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The Old Tolkien Animated Movies Are Delightfully Weird

During this time of the year, there are traditions a lot of us return to. Drinking way too much nog is a big one. Spending time with family, of course, but if you’re like us, there’s a good chance you mainline all three extended editions of Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings in one day and fall into a Hobbit-fueled fugue state. You know the feeling. You’re watching Saruman get stabbed by Wormtongue and it’s somehow three in the morning. And just in time for the long winter nights, a new Tolkien animated Lord of the Rings film is on the horizon. The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim hits theaters this weekend, from producer Peter Jackson and director Kenji Kamiyama.

United Artists

The animated feature tells the story of Helm Hammerhand, the ninth king of Rohan, and his daughter Hera, as they defend their people and homeland against the violent forces of the Wildmen of Dunland. They’re those big beardy guys Saruman recruits. We here at Nerdist really liked it, read our review here! But that is by no means the first film to adapt the world and works of J.R.R. Tolkien.

Between 1977 and 1980, three different animated productions adapted—roughly—the entirety of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. But a proper trilogy it isn’t.

The Hobbit (1977)

Produced for NBC, the 78 minute film of The Hobbit was directed by Arthur Rankin Jr and Jules Bass, who were the studio that made all of those Christmas specials—your Rudolphs, your Frosties, your Nestor, the Long-Eared Christmas Donkeys. As far as adaptations go, this one is pretty by the book. Pun obviously intended. We meet Bilbo as he’s about to smoke out of his steampunk bong, when suddenly Gandalf shows up faster than the Flash to join the smoke session. He goes about his standard introduction schtick and before Bilbo knows it, he’s been recruited as burglar number one, and strikes out with the dwarves, who all got a big glow up in the Jackson films.

Rankin-Bass

And did we mention the music? It is a Rankin/Bass film, it’s gotta have music, after all. The soundtrack contains ten songs written by Tolkien himself, and several of them performed by Thurl Ravenscroft. Who, despite his name, isn’t a warlock but he was the original voice of Tony the Tiger. 

Even if you’re not a musical fan, “Down Down to Goblin Town” is a jam.

The whole film has such a fantastic aesthetic and design that it feels like watching storybook pages in motion, partially helped by the influence of English illustrator Arthur Rackam, according to Rankin.

Let’s talk about the crazy good voice cast, too. It’s a who’s who of ‘70s people. Orson Bean, who you may remember from Being John Malkovich, plays Bilbo. Hans Conreid, who’d previously voiced Captain Hook in Disney’s Peter Pan, voices Thorin Oakenshield. Acclaimed director Otto Preminger, most famous to me for playing the second Mr. Freeze plays the Elvenking.

Rankin-Bass

Late Night with David Letterman regular and co-star of The Burbs, Brother Theodore, a very weird little German performer known for stand-up tragedies, played the most terrifying Gollum in the whole wide world. And Gandalf was another acclaimed film director, John Huston.

Another big factor is the actual animation was done by the Japanese studio, Topcraft, who would later morph into Studio Ghibli under Hayao Miyazaki. It’s just so much fun. The creature designs are all great. The goblins, the spiders, the trolls, Smaug, the wood elves look like creepy little ghouls. Fantastic stuff all around.

The Lord of the Rings (1978)

Where the Rankin-Bass Hobbit feels like a warm cup of tea, the next film is more of a warm cup of tea with low grade LSD in it. 

The 1978 animated film The Lord of the Rings, by Ralph Bakshi is what we like to call a beautiful mess. There’s a lot of gorgeous animation and painting and illustration throughout the film, but the film’s biggest flaw might be that it’s too faithful an adaptation to the source material.  There’s a lot of running in The Lord of the Rings, and they really, really stick to that in the film.

United Artists

The script for a Lord of the Rings film was commissioned in 1969 by United Artists, who hired John Boorman to write a draft. A year later, Boorman’s script was deemed “too expensive”. If you know John Boorman’s work, you can imagine what he’d do with Lord of the Rings. Just look at Zardoz.

Bakshi learned that Boorman’s script was abandoned by the studio. Most likely scrapped because Boorman wanted to produce all three stories into a single film. A plan that Bakshi called “madness”.

In 1975, Bakshi convinced United Artists to produce The Lord of the Rings as two or three animated films. They also accepted Bakshi’s pitch to quote: “do the books as close as we can, using Tolkien’s exact dialogue and scenes.”

Ralph Bakshi – Rotoscope Pioneer

To better understand the 1978 film and its animation style, we need to talk about Ralph Bakshi. 

Ralph Bakshi is a Palestinian-American animator and director who got his start directing short cartoons like James Hound, Deputy Dog, and Rocket Robinhood. But Bakshi is more commonly known as a vanguard of adult animation, with his films like Fritz the Cat, Cool World, Heavy Traffic, Coonskin, Fire & Ice, Wizards, and American Pop.

A lot of Bakshi’s films, Lord of the Rings included, used a style of animation called rotoscoping. Animated films have used actors as reference for years. There’s vaults worth of Disney footage of people acting out scenes for Snow White or Alice in Wonderland. 

Not to simplify the art form too much, rotoscoping takes said reference footage, and animates on top of it. Even if you didn’t know what it was called, you’ve definitely seen it before. Old He-Man cartoons; A Scanner Darkly; Heavy Metal; Waltz with Bashir. Disney even rotoscoped over their own previous films sometimes, .

The Lord of the Rings has all the trademark scenes you’d expect in an adaptation. And all of our favorite Fellowship characters are here. Legolas, Gimli, Merry, Pippin, Frodo, Elrond, Théoden, Boromir with a fun Viking look happening. And I know what you’re asking. Is his death scene just as bad as in the Jackson movies? It’s worse.

And of course there’s Aragorn, sporting some high cut skirt or tiny shorts or something. Not the worst of the character designs. Gollum looks like Batboy, and Sam is done real dirty in this. He looks like a WWII propaganda cartoon against chimney sweeps. It’s REAL derog. And he gets bullied by Gandalf too. Insult to injury.

Very Ambitious, Very Weird

Rude Gandalfs aside, the one thing we can say is that Bakshi’s Lord of the Rings is ambitious, but with a budget of only four million dollars, there’s only so much ambition can do. While a lot of the rotoscoping of the orcs looks cool and creepy, towards the end the seams start to show. Just so many chimp masks on guys out in a field on horseback.

United Artists

The cast of Bakshi’s film also doesn’t have quite the name recognition as the earlier Hobbit film, however we do get a pre-Alien John Hurt as Aragorn and a barely-just-after Star Wars Anthony Daniels as Legolas. 

One of the movie’s biggest problems is that the ring never gets destroyed. Due to time constraints and a lengthy post-production, the film had to be cut short, ending abruptly after the Riders of Rohan and Gandalf show up to save Helm’s Deep.

Originally the film was planned to be distributed as The Lord of the Rings Part I by United Artists, with a trilogy in the works, but that got changed into only two films because, again, four million dollar budgets.

According to Bakshi, when he finally finished the movie, the executives told him they were planning to release the film without directly saying that there’d be a sequel. The executives did this because they felt that audiences would not pay to see half of a film. Unrelated, Wicked part one has currently made over $460 million worldwide.

United Artists

The film did pretty well, raking in just under 33 million dollars, which was enough to warrant a part two, but after scathing audience reactions, rough critic reviews, and a falling out with producers, Bakshi walked away from directing a sequel. 

But don’t fret, all of your people not at all fretting! We did get an ending to the trilogy just two years later. Technically speaking. 

The Return of the King (1980)

The Rankin-Bass produced Hobbit won a Peabody, and while it received good to tepid response, a sequel was already in discussion before Bakshi’s Lord of the Rings even premiered. And the most logical sequel to a Hobbit film is of course the third act of The Return of the King. 

The 1980 animated film titled The Return of the King, is…basically just a long music video. The film picks up after Sam and Frodo have already returned home to the Shire and are celebrating Bilbo’s 129th birthday.

Bilbo learns that his precious ring has gone missing, along with Frodo’s finger, and Sam and Frodo retell their experience of tossing the ring into Mount Doom, mostly from Sam’s perspective, who is voiced by Roddy McDowell.  And when Roddy isn’t talking, the movie gets some help from the the Minstrel of Gondor.

Rankin-Bass

When I say it’s a long music video, it’s because the majority of the film’s information is relayed through voice over, over the animation on screen, which feels like a way to cut production costs.  And when there’s no exposition being dumped through internal monologue, the Minstrel of Gondor fills the silence with music. A lot of music. 

In addition to McDowell, the film does share some continuity with the previous Hobbit movie with Huston back as Gandalf, Brother Theodore back as Gollum, and Orson Bean back, this time voicing both Bilbo and Frodo. Casey Kasem, Shaggy himself and purveyor of goddamn dog dedications, voices Merry which is just kinda weird.

Basically, what if Return of the King was one big final battle. I guess the Jackson one is too, but with way less singing, and hundred percent more Legolas and Gimli. The best friends are totally absent from this movie, but there’s a tomatoless Denethor, and we get to see The Mouth of Sauron, as well as a deviously jolly version of the Witch King.

Rankin-Bass

Compared to its 1977 predecessor, which got flack for adapting Tolkien into a kid’s cartoon, the 1980 Return of the King does let some violence slip through. Gollum’s lava death, Frodo’s finger getting chomped, Eowyn killing the Witch King. A way different vibe from The Hobbit. 

It of course ends with Frodo, Gandalf, Elrond, and Bilbo sailing away to the Grey Havens on a Bros Only Cruise while Sam, Merry, and Pippin watch from the shore. And yes, music plays over this whole thing too. 

The Return of the King got overall lukewarm reactions. One of the biggest complaints is that it tried too hard to be both a children’s animated film and properly tell the story of the third book of a trilogy, despite not making the first two. Oh, and the music. Nobody really liked the music.

Rankin-Bass

At the end of the day, even with all their faults, the animated features of the Lord of the Rings universe are important and endearing pieces of art. Are some of them overly long and poorly made in some parts? Sure! But how many movies do you know with a song as good as “Goblin Town?”

Kyle Anderson is the Senior Editor for Nerdist. He hosts the weekly pop culture deep-dive podcast Laser Focus. You can find his film and TV reviews here. Follow him on Instagram and Letterboxd.

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SCREAM 7 Adds McKenna Grace to the Cast

Despite a slew of controversy over the past two years, the Scream franchise is moving forward with its seventh installment. The previous film left the Core Four and Gale Weathers (we assume, considering she didn’t die) in a relatively good place, with Sam finally moving towards healing and peace after killing Richie’s remaining family. (It’s wild but true.) The Scream VII storyline and cast is still mostly a mystery, but things will start rolling very soon. In an Entertainment Weekly interview, Neve Campbell confirmed a bit about the film’s storyline, saying that it would follow Sidney Prescott as the main character once again.

Now, casting is starting to take shape. Deadline reports that Asa Germann, who is currently known for his role as Gen V‘s Sam Riordan, will join the cast of Scream 7 in some unknown role. Maybe he will be one of the next killers. We certainly know he’s not about taking someone out onscreen. Deadline also reported genre staple McKenna Grace has joined the cast in an undisclosed role. Possibly another Sidney kid, or just fodder for Ghostface.

Prime Video/Paramount Pictures

The next film will be interesting, to say the least. Who will don that infamous mask next? Here’s what we know about Scream 7. 

TitleParamount Pictures

For now, we will call this film Scream 7. It’s likely this will be the title, which could be stylized as Scream VII. As seen on this script from Campbell’s Instagram post, the film does not have an official title yet. 

Scream 7’s Plot Paramount Pictures

As stated above, Sam and Tara’s story came to a neat conclusion in Scream VI. And Sidney is living a happy life with her husband Mark and her daughters. It seems like there was no one else hiding in the shadows who would want to kill Sidney. Her story was complete and she found peace. So, the plot of Scream 7 is really up in the air. Depending on this film’s release, someone from 30 years ago could decide to celebrate the events of Scream (1996) in a sinister way. We shall see. 

Neve Campbell says she expects to get the final script sometime in August, so hopefully nothing will leak before they are ready to tell.

Behind-the-Scenes

Kevin Williamson, the writer of Scream (1996), will direct Scream 7. He is replacing Christopher Landon, who left the film after Melissa Barerra’s controversial (and very upsetting) firing and Jenna Ortega’s exit. Guy Busick and James Vanderbilt, who wrote the last two installments, will pen this sequel. The Radio Silence team will step back from directing duties to executive produce Scream 7. 

In a recent IndieWire interview, Campbell confirmed that filming will start in December 2024.

“We were supposed to start in September, but we’re going to start in December now because of some scheduling stuff with Kevin and myself and having that all aligned,” she shared. “And actually, I think it’s a good thing, because we’re going to be able to have the time to get it really right. So I’m very excited about it.”

Scream 7’s Cast 

Right now, the only returning person we absolutely know will be in Scream 7 is Neve Campbell. Scream VI was the first film to not include Sidney Prescott due to actress Neve Campbell rightfully bowing out due to a salary dispute. Fans thought Sidney would finally get a happy ending but Ghostface just won’t leave our good sis alone. Variety reports that Courteney Cox is in talks to reprise her role in the next film. It remains to be seen if the Meeks-Martin twins, played by Jasmin Savoy Brown and Mason Gooding, will be in this film. We’d love to see more of them.

However, their return isn’t likely considering their characters’ stories being so closely intertwined with the Carpenter sisters. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Savoy Brown hasn’t received a call from the studio Spyglass Media Group as of January 2024. Gooding also affirmed he knew no solid details about the seventh Scream film. Sadness.

We assume Courteney Cox and Roger L. Jackson will return as Gale Weathers and the voice of Ghostface, respectively. When asked if he might return as Mark Kincaid, Sidney Prescott’s Scream husband, Patrick Dempsey said it was possible. Dempsey noted of reprising his role in Scream 7, “I’m waiting on the script, “There has been a conversation about it. I haven’t seen anything yet, so we’ll see what happens. … It’s always good to have a job.”

Paramount Pictures

We do know that at least one of Sidney’s kids is making an appearance. Deadline reports that Isabel May (1883) will portray Sidney’s currently unnamed daughter in Scream 7. It is not clear if she will be a main target like her mom was back in 1996. Considering the film releases in February 2026, it is possible that someone wants to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the original killings by targeting Sid’s kid. She would be at least 14 years old by that time, according to the universe’s timeline. In December, Deadline also reported genre staple McKenna Grace has joined the cast in an undisclosed role. Possibly another Sidney kid, or just fodder for Ghostface.

Scream 7 Release Date 

Scream 7 will arrive in theaters on February 27, 2026. The cast and crew shared the release date on social media.

Originally published on March 13, 2024.

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Morfydd Clark Dives Into Galadriel & Adar’s Bond, Sauron’s Lasting Hurt, TROP TikTok and All Things THE RINGS OF POWER Season 2

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power‘s Galadriel underwent great change in season two of the series. As the fierce warrior reckoned with her guilt, her failures, and brand new ring, her view of herself and of Middle-earth expanded and evolved, moving us closer to the ultimate Lady of Light that Tolkien fans know from the story of The Fellowship of the Ring. To celebrate season two of The Rings of Power, one of our best TV shows of the year, we sat down with Morfydd Clark to discuss all things Galadriel. Among other things, Morfydd Clark dove deep with us into Galadriel’s unexpected relationship with Adar, the lasting wounds Sauron left on her, and her love of The Rings of Power TikTok. You can check out the full interview below.

Prime Video

Nerdist: One of Galadriel’s major relationships on The Rings of Power season two ended up being with Adar. How do you view their ultimate journey with one another?

Morfydd Clark: Well, I think he was her… She underestimated him hugely. And I think she’s learned a lot by being around him. I mean, his giving back of the Ring of Power is something that she will kind of remember and I think it will inspire her. And I found that really was a really interesting end. Because she’d always been talking back to him really and explaining how he was wrong and not seeing things. And he kind of does this massive, incredible, not a power move, that’s the wrong feeling for it, but this thing that she can’t question, but can only be kind of like, “Wow!” So it was really cool, and I was really sad that Adar… [makes throat-cutting gesture] died.

Me too, Me, too. In the end. How do you think Galadriel saw Adar? As an elf. Or as an equal? As an enemy?

Clark: I think she saw him as a possibility of any elf in a way. And so I think she did ultimately end up seeing him as an elf. I mean, part of kind of Galadriel’s journey is her realizing that she’s fallible and that she’s going to have to continue to water the part of her that rejects power and the part of her that believes that things can be good. The part of her that isn’t cynical, and he was this really tragic, cautionary tale.

Prime Video

There did seem to be a strong kind of tension between them. Definitely, a chemistry. Where do you think the characters might’ve ended up if Adar hadn’t died in The Rings of Power season two?

Clark: What I just love about the elves is that every elf interaction is of great importance because they are so ancient and kind of a part of the weaving of Middle-earth. And I feel that if they’d spent more time with each other, maybe Adar would’ve started to despair and be full of regret, which would’ve been really painful as well.

What I love about the elves, as well, is that there are obviously these amazing love stories in Tolkien’s work, but there are also so many stories that are full of love but not romantic.

They’re full of deep connection and relevance, and maybe it would’ve been one of those.

Prime Video

I love that. Touching on what you were talking about before, in their final scene together, Galadriel tells Adar, “I’ve slayed more of your children than any other alive.” And he says, “I forgive you.” But she didn’t exactly say that she was sorry. Is that what she meant?

Clark: She doesn’t exactly, does she? I will say she is riddled with revenge in the first season. And again, it is kind of her seeing this option of not being vengeful that he shows her there. I feel what I kind of enjoyed about Galadriel in season one, which she’s going to move further and further away from, is that she’d stopped seeing what was in front of her, and she stopped learning. And I think this moment with Adar is a very curious moment for her. Like, “Oh! I haven’t even kind of made it palatable, and still, he’s giving me back my ring.”

And do you think she now understands that the Uruks have names and hearts, and will that mean anything to her going forward from season two of The Rings of Power?

Clark: I think, unfortunately, Sauron is going to get in the way of that. I mean, I was really glad that she said “Uruk” at the end. And I think also, I feel she is starting to love Middle-earth for all its kind of darkness and its light. And starting to understand that one can’t exist without the other.

Prime Video

Last Adar question! Do you think maybe she’d go back and bury Adar’s body?

Clark: I hope so! I hope that! I hope that he’s sung about. Because he did something huge. So yeah, I like to think that there are stories about him told.

Maybe he could have one of those tree memorials like her brother.

Clark: Yeah! Yeah.

Prime Video

And then, shifting gears to the other men in Galadriel’s life, what was it like for Galadriel to see Sauron turn back into Halbrand during their final fight in The Rings of Power season two’s last episode?

Clark: Horrible. Because Halbrand is… She obviously had a connection with Halbrand [meaningfully]…whatever that may be…

But also, he represents her biggest flaws: that she was driven by a selfish endeavor and that she was hoodwinked. But I think, ultimately, he overplays his hand with her because he’s too cruel to her, and it makes her realize that he’s limited.

Do you think Galadriel felt tempted at all when he turned back into Halbrand, or was she beyond that sort of temptation at that point in season two of The Rings of Power?

Clark: I think by that point, she’s horrified because she’s seen what he’s done to Celebrimbor. And I don’t think he can fathom how altered her opinion of him will be because they live on different planes of what is acceptable.

Prime Video

And how fun was it for you to play Sauron as Galadriel in The Rings of Power season two’s final episode, and how did you create his version of her?

Clark: It was so much fun. I was so excited about that bit. We’d been discussing ever since we were cast, like, “What is Sauron?” He’s such a fascinating character. And kind of Charlie [Vickers] diving really deep into all of Tolkien’s letters and writing and stuff. And one of the things he settled on was that, I am not going to be able to quote the Tolkien stuff that he quotes, but that “He’s looking to create order and stability.”

And there’s nothing more frightening than a really competent villain. And we were talking about this desire for stability. But you need chaos in life. And he’s [Charlie Vickers] created this kind of emptiness in Sauron and I felt that Galadriel is so full to the brim with life and possibilities that I wanted to strip all that away.

Prime Video

Do you think Galadriel is totally healed from the corruption of Morgoth’s crown, or do you think there’s still darkness after effects lingering in her?

Clark: From Tolkien’s works, I think, no. I don’t know. She’s got so many wounds from him, I wonder which will be the one really lasts. And that’s an interesting thought about what it meant for her to come so close to something that’s so evil.

I spoke with Robert Aramayo about the Elrond and Galadriel kiss in The Rings of Power season two, and he said that he had extensive conversations with you about how maybe kissing means something different in the elven world. Can you share a little bit more about your thoughts on that?

Clark: Well, I wanted the elves to be kissing all the way through. Because I was quite obsessed with this idea that Galadriel doesn’t have kind of shame and embarrassment and the feeling of taking up too much space because she’s not a human woman. She’s an elf woman. And I kind of like this idea that their social norms are quite different. So I was really glad that we had that in because I didn’t see it as romantic. I saw it as this deep admiration and love but also he was being sneaky while he did it. He was passing over the key.

But no, I love it. I think elves are bohemian and weird.

I love that. I think so, too. I think they should have been kissing each other, everybody, all the time. That would’ve been amazing.

Clark: *laughs and nods*

Prime Video

The showrunners shared that it was actually your idea to have Gil-galad hold the sword in the final scene of The Rings of Power season two, and not Galadriel. What did that kind of symbolize for you and her?

Clark: Yeah, I just felt that Gil-galad is going to be leading the charge in terms of “the sword,” and that she’s kind of moving away from that being her role. And I think also, I like the idea that Adar gave up this ring to her, and then there’s this feeling of like, “Oh, I’m not… I’m reevaluating.” She’s in a very different space that isn’t necessarily the desire to lead or have power. And it just felt right.

Also, I thought that Ben [Walker] looked so amazing in the armor that he really should be in the center.

So, just to wrap, I spoke to Sam [Hazeldine] about Adar at the end of the season, and he said you were quite fond of The Rings of Power TikTok. Do you have a favorite fan creation that jumps out to you?

@saqphirc

[rings of power s2] adar and galadriel are having a brat summer 💚│#lotr #lordoftherings #theringsofpower #theringsofpowerseason2 #ringsofpower #galadriel #galadrieledit #morfyddclark #morfyddclarkedit #adar #adaredit #samhazeldine #samhazeldineedit #annatar #sauron #halbrand

♬ original sound – Sophie 💠

I mean, there’s so many. I loved the “Brat” one that I posted. That said, “Girl, so confusing” about them. I loved that one. There’s also another one, oh, yeah. I find it really funny that Adar’s like, “Your grandmother was really attractive,” to Elrond. He talks about beauty a lot, Adar. That elfness is still in him.

Prime Video

He did. The beauty of Sauron and Elrond. Where is that elf kissing when you need it?

Clark: [chuckles] Yeah!

Morfydd Clark’s performance as Galadriel and the rest of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power seasons one and two are now streaming on Prime Video.

The post Morfydd Clark Dives Into Galadriel & Adar’s Bond, Sauron’s Lasting Hurt, TROP TikTok and All Things THE RINGS OF POWER Season 2 appeared first on Nerdist.

CREATURE COMMANDOS Episode 3 Opens the Door For DC Comics’ Metal Men in the DCU

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Creature Commandos episode three, “Cheers to the Tin Man,” seemingly confirmed that a classic DC super team, the Metal Men, exists, or will soon exist, in the DCU. The robotic Metal Men were a super team from DC Comics’ Silver Age, debuting in 1962’s Showcase #37. Although never explicitly stated by creators Robert Kanigher and Ross Andru, it feels like they were a response to Marvel. Similar to the Fantastic Four, the Metal Men were a family of heroes led by a scientific genius responsible for their creation, Dr. Will Magnus. The team consisted of the sentient robots Gold, Lead, Iron, Mercury, Tin, and Platinum. Before we address how they may appear in the DCU, here’s a brief history of the Metal Men in DC Comics.

The Metal Men in DC ComicsDC Comics

The Metal Men were highly advanced robots, created by genius scientist Dr. William “Will” Magnus. These robots were programmed with “responsometers,” a device that gave them human personalities. There were six members of the team in total, each named for a particular alloy. Gold was the field leader who could stretch his body. Iron was the muscle of the group. The slow-witted and loyal Lead could protect others from radiation. Mercury could turn into liquid metal, while the jittery Tin and Platinum were adept shapeshifters. Platinum, who presented as female, was nicknamed Tina. In fact, Tina believed that she was a real human woman, and was in love with Dr. Magnus, her creator. (Nope, not problematic at all.) In between their family bickering, they fought all manner of aliens and evil mad scientists.

DC Comics

Like Flash and Green Lantern before them, Metal Men got a three-issue tryout in the pages of Showcase. Eventually, strong sales warranted a title all their own. So from 1963 -1969, the team headlined a bi-monthly Metal Men book. As the Silver Age gave way to the Bronze Age, their lighthearted adventures and goofy aesthetics no longer seemed to fit with the times, and DC canceled the series. However, DC revived Metal Men in 1976. But even by this point, less than a decade later, their style and tone felt like a relic of the previous decade. So DC canceled it again in 1978 for good. Yet over the next few decades, the team appeared in various DC series, even earning mini-series of their own here and there. Even without a regular ongoing title, they became a DC universe fixture.

DC ComicsMetal Men’s Similarities to the Fantastic Four

Like Reed Richards in the Fantastic Four, Dr. Magnus, the team leader, is an emotionally distant genius scientist with a fondness for smoking pipes. Each Metal Man exhibited one very specific personality trait. The writers then over-exaggerated that trait, not unlike the Thing or Human Torch at Marvel. Sadly, Tina’s only main personality trait was her crush on Dr. Magnus, much like Sue Storm, Reed Richards’ girlfriend. (Reductive and sexist, but it was the sixties.) Overall, the Metal Men’s exploits were less serious and not as inventive as the Fantastic Four’s adventures. So they never reached the same popular heights. Nevertheless, Marvel’s inspiration was clearly there from the get-go.

Creature Commandos Teases the Metal Men in the DCUDC Comics

The third episode of Creature Commandos broadly hints that the Metal Men are on their way to the DCU. In this chapter we meet Dr. William Magnus, voiced by Alan Tudyk, looking exactly like his comic book counterpart. He’s in the audience as the U.S. government trots out G.I. Robot on TV variety show. Magnus asks to inspect G.I. Robot, and states it has been 20 years since his WWII days. He also says that he’s going to study G.I. Robot to create the next generation of automatons. This all suggests that the Metal Men are indeed coming in some form soon. They will probably feature in a 1960s period piece when they do. Of course, as robots, they could survive into the present day as well.

DC Comics

While rumors of Metal Men projects for series or films circulated over the years, they certainly feel like characters very much in James Gunn’s wheelhouse. A group of misfits who are a dysfunctional family? Yeah, sounds just like Guardians of the Galaxy, the Suicide Squad, and the Creature Commandos to us. And like Task Force M, Metal Men remains a perfect fit for an animated series or movie. But they could work in live-action too. The introduction of Dr. Magnus in Creature Commandos is James Gunn telling us that the Metal Men exist, or will soon exist, in the DCU. When and how they will appear though? That remains the only question left.

The post CREATURE COMMANDOS Episode 3 Opens the Door For DC Comics’ Metal Men in the DCU appeared first on Nerdist.

Veteran DC Hero Sgt. Rock Made a Surprise Appearance in CREATURE COMMANDOS

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Creature Commandos on Max has given DC Comics fans yet another comic book cameo. And this time, it’s not a superhero or supervillain. In the episode “Cheers to the Tin Man,” we get several flashbacks to G.I. Robot’s early days, fighting Nazis in World War II. And in one of those scenes at the top of the episode, we see G.I. Robot fighting alongside war hero Sgt. Rock, and his infamous battalion, Easy Company. This is our first indication that Sgt. Rock exists in the new DCU. This shouldn’t come as a surprise, as reports surfaced recently that DC Studios is planning a Sgt. Rock feature film.

DC Comics

You may be asking, “Who the heck even is Sgt. Rock?” And we wouldn’t blame you. It’s been over three decades since DC Comics regularly published a Sgt. Rock comic. In the comics, Sgt. Franklin John Rock first appeared in the series Our World at War in 1959. DC introduced him as the quintessential All-American soldier. Writer Robert Kanigher, famous for his Silver Age Wonder Woman comics, and legendary artist Joe Kubert created him. Rock leads his battalion, Easy Company, through many battles in World War II. In 1977, the gruff but kind soldier received his own series, which lasted until 1988. He’s made sporadic appearances ever since.

It was very recently that news came of a Sgt. Rock feature film in development from director Luca Guadagnino, who recently directed Challengers. It seems that James Gunn might be laying down the groundwork for Sgt. Rock in other media, and Creature Commandos is the first one. Although Gunn has stated that he wants the voice actors in animated projects to play those same roles in live-action, the actor playing Sgt. Rock is not Daniel Craig. It’s character actor Maury Sterling. But it’s such a small cameo, who cares? All we know is that this definitely proves that James Gunn has Sgt. Rock on his mind. And bigger things are sure to come.

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THE RINGS OF POWER Showrunners Talk Time Skips in Season 3 and Beyond, Celeborn, Celebrían, and Sauron Not Yet Knowing How to Forge the One Ring

At Nerdist, we loved season two of the The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. In fact, it was one of our best TV series of the year. And so, it was our pleasure to sit down with showrunners Patrick McKay and J.D. Payne to look back at everything that happened this season on The Rings of Power, dive into the future of the series in season three and beyond, and address some burning fan questions, like “Where is Celeborn?,” “Has Celebrían been born yet?,” and “Was the One Ring secretly forged off-screen by Sauron?” To get the scoop on these questions and many more, check out our full interview with The Rings of Power‘s showrunners below and relive the magic of season two.

Prime Video

Nerdist: Patrick, before the season aired, we chatted about how the question of whether Adar’s children were orcs or Uruk would be explored this year. And it kind of seems like the answer after season two is that they’re just orcs, but is there space in the series to continue to explore the nuance of the Uruk?

Patrick McKay: That is a great question. And a fitting one from the Adar stan. But I don’t think we can say anything more because that would spoil some things… Good things come to those who wait.

Perfect, because that leads me to my propaganda question. The idea of resurrection does exist for The Lord of the Rings‘ elves. Is there any chance of an Adar’s resurrection on The Rings of Power?

McKay: I think highly unlikely.

Well, I had to ask!

Prime Video

In The Lord of the Rings, the One Ring was forged before the siege of Eregion. Why did the timing of that end up changing for the show?

J. D. Payne: We ended up going with the order of Rings as they’re depicted in the Ring poem, “Three Rings for the Elven-kings under the sky, Seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone, Nine for Mortal Men, doomed to die.” And 3, 7, 9, 1 is the way that it’s shown in the poem.

McKay: We figured probably that’s the order that most fans of the material and readers and people who’d watch the films, that’s more what they’re expecting than the actual order, which is in texts that are maybe not as well known. But I think generally, we felt like the story of the One Ring is a story that is so potentially big and epic on its own. That to tie it into this, it would almost… They would battle.

Prime Video

Payne: And there were versions where we talked about sort of tucking it in here or there in this season. But eventually, we thought, you know what, it feels like it wants its own canvas.

So, there was no secret forging of the One Ring off-screen in The Rings of Power season two?

Payne: No, no.

McKay: The One Ring has not been forged.

Payne: We’ve seen chatter online about that. But no.

Prime Video

That makes total sense. And it does seem like in the Tolkien lore, that the forging of the Rings just happened all at once, and that’s not really great for a series.

McKay: Well, you know what I would say, too. A lot of these things come down to character, right? Sauron needs Celebrimbor for season two. He needs his expertise to forge the Rings. He cannot make them alone. It would be cheating for Sauron to all of a sudden be able to make a Ring. He’s on his own journey of craftsmanship, and without Celebrimbor, now having to make a Ring is a potentially really interesting challenge for him.

So he hasn’t learned enough to make his own Ring of Power yet?

McKay: We can say no more about this subject. We’ve already said too much.

Very interesting.

Prime Video

The idea of Morgoth being Sauron’s abuser was a really interesting series edition in The Rings of Power. Why was that important for you to convey in the story?

Payne: So we talked about this, we talked about what that relationship would be like. And on the one hand, Sauron was Morgoth’s most devoted disciple. And so we talked about that one moment [when Sauron speaks about Morgoth to Celebrimbor] being like, “Well, wait a minute, is this a place we can go given what we know from canon?” But we also said, “Well, if you were the most devoted disciple amongst the two most evil beings in all of Middle-earth, that would be a twisted-to-twisted relationship.”

This wasn’t sunshine and rainbows with the two Dark Lords kicking it, having a dance party. This would be a thing where it was a snake pit with two people who had a constant desire for sort of conquest and dominance and undercutting. And so that “friendship,” or if you can’t call it that, that relationship, we knew was going to be filled with pain.

McKay: It is hard to imagine Sauron ever being satisfied being someone’s number two. And also, it’s Sauron you’re hearing this from, so you always have to keep in mind. There’s always a little bit of a distorted Sauron point of view here. He might’ve seen himself as the victim of this relationship. Maybe Morgoth would’ve described it in a different way.

Payne: And also, who’s he talking to? He’s talking to Celebrimbor. When is he telling him?

McKay: He’s trying to manipulate him.

Payne: He’s trying to get Celebrimbor to do something something.

Prime Video

Seeing Sauron shapeshift in the final battle with Galadriel was a ton of fun. Were there ever any other Sauron forms that you’d considered him changing into during that sequence? Or was it really clearly those three?

Payne: I think there was one more.

McKay: Did we? No, no. That was season one where he became her brother in season one. I don’t think we talked about doing that again…

Payne: I think there was one more…

McKay: I think it might’ve come back as her brother, and then we felt like, “No, no, no, we did this already in season one, we shouldn’t do this again.” That’s a storyline that played itself out, and the people he transforms into are germane to the story of season two of The Rings of Power. The Halbrand form that she was closest with, put it that way. Galadriel facing down evil Galadriel. We love Morfydd Clark’s performance there. It’s like she carries herself in a totally different way. And Celebrimbor, who she feels responsible for victimizing because she is the one who let Sauron in. I think we talked about her brother making an appearance, but it’s really not germane to that particular season.

Prime Video

Is Galadriel totally healed from the corruption of Morgoth’s crown, or will we see any lingering after-effects of that injury?

McKay: We can’t say anything.

Celeborn is an oft-discussed topic of conversation; as I’m sure you know. We didn’t see him in season two of The Rings of Power, but did we see any hints of him or his journey that fans can hunt for if they watch really carefully?

McKay: All we can say is pointing back to Galadriel’s story season one to Theo, and he says, “Oh, did you ever lose anybody?” And she’s like, “Yeah, my brother, all these people. And also, I had a husband once, and I lost him too. He went off to war, and he never came back. Essentially, she says, “I never saw him again after that.” So we still have to see.

Prime Video

And there’s also a lot of talk, especially after Galadriel, kissed Elrond, of Celebrían and that story and romance. That story does seem to straddle the Second and Third Ages of Middle-earth. But do you generally think that Celebrían and Elrond’s tale fits into The Rings of Power, or do you see that as kind of not in the project of the Second Age?

McKay: Celebrían? We will have to see. We’ll have to see. It’s early days, early days. But I think certainly in our minds, Galadriel and Elrond are dear, dear friends, almost family, sometimes they’re frenemies where they’re both holding two different principles that they have to find a way to learn from one another about. Certainly, that’s true in season two, but they always love each other.

Payne: And certainly in a Back to the Future kind of way. Where Marty kisses Lorraine, the idea that Elrond is kissing his unbeknownst future mother-in-law felt like very delightful.

McKay: I mean that’s what we should talk about, Back to the Future. That’s really what it is. It’s not supposed to be that Marty and his mother are now going to have a relationship. No, the whole point is, “Wouldn’t it be crazy if you were in a circumstance where this was the thing to do to distract the orcs.” That’s at least what we thought.

Prime Video

Can you clarify if Celebrían has or has not been born?

McKay: No, Celebrían has not been born yet.

Payne: She has not been born. Which would also backfill to answer some of your earlier questions, although I won’t say which ones.

Relatedly, Tolkien’s vision of time passing and time between events isn’t something we can always fully align with in a show we’re making in our reality. Do you imagine we’ll see any time skips in the future of The Rings of Power?

McKay: I think the aspiration from very early days in envisioning what the multi-season arc would be is that there could very well be some significant gaps. We’re great admirers of shows that have done that. There’s a Halt and Catch Fire episode where all of a sudden, eight years have gone by, and you’re like, “What?” It’s so cool. Battlestar Galactica did that famously, I think 13 years went by.

Payne: If you think about where the Second Age is going, what you know is going to happen with Númenor and The Last Alliance. You have to have entire cities built before you can have the Last Alliance.

McKay: If Celebrían is in everybody’s future, she’d have to be a grownup. Theoretically. But I mean, these are all very early days. We’re just talking speculatively. But season one and two almost are one roaring train. I think the aspiration would be that there might be some big gaps in time later.

Prime Video

What has your favorite incorrect The Rings of Power fan theory been so far?

McKay: Well, I feel like there was lots of chatter about maybe Adar is actually Celebron. Or was Galadriel’s brother or Adar was somebody important. No, no, Adar was just Adar. He just happened to be one of the oldest orcs. Adar was tortured and sort of became one of the earliest Orcs. He would have been alive for potentially thousands of years. And that in and of itself makes him special. He doesn’t need to then also be Steve from the lore… He’s not Steve or Celeborn.

He earned the name Adar and became bigger than whatever that elf was called. The name itself would’ve been some name you’d never heard of. “I was Steve the Elf.”

Prime Video

Given that this might be the last round of interviews where Adar could be the focus, I’ll just ask. In season one, Adar says to Sauron, “Did I cause somebody you love pain, a woman, perhaps a child?” What, in the end, was that line trying to convey between them?

McKay: So Adar is somebody who has killed lots and lots and lots of people. So he just in that stage of his development, right, he has leveled villages, right? The orcs are on a march. They’re enslaving people and making them dig a hole that goes to Mount Doom so he can put water in. And then he blows up an entire region. He is a warlord at that point. And so when this human-seeming guy is very angry and very upset with him, he’s like “Well, gosh, I’ve killed tons of people. Who did I kill of yours?

What has pissed you off so much?” He genuinely doesn’t know who he is, but he’s suspicious. And if you watch over the two seasons, his suspicion of Halbrand grows. I think in our minds, there is a shot of Sam Hazeldine when Halbrand leaves the camp after having turned the warg against Waldrag. And he’s like, “That’s kind of the confirmation. I’m 90% sure that’s him. I thought it might’ve been.”

Payne: And to go a little deeper into your sort of, “Who’d I kill? Is it a woman? A child?” I think there’s also a flickering sense of “Our paths have crossed before.” I don’t know exactly how I’m sort of grasping for it. I’m thinking like, “Maybe did I kill someone you know?” It’s that person whose face you see in the elevator, and it’s like “I know you, I don’t know, did we go to college together?” And then what it really is, is a sort of spiritual recognition that this was Sauron, but he’s three degrees removed from being able to acknowledge it.

Prime Video

McKay: He’s suspicious back in season one. And then I think when he comes to the camp, he’s like, “Oh boy, this guy’s really… What is going on here? It’s really going to be him.” And I think by the time Sauron leaves the camp at the end of the first episode, I think Adar is pretty sure. And then, when he talks to Galadriel in episode six, he’s like, “He’s Sauron, isn’t he?” And then she confirms it. But think his suspicions were there from the very beginning.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power seasons one and two are now streaming on Prime Video.

The post THE RINGS OF POWER Showrunners Talk Time Skips in Season 3 and Beyond, Celeborn, Celebrían, and Sauron Not Yet Knowing How to Forge the One Ring appeared first on Nerdist.

DC Studios Greenlights CLAYFACE Movie Written by Mike Flanagan

Of all the announcements to come from James Gunn’s now infamous initial DCU slate video, the project that most excited me wasn’t Lanterns or Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, or even Superman. It was the promise of a big screen Swamp Thing adaptation. Chapter one of the DCU is “Gods and Monsters,” after all. But before James Mangold has even really gotten going on Swamp Thing, we now have word of another big, mucky monster getting the greenlight. That monster is Clayface, the shapeshifting criminal from the Batman rogues gallery. And to write the project is a perfect fit for such things, Mike Flanagan!

DC Comics

We saw this news first over at Deadline. Flanagan, who is one of horror’s busiest creators, had expressed interest in making a standalone Clayface film back in 2021 when asked on Twitter. Now he’s officially writing the film for DC Studios. He’s knee-deep in the Exorcist reboot as well, so he likely won’t direct the Clayface feature. But the project is said to be a “horror/thriller/tragedy,” which sounds very fitting for a monster made of malleable clay.

Clayface first appeared in Detective Comics #40 back in June of 1940. This initial character was Basil Karlo, a famous horror actor who, not unlike Lon Chaney, could change his appearance with makeup and used that to commit crimes. Karlo only appeared twice initially before another character, Matt Hagen, took up the mantle of Clayface in the Silver Age. By far the most popular of the namesakes, Hagen was a treasure hunter who gained shapeshifting abilities via exposure to “radioactive protoplasm.” Six more characters held the moniker of “Clayface” throughout the next 50 years in the comics.

Warner Bros. Animation

The character has also grown in notoriety outside of the comics thanks in no small part to the iconic portrayal in Batman: The Animated Series. A mix of the first two characters, the cartoon version was Matt Hagen, a famous actor who purposely exposes himself to chemicals to help him shape his face to different characters. Naturally, this isn’t good and it twists him into a hulking putty man. In more recent years, the Basil Karlo version has appeared in Harley Quinn and Batman: Caped Crusader.

As for what the movie might be, the Animated Series version of events seems the clearest trajectory for tragedy. We certainly don’t know if Batman will feature in the movie, though it would be silly if he didn’t, in my opinion. Why have a shared universe if you can’t put Batman in things? This would be the second new project a DC featuring Bat-villains. Earlier in the year, we learned a live-action Bane and Deathstroke team-up movie is also in the works.

Kyle Anderson is the Senior Editor for Nerdist. He hosts the weekly pop culture deep-dive podcast Laser Focus. You can find his film and TV reviews here. Follow him on Instagram and Letterboxd.

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The Beatles Are Getting Four Connected Biopics, One for Each Band Member

Forget a hard day’s night; Sam Mendes is about to embark on a hard years-long journey. The Oscar-winner will direct four biopics about the biggest band in music history, The Beatles. Mendes and his Neal Street Productions partner with Sony Entertainment Pictures on this highly ambitious joint venture. Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, John Lennon, and George Harrison are all getting their own movies, each focusing on one member of The Beatles and their tale. The four-connected features will also mark the first time anyone has ever had the full scripted rights to each musician’s life story and music. And they may even star Paul Mescal.

Abbey Road Studios (EMI)

No casting news has yet been confirmed, but The Sun has reported that Stranger Things and The Fantastic Four actor Joseph Quinn may have been cast as George Harrison. Of course, The Sun is not always the most reliable source, so we will have to wait and see. That rumor might mean a Gladiator 2 reunion, because new reports indicate that Paul Mescal may star in The Beatles biopics as well, playing Paul McCartney. Speaking about one of his own projects The Dog Stars, director Ridley Scott recently revealed, “Paul is actually stacked up, doing the Beatles next. So I may have to let him go.”

Neal Street Productions announced (in news first shared by Deadline) that it’s launching a four-film Beatles biopic project. Apple Corps Ltd./The Beatles, along with surviving members McCartney and Starr and the families of both the late John Lennon and George Harrison—have granted “full life story and music rights” for the movies. Each of the connected films will follow the point-of-view of one of The Beatles’ iconic members. Deadline says the search for screenwriters for each movie has already begun, and the project hopes to find its scribes quickly.

The entire idea for the project came from Mendes himself. “I’m honored to be telling the story of the greatest rock band of all time and excited to challenge the notion of what constitutes a trip to the movies,” said the director in a statement.

Tom Rothman, Chairman and CEO of Sony Pictures’ Motion Picture Group, also shared just how big this project will be. He said, “Theatrical movie events today must be culturally seismic. Sam’s daring, large-scale idea is that and then some. Pairing his premiere filmmaking team, with the music and the stories of four young men who changed the world, will rock audiences all over the globe. We are deeply grateful to all parties and look forward ourselves to breaking some rules with Sam’s uniquely artistic vision.”

The Beatles

The release schedule for these The Beatles movies sounds just as ambitious. Sony Pictures Entertainment is financing the movies and will distribute them worldwide “with full theatrical windows” in 2027. That might be when we get all of them. Neal Street Productions said “the dating cadence” of the four releases “will be innovative and groundbreaking.”

What does that possibly mean? The specific details of when these The Beatles biopic movies will release “will be shared closer to release,” so until then, all we can do is speculate. Could we get four different Beatles movies in a single year? Summer? Month? Week? Or what about a single day? If that were to happen, it would be a hard day’s night watching all four, but we know Beatles fans would be up for it.

Originally published on February 20, 2024.

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The 7 Best Late ’90s/Early Oughts References in Y2K

A24’s latest film, Y2K, takes us on a fun adventure back in time. For some, this movie will raise deeply felt nostalgic memories, while for others, it might introduce concepts that seem completely alien. As a person who has a pretty good memory of the clock striking midnight on New Year’s Eve 1999, I definitely fall into the latter category. And so, I’m excited to guide fellow readers through the seven best late ’90s/early oughts references that caught my eye in Y2K. Whether you’re reliving the good old days with me or just trying to figure out what the heck they were doing with those gaming cartridges, let’s go on this adventure.

Y2K Nails The AIM Experience A24

Can you feel AIM in your heart? I bet you can. The loading AOL screen, the ding-ding of a new message, the sudden appearance of an away message. Y2K will bring all those sensations right back to you in fine fashion. From those iconic noises, which will surely have your fingers itching to check which chat box has lit up, to getting the AIM screenname format exactly right, Y2K fully recaptures the AIM experience. My AIM name (which made the leap to Twitter) was Moondancer1626, stack that up against the screennames of the main characters in the story (KoolE100, DDragon1983, and RoxyGurl20) and, yep, that’s a direct hit. It made me smile to see. And, of course, who could forget the multicolored, random, quote-filled, sometimes passive-aggressive cadence of an away message? Y2K certainly hasn’t. Do you remember your best one? I bet you will after you watch this movie. There were a lot of great references to ‘90s experiences crystallized in Y2K, but this one has to be up there with our very favorites.

Y2K Understood That ‘70s Show’s Kelso was a ’90s Guiding LightFox

Hanging out… down the street… Hello Wisconsin!! And hello, basically every kid that grew up during the late ‘90s and into the early oughts. That ‘70s Show wasn’t even my thing… and somehow, I’ve watched a ton of its episodes. And, of course, who was more iconic, crushed on by guys, gals, and nonbinary babes everywhere, than one Michael Kelso, played into TV history by Ashton Kutcher. A little dim, but with great hair, Y2K continues the legacy of Kelso on into this generation as he helps Eli and Danny find the courage they need to embrace the life they want. We bet there will be some ‘90s kids reliving their youth with this Easter egg and some Gen Z-ers discovering exactly why this was one of Y2K’s best references to the early 2000s.

The Film Spotlights Blowing on Game CartridgesA24

A nerdy rite of passage… If you were alive at the time. As some of you may know, blowing on cartridges was the ritual of choice to get a malfunctioning game to work. And even though the idea that blowing on the game helped anything was a total myth and quite possibly damaging to the cartridge, we love that Y2K thought to include this detail. This reference pertains very specifically to a geeky kind of gamer, one that many of us probably see in the mirror. These days, there aren’t even cartridges left to unadvisedly blow on! But we haven’t forgotten. Kudos to Y2K for giving new life to an old ‘90s tradition.

Those Chunky ’90s Computers Starred in Y2KA24

Remember just how big computers were? We bet you just thought you did. But for a lorge flashback, all you have to do is get yourself to Y2K. Yeah, they were thick… and they certainly weren’t going anywhere with you… Unless they somehow achieved sentience and tried to kill you and all your friends… Uhhh, we hope not. But, in any case, seeing such a large computer makes us grin kind of wistfully, especially as it whirs to life with the sound of the internet.

One of our favorite parts of Y2K though, was when Eli thought his computer might be different than the other tech. It was his computer, after all. Didn’t it know him? Didn’t it see his heart? But alas, in the end, it was bloodthirsty for human flesh just like the rest. Still, the affinity for your computer is so relatable. Not just a great ‘90s reference in Y2K, but a reference that’s right for every age.

The Music of the ’90s/Early Oughts Moment Is All Over The Y2KA24

No matter what kind of ‘90s kid/early oughts clique you were in Y2K has collected the perfect musical reference for you. We loved hearing Limp Bizkit, Korn, Fatboy Slim, Mandy Moore, Semisonic, Chumbawamba, and more in this iconic movie. Music has such a strong sense memory and we bet hearing some of these ‘90s/early ought hits in Y2K  took you back to some of the best parts of your life. And if you heard these great ’90s/early oughts artists in Y2K and didn’t recognize any of the bands, rectify this immediately!

A24Y2K Nail the ’90s Rite of Passage Waiting for a Screen to LoadA24

One pixel at a time, baby! Anyone who had sloooow internet, the kind of slow that is unimaginable these days, even at the internet’s slowest, knows the agony of having to wait an age for a page to load. Is it going? Is it going? And then a whoop of excitement when just a little more of the website loads. That’s definitely a ‘90s kid experience captured to perfection by Y2K. Kids these days, they just don’t know how it was. (Are we old?)

Seeing Your Crush In a Crowded Living RoomA24

Okay, so kids likely see their crush in a crowded living room today, though probably through the lens of a million kinds of tech and in the glow of many phones. There’s something just truly specific about the house party scene in Y2K. The music playing, the flow of the room, the set up of all the groups hanging out in different corners. And, of course, the object of your affection leaning up against the kitchen counter with… someone else. But hey, we get knocked down, but we get up again. Somehow, Y2K managed to dive deep into the halls of all our memories and surface something so specific to a time and place.

And that’s not all she wrote folks. For even more delightful ’90s and early ought references including beanies, calisthenics, tamagotchis, and more, head to the theater to see Y2K.

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Y2K Delivers an Undulterated Nostalgia Trip Full of Screams, Laughs, and Early Oughts Feels

There’s a lot to be said for a movie that’s earnestly itself and leans into that self-identity unapologetically. And that’s exactly what viewers will get when they go to see Y2K in theaters. 25% gory horror, 25% coming-of-age tale, 25% resonant romance, and 25% bawdy comedy, Y2K is 100% unadulterated late ‘90s/early 2000s nostalgia. Clearly crafted by people who feel that era to their core, it’s a super-fun trip down memory lane for viewers of a certain age and an entertaining deep-cut look into the past for those who aren’t. Plus, of course, killer machines in the form of tech merging together, d’uh. What more could you ask for from a movie? Well, that’d honestly be enough, but on top of all of that, Y2K also makes some salient points about our world today. How is that for the full package?

A24

What does watching Y2K feel like? Kind of like eating a pack of gushers while snapping at yourself with a slap bracelet. (Why did those go out of fashion again?) Right from the start, Y2K is committed to getting 1999 right down to the last dial tone. Away messages with ridiculous quotes? It’s got ‘em. The Thong Song? Done. The feeling of seeing your crush across the way in a crowded living room full of your high school classmates? It’s there. But the trappings of nostalgia aren’t just set decorations. The feeling of the time, that specific earnestness of watching a page load pixel by pixel and having to ride a bike to get anywhere, brims out from the movie. It covers all of its characters in its sheen, and despite their sometimes absurd, sometimes annoying, very teenage ways, you fall in love with them all.

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Jaeden Martell leads Y2K as the perfectly average Eli. And that’s a compliment; it’s hard to capture the feeling of being “just another weird kid” in such a satisfying way. Julian Dennison absolutely steals the show as Eli’s best friend, Danny, and if I have one complaint about the movie, it’s a spoiler that you’ll understand as soon as you watch it. Rachel Zegler is also the exact right choice for Laura, part popular, part nerdy, the Rachel Zegler specialty. Honestly, Zegler was born to play the part of a “but I’m nice to you, aren’t I?” popular girl from high school. Daniel Zolghadri and Lachlan Watson also shine as a friendship odd-couple and round out the Y2K team really nicely. (And Watson is honestly amazing in everything, so it’s not a surprise! Watch them in Chucky and The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina.)

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Of course, things can’t just stay in idyllic high school drama forever. When the clock strikes midnight in 1999, every piece of technology (yes, even your computer) turns against humanity, threatening to transform them into exactly what it seems like they want to be: slaves to the machines. This concept could have overreached itself, creating a story that didn’t feel realistic centering around a group of hapless teens just doing their best to find friends, fall in love, and make it to tomorrow. But instead, Y2k aims for the appropriate size of the story, noting the machines are starting their total takeover of just one small town.

And that lets the story of a misfit group which consists of, as mentioned, Martell’s average Joe, Zegler’s popular girl, Watson’s queer weirdo (we love), and Zolghadri’s slightly pretentious rapper wannabe (and strangely, Limp Bizkit’s Fred Durst), plus a few other friends, saving the world, feel like one we can get on board with.

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Although it knows its scope, Y2K also knows it’s kind of absurd. And delightfully, it leans all the way into that absurdity. The monsters of the movie are so ridiculous and campy that they circle back to being kind of scary. Because if you had to face something so nutty that could also chainsaw your face, you probably would be screaming, too. Fabulously, the movie utilizes practical technology Frankensteins, which adds a fun modicum of irony to the tale. You see, the A.I. behind the machines takes physical form by looping together pieces of technology in all kinds of wacky bodies. Practical creations are needed so the A.I. can dominate the world; that sounds just about right. One particular scene, where a machine body reaches out with its wire fingers, particularly stands out as a clever creation.

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But despite this sort of silly sheen, the movie pulls no punches. There are deaths that hit without warning and A LOT of blood and gore. No one is really safe from the Y2K reign of terror, and that was definitely unexpected but gratifying from the film. Although sad! Because, as we mentioned, we really like many of the characters we meet.

And ultimately, there’s depth to the message of Y2K that is more real today than it ever was in the ‘90s. Technology is cool until it’s not cool. And behind sleek screens, it’s not really your friend. Interestingly, the A.I. and hive mind of tech wasn’t depicted as some sleek villain in Y2K, not really that smart, stylish, or charismatic. It was just an amalgamation of surreal, sinister designs that wanted to ruin your life in the dopiest way. And that’s the most cutting referendum on A.I. that I’ve seen in a good, long time. Y2K cautions that this was true in the ‘90s and invites you to imagine just how bad/aggravating machines come to life might be today.

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I will say that I myself was never a teenage boy in the late ’90s, and so not all the parts of this movie’s nostalgia, humor, and perspective totally hit for me, and they may not for you. But in the end, as a film, Y2K knows what kind of movie it is, and it goes all in. And that’s worth a cheers with a whiskey drink, a vodka drink, a lager drink, and a cider drink.

Y2K is now in theaters.

Y2K ⭐ (3.6 of 5)

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