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Compound V and Compound V24 in THE BOYS and GEN V, Explained

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The Boys‘ spinoff series Gen V (mostly) did its own thing with the mystery at Godolkin University. But that doesn’t mean these shows aren’t closely intertwined. For college supes like Marie Moreau, the deification of superheroes led their parents to inject them babies with Compound V in hopes that they’d gain powers. This drug is a big part of The Boys’ overall history and future storylines. So, let’s dig into all things Compound V, its different forms, and what it means for the characters of Gen V and The Boys. 

Prime VideoThe History of Compound V and Compound V24 in The Boys, Explained

The first season of The Boys introduces us to Compound V. It is a blue serum that can give both humans and animals extraordinary abilities. Nazi scientist Frederick Vought created it during WWII to turn adult soldiers into supes. Over the years, Vought International continued to make and manipulate his formula. The abilities a person can get are random and, if there are multiple doses, the powers can change based on how it mutates in the body. Interestingly, Compound V has a better survival and success rate with babies and young children versus adults. It is not a guarantee that anyone who takes Compound V will develop powers at any point in their lives. And, as expected, higher doses for those who can successfully process Compound V makes them stronger/faster/etc. This is why Queen Maeve and Homelander are so wildly strong.

In The Boys, we see an adult and already superpowered A-Train and his then-girlfriend Popclaw take Compound V. They use it in regular, small doses to enhance their abilities, much like a steroid does for normal human athletes. Unfortunately, it can cause the opposite effect and weaken their powers or cause major damage to their organs. That’s what happens to the speedster A-Train, who ends up needing a heart transplant.

Prime Video

The Boys season three gives us a different form of the serum with Compound V24, which is also known as Temp V. Compound V24 is a green super serum that allows a regular person to be a supe for 24 hours with just one dose. It is expensive—two million dollars, to be exact—and doesn’t seem to be addictive. Well, unless you count a person’s ego boost as addictive. Butcher gets his initial dose from Queen Maeve in hopes of being able to fight Soldier Boy and the Payback collective. Hughie also takes some of it so he can gain powers and feel more useful in general. 

Like any drug, Compound V24 has side effects. It made Butcher vomit green blood, drizzle goo out of his ears, and eventually led to such severe sickness that he only has months to live (allegedly). Starlight reveals that Compound V24 is fatal after three doses and Butcher has hit that mark.

Compound V24 comes into play in The Boys season four as we learn more about Butcher’s fate. The first three episodes show how it is affecting his body, with wormlike crawlings happening under his skin. He’s hallucinating and seeing Becca, often unable to stand, and just looks like s**t in general. We discover in episode four that Butcher tried to take regular Compound V to save his life and, while he does have some serious physical strength, it is not enough. However, it looks like it will help Hughie’s father, who gets a dose from someone (presumably Hughie’s mom) and pops up like toast from a serious coma.

Compound V in Gen V, ExplainedPrime Video

It’s pretty obvious that Compound V plays a role in Gen V. It is right there in the show’s name. According to Indira Shetty’s conversation with Ashely Barrett in episode two, 400 kids (including Marie) found out that they weren’t born special but were drugged with Compound V as babies. Luke and Sam further discuss this in an episode three flashback. Sam is understandably furious when he finds out but Luke tries to defend his parents, saying they just thought they were giving them powers.

Why would a parent give their child a dangerous and potentially fatal drug? We assume most parents did this in hopes of making their kids wealthy/famous like the Seven. That is the case with Emma’s mom for sure. As we discover in Gen V, many of these young supes don’t know how to control their abilities when they first activate. Like Marie, some of their powers don’t kick in until puberty or another life-altering event and they are completely shocked.

They often end up in places like the Red River Institute, which is a supe orphanage. After a certain age/timeframe, they “transition” to a facility like Sage Grove psychiatric hospital or Elmira Adult rehab center where they are locked up or killed. Some supes like Sam have to grapple with mental health hurdles, too.

Marie’s power may not be as “marketable” as being a speedster or having super strength; however, she’s still one of the lucky ones. Landing at God U seemed like the best fate given her traumatic past. But we now know that the school is a front for gruesome experiments. Interestingly, we discover more about Marie’s powers, including her ability to suss out Compound V in a person’s bloodstream.

The mysteries of that weird facility known as “the woods” revealed that there’s a supe killing virus that presumably deadens the Compound V in a being’s system. The Boys season four will probably reveal something new about Compound V, so let’s stay tuned.

Originally published September 29, 2023.

The post Compound V and Compound V24 in THE BOYS and GEN V, Explained appeared first on Nerdist.

BLOOD AT THE ROOT Author LaDarrion Williams on Crafting a Magical Black Boy Story, Rejection, and Southern Culture

The wonderful worlds of wizardry, lush lands of fantasy epics, and all sorts of fictional adventures in between feature so many elements. There’s magic, monsters, adventure, action, and much more to craft narratives that whisk us to universes. The themes of these stories often intertwine with different sociopolitical viewpoints, providing commentary on the world we live in. But, it’s done with the flair of aliens, spaceships, wands, and maybe even a lightsaber. Or, if we’re really lucky, it is simply a fun romp that taps into our escapist nature. 

One part of magical and fantasy narratives, specifically books, that could always make room for improvement is representation. Why does it seem to be so hard to imagine a whimsical world or a space saga with non-White leading characters? One demographic that is oft overlooked is young Black boys. Many of their stories, film or otherwise, tend to center on similar narratives. But what if they wanted to be wizards and wield magic? 

3 yrs ago, I made it my mission to write a YA fantasy book with a Black boy lead. No police brutality& no racial trauma.

This is Malik Baron, a country boy from Helena, Alabama blessed with Hoodoo magic.

BLOOD AT THE ROOT. May 2024.

Pre-order now: https://t.co/Z4aW8axGhZ pic.twitter.com/uV31dZhzyt

— LaDarrion Williams (@ItsLaDarrion) October 26, 2023

That’s what writer LaDarrion Williams delivers in Blood at the Root, a New York Times bestseller novel that features a young man’s journey at an HBCU for those who are young, Black, and magical. He learns about his family roots and mysteries and finds a new set of family at Caiman University. Nerdist caught up with Williams to talk about his nerdy childhood loves, crafting Blood at the Root, Black Southern culture, and more. 

Nerdist: What were the nerdy franchises and interests and stuff that captured your attention as a kid?

LaDarrion Williams: I was a Disney kid back when Disney Channel was the good version because I don’t know what these kids got nowadays. I remember when the new Disney Channel original movies came out, you had to sit at home on Friday night at seven o’clock to watch them… I was the nerdy boy that was watching all of those movies every Friday night. And I remember when High School Musical came out and Camp Rock, all of that… I always [loved] ‘90s black cinema, watching all of those movies really shaped me. Some of those movies I’d had no business watching when I was a kid!

Yes, Love and Basketball, The Wood, Love Jones…

Williams: Yeah! Even The Best Man. Watching that now as an adult is wild! But those movies shaped me. I remember watching Eve’s Bayou and really becoming very fascinated by not only the story, but the magic that it had, the southern mystery that it had. And also, The Mummy with Brendan Frazier. But yeah, that’s what I grew up on. I have a big range of movies that I used to love watching growing up.

Love it. So how did you get into creative writing? 

Williams: I’ve always been a creative kid, but I really didn’t take it seriously until high school. I was in detention and, once you finished all your homework for the day, you had to do something. They don’t just let you sit there. And the teacher at the time, she gave me a newspaper or a book, and I was like, “well, I kind of just want to read a book or something.” I don’t want to read a newspaper all day long. And little did I know it was the play “A Raisin in the Sun” by Lorraine Hansberry. And I read that play literally from front to back. And I really resonated with Walter Lee Younger… I was like, “man, these characters sound like my family.”

And I was like, “I kind of want to write something like this one day.” …the next year I got into theater, I was always the choir kid. I love singing. I love the arts, but I didn’t take it seriously until I think the 10th or 11th grade. And I started acting and doing theater, and my theater teacher gave me the play “Fences” by August Wilson. I was blown away. 

So I wrote a play about two people trapped in a hospital room during Hurricane Katrina, and come to find out they were dead the entire time. It was like The Sixth Sense. I don’t know why I wrote that at 17. When I wrote that, I won a competition and first place in playwriting in the state. My teacher was like, “I think you’re going to be a playwright. I think you’re a writer, you’re an actor, you’re a creative.” That’s what ushered me into creative writing. 

And look at where it got you! You’re here now with a successful book. Tell me about your journey with Blood at the Root, from conception to the present. 

Williams: The conception of it came in the middle of the pandemic. It was the pandemic and a lot going on in the country… I was binging The Originals and The Vampire Diaries at the time, and I was just like, “man, I’m tired.”

The Vampire Diaries made me so mad! Justice for Bonnie.

Williams: Listen, they won’t see Heaven, whoever created that. So I was just kind of angry about the type of representation we were seeing. And then Lovecraft Country came out, I was like, “whoa, wait, what?!” It just felt so refreshing. Once Lovecraft Country came out, Twitter was going crazy every Sunday night. But it was really when Beyonce dropped [her album] Black Is King as well. I was finally being fed creatively after a long time… I tweeted and said, “what if Harry Potter went to an HBCU?” It was random. I don’t know where it came from. I’m just randomly tweeting. Everybody kind of gravitated towards that tweet and I think it kind of sparked something. And so people were like, “you got to make that.”

And I was like, “well, I can’t make it in the middle of the pandemic.” We could barely get toilet paper. I’m not going to go out and shoot a whole film… I started writing the television show because Blood at the Root wasn’t supposed to be a book. It was supposed to be a TV show. I moved to LA to be a TV writer. 

I wrote the pilot script and me and my friends did a Zoom reading of it and people were like, “man, this is really cool.” I was sharing pages on Twitter and people felt like they were with it from the conception, from the tweet to the short.

That’s so cool. How did you eventually get to making the short film? 

Williams: People started donating money and were reaching out to me… I asked my friends to go shoot the short film. And everybody was like, let’s do it. And I was like, okay, let’s go do it… We snuck onto the UCLA campus to shoot the magic school [scene]. Shout out to them for not arresting these Black people for making a short film there during the pandemic! 

I realized I had something very, very special because it was really cool to see my friends being in this fantasy space. We felt like little kids playing again. And when we got done with the short film, we posted it on YouTube and Amazon Prime and people were having watch parties. 

I remember when that happened and it was great! Why didn’t you move forward with Blood at the Root in the film space? 

Williams: I was thinking Hollywood was going to come calling. I had this short film that’s viral. At the time, people were going viral and getting brand deals. They were getting TV shows, even though it was the pandemic. But when things started opening up, I couldn’t get an agent. I couldn’t get a manager. I couldn’t get nobody to even look at the short film. It was getting rejected from every single short film festival that we submitted to… It got rejected from every single one. 

That is so surprising! 

Williams: Yeah. Having that rejection toppled on me every single day, checking my email every day, I got very depressed about it. I was embarrassed because I was like, “oh, I’m going to be this big shot with this movie.” And nothing came of it. But I started to fall in love with this story even more. After a year of trying, my friends were like, “hey, why don’t you turn it into a book?”

…I saw The Hate You Give. I saw Children of Blood and Bone. I was like, “well, okay, so there are Black books that are making it.” I asked the bookstore clerk at Barnes & Noble if there were stories with Black boys. I want to see myself and be able to relate fully to the character. We went over to the YA fantasy section and we couldn’t find anything.

I’ve noticed that many Black fantasy stories will include Black girls prominently but the boys not so much. 

Williams: Black girls absolutely deserve everything and more! But when it came to the Black boys, I was starting to see a certain type of story being published. I was like, “Why are they getting killed by police? Can Black boys not live too?” I literally made the declaration right there at the bookstore that I would write this story. I locked myself in my apartment for 12 days and I wrote the first draft of Blood at the Root, the book. I took ideas from the short film and the television pilot script, and I put it into the book and created this full story about this Black kid named Malik Baron going to a magical HBCU.

You get to meet his friends and you get to go to classes and all of that. I was going to self-publish it but I worked with an editor, Margot Westin, a Black woman for Louisiana. She said, “LaDarrion, you got to traditionally publish this novel.” I know you want to self publish it. And I was like, nah. At that time, publishing really didn’t want Black boys in YA fantasy. She eventually convinced me. We worked really hard and I ended up getting an agent, whom I worked with for a year. We went to publishers and I was getting the same rejections I was getting from the short film. “We can’t connect to the character, we don’t know how to market this.” 

Mmmhmmm, we all know what that means.

Williams: Right?! But in January of 2023, we eventually signed with Penguin Random House for a three book deal. And now here it is, Blood at the Root book one is out. And I’m currently working on the sequel. 

That’s an amazing journey. You got delayed a few times, but you ultimately were not denied. What are your ultimate hopes for this trilogy and how it’ll affect the YA space?

Williams: I really hope publishers are more open to not always trying to think about white audiences. Because I think ultimately what they are saying is that they think audiences can’t connect to Black people because you don’t see Black people as human. At the end of the day, we connected to a little white British boy going to magic school. I connected to him even though I grew up in Alabama. I didn’t know nothing about the UK. I hope that publishers are more open to all types of Black stories, especially Black stories that are set in the South that do not always try to center whiteness. 

@photosbyJamal/Penguin Random House

I hope that Black girls, little Black kids, queer kids, Black boys, like everybody, I hope they could see themselves in the story because Malik can be you… I also hope people are open-minded to Malik. He talks with a Southern twang, he cusses. He is angry, he is vulnerable, he’s everything. And I hope people are more open to that, to seeing that type of character in the publishing world and also in audiences. I hope they’re open to receiving it.

I certainly hope so, too. And I want people to have a more open mind when it comes to reading about and engaging with Black Southern folks and our culture. There’s always these stereotypes and thoughts about our perceived intelligence or the lack thereof based on how we talk. I want people to reject that notion and maybe Blood at the Root will help with that. People love to consume Black culture without acknowledging that a chunk of Black American culture as a whole comes from the South. I say this as a Carolina girl. 

Williams: I know that’s right! The South got something to say, just as OutKast said, right? But I think people don’t realize that. I think I’m out here in LA and I’m just like, “y’all, some of the stuff that y’all are doing is from the South.” …a lot of us don’t know about the great migration. People went from Mississippi to Chicago to Alabama. A lot of people came from Alabama to LA and Texas and Louisiana. You don’t think they brought their customs and their traditions and stuff with them?

I think about my mother, I think about my father, my grandmother, my aunties, and seeing them. And they’re reading books probably for the first time in a long time. And they say,”man, this grandmother sound like me.” Now they feel seen and they feel edified in the book. And I think I want to show that the simplicity of life in the south, the poetry, the language of the everyday people, that’s what August [Wilson] did.

I love it and I hope so many people feel seen and that we get to celebrate Black culture and the joys of magic in Blood at the Root.

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We Can’t Believe This THE ACOLYTE Death

Star Wars: The Acolyte proved right away that it was a series unafraid to kill its major characters. And ever since it dispatched Jedi Master Indara in its first episode, the Star Wars series has pulled no killing punches. But in episode four of The Acolyte, we were truly stunned by one character’s sudden death. Beware, spoilers await you in this article.

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In episode four of Star Wars: The Acolyte, we could not have expected to find Wookiee Jedi Master Kelnacca dead in his forest hideaway. We knew, of course, that Mae was on the hunt for the Wookiee Jedi. He was one of the four Jedi stationed at Brendok during her childhood tragedy. Two of those Jedi are already dead. As mentioned, Mae killed Master Indara, and she also killed Jedi Master Torbin in previous episodes. But we at least got to see both of those Jedi battle for their lives before they met their ends. (Even if Master Torbin did it while in the deep trance of the Barash Vow.)

However, Kelnacca, the very first Wookiee Jedi to ever appear in live-action Star Wars, did not get that chance. Instead, when Mae finds him on the planet Khofar, ready to turn herself into the Jedi, death has already visited the Wookiee Jedi. The mysterious, villainous Sith Lord, known to us only as the Master, got to Kelnacca first. We see two lightsaber slashes decorating the Wookiee Jedi’s chest, and, yep, he seems quite dead.

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We do get to see Kelnacca in flashbacks during episode three of Star Wars: The Acolyte. And it’s possible we will see him again in other looks at the past. But this The Acolyte death still feels incredibly premature. After all the excitement at finally bringing a Wookiee Jedi to live-action, we really only see him alive for a scene or two. And we don’t even get to see him in action. It would at least have been cool to see the Wookiee Jedi take on the Master in an epic lightsaber battle before meeting his death. But, instead, all we get is a slumped-over version of the Wookiee character, dead where he sits before we can ever encounter him in real-time.

Lucasfilm/Disney

Perhaps there’s still a chance Kelnacca is not fully dead but only partially dead. We’ll have to wait for more episodes to see. But The Acolyte really did kill Jedi Master Indara in its first episode. So it feels like we have to believe Kelnacca’s death is also a permanent one. And that seems like a huge shame given the no doubt fascinating existence and history of the character. Wookie Jedi don’t come around every day, after all… Not to live-action Star Wars outings, at any rate. Maybe one day we can visit Wookiee Jedi Master Kelnacca in a show all of his own.

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Bazil the Tracker from THE ACOLYTE Is STAR WARS’ Newest Adorable Alien

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Star Wars isn’t Star Wars without a few adorable aliens who look like critters you’d want to buy at a pet shop. And The Acolyte is no different. In episode four, we meet the latest “soon to be a cute toy on your shelf” alien. This is Bazil, a Tynnan tracker. The Jedi utilize Bazil’s tracking skills to find the Wookiee Jedi Kelnacca on the planet Kohfar. In the grand Star Wars tradition of old, Bazil is an actual performer in a suit. Hassan Taj, who operated R2-D2 in The Rise of Skywalker, is inside the costume. It’s a suit brought to life by ILM’s creature and droid FX creative supervisor Neal Scanlan.

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Tynnans are one of the earliest non-George Lucas-created Star Wars alien races. The Tynnan species are anthropomorphic otter/beaver-like beings. They first appeared in the 1979 Legends novel Han Solo’s Revenge by Brian Daley. Lucasfilm officially canonized them in the 2016 novel Catalyst, tying into the events of Rogue One. And no, Han Solo did not punch a Tynnan in that infamous piece of artwork from the ’90s. That was an Selonian queen from the Han Solo novel Assault on Selonia. Totally different otter-like aliens. It’s a big galaxy out there, lots of weird and wonderful creatures inhabit it.

So anyway here’s Han Solo fighting a very fancy otter pic.twitter.com/SXtLHkfTba

— Ella (@ObiwanxKannoli) April 26, 2020

Lucasfilm

When designing Bazil, Neal Scanlan made sure he had a more prominent snout to sniff out clues with. Bazil also wears a visor and helmet, all adding to the sensory deprivation he requires to focus on the investigation and block out the noise of the outside world. Scanlan told the official Star Wars site, “Bazil was very sensory, so he would obviously smell and hear things probably better than using his eyesight. The idea of having goggles was that he would then sort of go inwardly and become the tracker.”

Lucasfilm

Although Tynnans are more like beavers and otters, they definitely have a mouse-like quality too. Since he’s a tracker, which is another way of saying detective, we have to wonder if Bazil drew inspiration from Basil, the titular lead of the animated Disney classic The Great Mouse Detective. For the record, there actually is a mouse-like alien race in Star Wars. In A New Hope, we see a member of the rodent species Chadra-Fan in the Mos Eisley Cantina. Although, that Chadra-Fan ordering drinks was decidedly less cute than Bazil. All we know is Bazil is an adorable new addition to the galaxy, and we must protect him at all costs.

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Who Is THE ACOLYTE’s Title Actually Referring To?

Before you go on, make sure to check out our piece on Who Is ‘The Master’ on The Acolyte?

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The Acolyte‘s first three episodes appeared to feature a traditional Sith partnership that follows the dark order’s Rule of Two. That ancient decree says there can only ever be a Sith Master and a Sith apprentice. At this point in the galaxy far, fay away, Mae is the student of her masked leader. Only, Star Wars: The Clone Wars established that hierarchy does not preclude a dark side apprentice from having their own follower. And since the show’s fourth episode seemed to prove Mae has never been a Sith Lord (and never will be), it’s not clear who The Acolyte‘s title is truly referring to.

If it’s not her, who is the titular character? The only real candidate is Mae’s secret teacher. And if that’s true, that masked figure is serving an even more powerful figure we have yet to meet.

Lucasfilm

Yoda introduced fans to the Rule of Two in The Phantom Menace. It began with the infamous Sith Lord Darth Bane. He implemented it thousands of years before. He was hoping to save his dark religious order from their worst instincts so it might one day fight back against the Jedi that had nearly wiped them out. Bane’s rule meant there could only ever be two Sith Lords at once. From StarWars.com‘s entry on this important figure:

An ancient and legendary Sith Lord, it was Darth Bane who saw that the Sith traditions of old were ultimately a dead end. All too often, squabbling Sith in their bid for power upended carefully laid plans. After the Sith were decimated by the Jedi Knights of a thousand years ago, Bane enacted the Sith rule of two: there would be only two active Sith at one time — a Dark Lord to embody the power, and an apprentice to crave it. These Sith would operate in the shadows, favoring guile and conspiracy to bring down their opponents rather than brute force — that is, until it was time to rise and subjugate the galaxy.

Lucasfilm

That hard and fast Rule of Two turned out not to not be quite as hard or fast as we thought. On The Clone Wars former Count Dooku—secretly Darth Tyranus, apprentice of Sith Lord Darth Sidious— had his own dark side apprentice. Dooku was the master of the powerful Force user Asajj Ventress.

The Rule of Two does not mean a Sith apprentice (who is still a Sith Lord) can’t train another in the ways of the dark side. For that reason alone it’s very possible The Acolyte‘s mysterious Master has their own secret, more powerful Master. What makes that possibility even more likely is that Mae does not appear to be a Sith just as Asajj was not. Mae doesn’t even complete the sacred Rule of Two.

Lucasfilm

Asajj knew her Master’s identity. Asajj also used a red lightsaber. Mae doesn’t know who is leading her and uses steel daggers. She actually seems to have no use for a lightsaber. In episode one the show made a point to highlight that Mae had no interest in taking Indara’s after she killed the Jedi.

If Mae’s Master has a Master (who could be one of her moms, the strangely capable Qimir, or even the infamous Darth Plagueis!), does that mean the masked figure on the show is the titular Acolyte? Is that term itself a clue they are? Considering Jedi call students “Padawan” and Sith Lord call theirs “apprentice,” the show’s name is a peculiar one in Star Wars. Was it chosen to do more than just reflect the dark religious nature of the Sith? Was it chosen to highlight things are not as they seem in the galaxy and in this story?

Lucasfilm

That would be fitting when it comes to a story about the Sith. Darth Bane implemented the Rule of Two so his order could operate in the shadows. That is until they were ready to reveal themselves, just as The Acolyte‘s Master did in episode four.

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist. He’s also forever waiting for Darth Plagueis to show up in live-action. You can follow him on Twitter and Bluesky at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

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Who Is ‘The Master’ on THE ACOLYTE?

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The Acolyte‘s fourth episode saw Mae’s mysterious dark master step out of the shadows. Who is this sinister Force user wielding a red lightsaber and sending his student to murder Jedi? That unknown masked figure has kept their identity a secret even from their disciple, but might we already know who they really are? These are the four most likely Star Wars suspects for The Acolyte‘s unknown Master.

LucasfilmMother Koril and Mother AniseyaLucasfilm

We’re combining these two under one banner because they’re both obvious candidates to be Mae’s Master for the same reasons. The Jedi tracked down a coven of powerful witches in hiding because the Jedi didn’t want any unauthorized people training young kids in the ways of the Force. (Especially in ways some consider “dark.”) The Jedi knights didn’t stop Mae from ascending, but they did prevent Osha. They then tested the two girls in the ways of the Force for possible acceptance as Jedi Padawans. That unwelcome intrusion led to the coven’s destruction. An angry Mae, who already had dark side tendencies, caused a deadly fire when her sister was about to leave with the Jedi.

Master Sol said everyone died in that fire, but there’s plenty of reason to doubt the Jedi have been completely honest about what happened on Brendok. Even if Sol is telling the truth, though, he thought Mae died only for her to show back up years later. What if someone else also survived? Someone like the leader of the group, the girl’s powerful Mother Aniseya? Or the stern but loving witch who carried the twins. Mother Koril? Either would make for a powerful Master, both literally and thematically.

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If the Master is really Mother Aniseya or Mother Koril (no other witch we met makes sense as a serious possibility) it will mean Jedi arrogance about who can use the Force will have created the very enemy who will destroy them. They could have left those witches to live their lives in peace. Instead they gave them a reason to hate the Jedi.

Of course, someone else on the show who also has close ties to Mae hates the Jedi, too.

QimirLucasfilm

The number one, most obvious Master suspect—the one we’d wager on—is Mae’s associate, Qimir. He helped her kill Jedi and already seemed to be hiding a big secret before episode four made his activities even more suspicious. Manny Jacinto’s soft-spoken former smuggler is way too capable and knows way too much to just be a random trader. His introduction to the show made us wonder if he’s really a dark side user like Mae.

Our suspicions only grew during episode four. Qimir, who easily stopped a surprise Mae attack in episode two, somehow fell for a basic trap. He then got tied up and left behind right before Mae decided to turn her back on their Master and turn herself over to the Jedi. Except that’s when she found Master Kelnacca already murdered. How did someone cut down a Wookiee Jedi? And in his own home? No one, not even his fellow Jedi, even exactly knew where Kelnacca lived.

Except Qimir. And he wasn’t seen after Mae left him hanging in that tree.

Lucasfilm

The strangely capable, brilliant Qimir is an otherwise unknown figure aiding and abetting the murder of Jedi. He also (correctly) speaks about Jedi arrogance and knows things about the Order no one else does. And in episode four he disappears right before a powerful Jedi is killed and the Master reveals themself to the Jedi.

That’s a pretty big series of coincidences, enough to have us believing Qimir is the Master. But we can’t be totally sure just yet, especially when there’s a notorious fourth candidate. It’s a “wise” figure Star Wars fans first heard about from the most infamous Sith Lord ever.

Darth Plagueis
The Legend of Darth Plagueis

In Revenge of the Sith Chancellor Palpatine emotionally manipulated Anakin, worried about Padmé dying, with a story the Jedi would never tell him. Palpatine recounted the tale of the Sith Lord, Darth Plagueis the Wise.

“Darth Plagueis was a Dark Lord of the Sith so powerful and so wise, he could use the Force to influence the midi-chlorians to create life. He had such a knowledge of the dark side, he could even keep the ones he cared about from dying.“

Star Wars later confirmed what the scene only suggested, that Darth Plagueis was Palpatine’s master. Palpatine did tell Anakin Plagueis taught his apprentice “everything he knew.” Unfortunately for Plagueis, who had been obsessed with immortality and saving those he loved, he could not save himself when Palpatine murdered Plagueis in his sleep.

Lucasfilm

Star Wars has further expanded Plagueis’ story offscreen, albeit only slightly, and shown what he’s look liked. But he’s never appeared in a movie or TV show. That is unless he already has because Mae’s masked Master, the one who will put the Sith on the path to power in the galaxy far, far away, is Plagueis. That would further connect the twins to Anakin…

It’s also possible our third and fourth candidates are one in the same, because Qimir is Plagueis. That would be quite a revelation, but it might not be the show’s biggest secret. Because while we will inevitably learn the identity of Mae’s Master, the show might be hiding something even more important behind that zippered mask: the Master is actually the Acolyte of the show’s title, which means they have an even more powerful master.

To find out why read our piece Who Is The Acolyte’s Title Actually Referring To?

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist who can’t wait for Darth Plagueis to finally show up. You can follow him on Twitter and Bluesky at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

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Celebrate HOUSE OF THE DRAGON with Watches and Dragon Eggs

The Targaryen civil war has begun in earnest in season two of House of the Dragon. While the people in this conflict are all varying degrees of “terrible human,” the dragons are innocent in all this. They just want to breathe fire and eat some sheep. Now, there’s a new way of showing your love for the precious dragons of Westeros. Kross Studios has revealed a new set of collector’s watches and egg cases, inspired by House of the Dragon. The six latest collectors sets pay homage to the dragons Arrax, Silverwing, Moondancer, Seasmoke, Vermithor, and Sunfyre. These complement and complete their dragon-inspired series. You can check out images of these exquisite collector’s timepieces below in our gallery:

Game of Thrones – House of the Dragon Collector’s Set Click To View Gallery Koss Studios Kross Studios Kross Studios Kross Studios Kross Studios Kross Studios

Each of these House of the Dragon collector sets pays homage to a specific dragon from George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire saga, capturing their unique essence and terrifying presence. Previous unique collector set editions, all currently sold out, were dedicated to Balerion, Viserion, Viserion Ice Dragon, Drogon, Rhaegal, Syrax, Caraxès, Meleys, Vaghar, and Vermax. The crafted dragon egg sculpture is in resin, and comes hand-painted by the renowned French workshop Leblon Delienne. Each egg, inspired by the appearance of its corresponding dragon, serves as a nest for the watch. 

Kross Studios

The central feature of each set is a central floating tourbillon watch, designed by Kross Studio’s founder Marco Tedeschi. The House of the Dragon watch and its tourbillon, suspended beneath a sapphire crystal dome, reflects the aesthetic codes of House Targaryen, from its 45mm, grade 5 titanium case to its intricate movement. They’re not quite Valyrian steel, but the closest thing to it in our less exciting and dragon-free realm. For more information and pricing, head over to the official Kross Studios website.

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MY LADY JANE: The Harsh History, Charming Characters, and Feminist Framing in Prime Video’s Tudor-Era Fantasy Series

Are you looking to fill that Bridgerton-sized hole in your hearts while you’re (impatiently) waiting for its next season? If so, Prime Video has the perfect historical series to deliver all the fantasy, romance, adventure, drama, clever satire, and absolutely stunning visuals that your heart desires. My Lady Jane, based on the YA novel series by Brodi Ashton, Cynthia Hand, and Jodi Meadows, completely changes real-life royal history surrounding Lady Jane Grey, Edward Tudor, and others with a feminist framing. Oh, and did we mention that there are shapeshifters in the mix?!

Prime Video

Nerdist took a visit out to My Lady Jane’s set to give you all the information about this universe’s main characters, big storylines, how it reshapes the past, and why you’ll want to jump into its action. 

What Is My Lady Jane About and How Does It Connect to Actual English History?

My Lady Jane is a satirical dramedy that reimagines the actual story of Lady Jane Grey. Who is that? Stick with us for a short history lesson that will bring this series into clearer focus. 

The (Brief) Real-Life History of Lady Jane Grey

In 1553, Lady Jane Grey (a.k.a. Lady Jane Dudley following her marriage to Lord Guilford Dudley) became the Queen of England for only nine days in a very interesting manner. Her marriage to Lord Dudley, son of King Edward VI’s chief minister, put her close to the crowd. King Edward VI’s will nominated Jane and her male heirs as successors to the throne due to her being Protestant and her commitment to his reformed Church of England. The will bumped out his two half-sisters, specifically Mary, who was Catholic. The Privy Council of England (a body of advisors to the Kingdom) and other notable people honor his wishes initially. 

Needless to say, a stir happened among supporters with many believing Mary is the rightful Queen. Lady Jane Grey became the Queen of England on July 10; however, the Privy Council got rid of her on July 19. She was then held prisoner in the Tower of England, convicted of treason, and, after her father got into a rebellious mix against Queen Mary, executed via beheading alongside her husband at only 16 or 17 years old. What a terrible ending to a short life. 

My Lady Jane’s Take on Her Life and Legacy 

This series literally gives two middle fingers up to Lady Jane Grey’s awful ending. The series imagines a world where Jane actually gets to save herself in an alt-fantasy Tudor era world. Here’s a quick synopsis for My Lady Jane: 

Inspired by the best-selling book, My Lady Jane is a radical retelling of English royal history, in which King Henry VIII’s son Edward does not die of tuberculosis, Lady Jane Grey is not beheaded, and neither is her rascal of a husband Guildford. At the center of this rollicking new series is the brilliant and headstrong Jane who is unexpectedly crowned queen overnight and finds herself the target of nefarious villains coming for the crown (and her head)… My Lady Jane is an epic tale of true love and high adventure, where the damsel in distress saves herself, her true love, and then the Kingdom. 

Prime Video

My Lady Jane’s behind-the-scenes team runs on women power, including the show’s creator, showrunner, and co-executive producer Gemma Burgess, fellow showrunner Meredith Glynn, and director Jamie Babbit. During our set visit, which took place in London, UK in December 2022 in the midst of active filming, the trio spoke with us on an elaborate hot set depicting an event that Lady Jane Grey wasn’t afforded during short life and even shorter reign: a coronation celebration.

“She was never coronated, which is why she doesn’t always appear on [royal history] lists,” Burgess reveals. “So it’s kind of our equivalent of a coronation ball and everything’s about to fall apart. So we wanted to make the ball as beautiful and excessive as possible and then destroy it!” Burgess says moments like these and the series as a whole will depict Lady Jane Grey as a fully-realized young woman and less of a little-known and murky historical figure. 

My Lady Jane will still hit some important historical points, like the ongoing contention between Protestants and Catholics. However, even that aspect is getting its own fantasy leaning. In this world, it is ethians (shapeshifters who are frowned upon by the current regime) versus verities (normal people who cannot turn into animals). 

“The Protestant/Catholic thing that was going on way back when was really about otherism,” Glynn tells us. “In [today’s times], there is so much otherism. The ethians and the verities are our two groups and the ethians are the others [who are] persecuted. There’s laws passed against them. And for me as a queer person, I really related to the themes of what’s going on in our show with the ethians as kind of a metaphor for a lot of queer people and any other people who are persecuted.”  

You can certainly expect a crossing between these two social lines and a rebellion on the rise in the midst of romance (more on the latter later). 

Who Are the Main Characters in My Lady Jane? 

Like many historical series, there are a ton of people in the cast. Here are a few of the main players you should know: 

Lady Jane GreyPrime Video

Obviously, Lady Jane is the primary character in this story. Newcomer Emily Bader calls her character “one of the dumbest smart people you’ll ever meet.” Bader elaborates, “She knows everything about people and the world, but she knows very little about what it means to be a person and to be a part of the world… she’s dealing with finding her identity and her power as a woman at a time, even when you were the Queen of England, that power was constantly being either taken from you or you had to fight for it. And so I think she’s figuring out how to keep her power while also discovering what it’s like to be a woman with love and femininity and all those things that sometimes don’t go hand in hand.”

Bader applauds both the novel writers as well as the show’s creators for giving Jane a second chance, in a sense. “She was a young girl that was forced into a position because of her position, her station and intelligence, and then killed for it. I think this is giving Jane, who never really had any chance to have a life or make any decisions of her own, power and identity.” 

Surprisingly, Emily Bader is a California native who does an English accent very well. Her secret? Watching Pride & Prejudice (2005) on a loop with her family and mimicking Keira Knightley. That’s not a bad strategy at all! Jane’s persona, as Bader describes it, is a little Elizabeth Bennet and Blondie, the rock singer. 

Guilford DudleyPrime Video

Opposite of Bader is Edward Bluemel as Guilford Dudley, a young man who is grappling with his own secrets. While the book version of Guilford exhibits a poetic side, Bluemel says his version of the character is more about banter and a brilliance that he keeps under wraps.

“There’s definitely an intelligence to him and he definitely loves reading and he is very clever, but that’s another thing that’s sort of been hidden away,” says Bluemel. “It’s not part of the persona that he is portraying to the public at all, but you get glimmers of it. We learn very, very early on that he speaks Latin and then there’s a couple of other moments when suddenly there’s sort of a flash of intelligence that reveals exactly who he really is.” 

He says Guilford draws some inspiration from characters like Mr. Darcy and even unexpected real-life sources. “Interestingly, the description of my character when I got it said a Tudor Harry Styles… basically they basically amalgamated sort of the hottest people they could imagine and sort of put them together and then were like, do it… And I got there and they were like, “you’re going to be wearing head-to-toe leather 95% of the time and the other 5% I wear velvet.” 

We won’t give away additional details about Jane and Guilford’s arranged marriage and how their love blossoms, but they will find themselves guarding secrets, dealing with the challenges of power, and trying to keep the country together while also keeping the crown on Jane’s head. 

King Edward Prime Video

Jordan Peters is King Edward, who is actually older than he was in real life considering he died at just 15 years old. (Yes, all of these folks were super young.) “He’s representing the whole country but he hasn’t had the opportunity to live a normal life and fall in love like other people… people see him as a weak King. He’s finding himself and becoming the man that he wants to be and he goes on this whole adventure to discover who he is not only as a King but as a human being.” 

Apparently, this version of King Edward isn’t feeling too well. Is there something sinister afoot? Perhaps. 

Lord Dudley Prime Video

Guilford’s father appears to be wealthy and well-off… but that may not be the case. That is perhaps why he’s down for his son to link up with Jane. He’s a man keeping secrets close to the chest. Actor Rob Brydon tells us more about his character’s calculating ways. “I think at face he’s a good person but he’s a schemer. He’s had to scheme to keep his place in the court. It’s very cutthroat in the court.” 

Brydon says Lord Dudley and Lord Seymour have “beef” with each other that adds to the overall tension. (Yes, we did laugh at his choice of words.)  

Archer, Leader of the Ethians 

While we can assume some of our seemingly verity characters are probably hiding a shapeshifting secret, Archer is absolutely ethian. In fact, he’s the leader—or, as Michael Workeye says, King—of the ethian group. Archer will lead the charge of an eventual uprising of the ethian population. 

“He’s essentially all of the anti-establishment rolled into one,” says Workeye. “He is anti the Kingdom, anti the monarchy, and anti the way of life in England. He was born into nobility and lived a trauma free life. Great childhood.” 

Archer later becomes an ethian and leaves home. He returns home years later and see the oppression of ethians. Now, he aims to change that… by any means necessary.  

Lord Seymour Prime Video

We know that Lord Seymour, played by Dominic Cooper, is up to some sort of shenanigans. He’s certainly not a fan of Lady Jane Grey nor anyone who supports her reign. But we have yet to discover his true motivations and desires. The show’s mix of Tudor era and comedy gave Cooper the perfect challenge of how to portray his villainous character.

“In these costumes, you’re used to having a certain posture and selling a sort of “Tudory manner.” It’s still really important, I think, to play that for real. You have a tendency to sort of play up and be a bit hammy to sell the joke… it is comedy and you have to be very exact.”

Cooper says Lord Seymour (and others) don’t perceive Jane as a threat… until she is. 

Mary Tudor 

Hello Jane’s archnemesis and Edward’s younger sister. Mary Tudor, played by Kate O’Flynn (pictured above beside Lord Seymour), hints that while her character is “evil,” that no one is quite who they seem. “…[She] really wants to be Queen and is looking forward to it. She may be plotting a few things to make that happen. Maybe.”

She says Mary and Lord Seymour are in cahoots to some degree to sway things in both of their favor. How? You’ll have to watch and find out. 

The remainder of the cast is as follows: 

Anna Chancellor as Lady Frances Grey (Jane’s mother) 

Jim Broadbent as the Duke of Leicester (Jane’s uncle) 

Isabella Brownson as Katherine (Jane’s younger sister) 

Robyn Betteridge as Margaret (Jane’s youngest sister) 

Henry Ashton as Stan (Guilford’s brother)

Abbie Hern as Elizabeth (Bess) Tudor (Edward’s older sister) 

Will Keen as the Duke of Norfolk 

Joe Klocek as Fitz

Máiréad Tyers as Susannah

Why Will Historical Romance Fans Love Prime Video’s My Lady Jane Series? 

My Lady Jane draws inspiration from beloved films like The Princess Bride and A Knight’s Tale to craft its narrative. There’s a little something for everyone. Fans of history can compare notes and perhaps point out Easter eggs that nod to that time period. Romance fans will appreciate the burning romance between Jane and Guilford as they fall in love. In fact, Emily Bader says it is “surprisingly sexy and spicy.” 

Costume fanatics will absolutely rave over the show’s intricate looks, perhaps even aiming to recreate them. Those who like satire and drama will get a healthy dose of both. And, the cast boasts some diversity too, similar to Bridgerton. 

Meredith Glynn hopes viewers will come to the end of season one and say that it is fun, refreshing, and worthy of a second season.

What Is the Release Date for My Lady Jane on Prime Video?

My Lady Jane hits Prime Video on June 27 with all eight episodes streaming.

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Mike Flanagan’s ‘Radical’ New EXORCIST Movie Will Release in March 2026

The Exorcist: Believer fell well short of expectations in 2023. Then The Exorcist: Believer‘s planned sequel movie lost its release date and its director in early 2024. It seemed like the reboot of the famous franchise was in some trouble. But now, Mike Flanagan will direct the next Exorcist movie for Blumhouse and Universal pictures (at one point titled, The Exorcist: Deceiver). The new Exorcist movie will not, however, be a sequel to Believer. A release notes, “The film will tell an all-new story set in The Exorcist universe and is not a sequel to 2023’s The Exorcist: Believer.” Instead, Flanagan’s movie will be a “radical new take on The Exorcist.” Excitingly, the movie officially has a 2026 release date.

Flanagan has an excellent reputation for his deft, atmospheric horror—so he could be just the ticket to set the franchise back on course.

Warner Bros.

While three new Exorcist movies were imagined in this reboot attempt, it’s unknown if Flanagan will direct one or two more movies. Since the movies will no longer function as a trilogy, the fate of the third movie is yet to be determined. But if anyone can turn a franchise around, it’s The Fall of the House of Usher creator.

One thing Flanagan’s new Exorcist movie won’t include is his trademark monologues. Per Slash Film, Flanagan “recalled saying, “I don’t think this is a monologue project.” Granted, as he pointed out, the exorcism ritual itself (a lengthy recital of scripture) is kind of a monologue. However, when it comes to philosophical speeches about religion, horror, and death, Flanagan said, ‘I already got it out of my system.'”

Instead, Flanagan’s Exorcist movie will “just be really scary” but with characters that are “real and emotional and relevant.” Additionally, it seems there might not be that many Easter eggs or references to the original The Exorcist film. Slash Film notes, “the storyteller explained that his movie probably won’t include all that many illusions to the 1973 horror classic that started it all. After all, Blumhouse and Universal are giving the film a theatrical release, and with younger audiences driving the box office, they’re unlikely to be impressed by allusions to a 50-year-old movie.”

Universal PicturesWhen Will Mike Flanagan’s Excorcist Movie Release?

Mike Flanagan’s Exorcist movie will release on March 13, 2026. We’ll have to wait and see if it remains titled The Exorcist: Deceiver.

Originally published on May 29, 2024.

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INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE Creators Reveal Which Book Season 3 Would Be Based On

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Interview with the Vampire is close to ending its second season soon, and thus, closing out the events of Anne Rice’s original novel. So what will a possible third season entail? Assuming there is a third season of course. Well, even though the show’s name is Interview with the Vampire, it’s actually adapting elements of Anne Rice’s entire Vampire Chronicles saga. And that’s a whopping thirteen books. According to series creators Rolin Jones and Mark Johnson, season three will tackle Rice’s second undead novel, The Vampire Lestat. Here’s what Rolin Jones recently told us at the Interview with the Vampire season two premiere:

The next book was the one I wanted to do. So I hope I get a shot at it — The Vampire Lestat.

AMC Networks

Although season three doesn’t have an official greenlight, Deadline announced that Rolin Jones had signed a new deal with AMC. Because of this, we think a greenlight for their anchor Anne Rice’s Immortal Universe show is imminent. There was a dash of The Vampire Lestat in this season, with episode three in the form of the flashback of Armand (Assad Zaman’s) first meeting with Lestat.

Alfred A. Knopf/Ballantine Books

Anne Rice’s second vampire novel was published in 1985, nine years after Interview with the Vampire. Interview was initially a cult hit that took years to build into a classic. Yet its sequel was an instant best-seller, truly spawning a franchise. Rice took the original novel’s villain, made him an anti-hero, and greatly expanded the vampire mythology. In book two, through Lestat’s eyes, we go back in time to Renaissance Italy, the Roman Empire, and ancient Egypt. The scope is much bigger, so it will be interesting to see how Rolin Jones tackles it in a series.

One potential problem fans might have is that Louis, played by Jacob Anderson, is a very minimal presence in book two. The bulk of the events of the novel take place before Lestat ever meets Louis in New Orleans. One remedy for this problem could be Louis interviewing Lestat about his past, instead of Lestat merely writing a memoir, as he did in Rice’s novel. Thus, the name Interview with the Vampire still makes sense, and Jacob Anderson could remain in the series. Anderson’s Louis going from interviewee to interviewer would be an interesting twist for sure.

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