Chris Hardwick's Blog, page 76

June 3, 2025

THE WITCHER 4 Shares Incredible Cinematic and Gameplay Trailers Highlighting Unreal Engine 5 Tech

The Witcher 4 is still years away. But fans can now experience some of the magicand monstersthat await them on the Continent when the long-awaited game finally hits store shelves. CD Projekt Red has provided two new looks at the franchise’s fourth installment. The latest cinematic trailer for The Witcher 4 shows a grown-up Ciri on the hunt for a deadly creature. Meanwhile, a lengthy Gameplay Tech Demo trailer reveals how Unreal Engine 5 is making The Witcher 4 the best-looking entry yet.

A team from CD Projekt Red took the stage this morning in Orlando at Epic Games’ Unreal Fest. There, they provided the latest update on The Witcher 4. The studio is using Unreal Engine 5 to create the new Witcher game, marking the first time CD Projekt Red is not using its own in-house engine. This presentation won’t make waiting for the game’s release any easier.

The new cinematic trailer for The Witcher 4 features two rapscallions and their wagon getting torn apart by a dragon at night. The real excitement, though, comes the next morning when a grown-up Ciri arrives on the scene to investigate. It’s a truly gorgeous trailer that promises the most visually stunning video game installment of The Witcher yet. (It also shows there have already been some slight changes made to Ciri’s appearance in The Witcher 4 game.)

The second Tech Demo trailer shows how Unreal Engine 5 is making the Continent look better than ever. It takes place in Kovir, which has never appeared in the games before, and introduces Ciri’s horse Kelpie.

While some of us :raises hand: will only care about how The Witcher 4 looks, the studio provided a technical breakdown for those who want to know how this all works and what it will mean going forward. From CD Projekt Red:

The demo, which runs on a PlayStation 5 at 60 frames per second, shows off in-engine capabilities set in the world of The Witcher 4, including the new Unreal Animation Framework, Nanite Foliage rendering, MetaHuman technology with Mass AI crowd scaling, and more. The tools showcased are being developed, tested, and eventually released to all UE developers, starting with today’s Unreal Engine 5.6 release. This will help other studios create believable and immersive open-world environments that deliver performance at 60 FPS without compromising on quality even at vast scales. While the presentation was running on a PlayStation console, the features and technology will be supported across all platforms the game will launch on.

Ciri with a hood and swords on her back in The Witcher 4

CD Projekt Red

CD Project Red also says the single-player, open-world RPG will tell a “new saga” that lets “players take on the role of Ciri and embark on a journey through a brutal dark fantasy world” in what promises “to be the most immersive and ambitious open-world Witcher game to date.”

We’ll have to play to find out if that’s true, but we’re confident The Witcher 4 will make the Continent look better than ever. And that’s going to make waiting for it that much harder.

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Published on June 03, 2025 09:16

Alex Garland to Direct and Write Live-Action ELDEN RING Movie for A24

Bandai Namco Entertainment, Inc. and A24 are teaming up with writer and director Alex Garland for a live-action Elden Ring film. Yes, those rumors are indeed true. Garland will both write and direct this film, which is in its early stages and does not have a release date yet. The beloved RPG came out in 2022 and takes place in a fantasy world where players overcome challenges and traverse through expansive lands.

This news came right before the release of an Elden Ring spinoff, Elden Ring Nightreign, which released on May 30. This game boasts a redesign that provides players with a completely new gameplay experience.

ELDEN RING NIGHTREIGN Heads to PAX East, Promises Immersive Theater Demo

Players will choose from a cast of unique characters to face off against a new threat. Sounds like a lot of fun. And maybe some of its lore will also appear in this movie.

Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree villain

Bandai Namco

Of course, it will be a while before we know who stars in A24 and Alex Garland’s live-action Elden Ring film. Aaron Taylor-Johnson seems to be in everything these days, so that’s always a possibility.

And then there’s the question of whether it will be a good adaptation. Well, one unlikely voice is giving Alex Garland’s live-action Elden Ring movie his vote of confidence. George R. R. Martin took to his blog, where usually he’s expressing more negative opinions than positive, to share that he’s “hopeful” for the Elden Ring movie. Martin, just to note, worked on the backstory for the Elden Ring game. In his post, Martin noted, “A24 is a kickass studio, and Alex Garland is a first rate director.” He even embedded a YouTube video titled “Why the Elden Ring Movie Won’t Suck.” So there you have it.

Well, that’s something. But the truth is we don’t have much information about the movie yet. For now, we will be on the lookout for more news about this upcoming film.

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Published on June 03, 2025 09:01

SUPERMAN Is Like GODZILLA MINUS ONE, ‘A Human Story’ (with a Massive Powerhouse)

Soon, the world will meet a new Clark Kent in Superman. (Formerly titled Superman: Legacy). DC Studios co-CEOs James Gunn and Peter Safran are rebooting the most famous superhero in the world as they transition the franchise from the DCEU to the DCU. Who will play the Man of Steel on the big screen this time around? What kind of story will we see him in? And who will bring it to life? We’re keeping track of all these answers and more.

James Gunn recently gave us an idea of what we might expect from Superman likening it to recent hit movie, Godzilla Minus One. Gunn noted, “My goal is to make a film like Godzilla Minus One, which depicted Godzilla but also had great human drama at its core, is a human story. The relationship between Clark Kent, Lois Lane, and (villain) Lex Luthor is the core of the work.”

Times may change, but hope always remains. #Superman only in theaters July 11. pic.twitter.com/aQjfuLRQfN
Superman (@Superman) May 22, 2025

In other Superman news, we also really dig this iconic image of Clark Kent getting ready to quick change and get into action, which is such an iconic moment for this hero.

Here’s everything we know about Superman so far.

Title

Warner Bros.

The DCU’s first official movie (though not its first official release) is now titled simply Superman. Of course, the movie began its life as Superman: Legacy. It will kick off the film side of what James Gunn has called the franchise’s first chapter, “Gods and Monsters.” He has also called this movie “the true beginning” of the DCU.

Superman‘s Plot An illustrated Superman sits above the trees and looks over his shoulders

DC Comics/Frank Quitely

While the film still has no official synopsis, Warner Bros. did provide a description of what we can expect from the story, which James Gunn says is not an origin tale.

Superman tells the story of Superman’s journey to reconcile his Kryptonian heritage with his human upbringing as Clark Kent of Smallville, Kansas. He is the embodiment of truth, justice and the American way, guided by human kindness in a world that sees kindness as old-fashioned.

Gunn announced the film with art from the cover of All-Star Superman by writer Grant Morrison and artist Frank Quitely. Whether or not that means the story is influenced, inspired by, or adapted from the 12-issue comic series in any way is unclear. What Gunn has said is the movie will focus on “an earlier part of Superman’s life,” where he is still old enough to already be working for the Daily Planet.

Recently, James Gunn gave us a new look at one of Superman‘s villains, Engineer. In the DCU, Engineer is played by Mara Gabriela de Fara. We don’t know too much about her role yet, but we know she is “sinister perfection.”

Happy Anniversary to the Engineer, created by Warren Ellis and Bryan Hitch, who you can see played to sinister perfection by puppy in human form Gaby de Faria in #Superman this July! pic.twitter.com/baXnmpCIoR
James Gunn (@JamesGunn) March 10, 2025

We also have our first look at David Corenswet as the DCU’s Superman.

Superman Legacy first look reveals David Corenswet as DCU Superman and his costume

James Gunn

We also have our first look at Nicholas Hoult’s Lux Luthor. The menacing villain looks to be in fine form as he scowls around our first glimpse of the Superman movie. Check him out above in all his in all his glory, and you can then take a look at the character in action in the trailer itself. (We break it down here)

Warner Bros./DCSuperman‘s Cast James Gunn DCU new movie Superman Legacy casts leads David Corenswet and Rachel Brosnahan

Netflix/DC Comics/Prime Video

David Corenswet will play Superman, while Rachel Brosnahan will play Lois Lane.

In addition, four more actors have joined the cast of Superman. Isabela Merced will play Hawkgirl, Edi Gathegi will play Mister Terrific, Nathan Fillion will play Green Lantern Guy Gardner, and Anthony Carrigan will play Metamorpho. Mara Gabriela de Fara will play the villain The Engineer in the movie. Also known as Angela Spica, the character has nanotechnology built into her body. Additionally, Sara Sampaio will play Eve Teschmacher, Skyler Gisondo will play Jimmy Olsen, and Wendell Pierce will play The Daily Planet boss Perry White. Saturday Night Live‘s Beck Bennett will play The Daily Planet‘s sports journalist Steve Lombard. James Gunn has also confirmed that Nicholas Hoult will play Lex Luthor.

James Gunn recently confirmed that one exciting canine character would join the world of the DCU’s Superman this summer. Gunn shared that Krypto the Superdog would be a fixture of the movie and that he would be a pup who is a “not-so-good-good-boy” inspired by Gunn’s own real-life dog, Ozu.

In full, Gunn notes:

Krypto arrives on screens in Superman this summer. Krypto was inspired by our dog Ozu, who we adopted shortly after I started writing Superman. Ozu, who came from a hoarding situation in a backyard with 60 other dogs & never knew human beings, was problematic to say the least. He immediately came in & destroyed our home, our shoes, our furniture he even ate my laptop. It took a long time before he would even let us touch him. I remember thinking, “Gosh, how difficult would life be if Ozu had superpowers?” and thus Krypto came into the script & changed the shape of the story as Ozu was changing my life. What better time to debut the not-so-good-good-boy Krypto than #AdoptAShelterDog month. Btw, Ozu today, is, fairly often, a very good boy. #Superman

Gunn also recently confirmed the casting of Ma and Pa Kent on Threads. Pruitt Taylor Vince (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.) will play Jonathan Kent, a.k.a. Pa Kent. Meanwhile, Neva Howell will play Martha Kent.

Behind the Scenes

James Gunn wrote the (definitely completed) script and is directing.

Recently, James Gunn hopped on social media to share a behind the scenes look at him with actor Skyler Gisondo, who will portray Superman’s best pal Jimmy Olsen. Gunn says Gisondo is “gonna knock you out of your socks” with this role.

Today is the anniversary of Superman’s Best Pal Jimmy Olsen. @SkylerGisondo’s performance in #Superman is gonna knock you out of your socks.

Photo by Jess Miglio. pic.twitter.com/uQq4g99RfW
James Gunn (@JamesGunn) April 15, 2025

Superman‘s Release Date

Thanks to the efforts of our talented crew, who never lost faith during the longest strikes in Hollywood history, and who never let their foot off the pedal, continuing to barrel forward, creating the most amazing character and set designs I’ve seen in my entire career, pic.twitter.com/ntnEbA2fC0
James Gunn (@JamesGunn) November 11, 2023

Superman will soar into theaters faster than a speeding bullet on July 11, 2025.

Originally published on April 11, 2023.

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Published on June 03, 2025 08:32

We Mourn KING OF THE HILL Actor Jonathan Joss’ Death & Share His Husband’s Heartbreaking Words

King of the Hill did not resemble the other shows I watched when I was growing up. I snuck it by my mom and always felt mildly like I was doing something I shouldn’t be doing when I flipped it onto my TV. And still, something about it drew me in. And, judging by the excitement of our readers about the upcoming King of the Hill revival, many fellow nerds feel this way as well. And so, with a sad heart, I learned that Jonathan Joss, the voice of John Redcorn on King of the Hill and its revival, had been killed in a fatal shooting. But alas, as more details of Jonathan Joss’ death came out, the circumstances only became more heartbreaking and more harrowing.

After news of his death broke, Jonathan Joss’ husband Tristan Kern de Gonzales shared a vulnerable and aching statement, recounting that Joss’ shooting, and here we must say, allegedly, was a hate crime.

Jonathan Joss as King of the Hill John Redcorn and Parks and Rec Ken Hotate

Fox/NBC

Below, we share Tristan Kern de Gonzales’ statement in full, but wanted to add a note of caution for our readers that these words paint very painful images, and those who feel sensitive toward such things, should take proceed carefully.

Statement from Tristan Kern de Gonzales

Husband of Jonathan Joss

My husband Jonathan Joss and I were involved in a shooting while checking the mail at the site of our former home. That home was burned down after over two years of threats from people in the area who repeatedly told us they would set it on fire. We reported these threats to law enforcement multiple times and nothing was done.

Throughout that time we were harassed regularly by individuals who made it clear they did not accept our relationship. Much of the harassment was openly homophobic.

When we returned to the site to check our mail we discovered the skull of one of our dogs and its harness placed in clear view. This caused both of us severe emotional distress. We began yelling and crying in response to the pain of what we saw.

While we were doing this a man approached us. He started yelling violent homophobic slurs at us. He then raised a gun from his lap and fired.

Jonathan and I had no weapons. We were not threatening anyone. We were grieving. We were standing side by side. When the man fired Jonathan pushed me out of the way. He saved my life.

Jonathan is my husband. He gave me more love in our time together than most people ever get. We were newlyweds. We picked Valentines Day. We were in the process of looking for a trailer and planning our future.

He was murdered by someone who could not stand the sight of two men loving each other.

I was with him when he passed. I told him how much he was loved.

To everyone who supported him, his fans, his friends, know that he valued you deeply. He saw you as family.

My focus now is on protecting Jonathan’s legacy and honoring the life we built together.

If your concern is how someone coped with trauma or how loudly they speak when recounting injustice and being ignored by authorities then you never truly cared about my husband.

Jonathan saved my life. I will carry that forward. I will protect what he built.

Tristan Kern de Gonzales

It’s hard to describe the unbelievable sadness that these words evoke. The incredibly cruel act described above is hard to reckon with. And we admire Tristan Kern de Gonzales for his openness in discussing Jonathan Joss’ death and the circumstances surrounding it. There is simply no sense in what happened to this loving couple, seemingly just for openly celebrating their love and being proud of their identities.

But Kern de Gonzales asked primarily for one thing in the wake of this alleged hate crime: for us to remember Jonathan’s legacy and honor his life, to protect what he built. On King of the Hill, Jonathan Joss gave life to a sadly rare Native American character, honoring his own legacy as a man of Comanche and Apache descent. He appeared in TV movies and shows including Walker, Texas Ranger, Friday Night Lights, The League, Ray Donovan, In Plain Sight, and Parks & Recreation.

We will also get to hear his voice one more time when the King of the Hill revival graces our screens. Mike Judge, Greg Daniels, and Saladin Patterson said in a statement, “Jonathan Joss brought King of the Hill’s ‘John Redcorn’ to life for over a dozen seasons, including in the upcoming revival. “His voice will be missed at King of the Hill, and we extend our deepest condolences to Jonathan’s friends and family.”

In the end, it is critical that we hold both the truth of the circumstances surrounding Jonathan Joss’ death and the beautiful legacy of his life in our thoughts. Rest in peace, Jonathan Joss.

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Published on June 03, 2025 07:54

Treat Your Canine with MILK-BONE’s Limited-Edition SUPERMAN Box and Comic Book

There’s nothing like the love of a dog to get you through the tough times. They are always happy to see you come home and think you are perfect, even when others aren’t so happy with you. Everyone can use the love of a canine pal, even Superman himself. James Gunn’s Superman movie will bring the Man of Steel’s hyper pal Krypto to life. And, if you have your own super dog by your side, you can celebrate this friendship between hero and companion with Milk-Bone’s limited-edition Superman box featuring Krypto as well as a fun comic book. Treat Your Canine with MILK-BONE's Limited-Edition SUPERMAN Box and Comic Book_1 J.M. Smucker/DC Studios

The package’s Superman artwork is lovely, especially Krypto’s joyful leap. And the snacks inside the box will make your good doggie want to do a couple of tricks. This special box is available online at Amazon and at retailers near you. So you can grab treats for your furry friend and enjoy an adorable comic adventure inspired by Krypto and Superman.

comic cover image for superman milk-bone special edition

DC Comics/Ivan Cohen/Travis Mercer/Andrew Dalhouse

The physical comic book and box set is no longer available on Milk-Bone’s website. However, you can check out a free digital copy of it online. It’s the perfect way to get some reading in while you take your pup out for their daily stroll.

The synopsis for Superman: A Friendship Unleashed #1 is as follows: “A day of play for Superman and Krypto is interrupted by a crisis at S.T.A.R. Labs! While Krypto wrangles panicked dogs gone wild and Superman rescues endangered scientists, the superdog and his best friend must work together to save the day.”

Who Is Superman’s Dog, Krypto? The DC Comics History of the Kryptonian Canine

“For over a century, Milk-Bone has been trusted to help pet parents make everyday moments with their dogs feel extraordinary,” said Gail Hollander, CMO at J.M. Smucker. “Now, with the Superman partnership, Milk-Bone is honoring the strength, loyalty and love that our four-legged companions show us every day.”

a large brown dog with white paws lies on a hardwood floor with a box of milk-bone superman dog treats

Tai Gooden

That sentiment is very true. My dog Waffles is enjoying snacking on treats from this limited-edition Milk-Bone Superman box. And I am glad to add this comic to my collection. And, if you are still wondering if you should pick up a box, James Gunn himself has one.

He’s a very cool guy that we all love, so be like James and grab one today. Running out of treats is a sin that no dog owner should commit.

Superman and Krypto will bring their bond to the big screen on July 11.

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Published on June 03, 2025 07:26

Mark Hamill Says His Luke Skywalker Days Are Officially Behind Him

Don’t expect to see Mark Hamill as a Force Ghost in any new Star Wars film in the near future or possibly ever again. While speaking to Comicbook.com, the iconic actor made it pretty clear that his days as Luke Skywalker are behind him. Hamill shares the opinion of many Star Wars fans, believing the franchise needs to start looking toward the future, instead of leaning on the Skywalker Saga past. Here’s what he had to say on a possible return as Luke:

I am so grateful to George [Lucas] for letting me be a part of that back in the day, the humble days when George called ‘Star Wars’ ‘the most expensive low-budget movie ever made. We never expected it to become a permanent franchise and a part of pop culture like that. But my deal is, I had my time. I’m appreciative of that, but I think they should focus on the future and all the new characters.

Mark Hamill as Force Ghost Luke Skywalker in The Rise of Skywalker.

Lucasfilm

Hamill also joked by saying that Luke “disappeared in [The Last Jedi], I left my robes behind. And there’s no way I’m gonna appear as a naked force ghost.” We know he’s just having fun here, because Luke did indeed appear as a fully clothed Force Ghost in The Rise of Skywalker. Whatever your feelings on that movie are, Force Ghost Luke standing next to his “Space Sis” Carrie Fisher as Leia is as good a moment to say farewell to the character as any.

If the Rey-centric movie ever gets off the ground, we honestly did expect to see a Force Ghost Luke cameo. But it seems like Mark Hamill is ruling that out now. Future Star Wars installments might not have Luke in them, in terms of legacy characters. But if R2, C-3PO, and Chewie don’t appear, color us surprised. If Hamill is really done playing Luke, that means his canonical final appearance was in The Book of Boba Fett. Maybe not the best installment to go out on. But no one is going to hold it against Mark Hamill for how that show turned out.

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Published on June 03, 2025 07:06

STAR WARS Fan Edit Goes Full Anime, with Japanese Pop Song Opening Credits

Fans have been making anime/Star Wars mashups for years now. And some of them have been quite excellent. They’ve been so good, Lucasfilm produced a proper anime with Star Wars: Visions, which is getting a second season. But that’s not stopping fans from making their own anime Star Wars mashups still. Via Comic Book, we learned about one fan edit from TikTok by user @random_rogue26, using clips from the animated series Galaxy of Adventures. They cut them together with a song from Japanese pop band Sunrise Skater Kids, which gives the video a classic anime-style opening sequence. You can watch it down below:

@random_rogue26
if Star wars had an anime opening #fyp #starwars #lukeskywalker #princessleia #hansolo #chewbacca #fyp #darthvader #foryoupage #dearmariacountmein
original sound Random rogue

We wouldn’t exactly call the 2018 series of animated shorts Star Wars: Galaxy of Adventures “anime,” but they clearly drew inspiration from it. It took iconic moments from all three Star Wars trilogies, and gave them a hyper-kinetic makeover. Think “What if the Jedi were on Dragon Ball Z?” When cut together with Japanese pop music, it feels like some lost anime show from the ’90s. The clips are mostly moments from the original trilogy, with some moments from the prequels thrown in for good measure. Sorry, fans of Rey, Finn, and Poe, but none of the sequel trilogy characters are included in this cut.

The Star Wars original trilogy characters from the animated Star Wars: Galaxy of Adventures.

Lucasfilm

We are vehemently against any of the original Star Wars films ever getting a live-action remake. We legit curse the very notion in fact. But this actually makes us want an animated redo of some kind. Perhaps as a new Disney+ series? We’re thinking of something that takes familiar moments from the Skywalker Saga and extends and exaggerates them as only animation can. The Galaxy of Adventures shorts were a good start, but we wouldn’t mind something longer. In the meantime, we’re going to watch this fun fan video one or ten more times.

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Published on June 03, 2025 05:00

ANDOR Showrunner Tony Gilroy Was Denied Only One Thing, Dropping STAR WARS’ First F-Bomb

We’re all still reeling from the end of Andor, one of the greatest chapters in the entire Star Wars franchise. It’s hard to believe that such a hard-hitting, grounded piece of storytelling came from the galaxy far, far away. Disney and Lucasfilm gave Andor showrunner (and Rogue One co-writer) Tony Gilroy a reported $650 million to produce Andor, and gave him almost full creative control. In fact, Gilroy is on the record as saying that Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy allowed him to introduce subjects like police brutality and brothels in the very first episode without pushback. But Lucasfilm put their foot down with one thing. They denied Andor dropping Star Wars‘ first f-bomb.

Speaking at the ATX TV Festival (via Fandom Wire), Gilroy said that in the two seasons of Andor, he received only one creative note from Disney. And it had to do with the use of profanity. In the first season, the speech by Cassian’s adoptive mother Maarva (Fiona Shaw), originally ended with the words “F*** the Empire”. Instead, Disney said “Can you please not do that?” And so “F*** the Empire” became “Fight the Empire.” Which honestly works just as well. And the message isn’t lost with “Star Wars‘ first f-bomb” controversy.

The funeral speech from Maarva (Fiona Shaw) in season one of Andor.

Lucasfilm

Funnily enough, Tony Gilroy did use Andor to become Star Wars‘ first official use of the s-word. This happened when Bail Organa tells Mon Mothma to “Tear the shit out of this place” during her senate speech. Personally, we prefer when sci-fi fantasy franchises make up their own cuss words. Battlestar Galactica did it best with the word “frak,” which worked great. We all knew what frak really meant, and they didn’t have to worry about censors. “E chu ta” is an example of ugly Star Wars universe slang/insult. But after all this time, we still don’t know what it really means! C’mon Star Wars. Come up with a good f-bomb substitute already.

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Published on June 03, 2025 03:00

June 2, 2025

He’s Back Again! First Teaser for DEXTER: RESURRECTION

I remember a joke on Saturday Night Live‘s Weekend Update a million years ago about Kelsey Grammer starring in a new show (doesn’t even matter what show) in which he’d stretch his acting muscles by playing Dr. Frasier Crane. This, of course, following effectively playing the same character for two decades. Well, add Michael C. Hall to that list with Grammer and Mariska Hargitay, because this dude’s playing Dexter Morgan for yet another series. Paramount+ with SHOWTIME has released the first trailer for Dexter: Resurrection, a follow-up to 2024’s Dexter: Original Sin and 2021’s Dexter: New Blood, follow-ups to 2006’s Dexter. What I’m saying is, he’s back and he’s never going away.

After somehow surviving death yet again, this time at the hands of his own son, Dexter is back and heads to New York City to continue his serial killing ways. This time, however, he’s apparently part of a cabal of serial killers. This supergroup consists of the likes of Neil Patrick Harris, Krysten Ritter, Eric Stonestreet and David Dastmalchian. Naturally Peter Dinklage is the Nick Fury of this particular Murder-vengers, with Uma Thurman acting as, I guess, Agent Coulson? Does that analogy work?

Michael C. Hall once again plays Dexter in Dexter: Resurrection

Showtime

“Dexter: Resurrection will take place weeks after Dexter Morgan (Hall) takes a bullet to the chest from his own son. As he awakens from a coma, he find Harrison (Jack Alcott) gone without a trace. Realizing the weight of what he put his son through, Dexter sets out for New York City determined to find him and make things right. When Miami Metro’s Angel Batista (David Zayas) arrives with questions, Dexter realizes his past is catching up to him fast. As father and son navigate their own darkness in the city that never sleeps, they soon find themselves deeper than they ever imagined and that the only way out is together.”

The series will premiere on Friday, July 11 with two episodes on Paramount+ with SHOWTIME. And then you can say “Tonight’s the night.”

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 Letterboxd.

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Published on June 02, 2025 15:51

Get a Freaky Text? Don’t Worry It Was THE BLACK PHONE 2

This weekend, many entertainment nerds checked their phones to discover a rather eerie textthat felt like something out of a horror movie. The text of this mysterious outreach read, “Hello YOUR NAME the phone is ringing again. Are you going to answer?” (Or, in my case, “Hello Rotem the phone is ringing again. Are you going to answer?”) After it was done threatening me with a phone call, this text message added a video with an unsettling black and white cover image which featured three pictures of young boys. No further context came with this video message unless I pressed play. It’s also worth noting that the text came from a totally ordinary phone number that brought up nothing when googled.

Uhm Was this absolutely terrifying? Did I think that if I pressed play, I’d see some sort of horrifyingly gory video and then a ghost would come out and tell me I had seven days to live? YES. Absolutely. In panic mode, I swiped and deleted the message. And so, it turns out, did many of my co-workers. It’s only when I took to the internet that I realized that his terrifying text FELT like a horror movie because it was from a horror movie. Yes, I had been text-menaced by The Black Phone 2.

Nerdist

In context, I can now see how the copy of The Black Phone 2‘s scary text does indicate it’s from the movie. “The phone is ringing again, etc.” But it seems like my survival instincts, and those of the people around me, are pretty strong. Because my answer to “Are you going to answer?” was decidedly no. Although retrospectively, I appreciate that The Black Phone 2‘s text campaign made me feel like I was in a horror movie. At the time, it was a totally unnecessary jump scare on a Friday night! I can applaud the immersive nature of The Black Phone‘s outreach, but I do wish a follow-up text had come a little sooner.

Universal Pictures/Blumhouse

Happily, it did eventually come, and The Black Phone 2 supplied some necessary context by sending its trailer and poster via the same number it sent the original text. But for a minute there, I really thought a murderer was watching me. But I guess it’s better than if The Black Phone had committed a true act of horror and called me on the phone.

Ethan Hawke Haunts From Beyond the Grave in THE BLACK PHONE 2 Trailer

The post Get a Freaky Text? Don’t Worry It Was THE BLACK PHONE 2 appeared first on Nerdist.

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Published on June 02, 2025 14:01

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