a bigger impact. Because I think it's important not just to work in Atlanta but to live in Atlanta. And I think the film industry is trying to do that more and more.

You sort of touched on it there, inspiring people with the things that you do. People here probably recognize you from Stranger Things or Marvel, but at what point in your career when you're making this stuff did it sink in 'Oh, it's not just a job for me,' it is impacting other people. It's affecting the way that they look at the world.

David Harbour: Yeah. I've always been cognizant of that as an artist. Like ever since I was doing, I think I got my first professional job at a regional theater when I was 19 years old doing Taming of the Shrew up in Maine. And I got to say that, not to toot my own horn here, but my impulse has always been that we are a service industry and that we are vessels for something bigger than ourselves. The reason when I watch performers that I love, it's all about making me feel understood and less alone and more comfortable with how weird it is to be alive, and I want to do that for other people. I'm not big into the exclusionary star thing where it's like I exist outside in a world that is magnificent to look at my muscles and my fancy clothes. I have to occupy some of that world as a businessman but in general, my thrust has always been that the artist is the person that allows you to feel the things that maybe you can't feel in your life or that feels too confusing, gives focus to them, allows you to see that we all struggle. I think in that way, I think it's a noble profession.

Do you think that has been sort of what has planted the seed for the fact that you're kind of a character actor? You play these sort of roles?

David Harbour: Yeah, for sure.

I think that's a compliment to be a character actor.

David Harbour: I mean, me too, and in fact, it's part of the reason...I think that the most interesting stories are not the ones that are cliche romantic stories of heroism, simple heroism or whatever. I think that people are complex. I live life and I feel all kinds of complexity and I know that when I go see a movie or a TV show that enters into that complexity, I feel understood. When I go see the opposite, when I feel like someone's exclusionary, it's like you shouldn't be feeling these things. I get annoyed and feel bad about myself. So I want to give people food or a thing that they makes them healthy. I think that's compassion, and I think that my way of doing that is to be as much of a weirdo as I think we all feel, if that makes any sense.

In season four of Stranger Things, you were kind of on your own. You weren't really part of the larger ensemble. Was that tough for you to not be around the group that way? Maybe your work on season five made it a little easier?

It was a challenging season for a number of reasons. The biggest being COVID and just the ripples that that sent through our industry, because we are an industry of intimacy. mean, we are close. We are about humanity. We're about engagement and we had masks and face shields and we were just very afraid of each other. So that was really tough. I also had to do a lot of weird weight loss stuff, that was really tough. The being alone thing is it was kind of OK, because I had to.I mean, we've been together a long time, it's like it's like a family, sometimes you need a vacation. So I think that was in a way sort of fun, and I had guys like Tom (Wlaschiha) and it was it was a cool storyline.

So I enjoyed it. Getting back to the OG crew of this final season has been wild in a way because we have come so far and it is not the show that we started in season one. I think that's a wild experience for all of us. I mean, those kids were 11 years old when we started, 12 years old. Now they're 20 and they're shaving and they aren't kids anymore. Finn (Wolfhard) just directed a movie. I think to have it all come back full circle...We just read we just did a read through of the last episode and the amount of crying... like the episode is very beautiful. But there's also a deeper level of that, this was actually their childhood. They were 11 years old and grew up and fought this monster. And I've never seen so much heavy, heavy weeping from teenagers or young adults in my life.

It wasn't like the Game of Thrones table read for the finale where people were like throwing their scripts across the table.

David Harbour: No, the interesting thing is...there was some cameras there, but we didn't do it for the publicists or the Instagram people. There was something intimate about the way they structured it that I'm hoping that you don't see very much of that, because there was something profound in the sense that we are a family. There is the deeper level, it is about us as individuals who've worked together for nine years since they were kids, and that really came through. There was a real deep kind of honesty and heartbreak and bittersweet quality to all of it.

Have you seen the prequel play?

David Harbour: Yes, I did.

What did you think of it?

David Harbour: I mean, it was interesting.

Did it do something differently with Jim that you were surprised by?

David Harbour: He's like 16, right? It's a whole different thing. I mean, I don't have any ownership of it. I'm sure it's what Harrison (Ford) felt when they did Young Indiana Jones. It's like, OK, this is a guy that you guys own or whatever. I was not consulted creatively. I was not asked anything about it. It's just this is their interpretation. So, yeah, it was interesting. I'm very supportive of all those people involved, and the sweet kid who plays Jim Hopper. I gave him my hat that I wore in season one. I just wanted him to make it his own for him to have ownership of it. So that was a really nice moment.

Now, when James Gunn took over DC, he said that, you know, it was going to be like the animation characters would be played by the same people in live action, would be played by the same people in games, we'll see if that if it comes to that. But, you know, you voice Frankenstein in Creature Commandos. Do you know when you're going to play him in live action or is that just like you're waiting for that phone call?

David Harbour: I don't know if I'm waiting for the phone call. I mean, I'm not like down by the phone, but no, there's nothing specific yet or at least I haven't heard anything specific...I think Frank (Grillo's) already moved into Peacemaker. I have a feeling it probably will come up. The project's really good. We'll talk about it at New York Comic Con, but it's like it's it's very special, very funny. I think you've probably seen the trailer. It's really great. All those all those characters, Dr. Phosphorus and the Bride...I can't imagine they wouldn't want to do it live action, but we'll have to see. That's all in the mind of the wacky, brilliant James Gunn.

Are you dreading being under makeup to play that character?

David Harbour: Yeah, because I wonder what it would be. I'm...yeah, I'm not thrilled about that. I think they might do...if they did it. I think they might do the CGI thing that they did with Taika in Thor: Ragnarok. I feel like there's probably a universe of that nowadays. I feel like the practical stuff, although I love it, is really falling a bit by the wayside.

After that, Thunderbolts is coming up and you're reprising that role in the MCU. Do you know why there is an asterisk in the title?

David Harbour: Yes. (Laughs)

When did you find out why there was an asterisk in the title?

David Harbour: I mean, they retroactively put the asterisk (in). 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 (laughs) I'm excited for the viewers to see that as well. But I, again, I just can't say anymore.

When you're making a huge Marvel movie like that, and you're part of an ensemble, are you guys at all aware of the rumor mill online about the movie or like the conversation or the theories that people are throwing out or you just totally focused on set?

David Harbour: Yeah, not really. I mean, I've started to move away from all of that because I feel like I just run into AI articles.
I'm like, who wrote this? This isn't even English. But I think that it can get dangerous because I don't want to hear what everyone's opinion is about all kinds of stuff about me. But we are very comic book true, which I was pleased about. I think there might be some speculation of what people understand about the comics as opposed to people that have actually read the comics. I think there's a lot of experts out there that get very annoyed at things. And if you go back and you actually look at it, you might see something different. I think that we're very into that idea, and yet it is, of course, very surprising because, you know, I don't think Red Guardian is in any of the Thunderbolts stuff. So they are adding things like they are adding and surprising you with things. But, you know, there's a lot of stuff, a lot of stuff that we've done to make it comic accurate as well.

Making a movie, you can't really look outside for critiques because everybody, everybody sees the poster and they have an opinion. You're like, 'just watch the two hour movie and if you still hate it. Great. Love it? Great.' But, like, you've got to give us a chance. I think all the speculation in the world is like my fantasies about dying or what. I mean, it's like you can fantasize about horrific things or whatever until you actually see the thing. I'm very proud of this movie, what we shot. I hear it's playing well internally and I'm excited for people to see it. I think it's going to really surprise people. I think people have seen from the trailer, from the shots. I think it's a pretty cool direction of the MCU's sort of making now. And I'm excited to be a part of that.

Just to wrap it up, is there something that you really want to do that you haven't gotten to do yet? Work with a certain director, play a certain character, be in a certain franchise?

I mean, there's like a billion things that I'd like to do. In terms of your world of comicbook.com, I love working in that world and I want to continue to work in that world. Right now, I've done Stranger Things, Thunderbolts, Creature Commandos....and I'm looking for the next thing to be, for lack of a better word, a little more middle-aged man. Middle-aged man dealing with middle-aged man problems. That's kind of the next thing on the agenda. But in terms of working with people, I mean, I can name a hundred. Not a hundred, I can name 15 directors that I would love to work with. And there's so many interesting projects going on out there. I just love it all. I really approach it from, like, a little boy at a buffet attitude I just love so much of it that I want to eat it all.

Transformers One stars Chris Hemsworth and Brian Tyree Henry are talking about their voice acting roles in the Transformers origin story. Paramount Pictures has gone back to the Transformers well once again, except instead of another live-action/CGI hybrid film, the studio is going the animated route for Transformers One. And instead of picking up in the middle of the war between the Autobots and Decepticons, Transformers One shows the origin story of the factions and their leaders, Optimus Prime Megatron, and how they started out as best friends. Now hear from the co-leads on what went down with the making of the film.

ComicBook spoke to Chris Hemsworth and Brian Tyree Henry before the premiere of Transformers One. One of the first topics was about Hemsworth's role as Orion Pax, aka Optimus Prime, and Peter Cullen's reaction and thoughts to his portrayal. "I don't know. I haven't spoken to him. I hope he's pleased," Hemsworth said. "That was always my apprehension, or what was nerve wracking about stepping into the role, was to try and just do what Peter Cullen had done. I didn't want to attempt to mimic that. So it was great to be able to have there be more levity.

"And, the playfulness and a sense of humor to the character that we hadn't seen before. But then toward the end of the film, as he becomes Optimus to start to play with the cadence and the vocal quality that we know and love so much that Peter has done. It was a lot of fun."

Brian Tyree Henry compares his Spider-Verse and Transformers characters

Brian Tyree Henry was asked what were the challenges of voicing Miles Morales' father, Jeff Morales, in the Spider-Verse franchise and Megatron in Transformers One, and how they're different.

"They are. But I think that the connection between the both of them is that their heart is kind of in the same place, right? I knew going in at some point I was going to say the iconic, 'I am Megatron' or 'Decepticons rise up!' I knew that that was going to come, but what I really loved the most is like, well, where did he start?

"Like, where did he start? I like to hear the levity in his voice, to hear the fear, to even hear Megatron be afraid of something, you know, and then the laughter. Like to actually hear him have a partner in crime and to know that he was even a fan of other Primes is really cool to me."

He added that when it comes to voicing animated characters, it's important for audiences to feel the heart of the character. "And so I always think about that when it comes to voicing these animated characters. Will you be able to feel their hear at the end of the day? Will you actually be able to understand who they are and see who their character is through what I'm performing so that it was no different when coming to Megatron?"

You can watch the interview in the video player above.

What is Transformers One about?

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.

The movie features a voice cast that includes Chris Hemsworth, Brian Tyree Henry, Scarlett Johansson, Keegan-Michael Key, Steve Buscemi, with Laurence Fishburne, and Jon Hamm.

Transformers One is now playing in theaters.

Halle Berry's career has ranged from winning the Academy Award for Monster's Ball to a slew of fan-favorite blockbusters, from X-Men to Catwoman and James Bond to John Wick. In a world where actors return to franchises with mounting frequency, it stands to reason that fans might be wondering when Halle Berry will do the same. Speaking with ComicBook in an interview for her new movie Never Let Go, we asked Berry which of her past roles she was most interested in revisiting. Her answer might surprise you.

"This one," Berry said, referencing her character in Never Let Go. "I stay in the present, you know, some of those things have, you know, gone by and I don't know if you can go back to things like that. So I'm kind of in the present. I hope this does well enough that we get to all revisit this in some way." Berry went on to reveal her further hopes for returning to her character in Never Let Go, noting they have ideas for a prequel and sequels to the new film.

Though a place where Berry might reprise her role as Catwoman isn't clear, Marvel fans have been waiting on baited breath for her to appear as Storm in the Marvel Cinematic Universe in some form. Box office hit Deadpool & Wolverine was one place where it seemed possible for Halle Berry to return as Storm, the character she previously played in the X-Men franchise for four movies, but Berry herself previously confirmed to ComicBook that she wasn't asked to appear in the film.

Marvel fans will no doubt take that to mean that Berry could be targeted for a reprisal in Avengers: Secret Wars, a movie that many assume will feature countless cameos and appearances from Marvel actors of the past (something which has not been confirmed by Marvel). Several of Halle Berry's former X-Men cast members have already appeared in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with Hugh Jackman appearing in Deadpool & Wolverine and Kelsey Grammer appearing as Beast in The Marvels.

Berry addresses this possibility previously with ComicBook, speaking with us to promote the film Moonfall back in 2022, Berry said of her past characters, "I would revisit any of them, actually."

If anything, the character that Berry could likely reprise next is Sofia, her assassin character from 2019's John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum. Though nothing has ever been said about her returning to the part, that series is actively producing new movies and John Wick's well publicized death in the series could very well bring out all the familiar faces from the movies that have survived. That's just a guess on our part, but John Wick: Chapter 5 does appear to be on the horizon.

Never Let Go hits theaters on September 27th.

It was a slow burn for writer/director Jennifer Kent's The Babadook to become well-known as a seminal piece of horror, as it was first unleashed at film festivals in 2014 and, through its availability on streaming services, began to take hold of audiences' nightmares in more significant ways. The mysterious mythology of the character would make it seem like there were endless ways in which to expand that lore, especially as the movie grows more popular, but Kent herself confirmed that, even with the profitability of such an endeavor, she's never considered returning to that world. The Babadook returns to theaters on September 19th, and a filmed conversation between Jennifer Kent and two-time Academy Award winner Alfonso Cuar?n will follow each screening.

"[Producer] Kristina [Ceyton] and I, we could have made millions out of sequels," Kent confirmed to ComicBook. "Absolutely. Like, no doubt. But we just ... Kristina knew that I didn't want to make a sequel. She knew that when we signed the contracts early on. We were lucky enough to have the rights, which now is really hard for filmmakers. It's often a trade off to give away the rights to you or to any future endeavors in order to get the first one made. But with this, I just explored what I wanted to say. It just doesn't feel like a ... You know, it could have been, but I think everyone would be really sick of Mr. Babadook by now."

The Babadook is described, "Six years after the violent death of her husband, Amelia (Essie Davis) is at a loss. She struggles to discipline her 'out of control' six-year-old, Samuel (Noah Wiseman), a son she finds impossible to love. Samuel's dreams are plagued by a monster he believes is coming to kill them both. When a disturbing storybook called 'The Babadook' turns up at their house, Samuel is convinced that the Babadook is the creature he's been dreaming about. His hallucinations spiral out of control, he becomes more unpredictable and violent. Amelia, genuinely frightened by her son's behavior, is forced to medicate him. But when Amelia begins to see glimpses of a sinister presence all around her, it slowly dawns on her that the thing Samuel has been warning her about may be real."

In addition to the effectiveness of the film, the timing of its release was just as helpful in making it such a hit, as it was unveiled at a time in which more surface-level scares were being delivered to mainstream audiences, with The Babadook's metaphorical horrors impacting its accessibility. Kent detailed how even some of the figures who were financing the movie tried to make major changes to the project at the last minute.

"As a first-time filmmaker, you don't know if you're going to get through [the experience]," the filmmaker detailed. "Every day is a new experience, terrifying, vomit-inducing terror. And then it was just made, and I felt very happy with it because I had final cut. I'm very adamant as a filmmaker to have authorship of the film. I think if that film was taken away from me, it would have been destroyed, because very late in the editing process, we had a lot of criticism. People hated the film. People who had given us money did not like the film, and it was only because myself and the producers had final cut that we were able to protect that."

The Babadook returns to theaters on September 19th, and a filmed conversation between Jennifer Kent and two-time Academy Award winner Alfonso Cuar?n will follow each screening.

Would you like to see the movie get a sequel? Contact Patrick Cavanaugh directly on Twitter or on Instagram to talk all things Star Wars and horror!

James McAvoy's latest terror is arriving in theaters imminently. The Scottish actor stars in Speak No Evil, a new psychological horror film from Universal Pictures, Blumhouse Productions, and director James Watkins. The story unfolds through the eyes of Louise (Mackenzie Davis, Blade Runner 2049) and Ben Dalton (Scoot McNairy, Argo), a couple taking themselves and their daughter on a holiday in Italy. Shortly into their stay, the Daltons encounter Paddy (McAvoy), Ciara (Aisling Franciosi, The Nightingale) and their son Ant (Dan Hough, acting debut). Through charm and captivation (literally and figuratively), Paddy gains the Daltons' trust, and chaos ensues.

Director James Watkins's Creative Process With James McAvoy

Similar to his leading performance in Split, Speak No Evil stands on the shoulders of James McAvoy. Speaking to ComicBook at the Speak No Evil world premiere in New York City, director James Watkins discussed his creative process with his latest film's starring actor.

"He was thinking about how there's this kind of narcissistic sociopathic guy, how he's charming, and how he pulls the wool over people's eyes," Watkins said regarding McAvoy's dissection of Paddy in Speak No Evil. "We had a lot of conversations about real world people that do that, demagogues, disturbing and toxic masculine guys that influence other people. James is all about the truth of the moment. Really, it's all about looking at the scenes. Is this honest? Is it true?"

McAvoy follows in the footsteps of Fedja van Hu?t, the Dutch actor who fulfilled the "narcissistic sociopath" in the original Speak No Evil (2022). When it came to the decision to pull the trigger on an English remake just two years after the original was released, Watkins noted he saw the ability to "bring something different" and give the story the opportunity to "speak to other people."

"I just kind of come at any story just as how good do I think the story is," Watkins said. "In terms of adapting something, I'm thinking there's no point in making the same movie. [Speak No Evil (2022) director] Christian Tafdrup's movie was only a couple of years ago, and it's a brilliant movie. I wanted to see if I could make something of my own. Can I bring something different to it?

"It wasn't a cynical process. I've been sent adaptations before and I go, 'No, I can't see it,' but this one I could just see. I thought, 'This speaks to me and I think it will speak to other people.' By relocating it to the UK, making it culturally specific to a world I know and Americans that I know, I think it will change the DNA of the project enough so that the two films can have an interesting conversation with each other."

Speak No Evil is now in theaters.

Back in the 2000s, the found-footage terrors and gruesome "torture porn" subgenres dominated the horror world, thanks in large part to the success of films like Paranormal Activity, Saw, and their countless imitators. In 2014, though, Australian writer/director Jennifer Kent unleashed an all-new kind of monster with The Babadook, whose old-school depictions of an expressionist ghoul mixed with spooky sensibilities of '60s and '70s horror made for an experience that felt both entirely fresh and also like an earnest revival of tried-and-true terror. After initially making an impact in the festival circuit and in the indie horror world, the age of streaming has seen The Babadook become a bonafide classic, with a 10th-anniversary theatrical re-release allowing audiences who only ever saw the movie on the small screen being able to immerse themselves in its horrors like never before. The Babadook returns to theaters on September 19th, and a filmed conversation between Jennifer Kent and two-time Academy Award winner Alfonso Cuar?n will follow each screening.

The Babadook is described, "Six years after the violent death of her husband, Amelia (Essie Davis) is at a loss. She struggles to discipline her 'out of control' six-year-old, Samuel (Noah Wiseman), a son she finds impossible to love. Samuel's dreams are plagued by a monster he believes is coming to kill them both. When a disturbing storybook called 'The Babadook' turns up at their house, Samuel is convinced that the Babadook is the creature he's been dreaming about. His hallucinations spiral out of control, he becomes more unpredictable and violent. Amelia, genuinely frightened by her son's behavior, is forced to medicate him. But when Amelia begins to see glimpses of a sinister presence all around her, it slowly dawns on her that the thing Samuel has been warning her about may be real."

ComicBook caught up with Kent to talk the cultural impact of The Babadook, watching the monster become an icon, and whether she could ever revisit that world for another installment.

ComicBook: I was recently looking up the history of Australian horror movies. And, of course, things that come up are Wake in Fright and Razorback and Wolf Creek. One of my personal favorites is Lake Mungo, which is a bit of an outlier. There's such a history or a trend of arid, brutal films. Then your movie pops up and it's just so different from every other Australian horror movie. When you were developing this movie, how did the cultural legacy of genre film from Australia impact your development, either just trying to buck the trend but not wanting to "betray" those sensibilities?

Jennifer Kent: It's interesting that you bring that up, actually, because a lot of them are set outside, aren't they? Australian films? Lake Mungo, to me as well, is one of our best horror movies. I adore that film and I wish that filmmaker would make more films. But, yeah, I guess I was influenced more by the interior, internal films ... I'm thinking Jack Clayton's The Innocents or the [Roman] Polanski horror particularly affected me, and Italian horror. A lot of it was expressionist and crazy and interior and in your head. That's probably what I was looking towards, rather than sticking to my own country and the films that have gone before.

Even as you mention movies that take place outside, even just thinking of The Royal Hotel from last year, that's another one that's incredible and compelling, anchored by two compelling performances and a lot of it is outside.

It makes me want to go outside. Because we do live in a country with huge, vast expanses of open space that, in itself, can be terrifying. Wake in Fright, I remember seeing that and just feeling like -- I was at the Sydney Film Festival because that film was lost for many years and then rediscovered. And so they did a screening at the Sydney Film Festival, and I remember thinking, "Make it stop. I can't stand it." But it really reflects something about the Australian psyche, certainly at that time. I think that's why we're always attracted by the those open spaces, which can be liberating, but also terrifying for people.

I know that the origins of The Babadook, this story, the design of the character, came from London After Midnight. While you were developing it, the name "Babadook" and the design of The Babadook, were those baked-in from pretty early on or can you talk at all about the evolution of how you landed on that name and how you landed on that design, which are now so iconic?

I think it was just a very instinctual thing. I started to think of one thing, I know I was influenced by Georges M?li?s and silent cinema and those early special effects that, we look at now, and they're very charming and hokey in a way. Certainly, Lon Cheney's makeup is as well. There's this old-timey feel to it, which really excited me. I thought that, somehow, is perfect because it feels like a child made it and it feels like it's from a child's imagination. The Babadook enters the film through Sam, because he's the one that's talking about it, enters through a child's book.

These qualities made sense. As to how they played out, I think it's, like anything that you create, one thing, one idea comes and then another comes, and who the hell knows where these ideas come from? Then it just goes to make up what it did as the script started to be developed.

Anytime I talk to someone who's made a movie that has built like a lasting legacy, of course you didn't know the impact this movie was going to have and the resonance it was going to have with the horror audience. But even just compared to some of the other projects that you had worked on at the time, whether it was in the writing, the filming, the editing, the actual release, was there something about it that you felt, "I'm pretty happy with what I've made,"? Did something feel different or unique about The Babadook as compared to some of your other projects?

Definitely. It's worth saying that I'd written six or seven scripts before The Babadook script and I was naive. I thought, "Oh, I'm going to get money to make this film, that film." And, of course, they were all too ambitious in their budget. And, also, I was learning how to write, how to write a script and how to perfect it, but I just actually made a conscious decision, after so many scripts got to a certain point with Screen Australia here and didn't get made, I thought, "I'm going to write a film that is in a house with two characters," and that was the confines that I gave myself, because then I thought, "We can make it for two million, we can make it for a million [dollars], can make it for 330 [thousand]. I just want to make this." And that was our dedication to it. So we did it and we did get support from Screen Australia. I think the budget was $1.6 million, which we were fortunate to have that much money, even.

And then, as a first time filmmaker, you don't know if you're going to get through. Every day is a new experience, terrifying, vomit-inducing terror. And then it was just made, and I felt very happy with it because I had final cut. I'm very adamant as a filmmaker to have authorship of the film. I think if that film was taken away from me, it would have been destroyed, because very late in the editing process, we had a lot of criticism. People hated the film. People who had given us money did not like the film, and it was only because myself and the producers had final cut that we were able to protect that.

Speaking to the movie's legacy, do you remember your initial reaction and where you were, the time and place, when you found out that The Babadook had become a queer icon?

Well, I was at home, I don't know. One of my favorite shows is Drag Race, RuPaul's Drag Race, so I was pretty chuffed about that. I think that, as it started, as the memes started coming, I think that seeing two drag queens talking about The Babadook is my idea of heaven. So I'm actually a big advocate. I bought a series of the rainbow pins, which I'll have to dig out. So yeah, I loved it.

It is such a fulfilling, satisfying story, for as devastating as it is, has there been any interest on your part or pressure from outside sources of, "Maybe you can open up the book of Mister Babadook again?" Or is it, let me get as far away from that as I can because of how perfect of a movie that is?

[Producer] Kristina [Ceyton] and I, we could have made millions out of sequels. Absolutely. Like, no doubt. But we just ... Kristina knew that I didn't want to make a sequel. She knew that when we signed the contracts early on. We were lucky enough to have the rights, which now is really hard for filmmakers. It's often a trade off to give away the rights to you or to any future endeavors in order to get the first one made. But with this just, I just explored what I wanted to say. It just doesn't feel like a ... You know, it could have been, but I think everyone would be really sick of Mr. Babadook by now.

The Babadook returns to theaters on September 19th, and a filmed conversation between Jennifer Kent and two-time Academy Award winner Alfonso Cuar?n will follow each screening.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity. You can contact Patrick Cavanaugh directly on Twitter.

Of all of the portrayals from Fox's X-Men universe of movies, few have become quite as beloved as Kelsey Grammer's Hank McCoy / Beast. The actor first made his debut as the character in 2006's X-Men: The Last Stand, and surprised fans everywhere last year when he showed up in the post-credits scene of The Marvels, which showed Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris) accidentally ending up in a new universe with Beast and an alternate version of her mom, Maria Rambeau / Binary (Lashana Lynch). While speaking to ComicBook about the upcoming second season of Frasier, Grammer hinted that there have been "some conversations" about him returning to the Marvel Cinematic Universe following the positive response to his cameo in The Marvels.

"There's nothing I can talk about," Grammer explained in our interview, which you can check out above. "What I do know is that there was a huge sort of outburst when I showed up at the end of The Marvels, I guess it was. The response was really almost... it wasn't unexpected. There'd be some response, but it was pretty overwhelming, and so there are some conversations."

Will the MCU Return to The Marvels' Post-Credits Scene?

While nothing has been confirmed amid the upcoming multiversal movies Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars, fans have been eager to see if and how the MCU deals with the events of The Marvels' post-credits scene. Earlier this year, Lynch confirmed that she also does not know exactly what her character's future holds.

"I mean, even that sentence, I'm like, 'Am I?'" Lynch replied when asked about Binary being a member of the X-Men. "That's not a sentence that's been put to me at all; we've not had a conversation about that. I dipped in for, I think a day. I think I had one day on that film which is wild for it to be so impactful. I was there for a day because I was on Matilda at the time, so that's wild. I don't know. I don't know. I used to find it a little bit of a hindrance to not know as I like to know what's coming and plan, but I love now that I don't know. I love that I didn't know that was happening. That's something that came across time as a slow plan. Well, for me, anyway. They probably had it planned the whole time. I genuinely don't know what's next, but I think with where the franchise is going, it's naturally going to be exciting. And I'm excited to see where it goes next."

Frasier returns to Paramount+ with two Season 2 episodes on September 19. Additional new individual episodes will follow weekly on Thursdays in the U.S. and Canada.

The four-part miniseries LEGO Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy arrives on Disney+ this weekend, providing a unique take on the Star Wars galaxy that fans know and love. One major player in the episodes is Jedi Bob (Bobby Moynihan), who was originally an unnamed Jedi part of the official LEGO sets for Attack of the Clones, before evolving into a niche fan-favorite. While speaking to ComicBook about LEGO Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy, executive producers and writers Dan Hernandez and Benji Samit spoke about the decision to include Jedi Bob in the special's reality-warping fold.

"Just like Darth Jar Jar was an early idea, that was another early idea," Samit explained in our interview, which you can check out above. "I'm a huge LEGO nerd. LEGO and Star Wars, individually, are my two great loves going back to childhood. So being able to do this with them both together has really been a dream come true. But yeah, early on, I was like, 'Well, if we're doing this like amazing celebration of all things, LEGO Star Wars for the 25th anniversary, you know who the Jedi Master should be? It should be Jedi Bob.' And that was met with a lot of 'Who?' Because some people know, but it's a deep cut. It's definitely a deep cut. And again, to everyone's credit, they were like, 'Yes, that sounds awesome.' It's really been rewarding to see the long-time LEGO Star Wars fans get so excited that Jedi Bob is back."

What Is LEGO Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy About?

In LEGO Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy, the entire Star Wars Galaxy gets completely mixed up when an ordinary nerf-herder, Sig Greebling (Gaten Matarazzo), unearths a powerful artifact from a hidden Jedi temple. He finds himself thrust into adventure in a new, wondrously wild and twisted version of the galaxy where good guys are bad, bad guys are good, and the fate of all depends on Sig becoming the hero who can put all the pieces back together.

The voice cast of LEGO Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy includes Gaten Matarazzo as Sig Greebling, Tony Revolori as Dev Greebling, Bobby Moynihan as Jedi Bob, Marsai Martin as Yesi Scala, Michael Cusack as Servo, Ahmed Best as Darth Jar Jar, and Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker.

LEGO Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy will debut exclusively on Disney+ on September 13th. If you haven't signed up for Disney+ yet, you can try it out here.

Note: If you purchase one of the awesome, independently chosen products featured here, we may earn a small commission from the retailer. Thank you for your support.

The Star Wars galaxy is getting a major remix later this week, with the launch of the Disney+ miniseries LEGO Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy. The animated episodes aim to subvert audience's expectations of the long-running sci-fi franchise, which apparently included folding in some niche or unexpected fan theories. Chief among them might be Darth Jar Jar (Ahmed Best), an evil Sith version of the beloved Gungan, who is brought to life after years of fans suggesting that the character might have a dark side. As LEGO Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy executive producers and writers Dan Hernandez and Benji Samit explained in an exclusive interview with ComicBook, the decision to make Darth Jar Jar a reality was an easy one.

"I mean, it's dream come true," Samit explained in our interview, which you can check out above. "LEGO Star Wars, I don't know if it's fully canon, but it's canon-adjacent, at the very least. That was one of those things where, very early on in these discussions about what this show was gonna be like -- we knew we wanted to rebuild the galaxy, mash things up, and it felt like the perfect opportunity. 'We need to do Darth Jar Jar.' That was one of the first ideas we had where we were just sort of like, 'Do you think we could try this thing?' And to everyone at Lucasfilm and LEGO's credit, they just said yes. Everyone was game for exactly what we wanted to do here. I can think back to us, before we had any success, just hanging out, eating junk food, and theorizing about Dar Jar Jar. And now to say that we made it happen is pretty wild."

What Is LEGO Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy About?

In LEGO Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy, the entire Star Wars Galaxy gets completely mixed up when an ordinary nerf-herder, Sig Greebling (Gaten Matarazzo), unearths a powerful artifact from a hidden Jedi temple. He finds himself thrust into adventure in a new, wondrously wild and twisted version of the galaxy where good guys are bad, bad guys are good, and the fate of all depends on Sig becoming the hero who can put all the pieces back together.

The voice cast of LEGO Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy includes Gaten Matarazzo as Sig Greebling, Tony Revolori as Dev Greebling, Bobby Moynihan as Jedi Bob, Marsai Martin as Yesi Scala, Michael Cusack as Servo, Ahmed Best as Darth Jar Jar, and Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker.

LEGO Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy will debut exclusively on Disney+ on September 13th. If you haven't signed up for Disney+ yet, you can try it out here.

Note: If you purchase one of the awesome, independently chosen products featured here, we may earn a small commission from the retailer. Thank you for your support.

LEGO Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy is headed to Disney+, offering a four-episode animated subversion of the Star Wars world. In addition to featuring alternate takes on characters from across the Star Wars mythos, Rebuild the Galaxy also features the animated debut of Jedi Bob (Bobby Moynihan), a notorious character among LEGO collectors. Originally an unnamed Jedi who was part of the official LEGO sets for Attack of the Clones, the character was subsequently given the name Bob by fans, and will now formally get some backstory. While speaking to ComicBook about LEGO Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy, Moynihan addressed the unique challenge of voicing a character with franchise history, but with no previous canon surrounding him.

"It's really fun," Moynihan explained in our interview, which you can check out above. "I mean, it's pretty unique to get handed something that's been around forever, but never been done before. It was super fun to kind of learn more about him and to get to be a part of that. I'm a huge Star Wars fan. So the fact that I'm Jedi Bob, I get to be a little Jedi Bob. I'm so happy."

"I tried to do Qui-Gon-ish," Moynihan said of finding Jedi Bob's voice. "He's a little, got a little Obi-Wan Kenobi, a little Qui-Gon, but a lot of Danny Glover from Lethal Weapon, where sometimes he's just over it real quickly and drops the fancy. He's acting like a fancy Jedi, but he's just Jedi Bob."

What Is LEGO Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy About?

In LEGO Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy, the entire Star Wars Galaxy gets completely mixed up when an ordinary nerf-herder, Sig Greebling (Gaten Matarazzo), unearths a powerful artifact from a hidden Jedi temple. He finds himself thrust into adventure in a new, wondrously wild and twisted version of the galaxy where good guys are bad, bad guys are good, and the fate of all depends on Sig becoming the hero who can put all the pieces back together.

The voice cast of LEGO Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy includes Gaten Matarazzo as Sig Greebling, Tony Revolori as Dev Greebling, Bobby Moynihan as Jedi Bob, Marsai Martin as Yesi Scala, Michael Cusack as Servo, Ahmed Best as Darth Jar Jar, and Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker.

LEGO Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy will debut exclusively on Disney+ on September 13th. If you haven't signed up for Disney+ yet, you can try it out here.

Note: If you purchase one of the awesome, independently chosen products featured here, we may earn a small commission from the retailer. Thank you for your support.

Todd McFarlane has become a one-of-a-kind component of the comic space, with record-breaking runs on titles and a number of beloved characters under his belt. The latest title to join McFarlane's bibliography is Knights vs. Samurai, a new Image Comics series shepherded by actor and comic writer David Dastmalchian. While speaking to ComicBook ahead of the release of Knights vs. Samurai, McFarlane offered praise for Dastmalchian as a collaborative partner on the project.

"I thought that his idea was a breath of fresh air, away from the norms of sort of spandex superheroes," McFarlane explained in our interview, which you can check out above. "Maybe I'm just showing my age a bit but as I've gotten older, my taste have become way more eclectic. As much as I do enjoy superhero comics, I do plenty of myself. I don't need, nor do I desire a steady diet of it. I'm looking for a little more variety in my reading habits. Plenty of people come and they bring sort of a nice version of another superhero idea. In my mind, I got plenty of superhero ideas I can come up with. I don't need help on that. What I need help on is things that I'm not sort of adept that. So David walked in, gave me this big idea, but was able to condense it down to the humanity of it real quickly. And it wasn't based on his initial story, wasn't he? He didn't focus on the magic and the wizardry of the world, or the creatures of the world. That was sort of in the back back of the conversation. What was way more interesting with the characters?

"When you think about [The] Walking Dead, what makes that work?" McFarlane continued. "Is it really the zombie? They're just a catalyst, right? It's the humanity of what happens when two people, two families, run into each other and there's only one gallon of water, and both families are thirsty. What happens, right? The humanity of people, and in this case, different cultures. So David came in big and strong with all of that and I went, 'Wow.' And that Knights [vs.] Samurai. That was the easy part, visually. I visualized it as soon as he said what the title was. I know it's gonna look, but now how do we get people to care about the characters? David came out and pounded me with it. I was like, 'Man, and they're dressed like knights in samurai.' Done, done."

What Is Knights vs. Samurai About?

In Knights vs. Samurai, Sir Charles Ward, "The Dragon Butcher," has achieved knighthood, acclaim, and is leading a legion of royal warriors on a noble mission, yet his self-doubt and grief haunt him. Venturing to a mysterious island in the Far East, Charles leads his diverse assembly of fighters (including a giant and two clerics) to seek vengeance against savage monsters who ambushed a group of English missionaries. Arrival on the island reveals that the truth may be drastically different from what Charles was led to believe, and the "savage monsters" he will face are actually a regiment of skillful warriors the likes of which he has never seen.

Knights vs. Samurai #1 will be released wherever comics are sold on September 25th.

As both a prolific character actor and a comic creator, David Dastmalchian has played a role in shepherding some intriguing and unexpected stories. Later this month, Dastmalchian will be working with Todd McFarlane and artist Federico Mele on Knights vs. Samurai, a new Image Comics series that is sure to deliver on that front as well. While speaking to ComicBook about the upcoming release of Knights vs. Samurai, Dastmalchian cited working with James Gunn on 2022's The Suicide Squad as one of the shining examples for how he approached the relationships of the series.

"Everything, 100%. And I'm glad you asked that question, because when I was writing this story, up until now, almost all of my screenplays, teleplays, plays and comic books have revolved around one central character, with a couple of important supporting characters. But we're still following a story of a singular character on the hero's journey, which is a form of storytelling we're all very accustomed to. Looking at something like The Last Voyage of the Demeter and a crew. A team of people who may not get along, who don't speak the same language, who are from different cultures, who kind of despise each other. But all of a sudden, having to fight an entity that is bigger than any of them, individually, was certainly influential. But the most important, I would say, was working with someone like James Gunn, who has found this incredible ability, over the years of his storytelling to incorporate an expansive ensemble of characters into a plot. And you absolutely know who each character is, how much you care about them, what you feel about them, their relationship to one another. So I looked back on, not only the time that I got to work with James, but on watching his films and going 'Holy crap. I need to make sure every interaction has weight, has meaning.'"

"You go, 'Well, what is there? They're just on the same team? No, I need a dynamic relationship between these characters, otherwise it's not gonna mean anything,'" Dastmalchian continued. "I could give a million examples but there's so much influence. And every great filmmaker I've worked with. A storyteller like Todd understands that you can dress the set, you can paint the page with the most badass muscly, gory clashes of Katanas and broadswords and nunchucks and throwing stars against spears, crossbows. It doesn't amount to a hill of beans if the reader doesn't give a crap about the characters, and doesn't care about their relationships."

What Is Knights vs. Samurai About?

In Knights vs. Samurai, Sir Charles Ward, "The Dragon Butcher," has achieved knighthood, acclaim, and is leading a legion of royal warriors on a noble mission, yet his self-doubt and grief haunt him. Venturing to a mysterious island in the Far East, Charles leads his diverse assembly of fighters (including a giant and two clerics) to seek vengeance against savage monsters who ambushed a group of English missionaries. Arrival on the island reveals that the truth may be drastically different from what Charles was led to believe, and the "savage monsters" he will face are actually a regiment of skillful warriors the likes of which he has never seen.

Knights vs. Samurai #1 will be released wherever comics are sold on September 25th.

David Dastmalchian has developed a unique reputation in the world of comic book adaptations, appearing in everything from The Dark Knight to The Flash television show to the Ant-Man films. For a number of DC fans, Dastmalchian's most-beloved role is Abner Krill / Polka-Dot Man, the infamous villain who became a scene-stealing part of James Gunn's 2021 film The Suicide Squad. With Gunn now co-running DC Studios, there has naturally been the question of whether or not Dastmalchian will factor into the new DC Universe in some capacity -- and now, we have a bit of an answer. While speaking to ComicBook about the upcoming Image Comics series Knights Vs. Samurai, Dastmalchian addressed the possibility of being a part of the DCU, either through reprising his Polka-Dot Man role or taking on a new part entirely.

"I have not had any conversations with James about coming back," Dastmalchian said in our interview, which you can check out above. "We so rarely get to connect. He's the busiest person. He's busier than even Todd McFarlane. He's the busiest person I know in storytelling, so when we do connect, it's mostly just talking about personal, life stuff. But that being said, getting to become Abner Krill was one of the great greatest roles of my career. I don't know how he would exist in the post events. But maybe some kind of, maybe, 'How is Polka-Dot Man born?' That's a fun story. I don't know. But no, I would love to find my way back onto a James Gunn set. I don't know how it will happen or where, but working with him was one of the most incredible experiences of my acting career. For sure."

What Is on the DC Universe Slate?

The initial DC Studios slate will include 2025's Superman, 2026's Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, and currently-undated movies The Brave and the Bold, Swamp Thing, and The Authority. It will also include the HBO Max television shows Waller, Booster Gold, Lanterns, Paradise Lost, and an animated Creature Commandos series. Reports have indicated that a live-action Teen Titans movie and an animated Jurassic League movie are in the works at DC Studios, although neither have been publicly confirmed.

"A lot of people think it's going to be Marvel 2.0, and definitely I learned a lot of stuff at Marvel. I think that we have a lot of differences," Gunn explained in 2023. "We are telling a big, huge, central story that is like Marvel, except for, I think that we're a lot more planned out than Marvel from the beginning because we've gotten a group of writers together to work that story out completely. But we're also creating a universe that is like Star Wars, where there's different times, different places, different things, or Game of Thrones, where characters are a little bit more morally complex."

Knights vs. Samurai #1 will be released wherever comics are sold on September 25th.

The Killer's Game director J.J. Perry revealed what his favorite stunt sequence in the movie was. ComicBook sat down with the filmmaker to talk impressive action in The Killer's Game. Perry singled out a moment in the church as one to watch for when checking out his movie. Apparently, the crew wasn't supposed to use a lot of pyrotechnics in that filming location. But, they managed to make it through without drawing the attention of authorities or other interested parties. Interestingly, Perry says that things like the romance in this movie or getting comedy beats down were harder prospects on The Killer's Game. Check out our exclusive interview up above and read what the director had to say right here.

"So we shot the movie in 42 days. It's a very fast shoot and I have an amazing action team with me. With, Justin Yu, Troy Robinson and Felix Betancourt. The motorcycle sequence was badass, because those are trick riders from the X Games," Perry shared. "That was a lot of fun. All the fights were super cool. I'm trying to think... I don't think there was anything that was difficult. So for me, the hard part was getting the love story and the comedy, right? Like, action is my neighborhood man. I've been there for 34 years. It's like I can close my eyes and know where I'm going. So, yeah, I don't think there's anything that I was like, 'Oh, I didn't say a Hail Mary' for."

The director continued, "When we were shooting in that church, we weren't actually supposed to do a bunch of pyro. So, I just ask for forgiveness. That might have been the only time I had to get a Hail Mary. But, I was near a Catholic church. So, I could just go in and confess and get forgiveness."

What Is The Killer's Game About?

Lionsgate has a quick synopsis of the movie: "In the new action-comedy The Killer's Game, when top hitman Joe Flood (Dave Bautista) is diagnosed with a terminal illness, he decides to take matters into his own hands - by taking a hit out on himself. But when the very hitmen he hired also target his ex-girlfriend (Sofia Boutella), he must fend off an army of assassin colleagues and win back the love of his life before it's too late. Lionsgate presents, a Mad Chance & Endurance Media production, in association with Dogbone Entertainment, K. Jam Media and Lipsync."

Do all of the stunts look amazing? Catch all of our pop culture discussion at @ComicBook on social media!

DC Comics is entering a bold new era with endless possibilities, and it all begins in October's much anticipated DC All In Special #1. The special lives up to its namesake in more ways than one, as it not only deals with the direct aftermath of Absolute Power #4, but also then delivers an epic story that will set the stage for the core universe and the Absolute universe moving forward, and all in flipbook form. One side of the story is being handled by Scott Snyder (Absolute Batman) and Wes Craig (Deadly Class), while the other side is handled by Joshua Williamson (Superman) and Daniel Sampere (Wonder Woman), and both stories will run parallel but will also interact until their inevitable collision. ComicBook had the chance to speak to Snyder, Williamson, and Sampere all about creating this new unified world that expands the toybox while also retaining the legacy DC fans hold dear, and what eventually led to this All In era.

Embracing Everything

"The goal is to celebrate every kind of superhero storytelling at once. You know, I was lucky enough in my decade plus of DC to be part of a couple of really awesome initiatives. One, the New 52 was all about new things and sort of reinventing the heroes from the ground up and inviting in readers that wanted reimaginative takes. Another, Rebirth, was about celebrating this great incredible tapestry of continuous storytelling that we've had, this epic kind of collective story, possibly in centuries. So each one was a big success but they had sort of totally different sensibilities. and sometimes during the time that I was at DC, it felt like those those sort of sensibilities were in conflict," Snyder said. "But my belief and the belief of I think most creators and editors and everybody there was that if we could do both of those things together at the same time, we'd have an incredible seismic moment and initiative that embraced all kinds of readers. Continuing, new. People that are hungry for really daring, different takes. People that love the classic takes, and people that just want big epic storytelling."

"And and that is the thing that I'm most excited about with all of this is just being able to approach it in a very different way than we've done in the past. Trying to find a ways to make all these things work, but then it's also been, we call it the core line side, but when it comes to the DCU side, it's really fun to watch creators come in and try new ideas, try to take as Scott likes to say big swings," Williamson said. "And then watching Scott work on the Absolute side, working with him on that side and watch him come in with new ideas, and that was what a big part of our goal was with this, was to make it so it didn't feel like, the thing we did not want to do is be like this is a new side, this is the old side. That was very important to us to really distinguish that's not what we were doing. It was about taking both sides and really embracing all the cool new stuff we could do for both and do something really special with them, and I think that's been part of the fun of it."

"And if we were going to do this big initiative, it all had to begin with a story, and the story had to be big and grandiose but also really simple. It had to be something that would invite in new readers and also sort of, you know, speak to this incredible legacy of storytelling that I think long time readers are used to," Snyder said.

Enter Darkseid

While there are many looming threats in the DC Universe, few if any are on the level of Darkseid, and Snyder and Williamson wanted to take that idea even further. "And so we started planning this story that would be about Darkseid. Darkseid is the villain that for both me and Josh always felt like he is sort of the core, the core antagonist of the entire DCU," Snyder said. "I think over the last few years, he's had some fantastic stories from you know 15 years ago I can't believe it's that long almost but Final Crisis to you know the Darkseid War, all these different ones, but we felt like maybe it was time to do something with him where he leveled up.

"What Superman represents about Hope and doing things together, Darkseid is about despair, entropy, and chaos really, and doing things on his own," Williamson said. "That's something interesting about Darkseid, because like normally Darkseid represents order and has always been about order, but this new, I don't want to call him new, but after what Darkseid has been going through the last few years, now instead of embracing order he's beginning to embrace chaos and you're gonna see that in this special on that side."

A World of Heroes

"And then ultimately what we're doing in the superhero side is to say the opposite. Say the thing that we believe is the the premise of the entire initiative. It's to survive and thrive, you have to embrace everyone. The Justice League is bigger all of a sudden, it's the Justice League Unlimited. It invites every hero in. It's supposed to be a new way of doing it, where the connectivity, the collectivism, all of it says, look, everyone is a part of this and with these, the heroes eventually are going to have to sort of figure out their relationship to this brand new world with new heroes that they don't even recognize as themselves in some way. All of it needs to come together to defeat Darkseid eventually. You have to embrace all kinds of Heroes, all kinds of Storytelling all kinds of superhero comics," Snyder said.

"So on the one hand, it's a it's a huge epic cosmic, you know, crescendo of things, and it will guide the DCU for the next year or couple of years honestly at least, but in another way it's a mission statement. The story itself is about how we need to embrace all kinds of superhero storytelling and remind everyone why Comics has always been said to be dying but can overcome any threat because of the amazing stuff that happens between these pages and all of the passion of the fans and the creators and the retailers, and everybody that's a part of this community," Snyder said.

Making It Special

While there are two stories playing out in the flipbook format, they are still intricately connected, and will also obviously run into each other by book's end. They will also directly connect at times throughout the story, something that the team paid a lot of attention to as the story developed.

"You're going to see that these stories are independent of each other but they run parallel with each other and they interact with each other. Even though they're separate, they interact with each other, and so, that was really tricky to be like, there were times where Scott was like, well, I want to add this page in this sequence, and I'm like, well, if you do that, that means you have to move this scene over here because of this on the other side. So it really was a lot of logistical stuff," Williamson said.

"And then giving it to both Wes and Daniel, and Daniel and I would do the same thing we did on Dark Crisis. We would get on Zooms, we'd talk some stuff out, and Daniel was really killing the pages, and there were times where I would have to... there's one page in particular where I had to go into Photoshop and be like I have no idea how I'm going to explain this so I'm just gonna try and draw it and we did it while we're on the Zoom. I literally drew it on the Zoom and then handed it to Daniel and Daniel was like 'ooohhh', and then knocked it out. Daniel and Alejandro did a dope job with some of the weirder stuff we try to pull off at this issue. It gets pretty crazy," Williamson said.

"This page in particular, I'm pretty sure that this has never done before, at least I've never seen something like that, and I think it's quite an accomplishment these days to do something in comic books that is absolutely new, and I'm pretty sure this has never been done before in a page, so I think people will will like it," Sampere said.

One of a Kind

The flipbook nature of the story also makes this a perfect fit for the comic store experience, as while fans can get the whole story digitally if they prefer, there is something truly special about heading to the comic store and reading the physical copy.

"And actually, that's something about this special that I find really interesting. Me and Daniel were signing at San Diego Comic-Con when I realized something. One of the things that I love about the flip book is is that it is something you kind of have to read in print," Williamson said. "Like if you read it digitally you can still get the story, but you're not going to get the same effect if you read it in print. I think it is something that is an experience to be read, and so it is something that you need to go into your comic shop and pick it up to actually see how it is and how it works and why it's a flipbook. And the amount of work we put into it so you can have that experience, it's really the best way to read it is in the flipbook form and like pick it up from your comic book store."

The flipbook style did pose some challenges along the way, and Sampere had actually never worked on that style of book to this point. Seeing the final version now, that's hard to believe, and he remembers when he first got the email about it.

"When I read the first email with the cover idea I was like, I've never heard of a flipbook before. I didn't know what was that, and the pitch was like you need to make a double cover, but it needs to work like in regular view, and upside down at the same time, and I was like, what? (laughs). It's been challenging and super fun from the beginning," Sampere said.

You can read the DC All In Special when it hits comic stores on October 2nd.

Are you excited for All In? You can talk all things comics with me on Threads and Twitter @mattaguilarcb!

Drew McIntyre is making his big screen debut. The former WWE Champion stars opposite Dave Bautista in The Killer's Game, a new action comedy that revolves around Bautista's Joe Flood, a veteran assassin, attempting to fend off a hit he placed on himself upon realizing he was given an incorrect terminal medical diagnosis. McIntyre follows in the footsteps of the likes of Seth Rollins and Liv Morgan, two active and full-time WWE superstars that landed roles in Captain America: Brave New World and The Kill Room, respectively. McIntyre has no ambitions to leave acting in the rear view after The Killer's Game, as he has expressed interest in continuing the craft while he maintains full-time status within WWE.

Drew McIntyre Seeks Highlander Reboot Role

The Scottish Warrior wants to venture to the 16th century Scottish Highlands.

Speaking to ComicBook during The Killer's Game press junket, Drew McIntyre entertained the idea of being cast in the upcoming Highlander reboot.

"I'm not saying it's a layup, but I'm saying it's pretty much a layup," McIntyre said, alluding to his Scottish heritage. "So let's see what happens. It's like, here's the ball, here's an open net, are you going to kick it in or not?"

Highlander chronicles the story of Connor MacLeod, a 16th century Scotsman who discovers he has immortality after suffering what was thought to be a mortal wound by Kurgan. MacLeod spends the next couple of centuries training for a rematch with Kurgan, this time with a mythical prize on the line.

The original Highlander was released in 1986 to divisive reviews and a mediocre box office performance. The film began to gain cult classic attention in the subsequent years, and its popularity spawned both a live-action television show as well as an animated series.

After 15 years of development, Lionsgate officially moved forward with a Highlander reboot in October 2023. Henry Cavill was cast as MacLeod and Michael Fassbender is said to be in the running for the film's antagonist. The reboot is expected to kick off filming in early 2025.

McIntyre is currently preoccupied with a blood feud against CM Punk in WWE. The two have split victories, with McIntyre getting the W at WWE SummerSlam while Punk got his win back at WWE Bash in Berlin. McIntyre and Punk are expected to complete their trilogy of matches next month at WWE Bad Blood.

The Killer's Game hits theaters on Friday, September 13th.

The Guardians of the Galaxy franchise undeniably left a mark on Marvel Cinematic Universe viewers, introducing a ragtag band of cosmic misfits across James Gunn's three movies and a holiday special. After the release of last year's Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, fans have been curious to see if and how the saga's ensemble cast will grace the screen again, either in the MCU or in Gunn's new effort in the DC Universe. While speaking to ComicBook about his new film The Killer's Game, which features a brief Guardians reunion with Mantis actress Pom Klementieff, Drax actor Dave Bautista addressed the possibility of working with more of his former castmates once again in the DCU.

"I hope so, yeah," Bautista explained in our interview, which you can check out above. "That's kind of my goal. I really want, because I've done another project outside of Guardians with Karen Gillan, and I've done work with Pom now. I would like to work with Chris and Zoe outside of the Marvel Universe, as well."

"Yeah. Of course," Bautista said when asked about that crossover potentially happening in the DC Universe. "As I've said, and I've been very open to that. I guess it just has to be the right part. But I'm very open to it, and I love James and I would do anything to work with him."

Who Would Dave Bautista Play in the DC Universe?

At the moment, Bautista has not been officially cast for a role in the DCU, although fans have already begun to campaign for him playing everyone from Bane to Hugo Strange. While speaking to ComicBook earlier this year, Bautista revealed that he hadn't officially had any conversations with Gunn on the subject, but was very excited for the possibility.

"I would love to work with James again, whether it's DC Universe or not. I just love James Gunn. He's an incredible director and we have a camaraderie that's priceless," Bautista said at the time. "So to work with him again? I mean, I'd do it for free. But, we just haven't had the conversations. He's on top of DC now. He's doing his thing. I'm trying to grind along in my processing. But, I'm always open-minded too and I've expressed that to him."

The Killer's Game hits theaters on Friday, September 13th.

Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2 is taking its Harfoot characters on the biggest journey of their lives - and you better believe there will be danger on the path to get there. When the second season begins, Elanor "Nori" Brandyfoot (Markella Kavenagh) was striking out East with her wizard buddy The Stranger (Daniel Weyman) to find the land of Rh?n; after three episodes of Season 2 story (Mild Spoilers), Nori and The Stranger had been joined by Nori's best friend Poppy Proudfellow (Megan Richards), and had run afoul of The Dark Wizard (Ciar?n Hinds) and his band of skull-masked wasteland raiders. If that is just the beginning of the troubles this traveling band of small and tall folk will encounter - what could be next?

During the press day for The Rings of Power Season 2, ComicBook got the chance to ask actresses Markella Kavenagh, Megan Richards, and actor Daniel Weyman about what kind of danger will spring up in this side of Rings of Power's multi-faceted storyline:

"I thing for Nori it's more [that] she's very aware that the journey she's about to embark on at the end of Season 1 is going to be a challenging one, and she can't have any expectations. And so the amazing thing about of being with The Stranger is that she's helping him, but she's going to also find out what her purpose is. So this is completely unfamiliar terrain; she's never been this exposed, she's never been without her family before. So it's almost like someone when you first leave home: it is that exciting yet really overwhelming, nerve-wracking feeling for her and you just see encounters some really fun other characters, and that furthers her along."

Rings of Power Season 2 Episode 4 "Eldest" certainly makes good on that as (Mild Spoilers) Nori and Poppy come to meet their 'cousins' the Stoors, who are living a very different kind of life out in the desert lands of Rh?n. That meeting instantly changes the two young Harfoots' perception of several things - from family to love to destiny.

"Yeah I think there's... lot's of individual growth storylines for [Nori, Poppy and The Stranger], but they sort of do it side-by-side" Megan Richards added. "And I think that's a lovely theme for them."

The Rings of Power Season 2 is streaming on Prime Video.

Sasheer Zamata and Ali Ahn are two of the newest additions to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Zamata is both an actor and comedian, with a successful run on Saturday Night Live on her resume. Ahn's resume goes less comedic, with roles in Billions, Orange Is the New Black, and the superhero-focused Raising Dion. All these parts lead to Agatha All Along, where Zamata and Ahn play witches in Agatha Harkness' coven. Kathryn Hahn plays the titular character in Agatha All Along and is now a veteran of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but now fans get to find out how Zamata and Ahn feel about joining the MCU.

ComicBook spoke to Sasheer Zamata and Ali Ahn ahead of the premiere of Agatha All Along. We asked their opinions on the MCU and if they were fans before heading into the Disney+ series. "I have been a fan of the MCU for a really long time, and this was a dream of mine, and to be able to enter it in this show is amazing. I also really like witches, so yeah, it really is the perfect story," Zamata said.

"I couldn't have dreamed up a better way to enter, yeah," Ahn said, to which Zamata replied, "It really is my dream job." You can watch the interview in the player above.

Marvel exec reveals how they settled on Agatha All Along title

Fans that have kept up with Kathryn Hahn's Agatha All Along will know that the show teased fans with several fake names before an official title was revealed. There was Agatha: House of Harkness, Agatha: Coven of Chaos, and Agatha: Darkhold Diaries, with a meme-filled Agatha: The Lying Witch With Great Wardrobe also tossed into the mix. One of the heads of Marvel's television output gave some insight into the decision to go with Agatha All Along.

"Well, it was always Agatha All Along. We were like, 'It's going to be Agatha All Along.' And then someone was like, 'You know what? We should just come up with a bunch of different titles to mess with the audience.' It started with like, 'We'll do it as a fake chairback.' And they were like, 'Oh, we'll actually do it as a fake announcement.' And it just went back and forth until it just got more and more ludicrous," Winderbaum said.

What is Agatha All Along about?

The infamous Agatha Harkness finds herself down and out of power after a suspicious goth Teen helps break her free from a distorted spell. Her interest is piqued when he begs her to take him on the legendary Witches' Road, a magical gauntlet of trials that, if survived, rewards a witch with what they're missing. Together, Agatha and this mysterious Teen pull together a desperate coven, and set off down, down, down The Road...

The series stars Kathryn Hahn, Joe Locke, Sasheer Zamata, Ali Ahn, Maria Dizzia, Paul Adelstein, Miles Gutierrez-Riley, Okwui Okpokwasili, Debra Jo Rupp, Patti LuPone, and Aubrey Plaza.

The two-episode premiere of Agatha All Along is September 18th on Disney+.

One of the creative minds behind Marvel's output on Disney+ reveals how they settled on the name of Kathryn Hahn's Agatha All Along. The series brings Hahn back as the evil witch Agatha Harkness, the antagonist of WandaVision. Agatha All Along debuts this month, and the Marvel Marketing Machine is in full overdrive. Fans may remember how the Agatha-centric show had a couple of different titles before the name "Agatha All Along" was officially revealed. How did Marvel Studios settle on Agatha All Along and not one of the other names like Agatha: House of Harkness, Agatha: Coven of Chaos, or Agatha: Darkhold Diaries? Let's find out.

ComicBook spoke to Brad Winderbaum, Head of Streaming, Television and Animation at Marvel Studios ahead of the launch of Agatha All Along. We asked Winderbaum whose idea it was for the show's title changes, and how Agatha All Along became part of the running bit of constantly teasing Marvel fans with multiple names.

"Well, it was always Agatha All Along. We were like, 'It's going to be Agatha All Along.' And then someone was like, 'You know what? We should just come up with a bunch of different titles to mess with the audience.' It started with like, 'We'll do it as a fake chairback.' And they were like, 'Oh, we'll actually do it as a fake announcement.' And it just went back and forth until it just got more and more ludicrous," Winderbaum said. You can watch the interview in the video player above.

Kathryn Hahn gathers her coven in Agatha All Along clip

The Agatha All Along clip begins with Joe Locke's mysterious Teen revealing a "Welcome Coven" sign to Agatha inside a home. "Does this look centered to you?" the Teen asks. Not easily impressed, Agatha rips the sign down as they are interrupted by Jennifer Kale (Sasheer Zamata). Jennifer is the first member of the coven to arrive, and the Teen offers her some pre-road appetizers in the form of old granola bars. Next, we meet Lilia Calderu (Patti LuPone), who recognizes Jennifer as the "high priestess." Finally, the last to arrive is Alice Wu-Gulliver (Ali Ahn), who is an ex-cop.

What is Agatha All Along about?

The infamous Agatha Harkness finds herself down and out of power after a suspicious goth Teen helps break her free from a distorted spell. Her interest is piqued when he begs her to take him on the legendary Witches' Road, a magical gauntlet of trials that, if survived, rewards a witch with what they're missing. Together, Agatha and this mysterious Teen pull together a desperate coven, and set off down, down, down The Road...

The series stars Kathryn Hahn, Joe Locke, Sasheer Zamata, Ali Ahn, Maria Dizzia, Paul Adelstein, Miles Gutierrez-Riley, Okwui Okpokwasili, Debra Jo Rupp, Patti LuPone, and Aubrey Plaza.

The two-episode premiere of Agatha All Along is September 18th on Disney+.

The series premiere of Agatha All Along is right around the corner, and Marvel fans are excited to see what the Disney+ show brings for Kathryn Hahn's Agatha Harkness. Among the ensemble cast of Agatha All Along is Rio Vidal actress Aubrey Plaza, who co-starred on the later seasons of NBC's Parks and Recreation with Hahn. While speaking to ComicBook ahead of the premiere of Agatha All Along, Hahn reflected on that unlikely reunion with Plaza, and teased that the onscreen rapport between them is "juicy."

"Oh, I mean, I remember Mary and Jac were like, 'We're thinking...' And I was like, 'Yes, yes, yes,'" Hahn explained in our interview, which you can check out above. "I was so excited because we didn't really have the chance to work together in Parks and Rec. We were kind of ships in the night. But this was like, I knew it would be juicy. And the fact that we just got to work on something so juicy, not just comedy, was, I think so fun for both of us."

What Is Agatha All Along About?

In Agatha All Along, the infamous Agatha Harkness finds herself down and out of power after a suspicious goth Teen helps break her free from a distorted spell. Her interest is piqued when he begs her to take him on the legendary Witches' Road, a magical gauntlet of trials that, if survived, rewards a witch with what they're missing. Together, Agatha and this mysterious Teen pull together a desperate coven, and set off down, down, down The Road...

In addition to Kathryn Hahn, Agatha All Along stars Joe Locke, Sasheer Zamata, Ali Ahn, Maria Dizzia, Paul Adelstein, Miles Gutierrez-Riley, Okwui Okpokwasili, with Debra Jo Rupp, with Patti LuPone, and Aubrey Plaza. The executive producers are Kevin Feige, Louis D'Esposito, Brad Winderbaum, Mary Livanos and Jac Schaeffer. The directors for the series include Jac Schaeffer, Rachel Goldberg and Gandja Montiero.

Agatha All Along will debut exclusively on Disney+ on September 18th. If you haven't signed up for Disney+ yet, you can try it out here.

Note: If you purchase one of the awesome, independently chosen products featured here, we may earn a small commission from the retailer. Thank you for your support.

The Front Room is heading to theaters this weekend, and the new film was helmed by Max Eggers and Sam Eggers, the younger brothers of The VVitch and The Lighthouse director, Robert Eggers. The Front Room stars Brandy Norwood (Descendants: The Rise of Red) as Belinda and Kathryn Hunter (Poor Things) as Solange. In the film, Belinda is a new mother who must deal with her mother-in-law, and the duo don't exactly get along. ComicBook previously spoke to the Eggers Brothers about casting Norwood and Hunter, and they compared Belinda to Cinderella. Of course, Norwood played the titular role in Disney's 1997 version of Cinderella. We also spoke to Norwood and brought up Belinda's similarities to Cinderella.

"Oh my God," Norwood replied when we mentioned the Cinderella comparison. "She didn't get the prince at the end," she joked about The Front Room. "She didn't get the fairytale ending. But she was definitely doing everything she could for Solange and taking care of her and trying to save her family, save her marriage, fighting for her life in every scene, trying to find her dignity, her integrity."

"It was a ride for her," she added. "The control and the manipulation on her life was just unbelievable. So I can see in that regard, she was very much like Cinderella, but I just didn't get the prince at the end."

You can watch our interview with Norwood at the top of the page.

What Is The Front Room About?

You can read the description of The Front Room here: "Everything goes to hell for newly-pregnant Belinda (Brandy) after her mother-in-law (Kathryn Hunter) moves in. As the diabolical guest tries to get her claws on the child, Belinda must draw the line somewhere..." The film also stars Andrew Burnap and Neal Huff.

The Eggers brothers also talked to ComicBook about casting Brandy in the role of Belinda.

"It's funny," Eggers began. "We were looking for our wicked stepmother, and then we found her, but what we always needed was a Cinderella. And yes, of course, Brandy is a scream queen. I Still Know What You Did Last Summer is in my unconscious. But Cinderella, certainly, we are theater kids, we've been in many productions of Cinderella, and you needed somebody that you wanted to root for immediately."

"And I think us telling this tale ... Who is that that comes to your mind? It's Brandy. And so, when she was willing to go through this kind of thing, because that was challenging. It wasn't so much the same thing about Solange, but finding somebody who'd be willing to go through that, who wanted to be stretched in that way. And she just was such a shining light for us when we actually got to work with her."

"And she was very committed to the role," Sam added. "And I think, just like with Kathryn's and Solange's wild behavior, you needed that foundation with Brandy in Belinda. And she's in every single scene, and she was willing to go there and do anything we asked of her. And you can't ask more from an actor."

The Front Room hits theaters on September 6th.

Agatha All Along is heading to Disney+ later this month, and fans are expecting it to have some interesting television connections like its predecessor, WandaVision. While WandaVision paid tribute to sitcoms throughout the decades, the trailer for Agatha All Along makes it seem like Agatha Harkness (Kathryn Hahn) is living the life of a main character in a cop show. In fact, Joe Locke previously posted a set photo featuring a chair with the title Agnes of Westview, which is clearly a play on Mare of Easttown. However, Marvel has another interesting connection to Mare of Easttown, which we recently brought up in our interview with Agatha All Along creator, Jac Schaeffer.

Back when WandaVision was nominated for multiple Emmys in 2021, the Marvel show lost some of the big awards to Mare of Easttown. Kate Winslet beat Elizabeth Olsen for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or a Movie and Julianne Nicholson beat Kathryn Hahn for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie. Evan Peters, who also appeared in WandaVision, won Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie for his role in Mare of Easttown.

"Sorry. What? Yeah, sorry, we broke up there for a second, even though we're in person," Schaeffer joked when we asked if Agatha All Along was poking fun at Mare of Easttown because WandaVision lost Emmys to the HBO drama. "Truthfully, we were on that awards journey with that team. I'm very friendly with the showrunner of that show, the creator of that show, and the idea of doing a true crime procedural episode predates Mare of Easttown."

"But it certainly put a finer point on my idea and felt it had that sort of cheekiness that Agatha has. Just sort of be like, 'Oh, we were maybe in competition with this thing, and so maybe we'll do this thing over here,'" Schaeffer continued. "You're the only one, you're the only one who saw that."

"But it is entirely out of respect," she added. "And Evan Peters is in Mare of Easttown, and I adore him. I think he's a tremendous talent. So I love that show and everything in WandaVision and in Agatha All Along, whatever illusions, whatever pop culture pieces we're bringing in, it's out of love. So that's what we were doing there."

You can watch our interview with Schaeffer at the top of the page.

What Is Agatha All Along About?

In Agatha All Along, the infamous Agatha Harkness finds herself down and out of power after a suspicious goth Teen helps break her free from a distorted spell. Her interest is piqued when he begs her to take him on the legendary Witches' Road, a magical gauntlet of trials that, if survived, rewards a witch with what they're missing. Together, Agatha and this mysterious Teen pull together a desperate coven, and set off down, down, down The Road...

In addition to Kathryn Hahn, Agatha All Along stars Joe Locke, Sasheer Zamata, Ali Ahn, Maria Dizzia, Paul Adelstein, Miles Gutierrez-Riley, Okwui Okpokwasili, with Debra Jo Rupp, with Patti LuPone, and Aubrey Plaza. The executive producers are Kevin Feige, Louis D'Esposito, Brad Winderbaum, Mary Livanos and Jac Schaeffer. The directors for the series include Jac Schaeffer, Rachel Goldberg, and Gandja Montiero.

Agatha All Along premieres September 19th. Stay tuned for more from our Agatha All Along interviews.

It's been a great week for MCU fans as Marvel Studios continues to share Agatha All Along content ranging from mysterious trailers to fun horror posters. ComicBook recently had the chance to chat with some of the folks involved with the WandaVision spinoff, including the show's stars and producers. While speaking with producer Mary Livanos, who previously worked on WandaVision and The Marvels, we brought up the fan theories that ran rampant during the WandaVision era and asked if fan speculation inspired any moments in Agatha All Along. We also asked about The Marvels' post-credit scene and if we would see more from it in the future, but Livanos wasn't giving anything up.

"I can say that we were all very delighted by all the fan theories that came out over the course of WandaVision, some that we were very surprised by ourselves," Livanos shared. "So I think, of course, as always fans will have to tune in to find out, and unfortunately that's all I can say about that."

"I think fans and myself will have to tune in to find out," she reiterated when asked about a follow-up to The Marvels' post-credit scene."

You can watch our interview with Livanos at the top of the page.

Will Elizabeth Olsen Be in Agatha All Along?

With Joe Locke rumored to be playing the son of Wanda Maximoff, many are wondering if Elizabeth Olsen will be showing up in the new show. While there's no official word on whether or not Olsen is returning to the MCU, many fans suspect she'll be popping up in Agatha All Along.

It was previously announced that nine actors from WandaVision would be returning for the upcoming series. In addition to Kathryn Hahn in the titular role, the series will also feature WandaVision's Emma Caulfield, Debra Jo Rupp, David Payton, David Lengel, Asif Ali, Amos Glick, Brian Brightman, and Kate Forbes. MCU newcomers include Aubrey Plaza, Joe Locke, Sasheer Zamata, Eric Andre, Ali Ahn, Maria Dizzia, Miles Gutierrez-Riley, Okwui Okpokwasil, and Patti LuPone.

Olsen recently teased her MCU return despite previously saying she wasn't involved with the new Disney+ series.

"I don't know ever how to answer these questions except I don't... I think I'll be back," Olsen said with a laugh while speaking with Deadline at SXSW. While she could have just been referring to the greater MCU, the question did seem to be specifically about Agatha, so hopefully, this means we'll be seeing Wanda in Westview once again.

What Is Agatha All Along About?

In Agatha All Along, the infamous Agatha Harkness finds herself down and out of power after a suspicious goth Teen helps break her free from a distorted spell. Her interest is piqued when he begs her to take him on the legendary Witches' Road, a magical gauntlet of trials that, if survived, rewards a witch with what they're missing. Together, Agatha and this mysterious Teen pull together a desperate coven, and set off down, down, down The Road...

In addition to Kathryn Hahn, Agatha All Along stars Joe Locke, Sasheer Zamata, Ali Ahn, Maria Dizzia, Paul Adelstein, Miles Gutierrez-Riley, Okwui Okpokwasili, with Debra Jo Rupp, with Patti LuPone, and Aubrey Plaza. The executive producers are Kevin Feige, Louis D'Esposito, Brad Winderbaum, Mary Livanos and Jac Schaeffer. The directors for the series include Jac Schaeffer, Rachel Goldberg, and Gandja Montiero.

Agatha All Along premieres September 19th. Stay tuned for more from our Agatha All Along interviews.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians is setting sail on its sophomore season. Following the smash success of Season 1, the serialized adaptation of Rick Riordan's best-selling books is currently in production on its next batch of episodes, this time covering the events of the second story in the core Percy Jackson pentalogy, The Sea of Monsters. Similar to how Percy Jackson Season 1 brought The Lightning Thief to life, Percy Jackson Season 2 promises to be faithful to the sequel's source material but will not be a 1:1 adaptation. The series regulars from Percy Jackson Season 1 are confirmed to be back but it remains to be seen as to how many recurring players will suit up for Season 2.

Adam Copeland Addresses Percy Jackson Season 2

Will the God of War return for Percy Jackson and the Olympians Season 2?

Speaking to ComicBook, Aresactor Adam Copeland noted he has read The Sea of Monsters book but has yet to scan any official Percy Jackson Season 2 scripts.

"No, no, I haven't read like scripts or anything," Copeland noted. "I read the book obviously, but outside of that, no."

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Copeland appeared as Ares in three episodes of Percy Jackson Season 1, serving as one of the show's primary antagonists. Just as the events of The Lightning Thief go, Ares was defeated by Percy and angrily returned to Mount Olympus, warning the son of Poseidon that he had made an "enemy for life" out of him.

On the page, Ares shows face briefly in The Sea of Monsters, appearing before his daughter Clarisse La Rue (played by Dior Goodjohn in the Disney+ series) and demands that she emerge successful on her upcoming quest.

Copeland surprised the Percy Jackson cast during the show's San Diego Comic-Con panel in July but did not specify whether or not he would be returning for Season 2. While his sequel status remains pending, Copeland emphasized to ComicBook that his recent wrestling injury will not impact whether or not he can film.

"Once I got the clearance to walk, I just started walking. I didn't tiptoe, I got walking. You give me that clearance to walk, I'm going to walk. I'm going to walk my dog, I'm going to walk to the grocery store, I'm going to walk on the treadmill," Copeland said regarding his actively-healing broken foot. "The good thing about Percy is the physicality isn't like wrestling. Even the battle on the beach with Percy, I can pull off right now."

Percy Jackson and the Olympians Season 2 is currently in production. Copeland made two appearances on ComicBook Nation's Riptide Radio - A Percy Jackson Aftershow, earlier this year. You can watch him discuss his debut episode here and his finale fight scene here.

Becky Lynch's future in professional wrestling is uncertain. Big Time Becks' career did multiple 180 degree flips over the past couple of months, as she was first defeated by then-WWE Women's World Champion Rhea Ripley at WWE WrestleMania 40 but captured that title weeks later after a freak shoulder injury forced Ripley to vacate the title. Lynch would lose the title in her first premium live event defense, as Liv Morgan bested her at WWE King and Queen of the Ring in May. Lynch fell short in her title rematch the following week on WWE Monday Night Raw and has not been seen on WWE TV since. Her contract reportedly expired on June 1st.

Becky Lynch is "Not Revealing Much" Regarding WWE Future

Don't expect to hear much about Becky Lynch's wrestling future before a public decision is made.

Speaking to ComicBook ahead of the WWE Speed Women's Championship Tournament, Lyra Valkyria noted that Lynch is "keeping her cards close" when it comes to revealing details about her next steps in professional wrestling.

"I think Becky is off, she's keeping to herself," Valkyria said. "She's keeping her cards close, she's not revealing much, so who knows what she's going to do next."

Valkyria and Lynch have a storied history in WWE NXT, having teamed together on one occasion in September 2023 before feuding over the NXT Women's Championship. Valkyria defeated her fellow Irishman to win the NXT Women's Title the following month and reigned with the gold for the next six months.

The two women crossed paths once again following this year's WWE Draft, as Valkyria was selected by WWE Monday Night Raw, the same brand that Lynch was champion of. Lynch gave Valkyria a pep talk ahead of her Queen of the Ring semifinal match against Iyo Sky and shared another backstage segment with her the following week on what remains her final WWE appearance.

There is no word on when Lynch is looking to return to wrestling nor if that wrestling return will even happen in WWE. AEW star Chris Jericho has acknowledged that there is "buzz" about Lynch jumping ship to All Elite Wrestling but there remains nothing substantial to the speculation.

"Five years ago, Becky would have no other options. [I'm] not saying that she's coming, but there is an option," Jericho said in May. "Who knows what could happen? No one thought that I would come to AEW, no one thought that Moxley would come, or Bryan Danielson, or Adam Cole, or any of these guys that have come over. It's exciting for the fans and it's exciting for the wrestlers and the talent because now, suddenly, there's a bidding war that benefits us."

WWE Speed is expanding. The short-form in-ring series debuted after WWE WrestleMania 40, pitting male WWE superstars against one another in contests with three-minute time limits. Airing exclusively on X (formerly known as Twitter), WWE Speed is WWE's latest experiment with digital media, as the sports-entertainment giant already has exclusive programming across platforms like YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram. WWE Speed has already reached significant success, as the series is generating around 1.5 million viewers per episode. That success has prompted WWE to double down on its WWE Speed divisions, as the company is set to introduce a WWE Speed Women's Championship in the coming weeks.

Lyra Valkyria Discusses WWE Speed Women's Title Tournament

One of those competitors vying for the new WWE Speed gold is Lyra Valkyria. The Dublin native is set to compete in the inaugural WWE Speed women's match when she takes on IYO SKY in the first round of the WWE Speed Women's Championship Tournament.

Speaking to ComicBook, Valkyria detailed that her strategy going into this three-minute time limit is aided by her already established technical style.

"I think you have to look at it differently in the sense that there's no time to wear your opponent down. There's a lot more urgency," Valkyria said. "I feel like my personal style actually suits this tournament a lot because I'm quite technical. You just have to get your opponent's shoulders on the mat for three seconds, and I feel like my style is pretty well suited to do that."

Valkyria is no stranger to bracket-style competition. The former WWE NXT Women's Champion competed in the Queen of the Ring tournament earlier this year, defeating Dakota Kai, Zoey Stark, and IYO SKY before falling short to Nia Jax in the finals.

"It's a very different style tournament," Valkyria compared the upcoming WWE Speed Women's Championship Tournament to the Queen of the Ring. "Especially with having three minutes to get a job done. Normally you've got time to wear your opponent down, incapacitate them, or try hit your signature stuff, but this is a whole new mental game. It has different kind of strategy, a different mindset going in. It's pretty different ball game to the Queen of the Ring tournament."

A new era of #WWESpeed is here. @Real_Valkyria and @Iyo_SkyWWE compete in the first match of the first-ever WWE Speed Women's Championship Tournament TODAY, 12pm ET / 9am PT exclusively on @X. pic.twitter.com/G6CYZughLy

-- Triple H (@TripleH) September 4, 2024

The WWE Speed Women's Title will be the fourth female championship on WWE's main roster, joining the WWE Women's Title, the WWE Women's World Championship, and the WWE Women's Tag Team Titles. Rumors have swirled that WWE could be looking to bring a midcard women's prize into the fold soon, and those rumblings were amplified by the introduction of the NXT Women's North American Championship for the company's developmental brand.

"I think so," Valkyria responded when asked if the WWE Speed Women's Title could fill the women's midcard title gap on the main roster. "It's definitely going to provide an opportunity for a lot of women in the locker room that are looking to step up. Even if you look at the first round matches, you just don't know [who could win]. Maybe some women are more suited to trying to get the job done in three minutes and we could see people getting that chance to show what they can do that wouldn't normally be in the spotlight."

Valkyria battles IYO SKY on WWE Speed today, September 4th, at 12 PM ET, airing exclusively on X.

We're just a couple of weeks away from the arrival of Agatha All Along on Disney+ and while Marvel fans are excited for the latest installment of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, there is one aspect of the WandaVision spinoff in particular that they are already buzzing and theorizing about -- Joe Locke's mysterious character known only as "Teen". There are already plenty of fan theories about the character, with many hoping the character turns out to be Billy Maximoff, but now Locke himself is opening up about the struggle of playing a character that is such a mystery that they've even hidden the character's name.

Speaking with ComicBook, Locke affirmed that even though there is mystery to the character, in Agatha All Along, they really do call him Teen -- and that keeping the secret of who Teen really is has been a real struggle because he wants to talk about all the amazing things the show has to offer, things that only work if the secrets are kept.

"It's really woven into the show and everyone's like, no," Locke said of the character being called Teen. "I'm like, 'No. I mean it. It's genuinely [the character].'"

He continued, "It's frustrating sometimes because I want to talk about all the amazing things in the show, but also the amazing things in the show are only amazing if the secrets are kept until they're supposed to be. The reveals and the twists and the turns are only effective if they're kept."

Kathryn Hahn, who plays Agatha chimed in and confirmed that the twists and turns are significant: "There's a lot," she said.

Locke Has Previously Teased His Mysterious Character

Locke has previously spoken about his character's name and how it develops into a joke during the series. He's also teased a bit about what fans can expect from the character.

"It's not a fake code name; it's what everyone calls him, which is a joke that develops during the show, but just becomes what everyone calls him, and he answers to it."

He added, "He's very thoughtful and kind but he can kind of act without thinking sometimes. The Witches' Road offers untold spoils and power... and then we'll find out."

Hahn Explains How Agatha All Along Changed During Development

While Agatha All Along has plenty of mysteries to unfold for viewers, one thing that isn't a mystery is how the series changed during development. Hahn told ComicBook that WandaVision and Agatha All Along are "living, breathing organisms" and that they had to be very flexible while making the latter.

"These two shows were such living, breathing organisms. I had a movement teacher, the incredible Wesley Fata, who would say to us, 'Champions adjust.' And that became a catchphrase between all of us -- you always had to be very flexible, because it really did shift," Hahn said. "And so, you couldn't even hold onto something very tightly. But I knew that the base arc, the important stuff, the emotional goal posts, were firmly in place. So, the difference between reading it on the page and seeing it almost two years later was so minimal."

What is Agatha All Along About?

Here's how Marvel describes the new show: "In Agatha All Along, the infamous Agatha Harkness finds herself down and out of power after a suspicious goth Teen helps break her free from a distorted spell. Her interest is piqued when he begs her to take him on the legendary Witches' Road, a magical gauntlet of trials that, if survived, rewards a witch with what they're missing. Together, Agatha and this mysterious Teen pull together a desperate coven, and set off down, down, down The Road..."

"In addition to Kathryn Hahn, Agatha All Along stars Joe Locke, Sasheer Zamata, Ali Ahn, Maria Dizzia, Paul Adelstein, Miles Gutierrez-Riley, Okwui Okpokwasili, with Debra Jo Rupp, with Patti LuPone, and Aubrey Plaza. The executive producers are Kevin Feige, Louis D'Esposito, Brad Winderbaum, Mary Livanos and Jac Schaeffer. The directors for the series include Jac Schaeffer, Rachel Goldberg and Gandja Montiero."

Agatha All Along premieres September 19th.

The Disney+ corner of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is continuing to take shape, according to the producer of Agatha All Along. The series features the return of Kathryn Hahn as Agatha Harkness, the evil witch who was the antagonist in WandaVision. It was the first Marvel Studios series developed for Disney+ and brought back Wanda Maximoff and Vision, after the latter died in Avengers: Infinity War. While we have Agatha All Along to look forward to this month, a series starring Vision is already in the pipeline, and it will have connections to WandaVision.

ComicBook spoke to Agatha All Along producer Mary Livanos ahead of the series release on Disney+. When asked what is on Livanos' plate after she's done with Agatha All Along, she teased her work on what's being referred to as Vision Quest.

"Well, I can say that, and I think this has been... I'm looking around for confirmation. I think it's been announced that Vision Quest is in development," Livanos said. "So I'll be lucky and thrilled to be back on that. Very early days though. But we'll pick up after the events of WandaVision as well." For those that don't remember, WandaVision ended with White Vision gaining the memories of the original and flying off to places unknown, most likely to digest everything it learned. Vision Quest will probably follow White Vision as he looks to carve a new path for himself as a hero.

James Spader returning as Ultron for Marvel's Vision Series

In a surprise move, it's being reported that James Spader will reprise his voice role as the villain Ultron in Vision Quest. Fans last heard James Spader as Ultron in Avengers: Age of Ultron, where he was the main antagonist against Earth's Mightiest Heroes. Ultron was ultimately killed by Vision at the end of the movie, but any comic book fan knows that there's always a way around death, and Spader and Ultron appear to be on the rebound.

A spinoff focused on Bettany's White Vision was first reported to be in the works in 2022. WandaVision head writer and executive producer Jac Schaefer was reportedly assembling a writers' room, only for Schaefer to instead run the Agatha All Along spinoff starring Kathryn Hahn as the Westview witch. In 2023, listings on the Writers' Guild of America website revealed that Megan McDonnell (WandaVision) and Peter Cameron (Moon Knight) were among the writers tapped for that version of the show, but it's unclear if they're still involved with Matalas' Vision series.

What is Agatha All Along about?

The infamous Agatha Harkness finds herself down and out of power after a suspicious goth Teen helps break her free from a distorted spell. Her interest is piqued when he begs her to take him on the legendary Witches' Road, a magical gauntlet of trials that, if survived, rewards a witch with what they're missing. Together, Agatha and this mysterious Teen pull together a desperate coven, and set off down, down, down The Road...

The series stars Kathryn Hahn, Joe Locke, Sasheer Zamata, Ali Ahn, Maria Dizzia, Paul Adelstein, Miles Gutierrez-Riley, Okwui Okpokwasili, Debra Jo Rupp, Patti LuPone, and Aubrey Plaza.

Agatha All Along premieres September 18th on Disney+.

WandaVision was the first Marvel Studios series to hit Disney+ back in 2021, and the show has become a fan-favorite among MCU fans. The series is also getting some spinoffs with Agatha All Along debuting on the streaming site later this month. It was also recently confirmed that a spinoff about Vision starring Paul Bettany would also be dropping in 2026. Agatha All Along creator Jac Schaeffer was originally listed as the showrunner for the Vision series, but Variety reported in May that Terry Matalas would be taking on the role. ComicBook had the chance to chat with Schaeffer in honor of Agatha All Along's upcoming release, and we asked if she was still involved with the Vision show.

"I'm not," Schaeffer confirmed. "I so wish them well. Paul's a dear friend and he's an extraordinary person. He owns this character, so I'm not involved, but I'm entirely rooting for it."

You can watch our interview with Schaeffer at the top of the page.

James Spader Returning as Ultron For Vision Series:

While Schaeffer may not be coming back for the Vision show, James Spader is set to return as Ultron, the villain he previously voiced in Avengers: Age of Ultron. There are also rumors circulating that the show could feature Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch.

Ever since Wanda supposedly died in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (we're not buying it), fans have been eager to find out when she would be popping up next. There have been many calls for a Scarlet Witch solo movie, but fans are just happy rumors of her return are circulating. Many believe she might make a cameo in Agatha All Along considering nine actors from WandaVision are returning for the upcoming series.

Olsen recently teased her MCU return despite previously saying she wasn't involved with the new Disney+ series.

"I don't know ever how to answer these questions except I don't... I think I'll be back," Olsen said with a laugh while speaking with Deadline at SXSW. While she could have just been referring to the greater MCU, the question did seem to be specifically about Agatha, so hopefully, this means we'll be seeing Wanda in Westview once again.

Stay tuned for more from our interviews with the cast and producers of Agatha All Along and for news about the upcoming Vision series. Agatha All Along premieres on Disney+ on September 19th.

IDW's relaunch of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles set records before the first issue even arrived, and series scribe Jason Aaron has only put his stamp on one turtle so far. Next week will see the release of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #2, an issue focusing on Michelangelo with art by Rafael Albuquerque, but will also mark the final order cutoff date for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #3, the upcoming Leonardo-centric issue featuring art by Cliff Chiang (Wonder Woman, Paper Girls). Following that, November will see the release of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #4, a Donatello-focused story that has Chris Burnham (Batman Incorporated, Doom Patrol) delivering the art.

Ahead of the final order cutoff dates for both of those upcoming issues, ComicBook sat down with Cliff Chiang, Chris Burnham, and Jason Aaron to talk all things Turtles, their influences on the issues they drew, and how they're trying to keep the franchise fresh for its 40th anniversary. For Chiang and Burnham, the decision about which turtle they wanted to draw in the series' first four issues was a very easy one.

"When Brian K. Vaughan and I were working on Paper Girls, he was saying that every quartet kind of breaks down into one of the Beatles or one of the Turtles," Chiang said. "I ended up being the Leonardo of the group, just being maybe the most responsible, I guess. So I have an affinity for him, as the erstwhile leader of the turtles, although the others might disagree. I thought it was interesting to follow his journey and see what he's up to."

For Burnham, his interest in Donatello went even further, citing the Donatello Mico-Series from Mirage Studios as one of the first 50 comics he ever bought.

"Probably have read that comic a million times," Burnham added. "There's that whole text piece in there explaining who Jack Kirby is and why they made this comic, and apparently never read it ever as a kid. I was so old before I realized it was a Jack Kirby tribute."

Wearing their influences on their sleeve has been a part of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles brand since Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird have always been open about the influence of Frank Miller's Daredevil on the series. For Chiang, Burnham, and Aaron, that influence still runs deep.

"I think everything I was trying to do with the Turtles and really kind of who I am as a comic book fan and who I am as a comic book writer, came through that same lens that was forging the Turtles back in that period," Aaron said. "The mid-80s was when I first became a ravenous comic book reader, where I went from pulling random things off the spinner rack to, 'Okay, I got to read every issue of this book and that book,' and Frank Miller's Daredevil was a part of that. Dark Knight Returns was a massive part of that. I think so much of the comic stuff, the action movies of the time that were inspiring Turtles in such a huge way, I was scarfing all that stuff up, right? Like Saturday morning cereal, I was devouring all of it. And I think that that kind of made me the writer that I am today."

Chris Burnham found inspiration from a different Miller title within his Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles issue, adding: "There's a particular kick in the face that when I started thumbnailing, I just pictured this amazing kick from a Sin City. I guess it's in A Dame to Kill For, when the main dude kicks the millionaire guy in the face and kicks him into the bookshelf...I just smelled that kick as I was trying to draw on this particular page."

Chiang added that the Frank Miller-Klaus Janson work on Daredevil was such a major inspiration for him in his issue that he went back and re-read their entire run ahead of starting his penciling.

"I re-read all those issues to try and just get back into the mindset of, being a fan at that time, and what Eastman and Laird might have been thinking about when they're creating their books," Chiang said. "And once I read Jason's script, it just had that feel, the narration and the action just really brought me back to those roots. So I wanted to just steep myself in all the Daredevil storytelling. I'm trying to use a lot of those compositional tricks and things that they were doing at the time to get across some of the feel and the excitement, and meld that with the turtles and my take on it."

When it comes to those action scenes, and making Turtles fighting ninjas still look cool some forty years later, Cliff Chiang and Chris Burnham both took the approach of just grounding it in the respective characters that their issues focus on. For Chiang's Leonardo issue, it was all about focusing on the stillness around the character himself, how action happens around him.

"He's so in control of things. So he's kind of like this Zen samurai master," Chiang added. "I tried to keep him as still as possible, and the action happens around him, and that's where all the Miller-Jansen Daredevil stuff comes in, because you're trying to show almost sequentially from panel to panel, how just a second later how things are different... He just looks so badass in the issue, because he's just taking people down looking like he's not breaking a sweat."

For Burnham, the Donatello he's drawing isn't exactly himself. As readers saw in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Alpha #1 story, he's found himself in a dangerous place where humans pay good money to fight and beat on mutant animals. Donatello is the only one that willingly accepts the challenges though.

"A lot of this issue is Donnie just kind of absorbing pain while he's thinking his way out of this impossible puzzle," Burnham said. "And he's basically been stripped down to to nothing. Like he doesn't even have his bo staff with him. So he's just a Turtle in a cloak just biding his time. He doesn't get to really explode fully out into his full Turtleness until maybe the end."

Writer Jason Aaron has made it clear that his series picks up from the conclusion of the last Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series from IDW, a decision that surprised many considering how many comic books wipe the slate clean with frequency. Despite that, Aaron confirmed he has about the "same level" of creative freedom he had at Marvel or DC when it comes to using characters that may have appeared before. The flagship Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles book is just one of a few titles that all exist in the same continuity (which also includes Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Nightwatcher, written by Juni Ba; and TMNT Mutant Nation, written by Tom Waltz). Aaron confirmed that the trio all talk about their plans, and that all three have made all their comics feel unique.

"I think the books have different feels and different focuses and can be using different characters," Aaron said. "But we all want them to feel very much like different pieces of a whole, so they will be connecting together. We all talk and plan things out together, and so I think you'll see more connectivity between those books as we move forward, but it's definitely about giving people as many kind of different flavors of the Turtles' world as we can, and that'll include, again, continuing that huge wealth of characters that that's been built up by by Tom and Sophie over the last 150 issues."

Writing the flagship Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series during the 40th anniversary of the franchise isn't a task that Aaron takes lightly. It's one of the reasons he wants to get the series back to its roots of gritty action comics. The series scribe noted that even though he's bringing the Turtles back to that gritty tone, readers should still expect brand new stories and situations that the Turtles haven't experienced. One thing they shouldn't expect a lot of? Cowabungas.

"I guess technically I've deployed one so far," Aaron said when we asked how he knows when to use the signature phrase. "Issue two (has a 'cowabunga'), but it's in Japanese, so it's written in kanji. So I guess I just spoiled that. Mikey's the star of a TV show called Super Mutant Ninja Power Go... The first page of the issue is the opening credits of the show and you get a Japanese cowabunga while he's surfing and twirling nunchucks...That's probably the only one you'll get."

You can find the full solicits and cover art for the two issues of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles drawn by Cliff Chiang and Chris Burnham below!

TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES (2024) #3
(W) Jason Aaron (A/CA) Cliff Chiang
Leonardo is traveling the world in search of peace. All the adventures-good and bad-he's had with his brothers have taken their toll, and he is seeking a new way to exist, leaving the life of New York far behind. On the banks of the Ganges, he has found a turtle colony that shows him a simpler way to be, but even these turtles have their foes. Leo can fend off the poachers easily, protecting his temporary home, but what will he do when a deadlier enemy comes searching for him?Continuing this new run of stories by legendary comics scribe Jason Aaron (The Mighty Thor, Batman: Off-World), each of these first four issues focus on one Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle. In the Leonardo issue, Jason is matched with fan-favorite artist Cliff Chiang (Paper Girls, Catwoman: Lonely City), whose unique style is a perfect match for this unique TMNT story!
In Shops: Oct 23, 2024
SRP: $4.99

TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES (2024) #4
(W) Jason Aaron (A) Chris Burnham (CA) Rafael Albuquerque
Chris Burnham returns to art duties this issue as we finally learn the fate of Donatello! Trapped in a mutant zoo and forced to fight rich men looking for a thrill, his mind is still broken since last we saw him. As mysterious forces gather against him, can Donnie gather himself to defeat these enemies and set himself free? Superstar writer Jason Aaron continues his exploration of the individual Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, setting the stage for their reunion.
In Shops: Nov 27, 2024
SRP: $4.99

Agatha All Along is debuting later this month, and fans know from the trailers that Agatha Harkness (Kathryn Hahn) is headed down an adventure on The Witches' Road. The ionic location was first introduced in James Robinson's Scarlet Witch (Vol. 2) #3 in 2016, and served as an important part of Wanda Maximoff's story. In the comic, the road is a place only sorcerers can tread, and Wanda takes the path with Agatha - who is now a ghost - by her side. Of course, fans expect The Witches' Road's MCU appearance to be quite different. First of all, there's been no indication that Elizabeth Olsen will be showing up in the series as the Scarlet Witch. Second, we last saw Agatha very much alive in Westview at the end of WandaVision. ComicBook recently had the chance to chat with Agatha All Along creator, Jac Schaeffer, and we asked about the choice to use a big Wanda storyline for Agatha.

"Yeah, of course, we're in the WandaVision universe," Schaeffer explained when we asked what it was like taking such an important part of Wanda's story and removing her. "We're in that corner of the MCU sandbox, but this is very much, as you say, Agatha's show. She would not have it any other way. And she's my focus and our focus. And so yeah, the launch of this is all about, 'Who is this woman really?' And she is a mystery unto herself. And I love to make these puzzle box shows and to focus it on Agatha... Yeah, it's all there."

Elizabeth Olsen Wanted The Witches Road in the MCU:

Back in 2022, ComicBook interviewed Elizabeth Olsen for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and she said she had hoped the MCU would include The Witches' Road in the future.

"I think fans usually have the best ideas and I genuinely don't know where we go from here and what the limitations are of the MCU because I don't follow what their plans are," Olsen explained. "I feel like the fans always know what the plans are, even when they're not announced. And so, I don't. I do have this image.... There are a few images in my head of, I think they're from 'Witches Road,' as she's aging and decaying, while using her power and there's something in that, this older woman, who's aging from her power, that I'm interested in. And I don't really know what that means, but I kind of would love to be old."

While chatting with Kathryn Hahn ahead of the release of Agatha All Along, we brought up our previous interview with Olsen and asked if Hahn had spoken to her about the details of the spinoff.

"I actually don't know if she knows, but we texted yesterday," Hahn revealed during D23 weekend. "I texted her to be like, 'Oh, I'm thinking about you nonstop. I love you.' Because she was such good introduction and welcome to this world. So it was really sweet to have a connection on the eve of all this press. But I don't know if she knows about it. I don't know what she knows about the show."

"I think Mary [Livanos] and Jac [Schaeffer] were sending her photos during production," Hahn added.

Agatha All Along premieres September 19th. Stay tuned for more from our Agatha All Along interviews.