Spider-Man is one of the few Marvel heroes with a supporting cast and rogues gallery wide enough to support an entire cinematic universe. And that's exactly what Sony has been trying to launch. Even as Tom Holland fans await word on where the actor will play Spidey again, Sony continues to release films in its Spider-Man Universe. Madame Web and Morbius came, went, and will never be forgotten, Aaron Taylor-Johnson is starring in the upcoming Kraven movie, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is getting another sequel after Across the Spider-Verse, and the live-action series Silk: Spider Society and Spider-Man Noir series are in the works.

To help make sense of the many Spider-Man-adjacent movies in the works, we're breaking down every Sony Marvel movie that's either been officially announced or rumored to be in development. Check out the slideshow gallery below or scroll down to get the scoop on Spidey's cinematic future.

Spider-Man Spin-Off Movies

Here's a quick bullet list of all the movies and TV shows that are in various stages of development:

• Venom: The Last Dance (a.k.a. Venom 3) - October 25, 2024
• Kraven the Hunter - December 13, 2024
• Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse (In Production) - Date TBD
• Tom Holland Spider-Man Sequels (In Development) - Dates TBD
• Silk: Spider Society Series (In Development) - Date TBD
• Spider-Man Noir Series (In Development) - Date TBD
• El Muerto (Status Unknown/Possibly Dead)
• Untitled Female Cast Into the Spider-Verse Spin-Off (Status Unknown/Possibly Dead)

Read on for more details on each project.

Venom: The Last Dance (a.k.a. Venom 3) (October 25, 2024)

Status: In Production

A third Venom movie is in the works, but little is known about it at this time. Sony officially announced the film at CinemaCon in April, 2022. In February of 2023, Tom Hardy revealed that Venom 3 was in pre-production. In July, 2023, Sony announced that the film has a release date of July 12, 2024 (which was later pushed to November 8, 2024, and then October 25, 2024). Check out what Spider-Man: No Way Home means for the future of Venom here.

Kraven the Hunter (December 13, 2024)

Status: In Production

Sony is shining a spotlight on Kraven the Hunter. One of Spider-Man's oldest rogues, Kraven is a skilled hunter who sets his sights on Spider-Man after conquering all other prey in the animal kingdom. He's also the central antagonist in the seminal comic storyline Kraven's Last Hunt, which could easily serve as a source of inspiration for the movie. Richard Wenk (The Equalizer) and the team of Art Marcum and Matt Holloway (Iron Man) wrote the screenplay. Triple Frontier director J.C. Chandor is directing the film, which will star Avengers: Age of Ultron's Aaron Taylor-Johnson as Kraven. Christopher Abbott, Alessandro Nivola, and Russell Crowe have also been cast in the film.

Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse (Date TBD)

Status: In Production

The third Spider-Verse film is called Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse (dropping the Part One and Part Two from the Into the Spider-Verse sequels' titles that had previously been announced). Obviously Across the Spider-Verse, the second film in the series, leaves a lot of questions that will need to be answered in Beyond. Beyond the Spider-Verse was expected to be released on March 29, 2024, but in July of 2023, Sony changed several of its slate's release dates, including this film. It currently does not have a date. Learn more about the Spider-Verse here.

Tom Holland Spider-Man Sequels (Dates TBD)

Status: In Development

It's a little unclear when the next appearance of Tom Holland's wallcrawler will come. When Sony and Marvel made a new deal in 2019 to continue to share the character, which allowed No Way Home to be made, an MCU crossover film was also said to be part of that agreement. What that crossover film might be is unclear, however.

As for future solo films, during No Way Home's press tour, producer Amy Pascal said that the thinking is that there will be at least three more Spider-Man films starring Tom Holland. It should be noted, however, that has not yet been confirmed by Sony or Marvel.

Silk: Spider Society Series (Date TBD)

Status: In Development

A more recent addition to Spider-Man's world, Silk is a heroine who was bitten by the same radioactive spider that gave Peter Parker his powers. Resurfacing after a decade spent locked in an underground bunker, Cindy Moon has followed the example of Spider-Man and become a costumed superhero. Cindy has actually made small appearances in Spider-Man: Homecoming and Avengers: Infinity War (played by Tiffany Espensen). But we assume the role will be recast for any new Silk project.

Silk was originally announced as a movie, but has since evolved into a series that will air on MGM+ and Prime Video (the first in a new partnership between Sony, MGM and Prime Video). Into the Spider-Verse's Angela Kang will serve as showrunner, and the series will follow Cindy's origin story as she escapes imprisonment, comes to terms with her powers and seeks out her missing family.

Spider-Man Noir Series (Date TBD)

Status: In Development

Following the announcement of Silk: Spider Society, word came that Spider-Man Noir is the second series to come about from Sony and Prime Video's new partnership. The Spider-Man Noir series is a live-action show set in this Depression-era version of the Marvel Universe, though Peter Parker himself reportedly won't be the main character.

Spider-Man Noir is being developed by Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse producers Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, and 22 Jump Street writer Orien Uziel, who will write and executive produce. Steve Lightfoot (Netflix's The Punisher) was hired in December, 2023, as co-showrunner and executive producer with Uziel.

El Muerto

Status: Unknown/Possibly Dead

At CinemaCon 2022, Sony announced El Muerto, a Spider-Man spin-off movie starring musician, producer, actor, and wrestler Bad Bunny as the title character. El Muerto is a wrestler with superpowers whose mask and abilities are passed down from generation to generation. The film was reported to have a release date of January 12, 2024, at that time, and yet as of April, 2023, filming had still not begun and Bad Bunny's publicist said the film was "at a standstill" only to later clarify that it was "in development." On June 21, 2023, a Sony press release said that the film had moved to a TBD date. And in September, 2023, Bad Bunny seemed to tell Vanity Fair that he had dropped out of the film. Hmmm...

Untitled Female Cast Into the Spider-Verse Spin-Off

Status: Unknown/Possibly Dead

An Into the Spider-Verse spin-off featuring an all-female cast was said to be in the works at one point, with Spider-Gwen expected to make her return. Other characters like Spider-Girl, Spider-Woman, Madame Web, Silk and even Black Cat might've been featured. Not much has been heard of this project since it was first revealed in 2018, however, and it seems likely to have died on the vine (web?).

Unrealized Projects

There has been a host of rumored or reported Spider-Man spinoff movies over the years that have never actually gotten made. Along with Venom, one of the earliest Spider-Man spinoff movies Sony pursued was Silver & Black, a team-up film featuring mercenary Silver Sable and master thief/occasional Spider-Man love interest Black Cat. While Sony went as far as hiring director Gina Prince-Bythewood (The Secret Life of Bees) and dating the film for a February 2019 release, it was eventually canceled. Last we heard, the studio was reworking Silver & Black into solo movies for the characters, though it's unclear if there's any movement on these projects at this point. In 2020, reports indicated that Black Cat and Silver Sable might become TV projects for Sony instead.

Variety reported in March 2018 that director Spike Lee was in talks to direct a Nightwatch film, though Lee has since said he is not attached. The vigilante hero wears a durable nanotechnology costume that enhances his strength by stimulating his adrenal glands, but apparently is not capable of getting him out of development hell.

Another fairly recent addition to the Spider-Man universe, Jackpot has often fought alongside Spider-Man in defense of New York City. When she was first introduced, readers were led to believe she was actually Mary Jane Watson in disguise. Instead, it was eventually revealed that Jackpot is an identity used by two different women - genetic researcher Sara Ehret and her admirer, Alana Jobson. It was reported in August 2018 that a Jackpot movie was in development, and in 2020 further news came that Marc Guggenheim was writing the screenplay. No cast or director have been revealed so far and this one also seems unlikely to happen at this point.

Sony Pictures Entertainment execs clearly have plans for the Marvel characters they have the rights to. “We have the next seven or eight years laid out as to what we’re going to do with that asset, and that will not only be on the film side -- it’ll be on the TV side,” said Sony Pictures Entertainment chairman Tony Vinciquerra. “Our television group will have its own set of characters from within that universe that we will seek to develop.” Of course, that was in 2019, so we're already five years into his seven...

Could the Olivia Wilde-directed Spider-Woman movie that was reported on in 2020 still be in the works? Or the Roberto Orci-scripted Marvel project that was also rumored that year? How many of the projects already reported on fall under Vinciquerra's plans, or have been dropped by now? Madame Web probably already knows, but for the rest of us, time will tell.

Which of the Spider-Man spin-offs are you most looking forward to? Let's discuss in the comments!

Note: This story originally ran in August, 2018. It was updated with the most recent information available on April 29, 2024.

With the Fallout TV series topping 65 million viewers to become one of the most watched Prime Video shows ever, the pressure is on for more content set in the wasteland, and Bethesda is seemingly ready to oblige.

In a new interview with Kinda Funny Games, director Todd Howard appeared to tease two unannounced Fallout projects, saying, "We look at what we are doing with the [Fallout] franchise and then we say do we still feel good about — I can't reveal it now — but here is our runway for Fallout as a franchise."

He continued, "When is Season 2 happening. What are we doing on mobile. What are we doing in [Fallout 76]. What are we doing with this thing. What are we doing with this other thing. And when are these landing. And again if I could snap my fingers and have them all be out and ready I would. But the main thing is how do we deliver these at a high quality level. That is always most important."

Howard's oblique comments appear to suggest that at least two projects are in development, though it's unclear what they might be and when they'll be released.

One of the projects may be the Fallout 3 Remaster revealed in the documents accidentally published by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which also leaked an Oblivion remaster and other projects. The remaster did not have a formal date, but appeared to be targeting financial year 2024, which ends in June.

Howard has also said that Fallout 5 will be arriving sometime after Elder Scrolls VI, and that he has a "one-pager" for the project. With Elder Scrolls VI seemingly still in pre-production, though, Fallout 5 may not appear until 2030 or later.

In the meantime, Bethesda recently released the long-awaited Fallout 4 next-gen update, which stirred controversy by breaking various key mods among other issues. Bethesda also confirmed that those who own Fallout 4 via the Playstation Plus Collection do not get the next-gen update for free.

One way or another, demand for Fallout is higher than ever thanks to the success of the show, and Bethesda is seemingly doing its best to keep up. Elsewhere, we talked to Howard in our own interview, where he clarified some of the big questions about Fallout's timeline among other issues. For more, check out our complete guide to Fallout's official timeline as well as everything we know about Fallout 5.

Kat Bailey is IGN's News Director as well as co-host of Nintendo Voice Chat. Have a tip? Send her a DM at @the_katbot.

It's official: Fallout is a hit for Prime Video. The streamer revealed that the television adaptation topped 65 million viewers in first 16 days, making it the second most-watched title ever on the service and the biggest since Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.

Prime Video shared the relevant stats in an official release, claiming among other things that it's the most-watched show among adults age 18-34 on the service. Its numbers have already propelled it to the top of Prime Video's charts, topping even popular mainstays like The Boys.

Fallout debuted to strong reviews and more than a little controversy over the timeline in early April. Season 2 has already been confirmed, and we already know a bit about where it will be set and what iconic monster will be making its debut.

In the meantime, Fallout's viewership seemingly adds fuel to the growing sentiment within Hollywood that video games are the new superheroes. Last year, The Last of Us was a big hit for HBO, and Nintendo found huge success at the box office with Super Mario Bros. Numerous other video game adaptations are now in the works, from Borderlands to God of War. Even Knuckles has his own show now (though some fans are at odds with how little the echidna actually appears).

For more, check out our full interview with Todd Howard and Jonathan Nolan, who answer all of our burning questions about the Fallout TV series and more.

Kat Bailey is IGN's News Director as well as co-host of Nintendo Voice Chat. Have a tip? Send her a DM at @the_katbot.

Cyberpunk Edgerunners Season 2 from Netflix, Studio Trigger, and CD Projekt Red is up in the air right now, but an expansion for tabletop role-playing game Cyberpunk Red will expand upon the lore of its beloved characters.

As reported by Dicebreaker, the Cyberpunk Edgerunners Mission Kit will act as a standalone starter set for the TTRPG when it's released later in 2024 but also reveal more about Lucy, Rebecca, and other fan favorites.

The lore is authentic too, coming straight from Edgerunners creator Rafał Jaki when creating RPG stats for the anime characters. Players won't take on the roles of these characters themselves, however, but instead meet them throughout the course of the story.

Seven pregenerated characters will be provided for players, letting them explore Night City with their own Edgerunners crew before the events of the anime.

These could be the last morsels of lore fans will get for the cast of Edgerunners as a second season is yet to be announced despite the first premiering to great critical reception in 2022. The show even sparked a resurgence in the Cyberpunk 2077 video game that saw upwards of one million players jumping in each day.

CD Projekt Red's Japanese community manager Satoru Honma said in October 2022 that there are no plans to continue the show, however, saying Edgerunners was intended to be a standalone work. This comes as the Cyberpunk franchise expands elsewhere, into books, comics, and even a mysterious live action project.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.

Revered by critics and fans alike, the Fallout TV Show on Amazon Prime Video is a certified hit and has already been renewed for a second season. We already know a few details about the follow-up season, but while we wait for any other snippets of information, fans of the show may be interested in checking out the official Fallout Series Original Soundtrack Vinyl release. It's up for preorder now, $29.98 at Amazon (see here), shipping by June 14, 2024. It's a double LP, colored just like the iconic blue-and-yellow vault jumpsuits, and features 21 tracks (including the franchise’s iconic theme).

Here's the bad news. Unfortunately, it is just the original score, and won't include any of those retro classics that are now synonymous with the Fallout games and now the TV series as well. We all love to bop along to these hits while playing the games, but we might have to contain our excitement to a Spotify playlist for now.

If you're still excited to check out the original score by Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon’s Ramin Djawadi, we've included some convenient preorder links above. Additionally, a friendly reminder: when you preorder, you won't be charged until the vinyl ships out in the summer. Given the potential popularity of this preorder, it might be wise to secure your order early. Remember, you can always cancel if you change your mind. And with Amazon's preorder price guarantee, you'll pay the lowest amount possible regardless of any price drops.

For those interested, here's every track that's included:

Side A – 18:42 approx

• Brotherhood of Steel (full version)
• The Ghoul
• Ice Cream and Apple Pie
• Artifact

Side B – 18:07 approx

• Vault 33
• Shady Sands
• Feo Fuerte y Formal
• Rebuild Together
• Surface Dweller Tradition
• Golden Rule

Side C – 16:46 approx

• Are You Compromised
• I Hate It Up Here
• Bringing Order to the Wasteland
• Management
• Vault-Tec
• Think About the Future

Side D – 19:15 approx

• All the Answers
• Run for the Hills
• War Never Changes
• Do the Right Thing
• T-60

Fallout fans should also consider checking out the Fallout-themed AriZona x Fallout Green Tea Energy Drink set for $36 on Amazon -- which is also now back in stock and available to order at the time of writing. This box of AriZona features three flavors in a handy 12-pack (22oz), four per flavor: Georgia Peach, Pomegranate, and Red Apple Green Tea Energy Drinks. Plus, If you're after even more of the post-nuclear wasteland, consider checking out our Fallout partnership on the IGN Store; featuring Fallout hoodies, TV show merch, fully functional Pip-Boy replicas, and so much more.

In other Fallout news, Bethesda's highly anticipated next gen update for Fallout 4 is now live, but it's also riddled with issues across PlayStation, Xbox, and PC. The next gen version was finally released on April 25, 2024 (around 18 months after it was announced) but the several gigabyte update hasn't been met with much fanfare.

Robert Anderson is a deals expert and Commerce Editor for IGN. You can follow him @robertliam21 on Twitter.

Stephen King is not only a famously prolific writer, but he's known as the modern master of horror. For 50 years, Stephen King has been producing masterpieces of the macabre. It's no wonder there have been heated debates over which Stephen King books are the best of the best.

For our list below, we chose from among King's published novels and rounded up our top 10 favorites. This list is in no particular order, (although we numbered the list for ease of scrolling). So, no compilations, novellas, or short stories. Also, note that this list represents top Stephen King novels, not the most obscure. So, if you're already familiar with this work in 2024, you can probably guess what made the cut. Many of these books also made our ranked list of the best Stephen King movies, too.

TL;DR – These are the Best Stephen King Books to Read:

1. Carrie

King struck gold starting with his very first novel, Carrie. The titular character is immediately recognizable to most readers as most of us went to school with someone like her. The themes of ostracism and bullying continue to resonate as much now as they did when the novel was published in 1974. Unlike some of the other books on this list, Carrie is a brisk read and makes a great introduction to King's writing style. It's no surprise this novel was turned into a movie version, Carrie in 1976.

2. Christine

If Carrie is one side of the proverbial coin, then Christine is the other. A beat-up 1958 Plymouth Fury catches the eye of high school outcast Arnie Cunningham, and after purchasing it, he becomes obsessed with restoring it. Unfortunately for him, the car is possessed by evil, and he becomes its pawn. The book critiques car culture, bullying, and masculine self-image and is another title from King that remains incredibly relevant.

3. The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger

While the latter half of The Dark Tower book series – and the Dark Tower Movie – missed the mark for some fans, no one can deny it started with a bang. The first book in the multi-decade epic, The Gunslinger, is a western at heart, much more so than the following volumes. Our introduction to Roland Deschain and Mid-World is a short gritty tale full of heartache and death, which snakes its tendrils throughout King's other works.

4. It

It is just a bit shorter than The Stand, but it’s essentially two books. Just like the recent It movies, part one deals with a group of children as they try to deal with an entity preying on the citizens of Derry, Maine. The second half finds them reuniting as adults to take It (otherwise known as Pennywise) down for good. The book drives home the horrors the kids faced in a way the films didn't quite have time to and is lauded as one of the best horror novels of all time.

5. Misery

They say misery loves company, and Annie Wilkes proves that in spades. King was somehow prescient about toxic fandoms because when Wilkes finds her favorite novelist, Paul Sheldon," after a car accident and nurses him back to health, she begins to demand that he start writing the books to her liking. Unfortunately for him, she uses a hammer instead of mean tweets. The movie is an absolute classic, but the source material is definitely worth a read as well.

6. The Shining

As with It, The Shining takes readers deeper than The Shining film ever could. It's evident that Jack Torrance is somewhat of a King self-insert if you know his history of addiction. As a result, the novel is a bit more sympathetic to him, making the end result much more tragic. It also drives home the isolation and the growing madness Jack feels, which makes his inevitable rampage that much scarier.

7. The Stand

A plague devastates the world in The Stand, and two societies form in the post-apocalyptic aftermath. This 1,000-page tome traces humanity's fate from the virus outbreak to the conclusion of a fight between good and evil. The Stand is an excellent read, but like many books this size, there are some pacing issues. However, it's worth slogging through the few meandering sections as it has a very satisfying ending.

8. Pet Sematary

Pet Sematary follows the Creed family, who relocate from Boston to Maine. While settling into their new home, they stumble on a mysterious burial ground in the woods. When they discover it has the power to bring dead animals back to life, they become entangled with an unspeakable evil they'll wish they had never crossed. It's a difficult read for animal lovers, but an outstanding slow burn of a thriller that'll keep you equal parts terrified and engaged to the end.

9. The Mist

In The Mist, a group of small town locals find themselves trapped together inside a busy grocery store when a thick fog rolls in. Attempts to leave during the mysterious storm are met with terrifying attacks and confusing disappearances. This novella is a quick but exciting read that'll have you thinking twice about what could lie in the fog – lest there be dangerous predators looking to snack on human beings. If you haven't read this one yet, it's worth it, even if you've already seen the movie adaptation! For those who haven't read the novel or seen the movie, let me ask you; what lies within the mysterious mist, and how will anyone ever make it out alive?

10. The Green Mile

The Green Mile is widely considered one of King's masterpieces, though it's less of a horror tale than the rest of the books on this list. It follows death row supervisor Paul Edgecombe as he interacts with an inmate named John Coffey. Coffey has been placed on death row for a crime he may not have committed, and he displays powerful, otherworldly healing abilities. If you still haven't seen this movie or read the book, be warned; this thriller is a tearjerker that'll leave you contemplating the meaning of life far beyond you reach its shocking conclusion.

Stephen King FAQs

How many Stephen King books are there?

There are 64 total novels (and more than 200 short stories) by Stephen King to-date.

How many Stephen King adaptations are there?

There are 51 total Stephen King Movies and 28 TV adaptations at this moment in time. Currently, there are three movies planned and one TV series in the works. However, there haven't been any details or updates since production was announced for each title:

1. The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon (Movie)
2. Hearts (Movie)
3. Sleeping Beauties (AMC TV series)
4. Suffer the Little Children (Movie)

Can we expect a sequel to Salem's Lot?

"Actually, I'm hoping to write a sequel to almost all of my novels and you will find those in Wolves of the Calla, Song of Susannah, and The Dark Tower—really in the whole Dark Tower sequence. You'll find out a lot of what happened in 'Salem's Lot for one thing and one character in particular - I'm not going to tell you which one. This is in no way an advertisement for The Dark Tower books, but it is my way of saying that The Dark Tower books finishes up a lot of business from the other books." - StephenKing.com

New and Upcoming Stephen King Books

Stephen King is never done writing. A new book, You Like It Darker will feature 12 short stories, many of which have never been published. You can expect this book to arrive on May 21, 2024, but you can pre-order it now on Amazon and other booksellers:

Pre-Order 'You Like It Darker'

Brittany Vincent is a freelance video game and entertainment writer for IGN, covering anime, thrillers, and more.

Streaming Wars is a weekly opinion column by IGN’s Streaming Editor, Amelia Emberwing. To read the last entry, check out It Is Impossible To Fight Through All of These Men, But Shōgun’s Mariko Managed It Anyway.

This column contains detailed spoilers of Dead Boy Detectives, a spinoff of The Sandman.

The Sandman casts a large shadow, which makes creating a spinoff in the same universe one heck of a tall order. Where the story of Morpheus and his Endless siblings is larger than life, many of the individual stories that take place in the graphic novels are more contained. Things like tone, aesthetic, character motivations, and more should all be their own thing.

If you’ve followed the Dead Boy Detectives saga, you know that the show was first meant to be over at (HBO) Max as a spinoff of Doom Patrol. However, after recasting the two leads and setting up a writing and production team, the series was eventually sold to Netflix. Now, if you follow my column regularly, you know that I believe that Dead Boy Detectives always needed to be at Netflix and connecting to The Sandman universe (as it does in the comics, though Doom Patrol crossovers have happened in previous runs). But, doing so meant that showrunners Steve Yockey and Beth Schwartz had some pretty Endless shoes to fill in the eyes of a lot of fans. So, how did they do it?

By not trying to fill those shoes at all.

While the crossover aspect is still apparent with Kirby Howell Baptiste’s Death in the pilot episode and her presence looming large over Edwin (George Rexstrew) and Charles (Jayden Revri) throughout the season, and though Donna Preston’s Despair makes an appearance in hell, Schwartz and Yockey were free to play in their own sandbox and really make Dead Boy Detectives their own. And, If you’re wondering if they wanted to see the inclusion of more of The Endless, the answer is no!

“Death and Despair is who we asked for,” Yockey answers after I ask whether or not they had requested more characters and been declined. “It would be fun to drag all of those Sandman characters over, and certainly it would be noisy and get a lot of attention, but that really isn't what Beth [Schwartz] and I are super interested in.”

Obviously, when the show was first created, Yockey and Schwartz didn’t know that they’d have access to these characters at all. Warner Bros. Discovery may have a hand in producing The Sandman, Doom Patrol, and Dead Boy Detectives, but what happens on Netflix and what happens on Max are completely different ball games.

“We designed the show so that it could exist within the Sandman universe without stepping on too many toes,” Yockey notes. “And then when we found out we were going to be on Netflix, we were like, ‘Oh.’ Then Netflix was like, ‘Hey, we love what you're doing, but wouldn't it be cool to have some crossovers in Easter eggs?’ And we were like, ‘What a great idea.’ And so we asked for those two characters for very specific reasons in the storytelling for our boys.”

Of course, with Despair chilling out in hell, I had to ask about head honcho, Lucifer, and Gwendoline Christie’s larger-than-life absence. But, in keeping the spirit of Being Its Own Thing™, Yockey and Schwartz ultimately made the right decision to showcase how huge hell is rather than slip in an additional cameo.

“We wanted to do our own version of hell,” Schwartz explains. “And we obviously mentioned Lucifer, but like Steve said, we're exploring the world of Dead Boys and how Dead Boys exist alongside Sandman. And further we go forward if we are lucky to have future seasons, we'll be able to open up that world a little more.”

Obviously it would have been great fun to see Lucifer before we head into the next season of The Sandman, but ultimately young Edwin never would have escaped hell again had that been the case. If Tom Sturridge’s Morpheus struggles to best Lucifer, it’s unlikely that a mere ghost with fewer than 100 years under his belt is going to manage to get out of their grasp.

With The Sandman and Dead Boy Detectives existing in tandem, there’s one final critical story reason that required the latter to be 100% its own thing outside of the occasional cameo: the Seasons of Mist story hasn’t happened in The Sandman just yet. And, with The Sandman remaining relatively faithful to the graphic novels, that limits just how much Charles and Edwin can play with Sandman characters — at least for now. It also happens to be the reason for the slight tweak in their backstory.

“To Alan and Neil and Beth and I, the shows are happening in tandem,” explains Yockey. “Because they're happening at the same time and they haven't gotten to the Seasons of Mist storyline in the Sandman yet, we can't do anything that would allude to that. So that's why the slight tweak to the boys' backstories with Edwin escaping hell instead of being released from hell.”

Story justifications matter a great deal but, for me, it was always important that Dead Boy Detectives had its own vibes both as an ardent Sandman fan and as a critic. Aging up the boys and playing in a contemporary world means that they can play around in ways a 1:1 adaptation never could. Plus, playing more in the human world and learning the possibilities that exist outside of the Endless’ realm gives us an exciting look at the expansion of The Sandman universe on TV.

This piece contains spoilers for Knuckles on Paramount+!

If I were to tell you one of the funniest shows of the year was a spinoff of a video game adaptation about a hedgehog that can run really fast, you may be surprised — unless you're already a fan of the blockbuster Sonic the Hedgehog film series, that is. Still, spoiler alert, I am here to tell you exactly that. The limited series Knuckles has been unleashed on Paramount Plus and it's an unbelievably uproarious homage to classic comedies of all varieties.

The series centers on the red alien known as Knuckles the Echidna (Idris Elba), who is trying to make Earth his home after the events of Sonic the Hedgehog 2. Though his fellow heroes, Sonic (Ben Schwartz) and Tails (Colleen O'Shaughnessey), have found adapting to life on Earth easy, things aren't so simple for the lone warrior Knuckles. Instead, the series frames him as one of the most hilarious Hollywood tropes: the unwanted house guest. From Uncle Buck to Ed in Shaun of the Dead, there's something delightful about a person — or, in this case, creature — who doesn't know when he's not wanted. But Knuckles takes things to the next level, acting more like an ALF-style fish out of water who in his funniest moments pushes Maddie Wachowski (Tika Sumpter) to her breaking point after turning her living room into a gladiatorial war arena, skulls and all. It's a funny enough setup that the series could have coasted on it, but instead it takes a wild turn when Knuckles runs away, teaming up with the franchise's forever sidekick, Wade Wipple (Adam Pally).

In an inversion of what made the Sonic films so popular — James Marsden's straight man confusion played against Sonic's comedic shenanigans — Knuckles has Idris Elba play a completely sincere performance against the silliness of Pally's nostalgia-obsessed comedy relief. It's a role that Elba tackles with relish, somehow making a red CGI echidna bring to mind classic straight men of comedy like the Marx Bros' Margaret Dumont, Bud Abott, and more recent additions to the canon like Parks and Rec's Ben Wyatt (Adam Scott). The script has a lot of fun with this, especially in early episodes where Knuckles regularly shuts down Wade's romantic wondering and questioning with a simple and decisive no. With just that single word, Elba delivers comedy gold, his harsh intonation and deep sincerity playing perfectly against the chaotic blumbering of the eternal manchild Wade, who is desperate to live up to his father's legacy as a great... bowler. Yes, Knuckles is a six episode miniseries about a giant talking animal and a middle aged man going bowling in Reno, and with that wildcard twist it becomes even funnier.

The 1996 Farrelly Bros. bowling movie Kingpin looms large as an inspiration here, with Knuckles also opting to send its leads on a road trip to the third biggest city in Nevada for a winner-take-all bowling tournament. The show delights in establishing Wade as a slacker bowler striving for perfection. He has a local badboy rival, Jack (Julian Barret), with such little faith in Wade's skills for the tournament that he replaces him with an eight-year-old Girl Scout. Although that aspect takes the show out of Kingpin territory somewhat, the premise realigns by establishing Knuckles as Wade's teacher, echoing the mentorship relationship at the core of the movie. Whereas the original then saw Woody Harrelson, Randy Quaid, and Vanessa Angel ride off on a debaucherous romp across America, Knuckles and Wade take a far more wholesome jaunt from Montana, stopping at Wade's family home along the way where they tackle another classic comedy setup: the family dinner.

It's in Episode 3 that Wade and Knuckles hide out at Wade's childhood home where his mother, Wendy (Stockard Channing), and sister, Wanda (Edi Patterson), have gathered for Shabbat dinner. While the siblings squabble and ruin the family occasion, Wendy and Knuckles bond while watching Pretty Woman. It's a charming moment that sees Knuckles soften for the first time, but only long enough for the dinner to be interrupted, not by squabbling children or burnt food ala National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation but by bounty hunters, leading to a fantastically choreographed action sequence that sees Hollywood legend Channing and Knuckles beautifully beat up their foe all while the Shabbat candles burn. It's a wicked take on the family dinner gone wrong that ups the action ante in an otherwise comedy-focused episode.

If you were worried that British comedy legend Julian Barrett was a mere cameo, fear not! He reappears for a reinterpretation of the epic showdown that pokes fun at everything from Evel Knievel to samurai movies. After a stunning practical effect sequence that echoes similar parody training sequences in Hot Rod and Wet Hot American Summer — while also playing with the "Spirit Guide" trope that Hollywood has used so many times — Wade becomes an unlikely champion. Wade's spirit guide is none other than the ghost of Knuckles' dead master, Pachacamac (Christopher Lloyd), who trains him in a bowling alley with lots of puppets and Barrett singing a rock opera about Knuckles tragic history called "Flames of Disaster."

Once he's trained and reunited with Knuckles, it's time to win their Tournament of Champions, taking us back to its sports comedy roots as well as leading us to one of its biggest laughs. Arriving in Reno with mom and sis as backup, the Kingpin hits just keep on hitting when we're introduced to Wade's father, the flamboyant bowling legend Pistol Pete, who callously abandoned his son years ago at a T.J. Maxx. Pete Whipple is played by the masterful Cary Elwes, who reinterprets the manic energy of Bill Murray's Kingpin performance as Big Ern McCraken. Both bowlers are flashy on the lanes, with Big Ern sporting a translucent ball with a red rose suspended inside of it while Pistol Pete's clear ball encases a teacup.

Speaking of balls, we would be remiss not to mention another massive inspiration that connects directly to one of Knuckles' biggest Easter eggs. Dodgeball is another classic underdog comedy about an obscure sports tournament in Nevada and one of the film's most enduring jokes is ESPN8 The Ocho. This once-fake subchannel of the very real sports network has now become a very real gag that ESPN holds annually every August. Original ESPN8 commentators Cotton (Gary Cole) and Pepper (Jason Bateman) have been replaced by Dylan (Rob Huebel) and Gary (Paul Scheer), giving us the blow-by-blow of Wade's bowling showdown with his deadbeat dad. Of course, terrible dads are a big part of Hollywood comedy history and Cary Elwes delivers another stellar bad dad into the canon of awful parenthood.

Some might say a spinoff series should add important lore or drama to a franchise, but sometimes you just need a really random six episode series about self-discovery, bowling, and Idris Elba playing a giant echidna who loves challah bread and Stockard Channing.

Rosie Knight is a contributing freelancer for IGN covering everything from anime to comic books to kaiju to kids movies to horror flicks. She has over half a decade of experience in entertainment journalism with bylines at Nerdist, Den of Geek, Polygon, and more.

What’s up, funfans? You’ll notice very quickly, perhaps right this very moment as I actually mention it, that this week’s wrasslepiece is a bit scatterbrained. There’s no “central topic” per se, just assorted odds and ends. Nothing is trivial, but nothing ultimately stands out either. Kind of like how the sitcom Wings lasted eight seasons because dads love Crystal Bernard. Btw, look for my “Dads Love Crystal Bernard” shirt at shop dot wings dot org.

First up? What do y’all think of Tony Khan becoming part of the story and getting an Elite beatdown on AEW TV? Naturally, Tony’s never not been a part of AEW’s forward-facing TV product. He’s no phantom boss. He’s always been an on-air, dude, despite maybe not being so great as an on-air dude (man, he went in for that Jack Perry handshake like he was being Meet Dave’d).

What happened this week with the Elite (+ Jack Perry) is an extension of the CM Punk All In footage bit - while also opening it up, extending it into a meta-complaint about Tony in general. The Bucks have taken over because of Tony’s failings as the boss. Tonally though, does it fit? With AEW? Which has forever (okay, five years) been in an interesting place as a major big time fat cat “alternative to WWE?”

Well, what does that mean now in 2024? When WWE’s in the Paul Era? Most of the time, in the business, “alternative to WWE” has meant serious, more violent wrestling with a more palpable hardscrabble attitude. To counteract WWE’s more ridiculous, or at least more benign family-friendly, product. But now it’s all mixed up. Kind of like that 311 song “All Mixed Up.” Actually, exactly like the 311 song “All Mixed Up.” All mixed up, don't know what to do, next thing you know the bucks spike tombstone you.

Some (a lot? a few? who can truly say? it’s the internet) have likened AEW’s more outlandish antics to late-stage WCW. I think we can all agree that’s crazy talk. Hyperbolic, yo. It’s just that because AEW’s always compared to WWE, just by existing, and because of WWE’s overall 40-year dominance, there will always be arguments about what AEW should be. And that will change based on whatever a particular fan wants to see. And, as it turns out, and this might shock you, people who voice their opinions on the internet can be a bit obtuse. Unreasonable, even.

AEW’s done super straight-and-narrow things like tracking win/loss records, running round robin tournaments, smarky dream matches sans storyline context, and partnering with international promotions. They’ve also done home invasion shtick, Stadium Stampedes, the Summer of MJF and Cole, and having the likes of Snoop Dogg, Mike Tyson, and Shaq come in for a celebrity guest spot. Namely, things WWE would be criticized for. And if not criticized for, then at least these things would be noted as indicative of WWE. Meaning, really, things that take the focus away from the wrestling.

A few weeks back I took umbrage with AEW for the Punk footage skit because it was just a bad look. Ultimately, it was used as a joke, which was the best case scenario, but it made the company look like the bridesmaid-iest bridesmaid ever. Also, I realize now that it doesn’t matter how much I say I like AEW, or that I’ve traveled out of state for their PPVs, or that I hoped the CM Punk segment did great ratings for them, there will be those who say I’m an AEW hater through and through. I’ve been writing about wrestling for 17 years and this is ollllld hat.

My point here is that I hope there comes a time when AEW’s “WWE-like” shenanigans are just sort of folded into the omelet because, whatever AEW supposed to be, whatever you wanted them to be at the outset, they’re still a pro-wrestling company. Plus, the only true alternative to WWE I’ve ever seen is Lucha Underground, which I miss like crazy every goddamn day.

Okay, I guess I had more to ramble about than I thought. All I really wanted to ask was “did you lovable goobers like Tony taking an Indytaker/Meltzer Driver?” So, in the very least, sound off on that in the comments.

Also, AEW Dynasty was a righteous PPV, with a fantastic slew of matches. And beginning with Moxley’s IWGP title win last week, these past few days have been bubbling over with new champs. From Trick Williams dethroning Ilja Dragunov to Willow becoming TBS champ to – yes! - the much-deserved anointing of Swerve Strickland, who’s not only been AEW’s gem for a year or more but a gem in a way that feels genuine, unforced, and well-protected.

It was bizarre when the first Black AEW World Champion didn’t get a big in-ring promo/celebration on Dynamite (which sounded like it was broadcast from inside a morgue drawer this week) but that’s because Willow got that treatment in order to have a face-to-face with Mercedes “Wrestle Already!” Mone.

Still though, Swerve at the top is a phenomenal boon for AEW. As a WWE cast-off, his rise and success makes up for the Rusevs and and the Andrades and the Alistair Blacks (who’s still not where he should be). Even the Keith Lees. Swerve’s win feels even more meaningful and timely given WWE’s bummer Becky Lynch win on RAW the following night. Now, if you take away anything from these new Fowler Wrestling Columns from the past three months it's that I’m a huge Swerve stan and also a massive Liv Morgan mark. And Liv felt like the natural pick to become WWE Woman’s World Champion. When you’re a fan, you’re also impatient so I have to step back, breathe deep, and realize that there IS a plan.

Liv will (please please please) topple Becky at Le Backlash and it will also be because Dom betrays Mami and becomes Liv’s smarmy stooge-slash-broke af bf. They’re making such a big deal of Liv being a perennial “runner up” that something has to give. At least to appease me, S***ty McGee.

No, that's not right. Flip it.

Yup! Much better.

KNEELIFT!

Watch Wrestling.

Ncuti Gatwa has hinted he'll return for a third season of Doctor Who, saying he's "not going anywhere soon."

Speaking to Variety, Gatwa, who will play the fifteenth incarnation of the Doctor in the beloved sci-fi series, expressed his commitment to the role and shared his intention to stick around for a while, as showrunner Russell T. Davies revealed he's "already making plans" beyond the initial two season order.

The show's latest Christmas special, "The Church on Ruby Road," saw the Fifteenth Doctor take center stage, with Millie Gibson's Ruby Sunday as his sidekick. However, Gibson is reportedly leaving the series after just one season, with Andor's Varada Sethu set to take over as the Doctor's next companion for future episodes.

Gatwa's first full run in the TARDIS will begin when Doctor Who Season 14 premieres on Disney+ on May 10 and the BBC on May 11. According to the official plot synopsis, the Fifteenth Doctor will go on quite the adventure, travelling through time and space and encountering everything from "the Regency era in England to war torn futures."

The trailer for the new season offered a glimpse of the Doctor's escapades, as he stepped out of the show's iconic time-travelling police box to roam with dinosaurs, dance with debutantes, and fight off monsters, or as the Time Lord prefers to call them: the "creatures you haven't met yet" — including a terrifying bogeyman.

Gatwa is currently filming his second season as the Doctor ahead of his first season airing on screens, and according to the actor, this is the beginning of a bold new era for Doctor Who that will carry a "very exciting" bi-generation plot and unleash "a whole pantheon full of different villains and lore and mythology."

Adele Ankers-Range is a freelance entertainment writer for IGN. You can follow her on X/Twitter @AdeleAnkers.

Sonic the Hedgehog is having a great year with plenty to look forward to. The third Sonic movie is coming out in December, Knuckles is getting his own show on Paramount+, and Sonic is sharing the spotlight with Shadow in Sonic x Shadow Generations. In the last few years, the Blue Blur has become such a popular video game character in the multimedia landscape that Sega has produced toys to introduce the next generation of fans to the franchise. Older fans can add those toys and plushies to their collection for the sake of nostalgia or for sharing their love of Sonic with their children.

Either way, we prepared a list of the best Sonic toys to help prepare fans for the upcoming Sonic games and movies — not to mention introduce your kids to the franchise's lore. Here are the best Sonic toys you can buy right now.

Sonic LEGO Sets

LEGO Sonic the Hedgehog Sonic’s Speed Sphere Challenge

Sonic’s Speed Sphere Challenge LEGO set is a fun set for Sonic fans of all ages, especially for kids. It allows them to use their imagination and act out Sonic’s adventures in Green Hill, whether they’ve played the games or watched the movies and TV shows, provided that the parents reading this guide introduced them to Sonic Prime or Sonic X on Netflix.

This set comes with the speed sphere and launcher to send Sonic spinning and knocking every obstacle, plus the Motobug, and save the Flicky. It also has some accessories for roleplay, such as the DJ set so that kids can imagine Sonic is spinning records at Coachella, and a beach umbrella and chair set to allow Sonic to kick back and enjoy his chili dog and Chaos Cola. This set came in a Sonic Superstars VIP kit for content creators, but you can get it for just $35.

More Sonic LEGO Sets

Sonic Plushies

Shadow the Hedgehog 12-inch Great Eastern Entertainment Plush

The Shadow the Hedgehog plushie from Great Eastern Entertainment would make a perfect addition to any Sonic fan’s plushie collection. Since Shadow is going to be in Sonic the Hedgehog 3, you can actually take him to the movie with you no matter how old you are, societal judgment be damned. Just ask the girl who took the same Shadow plush to prom.

The plushie is designed with great accuracy to Shadow’s character model, from the detailed rocket holes in the soles of his air shoes to curves of this spiky hair. It comes with a yellow string that makes it look like a carnival game prize, but you can cut it off if you so choose. Either way, it’s worth the money — $27, to be exact. Fair warning: Some people who bought the GE Shadow plushie from Amazon reported that they received the bootleg version in their reviews, so please be careful.

More Sonic Plushies

Sonic Action Figures

Sonic The Hedgehog 4" Articulated Action Figure from Jakks Pacific

Jakks Pacific has been releasing a great deal of high-quality Sonic action figures in the last few years, and this Sonic articulated action figure is no exception. This one come with the Invincibility item box that you can place anywhere on your play set as you build out the world of Sonic according to your vision or that of your child’s.

There are other Sonic figures from Jakks Pacific that come with their own accessories, like Amy Rose, Tails, Knuckles, Shadow, and even Big the Cat. But you can add this to your Sonic figure collection for only $19, giving your wallet a break from the other expensive figures.

More Sonic Action Figures

Sonic R/C Cars

Team Sonic Racing 2.4GHz Radio Control Toy Car with Turbo Boost

Wanna see Team Sonic Racing play out in real life? You and your kids can do just that with the Team Sonic Racing R/C car by NKOK. The R/C is faithfully designed after Sonic’s race car in the game Team Sonic Racing, and has a beautifully detailed Sonic seated behind the wheel. It’s equipped with a 2.4 GHz control frequency that allows you to drive it at a wide enough distance, the ability to race up to 16 other RCs at once, and Turbo Boost to give an extra boost of speed.

The most charming part of the R/C is that it has working headlights, allowing you to drive it in dim-light areas (as long as you don’t drive it in total darkness). That’s everything you need to ensure you have a good race for just $27.

More Sonic R/C Cars

Knuckles Toy

Knuckles the Echidna Cable Guy Device Holder from Exquisite Gaming

In honor of the Knuckles show streaming on Paramount+, we’re presenting you the Knuckles the Echidna Cable Guy Device Holder, courtesy of Exquisite Gaming. You can set him on your desk and let him hold your phone while you’re working so he can bear the load of the constant text, email, and social media notifications that come your way.

Knuckles can also hold your gaming controller, TV remote, and even your Nintendo Switch — yes, even the OLED model — without falling over the side thanks to its sturdy base. You can take the load off your desk and TV stand and give it all to Knuckles for just $25.

Cristina Alexander is a freelance writer for IGN. She has contributed her work to various publications, including Digital Trends, TheGamer, Twinfinite, Mega Visions, and The Escapist. To paraphrase Calvin Harris, she wears her love for Sonic the Hedgehog on her sleeve like a big deal. Follow her on Twitter @SonicPrincess15.

In Velma Season 2, a group of lobotomized high school girls (now brains in jars) puts on a death metal show. Velma Dinkley (Mindy Kaling) likens a Beyoncé concert to a religious experience while hanging out with her newly Wiccan girlfriend Daphne Blake (Constance Wu). Norville "Shaggy" Rogers (Sam Richardson) is terrorized by visions of the dead, while Fred Jones (Glenn Howerton) converts to Catholicism to attract more customers to his "spooky stuff hunting business". Those, uh, meddling kids? This isn’t your parents’ Mystery, Inc. It doesn’t feel like anyone’s, really. It’s hard to say who the latest, meandering installment of Charlie Grandy’s acerbic Scooby-Doo update is for. While it succeeds at making its titular heroine slightly more tolerable, Season 2 of Velma takes several, irreversible steps backward.

Solving mysteries is the crux of the show, and Velma’s supposed primary motivation. And yet, the genital-mutilating killer now on the loose in Crystal Cove constantly takes a backseat to a dozen other story threads that smack of writers painting themselves into a corner. Daphne’s two adoptive mothers are running to be elected co-sheriffs! Norville is still having visions! Fred is upset about what happened to his mother at the end of Season 1! It’s all very tiring when all you want to do is see the plot unfold in a logical manner. But Velma can’t even do that right.

Instead, Season 2 is full of mostly unfunny gags from the same cast of characters that struggled to work with similar material last season. One minute, there’s more of the ridiculous “explanation” for why Norville is transforming into the Shaggy we know and love from 55 years of Scooby-Doo cartoons. The next, Velma wastes time trying to convince classmates that Daphne isn’t the Wiccan novice she claims to be. None of these moments are particularly well-written or satisfying. Not when there’s so much more to explore.

These distractions come at the expense of new characters like the mysterious Amber (Sara Ramirez). Instead of spending more time on their relationship with their mom, former Hex Girl Thorn (Jennifer Hale), the writers would rather throw Amber into an episode-long “Breakfast Club detention” with Velma’s core quartet. Fred still gets some of the funniest moments thanks to Howerton’s unhinged performance, but he’s wasted on pining after his mother and spending time cracking paranormal cases that we don’t even see.

Thankfully, Velma (the character) has become less insufferable. She’s somewhat capable of empathy now and keeps the rapid-fire sarcasm mostly to herself, though most of her dialogue remains wry and ironic, as though she’s aware there’s an invisible audience to please. While the rest of the cast seems oblivious to the outside world, Velma remains fixated on being clever to please others. But one thing remains a constant: She loves Daphne. Or at least she says she does. You’d never know from the way she treats her supposed girlfriend.

Despite Velma fumbling her admission of love for Daphne at the end of Season 1, the couple did share a kiss. It seemed to foreshadow a bright future for their relationship, but instead Season 2 brings us two bickering girls who end up in nonsensical misunderstandings. It’s a constant throughout these 10 episodes. Velma and Daphne have supposedly known each other since they were children. Their mutual romantic feelings have had plenty of time to marinate, so why do they treat each other like strangers? By the time Velma and Daphne come together in a meaningful way, the show’s reached its absolutely ludicrous conclusion, which does nothing to inspire confidence in their future.

Velma Season 2 had every shot at taking the fiery feedback from the first season and blossoming into a fun riff on the classic Scooby-Doo heroine. Instead, it seems to have doubled down on everything that made Season 1 so unpalatable. A near-total mess of confusing plot threads, confounding twists, and bad jokes, it seems content to set its source material ablaze in the name of subverting expectations – and not in a good way. It’s no mystery why this follow-up fails to captivate, but if it were, I’m just not sure this version of Velma would even be up to the task of solving it.

Game developer Fallen Leaf recently partnered with Studios Extraordinaires to develop film and TV adaptations of their 2023 sci-fi shooter-thriller Fort Solis.

Developed by Fallen Leaf and Black Drakkar, and published by Dear Villagers, Fort Solis takes place on the far side of Mars where engineer Jack Leary responds to a routine alarm at the titular outpost and his night only gets worse from there.

Studios Extraordinaires’ André Hedetoft and Andreas Troedsson are attached to co-direct the Fort Solis adaptation. In this exclusive video – which can be viewed via the player above or the embed below – the creative duo brings fans of the game up to speed on the adaptation’s development and explains why they’re making it.

Hedetoft and Troedsson were both blown away by the trailer for Fort Solis that dropped at last year’s gamescom and, upon playing the game, knew they had to be the filmmakers to adapt it.

“You have a super-cinematic immersive experience playing it, you have amazing characters and actors that brought them to life in the game, and you have some really creative people behind it, and I think this is exactly the kind of dream project to make,” Hedetoft said.

“We also have in this story some of the most interesting characters I’ve ever seen and you as a viewer or a player are thrown into that conflict with some really interesting moral dilemmas, ethical questions, and science-fiction thriller mysteries.”

Troedsson added: “I think both you and me, we love sci-fi, we love the thriller. When you have a few characters in a very isolated place – I mean, you have everything in Fort Solis, all those elements together. And the thriller is that you don’t really know who is right or who is wrong.”

“What we’re doing right now is the most crucial, the most creative part of the whole process,” Troedsson said. “What is the purpose of doing this as a film and how can we emerge it into this new audience as well that haven’t played the game or will probably play it after seeing the film or the other way around.”

Hedetoft added they’re currently spending a lot of time playing the game multiple times and discussing “the story that we want to tell. Are we doing this story from the game or expanding it? Or are we telling an entirely different encounter on Mars? I don’t think we can reveal any of that yet.”

While no one has been cast yet, Hedetoft said they are talking to “a couple of actors that we’re real excited about.” There's currently no word on if Troy Baker or Julia Brown, who starred in the game, will return for the adaptation.

For more coverage of video game adaptations, read our Knuckles review and Fallout review, learn what Todd Howard told us about the New Vegas timeline debate, and find out what we want to see in Fallout Season 2.

Zack Snyder has shared the first image from his upcoming animated series Twilight of the Gods, confirming the show will debut on Netflix later this year.

The director wasted no time announcing details of his next project, the Norse mythology-inspired series Twilight of the Gods, following the release of his most recent movie, Rebel Moon - Part Two: The Scargiver, which arrived on Netflix on April 19. He confirmed that the show will premiere on the streaming service this fall.

"We fear no Gods!" Snyder wrote on X/Twitter. "Coming to Netflix this fall, my new animated series TWILIGHT OF THE GODS."

We fear no Gods! Coming to Netflix this fall, my new animated series TWILIGHT OF THE GODS. pic.twitter.com/40yLuIUpKc

— Zack Snyder (@ZackSnyder) April 24, 2024

He also unveiled a first-look image of one of the characters from the show, who is a member of the mythical menagerie audiences will meet. "There's a king and his queen in a small Viking village, and they want to get married," Snyder told Collider last year. "An event happens to them at their wedding that causes Sigrid, who is the bride-to-be, who is the child of giants, to go on a crazy mission of revenge.

"She enlists a cast of characters – a seer, a dwarf – and they come together to form a band that has this one mission to find a god and fight him," he continued. "Sigrid is this beautiful, very Scandinavian kind of cold but passionate character that I've really enjoyed working through and with because she's just so cool."

Sylvia Hoeks is lending her voice to Sigrid alongside Stuart Martin as Leif, Pilou Asbæk as Thor, John Noble as Odin, Paterson Joseph as Loki, Rahul Kohli as Egill, Jamie Clayton as The Seid-Kona, Kristopher Hivju as Andvari, Peter Stormare as Ulfr, Jamie Chung as Hel, Lauren Cohan as Inge, and Corey Stoll as Hrafnkel.

Twilight of the Gods was first announced in 2019 as an anime series for Netflix created by Zack Snyder and Jay Oliva, who also serves as showrunner. Stone Quarry Animation and Xilam Animation, the French studio behind the Disney+ show Chip 'n' Dale: Park Life and several other cartoons, have helped to bring their vision to life.

Adele Ankers-Range is a freelance entertainment writer for IGN. You can follow her on X/Twitter @AdeleAnkers.

IGN can exclusively reveal the new teaser trailer for the upcoming animated series Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, premiering this summer on Paramount+. The trailer can be viewed via the player above or the embed below.

Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is produced by Nickelodeon Animation and Seth Rogen’s Point Grey Pictures, who also brought Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem to cinemas last year. Chris Yost and Alan Wan serve as executive producers.

The show brings back Mutant Mayhem’s voice cast: Micah Abbey as Donatello, Shamon Brown Jr. as Michelangelo, Nicolas Cantu as Leonardo, Brady Noon as Raphael, and Ayo Edebiri as April O’Neil.

While Tales is from the universe of Mutant Mayhem, the 2D animated series boasts a different aesthetic than the animation style of Mutant Mayhem.

Plenty more from the Heroes in a Half Shell is on the horizon. In addition to Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the 3D action platformer Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutants Unleashed also continues the story of Mutant Mayhem.

That game launches during the fourth quarter of 2024 on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X and S, and PC via Steam and Windows.

There’s also the sequel to Mutant Mayhem coming out in 2026 and an R-rated live-action movie adaptation of The Last Ronin is in the works.

While you’ll have to wait a few years for those films, you can look back right now at how the original TMNT movie conquered Hollywood.

The latest episode of the ongoing X-Men ‘97 animated series sees a very angry Rogue doing a very powerful kick that references everything from the Marvel vs. Capcom video games to Kamen Rider.

Warning! Spoilers for X-Men ‘97 Episode 7 follow.

In episode seven, called Bright Eyes, we see Rogue on a mission to avenge the death of Gambit. Along the way, the super powerful X-Man attacks a base guarded by soldiers and tanks, pretty much destroying the entire operation in just a minute. In one moment, which you can watch in the video below, Rogue performs a number of mid-air rolls before unleashing a powerful downward kick that knocks a tank for six.

It’s this kick that fans have compared to similar kicks from across anime, including Kamen Rider, the Japanese superhero media franchise that saw enormous success in the 70s.

Rider kick* pic.twitter.com/sFHg3ejZc0

— taokami (@taokami3) April 24, 2024

based on the kamen rider rider kick pic.twitter.com/j8KDLLoMBF

— bigger (@BiggerWright) April 24, 2024

Rogue’s X-Men '97 kick also closely resembles her divekick from the Marvel vs. Capcom games, from 1996’s X-Men vs. Street Fighter to 2000's Marvel vs. Capcom 2 - and storyboard artist Matthew B confirmed on X/Twitter that the kick is indeed a reference.

https://t.co/uC8B3qoPDi

— Free MvC2 (@MatthewB64) April 23, 2024

🚨EASTER EGG🚨 In the GREATEST easter egg of all, we get a callback to Rogue’s entrance and downward kick from X-Men vs. Street Fighter/Marvel vs. Capcom 2!

Episode 7 of X-Men ‘97 entitled BRIGHT EYES drops tomorrow on Disney Plus! #XMen97 #xmen #rogue #gambit #capcom pic.twitter.com/uVaHzmrEy9

— Power of X-Men (@powerofxmen) April 23, 2024

I really do appreciate the MvC head on the X-Men 97 team. They animated Rogue's Rider kick (from the games), with the close-up like she was activating a super. She basically did her "power dive punch" in the beginning. Round start super is wild af.

Got her out here shining. pic.twitter.com/MOPp71YM4t

— WanderingPastries 🏳️‍⚧️ (@NomadPastries) April 24, 2024

Of course, X-Men ‘97 references the X-Men arcade games in a recent episode, so a link from the world of animation to the world of video games has been established in the show.

Whatever the case, Rogue is not messing about in Episode 7, which leaves the X-Men struggling in the face of the threat of Bastion. Check out IGN’s article, X-Men '97's Bastion Explained: What You Need to Know About This Deadly Super-Sentinel, to find out more about the series’ antagonist.

For more on X-Men '97, learn about why Vulcan's debut is such a big deal and why it's great that the series remembered the melodrama.

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

The Fallout TV show has sparked a number of fan theories. There’s speculation about the Snake Oil Salesman’s mysterious serum, for example. Some believe the Brotherhood of Steel’s airship confirms one of two Fallout 4 endings as canon. And let’s not forget the theory that the Fallout TV show’s biggest bombshell may in fact be a misdirection.

As the speculation about what’s in store for fans with the already confirmed Fallout Season 2, as well as its impact on Fallout canon, a fresh debate has emerged: which of the main characters are synths?

Warning: spoilers for Fallout Season 1 and Fallout 4 follow.

Fans of the Fallout video games have noticed the Fallout TV show fails to include a number of iconic creatures, characters, and factions from the series. That’s understandable, given the showrunners had a lot of world-building to do for newcomers in Season 1 and only so much time to do it in. Adding to this absent mix are the synths from Fallout 4, which takes place nine years earlier than Season 1, in 2287.

Synths are synthetic humanoids built by the Institute, one of Fallout 4’s main factions. Newer models are almost indistinguishable from humans, and, in Fallout 4, replace residents of the Commonwealth as part of espionage tactics. While Fallout 4 is set in what’s left of the city of Boston and the surrounding Massachusetts region following the nuclear war of 2077, it’s conceivable that synths made their way to the west coast of the United States, although it’s a long journey across the wasteland.

If so, we may be seeing synths hidden in plain sight during Fallout Season 1. Indeed, some believe that Moldaver, the mysterious (and apparently deceased) leader of this part of the wasteland's New California Republic, who has somehow survived the nuclear apocalypse and for 200 years afterward despite displaying no signs of ghoulish behavior, is a synth.

“Mark this post, it will either be revealed that the one that passed of her was just a clone/synth copy not the original or maybe she is a type of ghoul and was slowly healing pretending she had passed,” X / Twitter user @fatedwanderer84 said.

Indeed, Sarita Choudhury, who portrays Lee Moldaver in Fallout, has teased the character’s return in Season 2 despite her apparent death at the end of Season 1. In a recent interview with Nerdist, Choudhury was asked to explain how Moldaver survived. She replied: "I can’t, but I like your predictions, and you can figure stuff out, I think. But again, it’s in line with the fact that she’s a scientist. The fact that she created cold fusion makes me think she can figure out how to live."

That tease is in-line with the theory that Moldaver is a synth or clone of Miss Williams, the pre-war name of the character depicted in flashback scenes. But some believe other characters could be a synth, too, including Hank, Maximus, and even Lucy.

Which character from amazons Fallout series is most likely to be revealed as a Synth? #FalloutOnPrime pic.twitter.com/oE9LpAbOis

— ☢️Fallout Films (@FilmsFallout) April 22, 2024

The idea of synths and / or the Institute being around during the events of the Fallout TV show sparks further lore questions. Fans are already wondering which Fallout 4 ending the show considers to be canon, given it looks like the Brotherhood of Steel airship we see on-screen is the Prydwen from Fallout 4. Does The Institute still exist by the time the Fallout TV show starts? The showrunners and Bethesda development chief Todd Howard have confirmed all previous Fallout games are canon, as is the show, but none of the canon endings from the games are necessarily taken on board. Fallout Season 2 will, of course, answer some of these questions and no doubt pose more.

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

A character from The Simpsons who debuted in its very first episode has been killed off after 35 years.

Warning: spoilers for The Simpsons follow.

As reported by The Independent, Larry Dalrymple, a seldom heard from but ever present character, was killed in Season 35, Episode 15 Cremains of the Day. Fans will recognise him as one of the regulars of Moe's Tavern, where he could almost always be seen drinking in the background.

Larry was practically silent for his entire tenure as a Simpsons character — only having two short lines since his 1989 debut — and despite being the focal point of Cremains of the Day he still went voiceless in the episode as he died off screen at the very beginning.

When Moe kicks all the patrons out of his bar, Larry remains in his seat, and is soon found to be dead. The episode reveals he thought of Homer, Lenny, Carl, and Moe as his best friends despite having never spoken to them, and they're tasked with spreading his ashes.

Larry was voiced by Harry Shearer, who also plays characters such as Mr Burns, Ned Flanders, Principal Skinner, Waylon Smithers, and many more.

Now deep into its 35th season, The Simpsons is dipping more and more into its catalogue of deep cuts. Another recent example comes in Season 34's Pin Gal episode, where infamous Season 1 character Jacques made a return after more than three decades.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.

Netflix’s Dead Boy Detectives never lets you forget that it’s about two boys who turned to detective work after they died. Thankfully, this is no slow building Surf Dracula situation: When we meet stuffy Edwin (George Rexstrew) and the rowdier Charles (Jayden Revri), the two deceased British teenagers have been assisting their fellow ghosts with unresolved matters for decades. Viewers are dropped right into the adventures and afterlife of the characters first introduced by Neil Gaiman and Matt Wagner in the pages of The Sandman #25 – though it isn’t long before their routine is disrupted by the arrival of amnesiac psychic Crystal Palace (Kassius Nelson). Dead Boy Detectives quickly makes clear its overall approach is whimsical horror, pitting its central trio against all sorts of ghosts, demons, and other macabre threats with a winking, humorous tone. On that front, it’s entertaining, garnering laughs with characters like an apologetic emissary of Hell or a bizarre, anime-inspired tree with giant teeth named, naturally, Teeth Face.

Helping Crystal – who’s been suffering from a wee bit of possession – brings the Dead Boys to a small town in the Pacific Northwest (played by Canada – this is a Greg Berlanti-produced DC adaptation, after all). They stick around these overcast environs, continuing to take cases and contending with the ongoing looming threats of a witch named Esther (Jenn Lyon) and the supernatural bureaucrat known as Night Nurse (Ruth Connell). Lyon and Connell provide tremendous fun as these decidedly determined characters, who each have their own reasons for entrapping Edwin and Charles. Lyon’s Esther is casually cruel and humorously flippant, with Lyon bringing a gleefully malicious vibe to the character that feels like she’d make a great sparring partner for Jennifer Tilly on Chucky. Connell is pitch perfect as uber disciplinarian Night Nurse, who is all about maintaining the rules of the afterlife and furious the Dead Boy Detectives have broken so many of them.

There are some jokes the show hits one too many times, though. In this world, ghosts can communicate with cats, but the fact that every cat they meet speaks in a grumpy, foul-mouthed voice wears thin – as do Lukas Gage’s appearances as the human form of the Cat King. He’s an enjoyable scenery-chewer, but his scenes grow repetitive with time. Similarly, a couple of snarky and insulting miniature Sprites are initially amusing before suffering from diminishing returns in later episodes.

Other supporting characters also feel adrift. Yuyu Kitamura is very funny and endearing as Crystal’s amusingly direct neighbor, Niko. Yet despite learning all the secrets of the Dead Boy Detectives fairly early on, she rarely joins their investigations the way Crystal does. Kitamura gets a laugh by acknowledging that fact, but it does nothing to change how needlessly superfluous her character sometimes feels. More obviously incidental is the living girls’ landlord, Jenny (Briana Cuoco), whose ample screen time contributes very little to the overall story, despite Cuoco’s likable performance – most noticeable during a bizarrely random and extraneous subplot about the tattooed butcher’s secret admirer.

Rexstrew and Revri have a nice chemistry together as the odd couple at the center of the story, and Dead Boy Detectives gets decent mileage out of a burgeoning love triangle between their characters and Nelson’s. Charles flirts with Crystal, while Edwin hides long-simmering romantic feelings for his partner-in-crime-solving. Nelson meshes well as the new member of the team, but she’s also unfortunately saddled with an arc about the demon (David Iacono) that once possessed Crystal. It’s dull, and always drags the show down.

Like many 20something actors playing teens on TV, the leads in Dead Boy Detectives don’t really look like 16-year-olds. though hHere, it makes sense you’d hire actors who won’t look dramatically older in potential future seasons, given that they’re supposed to be unaging ghosts. But it’s funny – and often amusingly distracting – how frequently the dialogue hammers home that Charles, Edwin, Crystal, and Niko could all still be in high school. (If two of them had a pulse, at least.) When Jenny repeatedly calls Crystal “Kid,” it’s very apparent we’re watching a 35-year-old actor say this to someone nine years her junior, and it feels like the show would be better served by not drawing our attention to the cast members’ ages at all.

Ruth Connell’s presence reflects the strange development of Dead Boy Detectives. Originally ordered as a sorta-kinda spinoff of Doom Patrol (where Connell first played Night Nurse, though other actors appeared as Charles, Edwin and Crystal) for Max, it was sold to Netflix along the way and has been retrofitted into the universe of the streamer’s Sandman series. Appearances by The Sandman’s Death (Kirby) and other familiar faces make it harder to not compare the two series and Dead Boy Detectives just isn’t as strong as The Sandman, despite Neil Gaiman’s involvement in both. Dead Boy Detectives can’t match The Sandman’s dramatic heights, and even when it gets more serious, it often feels superficial and try-hard. Sometimes it hits its “isn’t this all wacky and weird?” marks, but other times it feels a bit leaden.

Season 1 thrives at its mid-point, when it emphasizes procedural mysteries over serialized storytelling. The third episode, about a family reliving their own murder again and again, is a highlight that leans into pure horror. Though the finale is just so-so, it’s preceded by a strong penultimate episode that fleshes out Edwin and Charles’ personal histories while one of the Dead Boys sets out on a trippy and harrowing journey to save his partner. There are times when the special effects are clearly straining against a limited budget, but there’s impressive and creative imagery throughout the season, including a sort of corpse garden, cool creature designs like the aforementioned Teeth Face, and a couple of backstories rendered in different animation styles.

Paramount and SEGA are expanding their 'Cinematic World of Sonic the Hedgehog' with Knuckles, a six-episode event series starring Idris Elba as Sonic's eponymous rival-turned-ally. IGN's Knuckles review called it "a fun, chaotic bonus level that nails everything that made the Sonic movies great."

If you're wondering what Knuckles is about or how to watch it yourself, take a look at the information below.

How to Watch Knuckles Online – Streaming Release Date

All six episodes of Knuckles are now available, exclusively on Paramount+.

Paramount+ costs $6/month or $12/month with Showtime included. There is also a free trial available for new subscribers.

What's Knuckles About?

Knuckles, a spinoff of Paramount's Sonic the Hedgehog movie series, is an event series set between the events of Sonic 2 and the forthcoming Sonic 3 (in theaters December 20). Here's the official synopsis:

Knuckles, the latest in the “Cinematic World of Sonic the Hedgehog” from Paramount Pictures and SEGA of America, is a new live-action event series following Knuckles on a hilarious and action-packed journey of self-discovery as he agrees to train Wade Whipple as his protégé and teach him the ways of the Echidna warrior.

How to Watch Sonic the Hedgehog Movies

Looking to watch the first two Sonic movies ahead of Knuckles? You can do so with a Paramount+ subscription or by renting/buying the movies from one of several digital storefronts. Check out your best options below:

Sonic the Hedgehog (2020)

• Paramount+ (Stream)
• Prime Video (Rent/Buy)
• YouTube (Rent/Buy)

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (2022)

• Paramount+ (Stream)
• Prime Video (Rent/Buy)
• YouTube (Rent/Buy)

Knuckles Cast

Knuckles was created by John Whittington and Toby Ascher. It stars the following actors:

• Idris Elba as Knuckles
• Adam Pally as Wade Whipple
• Edi Patterson as Wanda Whipple
• Julian Barratt as Agent Barrett
• Scott Mescudi as Agent Mason
• Ellie Taylor as Agent Wiloughby
• Tika Sumpter as Maddie
• Ben Schwartz as Sonic
• Christopher Lloyd as Pachacamac

Will There Be a Knuckles: Season 2?

Knuckles is labeled an event series, implying a single-season run, though co-creator Toby Ascher told Paste Magazine a continuation is possible. "If something is working really successfully, and we have a really great story to tell, we’re definitely going to expand on it," he said. "I don’t think there’s any closed doors on future television, future seasons of Knuckles, so everything is wide open. I think it’s important to us that we’re not just making stuff to make stuff."

Regardless of Knuckles' TV future, the character will return to the big screen in Sonic the Hedgehog 3, slated to hit theaters on December 20.

Jordan covers games, shows, and movies as a freelance writer for IGN.