Chris Hardwick's Blog, page 189

CREATURE COMMANDOS: The DCU’s New Super Team Explained

James Gunn’s DCU is finally here, but who exactly are the Creature Commandos? Nerdist’s Kyle Anderson has you covered with a deep dive into the comic book history of this supernatural super team on today’s video!

THE AUTHORITY: Who Are the DCU’s New Super Team?: https://youtu.be/4tl3jr3_-Gc

Follow Us:
Facebook https://facebook.com/nerdist
Twitter https://twitter.com/Nerdist
Instagram https://instagram.com/nerdist/
TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@nerdist

Image: DC

#NerdistNews #dccomics #dcu #dcuniverse #creaturecommandos

The post CREATURE COMMANDOS: The DCU’s New Super Team Explained appeared first on Nerdist.

Pepsi and Shaq Get Festive With New Zero Sugar Gingerbread Flavor

Whats your favorite festive holiday beverage? Hot chocolate or eggnog? What about mulled wine or rum punch? My personal favorite is coquito. But what about Pepsi? Soda of any kind is probably not the first drink that comes to mind for most when stringing up lights and hanging stockings. But it might be this year. Pepsi has announced a special limited-edition flavor for the most wonderful time of the year. Some lucky customers are going to win their own mini cans of new Pepsi Zero Sugar Gingerbread. And a big jolly icon beloved around the world is getting in on this cola fun.

No, not Santa Claus. We’re talking about Shaquille O’Neal.

Pepsi

It might be getting cold outside but Pepsi Cola is heating things up by taking a Christmas cookie staple and putting it in a can. The soda company’s new Pepsi Zero Sugar Gingerbread “combines the classic refreshing sweet and citrus pop and fizz of Pepsi with a festive blend of brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger and molasses.” Normally this is where we’d make a joke about weird food crossovers, but this sounds awesome. Wrap these limited-edition mini cans and put them under our Christmas tree.

Ideally, we’d like the G.B.O.A.T. (Greatest Baker of All Time) Shaq to put them there. He stars in a very funny “The Mini Holiday Baking Show” ad promoting this special soda flavor.

Now, that’s how you box out! THAT’S HOW YOU BOX OUT!

Unfortunately, you can’t ask the G.B.O.A.T. himself to deliver these mini cans to you. But how can you buy Pepsi Zero Sugar Gingerbread Mini Cans and experience the festive flavor for yourself, you ask? To get some, you’re going to have to do that yourself. Fans can nab Pepsi Zero Sugar Gingerbread Mini Cans, while supplies last, one of two ways. The first is by visiting PEPSI.COM today through December 11. There, you’ll have a chance to win the limited-edition flavor. The second option is to head to the TikTok Shop. Customers who buy a qualifying purchase of two 10-packs of Pepsi Minis (Original or Wild Cherry) can get a free Pepsi Zero Sugar Gingerbread Mini Can with their order.

Those who do pick up this drinkable Pepsi present can then add it to their list of favorite festive drinks. Or they can leave it out on Christmas Eve next to a glass of milk. You know, just in case, Shaq works with Santa this year, too.

.youtube-embed{padding-bottom:56.25%!important;position:relative;overflow:hidden}.youtube-embed a,.youtube-embed iframe{display:block;width:100%;height:100%;position:absolute}.youtube-embed iframe{border:0}.youtube-embed img.youtube-cover{-o-object-fit:cover;object-fit:cover;height:100%;width:100%;cursor:pointer}.youtube-embed img.play-button{width:66px;position:absolute;left:46%;top:0;bottom:0;margin:auto;cursor:pointer}@media only screen and (max-width:499px){.youtube-embed img.play-button{left:45%;width:60px}}@media only screen and (max-width:425px){.youtube-embed img.play-button{left:44%;width:60px}}@media only screen and (max-width:375px){.youtube-embed img.play-button{left:43%;width:56px}}@media only screen and (max-width:345px){.youtube-embed img.play-button{left:42%;width:50px}}.youtube-embed .progressive-img{-webkit-filter:blur(10px);filter:blur(10px)}.youtube-embed .progressive-img.loaded{-webkit-filter:none;filter:none;-webkit-transition:-webkit-filter 1s ease-out;transition:-webkit-filter 1s ease-out;-o-transition:filter 1s ease-out;-moz-transition:filter 1s ease-out;transition:filter 1s ease-out;transition:filter 1s ease-out,-webkit-filter 1s ease-out}.youtube-embed .kskdDiv{display:none!important}

The post Pepsi and Shaq Get Festive With New Zero Sugar Gingerbread Flavor appeared first on Nerdist.

Max’s Password-Sharing Crackdown to Begin in December (But it Will Be ‘Gentle’… For Now)

Netflix’s password-sharing crackdown was a success. And that led to Disney+’s password-sharing crackdown. So, of course, now Max has to bring a password-sharing crackdown of its own to the table. And yep, rest assured, Max’s password-sharing crackdown is coming, but it will start with “some very early, gentle messaging” (keywords here being “start with.”) Here’s what we know about Max’s password-sharing crackdown, which is set to begin in December.

HBO

JB Perrette, the president and CEO of global streaming and games at Warner Bros. Discovery, recently had this to say about Max’s password-sharing crackdown endeavors. He noted, per Variety, that Max “some very early, gentle messaging” would come from the streamer in December as it began its effort to dissuade account sharing.

Perrette continues, speaking about how to balance who should be penalized in a Max password-sharing crackdown, “This is an art and a science of trying to figure out who is actually sharing versus who may be actually at their vacation home or on a business trip, and so it’s an art and a science. We will offer a way to essentially add a member, starting in the first quarter. We will then start gradually as we get the data and start figuring out, with some explicit and implicit signals, how good we are at detecting. And then as we go through ’25, you’re going to see the filters get tighter and tighter.”

HBO

Tighter and tighter, you say… That doesn’t sound ominous at all. In addition to all the fun Max password-sharing restrictions to come, Perrette said those other two little words every streaming user loves to hear “price increases.” Perette noted price increases for Max would arrive sometime in the future but didn’t note when they would arrive or how much the price increases would be. Instead, he noted, “Obviously, we continue to be a driver of price. Naturally, with Max and with HBO as a content category and a brand, we want to be at the premium end of the pricing. And so we want to continue to push price as we go as well.”

Is that what we want?

The post Max’s Password-Sharing Crackdown to Begin in December (But it Will Be ‘Gentle’… For Now) appeared first on Nerdist.

Anne Rice’s MAYFAIR WITCHES Season 2 Trailer Questions Your Soul’s Worth

Halloween is the culmination of the so-called “Season of the Witch.” So in our estimation, there’s no better time for AMC to drop their newest trailer for the second season of Anne Rice’s Mayfair Witches. The first season of the show, based on Anne Rice’s 1990 novel The Witching Hour, was a loose adaptation of that book. It appears, based on the trailer, that season two will start drawing inspiration from the second novel in Rice’s Lives of the Mayfair Witches series, Lasher. This series is set in the same universe as AMC’s Interview with the Vampire. You can watch the new trailers for Anne Rice’s Mayfair Witches season two right here:

Here’s the official description from AMC Networks for season two of Anne Rice’s Mayfair Witches:

Based on Anne Rice’s Lives of the Mayfair Witches, season two of Anne Rice’s Mayfair Witches continues the journey of Rowan Mayfair (Daddario) after she has unwittingly given birth to the demon Lasher (Huston). She is determined to understand what he has become – human or monster? – and to use him to fulfill her purpose as a healer, but when tragedy strikes, she must put aside her own desires and fight to protect her family.

AMC Networks

The series stars Alexandra Daddario as Rowan Mayfair, the latest in a long line of powerful witches from New Orleans. The Mayfairs are a magical bloodline that dates back hundreds of years. Jack Huston plays the malevolent (yet sexy) spirit Lasher, who has been tormenting the Mayfairs for several generations. Also in the cast from the first season are Harry Hamlin, Tongayi Chirisa, and Alyssa Jirrels. New cast members for season two of the series include Ben Feldman, Ted Levine, and famous witch-survivor, Thora Birch. The new season of Anne Rice’s Mayfair Witches will debut on Sunday, January 5, on AMC+ and AMC.

Originally published on

.youtube-embed{padding-bottom:56.25%!important;position:relative;overflow:hidden}.youtube-embed a,.youtube-embed iframe{display:block;width:100%;height:100%;position:absolute}.youtube-embed iframe{border:0}.youtube-embed img.youtube-cover{-o-object-fit:cover;object-fit:cover;height:100%;width:100%;cursor:pointer}.youtube-embed img.play-button{width:66px;position:absolute;left:46%;top:0;bottom:0;margin:auto;cursor:pointer}@media only screen and (max-width:499px){.youtube-embed img.play-button{left:45%;width:60px}}@media only screen and (max-width:425px){.youtube-embed img.play-button{left:44%;width:60px}}@media only screen and (max-width:375px){.youtube-embed img.play-button{left:43%;width:56px}}@media only screen and (max-width:345px){.youtube-embed img.play-button{left:42%;width:50px}}.youtube-embed .progressive-img{-webkit-filter:blur(10px);filter:blur(10px)}.youtube-embed .progressive-img.loaded{-webkit-filter:none;filter:none;-webkit-transition:-webkit-filter 1s ease-out;transition:-webkit-filter 1s ease-out;-o-transition:filter 1s ease-out;-moz-transition:filter 1s ease-out;transition:filter 1s ease-out;transition:filter 1s ease-out,-webkit-filter 1s ease-out}.youtube-embed .kskdDiv{display:none!important}

The post Anne Rice’s MAYFAIR WITCHES Season 2 Trailer Questions Your Soul’s Worth appeared first on Nerdist.

FALLOUT Season 2 Begins Production, Shares First-Look Image of Walton Goggins in The Ghoul Makeup

You know a show is good, not just fun or fine, but really and truly good, when you get that specific jolt of excitement at the thought of more of it on the way. And that’s exactly how we’re feeling about Fallout season two. In truly exciting news, Prime Video and Walton Goggins teamed up to reveal season two of Fallout was officially in production in the best way possible… By showing us a small glimpse of Walton Goggins back in his makeup as one of our best characters of the year, The Ghoul. Oh, we have missed Goggins’ The Ghoul. And we have missed Fallout. Fallout season two, here we come.

It’s hard to believe Fallout season one actually aired in 2024. We feel like we’ve been living with the video game adaptation series that took the world by storm forever. But, it’s true, Fallout, which we also called one of our best TV series of 2024, only just graced our screens. Could this quick return to production mean we might see Fallout season two in 2025? We dream of that happening. These two-year gaps between seasons are not working for us.

RELATED ARTICLE

Watch Walton Goggins Transform Into FALLOUT’s The Ghoul

In his Fallout season two announcement, Goggins notes, “Back in the saddle… #Deux. Gatdamn, it feels good to slip on this skin. I do this shit for the love of the Game.” We’re glad getting into The Ghoul’s skin again feels good to Goggins because, in the past, he’s spoken a bit about how the experience was initially lonely and disquieting. Hopefully, all the love The Ghoul and Fallout received between seasons one and two have made that transformation a little bit easier to bear. While Goggins’ nose is still in place here, we’ve caught him midway between Cooper Howard and The Ghoul, but soon it will vanish. That will only increase our excitement, though.

Prime Video

Thinking about Fallout season two has gotten all our wheels turning once more. Will we see a Ghoul cure? What more will we learn about the terrible Great War? Is Mr. House about to play a big role in season two of the Fallout series? And what will we find out about Moldaver and Lucy’s mom? We’ll just have to wait and see.

RELATED ARTICLE

Walton Goggins Goggle Glasses Are a Real Thing You Can Really Buy

If you haven’t watched season one of Fallout yet, you can catch up on Prime Video ahead of season two. The series is streaming its first season now in full. And if you need a refresher, Fallout is an adaptation of the video game Fallout, but focuses on new characters in the post-nuclear war, dystopian world. Fallout‘s full synopsis shares, “Based on one of the greatest video games of all time, Fallout is the story of haves and have-nots in a world in which there’s almost nothing left to have. 200 years after the apocalypse, the gentle denizens of luxury fallout shelters are forced to return to the incredibly complex, gleefully weird and highly violent universe waiting for them above.”

The post FALLOUT Season 2 Begins Production, Shares First-Look Image of Walton Goggins in The Ghoul Makeup appeared first on Nerdist.

Huge Orca Fashion Update! Dead Salmon Hats Are Back In Style After 37 Years

Orcas have apparently taken a break from sinking luxury yachts so they can focus on themselves. The animals have brought back an old whale fashion trend that hasn’t been in style in nearly four decades. This year’s hottest ocean look is once again wearing a dead salmon as a hat.

Ummmmmm… is the salmon hat trend BACK!?!?
Screenshot from the most recent Orca Network report: https://t.co/nUhROIYi3U pic.twitter.com/FKt9PcDta3

— Pacific Whale Watch Association 🐳 (@ThePWWA) October 30, 2024

Orcas apparently went through their parents closets and loved what they found. In a story we first heard about at ScienceAlert, scientists spotted a pod of the whales off North America’s west coast swimming with dead salmons on their head. This is the first time the unusual behavior has been seen in 37 years. This sudden resurgence of an something so strange raises some pretty obvious and, more importantly, vital question. First, “LOL wut?” Second, “No, seriously, what the hell is this about?“

Well, no one really knows! This all started in the Pacific northeast in 1987 when a female orca started carrying a dead salmon on her nose. Pretty soon her fellow whales near Puget Sound were doing the same. But by 1988 that fishy conduct was already passé. The orcas gave up their dead salmon hats as quickly as they adopted it and they never did it again. Until now.

orcas have trends

in 1987 an orca decided to put a dead salmon on her head like a hat

then the orcas in her pod and other pods began to also wear dead salmon hats pic.twitter.com/sH081oK6IZ

— orca facts (@orca_facts) February 2, 2023

Why bring this look back now? Researchers speculate it could be a type of storage or the intelligent animals being playful. It might even have some social significance within the group or simply feel good. But the possible “why” isn’t even as much fun as the possible “who.”

These could be the same whales that wore dead salmon hats in the late ’80s! This retro look is taking off not far from where it first began and orcas live a long time.

John Cameron/Mike Doherty – (Graphic design is our passion.)

These whales might not have gone through their parents closets at all. They might be wearing their old clothes. And if that’s the case good for them. Better yet, good for us. We’ve been looking for an excuse to bust out our old Starter Jackets. If an orca can wear a dead salmon on their head 37 years after it was hip we can wear a puffy Charlotte Hornets coat.

The post Huge Orca Fashion Update! Dead Salmon Hats Are Back In Style After 37 Years appeared first on Nerdist.

Kristin Chenoweth, WICKED’S Original Broadway Glinda, Made Matching Jackets for Her and Ariana Grande

Wicked is taking the world by storm, and is a bona fide cultural phenomenon. The cinematic adaptation of the hit Broadway musical (itself an adaptation of Gregory Maguire’s novel) is now the highest-grossing Broadway adaptation of all time at the domestic box office. Alongside the incredible Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba Thropp, the titular Wicked Witch, pop superstar Ariana Grande has been a legitimate scene stealer as Glinda. Or as we like to call her, “The Witch Formerly Known as Glinda.” Kristin Chenoweth, the original Glinda on Broadway, had quite the gift for Grande on set.

Ms. Grande-Butera (as she’s credited in Wicked) had big sparkly shoes to fill. She stepped into the role that originated on stage by the legendary Kristin Chenoweth. As a passing of the torch from one Glinda to another, while filming the movie, Chenoweth gifted Grande with a custom jacket, of which she had a matching one. It featured both women in their witchy personas, standing on the Yellow Brick Road to Oz. (And yes, there were bubbles and rainbows). Chenoweth shared images of her and Grande wearing the matching pink jackets in an Instagram post, which you can see right above.

Universal Pictures/Universal Productions

In the post, Chenoweth said: “Leading my babygirl down the yellow brick road. I surprised Ariana Grande with these jackets on the set of Wicked. A little physical memento of our “passing of the wand.” I’ll lead you down any road you let me, Ari. I’m so, so proud of you baby.” Janan Studio painted the jackets, and Haus of Crystals bedazzled them. The jacket design differentiates the two Glindas properly. In the play, Chenoweth wears a blue dress. In the film, Ariana Grande wears pink, an homage to Billie Burke as Glinda in The Wizard of Oz. The pictures of the two wearing their matching jackets are heartwarming. And honestly, we kind of wish they were not one-of-a-kind, because we’d like to purchase them ourselves.

The post Kristin Chenoweth, WICKED’S Original Broadway Glinda, Made Matching Jackets for Her and Ariana Grande appeared first on Nerdist.

CRITICAL ROLE Teases Possible Video Game Ahead of Show’s 10th Anniversary

Ten years is an eternity in any creative pursuit. How do you keep the spark flashing after so long? Much less when you’ve committed literally hundreds and thousands of hours to telling stories! This is among many, many questions facing the crew of Critical Role, who next year will turn 10. In addition to their super-successful RPG series, CR has a third season of The Legend of Vox Machina and their own tabletop gaming imprint, Darrington Press. That’s an empire! But what about moving into…the video game space?

In a recent all-encompassing interview with Rolling Stone, the members of Critical Role discussed what lies ahead. One of those things might be a video game, which the crew has bandied about for years.

Critical Role Productions

“I would say it’s an active pursuit on our end,” said Travis Willingham. “The last few years we have been having necessary conversations to figure out how to do that smartly.” He pointed out, a video game would be an entirely separate endeavor than the Beacon, Twitch, YouTube, and animated series things they do. “The concise way of saying it,” Willingham continued, “is that we are starting to come to the end of a long road that we’ve been undertaking for the last couple of years.”

An announcement about it might indeed be on the horizon quicker than you might expect. He finished, “hopefully, we’ll have something really exciting to share, maybe around the end of the year, maybe at the beginning of 2025, just in time for our 10-year anniversary.”

Additionally, the question arose of where the flagship series, the crew playing D&D campaigns around a table, goes from here. Matt Mercer shared, it’s all about longevity.

“Outside of the creative legacy and storytelling legacies, we’ve worked so hard to build the foundation of this company that we want to be the rest of our lives in a way that will shepherd everything we want to create. And in time shepherd to the next generation of storytellers. I hope to one day pass the torch to a bunch of incredible people with new ideas and new perspectives and give them the space to tell their stories. And we can be the distant creative grandparents to them and be proud from the shadows. This is an enduring opportunity to be a place that fosters that sort of experience and enables the ability of people to engage with it. And I plan to be doing this till I am withered and gray.”

New episodes of Critical Role stream live on Twitch Thursdays at 10 p.m. EST.

The post CRITICAL ROLE Teases Possible Video Game Ahead of Show’s 10th Anniversary appeared first on Nerdist.

BEL-AIR Renewed for Fourth and Final Season

Anyone who knows me knows that my absolute favorite sitcom of all-time is The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. I have watched the entire series over and over again, read books about its history, and, of course, written about it a lot at Nerdist. So I was pretty skeptical when it was announced that there would be a dramatic reboot based on a viral YouTube video. Sure, I liked said video and loved the show’s overall concept, but I wasn’t sold at first. I gave it a try and I have been locked in since then. Bel-Air streams on Peacock and it takes the framework of the original series and crafts something stellar. Bel-Air scored a season four renewal and this will be the final round. 

Peacock

As Deadline reports, the final season of Bel-Air will have eight episodes. The first three seasons were ten episodes each. There’s been a lot of drama and heartbreak since Will made his way to the West Coast and I can’t wait to see how it all ends. In the original series, the Bankses left for NYC while Will decided to stay in California with his friend Jazz to finish school. It is possible that something similar will cause everyone to go their separate ways in Bel-Air season four to wrap everything up.

The post BEL-AIR Renewed for Fourth and Final Season appeared first on Nerdist.

LOKI Season 2 Blu-ray Deleted Scene Shows Sylvie Discovering McDonald’s in Extended Clip

The second season of Marvel Studios’ Loki on Disney+ went to some intense places for Tom Hiddleston’s character. However, it had its moments of nostalgic levity too. None more so than Loki’s variant Sylvie (Sophia Di Martino) living the simple life and working at McDonald’s in 1982 Oklahoma. In this deleted scene from the upcoming 4K UHD Blu-ray of Loki season two, we see an extended clip of Sylvie arriving in ’80s America, and promptly walking into a local McDonald’s. You can watch this exclusive clip from Loki season two, titled “What Would You Like,” right here:

To anyone who was alive back then, we’re sure they’ll get a kick out of this very period-accurate McDonald’s location in Loki. You can even see those creepy-looking talking apple pie trees from the McDonaldland marketing strategy McDonald’s used back then. Back in the day, McDonald’s locations were a lot more colorful, and a lot less sterile in design. Getting to spend time in this throwback McDonald’s was one of the most enjoyable aspects of Loki season two.

Marvel Studios

The Loki season two set has many special features, including Loki Through Time. In that featurette, we travel over a decade of Loki’s MCU timeline with Tom Hiddleston, Kevin Feige, and others. There’s also a delightful gag reel, and two other deleted/extended scenes. Other scenes include “Key Lime Break” which shows Loki and Mobius savoring a key lime pie together in the TVA lunchroom. Meanwhile, “Roll Call” has Loki name-dropping several people who have a low opinion of him. Among them are some Marvel characters yet to appear in the MCU. Assembled: The Making of Loki Season 2 rounds out the bonus material.

The Disney+ series Loki Season Two, Hawkeye Season One, Ahsoka Season One, and The Mandalorian Season Three arrive on 4K UHD Blu-ray for the first time on December 3.

.youtube-embed{padding-bottom:56.25%!important;position:relative;overflow:hidden}.youtube-embed a,.youtube-embed iframe{display:block;width:100%;height:100%;position:absolute}.youtube-embed iframe{border:0}.youtube-embed img.youtube-cover{-o-object-fit:cover;object-fit:cover;height:100%;width:100%;cursor:pointer}.youtube-embed img.play-button{width:66px;position:absolute;left:46%;top:0;bottom:0;margin:auto;cursor:pointer}@media only screen and (max-width:499px){.youtube-embed img.play-button{left:45%;width:60px}}@media only screen and (max-width:425px){.youtube-embed img.play-button{left:44%;width:60px}}@media only screen and (max-width:375px){.youtube-embed img.play-button{left:43%;width:56px}}@media only screen and (max-width:345px){.youtube-embed img.play-button{left:42%;width:50px}}.youtube-embed .progressive-img{-webkit-filter:blur(10px);filter:blur(10px)}.youtube-embed .progressive-img.loaded{-webkit-filter:none;filter:none;-webkit-transition:-webkit-filter 1s ease-out;transition:-webkit-filter 1s ease-out;-o-transition:filter 1s ease-out;-moz-transition:filter 1s ease-out;transition:filter 1s ease-out;transition:filter 1s ease-out,-webkit-filter 1s ease-out}.youtube-embed .kskdDiv{display:none!important}

The post LOKI Season 2 Blu-ray Deleted Scene Shows Sylvie Discovering McDonald’s in Extended Clip appeared first on Nerdist.