Chris Hardwick's Blog, page 129

Colin Farrell in Talks to Star in Luca Guadagnino’s SGT ROCK DCU Movie After Daniel Craig Departure

A new film in James Gunn and Peter Safran’s DCU has been announced, and it’s probably not one anyone was expecting. The Oscar-nominated Italian director Luca Guadagnino, who in 2024 directed the critically acclaimed Challengers and Queer, will helm a big screen adaptation of DC Comics’ World War II series Sgt. Rock. Guadagnino recently announced a remake of American Psycho, but his DC Studios film is coming together first, as the script is already far along. However, Guadagnino’s Queer star Daniel Craig will no longer take part, according to THR. Craig’s departure does open the door for a new DCU star, though. Colin Farrell is reportedly in talks to take the DC Studios role of Sgt. Franklin John Rock.

Sony/DC Comics

In November, according to a report from Deadline, the former James Bond was prepping to re-team with Luca G as the titular WWII comics hero. However, it appears Craig has dropped out of Sgt. Rock, which is still planning to shoot this summer in the U.K. THR cites scheduling conflicts as a possible reason behind the move, though neither Craig’s reps nor DC Studios commented. After his turn on The Penguin though, we could see Farrell taking over the DCU role, without needing to change it too much from the initial vision.

Sgt. Franklin John Rock has a long history at DC Comics. He first appeared in the series Our World at War in 1959, presented as a no-nonsense John Wayne soldier type. Writer Robert Kanigher, famous for his Silver Age Wonder Woman comics, and legendary artist Joe Kubert created him. He led his battalion, known as Easy Company, through many battles in World War II. He was so popular, that in 1977, he received his own self-titled series, which lasted until 1988, long past other World War II-centric comics. In fact, his adventures in the war lasted 25 years longer than the war itself did in real life. In DC continuity, Sgt. Rock died by the last bullet fired in the very last battle of World War II.

Luca Guadagnino is a very surprising choice for a potential blockbuster DC film, after having directed only quirky dramas, and that weird Suspiria remake. Another surprising choice is the character of Sgt. Rock himself. A Sgt. Rock movie was once planned in the ’80s, meant to star Arnold Schwarzenegger. But it never came together. In the comics, Sgt. Rock rarely crossed over with DC heroes from the era. He mostly remained in a more realistic bubble, away from superheroes. But maybe Gunn and Luca Guadagnino have other ideas, and hope to tie him more into DCU lore. We could see him working with the World War II era Creature Commandos. When it comes to Sgt. Rock, we can’t wait to see what DC Studios have cooked up.

Originally published November 20, 2024.

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Taco Bell’s New Menu Items Include Baja Blast Midnight Flavor, Queso Shells, and Birthday Cake Churros

If there’s one thing that unifies all mankind, it’s the eternal quest to get even more cheese into food. At least Taco Bell seems to think so. The fast food chain recently unveiled its new slate of menu items for 2025, and one of the most intriguing options coming to restaurants is the Quesocrisp Taco. It’s a shell made entirely out of crispy cheese. And after you’re done washing down yours with the new MTN DEW Baja Blast Midnight Flavor, you can end your meal with a Milk Bar Birthday Cake Churro.

Taco Bell

Earlier this month during its latest Live Más event, Taco Bell gave customers a look at 30 new foodstuffs it’s working on. While there was a whole lot of revelations, including new collaborations and merchandise for 2025, the most important was the announcement of options coming to Taco Bell locations everywhere. Those include new Caliente Cantina Chicken options, the return of Cool Ranch Doritos Locos Tacos and Double Decker Taco via the Decades Menu, Toasted Cheddar Street Chalupa, the return of Crispy Chicken Nuggets, Mike’s Hot Honey Diablo Sauce, a new Flamin’ Hot Burrito, Steak and Queso Crunchwrap Sliders, and Rolled Poblano Quesadilla.

Yup. All of them. Give us all of them. But the three new items coming in 2025 that really caught our eye/stomach provide an entire meal. They include:

Milk Bar Birthday Cake Churros: “…warm and crispy churros filled with Milk Bar’s iconic birthday cake frosting and topped with festive sprinkles and sugar”MOUNTAIN DEW BAJA MIDNIGHT: “a sweet and refreshing blast of passionfruit flavor combined with the familiar tropical lime flavor of Baja Blast”Quesocrisp Taco: “an all-new taco with a shell made out of crispy cheese”

Yuuuup. That’s a whole delicious night right there.

Taco Bell

Taco Bell also provided a look at foods that could one day join the 2025. The live experience started with the latest innovations the chain’s Test Kitchen has developed. While not all of these “dream” items will make it to customers, we’d eat literally all of them. These experimental ideas include:

Weak Knees Fire: “combines the iconic Fire sauce with Bushwick Kitchen’s Weak Knees Gochujang Sriracha”Zab’s Hot Ranch: “takes the flavors that Zab’s [Hot Sauce is known for and adding Taco Bell’s Spicy Ranch sauce”Purple Chile Sauce: “a rich purple sauce featuring three unique chiles: Ají Panca, Habanero and Ghost Pepper”Crispy Fajitas: “tempura battered crispy bell pepper, onions and jalapeños paired with white habanero ranch for dipping”Queso Fundido Rolled Chicken Taquitos: “crispy taquitos stuffed with chicken with a green chili queso fundido for dipping”Short Rib Chile Relleno Burrito: “Anaheim green chile stuffed with melted cheese and short rib beef”Brisket Taco: “featuring slow-roasted brisket, shredded cheese and purple cabbage”Poutine Fries: “seasoned fries topped with slow-roasted pork, savory gravy and cheese curds”Ube Strawberry Cookie: “a crisp and chewy sugar cookie stuffed with rich vanilla ube cream featuring strawberry pieces in the cookie and filling plus a flurry of sprinkles”Mexican Pizza Empanada: “the cult classic Mexican Pizza inside of a flakey crispy empanada”Mini Taco Salad: “a bite-sized version of the taco salad that was on Taco Bell menus from 1984 to 2017 with added salsa verde and lime”Tacodilla: “an oversized taco shell made with a corn flour tortilla filled with carne asada, melted cheese, guajillo pepper sauce and grilled to perfection”Salted Caramel & Toffee Cream Empanada Bite: “a twist on the beloved Caramel Apple Empanada featuring salted caramel and toffee cream”

Test Kitchen? Great! We volunteer as test subject.

You can read all about merch drops, celebrity partnerships, and new menu deals at Taco Bell’s official Live Más roundup. But we’re mostly just focused on those crispy cheese taco shells. Not out of selfishness or anything. But because they could truly unite all of us.

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ASSASSIN’S CREED SHADOWS: Everything You Need to Know

Assassin’s Creed is going back in time to feudal Japan in Assassin’s Creed Shadows! As the mighty samurai Yasuke and the stealthy ninja Naoe, you will liberate the people of Japan from their oppressors in this epic adventure. But you might also be wondering where does this game fit into the series’ canon? What aspects of history did Assassin’s Creed Shadows bring to life? And why is this time period so important? We’ve got you covered with a deep dive into everything you need to know about Assassin’s Creed Shadows before you play!

This video is presented by Assassin’s Creed Shadows. Fight for justice as a deadly ninja and a powerful samurai in 16th century Japan when Assassin’s Creed Shadows comes to PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, PC (including Steam on Day 1), Mac, and Amazon Luna on March 20th!

Learn more about Assassin’s Creed Shadows: https://bit.ly/ACSExplainiac

#AssassinsCreed #AssassinsCreedShadows #Games #VideoGames #Ubisoft #Sponsored

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Enjoy 4 Hours of Walt Disney World Monorail Riding Footage

In honor of National Monorail Day on March 6, Disney Parks posted a four-hour long video of footage from inside the Monorail. The video mimics the POV of sitting and riding around the park. The sights and sounds of the Monorail are included in the video to make it feel as immersive as possible. You can check out the video below.

The description of the video states: “In honor of National Monorail Day on March 6th, climb aboard the Walt Disney World Resort Mark VI Monorail for 4 relaxing hours of the most magical transportation on Earth! Enjoy as many round trip loops as you like, just remember—please stand clear of the doors. Por favor manténgase alejado de las puertas.”

The four-hour loop is relaxing to those who love the sound of the legacy Disney train carrier. Seems like a good video to play in the background while working. People in the comments seemed to enjoy the video a lot. One viewer commented, “I never knew how badly I needed this until now. Thank you Disney. Whoever did this need a raise.”

Disney Parks

Some people even asked for more videos like the one above, for example, the Magic Kingdom route. Another commenter wanted the video to be even more realistic saying, “This is exactly the kind of content we want, the sights and sounds of the Disney Parks, with the access only Disney can provide itself. Although, we do want to hear the announcements, and door chimes, it’s all part of the experience!!”

Disney’s YouTube channel has posted many videos focusing on ambient sound with titles mentioning “Walt Disney World Music & Ambience” or “Disney Parks Music & Ambience.” A few of my favorites include the “Space Mountain Soundscape” and “Relaxing Sounds of Nature“. The latter is based on the Journey of Water attraction at Disney World.

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Original LOONEY TUNES Removed From Max

In 2023, there was a great uproar when it seemed like Max announced that the original Looney Tunes animated shorts would be removed from the streaming platform. At the time, Warner Bros. Discovery hurried to share that this was a mistake and that the original Looney Tunes would remain viewable on the platform. But alas, as of March 2025, it’s time to say, “That’s all folks!” to Looney Tunes on Max. Seasons 1-15 of Looney Tunes, as well as The Looney Tunes Show, which were granted clemency in 2023, are now officially removed from Max. These important pieces of animated history can no longer be viewed via the streaming service, and many don’t currently have a streaming alternative available.

Here’s what we know about what’s going on with Looney Tunes on Warner Bros. Discovery’s Max.

Warner Bros.Warner Bros. Discovery Has REMOVED the Original Looney Tunes From Max

Even in 2023, we didn’t quite believe the original Looney Tunes shorts were safe on Max. Max has been pivoting to prioritize its adult and family programming. Children’s programming, meanwhile, is no longer a priority. And that’s what Max/Warner Bros. Discovery deems offerings such as Looney Tunes and Sesame Street, which will also soon stop streaming on the platform, to be. Animated programming also seems to have dropped in Max and Warner Bros. Disocery’s esteem.

But with all due respect to Warner Bros. Discovery and Max, the removed original Looney Tunes animated shorts are much more than just children’s or animated programming. The original Looney Tunes, which aired from 1930 through 1969, were created during the golden age of animation. And they are quite literally huge parts of TV history, ones that are imperative to archive. Sure, they are technically for kids, but anyone curious about the development of modern television, animation, and pop culture will want to reference the original Looney Tunes series.

Warner Bros.

Before this latest removal, Max already removed seasons 16-31 of the iconic shorts series in 2022. And that included material first released in the 1950s. And now all of Looney Tunes is gone from the Warner Bros. Discovery streamer. It’s really a true shame.

Interestingly, this Looney Tunes erasure comes as Looney Tunes‘ sees its first fully-animated, feature-length theatrical release ever. The Day The Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Story released on March 14.

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Warner Bros. Discovery Cancels WONDER WOMAN Video Game, Closes 3 Games StudiosWhat’s Left of Looney Tunes on Max

So what’s left of Looney Tunes on Max? If you search for Looney Tunes on the Warner Bros. Discovery streamer, you’ll find: Looney Tunes Cartoons, New Looney Tunes from 2015, Baby Looney Tunes, and Bugs Bunny Builders, a scripted podcast called Looney Tunes Presents: Bugs and Daffy’s Thanksgiving Road Trip, two seasons of Tiny Toons Looniversity and its Tiny Toons Looniversity: Spring Break special, and five seasons of The Sylvester and Tweety Mysteries.

Warner Bros.Is There Anywhere to Watch the Original Looney Tunes Shorts?

Now that the original Looney Tunes shorts are gone from Max, is there anywhere to watch them? Currently, some of the original Looney Tunes can be viewed on the Warner Bros. Classics YouTube channel. But we’re not sure how long they will remain available. You can check out what’s available at this search.

This Looney Tunes Removal Is the Latest In a Long Line of Depressing Choices Made By Max

It’s getting bleak out there. We wish we could say we were surprised by this original Looney Tunes removal, but it’s just the latest in a long line of removals and cancelations made by Max and Warner Bros. Discovery that really depress us. The growing tendency of movies and TV shows that we love or are excited about to disappear into thin air is enough to make you question if anything is ever safe these days. The original Looney Tunes is one of the seminal animated series in our TV history, literally created almost 100 years ago. And that’s not enough to give it any respect.

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Cartoon Network Website Shut Down, Warner Bros. Discovery Redirects Users to Max

In 2022, of course, we saw Max remove the first chunk of the original Looney Tunes seasons. Then, in early 2024, Warner Bros. Discovery opted to end its long-running programming deal with Sesame Street. Max also decided to cancel the basically finished (and by all accounts, good) Looney Tunes live-action/animated hybrid film Coyote vs. Acme. And, of course, we saw Warner Bros. Discovery shutter Cartoon Network’s original website, where free episodes of Cartoon Network shows used to stream. Warner Bros. Discovery redirected visitors from CartoonNetwork.com to Max… where, as we know, nothing is safe.

REad Next

Warner Bros. Officially Cancels the BATGIRL Movie

From this series of removals and cancellations, we conclude what we always do. Buy physical media if you really want to own the properties you love.

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ANDOR Episodes Available Free on YouTube, Conan O’Brien Returns as 2026 Oscars Host, Tony Gilroy Done with STAR WARS and Other March News

Somehow, it’s three months into 2025, and the year is really getting started. Here are some entertainment news tidbits that dropped in March. (You can check out February’s round-up here)

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Conan O’Brien Returns as 2026 Oscars HostPokémon Go Sold to ScopelyRusso Brothers’ Secret Wars Comic Inspirations John Wick Experience Now Open in Las Vegas & First-Look PhotosAndor Season 1 Episodes Available to Watch For Free on YouTubeAndor Scripts Won’t Release Because of AI ConcernsTony Gilroy Is Done with Star Wars After Andor Season 2Zach Cregger’s Resident Evil Movie Coming Fall 2026, Lands at SonyRobert Pattinson Says He’s Going to Be “A F**cking Old Batman” in The Batman—Part IIYouTube Offering Less Expensive Premium Tier, YouTube Premium LiteConan O’Brien Returns as 2026 Oscars Host

Did you enjoy Conan O’Brien as your 2025 Oscars host? Overall, fans seemed to have a mixed reaction. But the Academy Awards liked O’Brien as its host, it seems, because Conan O’Brien will return once again to host the 2026 Oscars next year. “The only reason I’m hosting the Oscars next year is that I want to hear Adrien Brody finish his speech,” O’Brien said in a statement, already getting back into the groove of mocking Hollywood. The 98th Academy Awards and O’Brien’s next set of jokes will air on Sunday, March 15, 2026.

Pokémon Go (And the Rest of Niantic’s Game Division) Sold to Scopely Niantic

For loyal players of online and mobile games, change is always a bit alarming. Ultimately, players have no control over what happens to their favorite games and no way to return to play previous editions of them that they enjoyed. Today, a very large shift occurred to a beloved game. Pokémon Go, alongside “Pikmin Bloom, Monster Hunter Now, and the incredible teams working on these experiences,” has been sold from Niantic to Scopely, share the companies. While all involved promise to retain the spirit of the game, Scopely does have a history of intensely monetizing games, leaving some nervous. On the plus side, Scopely will retain the whole Niantic Games team working on Pokémon Go and other games. Only time will tell what change this will bring.

Russo Brothers Tease Avengers: Secret Wars Comic Book InspirationsMarvel Studios

Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Warsare on the way. But which Marvel Comics will inspire the new Avengers movies? Will it be the original Secret Wars limited series from 1984? Or Jonathan Hickman’s reboot of the Secret Wars story from 2015? As we might have expected, the answer is both, but, as always, the MCU movie will tell its own tale.

Joe Russo shared, “Well, we always create our own version of the story. So, we use the comics as loose inspiration. But, you know, I grew up on the original run. That’s something that got me into Marvel comic books. The Hickman run is also fantastic [and they’re] very different from each other in a lot of ways, so we’ll draw inspiration from both of them.”

John Wick Experience Now Open in Las Vegas and First-Look Photos Revealed

The John Wick Experience is now officially open in Las Vegas. And you can check out first-look photos of the attraction below.

Click To View Gallery Lionsgate Lionsgate Lionsgate Lionsgate

A release shares about the recently opened John Wick Vegas experience:

Fans can see if they have what it takes to complete a mission in the captivating world of John Wick as part of the JOHN WICK EXPERIENCE, a new immersive attraction at AREA15, the world’s first purpose-built immersive entertainment district located minutes from the Las Vegas Strip. The 12,000-square-foot ticketed attraction includes two themed bars and a retail shop.

The JOHN WICK EXPERIENCE blends more than a dozen highly themed cinematic rooms, live interactions and interactive gameplay to create an immersive journey that transcends reality and challenges wit, skill and nerve. As guests step through the doors of the JOHN WICK EXPERIENCE, they find themselves in the fantastical underworld of John Wick, where they must navigate an all-new, high-stakes adventure. 

Each group of guests will be tasked with completing a mission that plays out in unique ways with characters, mythology, and iconography inspired by the Wick universe. Visitors may rub elbows or grab a drink with John Wick Continental Las Vegas staff, assassins, crime bosses, or other curious guests like themselves within the relative safety of the JOHN WICK EXPERIENCE. Guests will be drawn into the culture, trusted with secrets, and invited into private areas of the JOHN WICK EXPERIENCE, promising an authentic and compelling action-packed experience.

Andor Season 1 Episodes Available to Watch For Free on YouTube

If you don’t have Disney+ but want to get caught up on arguably the best Star Wars show ever, Andor, before season two hits. Disney and YouTube have a solution for you, at least partially. Episodes 1-3 of Andor season one are now available to watch free on Disney+’s YouTube. Additionally, all episodes of Andor are now available on Hulu, in case that’s your streaming platform of choice.

Andor Scripts Won’t Release Because of AI ConcernsLucasfilm

You can now watch Andor across many different platforms, but don’t expect to get your hands on any scripts. Andor creator Tony Gilroy shares that though he once promised he’d release the Andor scripts, he now will keep them close to his chest due to AI’s sneaky ways. Gilroy notes, “I wanted to do it. We put it together. It’s really cool. I’ve seen it, I loved it. AI is the reason we’re not. In the end, it would be 1,500 pages that came directly off this desk. I mean, terribly sadly, it’s just too much of an X-ray and too easily absorbed. Why help the f***ing robots any more than you can? So, it was an ego thing. It was vanity that makes you want to do it, and the downside is real. So, vanity loses.”

Tony Gilroy Is Done with Star Wars After Andor Season 2Lucasfilm

Tony Gilroy has made some giant contributions to the Star Wars world. But will he return to the galaxy far, far away after Andor season 2? It seems like signs point to no. Gilroy revealed, returning to Star Wars is “not really part of my plan.”

He added, “I’ve been peripherally involved for 10 years and intensely involved for six years, so that’s a pretty big chunk of my life. There are other things to do. I think when it’s done, I will have left a pretty big piece of Star Wars real estate behind. I’m not feeling guilty about not chipping in.” Next up for Gilory is a movie he’d like to direct. He shares, “It’s a movie about movie music.”

Zach Cregger’s Resident Evil Movie Coming Fall 2026, Lands at SonyCapcom

Zach Cregger’s Resident Evil reboot is heading home to Sony Pictures and producer PlayStation Productions. The Resident Evil cinematic franchise has long been under Sony’s purview, but to keep it, the studio had to participate in quite the bidding war. Nevertheless, Sony prevailed and will bring us the next Resident Evil movie, which is helmed by Barbarian filmmaker Zach Cregger.

The release date for the next Resident Evil movie is September 18, 2026.

Robert Pattinson Says He’s Going to Be “A F**cking Old Batman” in The Batman—Part IIWarner Bros.

The Batman—Part II has had some delays. Rumor has it that it will begin filming soon(ish), and one person who hopes so is Robert Pattinson. He shares, “I fucking hope so,” when asked if he’ll return to Batman’s world soon, “I started out as young Batman, and I’m going to be fucking old Batman by the sequel. I’m 38, I’m old.” Oop, well, we also love an old Batman.

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Every Streaming Cost Increase In 2025: Netflix Sets Major Price Hike Across PlansYouTube Offering Less Expensive Premium Tier, YouTube Premium LiteYouTube

Are all the ads on YouTube making you batty? Well, now you can take advantage of the perks of YouTube’s Premium tier, namely an ad-free experience, in a less expensive way. YouTube is now offering YouTube Premium Light. YouTube Premium Lite will cost $7.99 per month vs. $13.99 per month, the cost of premium. That’s a pretty steep reduction. YouTube Premium Lite will make “most videos” on YouTube ad-free for subscribers, including gaming, fashion, news, and beauty videos. Music content and shorts will remain full of ads, however. And YouTube Premium Lite will not allow video downloads or background play. Still, for those wanting less ads in their lives, YouTube Premium Lite seems like a good choice.

read next

TV Shows Canceled In 2025: All the Major Series We’ve Lost So Far

Originally published March 1, 2025.

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THE LAST OF US Infected Zombie Types Explained: Clickers, Bloaters, and More

HBO’s The Last of Us series is a pretty darn faithful adaptation of Naughty Dog’s groundbreaking 2013 action-adventure game. The game itself, though full of great set pieces and gameplay elements, was very much story-first, so adapting it to screen will not be that difficult. So if you haven’t played the game, you’ll be able to enjoy as it goes. But that also means you might just assume that The Last of Us‘ zombies are the typical undead shufflers. Not so! The once-human monsters of The Last of Us have a distinct progression and backstory that set them apart. Here’s everything you need to know!

The Last of Us Zombies Aren’t Zombies

I suppose, the first big thing about the zombies in The Last of Us is that they aren’t really zombies. At least, not zombies in the traditional, Romero-Kirkman way we think about them. The outbreak that causes the entire world to collapse in The Last of Us comes from a mutated strain of the Cordyceps fungus, and our non-zombie zombies come from this fungus and the infection it causes.

Naughty Dog

Cordyceps are parasitic fungi that usually attack insects, arthropods, or other fungi. Essentially, the Cordyceps fungus doesn’t tend to bug us too much in real life. However, in The Last of Us, a mutated version of the fungus enters human bodies via airborne spores and nestles itself in our brains.

In The Last of Us‘ universe, spores grow fungus in human brains until they eventually take over, creating a kind of zombie. The infection can also transmit via the saliva of those infected, so your typical bite. In this way, The Last of Us‘ zombies do offer us some traditional zombie aspects.

With that in mind, here are the stages of infection and consequent types of zombies at play in The Last of Us.

Jump to: Runners // Stalkers // Clickers // Bloaters // Shamblers // Rat King

Stage One of the Infected: RunnersNaughty Dog

The first stage of the Last of Us‘ zombie-creating infection is what survivors call “Runners.” These people will begin bleeding from their eyes, nose, and mouth, and run quite fast due to the fungus controlling their nervous systems. The base impulse of those at the Runners stage is to attack other people, often in hordes. While The Last of Us‘ Runners don’t possess any extra strength, their pain threshold is greater due, again, to fungus brain. (The answer to most questions of “Why can they do that?” is “Fungus Brain.”)

Stage Two of the Infected: StalkersNaughty Dog

Stalkers are people who’ve been infected anywhere between two weeks and a year. The fungus, by this point, will have sprung out of their head and body parts, creating a barnacle look. The Last of Us‘ Stalkers, as their name suggests, don’t run toward their prey but will instead wait in dark corners and wait for unsuspecting people to walk by. Those at this stage of infection also may prop themselves up near a wall and allow the fungus to grow into it. They can then pop out of the fungus when someone traipses by.

We didn’t see any Stalkers on The Last of Us season one, but they’re coming for us in The Last of Us season two. Showrunner Craig Mazin noted in a recent interview, “All I’ll say is that for the people who want to see more of the infected… Buckle up!” The article notes specifically that we’ll get to meet Stalkers in The Last of Us season two and defines them as “smarter and scarier members of the infected” zombies.

Showrunner Neil Druckmann adds, “You get to see a different evolution of this infection. It’s kept certain parts of their brain alive, so they are smarter. They coordinate and hide and do things that we’ve never seen any other infected do on this show.” Gulp.

When in the Stalkers stage, The Last of Us‘ zombies also tend to moan and cry in pain as the fungus takes over their muscles. So that’s a lot of fun. We can’t wait to see it come to life in live-action.

Stage Three of the Infected: ClickersHBO

Probably the most distinctive type of infected in The Last of Us are the Clickers. These are people who’ve been infected for over a year. The fungus will have broken completely out of the top of their head, removing the victim’s eyes and replacing them with a sort of coral shape. The Last of Us‘ Clickers shamble around, emitting distinctive clicks which bounce off of walls and objects, allowing these infected zombie creatures to echolocate prey. The fungus will also have reinforced their muscles and calcified their skin, making the much stronger and more durable than in the earlier stages.

A consequence of the Clickers’ method of hunting is sound warfare, creating a terrifying portent of doom for people who walk into their general vicinity on The Last of Us.

HBO

We’ve seen a few Clickers throughout The Last of Us‘ episodes. The show’s creators share, “If you’ve survived long enough, eventually the Cordyceps grows through your face, cracks it open, takes away your eyes, your vision, and you become what’s called a ‘Clicker,’ because now these infected use echolocation to find their way.”

It’s not a pleasant infected state, but there’s a long way still to go.

Stage Four-One of the Infected: BloatersNaughty Dog

Yeah, it just keeps getting grosser, folks. After a person has been infected for many years, their bodies bloat and become entirely overrun with fungus. In this stage, The Last of Us‘ zombies are slow and can’t see, but the fungus has reinforced their bodies to the point that they’re basically tanks. Taller, wider, sturdier. Even shotgun blasts to the head won’t stop Bloaters. Only fire can topple these guys. They can also break off pieces of fungus from their epidermis and throw them as projectiles. Seriously, just disgusting.

HBO Max’s Live-Action BloatersHBO

We’ve now seen a Bloater appear on HBO’s The Last of Us, and this infected was not messing around. Every bit as gross as its game counterpart, the live-action Bloater was oozing and crushing. This zombie-like Bloater made short work of anyone in its way, including tearing someone’s head off.

Series co-creator Neil Druckmann shares more about The Last of Us, “There are certain people that are so strong and big that can survive even longer, and those are the Bloater… That’s why you’re seeing this person is so tall and massive in their strength. And it just becomes that much scarier, again as we go forward, there’s just these new types of infected.”

Craig Mazin, the series other co-creator shares, “We also thought, look, whatever this thing is and however it got that way, there was this notion that it might be scarier that at some point you realize, you’re not killing it… No one’s killing it, ever.” And the Bloater can only become something worse.

Stage Four-Two of the Infected: ShamblersNaughty Dog

In areas of heavy water, like swamps and reservoirs, rather than turn into Bloaters, people infected for over a year will continue to shamble around relatively lithe. With the excess of moisture, the infected bodies of these infected zombies don’t calcify or grow in The Last of Us, but will instead emit and expel spores into the air. They also remain much quicker than those who are in either the Clickers or Bloaters stage.

Rare Infected Stage: The Last of Us‘ Zombies Form the Rat KingNaughty Dog

If you’ve heard of the horrifying natural phenomenon of a rat king, you might have an inkling of what this would mean in the context of The Last of Us‘ Cordyceps zombies. Rat kings are when several rats in a confined space will get their tails inexorably entwined and move together as one to survive. This The Last of Us phenomenon is pretty similar to a rat king infected except with zombies.

If enough Stalkers group together for a long enough time, their fungal growths will connect up. At that point, whichever member of the collective is the strongest will act as the ambulatory legs. In The Last of Us Part II, this only happens after 20 years of infection.

Why Are The Last of Us‘ Infected Violent?HBO Max

It’s an interesting question. If the fungus is only trying to grow and spread, why do the infected zombies act violently toward the people that surround them? Speaking to Variety, The Last of Us‘ creators addressed this question as it pertains to the series.

Discussing Tess infected “kiss” in episode two of The Last of Us, Craig Mazin shares:

We were already talking about tendrils coming out and we were asking these philosophical questions, “Why are infected people violent? If the point is to spread the fungus, why do they need to be violent?” We landed on that they don’t. They’re violent because we resist, but what if you don’t? What does it look like if you just stand perfectly still and let them do this to you?

So, it turns out, maybe the zombies of The Last of Us aren’t actually violent by nature. But they don’t appreciate humanity’s desire to remain human either.

Final Stage: The Last of Us‘ Zombies Don’t End with DeathHBO

Even after an infected body dies, the fungus will continue to grow and spread spores out into the air. This is why survivors tend to wear gas masks when they enter abandoned buildings; it’s best to burn bodies of the infected, rather than let them rot.

Spores don’t yet feature in HBO’s The Last of Us (though they’re coming in season two), but the series brings a new level of fearsomeness to the fungus. The fungus is all connected by tendrils that grow underground and it shares something of a hive mind. If you interact with a patch fungus or an infected in one area, you could alert tons of infected zombies to your location.

So that’s fun, right? Lots to look forward to in The Last of Us series when it comes to zombies and fungus. With much more infected shenanigans coming in season two of The Last of Us, we expect some good nightmare fuel will soon arrive on our screens.

The Last of Us season two will premiere on HBO on April 13, 2025.

Originally published in 2023.

Kyle Anderson is the Senior Editor for Nerdist. You can find his film and TV reviews here. Follow him on Instagram and Letterboxd.

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What Does the World’s Most Expensive Cheeto Look Like?

The title may seem like a no-brainer. Of course, the singular Cheeto that someone miraculously decided to pay for is the most expensive. But, alas, there is actually a whole slew of oddly specific-shaped Cheetos that people have been willing to spend big bucks on. We recently reported on the aptly named Cheetozard, a Charizard-shaped Flamin’ Hot Cheeto that sold for $87,840. However, this is merely one expensive Cheeto out of many, apparently, since the title of most expensive Cheeto actually goes to a Harambe-shaped Cheeto.

Goldin

The Harambe-shaped Cheeto was of the same Flamin’ Hot variety as the Cheetozard. Chris Astoyani, a Burbank resident, discovered it while working and pouring out some Cheetos onto a plate. That’s when he noticed that one of the Cheetos on the plate resembled a gorilla. Astoyani asked a coworker if they thought the same and was met with agreement. “It looks like Harambe,” said the coworker.

Zoo officials at the Cincinnati Zoo shot and killed Harambe, a gorilla, after a three-year-old child fell into the animal’s enclosure. Subsequently, Harambe made international headlines, spawning dozens of memes and inciting debate over animal safety.

eBay

Astoyani put the Cheeto up for sale on eBay, beginning the auction at only $15. The description of the post read, “Gorilla Hot Cheetos — RARE — One of a Kind Cheetos — Harambe Gorilla.” With no bids, Astoyani lowered the price to $11.99. However, the next day, Astoyani had many offers. What was the result? A winning bid amounting to $99,900.

Next time you see a weirdly shaped Cheeto, instead of popping it in your mouth, stop for a second and think about whether you want to be a couple thousand dollars richer. I’m going to go buy a couple of bags of Cheetos now.

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New Adaptation of STARSHIP TROOPERS Coming from Director Neill Blomkamp

One of the most influential sci-fi novels of all time is getting another crack at a big-screen adaptation. According to The Hollywood Reporter, it appears that District 9 director Neill Blomkamp will be reimagining Robert A. Heinlein’s classic 1959 novel Starship Troopers for Sony/Columbia Pictures. A previous version came out back in 1997, directed by RoboCop and Total Recall director Paul Verhoeven. This movie was a modest success at the time, but has since developed quite a cult following. This new version won’t be a remake of the 1997 film. Instead, they are going back to the original novel for inspiration.

TriStar Pictures/Touchstone Pictures

The original Hugo-award-winning novel told the story of an interplanetary war between Earth and a species of insectoid aliens. The main character in the novel is Johnny Rico, an exemplary soldier in the United Citizen Federation mobile infantry. The novel has come under fire over the years for its seeming fetishization of fascist ideologies. When Paul Verhoeven made this film right after the disastrous Showgirls, he chose to make it a satire of military propaganda films. Specifically, those produced by the United States during World War II. Sadly, his satirical approach went over the heads of many moviegoers back in the day.

James Cameron’s Aliens was also heavily influenced by the original novel. Especially as that film has a squad of Colonial Marines going on a “bug hunt” against the Xenomorphs, who are vaguely insectoid. A few years back, Blomkamp was developing a direct sequel to Aliens, that would have brought back Sigourney Weaver as Ripley, and Michael Biehn as Hicks, ignoring the other films in the franchise. That version never got off the ground, but we can’t help but wonder if some aspects of that project will find their way into this new adaptation. There is no production start date as of yet for this new version of Starship Troopers.

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Jason Bateman is Gotham City’s New Dark Knight in BATMAN VS. BATEMAN State Farm Commercial

It’s been three years since The Batman hit theaters, and it will be another two years before the sequel arrives. And who knows when we’re getting our new DCU Batman in Brave and the Bold. But we do have another live-action Dark Knight on our screens to tide us over in the meantime, in the unlikeliest of places — a commercial for State Farm insurance. The new ad doesn’t just give us Batman, but also the Joker, Catwoman, Riddler, Two-Face, Poison Ivy, and…actor Jason Bateman? Yes, the whole gag is about how any insurance that’s not State Farm won’t send BATman to help, and you’ll just get BATEman instead. (Womp Womp). You can watch the full one-minute version of the State Farm Batman vs. Bateman commercial right here:

There are quite a few familiar faces in this ad. SZA pops up as Catwoman stealing some jewelry, and streamer Kai Cenat appears as a Gotham City citizen. Content creator Jordan Howlett plays the ad’s Commissioner Gordon. We’re not sure who is playing iconic Gotham villains Two-Face, Riddler, Poison Ivy, or the Joker. But we must say, their costumes look pretty great. Especially the Joker, who looks way better than anything we got with the Jared Leto version in the DCEU. If the eventual Clown Prince of Crime we get in James Gunn’s new DCU looks anything like this, he’ll be the most DC Comics-accurate version we’ve had in a movie thus far.

State Farm

As for who is wearing the Batman suit in this ad, we also don’t know. It looks to be a modified version of the Ben Affleck costume from the DCEU. But his voice sure does sound familiar. To us, it sounds just like Will Arnett, the voice actor behind Batman in The LEGO Movie and The LEGO Batman Movie. Although it’s probably not him wearing the rubber outfit. It seems this version of the Caped Crusader was a team effort to bring to life. And we must say, the Batmobile he drives around in is also pretty cool. We’re not sure if Bateman vs. Batman is getting a sequel. But we’re down for one if they decide to make it. They should splurge and get Christian Bale to reprise his American Psycho character Patrick Bateman. Then it’s Bateman (who used to be Batman) vs. Batman. This commercial writes itself.

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