Chris Hardwick's Blog, page 163

STAR TREK: SECTION 31 Gives a Backstory to the First Woman Enterprise Captain

[image error]

Star Trek: Section 31 gave Trekkers a glimpse into the history of a nearly-forgotten Captain of the Starship Enterprise. We all know about Captain Archer, Captain Pike, Captain Kirk, and Captain Picard. But between Kirk and Picard there were two Enterprise Captains. One of them was Captain John Harriman of the Enterprise-B, who we met in Star Trek: Generations. The other got the spotlight in the classic Star Trek: The Next Generation episode “Yesterday’s Enterprise.” This was Rachel Garrett, Captain of the Enterprise-C, played by actress Tricia O’Neil. We meet a younger version of Garrett in Section 31, played by Kacey Rohl. And we learned a good deal more about Star Trek’s first woman in the Captain’s chair of the Enterprise.

Paramount

The first time Star Trek fans encountered Rachel Garrett, she was presumably in her mid-40s in the third season TNG episode “Yesterday’s Enterprise.” (The actress who portrayed her was 45 at the time of filming.) We learn, via a variety of time travel shenanigans, that Garrett was Captain of the Enterprise-C in the year 2344. This was approximately 20 years before Picard took command of the Enterprise-D. The Enterprise-C was in service for 12 years, although it is unknown if Garrett was in command during that whole time.

Paramount

Her Enterprise saved the Klingon outpost Narendra III from a Romulan attack in 2344, sacrificing its crew to save the outpost’s inhabitants. Thanks to time travel, Garrett actually died in an alternate year 2367, but history recorded that she died defending the Klingons. This cemented the Federation/Klingon alliance, preventing future conflicts between the two former enemies. There is nothing Klingons value more than honor. And the crew of the Federation flagship sacrificing themselves for Klingons was considered very honorable. In Star Trek: Picard season 3, we know Starfleet erected a statue of Garrett on the planet M’Talas Prime. It stood in front of the Starfleet Recruitment Center in the 25th century.

Paramount+

In Section 31, actress Kacey Rohl plays Lt. Rachel Garrett, a young hotshot Starfleet officer. Rohl is 33, but plays younger, meaning Section 31 could take place anywhere from 15 to 20 years before she battles the Romulans in 2344. In Section 31, she works with the secretive organization on their special black ops missions, in order to represent Starfleet’s interests. She’s there mostly to make sure that they did not break Starfleet’s code of ethics. Rohl plays her as a smart and ambitious officer, and an asset to the team. By the end of the film, Starfleet promotes her to Lt. Commander, on the fast track to becoming Captain one day.

Paramount

We may not see another Section 31 project anytime soon. But we could see Kacey Rohl return as Rachel Garrett. There were a dozen years when her Enterprise was Starfleet’s pride and joy. There’s plenty of time to tell stories in that era. Maybe it can be a new film or possibly a whole new series set in the decades before Star Trek: The Next Generation. Captain Garrett has the distinction of being the first female Captain of the Enterprise in canon. Certainly, she deserves a Star Trek project of her own. Here’s hoping that Section 31 is but a prelude to that.

The post STAR TREK: SECTION 31 Gives a Backstory to the First Woman Enterprise Captain appeared first on Nerdist.

SEVERANCE Season 2 Episode 2 Recap: New Revelations and Questions

Severance season two, episode two showed us the real world fallout of the Marcodat Uprising. It was nothing like Seth Milchick described. In fact, it wasn’t much of an event at all. The Innies did not become heroes of severance reform. It wasn’t even hard to get them back to work in just a few days. What else did we learn from “Goodbye, Mrs. Selving?” And what new mysteries replaced them? There are the biggest revelations and questions we have from season two’s second episode.

[image error]REVELATIONSThe Innies Returned to Lumon Quickly and EasilyApple TV+

In the season two premiere, newly promoted severance floor manager (and cool ass motorcyclist) Seth Milchick told Mark’s Innie he’d been away from work for five months. He also said Mark begged to come back and that the Marcodat Uprising made the four refiners the “face” of severance reform. Milchick even showed him an obviously fake newspaper showing the Innies as the heroes of a ticker-tape parade.

Only it turns out Mark willingly went back to work mere days later, despite originally planning to quit. Milchick convinced him his Innie is happy and those benefits will soon make their way to Mark’s Outie. Milchick also told Mark that the fired Mrs. Selving was a disturbed woman responsible for his Innie’s issues at Lumon. Meanwhile, Dylan was glad to go back to Lumon after Milchick initially fired him. The severed floor is where Dylan turned when he couldn’t find stable employment. Outie Dylan is loved but lacks all the confidence and bravado of Innie Dylan. With a family to feed he was happy to return to his severed job. (He didn’t even know about the Marcodat Uprising since news about it was mostly suppressed.)

The fired Irving also went back when given the chance, but it’s clear his return is strategic. He’s not suddenly pro-Lumon. Irv, who woke up in the middle of banging on Burt’s door, realized his Innie broke out somehow. He’s now back at work at Lumon because he’s still working on his unknown plan to take down the company.

Meanwhile, Helena Eagan was forced to go back to the severed floor by Lumon’s Board. They need Mark S. to finish the Cold Harbor file, and getting Helly back is the only way he’ll do that.

Mark’s “She’s Alive” Message Wasn’t ClearApple TV+

Season one ended with Innie Mark realizing Ms. Casey is his Outie’s dead wife Gemma. Unfortunately, his memorable scream of “she’s alive” didn’t get the message across. Mark didn’t get tell his sister and brother-in-law who “she” referred to. They assumed Mark had meant his niece they’d just found. But Devon knows that doesn’t totally make sense and can’t help wondering if Mark was talking about Gemma since he was holding their wedding photo when he yelled.

Mark refused to believe the doubting Devon might be right because he personally identified Gemma’s body. If he did, that means Gemma really did die. But it’s possible Mark misidentified her. When comparing the loss of his spouse to a hypothetical one for his sister, he mentioned Ricken’s body being burned. Was Gemma’s “body” burned in her fatal crash? That would have made it easier for Lumon to fake her death.

Whatever the vital truth about Gemma’s fate, Mark ended the episode more open to the possibility she is alive. He asked Mrs. Selving if she knows something about his wife and Harmony’s silence (followed by inarticulate screaming) spoke volumes.

Helly R. Found Something Helena Never Has

Apple TV+

Helena is an uncaring monster loyal only to her family’s business and its unknown nefarious plans. And yet, the show gave us reason to feel sympathy for Lumon’s future CEO (who is also a very convincing liar/performer). Helly R. has something with Mark S. that Helena has clearly never found herself. She was overwhelmed by the security footage of her Innie kissing Mark. Britt Lower’s incredible performance conveyed so much about Helena and just how different her own life is versus her the Innie version, who Helena famously told is “not a person.”

For not being a person, Helly R. seems to have made far more of a human connection with her severed co-workers than Helena even has with her own dad. He didn’t even have sympathy for what happened to his daughter. He called her a “fetid moppet” (a.k.a. a rancid child.).

What would Helena have become if not raised in her family’s cult-like ways? She’s finding out what we already know and it’s painful for her to see.

No One Has Ever Trusted LumonApple TV+

During Helena’s taped apology for the company’s Innie breakout cover story, she revealed people have distrusted Lumon since it’s very founding. It’s easy to see why people wouldn’t trust a global conglomerate severing people’s mind in two. But why were people so wary of a basic salve company at the outset? Why has there always been “distrust” of Lumon? And, if there has been, how has it been able to flourish into a worldwide power despite long held misgivings?

QUESTIONSWhy Is Cold Harbor So Important?Apple TV+

Severance‘s season two premiere revealed that Mark’s current marcodata refiner file is his own wife. “Cold Harbor” is Gemma. That explained why those random numbers evoke real human emotions in refiners. They are potentially real human emotions coming from real people.

There’s still much we don’t know about the process, but “Ms. Casey’s” file indicated she’s in some kind of stasis, likely on a breathing tube. Now we must also wonder why “Cold Harbor” itself is not only especially important compared to other similar files, but why Mark S. himself must finish it. Why can’t Dylan or Irv work on that file? Why is Lumon so desperate to have Mark, and Mark alone, finish it, so much so they brought back the Macrodat Uprisers? The Board immediately acquiesced to Mark’s demands even though it meant sacrificing Helena Eagan again.

Everything Lumon is working towards seems to depend on this one single file worked on by one specific person. That gives both Outie and Innie mark tremendous leverage…if they ever figure that out.

Where Is Ms. Cobel Going?Apple TV+

Helena told the recently fired Ms. Cobel the company was grateful for what she did during the Innie outbreak and Lumon wanted her back. However, they didn’t want her back on the severed floor. They were “promoting” her to a made up job. Harmony had asked for and received an apology, but it wasn’t enough. She realized Lumon only wants to rehire her because it is afraid of her. Despite Helena’s claim Lumon “fears no one,” Ms. Cobel was correct. They wanted to keep her happy and in the fold, just far away from severed employees. (Partly because they made her a scapegoat, partly because she had become part of Mark’s personal life.)

Instead of accepting the new position, Ms. Cobel left town after a tense confrontation with Mark. Where is she going? Why didn’t she answer any of Mark’s questions? And why did Lumon let her leave? That is, if they truly did.

Why Was Burt Following Irving?Apple TV+

Irv was banging on Outie Burt’s door when he woke up during the Microdat Uprising. Innie Irv has no idea what happened next, but Burt likely answered when someone was banging on his door and screaming his name. What happened when he did? That depends on whether Outie Burt already knows Outie Irv. They certainly seem like they do. Irving had Burt’s name and home marked on a map in his locked chest.

Is that Outie connection why they were drawn to each other on Lumon’s severed floor? Or does their past go back even further at Lumon? These were already major questions we had about both before Irv’s mysterious phonebooth call during this episode made their relationship even more mysterious. Irv didn’t want to make a call from his own home since his line might be/likely is bugged. The message he left to an unknown person who didn’t answer showed why Irv didn’t want Lumon listening:

Okay. You’re not picking up. I get it. I want you to know my Innie got the message.

Irv has been painting the Testing Floor hallway and door repeatedly while staying up all night so his Innie would get a subconscious message. It worked, and Irv shared that success with someone who is mad at him. Who did he tell and why is that person upset? Burt is the only viable answer so far, especially because he might very well be angry Irv showed up at his home where he lives with his partner.

But if they’re working together against Lumon, why was Burt following Irving around in the shadows? Why spy on Irving rather than talk to him? What is really going on with them? How much does Burt know about Lumon’s real plans? And can Irv truly trust Burt when Burt is following him in his car?

What Was 5X?Apple TV+

In just 48 hours Seth Milchick found three new macrodata refiners to work with Mark. One was his “floater” from overseas. (Wonder if that was Dario the Italian guy?!?) The other two were laid off Lumon employees from 5X. When hearing 5X, Helena and Mr. Drummond seemed dubious at best and exhausted at worse.

Why? What was 5X? Why did it result in layoffs? And why did Helena recoil at using employees from there? We didn’t know anything about 5X before that brief interaction and now we want to know everything about it.

Small Bonus Question: Why does Mr Drummond have “frolic” tattooed on his hand? He doesn’t seem the frolicking type. Though in fairness, we don’t know much about him yet. Or frolicking as a past time in general…

Anyway, something to keep an eye on, along with 50,000 other things going on at Lumon.

The post SEVERANCE Season 2 Episode 2 Recap: New Revelations and Questions appeared first on Nerdist.

STAR TREK: SECTION 31 Showcases These Deep-Cut Aliens and Characters

[image error]

Star Trek: Section 31 is the first live-action Trek project taking place in the “Lost Era.” That’s the name Trekkers have given to the 75 years between the end of the Captain Kirk era and the start of The Next Generation. As such, there are several roles, both large and small, that showcase aliens and other beings not seen in Star Trek in a very long time. In some cases, several decades. Here are our favorite Star Trek deep-cut pulls, character-wise, from Star Trek: Section 31.

DeltansParamount

The franchise introduced Deltans in Star Trek: The Motion Picture via Enterprise officer Lt. Illia (Persis Khambatta). All we learned about these new humanoid (and bald) aliens from Delta IV is they were hyper-sexualized. So much so, that they had to take a vow of celibacy to join Starfleet. We barely saw any Deltans again outside of background cameos in larger Starfleets scenes, until Star Trek: Picard season two. In Section 31, we have our first Deltan main character since 1979 with Melle, played by Humberly Gonzalez. This Deltan is a Section 31 agent, and has no problem using her seductive Deltan powers on the job.

Human AugmentsParamount

In the timeline of Star Trek, we know that in the late 20th century, a race of genetically engineered superhumans emerged and took over a portion of the world. Khan Noonian Singh was the leader of one faction. Eventually, humanity deposed these Augments, exiling them from the Earth in cryoships. We met the first Augments in the original Star Trek episode “Space Seed.” In Enterprise, we encounter another group. Section 31’s Alok (Omari Hardwick) is also an Augment from the 20th century who served a female Augment warlord at one point. He too was then cryogenically frozen, waking up in the 23rd century. Although not technically one of Khan’s men, he’s definitely an enemy (or ally) of his.

ChameloidsParamount

The most famous shapeshifters in Star Trek are the Changelings from the Gamma Quadrant, introduced in Deep Space Nine. Constable Odo from DS9 was one of these shapeshifters, as were the Founders of the dreaded Dominion. But before Odo, Star Trek introduced a different shapeshifting alien race called Chameloids. These cat-eyed beings first appeared in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country with a Chameloid named Martia, played by supermodel (and Mrs. David Bowie) Iman. We never encountered another one until now, with actor Sam Richardson playing a Chameloid Section 31 operative named Quasi.

Future Enterprise Captain Rachel GarrettParamount

Starfleet’s attaché to this Section 31 operation is none other than a young Lt. Rachel Garrett. Her name may be unfamiliar to casual Trek fans, but it is iconic to diehards. In the classic Star Trek: The Next Generation episode “Yesterday’s Enterprise,” we meet an older Rachel Garrett. We learn she was the Captain of the Enterprise-C, the immediate predecessor to Jean Luc Picard’s Enterprise-D. She commanded the Enterprise a good 20 years before Picard. Eventually, her ship was lost in battle to Romulans. The first canonical female Captain of any Enterprise, Picard season 3 also referenced Captain Garrett. There, the show mentioned she had a statue built in her honor. In Section 31, we see her promoted to Lt. Commander. Clearly, she’s well on her way to eventually becoming Captain of the starship Enterprise.

The “Conspiracy” AliensParamount

Vulcans are not exactly a deep-cut reference when it comes to Star Trek aliens. Quite the opposite. But Fuzz (Sven Ruygrok), who appears to be a Vulcan, is actually just a Vulcan body controlled by a microscopic alien species. This species actually acts as a puppet master, “piloting” him from inside. This recalls the alien race of tiny parasites who once took over Starfleet Command officers. These appeared in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode “Conspiracy,” and we never saw them again. Clearly not the same species, based on their design. Nevertheless, Fuzz is very similar and is probably an homage to those unnamed “Conspiracy” aliens.

The Cheron Paramount

The original Star Trek contained plenty of socio-political allegory, some subtle, and some very on-the-nose. One of these on-the-nose alien races was from the planet Cheron, in the third season of TOS. In the episode “Let That Be Your Last Battlefield,” we met the two sole survivors of Cheron. One alien is black on one side and white on the other, with his adversary being the exact opposite in terms of which side the black and white landed on. This was all Gene Roddenberry’s commentary on the absurdity of racism. We never saw one of these aliens again until now, as one appears in a small role in Section 31. That original episode made it seem like that species was extinct, but now we know at least one survived, and is now working for Phillipa Georgiou.

The post STAR TREK: SECTION 31 Showcases These Deep-Cut Aliens and Characters appeared first on Nerdist.

HELLBOY Creator Mike Mignola Talks His Creepy New Graphic Novel, BOWLING WITH CORPSES

Legendary writer/artist Mike Mignola has been bringing his particular brand of spooky to comics for nearly forty years. Although most famous for his Hellboy universe, Mignola has created other iconic supernaturally-themed comics over the years, like Joe Golem and Baltimore. Now, he’s delving into ancient folklore in his new hardcover graphic novel, Bowling with Corpses and Other Strange Tales From Lands Unknown. We got the chance to chat with Mignola about his newest dark fantasy book, and the shared universe for Dark Horse Comics he’s started with it, Curious Objects.

Nerdist: When did you first come up with the concept for Bowling with Corpses? Is this something that came to you relatively recently, or has this been brewing in your head for some time, just waiting for the right moment? And was this something you could only tackle with Hellboy now largely in your rearview mirror?

Dark Horse Comics

Mike Mignola: For a long time I have wanted to create a place where I could concentrate on very loose adaptations of folk and fairytales. I’ve worked a lot of that stuff into Hellboy but really wanted to do them as their own thing. And as I do feel that I’ve done about everything there is for ME to do with Hellboy, it felt like now was the right time.   

Bowling with Corpses is really told as a sequence of fables. It’s like a love letter to traditional folklore. What made you want to switch up from more straightforward comic book narratives like Hellboy to a form of storytelling rooted in something far older?  

Dark Horse Comics

Mignola: I’ve always loved these old stories, I feel like I’ve been sliding more and more in this direction. So it seemed like just a natural step to concentrate on the stories themselves rather than one central character. I went so far as to create a WORLD before I had most of the stories or characters. I had the one story—Bowling With Corpses—but didn’t want to make that boy in that the central character of the series. so I created a whole new world, its mythology and geography. And I let the new characters and stories grow out of that.

There are a lot of classic monsters in these tales. And you’ve drawn these creatures before in things like Hellboy. And even going back to your adaptation of Bram Stoker’s Dracula. How did you approach doing these old folkloric monsters, but in a newer way?

Dark Horse Comics

Mignola: My goal isn’t usually to present monsters in a NEW way. If anything I’m usually trying to go backwards, to go back to the folklore roots of the characters. The real joy for me is going back to old stories, and discovering so many fantastic creators that are largely unknown. Those are the things I want to play with—those are the stories I want to tell.

Dark Horse Comics

There are a lot of references in these stories to creation myths, and the role of gods in relation to man. These are all obviously big heady ideas here. Did you struggle with finding a way to distill them down into relatively short, entertaining tales?

Mignola: There is a lot of that to do with this world. I created a bunch of gods and a mythology and I did tell a very short version of the creation myth here in the first book. But there is so much more to it. So many more layers. And my goal was to present that as background to be referenced in stories rather than (in most cases) the actual subject of the stories. It’s important for me to know how everything connects. But the reader should never be presented with the complete picture—certainly not all at once. As Ben and I do more stories, more will be revealed. And the reader will, I hope, get a better feel for the world and how it works. But I never want to shine too much light into all the dark corners.

This book begins a new Dark Horse imprint for you, Curious Objects. Will all the books coming out under the Curious Objects banner be a part of this shared universe? Or will any stand alone?

Mignola: I believe the Curious Objects imprint is just a place to gather all the books I’ve created or co-created together. So all the new stuff, as well as Hellboy, Baltimore, Screw-On Head, etc. 

Dark Horse Comics

Bowling With Corpses is described as the start of a shared universe. How will your shared universe differ from all the others currently out there?

Mignola: Ben Stenbeck and I will share this world. So far I’ve done the bulk of the “world-building”—creating the rough origins, mythology, drawing up the maps. But as Ben contributes, all that will become richer and more complicated. Most of my stories in this first book take place in a certain area, but it’s a whole world. Ben’s first story starts in a place I haven’t touched on. The plan is that eventually we will flesh out the world. There are a lot of places to go—a lot to play with, create, a million stories to draw upon. I hadn’t thought to start anything this huge following 30 years of Hellboy, so I’m very happy to share this thing with Ben. I think we’re going to have a lot of fun here.

Bowling with Corpses and Other Strange Tales From Lands Unknown is now available from Dark Horse Comics.

The post HELLBOY Creator Mike Mignola Talks His Creepy New Graphic Novel, BOWLING WITH CORPSES appeared first on Nerdist.

James Gunn Shares First SUPERGIRL Set Photo, Annoucing Production Has Begun

James Gunn’s Superman is looming on the horizon, getting ready for its July 11 release date. But another member of Kal-El’s immediate family is also gearing up for her debut in the new DCU. Gunn announced on social media that principal photography has begun on Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow. The photo released shows the back of Kara Zor-El actress Milly Alcock’s head, sitting in her on-set chair. Craig Gillispie, known for his work on I, Tonya and Cruella, is in the director’s chair for this one. You can see James Gunn’s post right here:

Thrilled to see cameras roll at Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden on Supergirl, with Craig Gillespie at the helm and the phenomenal Milly Alcock as our Kara Zor-El. Craig brings an incredible sensibility to this story, and Milly is every inch the unique #Supergirl envisioned by Tom… pic.twitter.com/za9Tr8Vryr

— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) January 23, 2025

So what can we infer from just this one Supergirl photo? Not a whole lot, but a few things. For one, Kara is going to have long hair. In the DC Comics, she’s worn many different hairstyles over the decades. But it looks like they’re going with Supergirl’s longer hair from the Tom King and Bilquis Evely comic the film is based on. Second, Milly Alcock’s chair has the same ‘S’ symbol that our new Man of Steel David Corenswet has. Looks like that’s our House of El symbol across both films, which shows consistency. And last, the bar she’s in is probably the same alien bar Kara goes to in the original comic book on her 21st birthday.

James Gunn

Hopefully, we’ll see an official photo of Milly Alcock in her Supergirl costume soon. Unlike her iconic cousin, Kara Zor-El has worn a metric ton of different costumes over the years. We wouldn’t be surprised if she wears something akin to the design she has in the Woman of Tomorrow comic book. But they might do something completely different for the live-action version. And they might want to differentiate from her Arrowverse CW costume or the one used by Sashe Calle in The Flash. In any case, after her stellar work in House of the Dragon, we’re pretty sure that Alcock is going to completely own this role.

Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow hits theaters on June 26, 2026.

The post James Gunn Shares First SUPERGIRL Set Photo, Annoucing Production Has Begun appeared first on Nerdist.

Will Smith Finally Reveals What His MATRIX Tease Is All About

One of the most famous “What If?” questions in movie history is what The Matrix movies would’ve been like with Will Smith as Neo. As many fans know, Smith was offered the leading role as Neo by the Wachowskis but he turned it down in favor of the Wild Wild West movie. Obviously, one movie became a whole franchise and one of the most influential sci-fi movies of all-time and it was NOT Wild Wild West. (FWIW, I actually think that movie is a ton of fun and he was great in it.) Will Smith has always maintained that he is okay with his choice and, honestly, it is hard to imagine anyone other than Keanu in that role. Recently, Will Smith stirred up theories on Instagram after posting a cryptic video hinting that he could be in a future Matrix movie. 

UPDATE 1/23/25: Will Smith, you marketing genius. Deadline‘s suspicions that the actor was dropping a new music project and not starring in a new The Matrix film was spot on. Will dropped more information on his IG page, including some behind-the-scenes shots of him filming some very Matrix-like scenes and even rocking the those infamous shades. Today, Will finally confirmed that his new project is a song he is doing with Mr. Anderson. No, not that one. It is Sean Anderson, better known as rapper Big Sean. Their song and presumably music video for “Beautiful Scars” drops on January 30. We guess that means Will is less Neo and more Morpheus.

UPDATE 1/8/2025: Recent reports by The Hollywood Reporter and Deadline suggest that this isn’t the case. The former said insider information revealed that Will Smith will not be a new The Matrix project but it is not clear what Smith is referring to in his video (posted below). Meanwhile, Deadline seems to believe that this clip is tied to an upcoming music project by Smith. So far, Will Smith’s reps nor the man himself are telling anyone anything.

The video mimics the blacked out computer screen that Neo saw a message on in the original film. The initial screen of orange text says the following:

In 1997, the Wachowskis offered Will Smith the role of Neo in The Matrix. Smith turned it down. He chose Wild Wild West, believing it was a better fit for him at the time. But the question remains: What would The Matrix have been like with Will Smith as Neo? 

The following screens are what really got fans going. They say “Wake up Will…” and “The Matrix has you…” 

Columbia Pictures

Will Smith posted the strange Matrix message without further captions, which led to people losing their minds in his comments. Is Will Smith going to star in a new The Matrix movie? Will he team up Keanu Reeves for it? Is this film a reboot or just one that takes place in that universe? Or is Will just playing with people’s emotions because he likes to do that on IG? We don’t know but it seems like he’s hinting at something coming soon. His long-time creative partner DJ Jazzy Jeff posted fire emojis, indicating that he is aware of what The Fresh Prince is up to. Let’s see what happens in the near future. 

Originally published January 6, 2025.

The post Will Smith Finally Reveals What His MATRIX Tease Is All About appeared first on Nerdist.

SUPERGIRL: WOMAN OF TOMORROW Begins Filming

James Gunn’s new DCU is getting ready to launch in cinemas all over the globe next year with the release of Superman. But just one year later, Kal-El’s cousin Kara, a.k.a Supergirl, is hitting the big screen as well, in the character’s first feature film in over 40 years.

On January 23, 2025, Gunn shared a photo of star Milly Alcock sitting in a director’s chair with the Supergirl logo on it. He explained that cameras are rolling on what will be the DCU’s second feature.

Thrilled to see cameras roll at Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden on Supergirl, with Craig Gillespie at the helm and the phenomenal Milly Alcock as our Kara Zor-El. Craig brings an incredible sensibility to this story, and Milly is every inch the unique #Supergirl envisioned by Tom… pic.twitter.com/za9Tr8Vryr

— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) January 23, 2025

Here’s everything we know so far about DC Studios’ upcoming movie about the Girl of Steel, Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow.

TitleDC Comics

Like the comic book upon which it is based, the title of the film is Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow. It will be the second film in James Gunn’s Chapter 1 of his new DCU, titled “Gods and Monsters.”

Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow’s PlotDC Comics

Based on the 2021-2022 series of the same name by Batman writer Tom King and artist Bilquis Evely, the film will be a grand intergalactic adventure. In this story, Kara Zor-El, Superman’s young cousin, will embark on a journey through space on her 21st birthday. Joining her on this adventure is Krypto the Superdog. In space she meets a young alien girl named Ruthye who asks Kara for her help in getting revenge for the killing of her family by a man known as Krem of the Yellow Hills. Kara is far more jaded than her cousin Kal-El, who came to Earth as a baby. In stark contrast, this version of Kara witnessed the destruction of her home planet at age 14, changing her outlook on life going forward.

Behind-The-Scenes

Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow is directed by I, Tonya and Cruella director Craig Gillespie, from a script by Ana Nogueira. Although she has written screenplays before, most know Nogueira from her role in the CW series The Vampire Diaries. DC Studios co-heads James Gunn and Peter Safran are producing. Of Nogueira, Gunn said “Ana is an amazing writer whose screenplay adaptation of Woman of Tomorrow is above and beyond anything I hoped it would be.”

DC Comics

He later said (via The Hollywood Reporter) “[Writer] Anna [Nogueira] came in, and she pitched the story to me of Supergirl, and it was just one of the best pitches I’ve ever heard, and she immediately wrote it. She came in with the first draft that was great, and it’s just gotten better and better. Then [director] Craig [Gillespie] has been incredibly easy to work with, and I can’t wait for that to come out.”

Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow’s CastHBO/DC Studios

Our titular woman of tomorrow is none other than House of the Dragon star Milly Alcock. As fans probably know, she played the younger Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen in the first season of that series. Joining her is Belgian actor Matthias Schoenaerts, famous for his role in Netflix’s The Old Guard. Here, he’s the antagonist of the film, Krem of the Yellow Hills. Although not confirmed, we imagine there will be some kind of smaller role for David Corenswet as Kara’s cousin Superman.

DC Comics/Ed Miller/Netflix

Eve Ridley will also star in the film as Ruthye Mary Knolle. This character is central to the comics that the film is based on, in which this alien girl discovers the death of her father by a villain named Krem. Her quest for vengeance leads to a team up with Kara for justice.

Warner Bros/DC Comics

In a move both totally surprising and not at all surprising, Jason Momoa—Aquaman in the DCEU—has been cast as Lobo in the DCU, to make his first supporting appearance in Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow.

AMC/Universal Pictures

David Krumholtz (Oppenheimer) and Emily Beecham (1899) have been cast in the film as Kara’s parents, Zor-El and Alura, respectively. Presumably they will feature in flashbacks since the characters are canonically dead by time Supergirl is awakened on Earth.

Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow Release Date

Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow is set to release in theaters worldwide on June 26, 2026.

The post SUPERGIRL: WOMAN OF TOMORROW Begins Filming appeared first on Nerdist.

LABYRINTH Sequel On the Way with Robert Eggers

STOP the presses. There has been a long-rumored Labyrinth reboot on the way. But it looks like it’s a Labyrinth sequel instead. We don’t know much about it. But we guess if anyone had to step into Labyrinth‘s tight pants and glam-camp world, we would trust Eggers to the job. We don’t know much about the movie yet, but Deadline reports a new Labyrinth film is coming to TriStar Pictures and Robert Eggers is set to write and direct it.

Sony Pictures Television

Honestly, we think it’s wise and good that this Labyrinth movie is a sequel and not a reboot. Much as we’d like Robert Pattinson to don a pair of obscene leggings and an outrageous mullet, no one can replace David Bowie in our hearts as Jareth. Although, of course, Pattinson, or whomever, no casting has yet been announced for the new Labyrinth sequel move, could still play the Goblin King. Or perhaps the Goblin King’s cousin. (Once again, this is just our speculative casting for the Labyrinth sequel, but it’s good, no?)

Lionsgate/Sony Pictures Television

In any case, it’ll take a huge swing to match the fervent love that surrounds the original in any sequel movie. Labyrinth was very much a product of its time, and also the product of a set of fever-dream collaborators with absolutely no, excuse my language, fucks to give. It’s hard to know if something so off-the-wall nutty, complete with the brain of Jim Henson and his puppets, could ever live true in this day and age. But, given Nosferatu‘s campy snark and absurd mustache, as we said, if we had to rely on anyone for the job, it would be Eggers.

RELATED ARTICLE

How to Beat the LABYRINTH Two-Door Riddle

For those unfamiliar with 1986’s Labyrinth (and really, what are you doing with your lives), here’s a quick synopsis to chew over as we all ponder a sequel movie. “Frustrated with her half-brother, Sarah summons goblins to take him away. When they actually do, she must rescue him from a fantastical world.” Of course, that doesn’t very nearly begin to cover the eerie mazes, hilarious troll figures, lavish masquerades, incredible songs, babies getting tossed in the air, and overall mayhem of the original movie.

Labyrinth sequel movie, you’d better be ready to play and slay.

The post LABYRINTH Sequel On the Way with Robert Eggers appeared first on Nerdist.

LEGO ONE PIECE Sets Are Setting Sail, Marking First Anime-Inspired Builds

LEGO knows the importance of one piece. In fact, one piece can make the difference between victory and defeat in a LEGO build. (Which is why LEGO so often kindly gives you backup pieces of the one piece you’ll probably lose.) But now, one piece is about to take on a whole new meaning in the LEGO world. LEGO One Piece sets are officially on the way, and it’s all thanks to a new Netflix collaboration. No specific LEGO One Piece sets have yet been announced, but a few obvious builds celebrating the Straw Hat Pirates jump out to us. Here’s everything we know so far about the LEGO One Piece partnership and what we can expect.

Jump to: What LEGO One Piece Builds Will Release? // Which LEGO One Piece Minifigures Can We Expect to See? // When Will LEGO One Piece Sets Release?

LEGO Meets One Piece in a Historic Collaboration Faciliated By Netflix LEGO

One Piece is one exciting franchise. A long-running manga, a beloved anime, and most recently, a tremendously well-received live-action adaptation, and now… LEGO sets? Monkey D. Luffy truly is the King of the Pirates, and he’s conquering every possible horizon.

While there are many angles that a LEGO One Piece collection might take, the first partnership between the epic pair will revolve around the live-action One Piece Netflix series. A release shares, “Fans of LEGO building and ONE PIECE can prepare to embark on an adventure through the East Blue where fans will experience iconic moments and scenes from the hit live-action adaptation in a new way, ahead of the epic return of the live-action ONE PIECE Season 2.”

RELATED ARTICLE

How to Watch ONE PIECE Faster Without Filler Episodes

Lena Dixen, Senior Vice President for Core Businesses at the LEGO Group shares, “Building the world of ONE PIECE, as depicted in the Netflix live action adaptation, in LEGO brick form has been such an exciting challenge and I couldn’t be more excited for fans to experience the new adventures this ONE PIECE collaboration will bring them for the first time. Throughout this project with Netflix and Tomorrow Studios, it has been an exciting, collaborative process, and I think that shows in all the grand adventures we will begin to unveil soon.”

Jump to: What LEGO One Piece Builds Will Release? // Which LEGO One Piece Minifigures Can We Expect to See? // When Will LEGO One Piece Sets Release?

What LEGO One Piece Builds Will Release?LEGO

But what LEGO One Piece builds will we see? Well, LEGO hasn’t yet confirmed exactly which Netflix One Piece sets it will be creating. The obvious place to start feels like a LEGO One Piece Going Merry set. After all, the beautiful ship is the beating heart of the Straw Hat Pirates, and it will really let LEGO unfurl its creative sails and make a piece both heartfelt and totally fun. Another LEGO One Piece build we’d like to see is a life-size version of Luffy’s straw hat. After all, there is no more iconic symbol of One Piece and the Straw Hat Pirates than the Straw Hat. LEGO has created some pretty cool Star Wars helmets before, so making Luffy’s hat into bricks would be a totally neat extension of that.

LEGO

For now, Josh Simon, Vice President of Consumer Products at Netflix, shares, “Through every detail of the design process, we’ve worked to meticulously create a collection of playsets that will give fans new ways to live out their own epic voyages into the Grand Line one special LEGO brick at a time.”

RELATED ARTICLE

These STAR WARS LEGO Helmets Celebrate CLONE WARS and RETURN OF THE JEDI

The release for the partnership further teases us with some further clues about what the One Piece LEGO sets could be, “The collaboration between the LEGO Group, Netflix and Tomorrow Studios invites ONE PIECE fans from around the world to follow the action and embark on their own grand adventures with multiple new LEGO sets, inspired by some of the most iconic scenes straight out of the East Blue.”

Which LEGO One Piece Minifigures Can We Expect to See?

But, of course, it’s no LEGO set without Minifigures—and no One Piece collaboration would be complete without the Straw Hat Pirates at its heart. LEGO shares, “These sets will feature the main crew as seen in the show for the first time in LEGO Minifigure form, transporting fans into the heart of the action featuring settings and scenes pulled straight from the screen.” The release name drops “Luffy, Nami, Roronoa Zoro, Usopp, and Sanji” but also promises we might see “other pirates, bounty hunters, and corrupt generals…Some [who] turn out to be fierce enemies.” I just know the people out there are clamoring for a Buggy Minifigure.

LEGO

In addition, it seems like Luffy’s One Piece Minifigure will be a very special LEGO creation. An Instagram teaser for the collaboration promises the LEGO set will capture Luffy’s Devil Fruit powers of elasticity to a tee, and give fans the chance to stretch his LEGO limbs to their fullest extent. We love LEGO innovation so much and can’t wait to see how this one takes shape.

Of course, we also see that Luffy will have a LEGO version of his Straw Hat, which calls for a brand new special mold. A big deal for any LEGO creation.

Jump to: What LEGO One Piece Builds Will Release? // Which LEGO One Piece Minifigures Can We Expect to See? // When Will LEGO One Piece Sets Release?

When Will LEGO One Piece Sets Release?Netflix

But when will we be able to stretch out our own limbs and get our hands on this collaboration? Well, LEGO and Netflix have not yet confirmed when exactly these One Piece sets will be released. But, LEGO notes that the adventure will begin “ahead of the epic return of the live-action ONE PIECE Season 2.” Currently, we’re betting on the second half of 2025 for One Piece season two, so probably somewhere around there.

However, we know that “the full LEGO ONE PIECE collection reveal, including products and experiences” will be arriving in the coming months. For more information, keep a weather eye on www.LEGO.com/one-piece.

Will These Be The First LEGO Sets Inspired by Anime? Viz Media/Netflix

Although we are historically excited for the One Piece LEGO set all on its own, we’re also excited by its overall importance. As Dixen notes, “This is a truly special collaboration. For the first time, LEGO play and the exciting world of anime meet.” Yes, as wild as it is to think about it, LEGO never created any anime-inspired sets before it set sail on this collaboration. LEGO has movie, TV, and video game-inspired sets, but not any anime ones. And that makes these LEGO One Piece sets not only incredible, but ground-breaking. Now that the door is open, we hope many more anime LEGO sets come through.

The post LEGO ONE PIECE Sets Are Setting Sail, Marking First Anime-Inspired Builds appeared first on Nerdist.

Internet History, Explained: The First and Oldest YouTube Video Ever

In today’s times, the word “YouTube” and its logo are familiar to virtually every person over the age of two. The multibillion dollar platform boasts billions of users around the world and is the ultimate place for sharing videos of everything from informative deep dives to silly clips to the major movie trailers. YouTube’s impact on pop culture and entertainment is immeasurable as a platform that has shaped internet trends, transformed how we consume news and seek knowledge, and, for some, led to international fame. It feels like YouTube has been around for many, many decades. In reality, the social website launched in 2005 with a surprisingly brief and simple yet impactful video. Let’s dive into the brief history of the first and oldest YouTube video in existence and how it shaped the website’s future. 

YouTubeYouTube’s Strange Origin Story 

Before YouTube ever got its domain name, much less its first video upload, it was just a random idea from three smart guys. YouTube’s founders Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim were all early PayPal employees who wanted to start a company after eBay bought out their employer. According to Karim, the inspiration for YouTube stemmed from the infamous 2004 Super Bowl incident where Janet Jackson’s breast was briefly exposed by Justin Timberlake during the halftime show.

Karim said it was hard to find video of that very widely seen moment as well as other major news stories like the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami. We don’t know why those two very different incidents stood out to him. But we do know that there wasn’t really a place for video clips of big moments that people could access on demand.

Chen and Hurley claimed the original vision for the website was to be a video dating service akin to the website Hot or Not. Fortunately and unsurprisingly, that idea went nowhere after attempts to find attractive women to submit videos in exchange for payment did not go well. They then decided to make the platform one where users could upload any type of video. What a weird start to the website, indeed. Either way, after some venture capital funding, they formed a very modest headquarters in San Mateo, CA. The website “youtube.com” became active in February 2005 and the first video hit the website in April. 

What Is the First and Oldest YouTube Video?

The first YouTube video, published on April 23, 2005, is a 19-second clip called “Me at the zoo.” The “me” in question is YouTube co-founder Jawed Karim, who is seen in front of an elephant exhibit giving commentary about the animal’s trunks. The “Me at the zoo” video, filmed by Karim’s friend Yakov Lapitsky, laid the foundation for what YouTube would soon become. Karim’s commentary clearly isn’t very in-depth. However, it is the epitome of user-created, amateur content that allows the creator to craft a specific narrative and become the purveyor of reporting. He is, indeed, the first YouTuber.

The direct engagement with the camera—a portal to an unseen audience—and very matter-of-fact and slice of life approach is the formula that many users tap into and build on with more refined aesthetics decades later. And, for Gen Xers and Millennials, this clip and its grainy appearance drums up nostalgia for simpler social media times. Remember those good fun party times before everything was about careful curation for clicks, engagement, and a potential payday? It was a place to transfer the commentary and opinions from places like LiveJournal and put it into video form to share with others. 

“Me at the zoo” is the first and oldest clip, but it isn’t the most viewed YouTube video. Still, it is no slouch with 346 million views as of January 2025. (Interestingly, it is the only video under Karim’s account. His other videos are no longer available for unknown reasons.) But the San Diego Zoo’s pinned comment on the clip expressing its pride in being a part of the first-ever YouTube video is the most liked one on the platform with 4 million and counting. People continue to add to well over 10 million comments—almost on a daily basis!—to talk about the video’s impact on the world wide web.

Jawed Karim’s Life After Posting the First and Oldest YouTube Video “Me at the Zoo” YouTube/Jawed Karim

From the beginning of YouTube, Jawed Karim didn’t want to be an employee of the company. He instead wanted to focus on school at Stanford University as a computer science graduate student. So, he became an adviser instead and took a lower share of the company compared to the other co-founders. That lower share is nothing to snuff at considering he got over 137K shares of stock when Google bought the company in 2006, which equaled about $64 million dollars. He went on to launch a venture fund company that invested in Airbnb, Reddit, and Eventbrite, among others. Basically, he’s really, really rich and appears to mind his business, which is what we love to hear. 

Karim doesn’t post videos on YouTube, but he does use “Me at the zoo” to criticize the platform that he helped found via its video description. In 2013, he changed the video description to “I can’t comment here anymore, since i don’t want a Google+ account.” Later on, in 2021, Karim did the same thing when dislikes went away on YouTube with a description saying “”When every YouTuber agrees that removing dislikes is a stupid idea, it probably is. Try again, YouTube.” For now, the video’s description is simply three short timestamps—Intro, The Cool Thing, and End. 

Of course, YouTube’s history is riddled with controversies and criticisms, from privacy issues to promotion of harmful conspiracy theories and many things in between. But, we cannot deny that it is a vital part of our experience as internet users and creatives. We go to YouTube to learn new skills, to search for trailers, to check in with our fave YouTubers or to simply go down a rabbit hole of strange and comforting videos to escape the world. None of this would be possible and our world wouldn’t be the same without a quick video clip of a YouTube founder having a random day at the zoo.

The post Internet History, Explained: The First and Oldest YouTube Video Ever appeared first on Nerdist.