Chris Hardwick's Blog, page 301

New FALLOUT 76 Expansion Will Let Gamers Play as a Ghoul

Walton Goggin’s Ghoul on Prime Video’s Fallout series is already one of our favorite characters ever. Now Bethesda Game Studios will let us experience what it’s like to live as him. The studio is finally giving gamers something they’ve long wanted. In early 2025 a new Fallout 76 expansion will let fans finally play a main series game as a ghoul.

Fallout 76‘s upcoming Skyline Valley expansion will do more than just make the game’s map bigger. It will also allow players who reach Level 50 to play as a ghoul. Previously that was only possible in Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel and Fallout Tactics.

The game’s creative director Jonathan Rush told IGN that will mean players won’t have to worry about radiation. In fact, in true ghoul fashion, radiation will actually heal them. (As could the TV show’s yellow ghoul potion, which Rush teased could show up in the game.)

Bethesda Softworks

That will be just one of the “dozens of ghoul-specific perk cards” coming to the game. And without a need for Power Armor, ghouls will have other advantages a human character doesn’t.

Of course, the biggest advantage is for actual humans. We’ll now get to experience the wasteland the way Fallout‘s The Ghoul does.

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DOCTOR WHO Just Made Another Doctor Canon

Doctor Who at one time had a seemingly very concrete canon and continuity. That has gone out the window, essentially for the last 10 years. The 50th anniversary special, “The Day of the Doctor,” introduced a Doctor, the War Doctor, from the middle of the Doctor’s life that the audience never knew about. Since then, radical departures and additions to lore have been commonplace. The Fugitive Doctor, plus a series of other pre-First Doctor incarnations, debuted a few years ago. Now, once and current showrunner Russell T Davies has ostensibly made another once-non-canonical Doctor canon.

BBC[image error]

In “Rogue,” the sixth episode of the first Disney+ season, we see a familiar beat. The current Doctor, in an effort to prove he’s a Time Lord rather than the shapeshifting villain, projects a rotating circle of former selves around him. We see all the ones you’d expect, plus the Fugitive Doctor. But you might say “wait a minute, is that Richard E. Grant? From Loki? Was he ever a Doctor?” Yes. And no.

BBC/Disney+

In 2003, prior to RTD and company rebooting the series with Christopher Eccleston in the lead role, BBCi, or the BBC’s internet arm, commissioned a six-part story from writer Paul Cornell as a Flash animation story for the Doctor Who website. This story, “Scream of the Shalka,” cast long-ballyhooed Richard E. Grant to play a vampirish-looking Doctor opposite Sophie Okonedo as companion Alison Cheney and Derek Jacobi as the Master. David Tennant also had a small role. Grant also played one of the Doctors in the 1999 Comic Relief special “Curse of Fatal Death,” written by Steven Moffat.

BBC

Due to the live-action series announcement, “Scream of the Shalka” almost didn’t come out at all but eventually aired in late 2003. Ultimately the series wasn’t part of the continuity, despite that being the idea at the time. Obviously Tennant went on to play the Doctor after Eccleston. Okonedo would play Liz 10 in “The Beast Below,” Jacobi would indeed play the Master in “Utopia,” and even Grant himself would play the Series 7 recurring villain, the Great Intelligence.

Seeing Grant in the wheel of Doctors is a fun nod to this animated anomaly. RTD himself said not favorable things about Grant’s portrayal in the role, but that was 20 years ago. Things change. Whether we ever see Grant full-bodied on screen certainly remains to be seen, but I guess we can expect a Peter Cushing picture at some point soon too?

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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DOCTOR WHO Delivers Queer Romance, Thanks to Jonathan Groff’s Rogue Character

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Doctor Who’s latest episode takes us back into the Regency era and “Oh, my Bridgerton!” is it a fun romp in the past. Ruby and Fifteen head back to 1813 for a little fun at a ball. Things get rather spicy with some human scandals, the villainous Chuldur’s plans to take over bodies for evil cosplay fun, and the Doctor’s interactions with Rogue, played by guest star Jonathan Groff. Many fans were curious about Groff’s Doctor Who character and how he would play into this universe. And boy, does this episode shake the show up in a way we haven’t seen before. 

BBC Studios/Bad Wolf Studios/Disney+

The Doctor encounters Rogue, a space bounty hunter from the future who accosts him after a very funny meet-cute. Rogue believes the Doctor is a Chuldur, a shapeshifter that he’s been hired to find and chuck into some incinerator to a death sentence. Rogue brings the Doctor to his ship and the latter can’t help but act, well, like the Doctor. He’s making jokes about the inferior vessel (nothing is better than the TARDIS) and Rogue getting his name from Dungeons & Dragons.

The funniest part is when he pokes fun at Rogue by turning up his music. Guess what song is playing? Kylie Minogue’s “Can’t Get You Out of My Head.” (Fun fact: Kylie was in the 2007 Christmas special Doctor Who episode “Voyage of the Damned.”) Rogue is clearly annoyed by the Doctor and his little screwdriver at first but that soon fades away after a scan reveals that the Doctor is not Chuldur. The duo end up liking each other. And I mean liiikkiiinnnngggg each other, nearly kissing in the TARDIS before the ongoing mystery interrupts. 

While Ruby is off being nosy and having a good time, Rogue essentially becomes The Doctor’s companion. They work together to devise a plan to send the Chuldur to a random barren dimension so they cannot kill everyone on Earth. They also cannot help but flirt throughout their plan to lure the Chuldur. This includes dancing “scandalously” in front of a crowd and (fake) arguing like a real couple.

BBC Studios/Bad Wolf

Ruby ends up on the transporter after she has to pretend to be a Chuldur to stay alive. Rogue kisses the Doctor and takes Ruby’s place, instructing the Doctor to find him. The Doctor is obviously heartbroken but he quickly pushes his emotions aside and moves on with Ruby. 

Give me Rogue and Fifteen fanfic please. We don’t know if we will ever see Rogue again. (Probably not.) But perhaps his barren dimension adventures will come to Big Finish one day. Until then, we can smile about the Doctor finding love with someone who feels like his equal, even if it is only for one night.

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DUNE: AWAKENING Video Game Releases Story Trailer

Dune: Part Two proved the excitement around the world of Arakkis and the plight of Paul Atreides is sky-high. The audience is certainly there for at least one more movie. However, in the meantime, you can soon take your own chances in Frank Herbert’s sci-fi universe with Dune: Awakening. The open-world action MMO will let players explore Dune and all its many dangers. Sandworms, yes, but other factions. At Summer Games Fest 2024, we finally got a story trailer for the game, and it gives us a fascinating look at when (and when not) the game takes place.

Just a heads up, the Dune: Awakening trailer has spoilers for some of the later books and potential movies. Watch with caution if that kind of thing puts you off.

The Dune: Awakening trailer gives us narration from Paul himself, some time after the events of the first book/second movie. Paul explains his visions of various timelines where key events of Dune never happened. One vision shows what if his mother Jessica gave birth to a girl, where Dr. Yueh was caught before his treason, where the Atreides don’t die at the hand of the Harkonnens, or if the Emperor and his Sardaukar army took control of spice production on Arrakis. He then explains how his path was the one path that would prevent the utter destruction of the human race, but that in these alternate Dune: Awakening timelines, we, the players, also forge potential timelines toward salvation.

Funcom

The future is ours to write, and it seems parts of the Dune: Awakening game will take place off of Arrakis and potentially further into Paul’s life. How much jumping back and forth in timelines we’ll get in the game is not clear. What is clear is that all the visuals look very inspired by the Legendary Pictures films. And who wouldn’t want to live in that desert?

Funcom

Dune Awakening will be released on PS5, PC and Xbox Series X/S.

Editor’s Note: Nerdist is a subsidiary of Legendary Digital Networks

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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Who Are the 60 MCU Characters Returning For AVENGERS 5?

A recent report about Deadpool & Wolverine director Shawn Levy being offered a fifth Avengers movie contained a spicy nugget of information. The next film is said to be bringing back a whopping 60 characters. You thought 30 main characters in Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame was massive? Marvel is going to try and outdo that. Now, we have a suspicion it’s 60 characters spread across two films—The Kang Dynasty (or whatever Avengers 5 is called) and Secret Wars. Regardless, 60 is a lot. And here are our best guesses on who makes the cut. And who doesn’t, and why.

Marvel Studios The VariantsMarvel Studios/Sony Pictures

A lot of marquee Avengers are currently dead, really old, or exist in another studios’ universe, like Sony’s Spider-heroes. This is the Multiverse Saga though. We fully expect these variants from other realities to appear, if not in Avengers 5, then in Avengers: Secret Wars.

1. Iron Man/Tony Stark

The Tony Stark of the 616 universe might have died saving reality, but we’d be shocked if his variant, played by Robert Downey Jr., did not return. He recently said he’s “surprisingly open-minded” about a return. That tells us all we need to know.

2. Black Widow/Natasha Romanoff

Just like Tony, Nat died saving reality. But a variant of her must exist out there, ready to be Black Widow again. We expect Scarlett Johannson to return for an OG Avengers actor reunion.

3. Captain America/Steve Rogers

Technically, the 616 Steve is still alive. He’s just very, very old. But we want to see Cap in his prime throwing the shield, and the only way to do that is to get a young Cap variant from the Multiverse.

4. Loki

Technically, the Loki we meet in his own Disney+ series is a variant, even if Tom Hiddleston’s character is now the God of Stories, keeping the Multiverse functioning.

5. Spider-Man I

Since No Way Home, we’ve learned that the Tobey Maguire Spidey from the Sam Raimi films is a variant. So we expect to to see the classic cinematic Peter Parker show up in Avengers 5.

6. Spider-Man II

Everything we just said about Tobey’s Spidey applies to Andrew Garfield’s as well.

7. Thanos

The “Big Bad” of the Infinity Saga may have died, but another version exists out there. We expect to see John Brolin return as a version of the Mad Titan, even if he’s not the primary villain.

8. Captain Peggy Carter

Although the version of Captain Carter from Earth-838 was killed by an angry Scarlet Witch in Multiverse of Madness, the What If…? series showed us another is out there. We’d love to see her fight alongside Steve Rogers.

The Mighty AvengersMarvel Studios 9. Thor

The God of Thunder is one of the primary core Avengers. No way Chris Hemsworth won’t come back for a reunion.

10 Hulk (Bruce Banner)

Mark Ruffalo is always game to play Bruce Banner. We can’t imagine the Jade Giant sits this one out.

11. Hawkeye (Clint Barton)

Clint Barton might be retired, but he’ll always come calling if the Avengers need him. Jeremy Renner seems like a shoo-in.

12. Nick Fury

The greatest spy on Eath’s solo series Secret Invasion may have disappointed most, but he’s an eternal presence throughout the MCU. Samuel L. Jackson needs to be there.

13. War Machine (James Rhodes)

After being wasted in Secret Invasion, here’s hoping we see Don Cheadle in the suit again in Avengers 5 and 6. Also, we will never believe the War Machine in Endgame was a Skrull. Stop trying to make Fetch happen.

14. Captain Marvel (Carol Danvers)

At the end of The Marvels, Carol Danvers has moved back to Earth, ready to be called to action. We can’t imagine Carol won’t return as Captain Marvel. Brie Larson’s cosmic protector is too powerful to leave benched for a big event.

15. Captain America (Sam Wilson)

Our new Cap, Sam Wilson, is definitely going to be on an Avengers team in whatever the new iteration of the team is. Count on seeing Anthony Mackie on the roster.

16. Ant-Man (Scott Lang)

Ok, so the third Ant-Man film didn’t set the world on fire. We still love Scott Lang, and Paul Rudd needs to be there for whatever happens in Avengers 5. And not just as a giant corpse, like in Deadpool & Wolverine.

We should note, we didn’t include Wasp, as Evangeline Lilly has announced she’s retired from acting for now. It is unlikely they’d recast her. We also think both Hank and Janet Pym have earned a happy retirement. Besides, those iconic actors, Michael Douglas and Michelle Pfeiffer, are expensive for the relatively tiny roles they’d play.

17. Vision

We expect an emotional reunion between Paul Bettany’s android who cries and his beloved Wanda in Avengers 5, after the events of his upcoming solo series.

18. Monica Rambeau

We’re not sure what her superhero codename is yet (Captain Marvel II? Photon? Spectrum?) But Teyonah Parris definitely needs to return for a fifth Avengers movie.

19. Spider-Man III (Peter Parker)

The friendly neighborhood Spider-Man of Earth 616, played by Tom Holland, is gonna be a key player. We fully expect this Peter Parker to have a big role in the Avengers going forward. And we are dying to see that Tony Stark/Peter Parker reunion.

The Mystics, and Those From Mystic LandsMarvel Studios20. Doctor Strange

He may not be Sorcerer Supreme anymore, but he’s still Earth’s most powerful mage. Benedict Cumberbatch will almost certainly return as Stephen Strange to help save reality once again.

21. Wong

The current Sorcerer Supreme, there’s no way Benedict Wong’s character won’t pop up. He will have to be there, wielding his sling-ring.

22. Scarlet Witch (Wanda Maximoff)

Yeah, we know. Wanda Maximoff supposedly died in Multiverse of Madness. However, no body, no death. Those are comic book rules. We expect to see Elizabeth Olsen as the Scarlet Witch, decked out in red again.

23. Clea

Oscar winner Charlize Theron appeared in the end credits tag after Multiverse of Madness, but nothing has been done with that little cliffhanger. Now would be the time to call in Clea from the Dark Dimension.

24. Namor

We haven’t seen the undersea ruler since Wakanda Forever, but he’s been an Avenger in the comics. Now would be a good time for him to join up.

25. Shang-Chi

Carol Danvers and Bruce Banner welcomed Simu Liu’s Shang-Chi into the world of the Avengers at the end of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, and it’s time to pay that off.

The Young AvengersMarvel Studios/Netflix26. Cassie Lang

The daughter of Ant-Man, the now teenage Cassie has dad’s powers, and is a superhero in her own right. Hopefully, we’ll see Kathryn Newton suit up as a Young Avenger.

27. Ms. Marvel (Kamala Khan)

At the end of The Marvels, we see young Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani) approach Kate Bishop about forming a Young Avengers team. We imagine if the Young Avengers are formed, they’ll play a part in Avengers 5, with Kamala leading the way.

28. Hawkeye II (Kate Bishop)

The arrow-shooting heroine is a lead Young Avengers hero in the comics, so we think Hailee Steinfeld will have to appear in this film, alongside her buddy Clint Barton.

29. Wiccan (Billy Kaplan)

Although not 100% confirmed, it seems that Joe Locke from Heartstopper is playing Wiccan in Agatha All Along. As a very powerful Young Avenger, we expect him in a big league Avengers film.

30. America Chavez

The dimension-hopping teen (Xochitl Gomez) played a big role in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. With the Multiverse being a big deal going forward, we doubt that she’ll miss Avengers 5.

The World of WakandaMarvel Studios

If there’s a reality-shaking event, then the citizens of Wakanda should be in the thick of it. We think some characters have earned a rest, like Nakia, but we expect most of these major players to be alongside the Avengers.

31. Black Panther (Shuri)

The current Black Panther, Princess Shuri, played by Letitia Wright, has to represent Wakanda in whatever world-shaking events will take place in the future Avengers.

32. M’Baku

At the end of Wakanda Forever, Shuri left M’Baku as the steward of Wakanda, until T’Challa II comes of age. So whatever big events happen that involve Wakanda, Winston Duke’s character will have to return.

33. Black Panther (T’Challa II)

We think thanks to time travel or Multiversal shenanigans, we’ll see an older version of T’Challa’s son take his place as the Avengers’ Black Panther in this movie.

34. Okoye

Although no longer head of the Dora Milaje, the Wakanda national is now a Midnight Angel. Time for this angel to join the Avengers on their next big screen

35. Ironheart (RiRi Williams)

Another character who debuted in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, this inheritor of the Iron Man legacy is set for her own Disney+ show soon. And we expect her to be part of a new Avengers movie.

The Streaming Series StarsMarvel Studios/Warner Bros.

Ever since Netflix, and now Disney+, there have been several heroes who star in streaming series who need to make the jump to the big screen. We left off Jessica Jones and Punisher, only because their worlds are so extra street level, as to not fit into an Avengers story.

36. Moon Knight (Marc Spector)

We don’t know what the deal is with Moon Knight season 2, but we feel Oscar Isaac’s Avatar of Konshu should be there for whatever big Multiversal event takes place.

37. Daredevil (Matt Murdock)

The original Marvel Neflix star, the blind vigilante/lawyer is now officially a part of the MCU. Even if it’s just a cameo, we expect Charlie Cox to be swing by and knock a few bad guys out.

38. Luke Cage

The venerable hero of Harlem, we last saw Mike Colter’s bulletproof badass at the end of season two of his self-titled Netflix show. It’s time for him to join the big leagues and become an Avenger.

39. She-Hulk (Jennifer Walters)

We’re currently not sure if the gamma-powered lawyer is going to get another season of her Disney+ series, but Jennifer Walters (Tatiana Maslany) definitely needs to lend her considerable strength to the Avengers for whatever is coming next.

40. Wonder Man

His show has yet to debut, but this longtime Avenger (played by Yahya Abdul-Mateen) needs to fight alongside his comic book teammates at some point. Why not Avengers 5 and 6?

The ThunderboltsMarvel Studios

We have a strong feeling that many of the Thunderbolts won’t survive their own upcoming movie. But if any two are going to make it out alive, and into an Avengers 5, it’s these two.

41. The Winter Soldier (Bucky Barnes)

The former Hydra assassin and BFF of Steve Rogers, should the Winter Soldier survive the events of the upcoming Thunderbolts, actor Sebastian Stan should definitely to the role, and appear alongside the Avengers.

42. Yelena Belova

The adopted sister of Natasha Romanoff, Yelena Belova, played by Florence Pugh, has appeared in Black Widow, Hawkeye, and soon, in Thunderbolts. It’s time for her to graduate to Avengers status.

The Cosmic HeroesMarvel Studios

After Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3, many of the original Guardians have earned their retirement from superheroing. Also, Zoe Saldana and Dave Bautista have made it very clear they are done with Gamora and Drax, respectively. Nebula has chosen to remain on Knowhere with Drax. And Mantis just wants a different kind of life now. This is why we didn’t include them.

43. Star-Lord (Peter Quill)

The former leader of the Guardians of the Galaxy, he returned home to Earth after decades to live with his grandpa. Now that he’s on Earth, Chris Pratt’s space hero will likely team up with the Avengers, and probably his former Guardian friends, one more time.

44. Rocket Raccoon

The irritable raccoon creation of the High Evolutionary, he now leads a new team of Guardians. If the Multiverse is in danger, we expect Rocket to show up and help save it. And maybe steal some stuff.

45. Groot

He is Groot.

46. Adam Warlock

A major Marvel hero with a relatively minor role in the Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, an upcoming Avengers film might be the best plan to let a golden-skinned Will Poulter shine.

47. Valkyrie

The current King of Asgard, Valkyrie is always itching for battle. So we say let Tessa Thompson pick up the sword one more time and fight on the side of her buddy Thor and his fellow Avengers. Maybe bring that flying horse again.

The Marvel MutantsMarvel Studios48. Deadpool

With Shawn Levy in talks to direct Avengers 5, having completed Deadpool & Wolverine, we are pretty sure he’ll bring in Wade Wilson in a major role. We simply can’t imagine Ryan Reynolds not appearing in some capacity.

49. Wolverine

We don’t buy that Hugh Jackman’s Deadpool & Wolverine performance as being his last as Logan. Fool us once, good sir. He’ll be popping those claws as an Avenger. Or at an Avenger.

50-59. The X-MenTwentieth Century Films/Marvel Studios

Yes, we think all of the original Fox X-Men are appearing in the last Avengers movies. We’re talking Cyclops (James Marsden), Storm (Halle Berry) Jean Grey (Famke Janssen), Rogue (Anna Paquin), Beast (Kelsey Grammar), Iceman (Shawn Ashmore) Professor X (Patrick Stewart), Magneto (Sir Ian McKellen) and Mystique (Rebecca Romijn), and Stefan Kapičić as Colossus.

60. Kang the ConquerorMarvel Studios

Oh yeah, this movie needs a villain. Whether Avengers 5 is called The Kang Dynasty or something else, we are pretty sure the time-controlling villain will play a part. We’re also sure he won’t be played by Jonathan Majors this time. But some variant from the Multiverse will fill his shoes.

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THE ACOLYTE Showrunner Wants to Bring KNIGHTS OF THE OLD REPUBLIC to Live-Action

Few Star Wars video games are as beloved as Knights of the Old Republic. The BioWare game first came out in 2003, and was an instant smash. Taking place 4,000 years before the events of the Skywalker Saga, the game took fans back to an era when there were thousands of Sith battling thousands of Jedi Knights. For years, there have been rumors about KOTOR becoming a film, or possibly, a Disney+ series. While doing press for The Acolyte, showrunner Leslye Headland mentioned she’d love to tackle an adaptation of KOTOR, focusing on one character in particular — Kreia from KOTOR II. Here’s what she told Omelete, via IGN:

“I’ve always wanted to explore a live-action version of the Knights of the Old Republic game and Kreia’s character. I think it would be a really interesting story to bring to life.”

Lucasfilm

In the game, Kreia is a character who is blind, yet Force-sensitive. She has a different kind of relationship with the dark side and light side of the Force than the average Jedi. She was the Jedi Master who trained one of the game’s principal characters, Revan. It was he who turned against the Jedi and founded a new Sith Empire. For this and other reasons, she was exiled from the Jedi Order. Star Wars fans often cite her as one of the best characters in the franchise.

So when will Lucasfilm finally adapt Knights of the Old Republic? The epic war between the Sith Empire and the Galactic Republic is one of the most requested live-action projects. And Lucasfilm has teased the possibility of making it for several years. Due to their involvement with Game of Thrones, many believed that Dave Benioff and D. B. Weiss’ now-canceled Star Wars film was based on KOTOR, but it was actually another project. We genuinely believe that if and when Lucasfilm formally announces a live-action Knights of the Old Republic, it would be as big a deal as if they were to announce a Star Wars: Episode X. We’ll just have to wait and see if it ever happens.

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GREMLINS: THE WILD BATCH Coming to Max This Fall

Ahead of the 40th anniversary of Joe Dante’s Gremlins, Max has announced a second season of its hit animated prequel series, Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai. In a fun nod to the movie’s sequel, 1990’s Gremlins 2: The New Batch, the show now has the subtitle The Wild Batch. Returning cast members include Ming-Na Wen, James Hong, BD Wong, Izaac Wang, AJ LoCascio, and Gabrielle Nevaeh.

While the above teaser is all we have so far, Max did provide a logline for Gremlins: The Wild Batch.

The Wild Batch follows Gizmo, Sam, and Elle as they travel from their home in Shanghai to San Francisco, bringing even more magic, mystery and Mogwai mayhem. Hot on the trail of a new brood of evil Mogwai, our heroes journey deep into the American West, coming up against new supernatural creatures and picking up a few mysterious characters along the way.

No release date for Gremlins: The Wild Batch yet. However, you can catch up on season one, Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai now.

Warner Bros.

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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Next Monsterverse Movie Finds New Director

Filmmaker Adam Wingard directed the two most recent entries in Legendary’s Monsterverse franchise. Godzilla vs. Kong in 2021 did very well considering the world was still hip-deep in COVID. This year’s Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire crossed half-a-billion dollars worldwide to make it the highest-grossing yet in the series. But Wingard will step back from directing the next installment. Taking his place is Grant Sputore, working from a script by Dave Callaham (Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings). Deadline shared the news.

Warner Bros/Legendary Pictures

Sputore is a successful commercial director whose debut feature film is 2019’s I Am Mother. That movie, starring Hilary Swank and Rose Byrne, was a Sundance fave which then went to Netflix. It’s a pretty interesting sci-fi thriller about a girl raised by a robot. This is obviously a huge step up in budget for Sputore. However, the Monsterverse has made its name utilizing indie genre directors, so Sputore is right at home.

The next movie, still untitled, will be the sixth feature film in the franchise. It will follow Godzilla (2014), Kong: Skull Island (2017), Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019), Godzilla vs. Kong (2021), and Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire (2024). This year also saw the release of the first live-action series in the franchise, Monarch: Legacy of Monsters on Apple TV+.

Editor’s Note: Nerdist is a subsidiary of Legendary Digital Networks

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 ACOLYTE Scores 4.8 Million Views in Its First Day of Streaming

The Acolyte is only two episodes in but it is already a Disney+ darling. According to Deadline, the Star Wars series gained 4.8 million views in its first day, making The Acolyte the biggest series premiere on Disney+. That’s a big deal. People are obviously loving this dive into the High Republic era that’s full of secrets and mysterious happenings.

Lucasfilm

It will remain to be seen if The Acolyte can continue to keep those views up as the season progresses. There’s a whole lot going on in June with House of the Dragon season two and The Boys season four coming soon. Of course, some people may only watch one series and others may watch them all. But there’s certainly some stiff competition for viewership on the horizon.

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Celebrate GODZILLA’s 70th Birthday with a Dance Party in NYC

Godzilla is turning 70 and the Titan deserves to celebrate in style. If you’re in NYC and want to wish the creature well, don’t miss out on Escape From Tribeca and Toho International’s celebration of Godzilla’s 70th anniversary. It’s guaranteed to be a smashingly good time. We can’t wait to party with Godzilla and all his kaiju friends.

Tribeca

Here is the full description of the event:

The Tribeca Music Lounge and Escape From Tribeca will celebrate the 70th Anniversary of GODZILLA, the King of the Monsters, in the best possible way: with a late-night dance party big enough to honor history’s greatest kaiju. In partnership with Toho International, this one-of-a-kind extravaganza features superstar DJ Takuya Nakamura, mad punks AnChikSho and the legendary all-female Japanese rock band Hard Nips! Featuring a curated collection of epic Godzilla footage, signature drinks, giveaways, costumes, and even self-described “Fake Scientist” Shyaporn Theerakulstit, who will be joining this very official anniversary celebration of the Big G by presenting his hilariously un-official Godzilla “research” via the Nerd-Nite-approved lecture “Godzilla: History, Biology and Behavior of Hyper-Evolved Theropod Kaiju.” Come party with the King!

We’re told there will be MANY Godzilla-themed giveaways as well. Among them are goodies from:

Limited edition prints, gig-posters, collectibles & puzzles! – Bottleneck GalleryBandai Namco Toys & Collectibles America Inc |Manufacturer and Master Toy Licensee of Collectibles, Children’s Toys and EntertainmentCavitycolors: Horror & Halloween T-ShirtsGhost X GhostHiya ToysJade City FoodsMiddle of Beyond – Officially Licensed Knitwear, Apparel, Home GoodsOnline Pin Fashion Shop | Lifestyle, Streetwear AccessoriesRubies II LLC.Super7 | Action Figures & Collectible ToysYoutooz Collectibles

It’s not a party without presents, after all! And Godzilla deserves the biggest party of all. So, if you’re a true Godzilla fan and need something fun to do with your evening, don’t delay. It sounds like it will be a fabulously nerdy time. Congratulations on 70, Godzilla. May we all look so good at your age! Tickets to Tribeca Festival and Toho Presents: Godzilla 70th Anniversary are available here. They are $30 each.

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