Chris Hardwick's Blog, page 383

IMMACULATE Trailer Brings the Creepy Religious Horror Vibes

There’s nothing quite as scary as religious horror. Even if you’re not religious yourself, it still somehow manages to always get under the skin. From The Exorcist to The Omen, to modern films like The Nun franchise, evoking religion in your horror film just makes it that much creepier. And now, we’ve got a new religion-themed thriller guaranteed to freak you out from NEON Films. Coming this spring is Immaculate, starring Euphoria and The White Lotus star Sydney Sweeney. You can watch the unsettling new trailer for Immaculate right here, as well as check out the first poster:

The film centers on a young American-born nun named Cecilia, who lives in a convent in the Italian countryside. She suddenly discovers she has become pregnant with what appears to be an immaculate conception. But soon, she realizes something far more sinister is going on, and it’s maybe not as holy as she originally thought. There appears to be some kind of cult-like conspiracy going on in the convent, and she finds herself at the center of something that does not appear to be very godly.

NEON Films

Michael Mohan is the director behind Immaculate, with a script by Andrew Lobel. In addition to Syndey Sweeney, it also stars Álvaro Morte, Benedetta Porcaroli, Dora Romano, Giorgio Colangeli, and Simona Tabasco. In some ways, it sounds very similar to the 1985 Jane Fonda film Agnes of God, about a young nun who insists her baby was the result of an immaculate conception. Although this film seems to be far creepier than that one was. It definitely leans more into the horror overtones of it all. This is turning into quite a big year for Sweeney. She’ll also soon star as Spider-Woman Julia Carpenter in the upcoming Madame Web.

NEON Films

Immaculate hits theaters on March 22.

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THE LAST OF US Season 2 Sets Its Directors, Including SUCCESSION and LOKI Alums

The Last of Us ended its first season on HBO with Joel and Ellie returning to the commune in Colorado. Sure, Joel might have doomed all mankind to save one young girl, but at least they have a place nice to live. For now. Fans of Naughty Dog’s popular video game franchise know new terrors and sadness await the pair in the years to come, and we’ll see all of it come to life when the hit series begins adapting the sequel game in its second season. What else can we expect from the show after a lengthy wait?

Liane Hentscher/HBO

For now, we know who will lead us through the episodes we’re about to see. Deadline reports that The Last of Us season two has set its slate of directors, both new and old. These include four new directors: Succession‘s Mark Mylod, Perry Mason‘s Nina Lopez-Corrado, Watchmen‘s Stephen Williams, and Loki‘s Kate Herron. They join returning director Peter Hoar, who directed the incredible season one episode “Long, Long Time,” and the show’s creators Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann. There’s no word yet on how many episodes the season will have.

Here’s everything we know about The Last of Us‘ second season so far.

The Last of Us Season 2 Plot

HBO has not yet shared an official synopsis for The Last of Us season 2. We still have some idea what to expect. The franchise’s second video game will provide the source material for the TV series. Showrunner Craig Mazin has said the show will take more than one season to adapt the sequel game, but like with the television series’ first season they are not making a direct adaptation. Fans will once again see some major changes alongside some major moments and stories taken directly from the game. That might very well include a huge—though temporary—change for one character. (We won’t risk spoiling it for those who don’t know what that means.)

One thing that won’t change is the importance of The Last of Us Part II‘s Abby Anderson. She will debut during the second season and play a significant role in Ellie’s story. And like the video game sequel, the HBO series will also feature a time jump.

Behind the Scenes

The Last of Us‘ second season was in pre-production before the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes put the show on hold. The first episode had already been written at the time. With both unions finally getting fair deals, the show is now expected to begin filming in Vancouver in early 2024.

Co-creators, writers, and executive producers Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann are back for season two. Writers Halley Gross (The Last of Us Part II) and Bo Shim worked with Mazin and Druckmann on season two.

The series comes from Sony Pictures Television, PlayStation Productions, Word Games, and Naughty Dog.

The Last of Us Season 2’s CastHBO

Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey will return as Joel and Ellie. Also expected back is Gabriel Luna. He plays Joel’s younger brother, Tommy. As is Rutina Wesley. She plays Tommy’s wife Maria.

Netflix/Naughty Dog

Regarding new casting news, The Last of Us season two has cast Kaitlyn Dever as Abby. Abby is an important character from The Last of Us Part II game.

Max/Naughty Dog

Additionally, Isabela Merced has joined the season as Abby, who also hails from the second The Last of Us game. Abby is described as “a free-wheeling spirit whose devotion to Ellie will be tested by the brutality of the world they inhabit.”

Netflix/Naughty Dog

Finally, The Last of Us season two has also cast Beef‘s Young Mazino as Jess. Jess is described, per Variety, as “a pillar of his community who puts everyone else’s needs before his own, sometimes at a terrible cost.” That sounds ominous. Generally speaking, from Jess’s role in The Last of Us Part II, we can assume he and Ellie will build a friendship.

The Last of Us Season 2’s Release DateHBO

The Last of Us‘ second season wasn’t expected to premiere until the start of 2025 before the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Even with production delayed, HBO is still reportedly targeting a 2025 return for the show. However, there is not yet an official date in place.

Originally published on December 29, 2023.

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Truly’s Hot Wing Sauce Hard Seltzer Is a New and Very Real Product

Ian Fleming once wrote, “Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. Three times is enemy action.” Why are we thinking about that quote? Because we’re getting very close to believing someone is taking enemy action against our digestive systems. Fresh off the news that Burt’s Bees and Hidden Valley joined forces for a set of bizarre buffalo wing-flavored lip balms, Truly is unleashing its own strange spicy brew. The drink company has launched—and we absolutely swear this is true—a new Hot Wing Sauce Hard Seltzer. It combines two of football fans’ favorite game day activities: drinking and doing something we regret the next day.

Truly

Truly’s new limited-edition flavor will let pigskin lovers combine the taste of eating hot wings with the experience of drinking an adult beverage. Why? Please don’t expect any sort of rational for the existence of this drink beyond “because.” (Which is usually enough for us.) As for what it tastes like, Truly’s says its Hot Wing Sauce Hard Seltzer concoction with an ABV of 5% brings the “zesty kick” of hot wings to to its “light seltzer base.”

Yeah. Sure. Why not? We’ve eaten and drank far worse during a football game before. And also just in general.

Truly

The beverage company says its spicy seltzer will go on sale ahead of this year’s proverbial “big game.” You’ll be able to grab a four-pack of 16-ounce cans when they hit stores in select markets beginning on January 29. Don’t wait if you want some, though. This saucy seltzer, with a listed price of $24, won’t be around long.

As to whether another strange hot wing-flavored product will soon be announced, we have no idea. These back-to-back lip balms and hard seltzers might be nothing more than a coincidence. If a third one follows them soon we’ll know there’s enemy action against our stomachs and tongues.

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TENET Returning to IMAX with Early Sneak Peek at DUNE: PART TWO

Christopher Nolan is having more than a moment. His critically-acclaimed box office bonanza Oppenheimer just took home a leading 13 Oscar nominations for this year’s Academy Awards. The director and his film are also the favorites to take home big prizes. But before that film’s big night another one of his film is returning to the spotlight. Nolan’s Tenet is coming back to IMAX theaters in support of his colleague Denis Villeneuve. Those who turn out to see Tenet, a time-bending sci-fi thriller, will also get a special sneak peek at Dune: Part Two right before it arrives in theaters.

Warner Bros./Legendary

Warner Bros. Pictures and Christopher Nolan are turning back the clock to help promote Dune: Part Two. On February 23, Tenet will return to IMAX and large format theaters for one week. The Hollywood Reporter says Nolan is a big fan of Villeneuve… and the feeling is mutual. He was enthusiastic about bringing Tenet back to help promote Villeneuve highly-anticipated sequel.

The much-delayed Dune: Part Two will follow Tenet in IMAX on March 1, but those who turn out for Tenet will get a special early look at exclusive footage from the film, which Villeneuve shot entirely for the IMAX format.

Warner Bros./Legendary

Two major directors supporting each other might not seem like a big deal. But Nolan helping Warner Bros. promote a big movie is. It was only a few years ago Nolan left the studio after a long partnership after a disagreement over simultaneous theatrical and HBO Max releases.

If you’re wondering how the severing of that partnership worked out for Warner Bros., Oppenheimer‘s success at Universal is all you need to know. And considering Nolan said in a statement he’s “thrilled that Warner Bros. is giving audiences a chance to see Tenet the way it was intended to be seen,” this is also a smart way for Warner Bros. to let him know it’s sorry/missed him/wants him back.

Warner Bros. Pictures

Tickets for Tenet‘s rerelease are already on sale. Moviegoers can grab their seats for Dune: Part Two in IMAX starting on Friday, January 26. That is, unless they go through one of Tenet‘s time flipping machines. At least we think that’s how it work. We’ll see it again—along with that sneak peek at Dune: Part Two—and let you know.

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

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Ben Affleck to Direct Matt Damon in Thriller for Netflix

Hollywood’s favorite BFFs are working together on yet another project. According to a report from Variety, Ben Affleck will soon direct his buddy Matt Damon in a new film for Netflix, a kidnapping thriller called Animals. This is a follow-up to Air, the Nike drama the pair did together for Amazon Prime in 2023. Unlike with Air, it appears that Affleck will only direct and not star in the film and neither Affleck or Damon will write it. Connor McIntyre and Billy Ray will pen the script. Aside from this new film being a crime thriller, we don’t know much else about it yet.

CBS Sunday Morning

Back in the ’90s, Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, childhood friends from Cambridge, Massachusetts, became synonymous with each other—especially when the pair wrote and starred in Good Will Hunting together in 1997. That collaboration won the pair some Academy Awards and made the young actors into superstars overnight. After that, the duo reunited for Kevin Smith’s Biblical satire Dogma. But perhaps being tired of always being associated together by the media, the two really didn’t work together again for decades, aside from random cameos in Kevin Smith movies here and there.

In recent years, however, Affleck and Damon started working together again. In 2021, they co-wrote the screenplay for historical drama The Last Duel together, which Ridley Scott directed them both in. Just one year after that, Ben Affleck directed Matt Damon in Air, which came out in 2023. They might have taken a big break from working doing projects together, but they seem more committed to working as a duo now than ever before. We have no idea when Animals will start shooting, but don’t expect to see it before 2025.

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Netflix’s Password Sharing Crackdown Will Drive Growth For ‘Years to Come,’ Says Co-CEO

In a move likely very frustrating for subscribers, Netflix is cracking down on password sharing, specifically sharing passwords with those not living under one roof. This isn’t the streaming company’s first attempt to curb password sharing on the Netflix platform. But this time, it sounds like the streaming platform means business. In Q1 of 2022, Netflix lost 200,000 subscribers. It was the first subscriber loss for the streaming platform in a decade.

If there was ever any doubt that Netflix would follow through with its plans to cut down on inter-household password sharing, that is over. But how will Netflix stop password sharing? This time, the streaming platform is getting money involved. Netflix isn’t going to boot the infringing profiles off the main account right away if it catches someone password sharing. Instead, it’ll just make the account holder pay up. As of May 23, Netflix’s password-sharing crackdown has officially arrived in the US. And, likely to the dismay of consumers, it’s seeing some success.

Netflix

According to Deadline, Netflix’s Co-CEO Greg Peters recently said, “Our paid sharing work, and our ads work, creates a more effective engine to translate all [Netflix] value into revenue growth, and will support increased conversion of our addressable market in many years to come.” And the company recently noted, “We believe we’ve successfully addressed account sharing, ensuring that when people enjoy Netflix they pay for the service too. Features like Transfer Profile and Extra Member were much requested, and many millions of our members are now taking advantage of them.”

Here are the latest updates in Netflix’s attempts to stop users from sharing their passwords and accounts.

Jump to: Netflix Password Sharing Crackdown Is Successful // Netflix’s Paid Password Sharing Crackdown Has Arrived in the US // Netflix’s New Account Sharing Rules // Netflix Profile Transfers // Device Log Out // Netflix Password Sharing Is Widespread // Consumer Reaction Netflix’s Password-Sharing Crackdown Is SuccessfulNetflix

Password sharing used to be a common part of having a streaming account. But Netflix’s novel efforts to curb the practice appear to have paid off. In Q2 of 2023, Netflix added 5.89 million new paid subscribers, which it attributes to its password-sharing crackdown. The lion’s share of Netflix’s efforts occurred during this time period. Netflix shared in a Q2 letter:

The cancel reaction [to the password sharing crackdown] was low and while we’re still in the early stages of monetization, we’re seeing healthy conversion of borrower households into full paying Netflix memberships as well as the uptake of our extra member feature. We are revenue and paid membership positive vs. prior to the launch of paid sharing across every region in our latest launch.

Netflix promises to expand its paid-sharing plan to almost all countries that use Netflix. Per The Hollywood Reporter, Netflix now has 238.4 million global paid memberships. Netflix reported $8.2 billion, in revenue and a net income of $1.5 billion.

Netflix’s Paid Password Sharing Crackdown Has Arrived in the USNetflix

Netflix recently expanded more serious efforts at ending password sharing to Canada, New Zealand, Portugal, and Spain. And now, the password-sharing crackdown has arrived in the United States. In a blog post shared on May 23, Netflix noted:

Starting today, we will be sending this email to members who are sharing Netflix outside their household in the United States. 

A Netflix account is for use by one household. Everyone living in that household can use Netflix wherever they are — at home, on the go, on holiday — and take advantage of new features like Transfer Profile and Manage Access and Devices.

Among other things, Netflix plans to begin blocking devices that it feels are using a Netflix account but not paying for it. The blog post further notes, “If you want to share Netflix with someone outside your household, you can use these features.

Transfer a profile. Anyone on your account can transfer a profile to a new membership they pay for.

Buy an extra member. You can share your Netflix account with somone who doesn’t live with you for $7.99/month more.

Another blog post from Netflix Canada notes more about you can “share Netflix” without breaking its rules under its paid password-sharing plan:

Set primary location: We’ll help members set this up, ensuring that anyone who lives in their household can use their Netflix account. 

Manage account access and devices: Members can now easily manage who has access to their account from our new Manage Access and Devices page. 

Transfer profile: People using an account can now easily transfer a profile to a new account, which they pay for — keeping their personalized recommendations, viewing history, My List, saved games and more. 

Watch while you travel: Members can still easily watch Netflix on their personal devices or log into a new TV, like at a hotel or holiday rental. 

Buy an extra member: Members on our Standard or Premium plan in many countries (including Canada, New Zealand, Portugal and Spain) can add an extra member sub account for up to two people they don’t live with — each with a profile, personalized recommendations, login and password — for an extra CAD$7.99 a month per person in Canada, NZD$7.99 in New Zealand, Euro 3.99 in Portugal, and Euro 5.99 in Spain. 

All of these aspects of password sharing have been a part of Netflix’s tests up till now. But, of course, the price point continues to evolve. Below we detail more about each one of them.

Netflix’s New Rules and Restrictions for Password and Account SharingNetflix

Netflix recently revealed a new Help Center page that’s all about “Sharing Your Netflix Account.” On this page, Netflix makes it clear that password sharing and Netflix accounts are “for people who live together in a single household.” The exact definition of a Netflix Household is “people who live in the same location with the account owner.” According to Netflix, “people who are not in your household will need to sign up for their own account to watch Netflix.”

Based on the other information on the Help Center page, it also feels like a Netflix Household is defined by the use of one WiFi connection. Netflix notes it determines devices in a household “us[ing] information such as IP addresses, device IDs, and account activity from devices signed into the Netflix account.”

Extra Members

Netflix now notes, “People who are not in your household will need to sign up for their own account to watch; or in many countries you can buy an extra member slot to add an extra member to your account.” The platform adds, “An extra member will have their own profile, account, and password, but their membership will be paid for by the person who invited them to join.”

Extra members differ from regular account holders in these ways:

Extra members can watch Netflix on any device, but only on 1 device at a time.

Extra members can also download titles, but only on 1 phone or tablet at a time.

Extra members can only have 1 profile and cannot create additional profiles.

This profile can be a new profile or an eligible profile transferred from the account owner who invited the extra member.

This profile can have different maturity ratings, but cannot be a Kids profile.

Extra members must activate their account in the same country associated with the account owner’s.

Example: If the account owner signed up in Costa Rica, the extra member must create and activate the extra member account in Costa Rica.

Verified Netflix Devices

The new page about account and password sharing also introduces the idea of Netflix “verified devices.” Netflix notes that if a device not associated with your household tries to sign into your account, then it may need to be verified. Verification involves the main account user approving a device account use within the space of fifteen minutes. And Netflix may ask for new device verification periodically, ostensibly to prevent verification of devices out of the household.

If you are the primary account holder, or if you are using the primary internet connection in the primary account user’s household, you shouldn’t need to worry about verifying your device, according to Netflix. Regardless of your location, if you are the primary holder of your account, you should be able to use it anywhere. Of course, how Netflix can know who exactly is holding the device or belongs to a device household at any time seems murky.

Interestingly, this new page doesn’t reference the kind of paid account sharing that has seemed top of mind for Netflix.

Netflix Profile TransfersNetflix

To ready users for the upcoming crackdown, Netflix has added the option of an easy profile transfer. Very simply, this lets each profile on an account easily become its own account. As Netflix shares in a release:

We’re launching Profile Transfer, a feature that lets people using your account transfer a profile — keeping the personalized recommendations, viewing history, My List, saved games, and other settings — when they start their own membership.  

Netflix also notes, “To transfer a profile, go to the “Transfer Profile” option when you hover over your profile icon in the dropdown menu on the homepage — then simply follow the instruction.” Ostensibly, this feature is nicely asking for those sharing accounts to create their own with ease… Before there are repercussions.

In addition to transferring your profile to a new account, you can now transfer it into an already existing one. This feature is now widely available.

Netflix Lets You Log Out of Individual Devices

In addition to Profile Transfers, Netflix has rolled out a new feature that lets users log out of individual devices. This feature, called “Managing Access and Devices” is “a new feature in Account Settings that allows you to view all the recent devices that have streamed from your account and to log out of specific devices with just one click.”

Ostensibly, it’s there in case you forget to log out of a device that you were just using in passing. However, this new update also serves as a further measure by Netflix to cut down on password sharing.

Netflix is not messing around when it comes to password and account sharing.

Netflix100 Million Households Are Netflix Password Sharing

This is quite a move from a company that reportedly spent $400 million for the Knives Out sequels. And is dropping something like 86 original movies this year. But according to a company blog post, Netflix claims the password sharing is preventing them from investing in top-tier content.

Chengyi Long, director of product innovation at Netflix, said, “We’ve always made it easy for people who live together to share their Netflix account, with features like separate profiles and multiple streams in our Standard and Premium plans. While these have been hugely popular, they have also created some confusion about when and how Netflix can be shared. As a result, accounts are being shared between households—impacting our ability to invest in great new TV and films for our members.”

Furthermore, the Netflix shareholder letter, indicated more than 100 million households are sharing passwords. More specifically, 30 million households in the US and Canada share passwords. This is a problem for the streaming platform.

NetflixHow Will Consumers Respond to These Netflix Attempts to Stop Password Sharing?

So this is all to say password sharing on Netflix is responsible for The Baby-Sitters Club‘s premature demise. We can’t imagine that’s specifically true. The announcement comes at a pretty overwhelming moment for streaming platforms in general. Pretty much every major studio with a distribution wing has one. Disney—which snatched its Defenders Saga back from Netflix has three. That company has made serious moves with Disney+ over the next several months. Disney+ has added parental controls and ad-supported pricing in a relatively short space of time. And then there’s Paramount with its two wings. And haven’t even mentioned Prime Video, HBO Max, Apple TV+, and so, so many more.

It’s reaching a point where subscribers are already shelling out a lot monthly to keep up. Password sharing, and trading off, has historically made things a little bit easier. Netflix notes it knows this move might not be initially popular. The company shares, “From our experience in Latin America, we expect some cancel reaction in each market when we roll out paid sharing, which impacts near-term member growth. But as borrower households begin to activate their own standalone accounts and extra member accounts are added, we expect to see improved overall revenue, which is our goal with all plan and pricing changes”

But however unpopular these changes are in theory, they seem to be doing exactly what the company hopes. So we’d better see some truly incredible content manifest. (And we expect Netflix to be able to pay their creators, writers, and actors what they deserve and more.)

Originally published on March 16, 2022.

The post Netflix’s Password Sharing Crackdown Will Drive Growth For ‘Years to Come,’ Says Co-CEO appeared first on Nerdist.

OREO’s Space Dunk Cookies Will Send One Lucky Winner to the Edge of Space

To cookie lovers everywhere a new type of Oreo is newsworthy on its own. But the iconic sweet treat’s latest offering has something for everyone. It’s more than just a tasty dessert. Space Dunk Cookies are also an out-of-this-world opportunity. Oreo is going to send one lucky winner to the very edge of space.

Oreo

Oreo has announced its brand-new “galaxy-inspired” limited-edition Space Dunk Cookies. This colorful variation is “stuf’d with layers of a marshmallow-flavored blue and pink ‘cosmic creme.'” They also feature “popping candies that create a supernova bursting sensation with each bite.” On the outside snackers will find five different “galactic embossments” on the chocolate cookie pieces. And, in a first for Oreo, the cookies themselves have a small cut out. That way customers can “peer through the cookie and see the colorful creme.”

Fans can already pre-order the colorful treats. When they get their hands on them they’ll also be able to enter a cosmic competition. Each package will include a QR code customers can scan for entry details into the the Lift Off with OREO sweepstakes. The content will send a grand prize winner on “a transformative six-hour journey to the edge of space in Space Perspective’s Spaceship Neptune.” You can learn more about the trip and enter to win at LiftOff.OREO.com.

Oreo

“Oreo cookies are all about transporting fans to a place full of excitement and childlike curiosity,” said Michelle Deignan, Vice President, OREO, US, in a statement. “We’re over the moon about partnering with Space Perspective to give one lucky fan the opportunity to dunk an Oreo cookie while gliding through space. Through this campaign we hope to take playfulness to new heights, proving it is not only in all of us, but also exists in space.”

All cookie lovers would be plenty excited just to learn about a new Oreo cookie. But potentially getting to eat one on the edge of space is news everywhere.

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THE WALKING DEAD: THE ONES WHO LIVE’s Final Trailer Puts Richonne Against Insurmountable Odds

The Walking Dead is over but, as we know, the end of the flagship series that’s been in fans’ hearts for over a decade doesn’t mean this world is done. The show already has had four spinoff series, Fear the Walking Dead, Tales of the Walking Dead, The Walking Dead: World Beyond, The Walking Dead: Dead City, and The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon on TV. The latter, starring Maggie and Negan, is returning for a second season in the future along with Daryl’s spinoff. But, there is another spinoff coming soon that is perhaps the most important one in the universe. Rick and Michonne are coming back together for The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live.

The show’s final trailer gives us a major glimpse into Rick’s life with the Civic Republic as well as Michonne’s journey to find him. They have to face perhaps their biggest opponent yet: the Civic Republic Military.

The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live Will Bring Rick and Michonne Back in February 2024

The Walking Dead‘s final panel at San Diego Comic-Con 2022 gave us the biggest news of all: a Rick Grimes and Michonne series was coming soon. Two years later, we finally know that The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live will have a release date of February 25, 2024. Rick and Michonne’s return is oh-so-close after years of waiting.

Here’s a breakdown of The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live:

This series presents an epic love story of two characters changed by a changed world. Kept apart by distance. By an unstoppable power. By the ghosts of who they were. Rick and Michonne are thrown into another world, built on a war against the dead… And ultimately, a war against the living. Can they find each other and who they were in a place and situation unlike any they’ve ever known before? Are they enemies? Lovers? Victims? Victors? Without each other, are they even alive — or will they find that they, too, are the Walking Dead?

AMC

The name of this Rick and Michonne series should be familiar to fans. Rick first said the phrase “we are the ones who live” back in season five while chatting with Deanna about his group. And, we heard Richonne as well as many other characters say that phrase in The Walking Dead‘s finale episode. So it holds a lot of significance to Rick and Michonne’s individual and collective journeys.

AMC Networks

We certainly can’t wait to see Rick and Michonne together again.

There’s also some casting news. Per Deadline, Lucifer alumna Lesley-Ann Brandt will portray Pearl Thorne. Details about that character are currently unknown. We also know that The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live will bring back Pollyanna McIntosh as Jadis. This isn’t shocking considering she’s the one who took Rick away in that helicopter.

Years ago, she picked up a very wounded Rick Grimes and flew off in a CRM helicopter. And, for those who didn’t watch World Beyond, Jadis indeed traded him to the CRM and started working for the organization. In an Entertainment Weekly interview, actress Pollyanna McIntosh gives more info about what Jadis is up to as well as a new image of her. She still has terrible hair, apparently.

“There will be some of the Jadis that you will recognize from World Beyond,” McIntosh said. “She is in the position of Warrant Officer Jadis Stokes. She is still working with the Civic Republic and the Civic Republic Military. So she’s a committed follower of the CRM, but people are not just their jobs, and the old Jadis that we got to know and who has tried her best but has lost many times is a big driving undercurrent of where she’s coming from.”

Terry O’Quinn and Matt Jeffries will portray Beale and Nat, respectively. Now, we know a little more about Major General Beale, a CRM leader and enemy of our beloved Rick Grimes. In an Entertainment Weekly interview, actor Terry O’Quinn spoke more about his character:

“He is the leader of the Civic Republic military and it operates pretty independently of the Civic Republic government,” the actor said. “So he doesn’t really have to deal with them very much. And he’s held in high esteem. He’s kind of a hero. He has a long military history. He served two terms in Vietnam and went to officer training school. And he’s had to make some decisions in terms of who lives and who dies and how to deal with the mass of walking dead.

Terry O'Quinn shares intel on his 'Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live' character, and we have the exclusive first photo of Major General Beale. https://t.co/OdQhhq154f

— Entertainment Weekly (@EW) January 9, 2024

He has a big army, but he has about 2,000 of his front liners. They’re his elite corps and they do most of the work, be it dirty or not dirty. He makes decisions based on what he thinks will help his community survive. And it’s completely that he’s trying to make sure that this city survives, so he makes some tough decisions.”

During a Walking Dead preview, Gimple warns us that we will see “Red Machete Rick” again. Remember him? He was the one with the brown murder jacket who was a lot unhinged around seasons five and six. This is probably not a good thing but if anyone can bring him back to normal, it is Michonne. We got a glimpse of Rick in The Walking Dead‘s final episode and he looks like hell. But that scene is from the past so he’s presumably in an even worse state at this point. And, there’s also Michonne with her new gear, braving the world alone. Love to see it. Will their show end with an Alexandria reunion? We hope so.

Curtis Bonds Baker/AMCThe Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon Season Two – “The Book of Carol” Is Coming

We are done with the first season of Daryl Dixon’s adventure, but there is already great news about his show’s second season. The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon will bring Carol back next season. We don’t know if she will also end up in France or if they will meet in some odd middle. Either way, it will be good to see those besties together again. A new teaser shows that next season will focus a lot on Carol’s journey.

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, showrunner David Zabel gave fans more insight into season two. He reveals that the Nest is a prominent location in season two and Carol’s previous comment about some mystery person coming back will come into play. “There’s also another clue… this moment in the radio call in episode 5 where she talks about something or someone having come back,” said Zabel. “And the impression we get, and Daryl also gets, is that something’s a little off for her, something’s wrong. And so that’s going to also function into the story for Carol in season 2.”

We cannot wait to see how it all unfolds. In the meantime, we look forward to the return of the great Rick Grimes and Michonne.

A lot is happening in The Walking Dead universe and there will surely be more details about other spinoffs if they happen. There’s plenty left to explore in the land of the dead, so let’s keep walking right towards these spinoffs.

Originally published on April 7, 2022.

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Composer Bear McCreary on PERCY JACKSON AND THE OLYMPIANS’ Score and Character Themes

If you’re a nerd, you’ve almost certainly heard composer Bear McCreary’s work. His memorable scores are too numerous to list, but Battlestar Galactica, God of War, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, and The Rings of Power are a solid sampling. Most recently McCreary worked with his team at Sparks & Shadows on the soundtrack for Percy Jackson and the Olympians. The Disney+ series adapts Rick Riordan’s popular books with pitch-perfect casting, adventures, and music. To that end, Nerdist has the exclusive premiere for the latest installment of Hollywood Records’ The Big Score featuring McCreary discussing Percy Jackson.

In the video, McCreary touches on crafting the themes for each member of the main trio: Percy, Annabeth, and Grover. He says Grover’s theme is very playful with a quirky chord change. It’s almost always a solo flute, with a pan flute thrown in now and again—for obvious reasons. Annabeth’s theme for season one is more subtle. McCreary said she gets a few resonant moments of warmth and depth through English horn and bassoon.

McCreary explains they found Percy’s theme while working on a later episode. Specifically they hit upon it during the powerful moment when Poseidon claims Percy as his son. It was then they found the building music that represented Percy’s journey to becoming a hero. With that discovery, McCreary and his team went back to episode one and added in the scene at the museum. Then, they realized it was Percy’s theme.

Disney+/David Bukach

As ever, McCreary’s music highlights the characters’ evolution and the locations they visit.

The Percy Jackson and the Olympians season one finale will air on January 30. You can listen to the soundtrack on Apple Music and Spotify.

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WHITE LOTUS Actor Tom Hollander Once Got Tom Holland’s AVENGERS Paycheck By Mistake

Tom Hollander is a well-known working actor, famous for roles in things like Pirates of the Caribbean and White Lotus. What he is not, however, is Tom Holland, a.k.a. Spider-Man. But we’ve learned via Variety that he almost got paid some Spidey-level money once, entirely by accident. And when we say Spidey-level, we’re talking millions. Because Tom Hollander was once mistakenly sent a bonus check for an Avengers film meant for Tom Holland. He told Seth Meyers the story while promoting his role as Truman Capote in the upcoming Feud: Capote vs. the Swans on FX/Hulu. You can watch the clip below:

Hollander recounted to Seth Myers that it was his agency that mixed him up with the similarly named Holland via an email. That is how he got his very fat check by mistake. We’re not sure which Avengers movie it was, since Tom Holland was in two of them. Honestly, we can see how something like this could happen. Luckily, Mr. Hollander is a man of good moral character, and didn’t just take the money and run. We guess that’s the Spider-Man thing to do. Now we wonder if Child’s Play and Fright Night director Tom Holland has ever accidentally received some Marvel money by mistake himself.

HBO/Marvel Studios

We don’t know how much Tom Holland’s check was for, but apparently, it left Tom Hollander’s jaw on the floor. He said “It was an astonishing amount of money. It was not his salary. It was his first box-office bonus. Not the whole box-office bonus, the first one. And it was more money than I’d ever [seen]. It was a seven-figure sum.” If you’re wondering why so many of these actors, like Hugh Jackman and others, keep returning to their superhero roles for sequel after sequel? There’s your answer. There ain’t no money like Marvel money. But we bet Tom Hollander is ready to sign up for the MCU right about now. Someone’s got to play the Beyonder in Secret Wars, right?

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