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2026 PREVIEW

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A KNIGHT OF THE SEVEN KINGDOMS THE MOST WHOLESOME GAME OF THRONES STORY YET

MORTAL KOMBAT II STEP INTO THE ARENA WITH KARL URBAN, TATI GABRIELLE, ADELINE RUDOLPH, MARTYN FORD, AND MORE FOR THE ULTIMATE SEQUEL SHOWDOWN.

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INSIDE THE ISSUE

2026 PREVIEW

Listen up, geeks. Next year is gonna be our year. Check out our preview of the most important movies, shows, and games to come in 2026, packed with exclusive tidbits and treats.

MOVIES Emerald Fennell’s bold take on Emily Brontë, the next entry in the DCU, and a Brand New Day for a Marvel icon.

GAMES

Star Trek boldly goes back to school, Daredevil is born again… again, and the Vampire Lestat finds his voice.

The first full year of Nintendo Switch 2, a Requiem for Resident Evil, and Grand Theft Auto VI finally sees the light of day.

OH LORD

Foxy Shazam frontman Eric Nally discusses his band’s big year— from becoming Superman and James Gunn’s favorite band to soundtracking Peacemaker’s happiest moment. PG. 8

CRACKED PRESENTS

THE WOMEN OF SOUTH PARK

IMAGE CREDITS: MARVEL/WARNER BROS./ JESSE KORMAN (@JESSE-KORMAN)

South Park is home to more than just Cartman, Stan, Kyle, and Kenny. The voices who make up the women of the comedy institution share their unique experiences. PG. 22

MORTAL KOMBAT II

Once slated for an October 2025 release, research screenings for Mortal Kombat II went so well that Warner Bros. and New Line are now gracing it with a primetime summer 2026 premiere. Mortal Kombat creator Ed Boon, screenwriter Jeremy Slater, and Johnny Cage, himself, Karl Urban take us behind the scenes of Mortal Kombat’s bigger, badder, and bloodier sequel. PG. 28

A KNIGHT OF THE SEVEN KINGDOMS

28 YEARS LATER: THE BONE TEMPLE

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms showrunner Ira Parker discusses a warmer take on Westeros as unlikely heroes known as “Dunk and Egg” fill in the gaps. PG. 46

The 28 Years Later franchise has found fresh blood. Director Nia DaCosta takes the torch from Danny Boyle and teases the secrets of The Bone Temple to come. PG. 34

WONDER MAN’S LONG STRANGE JOURNEY

Few comic book characters have lived as many lives as Marvel’s Simon Williams a.k.a. Wonder Man. Get to know the supervillainturned-actor in a visual timeline. PG. 12

FROM THE DEN

LIKE MANY FOLKS, I find the end of the year to be one of my favorite seasons. The days are short, and the nights painfully long (especially up here in the Northeast), but the “vibes” remain transcendent in their calm. Part of that, of course, is due to the holidays, which brighten our journey through those oh-so-dark nights, yet there is much also to be said about the satisfaction that comes at the end of things. It is a time of reflection, a moment for pride, and, hopefully, a deep breath before the start of something new. The magazine in your hands today is very much a celebration of both what has ended and what lies before us, as clean and glistening as virgin snow. A year ago, some of the films 6

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and TV shows still on the tip of our tongues—your Sinners or your Severances—were already on most cinephiles’ radar. Others, like Weapons and The Pitt, might have sneaked up on each of us in their own good time. So in this issue, we do our best Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come impression and offer a glimpse at the movies, TV shows, comics, and video games that will soon be. Many of them you are likely aware of; others could prove the surprise of the season come this time next year. For my part, I would not have guessed last December that Den of Geek would find a new home within the Literally Media family. But here we are, welcomed warmly and graciously by CEO Oren Katzeff, as

well as sister publications and sites, including Cracked and Know Your Meme. It’s a new address for a new year, from which the same core team, be it our tireless publisher Matt

PHOTO CREDITS: RKO PICTURES/ARCHIVE PHOTOS/GETTY IMAGES

A Cup o’ Kindness Yet

Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed star in the 1946 classic film, It’s a Wonderful Life.

Oren Katzeff CEO

Matthew Sullivan-Pond PUBLISHER

E DITORIAL

PROD UCT ION

Chris Longo

Kyle Christine Darnell

CHIEF CREATIVE OFFICER

MAGAZINE PRODUCTION

David Crow

Rosie Fletcher

MANAGING EDITOR + FILM EDITOR

MAGAZINE SUB EDITOR

Alec Bojalad

MAGAZINE COPY EDITOR

DEPUTY EDITOR + TV EDITOR

ART

Nick Morgulis

SENIOR VIDEO PRODUCER

Jessica Koynock

HEAD OF VIDEO PRODUCTION

ART DIRECTOR

David Crow, Managing Editor

PHOTO & VIDE O PRODUCT ION

Lucy Quintanilla

CREATIVE DIRECTOR

Sullivan-Pond or the indefatigable creative director Lucy Quintanilla, still make sure the qualities and values we cherish, not least adoration for the printed word, find their way to the loyal readers and kindred spirits. By virtue of you holding this, it’s already a mission accomplished in that regard, and it’s not even 2026. So join us for a cup o’ kindness yet, and grab a balloon or streamer if you got ’em, as we ring in the New Year of Geek.

Sarah Litt

Andrew Halley

Literally Media is a network of legacy, iconic internet brands, boasting the #1 humor network on comScore, and creating content daily in the meme, comedy and entertainment space.

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MUSIC PREVIEW

It’s a Hungry World Foxy Shazam frontman Eric Nally chats with Den of Geek about vibes, James Gunn, and his underdog home city. BY AARON SAGERS

“GOD KNOWS I’ve had some rough fucking years.” So say the lyrics of “Oh Lord,” but it’s been a very good year for Foxy Shazam, the rock band behind the now-famous song. Now, after 21 years of being on the scene, frontman Eric Nally says they’ve been “ready, prepared, and inspired” for big things, and they’re primed to collect. It was a wild summer for the indie group, one that included being called director James Gunn’s favorite band and “objectively the greatest rock ‘n’ roll band in the world;” performing the theme for the fictional pop-punk group the Mighty Crabjoys on the Superman movie soundtrack; and lending the aforementioned “Oh Lord” to the opening credits dance sequence of Peacemaker season two (which they performed at San Diego

Comic-Con in support of the show). Plus, they released two studio albums in 2025: Animality Opera in March and their 10th album, Box of Magic, in October. “We kind of always have done this,” says Nally, speaking to Den of Geek from Cincinnati, his hometown where he still lives. He says he’s appreciative and grateful for the additional attention, but rather than being intimidated, he and the self-described genre-fluid sextet are feeling steady while enjoying the glow of more “fuel on the fire.” Nally is correct that, since forming in 2004 and releasing their debut album The Flamingo Trigger in 2005, Foxy’s blend of glam and pop rock, along with a kinetic stage presence and Nally’s own powerful Freddie

Foxy Shazam from left to right: Teddy Aitkins, Alex Nauth, Existential Youth, Eric Nally, Devin Williams, and Sky White.

ZACH BRYAN, WITH HEAVEN ON TOP • JANUARY 9 Since he began uploading music to YouTube as an active member of the Navy in 2017, prolific alt-country troubadour Zach Bryan has been on a tear, releasing five LPs, two live albums, and four EPs of twangy, emo-influenced torch songs. He’s collaborated with heavy hitters like Bruce Springsteen, Kacey Musgraves, and John Mayer, and, in September, he broke the record for largest attendance at a ticketed concert by a single headlining act in the United States. It stands to reason that a lot of folks are eager for his next EP. However, the new release does not come without controversy; in October, Bryan released a plaintive, reverb-soaked song snippet titled “Bad News,” which featured lyrics seemingly critical of tactics used by ICE agents in the U.S. Expect the new batch of songs to make waves.

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PHOTO CREDIT: JESSE KORMAN (@JESSEKORMAN)

MOST ANTICIPATED ALBUMS OF 2026 BY NICK HARLEY

DAPHNI, BUTTERFLY • FEBRUARY 6 Canadian polymath Dan Snaith is better known as Caribou, the introspective folktronica act, but when Snaith wants to increase the BPMs and get people on the dancefloor, he releases music under the moniker Daphni. After a string of kinetic singles throughout 2025, he’s ready to release 16-track record Butterfly. Snaith says, “Daphni music is still music that I’m making primarily for the purpose of playing in my DJ sets.” Still, there are new wrinkles in this collection of Daphni tunes, chief among them Snaith’s voice, which has never appeared on a Daphni track but features for the first time on “Waiting So Long,” cheekily credited with “feat. Caribou.” “I don’t agonize about what track ends up under what alias— in fact, the opposite. I worry about it less than ever and just go with my gut instinct.”

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MUSIC PREVIEW Mercury-esque vocals and theatricality, has garnered them attention and accolades. In the wake of their sophomore album Introducing (2008), they toured with the Strokes and Panic! at the Disco. When their self-titled third album, featuring “Oh Lord,” hit the Billboard chart in 2010, they were named on Spin’s list of “10 Bands You Need To Know,” and comparisons to Queen, Meatloaf, and My Chemical Romance rolled in. Their song “I Like It” from The Church of Rock and Roll (2011) charted at number five on Mainstream Rock charts, while their song “Unstoppable” played during the Super Bowl XLIV telecast. Nally says “people can expect the unexpected” with Foxy Shazam, and as such, they’ve earned a reputation for switching up styles. Whereas audiences might be polarized by changing things up with every album, it’s become expected from them. Still, the band’s hiatus from 2014 to 2020, following the release of Gonzo, was really unexpected. During this time, Nally provided the soaring vocals in the chorus for Macklemore and Ryan Lewis’ hit “Downtown,” and stole the show both in the video for the song—riding in bare-chested on a chrome eagle chariot led by motorcycles—and at the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards. The band returned with a revamped lineup of Nally, pianist Sky White, trumpeter/backing vocalist Alex

Nauth, bassist Existential Youth, guitarist Devin Williams, and drummer Teddy Aitkins. Foxy Shazam released three more albums on their own EeeOohAh label (Burn, The Heart Behead You, and Dark Blue Night) before this year’s one-two punch of Animality Opera and Box of Magic. Nally says the close proximity of releases was intended to show what Foxy Shazam are capable of, especially considering the impending attention within the DC Universe. And he wanted to separate the vibes of the spring and fall albums as a contrast.

JAMES [GUNN] HAS A WAY ABOUT HIS MUSIC SELECTION THAT SEPARATES HIM FROM OTHER DIRECTORS. “The more records we do, as different as they may be, the thing that’s similar is that they’re not similar,” he says. “But this was the first year I was like, let’s give people two examples of Foxy Shazam so they can see that they’re in contrast, and let them know we can do that. We can do this and everything in between.” For example, Animality is a “raw, unfiltered burst of energy” recorded in Nally’s basement studio and without much money. Meanwhile, Magic was knocked out at EastWest Studios in Los Angeles, where the Beach Boys recorded Pet Sounds. The album is

“friendly, positive, and all about building good vibes” with the intention to appeal to a mass audience. That range highlights the Cincinnati personality of Foxy Shazam. Also home to The Afghan Whigs, Nally says there’s a bizarreness, randomness, and modest, polite entertainment, or even “Midwest

RATBOYS, SINGIN’ TO AN EMPTY CHAIR • FEBRUARY 6 Chicago indie rock band Ratboys received rave reviews for 2023’s The Window and are ready to level up once again. The quartet, featuring Julia Steiner (vocals/guitar), Sean Neumann (bass), Dave Sagan (guitar), and Marcus Nuccio (drums), blends infectious pop hooks with increasingly ambitious, jammy guitar lines and a hint of heartland country. Working with acclaimed journeyman producer, and former Death Cab for Cutie member, Chris Walla, Steiner says in a press release, “A big, overarching theme of this record is my attempt to document my experience being estranged from a close loved one. The goal is to update this person on what’s been going on in my life and to try to bridge that impasse and reach out a hand into the void.” We’ll be reaching a hand back out when the record lands.

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charm” of what he calls the overlooked underdog city. It allows him to embrace his own weirdness, but project that oddness out there. In a way, Nally unintentionally highlights the quirkiness of an extraterrestrial immigrant raised in the Midwest who is likewise polite and modest. After all, Superman creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster

hail from another Ohio city, Cleveland, which was also where Gunn filmed the movie. Speaking of Gunn, Nally says, “When people like James Gunn or Macklemore come to me, they’re like angels… and we make something beautiful.” About a year after Gunn used “The Church of Rock and Roll” in the first

season of Peacemaker, Nally and the director connected on social media, became friends, and proceeded to share songs back and forth. So when it came to using “Oh Lord,” rather than suggesting another song or writing a new track for Peacemaker, Nally said there was already a built-in trust between the two. “James has a way about his music selection that separates him from other directors,” says the singer, who adds he connected with the usage of the Walkman and the “Awesome Mix Vol. 1” in Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy. “[His] creative decisions are intentional, and they support the story in a way that is different.” Along with collaborating with Gunn and Lou Lou Safran on the Mighty Crabjoys song, which breathed life into the fictional DC Universe band, Nally had a cameo appearance in Superman, and Foxy Shazam performed “Oh Lord” in the Peacemaker second season finale (in a joyful scene leading up to a darker cliffhanger). With the band existing in this universe, and within the DCU—the Mighty Crabjoys also exist across the multiverse, based on the band’s cameo in Peacemaker—it’s reasonable to wonder if Foxy Shazam have more music to come in the superhero world. Nally says there are projects in the works, but nothing he can talk about, aside from teasing “to look out for new music.” As for now, Nally says Foxy Shazam are ready for what comes next. And, to quote another lyric from “Oh Lord,” they will “keep on keepin’ on.”

CHARLI XCX, WUTHERING HEIGHTS • FEBRUARY 13 After the colossal success of her last record, Brat, which spawned countless remixes, “Brat Summer,” and even a thinly-veiled Taylor Swift diss track, Charli XCX will be back relatively quickly with her soundtrack to Emerald Fennell’s film adaptation of the Emily Brontë novel of the same name. In a Substack article announcing the record, the hard-partying chanteuse described feeling overwhelmed with creativity yet unable to create new music in Brat’s wake. That all changed when Fennell sent her a script for Wuthering Heights, allowing Charli the chance to be inspired by a pre-existing, non-personal story. She says the album will have a nostalgic, gothic, cyclical sound reminiscent of her first album, True Romance.

DEN OF GEEK

NEW RELEASE

Iconic and Ionic

Wondering about the new Disney+ series Wonder Man? It’s timeline time! We dive into the character’s comic book milestones. BY NICK MARINO “FOR NOW THEY KILL ME with a living death.” - Act 1, Scene 2, Richard III by William Shakespeare. Death and rebirth have been the only constants in the ever-shifting life of Simon Williams, a.k.a. Wonder Man. Long before Marvel Comics killed Dark Phoenix or Captain Marvel, Wonder Man was offed in the Silver Age pages of The Avengers and brought back in the Bronze Age. And then killed again. And brought back again. And... well, you get the idea. To show you how Williams went from a dead corporate supervillain to a living showbiz superhero, we enlisted comic book luminaries Steve Englehart and David Michelinie, along with Andrew Guest, showrunner of Marvel’s Wonder Man on Disney+, to narrate this timeline of Wonder Man milestones.

1964

⊲ The Avengers #9

Simon Williams, who undergoes an ionic energy procedure to gain superpowers from Baron Zemo, debuts as a vengeful competitor of Tony Stark. Williams fights back and dies in battle alongside the Avengers. Showrunner Andrew Guest on the real-life origin of TV’s Wonder Man: “[Co-creator] Destin Daniel Cretton turned to his producing partner Jonathan Schwartz and said, ‘We should do a show where Trevor Slattery goes to Hollywood.’ But there was a competing project where Stephen Broussard and Brian Gay were doing a Wonder Man series set there. At a certain point, they were like, ‘Well, maybe it’s the same show!’”

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1970 1975-76

▲ The Avengers #131-151 At first, Wonder Man only returns as a zombified member of the Legion of the Unliving. Twenty issues later, he finally makes his long-standing return to life, switching to the side of good by eventually joining the Avengers. Writer Steve Englehart: “I was intrigued by the idea of a guy who had been dead and who, when he came back to life, knew it. Bringing back Wonder Man was just something I wanted to explore; I wasn’t told to do it.” Showrunner Andrew Guest on Wonder Man’s complex comic book history: “We made every effort to make this a no-homework show. If somebody has never seen another piece of Marvel material in their lives, you don’t need that to start caring about these characters.”

PHOTO CREDITS:MARVEL COMICS, DISNEY+

1960

Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as Simon Williams and Ben Kingsley as Trevor Slattery in Wonder Man.

WONDER MAN DEBUTS ON JAN. 27 ON DISNEY+

2026 2026

▲ Marvel Studios’

Wonder Man

1980 1984-2025

⊲ The West Coast

1979

▲ The Avengers #181 Struggling to acclimate to the Avengers lifestyle, Williams tells his burgeoning bestie Beast that he wants to become an actor. This opens up a new chapter for Wonder Man, one that still defines him to this day.

Writer David Michelinie: “He wasn’t the kind who goes around looking for bad guys to fight, so he needed something else to pursue. I thought a struggling actor would be more realistic and believable than an instant Oscar-winning superstar. It would also be more fun to write—and, I hoped, to read.”

Williams (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) lives in an MCU where Wonder Man is the struggling actor’s favorite film from the 1980s. Now the property is getting a big Hollywood remake, and auditioning alongside Williams is the former “Mandarin,” Trevor Slattery (Ben Kingsley). Showrunner Andrew Guest on Williams and Slattery: “Midnight Cowboy was one of the first things that occurred to me when I thought about these two characters because I wanted them to feel like outsiders, and I love that relationship.”

Avengers, Force Works, and More

An established actor and Avenger in the ’80s, the specter of death claims Williams yet again in the ’90s. Luckily, he’s resurrected within the decade and hasn’t died again... yet! Writer Steve Englehart: “Editor Mark Gruenwald and I designed Wonder Man’s red and green costume, with the ‘W’ and ‘M,’ and we both thought it was fantastic.” Showrunner Andrew Guest on the MCU Wonder Man’s look: “This was an opportunity where Brad Winderbaum [Wonder Man EP and Marvel development exec] was particularly excited to do an old version of this character’s costume. Every time they’ve done a project, they have to reimagine it, but this time it’s his real comic book look.” DEN OF GEEK

The Elevator Down: Life After the Severance Procedure

Why does the central consciousness-splitting procedure in Severance feel so real? One writer explains why the Apple TV sci-fi series resonates with viewers like her. BY EMILY CAPPELLO I AWAKE FROM SURGERY screaming, my hands pressed against the sides of my face, unable to open my eyes. The nurses try to unlock my body from its rigid position, startled by my reaction to what had been a common foot procedure. They are unaware that while my body is sitting in the present, my mind is experiencing a past that I don’t dare open my eyes and see. The emergence 14

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from anesthesia has left my brain stranded in a moment 10 years prior: a surgery that had gone horribly wrong—my severance procedure. “Severance” has taken on new meaning since an Apple TV science fiction series of the same name premiered in 2022. The term refers to the operation in which the whitecollar workers at the mysterious Lumon Industries have their brains

surgically split between two distinct personalities: their work life self, the “Innie;” and their personal self, or “Outie.” While both the Innie and the Outie possess the same body, they have access to separate parts of the mind that are unable to communicate with each other, save for the rare— and terrifying—moments when there is a breach in the system. And while Severance characters like Mark S.,

PHOTO CREDIT: PHOTOILLUSTRATION BY LUCY QUINTANILLA FROM PHOTOGRAPHY BY MATTHEW THOMAS SCOTT, YELLOWBELLY PHOTOGRAPHY

ESSAY

Helly R., Irving B., and Dylan G. are fictional, the process is very real. For the past decade, I have been living with complex post-traumatic stress disorder (C-PTSD), or what I refer to as my own version of severance. This diagnosis came as a result of my suffering septic shock after multiple botched total colectomies, the coma that followed, and my still daily battle of living as a disabled person. Severance is, quite literally, the first time I’ve seen my life accurately depicted on screen. It beautifully demonstrates the terror of what it’s like to, in a mere matter of seconds, be unwillingly transported into another part of your brain; a part that doesn’t recognize or remember all of you but is adamant that its version of reality

is the right one. The series, visually brought to life by Ben Stiller and Dan Erickson, illustrates how touching a certain texture or hearing a specific noise can suddenly become transformative. What occurs in one moment, when triggered by the “elevator” of something else, completely dissolves into another. Some days, I am Irving, a gruesome black ink seeping its way between my two worlds: a clear view of love and hope in one life, blurry vision and a distorted reality in another. Other days, I am Dylan, attempting to find work while disclosing my severed state. My efforts to find my place in the already highly selective world of film and television, while confessing my limitations, are beyond disheartening. In place of our desires, Dylan and I are reluctantly given the consolation prize of a pineapple fruit basket and encouragement to re-mask our inner turmoil. More often than not, I am Mark: forced into a metaphorical elevator in an attempt by someone, often unintentionally, to thrust me back into the manageable version of myself that knows how to blend in. I switch between nervous systems, always questioning why my end-of-the-day Outie feels none of the benefits of my daytime, suppressing Innie. All while knowing that no one in my family, despite their loving attempts to help, could possibly understand the experience of living in my body—to know what it’s like to risk everything in an attempt to feel whole again.

SEVERANCE IS, QUITE LITERALLY, THE FIRST TIME I’VE SEEN MY LIFE ACCURATELY DEPICTED ON SCREEN.

My therapy sessions look identical to Mark’s camcorder conversation with himself in the season two finale: that back-and-forth dialogue between parts in an attempt to make one

understand the motives of the other, and the desperation of trying to have each one appreciate, as best they can, that neither is a threat to the other. Like Mark, I drink the reintegration sludge in the form of intense therapy treatments that attempt to connect me back to my body but leave me physically ill. The biggest reality to grapple with for both Lumon employees and me is the understanding that we all underwent this irreversible procedure under the promise of a new life, only to find out the hard way that the word “new” was not synonymous with “better.” Like all my friends at Lumon, a company founded with the mission of ending all human suffering, I was robbed of the life advertised by this procedure, left suffocating under the understanding that I can never go back to who I used to be. In April 2025, I attended a Severance press event at the real-life building that serves as the set of Lumon headquarters just outside my hometown in Holmdel, New Jersey. Teetering on my surgical boot in the standing room only section, I watched as Ben Stiller turned to the crowd and, as if thinking out loud, mused, “I’d love to know what it is about Severance that makes viewers connect with it so much.” While I can’t speak for the approximately six percent of the world population who suffer from C-PTSD, for me, Severance is an hour of exploration where I have nothing to do but wait and see what else I learn about myself. More than that, it reminds me why film and television have been, and forever will be, the only thing I want to do with my life. I’ve dreamt of acting in a project like Severance, playing a character as impactful as the ones in the series; an instrument in a critical symphony, telling a tragic story in a breathtaking way. Severance reflects the greatest challenge of my life: how to reintegrate. How to become as whole as possible, given the seemingly irreversible changes to my body and brain. For me, Severance isn’t a mystery; it’s an explanation. DEN OF GEEK

FROM THE DEN

Let’s Get Digital

In celebration of our magazine’s 10th anniversary, our Digital Cover series highlights sports entertainers, breakout anime, singular auteurs, and more in dynamic, colorful exclusives. BY DEN OF GEEK STAFF

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds

“Our plan, our aspiration has always been to get to TOS,” creator Akiva Goldsman says. “The plan was that we would have five years to move from the Strange New Worlds cast and crew to a TOS show. Whether we do or don’t, that’s the hope.” THE CAST OF Star Trek: Strange New Worlds arrived at Den of Geek’s New York studio for a video and portrait shoot ahead of the series’ season three premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival. The folks behind the best modern Star Trek show were eager to tease not only season three but also the final two journeys into Strange New Worlds, culminating in The Original Series timeline. 16

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— CREATOR AKIVA GOLDSMAN

“I don’t feel like we’re doing the same thing each season. Without getting into specifics, there are some things in season four that people do that we have not seen those characters do. Every day is like that.” — CO-SHOWRUNNER HENRY ALONSO MYERS

Frankenstein

LIKE A RAVING ALCHEMIST who one day wakes at the frigid ends of the Earth, Guillermo del Toro has pursued the ghost of Frankenstein all his life. But as he tells us—along with stars Oscar Isaac, Jacob Elordi, and Mia Goth—it wasn’t without some changes along the way…

“I asked Guillermo, ‘Should I watch the movies or not?’ And he looked me in the eye like I was a fool! He said, ‘They’re just movies. They can’t hurt you.’ … It was just a treat. Every evening, I’d watch some version of the film or read a different version of the book, or find a children’s comic book version of Frankenstein. I just started devouring everything.” — JACOB ELORDI ABOUT THE CREATURE’S LEGACY.

To be born in a world and existence that you didn’t ask for is extremely personal, I think, to Mary Shelley and, in a strange way, to myself. — GUILLERMO DEL TORO

“ I always thought he needed to look like the embodiment of—as they say in the Bible—Hijo del Hombre, the Son of Man.” — GUILLERMO DEL TORO ON THE LOOK OF THE CREATURE.

Chainsaw Man FEW ANIME HAVE COMPLETELY redefined the public’s perception of what’s possible in the medium like Chainsaw Man, a series that tears through tropes and bathes in the bloody aftermath. Chainsaw Man went for broke with the recent release of its first feature film, Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc.

“The Reze Arc is a story where Denji’s everyday life and extraordinary events intertwine, and we paid close attention to this contrast in the visuals, too... We aimed to create a highly immersive visual experience throughout the feature-length film where the imagery directly reflects the characters’ emotions and relationships.” — YUSUKE TANNAWA, MAPPA’S CGI PRODUCER, ON CHAINSAW MAN: THE MOVIE - REZE ARC’S UNIQUE VISUALS DEN OF GEEK

FROM THE DEN

Solar Opposites

THE CAST OF HULU’S Solar Opposites reflects on the sci-fi animated series’ ambitious evolution, why fans won’t be disappointed with its final season, and their hopes for its legacy to live on.

“Even when you take away the sci-fi gimmick and superpowers, it’s all about family. Solar Opposites puts the family first, and that really goes a long way. Whatever struggles they’re having, they’ve always got each other. I love that about the show.”

“I’m really proud of the writers for pulling all this positive love out of what could easily turn into chaos with a family of aliens. They pull a real strong message out of it all.”

— DAN STEVENS (KORVO)

— MARY MACK (JESSE)

Chelsea Green

“I find it very hard to be a funny woman in show business. I think that’s a really difficult thing to do, and I’m trying to navigate that. I’m trying to figure out what the audience enjoys versus what is a little bit cringey versus what is possibly too much for them to handle right now in 2025, but that’s also been empowering for me. You know, it takes a special type of woman to make fun of herself and also still present herself as sexy and empowered and strong.” — CHELSEA GREEN 18

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PHOTO CREDITS: NICK MORGULIS , NETFLIX, HULU

THEN UNITED STATES women’s champion Chelsea Green reflected on the most personal parts of her career—from early setbacks to navigating womanhood in sports entertainment—in our first-ever wrestling cover story to celebrate WrestleMania 41. Green’s evens took us behind the scenes all weekend with an exclusive video collaboration on Instagram!

“I was about 13 or 14 when I read those, and I think also if you’re growing up as a horror fan, Stephen’s books are the first adult books that you read.”

THE BEST OF GEEK

Say What?

PHOTO CREDITS: JAMIE MCCARTHY, JOHN NACION, DIA DIPASUPIL/GETTY IMAGES, SAMIR HUSSEIN/WIREIMAGE, NICK MORGULIS/DEN OF GEEK

Quotes of the month from Den of Geek exclusive interviews. BY DEN OF GEEK STAFF

— Edgar Wright on Stephen King.

“Our dog is quite large. He’s an 85-pound big boy named Happy, and he plays with coyotes. In fact, he frolics with them.” — Kate Bosworth on her and husband Justin Long’s real-life run-in with coyotes.

“He’s quite voluntarily celibate. He literally chemically castrates himself, so I guess he’s technically the opposite of an incel, right?”

— Screenwriter Will Tracy on Jesse Plemons’ loner in Bugonia.

“My father, he’s kind of the ultimate source of wisdom for me, and not just his intelligence, but his perception… I oftentimes still read scripts with him and ask him his thoughts.”

“I think it’s been amazing to go on that journey of going from being, like, 13th on the call sheet for Expendables 3 to now getting to reprise one of Arnold’s greats.”

— Leonardo DiCaprio on his underground cartoonist father, George.

— Glen Powell on stepping into Schwarzenegger’s Running Man shoes.

“Masturbating Bear, that’s a simple procedure. It takes about 20 minutes, and he’s out the door and he’s going to be fine.”

— Conan O’Brien on how to ‘help’ one of his most beloved Late Night characters.

V I S I T D E N O F G E E K . C O M F O R T H E L AT E S T I N T E R V I E W S , R E V I E W S , N E W S , A N D F E AT U R E S . DEN OF GEEK

COMEDY

IN COLLABORATION WITH

Breaking Down the Layers An intimate conversation with The Perfect Parfait host Hunter Cope. BY HUNTER COPE

Hunter: Hunter, thank you for taking the time to do this. You look radiant. Hunter: Thank you. All the yogurt I eat is an incredible probiotic. My gut is absolutely snatched. Hunter: I love that you used the word snatched. You seem very young and cool. Hunter: I am! Should we talk about the show or keep going on about how I’m so young and cool and definitely not an almost 40-year-old 20

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man who is making his own YouTube show in the narcissistic pursuit of relevance? Hunter: Yes! Let’s talk The Perfect Parfait! Why center a whole show around parfaits? Hunter: I’ve always loved parfaits. They’re just funny! And they’re layered—like a good interview, which, of course, presents a solid metaphor for the show. Hunter: And how exactly did this

show come to be? Hunter: During the Writers’ Strike of 2023, I felt frustrated. I wanted to make something! I reached out to my buddies Danny Simmons and Joe Angelo Menconi to shoot a lo-fi digital series. The concept was simple: review parfaits around LA like Anthony Bourdain. Danny and Joe immediately went, “Maybe there’s more here… what if we get celebrity guests? A band leader? Sketches?” We just kept following the fun. Hunter: In season one, you have

PHOTO CREDIT: MORGAN DEMETER

WHEN I ARRIVED TO INTERVIEW HOST Hunter Cope about his comedy series The Perfect Parfait, I expected a few things: a peek into his disarmingly playful interview style, an explanation for why he built an entire show around a breakfast food people mostly eat at the airport, and a sense of how his “deliciously layered interview show” has already drawn A-list guests like Dave Franco, Nicholas Braun, Tim Heidecker, Armchair Expert’s Monica Padman, and Emmy and Golden Globe winner Paul Walter Hauser. What I didn’t expect was to make love that day… to myself. At the center of The Perfect Parfait is Hunter Cope, a writer and performer who’s been hashing it out in Hollywood for 15 years. He’s wearing a burnt-orange suit over a rumpled Hawaiian shirt, exuding the confidence of a man building one of the strangest shows on the internet—one where he serves guests parfaits inspired by their personas and asks them questions like “What’s your stance on analingus?” and “Do you ever feel guilty having so much when so many have so little?” Across from him sits… me. Also Hunter Cope. But this Hunter is different. Crisp white button-down. Reporter’s notebook. A serious fucking journalist here to write a serious fucking profile. As we stare at each other, it’s clear there’s something between us: admiration? Tension? Rivalry? No. Something more primal. The only word for it is “a gooey-ness.” A gooey-ness reminiscent of men’s cum. (Sorry. There was literally no other metaphor available.) Welcome to the only Hollywood profile bold enough to ask: What happens when you look in the mirror… and the mirror winks back?

A TASTY HANG Hunter: Speaking of intimacy—and I can’t believe I’m asking myself this— do you think the show works because you make people feel… safe? Hunter: Maybe. I’ve been told I have a face that says, “Open up to me.” Hunter: I get that. I would describe your face as “cherubically hawt.” Hunter: That’s… the nicest thing anyone’s ever said to me. A pause. Tension. A spoon clinks to the floor. Hunter: It’s journalism. I’m an

observer.

Hunter: You’re staring directly at my

mouth.

Hunter: Journalistically. Their chairs inch closer. The photographer quietly excuses himself. Hunter: (Getting da hornies) Should

we… take a quick break?

Hunter: (Mouth literally watering) I

think that’s a good idea.

What happens during the “break” cannot legally be described, but when we return, both Hunters look calm, satisfied, and lightly glazed with yogurt/sweat. Host of The Perfect Parfait, Hunter Cope gets up close and personal with... himself.

guests including Dave Franco and Paul Walter Hauser—how did you get talent of that caliber to show up and eat yogurt? Hunter: Honestly? Friendship. I’ve been knocking around Hollywood for years and made a lot of friends along the way. Season one was almost entirely buddies. Hunter: And season two? Hunter: Season Two is almost entirely non-buddies. We did a ton of reaching out and landed an incredible lineup: Morgan Jay, Steph Tolev, David Wain,

Reggie Watts, Jimmy Tatro, EDM trailblazer Alison Wonderland. We also added musical guests like Valley Boy and Monica Martin. I felt more out of my element this season, but it forced me to up my game. I’m excited for people to see what we’ve been cooking! Hunter: When can we expect to see season two? Hunter: Early 2026. My team and I are deep in the edit… which means I’ve spent an unhealthy amount of time staring at my own face. It’s intimate.

Hunter: Alright, Hunter… final

question. What do you hope people take away from The Perfect Parfait? Hunter: Joy! Silly, stupid, good-time joy. We like to describe it as Hot Ones by way of Between Two Ferns. It’s just dumb, chaotic fun. I think people need that right now. Hunter: And where can we watch? Hunter: YouTube. The Perfect Parfait. Hunter: Thanks for talking to me. You want to get a drink after this? Hunter: Thanks, but no. That was a one-time thing for me. Watch all episodes of The Perfect Parfait on YouTube before season two drops in early 2026. DEN OF GEEK

COMEDY

IN COLLABORATION WITH

We are the Women of South Park

Actors Mona Marshall and April Stewart— who voice nearly every female character on South Park—talk about their decades on the show, and which lines they were the most embarrassed to deliver. BY BRIAN VANHOOKER

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Moms of South Park Laura Tucker, Sheila Broflovski, and Linda Stotch try out a new trend

Do you get to record together very much? We understand voice acting has become very disjointed in how it’s done. April Stewart: We record from home

now. We used to go into the studio and record and hang out, sometimes all night long. I miss that.

Did that all change with the pandemic? Mona Marshall: They didn’t want to

let the fans down, so they came in and brought in all their equipment to each of our homes—it’s a lonely life. April, I was just thinking today about the session that you did when you were mondo pregnant, and they put you up at a nearby hotel. Then you came in, what was it, the day after

PHOTO CREDIT: COMEDY CENTRAL

WHEN YOU THINK OF THE VOICES behind South Park, you probably picture creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone. After all, they voice all the main boys, many of their classmates, and just about every adult male in town, too. But since the very beginning, Parker and Stone have always outsourced the voices they couldn’t—and shouldn’t—do on their own: Chef, Tolkien, Towelie, Mr. Slave, and pretty much all the female characters on the show. So when you think of the voices behind South Park, you should also picture the women behind them. For the first three seasons of the show and in South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut, Mary Kay Bergman originated and played nearly every female character—from Wendy Testaburger to Sheila Broflovski and more. (South Park producer Jennifer Howell, who has always voiced Bebe, is the only notable exception during this time period, as well as the very occasional female guest star.) When Bergman tragically died by suicide in 1999, South Park hired two women to take on her duties: Mona Marshall and Eliza Schneider. In season six, Jessica Makinson began to voice characters like Heidi and Strong Woman; however, she usually appears in only a couple of episodes per season. After season seven, Schneider left over a contract dispute, and April Stewart joined Marshall in the main cast (which, technically, is just the two of them plus Parker and Stone). They’ve remained there ever since. As such, it’s no exaggeration to say that Marshall and Stewart have voiced hundreds of characters on the show. More specifically, Marshall is responsible for Sheila Broflovski, Linda Stotch, and Mrs. Tweak, while Stewart is behind Wendy Testaburger, Liane Cartman, Shelley Marsh, Sharon Marsh, Carol McCormick, and Mayor McDaniels. To better understand their life as the women of South Park, we recently talked to Marshall and Stewart about which female characters are their favorites, what it’s like to work at “six-days-to-air” pace, and which voice they’re too ashamed to tell their children about.

WHERE COMEDY & CULTURE COLLIDE

the baby was born?

Stewart: No, no. It was three days

after Annie was born. It was insane. It’s so funny because that whole season when I was pregnant, all my characters were constantly out of breath. That was just insane, and now my daughter is 17. Marshall: Time passes so fast. Stewart: Yeah, season 28 will be my 20th anniversary with South Park. And you’ve been there forever. Marshall: Yeah, 26 years. I have no idea where that time went. That’s a good place to start then. Beginning with Mona, do you remember getting the part? Because the show was already a phenomenon by then.

Marshall: The hardest thing for me

was listening to Mary Kay’s voice. We had been friends. We had done a benefit together in August 1999, and it was such a shock. She was a very encouraging person, besides being enormously talented. She kept saying, “Oh, you should get your agent to get you out for more announcing stuff,” which was really nice. That kind of generosity kept me going while listening to her voices. I’d listen to her do the voices, and I’d start to cry. But that kept me going. It was like, “Well, I can’t do this, so you can. So do it.” She was so generous. I later found out that, at South Park, she would find out everybody’s birthday and she’d have a birthday card for everybody there. Her talent was enormous. Her

personality was lively and bright. It was a big loss for the industry. April, did you know her at all? Stewart: I didn’t. I was fairly new to

voiceover then. I never got to meet her, which is sad, but I feel her all the time.

Mona, do you remember auditioning for South Park, or what the process was of getting the job to begin with? Marshall: Basically, anybody who

appeared in those first few seasons had to be covered. So they ended up using me and Eliza Schneider for the first few years. I had a different little dog then, and I was practicing the voice of the school bus driver, and my dog totally freaked out when I was rehearsing her. This dog had DEN OF GEEK

COMEDY

IN COLLABORATION WITH

heard me do every kind of voice imaginable, but she freaked out when she heard that. April, what was it like for you coming into South Park? Stewart: It was a general audition that

went out, and I think, to avoid freaking people out, they just said it was to cover for when the actors go on vacation. I recorded my audition in the booth at my agency, and the booth director, who is now my husband, said, “You really sound like these characters. I wouldn’t be surprised if you got a call back.” Then I went in for the callback, and they put me through the motions. And as I was walking out, Anne Garefino, the producer, said, “So, when we’re in production, we own you. You can’t travel. Is that okay? Are you cool with not traveling when we’re in production?” …Then a few days later, I got the call from my agent saying, “You got it and you’re it. It’s not just a vacation thing.” It was a little uncomfortable at first, not knowing what I was walking into or why I was walking in, but I have to say that the first friendly face was Mona. I was totally panic-stricken, thinking, “I don’t know what I’m doing. I don’t know why they hired me,” and she just welcomed me in. Marshall: Oh my God, you never came across like that. Stewart: Mona, it’s funny, your story about your dog. I have the same story about my daughter. I would bring her with me when she was a toddler, and I remember doing a very, very loud screaming character—whose name I shall not mention right now—and my daughter heard me in there, and she just looked at her dad and she pointed and said, “Mommy working.” Marshall: Was it Ms. Choksondik? Stewart: No, no. I’m not going to say it. If people are really interested, they can Google it and try to figure it out. Can you explain what the process was to record an episode back then? 24

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Marshall: The process of how they

do this show is unlike any other animation. Our call times were anywhere from 9 to 11 p.m. I remember my agent always saying, “Oh, I’m so sorry,” when they gave me the call time, and I said, “No, you don’t understand, going down the 405 now, there’s no traffic. I do not mind!” The process of how they do South Park is Trey basically writes and then records. Then we would either be listening to just his voice, or his voice while also seeing something already animated on screen. Everything is done in-house; that’s how they were able to turn production in a week. However, even from what’s been recorded or animated, the scenes can change; that’s why we rely on producer Mark Munley to give us the context. We only get our pages of the script, but it’s constantly changing. For the Ozempic special, it was like, “What’s going on? What’s happening here?” The good thing is now that everyone has their own booth at home, they’re more flexible with the time we record, but we still can’t go out of town when they’re recording. We never know when we’re going to be used.

Clockwise from top left: 1) Eric Cartman hugs his mom, Liane Cartman, 2) Sharon Marsh uses a Shake Weight, 3) Nelly and Betsy visit the principal’s office, 4) “Strong Woman,” 5) Bebe, Red, Jenny, Lola, Wendy, and Nicole cheer for the South Park Cows.

Because of the whole “six days to air” thing, are you constantly recording and re-recording? Stewart: If we’re in that week of

production, there can be certain scripts where every day I get a call and they go, “We need you!” Literally, it can be, “We need you, and it’s just for five minutes.” Whatever it is, when they need you, they need you. But they’re wonderful. There are times that, during the summer, when I’m with my daughter at the beach or something, they call and they’re like, “We need you.” And I’m like, “I can get there in two hours. Is that cool?” And they’re like, “Yeah, yeah, of course.”

Are there times you’re recording the day before it hits the air?

4 5

WHERE COMEDY & CULTURE COLLIDE Marshall: There are days when we’re

recording the morning of the day it hits the air—just hours before.

Oh wow. So, do you two often work with Matt and Trey directly? Stewart: Sometimes. Sometimes Matt

directs us, sometimes Trey. But for the most part, it’s usually Mark, sound engineer Lydia Quidilla, or audio producer Bruce Howell.

2 3

What are Matt Stone and Trey Parker like to work with? Marshall: They’re focused on the

work, but not to the extent that they’re jerks. Everything is good. It’s a very easy place and atmosphere to work in. Stewart: They’re very kind. When I was pregnant, there were times that they called me in, and I was literally days away from giving birth, and they felt so bad for keeping me waiting that they put me up in a hotel so that I could be comfortable. They’re just very kind, professional people. Mona, of your regular characters, which one do you connect with the most? Marshall: Sheila Broflovski because A)

I hope my daughter in my stomach can’t hear this. I feel like I’m traumatizing her before she even comes out. – APRIL STEWART

I’m Jewish; B) I’m Jewish; and C) I’m Jewish. And just like she came out of Mary Kay’s aunt, I have an aunt like that. God bless her. She’s no longer alive, thank God. But if you’re Jewish, honey, you got one in the family somewhere. So I have a blast doing her. And what I like is that she’s the opposite of Linda Stotch.

April, how about you? Stewart: I love Wendy. I love

everything she stands for, and I love Sharon. Sharon is so much fun. I mean, when we have heavy Sharon episodes, it’s like therapy for me. I’m in such a good mood afterwards. That must have been interesting because, for the first 10 years or so that you played her, Sharon was a

much smaller character, but then when Randy became a much bigger part of the show, Sharon was along for the ride. What was that like? Stewart: So much fun. The dynamic

between Sharon and Randy is just my favorite. I’m a sarcastic human being to begin with, so that feels good to be able to really lean into, and it’s interesting because there are some times that Sharon’s going through some of the things that I’m going through. For example, there was that episode when Randy was telling her that she was going through perimenopause and just making her feel crazy about it. He’s trying to tell people, “Stay away from her! She’s crazy! She’s angry!” That episode was very timely for me.

To end, we wanted to put you both on the spot and ask for the line in South Park that you were most embarrassed to say. Marshall: Well, my characters don’t

have the same kinds of lines that April’s do. Like that episode where everybody got to say “shit,” I was upset because Sheila didn’t say “shit.” There were a few times, though, where I was embarrassed because I didn’t know something. During the Paris Hilton episode, I had never heard of her. They had to explain to me who she was. Also, in another episode, I had never heard of a fecal transplant. They had to explain that to me, too. Stewart: Well, it’s not a line, but I guess we’ll go full circle from where we first started with that character that I didn’t want to say the name of. I remember walking into the studio one day, and they said, “We’ve got a new character for you. Her name is the Nut Gobbler.” I was pregnant, and I remember recording it thinking, “I hope my daughter in my stomach can’t hear this. I feel like I’m traumatizing her before she even comes out.” So, yes, it was the Nut Gobbler, and this is yet another interview I can’t let my daughter see. DEN OF GEEK

COMEDY

IN COLLABORATION WITH

Gaming Memes

How well do you know your memes? Here is our brain-teasing blend of iconic gaming internet history and meme references. BY KNOW YOUR MEME STAFF

FROM OBSCURE VIDEO GAME MEMES to major viral catchphrases, this puzzle will test how deep your gaming meme lore really goes. See if you can fill every square, and if you need help, you can always check the Know Your Meme database for tips.

CLUES

Across

3. Activating this surely means someone is about to get “owned.”

4. Infamous broken English phrase from the opening cutscene of Zero Wing: “___ are belong to us.”

5 6 7

8. Fan-made hybrid of a Nintendo princess and her shelled nemesis. 9. Grand Theft Auto character famous for roasting Franklin’s haircut. 11. Grove Street gang member known for his absurdly long fast-food order.

Down

1. What you must “git” in order to succeed.

2. Star Fox command that became a meme: “Do a ___ ___!” INSTRUCTIONS:

⊲ Use the clues to fill in the words above.

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5. Battle cry of a reckless World of Warcraft player who forgot to plan before charging into battle. 6. In Portal, this promised dessert turned out to be a lie.

⊲ Words can go across or down.

7. Slang popularized in the early 2020s for a certain type of space impostor.

⊲ Letters are shared when the words intersect.

10. Skyrim guards once claimed to have taken one of these “in the knee.”

THE INTERNET CULTURE AUTHORITY MEME OF THE MOMENT

IShowSpeed’s “EARLY STREAM!” ISHOWSPEED’S “EARLY STREAM” is a notable livestream from YouTuber Darren “IShowSpeed” Watkins Jr., which gained significant attention in October 2025 for spawning a slew of viral memes like “IShowSpeed Trying Not to Laugh” and “Please, Speed, I Need This, My Mom is Kinda Homeless.” The memes stem from a game of Fortnite when a fan participating in the stream informed Speed that his mother was “kind of homeless” and pleaded for help. The exchange caused Speed to struggle to contain his laughter, a reaction that was immediately noticed by another player, resulting in a moment that viewers found both humorous and memorable. The clip quickly went viral across social media platforms, where it has since been widely shared and

remixed as a meme. Over time, the moment became a recurring reference within the IShowSpeed fandom and the broader meme community. In October, Speed revisited the moment in a reunion

stream featuring the same people, causing a resurgence in memes from the stream, which even saw it listed on IMDb as he became the first streamer to get a livestream added to the database.

TRENDING MEME

The Great Meme Reset of 2026

ILLUSTRATION CREDIT: HEORHII ARYSHTEVYCH, GETTY IMAGES



The Great Meme Reset of 2026 is an online campaign advocating for a “reset” of internet memes at the beginning of 2026, in which participants propose reverting from contemporary “brainrot” and AI-centric meme formats back to meme styles popularized during the early-to-mid 2010s. Some of the memes include well-known examples such as Big Chungus, Ugandan Knuckles, Rage Comics, Advice Animals and MLG Montage Parodies. Those pushing for the reset suggest that, beginning on January 1, 2026, meme culture should return to the era of 2016. The concept emerged largely in response to two widely discussed internet moments. The first was the “March 2025 Meme Drought,” during which users noted a perceived decline in quality meme output. The second was the rise of TikTok Niche Community (NicheTok) memes in September 2025. Many of these trends were criticized as overly forced or deliberately manufactured, prompting backlash from users who viewed them as corny, cringe or unfunny. The Great Meme Reset, which originated on TikTok before spreading to other sites, was largely framed as a corrective effort aimed at “making memes funny again.”

ANSWERS: MEME CROSSWORD

Turn the page upside down for answers to Gaming Memes the page opposite. No Cheating! DEN OF GEEK

M OV I E S

GA M E S

C OM I C S

MORTAL KOMBAT COMBAT II

he day that Karl Urban most anticipated and dreaded on the set of Mortal Kombat II is one and the same. Along the desolate plains occupied by Outworld’s nomads and outcasts—or at least a dizzying replica of their Tarkatan Colony built by an armada of moviemakers and artisans living in Australia’s Queensland—Urban’s fast-talking wiseacre, Johnny Cage, is going face-to-face with Baraka (CJ Bloomfield). In the context of the film, it is an important moment for Urban’s newcomer antihero. A washed-up, has-been actor of 1990s glory-days gone by, this Johnny has long given up on his movie star dreams when he is recruited into the titular

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life-and-death tournament that will decide the fate of Earthrealm. Furthermore, Urban recognizes that this mid-movie sequence is the turning point for Johnny, the human being. He needs to “give himself over to believing in the character

of Johnny Cage.” The man must become the myth. All of which is fine and good, but after nearly half a year of preparation, this is finally, and perhaps most crucially, the setup where Urban will perform Cage’s iconic, nether-region-obliterating fight move. Not to mention the hamstring-straining split that goes with it. “The thing that I most looked forward to doing was the classic nut punch,” Urban says with a wry chuckle. “Johnny Cage has got this

IMAGE CREDITS: WARNER BROS. PICTURES

Mortal Kombat II cast and crew, including stars Karl Urban, Adeline Rudolph, Tati Gabrielle, and Martyn Ford, uncage a franchise’s potential. BY DAVID CROW

(L-R) Ludi Lin as Liu Kang, Mehcad Brooks as Jackson ‘Jax’ Briggs, Jessica McNamee as Sonya Blade, and Karl Urban as Johnny Cage.

M AY 8

Tati Gabrielle as ninja assassin Jade.

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great fight with Baraka, and a little spoiler, there may be a nut punch involved. It was a lot of fun to do but also very tricky because it required an extraordinary degree of flexibility to pull it off.” The New Zealand actor, in fact, prepared meticulously with his stunt double Garreth Hadfield for the day. “We worked for months on basically stretching and training, and developing the muscle set needed to be able to execute the nut punch correctly and, most importantly, not damage myself.” It’s a punchline with countless hours of setup, and its flawless delivery, like much else in Mortal Kombat II, seems designed to leave longtime fans and newcomers alike giddy with the strange, brutal world of Mortal Kombat. Indeed, when we catch up with Urban for the second time in as many months, the veteran actor of franchise darlings like The Lord of the Rings trilogy and the Star Trek reboot films, plus Amazon’s The Boys, still appears high off the early reception of what he considers to be “the best version of Mortal Kombat” ever made for the cinema. “The scale of the production was as big, if not bigger, than anything that I worked on in Lord of the Rings,” Urban observes. “When you walk onto the set of [alien realm] Edenia, and it fills the largest soundstage at the Village Roadshow Studios in the Gold Coast, and you see the quality of the craftsmanship, you’re under no illusions that you’re in a film that’s as big as it gets.” It seems the studio agrees. Despite Mortal Kombat II initially being slated

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to release earlier this year on Oct. 24, Warner Bros. surprised the industry and anxious fans by delaying the movie after it played extremely well in front of audiences. What once was a fall genre gamble is now a bona fide summer movie event, occupying the second weekend in May and the season’s first action spectacle. While allowing some sympathy for diehards who have to wait a tad longer, the picture’s star delights in the 2026 shift. “The reality is if we had opened up on the original October [date], the next weekend would’ve been Halloween, there would have been a massive dropoff, and the perception was it might have had something to do with the film, and that couldn’t be further from the truth,” Urban says. “The studio recognized it really has a magical film here, it’s tested through the roof, the response to the trailer has been phenomenal, and the studio wants to get some breathing space, so I was very happy with the move.” As it turns out, even this ’90s throwback character and characterization can still get that all important summer blockbuster moment when the movie hits—and splits—hard enough.

the first film’s universally praised wuxia opening sequence, wherein legendary Hiroyuki Sanada’s Scorpion enters into a life-altering blood feud with Sub-Zero (Joe Taslim), both of whom return in the sequel. Says the director, “My goal was the next film to feel like a full feature [version] of the first film’s opening scene… let’s just let it rip and swing for the fences in this one.” A major factor in that swing is being allowed to explore the element fans craved last time but which had been kept off the table in 2021: filmmakers would at last introduce

CHOOSE YOUR FIGHTER

Helmed by returning director Simon McQuoid, who made his feature debut in 2021’s Mortal Kombat, and penned by new screenwriter Jeremy Slater (The Umbrella Academy), Mortal Kombat II is as much a second stab at reinventing the franchise as a continuation of that 2021 picture. “What was so great about the first one was that it really showed what was working, what wasn’t, and what the fans really responded to and loved. So we very much had our marching orders on this one,” Slater says about what he found while coming into the project. He and McQuoid were especially taken by the prospect of expanding on

Adeline Rudolph wields Kitana's deadly fans.

Emmy-winner Hiroyuki Sanada reprises the role of Scorpion.

the central tournament between colliding worlds. For those without an encyclopedic memory of 1990s brawlers, those worlds include our own dimensional reality—the Earthrealm—and its confrontation with the invading forces of Outworld, a hellish land which has already conquered other planes of existence like the once bucolic (but now occupied) Edenia. The differences of these interdimensional disputes are decided each generation by the Mortal Kombat tournaments, fateful struggles which implanted the terms “fatality!” and “flawless victory”

into the nerd lexicon. They’re also tournaments that invite eclectic heroes and villains from all sides into the arena, which is perfect for building up fighting-game rosters and old-school martial arts movie ensembles alike. “Sonya Blade and Raiden are the ones that find Johnny and bring him into the world of Mortal Kombat,” Urban says of how his character is partnered up with returning fan faves played by Jessica McNamee and Tadanobu Asano. “So obviously there’s a massive culture shock and a head spin for Johnny, who suddenly comes out of the real world into a

reality that blows his mind.” Unlike other modern Hollywood franchises, however, by design Mortal Kombat must constantly be widening and winnowing its cast of characters. “The tricky thing is because it’s Mortal Kombat, the fights are to the death,” Slater points out, “and that makes any tournament very complicated when you have a lot of good guys, a lot of bad guys, and are figuring out the calculus of who needs to fight who at what point in this movie. Who needs to survive, and who is sadly not going to make it out?” Even Mortal Kombat co-creator Ed Boon was surprised by who died and who survived. While likening reading the various drafts to watching Game of Thrones, Boon cryptically smiles, “There were some choices that they made and then later changed that I was really glad about. I was thinking, ‘Oh, I don’t want to see this person die!’” That might also be because like the tournament structure, another core demand from longtime MK fans is being met because many more characters from the various other realms in the games are making the jump to the big screen, including franchise big bad and Outworld Emperor, Shao Kahn (Martyn Ford), and several key Edenians whom he earlier displaced after a previous round of Mortal Kombat: the

Martyn Ford about to rack up fatalities as Shao Kahn.

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Princess Kitana (Adeline Rudolph) and her childhood friend Jade (Tati Gabrielle). “There are the trials and tribulations of any sisterhood and fights between our loyalties and our values,” Rudolph teases of the particularly fraught dynamics between Kitana—who becomes an unlikely ally to Earthrealm in the games—and Jade, who is now a ninja assassin of ambiguous allegiance. Crucial through it all was the actresses’ ability to approach these heightened and operatic narrative arcs with what Rudolph deems genuine empathy. It probably didn’t hurt that the duo also worked together for years on Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. “When you know someone so well as a person, and you adore them like with Tati, it’s nice to be on set and feel free to not be hesitant about any notes or things you might need, or things you want to give,” Rudolph says. “Having that chemistry there already was nice because we got to skip the building chemistry and go straight to building character.” Meanwhile, Gabrielle fulfills a childhood dream since not only did she select Jade while growing up with Mortal Kombat games, but she also emulated her in real life. “Jade [was my favorite] since I was a kid,” Gabrielle says about her fandom for this world. “When I was young, I would always play as Jade, because, one, I saw myself in her, and two, I’m a Black woman who does karate. I did karate for 12 years, and I also used the bo staff, that was

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my weapon of choice.” Towering at six feet and eight inches, Shao Kahn actor Ford also grew up a fan of the classic Mortal Kombat II game, albeit perhaps more for Baraka than the Outworld emperor. Nonetheless, he found it strangely easy to get into character. “Four hours in the [makeup] chair and you see yourself training, and then you put the costume on, it almost became a cheat code to be honest,” Ford says. “Being in prosthetics, and having the hammer, and the weight? …that was something you couldn’t replicate in the training rooms.”

ENTER THE CAGE

While every Mortal Kombat character is some fan’s preferred fighter, be it icy-gloved Sub-Zero or obscure D’Vorah, there is a reason Mortal Kombat II has reframed itself around Johnny Cage, an O.G. avatar back when Mortal Kombat was associated with blood-drenched sprites in arcade cabinets. But for director McQuoid, the secret to casting an actor like Urban was his ability to make someone initially created to be a quipping homage to Jean-Claude Van Damme feel sincerely human. “Look at what he did with Bones in Star Trek,” says McQuoid. “You could say that Bones was one of the broader characters in Star Trek, always one-liners and jokes and such, and the way Karl sort of kept a lid on that made it funny, made it a joy to watch, but it felt like it was a real character. He’s done the same thing with Johnny.” For Urban, part of the appeal for taking on the role of Johnny Cage was seeing what McQuoid was developing—a vision he suggests is far above what has been delivered by any Mortal Kombat movie to date—as well as Slater’s screenplay, which imagines Johnny being of a certain age and perhaps past his expiration date.

“The point where we find Johnny in this movie is very relatable to everybody, because he’s on the back foot in life,” Urban considers. “His career is in the tank, the world’s forgotten him, and he’s at a real low point. His confidence has been knocked, and it is at this very juncture that he is called upon to be at his best and to use his skillset to defend Earthrealm.” It is a universal fear of obsolescence that allows the quips, flips, and splits to shine brighter when Johnny rekindles his old smartassery. According to the actor, this vision of Cage is a guy who was almost another Schwarzenegger or Stallone but never quite made it. As an actor who came up in the ’90s working on television productions in New Zealand, the setup allowed him to similarly indulge fantasies of being a Hollywood action star back in the day. Says Urban, “I feel like I really benefited from the tail of the ’70s and the ’80s, and the ’90s of having these iconic actors, whether it be the Eastwoods or Paul Newman,

Director Simon McQuoid on the set of a Tarkatan village. Photo by Simon Westlake

day off to watch Urban film scenes of the aptly titled "Uncaged Fury." “There’s an air of ridiculousness about it because you know I turn up on set and I’m wearing this preposterous ’90s MC Hammeresque wardrobe, and all of the cast had turned up to watch it because on paper it read like it was going to be something special. And the way that the fight coordinators had choreographed it was just 100 percent accurate to low-budget ’90s action movies. There’s definitely splits in there, and splits in the air too, I believe.”

CONTINUE?

or Harrison Ford or Stallone or Schwarzenegger… all these guys. And as it pertains to Johnny Cage, you also see specifically Van Damme, who, in my opinion, was phenomenal, and Jackie Chan, who I drew huge inspiration from for the tone of some of Johnny Cage’s fights.” The aforementioned Baraka

sequence specifically harkens back to the humor and devilmay-care conviviality of Chan’s best choreographed work to date. There are even several filmswithin-films shot for Mortal Kombat II, which became so infamous on the page that co-stars rolled up on their

“

THE STUDIO RECOGNIZED IT REALLY HAS A MAGICAL FILM HERE, IT’S TESTED THROUGH THE ROOF… SO I WAS VERY HAPPY WITH THE MOVE [TO 2026]." – KARL URBAN

When Mortal Kombat mastermind Ed Boon steps into our studio, it’s been 33 years since the original game hit arcades. In the interim, he’s seen the brutal, crazed universe grow exponentially. But perhaps a bit like Shao Kahn, the creator still has bigger realms left to conquer. The game-maker tells us he hopes that Mortal Kombat can one day become a “forever franchise” in the same way folks think about Marvel Comics or DC’s roster of characters. Mortal Kombat II’s ascension to R-rated blockbuster status is a big step in that journey, but for the people making it, the film remains a specific creative endeavor for the here and now. “I feel like I’m a caretaker for Johnny Cage,” Urban muses. “Johnny Cage is a legacy character, and by that I mean Johnny Cage, and the roles of Kitana and Liu Kang have been played by other actors previously, and they will be played by other actors in generations to come. That’s what is gonna give it its longevity. The popularity of the games and what they mean to people is far greater than any one interpretation.” That might be, but like a caffeinated kid with a roll of quarters, Urban and company seem ready to hit that continue button, as this game is only beginning.

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J AN U ARY 1 6

28 YEARS LATER: THE BONE TEMPLE

BY AMELIA EMBERWING

ix months ago, 28 Years Later brought the rage virus crashing back into the cultural conversation, furthering director Danny Boyle and writer Alex Garland’s not-zombie-but-still-zombie hold on the subgenre after an 18-year absence. Now, 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple is on the horizon, helmed this time not by Boyle but Nia DaCosta, right on the tail of her most recent success, Hedda. Of course, both 28 Years Later and The Bone Temple were shot back-to-back, accounting for the films’ releases happening so close to one another, so Boyle, Garland, and Sony were already fully aware of what they had when it came to DaCosta’s talents. And why wouldn’t they, given her takes on films like 2021’s Candyman and 2023's The Marvels? With The Bone Temple right around the corner, Den of Geek sat down with DaCosta to learn more about not just the upcoming film but her involvement with 28 Years Later, what drew her to the franchise, and the collaboration process

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between the series newcomer and veterans like Garland and Boyle. As it happens, this franchise played a critical role in DaCosta’s cinematic career, too. “28 Days Later is one of the most important films to me in terms of my

journey into becoming a filmmaker, wanting to make movies, wanting to be scared, and wanting to scare people,” DaCosta explains. While the storyteller is at a point where she’s looking to write and direct for herself, that doesn’t keep her away

Jack O'Connell and Director Nia DaCosta on set.

Ralph Fiennes returns as Dr. Ian Kelson in The Bone Temple.

from picking up a good screenplay. “I still love reading scripts. When I encounter a great one, like I did when I read the 28 Years Later scripts, and there’s a possibility that I could direct it, I’ll totally grab at that.” As for taking the helm of a franchise so important to fans, DaCosta—a fan herself—had a relatively straightforward approach when it came to discussions with the studio: “The conversation started when I came in to talk to the producers. The first thing I said was I am not going to make a Danny Boyle movie. No one else can. It would be stupid to try. I want to make this movie the way I see it. And so for me, that meant creating these distinctive worlds between the Jimmies and [Dr.] Kelson and certain tonal things.” While fans are not yet incredibly familiar with Jack O’Connell’s Sir Jimmy Crystal and his band of ne’er-do-wells, aka the rest of “the Jimmies,” we did get a glimpse of them at the very end of 28 Years Later when they sprang to the rescue of Alfie Williams’ Spike. Jimmy Crystal and his gang of jogging enthusiasts, styled after the former DJ and notorious sex offender Jimmy Savile, will play a much more pivotal role

in The Bone Temple, as will Ralph Fiennes’ Dr. Kelson. “The first movie maybe says a lot about his solitude in our film,” DaCosta notes of Fiennes’ Kelson. “In my film, at the Bone Temple, we get to characterize that as loneliness, and we get to see more of how this man survives on his own, how it feels, and why that might push him to do really risky things like engaging with an Alpha in the way that we see him engage with Samson.” Samson, the infected Alpha we met in 28 Years Later, will also play a much bigger role in The Bone Temple. Because of this, DaCosta collaborated with Boyle throughout the creative process from the start. “It was really important to me that I inherited a character who had the right starting point,” she explains. “[Boyle] really listened when I had thoughts or feelings about how those decisions would impact my movie. But really, I think because he also loves the second film and loves what it was doing, he didn’t want to do anything that would hinder that at all.” She continues, “In terms of designing Samson the character, there were some things I had to change from his movie to my

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movie, in part because… certain things that worked in Danny's film would not look right in mine. We’re doing things differently.” One of the “things” the director is referencing is a specific appendage of Samson that sent the internet ablaze after 28 Years Later was released in theaters. DaCosta was not surprised by the reaction, noting succinctly that “penises bring people together.” Samson, like Kelson and the Jimmies, will play more of a role in The Bone Temple than he did in 28 Years Later. As many have gleaned from the trailers, his story is intrinsically tied to Kelson’s, with the Jimmies off doing their own thing right up until they aren’t. The collision between the two parties is inevitable, but it was the juxtaposition between them that really intrigued DaCosta as a filmmaker. The cruelty of the Jimmies clashing against Kelson, who DaCosta sees as the emotional heart of the film, gives opportunity for real contrast. “You have these two trains on a track, essentially, that are going to collide,” says the director. “They’re going to end up with these two worlds in a clash, because you kind of feel that Spike and Kelson are going to interact again. I wanted to really lean into the sort of dark

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serenity that Kelson’s been able to find in the apocalypse, and also the cruelty, the violence, the mercurialness, the erratic energy of the Jimmies. So while we are hoping that Spike and Kelson come back together, we’re also nervous about what that will mean.” As photos have already revealed, Sir Jimmy Crystal and his band are not the only ones with a bleak side in the apocalypse. While thus far we have only seen the doctor’s respect for the dead via his worship of the concept of memento mori—hence the mountain of skulls from which The Bone Temple earns its title—we’ll also get the opportunity to see a darker side of the healer. “This is another thing about getting to know Kelson more. You’re like, ‘What a dark-sided freak he is!’” DaCosta says with a laugh. “But when you actually talk to him and engage with him, you realize the beauty of his point of view in life. [Through] memento mori, you understand that he’s basically a humanist, and I think a part of that is being curious and being hopeful.” With the Jimmies’ inevitable collision with Kelson and, by proxy, Samson, comes a duality to the visuals within The Bone Temple. It wasn’t enough for the emotionality and dialogue to differentiate the

characters; DaCosta insisted that the film be shot that way as well. As such, the visuals and style differ depending on which set of characters is the focus of the scene. “[For Kelson’s world], I was imagining just beautiful sunlight; it’s summer, green grass; there’s the red of the poppies that he grows,” DaCosta says of the flowers the doctor uses to make his own opiates. “Essentially, the steadiness, stillness, of a river. You hear the river like you’re sort of on a relaxing vacation, except it’s the apocalypse.” Conversely, the first time we meet the Jimmies in the new movie, the gang is in what DaCosta describes as a decaying urban space. “They’re reminded of everything that’s been left behind. [Those scenes were] a lot of really unsteady camera, a lot more cutting... then in terms of how we colored it, there’s a warmth to Kelson’s world, and there's a coldness to the Jimmies’ world. I really wanted to contrast their worlds based on their characters.” Coldness and warmth, light and dark, these are all hallmarks of the larger 28 Days franchise’s deadly grace. But with The Bone Temple marking the penultimate chapter of a new trilogy, it remains to be seen which will dominate when worlds collide.

IMAGE CREDITS: SONY PICTURES/ MIYA MIZUNO/ AMAZON MGM/ JONATHAN OLLEY/ WARNER BROS. PICUTRES

Chi Lewis-Parry as infected Alpha, Samson.

WUTHERING HEIGHTS

FEBRUARY 13

The always-provocative filmmaker Emerald Fennell is following up her Oscar-winning Promising Young Woman and divisive Saltburn with a splashy adaptation of Emily Brontë’s classic 1847 gothic romance, and it stars no less than Margot Robbie as Catherine Earnshaw and Jacob Elordi as Heathcliff. The castings are already raising eyebrows, with the latter earning accusations of whitewashing a literary character of famously ambiguous origin. But by working from source material that was considered scandalously edgy in its time, we can expect Fennell to welcome it all while amping up the tale’s eroticism and psychological melodrama—and with lots of heaving chests and Charli XCX songs if the trailer is anything to go by. In other words, don’t expect your high school teacher’s Wuthering Heights.

It's alive! Jessie Buckley stars as the Bride in Maggie Gyllenhaal's movie.

THE BRIDE!

MARCH 6

Maggie Gyllenhaal’s second outing as a director is a wild pivot from 2021’s The Lost Daughter: it’s been described as a musical, a satire, and an homage to The Bride of Frankenstein. Set in 1930s Chicago, the film finds Frankenstein’s Monster (Christian Bale) asking Dr. Euphronius (Annette Bening) to create a

companion for him, which arrives in the form of the Bride (Jessie Buckley). What happens from there involves murder, mayhem, and, er, social change. It seems a gamble by Warners, but a bold one given the amount of talent involved, as well as the fact that Mary Shelley reworkings seem to be in season if Poor Things and Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein are anything to go by.

PROJECT HAIL MARY PHIL LORD AND CHRISTOPHER

MARCH 20

Ryan Gosling plays astronaut Ryland Grace, on a mission to save humanity.

Miller are at last in the director’s chairs again for a live-action film after they were dismissed from Solo: A Star Wars Story in 2018. (Their last completed liveaction effort, 22 Jump Street, came out in 2014.) This time, though, the newly Spider-Verse emboldened duo are adapting Andy Weir’s sci-fi bestseller. The movie stars Ryan Gosling as a man who wakes up on an interstellar ship with no recollection of how he got there. And soon he learns that he is the last hope for humanity. The marketing promises a high-concept adventure with plenty of thrills, humor, and that ol’ Gosling charm. The Weir connection also suggests this is particularly wellsuited to the screen. See Ridley Scott’s adaptation of The Martian for more.

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FEBRUARY 6

BY JOE GEORGE

very generation gets the monster it deserves. For the Victorians, it was mad scientist Victor Frankenstein or regal bloodsucker Count Dracula; in the 1980s, Jason Voorhees and Freddy Krueger violated safe suburban and summer camp spaces; and the 2000s saw the rise of torture porn franchises such as Saw, which reflected a nation’s debates about “enhanced interrogation” techniques. With their new horror film Whistle, director Corin Hardy and writer Owen Egerton give teens of today their own nightmares in the form of visions summoned by an Aztec death whistle. A ghastly object with a grinning skull on one end and a thick, ugly pipe protruding from the other, the whistle is (loosely) inspired by real artifacts, and in this movie, it brings death via monstrous apparitions to anyone who hears its call. Nasty as these visions are, it’s the whistle itself that first strikes fear into the heart of the viewer. “I knew it was like a leading character,” Hardy explains about the titular object. “It’s on screen throughout the movie and needs to hold up. So we went through maybe 50 or 60 designs, googling ‘death whistle’ and finding some pretty strange, creepy-looking things. Some are very simple bone carvings, others are elaborate or abstract.”

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Hardy went so far as to enlist the help of Spanish designer Daniel Carrasco, whose credits include Crimson Peak and The Substance. Carrasco helped Hardy go through the designs, a process the director likens to “auditioning a cast member.” “I didn’t want just an object that looked evil, with a nasty face. I wanted something that could take on a different personality in different types of light,” Hardy says. “Throughout Whistle, you see different environments, sometimes flames are reflecting on it, or sometimes light from a pool. Sometimes, I would light it with a torch to give it a vacant look. It could almost look enticing.” The artifact looks particularly enticing to the teenagers who populate Whistle. Logan standout Dafne Keen stars as Chrysanthemum, Chrys for short,

a troubled youth who comes to live with her cousin Rel (Sky Yang) in a steel town after a personal tragedy. As Chrys tries to navigate her new environment, she finds a kindred spirit in the sweet Ellie (Sophie Nélisse), but must also contend with a pair of jock bullies (Jhaleil Swaby and Mika Amonsen) and mean girl Grace (Ali Skovbye). Things only get worse when Chrys is assigned a locker that previously belonged to a basketball star who died under mysterious circumstances. There she discovers a whistle inside which once blown, will cause six teens to face the unthinkable (or at least unthinkable for adolescents with their whole lives ahead of them): a vision of their predestined deaths from decades down the road racing up to them in the here and now. But then, forcing the young and seemingly invincible to face their mortality is the central appeal of teen horror. Says Egerton: “One of the fascinating things about being in high school is that you start to discover that maybe you’re mortal, and you find something that

Image credits: Michael Gibson, Courtesy of Independent Film Company / Shudder

WHISTLE

Jhaleil Swaby as a high school jock who faces his fate a lot earlier in life than is expected.

Dafne Keen discovers an Aztec death whistle in her locker at school.

represents death and begin flirting with it, whether it’s a Ouija board or drag racing.” In the screenwriter’s mind, this attraction to death extends from youth’s embrace of life. “There’s just so much passion and heart and confusion happening in high school,” he continues. “I think Corin and I are both drawn to stories that have just as much death as they do life, and there’s a lot of that in high school years.” For Hardy, Whistle’s high school setting forced him to rethink his approach to casting. “This is different from everything I’ve done,” says the director, who previously helmed the Conjuring

spinoff The Nun and served as showrunner for season two of the action series Gangs of London. “I was looking at films like The Breakfast Club or The Lost Boys and searching for a group of up-and-coming actors who bubble with energy together. I wanted people who would make me feel excited about the prospect of seeing them do a movie together.” Hardy found those newcomers in Keen, still hot off reprising her role as X-23/Laura from Deadpool & Wolverine, as well as appearing in Star Wars series The Acolyte, as well as Nélisse, one of the standouts in Showtime’s Yellowjackets. But Whistle isn’t just about the kids, as Hardy has assembled an impressive cast of veteran actors, including genre mainstay Nick Frost as a likable teacher and Michelle Fairley of Game of Thrones and Gangs of London fame as a cancer patient with a

connection to the whistle. Like every great horror movie, the true appeal of Whistle comes in the nasty deaths its titular instrument calls forth. Whistle doesn’t just follow Final Destination and Fear Street in its themes of young people facing mortality, but also in the creative ways it dispatches its vivacious stars. One standout set piece sees a victim pursued through an elaborate labyrinth by their older self before perishing of old age while only 17. Another recalls a classic Nightmare on Elm Street kill, with the victim’s parents pounding on the door as the monster twists the teen’s body into horrific configurations. Memorable as they are, neither the kills nor the cast of future genre greats are the true stars of Whistle. Rather, it’s the titular object itself, which beckons horror fans to give it a try.

An eerie vision conjured by the death whistle.

DEN OF GEEK

BY DON KAYE

M AY 2 2

THE SUPER MARIO GALAXY MOVIE

APRIL 3 After 2023’s The Super Mario Bros. Movie became the most successful video game-based film of all time (nearly $1.4 billion worldwide), there was no doubt that Illumination and Nintendo would immediately greenlight a sequel. And while the plot remains under wraps, any gamer with passing familiarity with the Nintendo Wii’s beloved Super Mario Galaxy is already expecting gravity-bending visuals and out-of-this-world shenanigans for the plumber brothers. Chris Pratt, Anya Taylor-Joy, Jack Black, Charlie Day, and Keegan-Michael Key are all returning to their signature roles from the first film, while Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic are again directing.

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THE MA AND GR Grogu on the lookout!

IMAGE CREDITS: UNIVERSAL PICTURES/ NINTENDO/ DISNEY

Princess Peach and Mario out under the stars.

STAR WARS:

The Mandalorian and Grogu, a.k.a. Baby Yoda, take to the skies.

NDALORIAN OGU I

t will be nearly seven years since a Star Wars movie blasted across the big screen by the time this comes out, which is hopefully long enough for the bad taste left by The Rise of Skywalker to have disappeared. Either way, director Jon Favreau and co-writer Dave Filoni’s new film is set to answer a hard question for the franchise: will vast amounts of people come out for a story that requires viewing at least one, if not two, shows that aired on Disney+? A little Pedro Pascal charisma, even in a mask, can’t hurt. Meanwhile, the Lucasfilm braintrust appears to be betting that there’s enough good faith—and enough fans still in love with Baby Yoda— to restore this aging franchise to cinematic glory.

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Buzz and Woody return for another adventure. Image Credit: Disney

Photo by Karwai Tang/WireImage

JUNE 19

UNTITLED STEVEN SPIELBERG MOVIE

JUNE 12 While Steven Spielberg is not the box office or cultural powerhouse that he was in previous decades, there is no question that the mind races with possibilities at the thought of what this movie could be. Here’s what we know: it’s a science fiction film, reportedly having something to do with UFOs, that’s based on an idea Spielberg personally had before handing it off to his go-to blockbuster scribe, David Koepp. Keep in mind that Spielberg also dreamed up the original concepts for Close Encounters and E.T. Furthermore, the cast— including Emily Blunt, Colman Domingo, Josh O’Connor, and Colin Firth—is top-notch. And the idea of Spielberg returning to a genre that has provided us with so many classic films is enough to get us there opening day.

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TOY STORY 5 WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN YOU MAKE A NEAR-PERFECT TRILOGY

of animated films? Why, you keep going, of course! And if you thought that Toy Story 4 was a risky add-on, then you’re probably even more fretful over Toy Story 5. But Pixar, in a bit of a slump these days, is going back to its original franchise one more time with Woody, Buzz, Jessie, Forky, and all the rest returning. This time, the gang must fight for Bonnie’s attention with a tablet named Lilypad (Greta Lee)—setting up a clash between toys and tech that has no doubt gripped many households in recent years.

SUPERGIRL

JUNE 26 In some sense, Supergirl might be more of a test of James Gunn’s DC Studios than even 2025’s Superman. While that DCU kickoff had a lot to prove, Supergirl is the first follow-up to gauge how much audiences bought in, including to a cliffhanger of Milly Alcock’s party gal Kryptonian. Luckily, this spinoff is based on one of the best superhero stories of the decade, Tom King and Bilquis Evely’s Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, which finds a far more haunted Kara Zor-El than CW fans might remember. It also comes from director Craig Gillespie, who’s had success in left-of-center genre-benders like I, Tonya, Cruella, and Lars and the Real Girl. Together with Alcock and Jason Momoa (as... Lobo?!), this one could have a whole different vibe.

Matt Damon stars in Christopher Nolan epic The Odyssey. Image Credit: Universal Pictures

JUL Y 17

THE ODYSSEY Milly Alcock as Kara Zor-El in Superman. Image Credit: Warner Bros. Pictures

ow do you follow up a three-hour, billion-dollargrossing, Best Picture-winning historical drama about the invention of the atomic bomb? With an epic film based on an ancient Greek myth, naturally. Fantasy and mythology movies tend to sink at the box office unless the name Tolkien is attached to them, but if anyone can turn Homer’s landmark of Greek literature into box office gold, it’s Christopher Nolan, who did the same for a tormented nuclear physicist in Oppenheimer. As usual, the cast—led by Matt Damon as Odysseus—is stacked, and Nolan is perhaps the only director aside from James Cameron whose name alone puts butts in seats. Whatever The Odyssey ends up being, we don’t expect to call it modest.

SPIDER-MAN: BRAND NEW DAY

JULY 31 Following the success of Spider-Man: No Way Home is no easy feat, but the MCU’s Tom Holland-led iteration of your friendly neighborhood webslinger seems to be a bright spot in Marvel’s post-Infinity Saga daze. The usual rumors persist about villains, storylines, multiverse variants, and the like, but all we really know is that Spidey will once again be supported by other MCU favorites like Mark Ruffalo’s Hulk and Jon Bernthal’s Punisher, while the main antagonist remains unknown. Destin Daniel Cretton (Shang-Chi) replaces Jon Watts behind the camera, and Stranger Things’ Sadie Sink joins returning cast members Zendaya and Jacob Batalon. Perhaps most interestingly, it’s speculated that this is Holland’s last non-Avengers swing.

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THE HUNGER GAMES:

NOVEMBER 20

SUNRISE ON THE REAPING

ith the success of 2023’s The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes, Lionsgate and director Francis Lawrence adapting Suzanne Collins’ next prequel novel, Sunrise on the Reaping, is a smart bet. Set some four decades after Songbirds & Snakes, and just 24 years before the events of The Hunger Games (2012), this film stars Joseph Zada as a young Haymitch Abernathy (Woody Harrelson in the original movies) as he competes and (no spoiler) wins in the 50th Hunger Games. Yet the trials and tragedies he faces along the way have made this novel a fan favorite since its publication. Once again, the story’s young tributes will be supported by all-star veterans, including Jesse Plemons, Ralph Fiennes, Kieran Culkin, Elle Fanning, and Glenn Close. Meanwhile, Mckenna Grace plays Maysilee Donner, a young tribute who has captured the minds of millions of readers.

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Joseph Zada as Haymitch Abernathy and Mckenna Grace as Maysilee Donner. Image Credit: Murray Close/ Lionsgate

AVENGERS: DOOMSDAY THIS IS IT: HIGH NOON FOR THE

Marvel Cinematic Universe. This is the one that features the return of Infinity War/Endgame directors Anthony and Joe Russo, Robert Downey Jr. coming back not as Iron Man but Doctor Doom, the inclusion of the O.G. Fox X-Men cast, the rumored appearance of everyone from Chris Evans to Ryan Reynolds… and it all adds up to either a Hail Mary pass of titanic proportions or a glorious relaunch to box office dominance. Don’t let the reports of an unfinished script or extended reshoots fool you; Marvel can pull this off—they’ve done so in the past—but the question is whether the Avengers brand still has the power to bring the MCU back from its recent decline.

DECEMBER 18

Photo by Lucy North/PA Images via Getty Images

Robert Downey Jr. will return to the MCU as Doctor Doom. Photo by Jesse Grant/Getty Images for Disney

WERWULF

Timothée Chalamet as Paul Atreides in Dune: Part Two. Image Credit: Warner Bros.

DUNE: PART THREE

DECEMBER 18 Denis Villeneuve’s first two Dune movies were arguably the most epic, visionary genre releases since Peter Jackson bestowed The Lord of the Rings on us 20 years earlier. But concluding a trilogy has been the downfall of many a filmmaker, and Villeneuve faces a formidable task here. The movie will ostensibly be based on Frank Herbert’s Dune Messiah, a very different story from the original and in many ways a more difficult one to imagine as a film. But if Villeneuve keeps the core of the novel—the willful self-destruction of Paul Atreides—intact, he can stick this landing like a breaking Shai-Hulud. We’re rooting for him all the way.

DECEMBER 25 With his four previous movies, writer/ director Robert Eggers has proven himself as the master of grim, atmospheric period horror (yes, even The Northman was a horror story in its own way). He immerses us in barbaric worlds of the past like no other filmmaker currently working. Having conquered the most seminal of vampire tales with Nosferatu, he’s now turning his attention to lycanthropy with what he himself calls “the darkest thing I have ever written,” an original werewolf story set in 13th-century England. Blood, gore, mud, and disease? Sounds like Eggers is going to have us howling in terror when this thing crawls toward holiday theaters.

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Bertie Carvel plays Prince Baelor “Breakspear” Targaryen, the heir to the Iron Throne.

J AN U ARY 1 8 O N H BO

A KNIGHT OF THE SEVEN KINGDOMS A

Knight of the Seven Kingdoms showrunner Ira Parker had a clear strategy when it came to casting the lead roles for HBO’s latest Game of Thrones prequel series. “It’s easy. Just cast a former Irish rugby player and the greatest child actor to ever grace Earth,” he deadpans about tapping rising stars Peter Claffey and Dexter Sol Ansell to play the fabled Dunk and Egg, respectively. Featured in three (and counting) “Tales of Dunk and Egg” novellas penned by “A Song of Ice and Fire” creator George R.R. Martin, hedge knight Ser Duncan the Tall, a.k.a. “Dunk,” and his squire Egg present a unique casting challenge. Not only is the duo quite visually distinct—a

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nearly seven-foot-tall gentle giant and a pre-pubescent baldheaded boy—but their adventures, beginning with 1998’s The Hedge Knight, take on a warm tone that might first appear out of place in a Game of Thrones context. “It’s just a very easy story to fall in love with,” Parker says. “The Hedge Knight was book number two after A Game of Thrones, you know. George is so proud of it. His energy towards these stories is so infectious.” Embodying Egg is 11-year-old actor Ansell, already a seasoned performer with a prominent role as young Coriolanus Snow in The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes under his belt. “I watched his audition for Egg, and I thought, ‘That kid just nailed

it. What do we do now?’ Our casting director was like, ‘Hold your horses, Ira, let’s see some other people first.’ But then we came all the way back around to him again. It feels like it was meant to be.” Casting Dunk was a trickier proposition, but in the end, Claffey’s humble approach and capacity for growth won out. “He’s such a charismatic individual but he’s also just like Dunk. He’s got an inner anxiety about him. When he came into the first meeting, he was like ‘my palms are sweating,’ and I’m just like, ‘This is perfect, this is what we wanted.’” A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms’ six-episode first season adapts the premiere Dunk and Egg novella, The Hedge Knight, which finds

IMAGE CREDITS: STEFFAN HILL/HBO

BY ALEC BOJALAD

Dunk burying his deceased master Ser Arlan of Pennytree, assuming knighthood, meeting Egg, and making for Ashford Meadow to participate in a jousting tourney. In true Game of Thrones fashion, however, Dunk and Egg will soon enter into a dangerous situation they didn’t bargain for. Though A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms will be the rare Game of Thrones story seen through the perspective of common folk like Dunk and Egg, the tourney at the Ashford setting also provides a who’s who of the major Westerosi lords of the era—from Fossoways to Baratheons, to yes, even a certain House of the Dragon. The series is set roughly 80 years after the events of House of the Dragon and finds House Targaryen in a stable, yet diminished state. Though the dynasty won’t fall for another century or so, the literal dragons themselves are extinct, and an illegitimate Targaryen branch known as House Blackfyre makes repeated claims to the Iron Throne. Arriving to Ashford for the festivities are King Daeron II’s steadfast heir, Prince Baelor “Breakspear” (Bertie Carvel), his younger brother Prince Maekar (Sam Spruell), and Prince Maekar’s fiery son Aerion “Brightflame” (Finn Bennett). According to Parker, filling out the branches of the draconic tree was nearly as big a challenge as casting Dunk and Egg—particularly when it came to identifying the magnanimous black sheep, Baelor. “Baelor was very tricky,” he says, “because the way he was written on the page, you worry that he’s just going to feel bland. Thankfully, Bertie Carvel is one of the greatest working actors today. He came in, and he gave it that little extra edge and bite. You so effortlessly believe he is the one in charge.” While Baelor is a fairly atypical Targaryen, given his calm disposition

Sam Spruell plays Prince Maekar Targaryen, younger brother of Baelor and father of Aerion.

Finn Bennett plays Prince Aerion Targaryen, a fiery member of the House of the Dragon.

and dark hair courtesy of his Dornish mother, his nephew Aerion has platinum locks and an appetite for cruelty that should be a lot more familiar. “I would say the biggest challenge with Aerion is that we don’t dig too deep into his psyche as to why he is like this. There are a lot of villain backstories in general across the film and television spectrum that I’m just getting a little sick of,” Parker asserts. “Aerion is almost unreadable at points. You think he’s

having fun with it. Then you think it’s a personality defect or maybe his father. He’s mysterious. It could go so many different ways.” The presence of House Targaryen as a chaos agent serves as a reminder that even if the "Tales of Dunk and Egg" represent the world of Ice and Fire at its most wholesome, this all remains a George R.R. Martin joint. “It is lighter as an entry point, but it’s still Westeros—anything can happen to any character. It can get quite dark.”

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Holly Hunter in season one, episode one of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy.

J AN U ARY 1 5 O N P A R A M O U N T +

STAR TREK: STARFLEET ACADEMY S

tar Trek has continually reinvigorated itself by bringing new generations to the forefront, and this aspect takes center stage in the upcoming Paramount+ original series Star Trek: Starfleet Academy. Premiering Jan. 15, 2026, the show is set in the 32nd century period introduced by the recently concluded Star Trek: Discovery, with Starfleet Academy reopening after a 120-year hiatus to welcome a new class of promising cadets. This move comes after the United Federation was fractured by a cataclysmic event known as the Burn, with the cadets playing a vital role in the organization’s rebuilding process.

Alex Kurtzman, who has overseen Star Trek’s resurgence on Paramount+ since Discovery’s launch in 2017, serves as an executive producer on the show and directs its first two episodes. While there had been efforts by previous creative figures in the franchise to create

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a show or movie centered around Starfleet Academy, Kurtzman feels that, at this specific moment in our history, the optimistic nature of the show resonates more strongly than ever, making it the perfect time to coalesce. “It felt like this generation

particularly is facing so many deep challenges. What I think everybody is trying to figure out now is how do we get back to hope,” Kurtzman says. “I always feel like Star Trek is a compass that points us towards our better angels and the people that we want to be. For a generation of kids who are inheriting a lot of problems created by the generations before them, it feels very relevant now. But it’s also a really funny, really fun, emotional show.” True to its premise, the show has a young cast playing alien species from throughout the franchise’s extensive history, including some races that fans have never seen

IMAGE CREDITS: BROOKE PALMER/ PARAMOUNT+/AMAZON PRIME VIDEO

BY SAM STONE

DAREDEVIL: BORN AGAIN SEASON 2

MARCH 4 ON DISNEY+

before. One of the new cadets is Caleb Mir, a rough-and-tumble young man who has ties to the Academy’s chancellor and darker forces in the galaxy. Played by Sandro Rosta, the actor looked to his own life experiences and how to represent Star Trek for fresh generations in playing the new kid around the Starfleet block. “You just have to do what comes from the heart, from what you can pull from your own experiences and life,” observes Rosta. “There are certain audiences that Star Trek has spoken to over the years and brought different kinds of audiences into the fanbase. I was trying to do the same thing with certain people who maybe haven’t had an interest in Star Trek before. To bring that special energy was drawing from that ether.” The young cast are joined by several familiar faces, including Robert Picardo reprising his Star Trek: Voyager role as the Doctor and Tig Notaro returning as her Discovery engineer character, Jett Reno. Leading the ensemble is Academy Award-winner Holly Hunter, playing Captain Nahla Ake, who is also the newlyinstalled Chancellor of Starfleet Academy. For the veteran actor, getting to witness and join in on the effusive energy on set was crucial in helping her develop her performance. “I just found so much of my characters through each of these actors,” Hunter declares. “I kept being able to reveal more about who she is through my interactions with each of them because they’re all so incredible. The energy on the set was so much fun and so unleashed and alive. You’ll see that in the show!”

Daredevil: Born Again is an example of fan service backed up by great quality storytelling. The first season brought back many of the beloved actors from the Netflix Daredevil series that aired between 2015-2018, including series star Charlie Cox as the titular blind lawyer-turned-vigilante. The show is gritty and takes risks that other Marvel projects sometimes shy away from, and the longform format of episodic storytelling has been the perfect avenue for Marvel Comics' most street-level of street-level heroes. The second season will bring back more famous actors from the franchise, most importantly Krysten Ritter from the Jessica Jones Netflix series that aired between 2015-2019. Expect a lot of Jon Bernthal as the Punisher, as well, in anticipation for his upcoming standalone special that’s waiting for a release later in 2026 and an appearance in Spider-Man: Brand New Day. Daredevil: Born Again season two is set to begin its eight episode-run on March 4, 2026 on Disney+. An upcoming third season should air the same month in 2027. Yearly superhero TV used to seem like a fever dream, but the Daredevil team is on top of things!

MARCH 2026 ON PRIME VIDEO

INVINCIBLE SEASON 4

INVINCIBLE HAS MANAGED TO GARNER A WIDESPREAD FANBASE

amongst younger and older superhero fans alike, a task that previously felt impossible to do with so many legendary IPs in the genre. Creator Robert Kirkman has adapted his comic book for Prime Video with memorable voice acting and an intense story that started as a father-son conflict and has grown into an intergalactic battle with potential for so much more. “One of the things that’s most exciting about Invincible for me is that it’s an escalating show,” Kirkman says of the heightened expectations for the series heading into season four. “The scale and the scope of the fights and the conflicts and the things that are happening always seems to get bigger, and it’s always growing and it’s always working towards something. I’m really excited about getting to season four because everything from the first minute of season one has been working towards a lot of the events that happen.” The season three finale was a turning point for Mark Grayson (Steven Yeun). For the first three seasons, Grayson has been as much of a passive hero as possible, avoiding deadly conflicts or fights that would put his family or friends in harm’s way and trying to save the largest number of people possible. A near-fatal altercation with Conquest (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) during the last episode caused an epiphany that should spearhead a whole new Invincible in season four. Fans of the graphic novels have some idea of what’s happening next, but those who are going in blind might just be enjoying this series even more. Now that Kirkman and company have gotten the show on a yearly release schedule, Invincible is an annual treat.

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BY SHAWN LAIB

THE BOYS SEASON 5

Image Credits: HBO/AMC

HOUSE OF THE DRAGON SEASON 3

TBD ON HBO

The second season of Game of Thrones prequel House of the Dragon concluded on an unsure note. Rhaenyra, Daemon, and the rest of Team Black will have to move forward without the blade and the dragon of Rhaenys Targaryen. Team Green will continue to rely on the menacing eye of Aemond after King Aegon II was burnt up in the Battle at Rook’s Rest. Fans who were waiting for a big battle to serve as the climax of season two should get that bloodshed when the third season begins. The Battle of the Gullet is expected to launch in the first part of the season, presumably in the premiere episode as we saw the naval forces joining vicinities during the season two finale. The intensified action this season might make up for the lack of fighting previously, but we can never be certain what happens next in the land of dragons and betrayal.

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THE BOROUGHS

TBD ON PRIME VIDEO

TBD ON NETFLIX

TV’s bloodiest, boldest, and most thoroughly unabashed satire of the superhero genre finally comes to a close with a fifth season that surely will be filled with more of the same shock value that fans have come to know and love. The Boys pokes holes in cultism and makes fun of the way corporations run America, but the final act will obviously be about one man/monster’s fate: Homelander. Antony Starr’s performance has been Bryan Cranston-esque as people find ways to love a character who is obviously a supervillain to the highest degree. Whether or not Homelander lives or dies, and whether Billy Butcher is triumphant, is really beside the point. Vought’s biggest lab rat has already done incomprehensible damage and he enters season five as the de facto President of the United States. What could possibly go wrong?

Stranger Things fans won’t have to wait long for a spiritual successor to the Netflix megahit, or at least a science fiction story made by the same people. The Duffer brothers are producing The Boroughs, a tale of mismatched, retired heroes who join forces to stop an alien threat in New Mexico. Expect a lot of the Duffers’ signature tropes like outcast characters, good surviving over evil, and fantastic ensemble acting. Bill Pullman of Independence Day, Alfred Molina of Spider-Man 2 fame, and Clarke Peters from The Wire star.

SPIDER-NOIR

TBD ON MGM+ With so much Spider-Man content nowadays, it’s no surprise that Sony is capitalizing on the ubiquitous nature of the crawling hero’s popularity in the 21st century. Spider-Noir is set in the same animated universe as the acclaimed Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse films and features Nicolas Cage as the alternative version of Spider-Man from the Spider-Man Noir comic books. A black-and-white aesthetic and a setting of 1930s New York City gives this a darker tone than most other Spidey stuff. Other great actors lending their voices to the project include Lamorne Morris and Brendan Gleeson.

TB D O N AMC

T B D ON H B O

LANTERNS THE MCU USED TO BE THE KING

of the superheroes, but DC has really started to dig into that media monopoly in recent times. Lanterns is the latest DCU project with a ton of potential, and it’s easy to see why with a simple look at the cast and crew. Damon Lindelof is one of the creators of Lanterns and there

Aaron Pierre and Kyle Chandler join the DCU in Lanterns.

aren’t many showrunners with a more impressive pedigree. The Leftovers, Lost, and Watchmen litter Lindelof’s resume, demonstrating his greatness and ability to work within a wide range of genres and themes. Watchmen is the series that fans should check out if they want a closer look at what Lanterns might

feel like in place and aesthetic as Lindelof moves more toward the superhero genre specifically. The HBO series will star Kyle Chandler (Friday Night Lights) and Aaron Pierre (previously known for Krypton on SyFy and 2024 action breakout Rebel Ridge) as Green Lanterns Hal Jordan and John Stewart, two superpowered detectives who are at very different points in their lives. The agejuxtaposed buddy mystery is nothing super-novel in media, but with so much credibility in the script, cast and crew, Lanterns should be a new favorite even for people who aren’t into superheroes but want a thriller more in the vein of True Detective and the like.

THE VAMPIRE LESTAT IN A WORLD WHERE ADAPTATIONS OFTEN GO AWRY, AMC’S

Sam Reid as Lestat explores the "inherent sexuality" of live music performances.

Interview with the Vampire has gotten everything right. The TV version of Anne Rice’s gothic novels has been a fantastic deep dive into the dark fantasy genre, with plenty of courage to explore diversity regarding race relations and sexuality. The first two seasons only covered the material in Rice’s first book in the series. The upcoming third season will use the same name as the second novel and dive deeper into the life of Lestat de Lioncourt. The theme and aesthetic of the season will be slanted toward rock music, something that composer Daniel Hart talked to Den of Geek about at San Diego Comic-Con 2025. “I feel right at home. It is a thrill, it’s been a great challenge… to do something this ambitious, to take swings this wild and to do something I don’t usually do, which is be in the writers’ room and be in production on set with Sam [Reid], with the band, making sure everything looks right and sounds right.” Everything in the first two seasons of Interview with the Vampire immerses fans into Rice’s world and creates an entry point for new fans to perhaps explore the novels after watching the series. Reid, who portrays Lestat, revealed what viewers can expect from the charismatic vampire this season. “Rock music, live performances have kind of an inherent sexuality that feels necessary, and you just have to go with it. Lestat is a hypersexualized character anyway, kind of a slinky, feline predator anyway. So if he’s going to do this, he’s going to do it. Sometimes, I just basically close my eyes, hope for the best, and wing it.”

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BY CHRIS FREIBERG

GRAND THEFT AUTO VI Image Credit: Rockstar Games

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t’s not an exaggeration to say that Grand Theft Auto VI isn’t just the most-anticipated gaming release of 2026 but quite possibly the biggest release of the decade. So the question isn’t “will GTA VI be good?” but more, “How mindbogglingly amazing and genredefining will it be?” We know the game stars a Bonnie and Clyde-style couple on the loose in a huge map based on the state of Florida, and the graphics look better than almost any other game currently out there. But beyond that, confirmed details are relatively sparse at the moment. Still, it’s a lock that GTA VI will sell millions, dominate the pop culture conversation, and quite probably win numerous Game of the Year awards.

RESIDENT EVIL REQUIEM

Resident Evil Requiem, the ninth game in the long-running series, looks to be an interesting mix of classic ideas and more modern sensibilities. After the last two titles moved to first-person perspective, Requiem will let you play in either first- or third-person as new character Grace Ashcroft, an FBI technical analyst who returns to the ruins of Raccoon City 30 years after its destruction. We still don’t know exactly what she’ll encounter there, but Capcom has promised a new unstoppable stalking monster similar to previous baddies like Mr. X and Lady Dimitrescu. Image Credit: Capcom

MARVEL’S WOLVERINE

After making a trio of Spider-Man games widely considered to be the wallcrawler’s very best efforts, Insomniac Games is now turning its attention to the ol’ Canucklehead himself, Wolverine. The gameplay shown off so far looks absolutely brutal, with Logan digging his adamantium claws into skulls and chest cavities with impunity. Marvel’s Wolverine may be based on the comic books, but this definitely isn’t a kids’ game. And speaking of comics, with Insomniac working on an original story that will dive deep into X-Men lore and feature characters like Omega Red and Mystique, the game is already shaping up to at least be on par with the Spidey titles. Image Credit: Insomniac Games

THE DUSKBLOODS

While FromSoftware’s Switch 2 exclusive The Duskbloods looks to be aesthetically similar to its classic Bloodborne, the studio is promising a very different gameplay experience. Players will choose from eight different characters called Bloodsworn—who are similar to vampires but not quite the classic bloodsuckers of fiction—to take on a variety of challenges in both PvP and PvE. A lot of gamers are still waiting on a killer app to pick up a Switch 2, and given the studio’s recent track record, this could be the title that makes the hybrid console a must-buy. Image Credit: FromSoftware

007 FIRST LIGHT IF YOU HAVEN’T YET PLAYED THE HITMAN

World of Assassination trilogy, you absolutely need to stop what you’re doing and play through them all immediately. They’re a fantastic collection of missions that allow for near limitless strategies that mix both stealth and action. Honestly, all IO Interactive really needs to do is build on that foundation for 007 First Light to be a surefire hit. The game features a young James Bond (played by Patrick Gibson) as he ventures off on early MI6 missions that will grant him his legendary 00 status. Bond has had a mixed legacy in gaming, but with IO Interactive’s recent history, 007 First Light could be the start of a gaming renaissance for the super spy. Image Credit: IO Interactive

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BY ROSIE KNIGHT

ULTIMATE ENDGAME

by Various (Marvel)

CROWBOUND

by Jeff Lemire and Dustin Nguyen (Image)

Just as soon as it was restored, the more grounded and realistic universe that inspired the MCU is ending. Could it be because Marvel has something new planned? Or maybe it’s because the return was overshadowed by the immense success of their Distinguished Competition's Absolute Universe launch? Either way, the Ultimate Endgame is coming and will almost certainly establish the new status quo for Marvel Comics while also featuring Miles Morales, the Maker, Ultimate Spider-Man, Ultimate X-Men, Ultimate Wolverine, and more.

The award-winning Descender creative team is back with a new creator-owned comic that will no doubt take Image and comic book shops by storm. The dark epic fantasy will send readers into a grim world where all kids aged 13 are thrown into indentured servitude in the massive, echoing Factory. There, they work themselves to the bone with no understanding of why. In the midst of this, a young girl is torn away from her mother and must find her way back to her via an unexpected and dangerous bargain with a mysterious folkloric figure.

THE DEATH OF GODZILLA

by writer Tim Seeley and artist Nikola Cizmesija (IDW)

WONDER WOMAN #29

THE ABSOLUTE UNIVERSE EXPANDS

(DC Comics)

Here we have the aforementioned Absolute Universe, which was nothing less than a blockbuster smash hit when it launched in 2024. After the immense success of the books that reoriented the DCU around a world where Darkseid is the core being rather than Superman, it was obvious that the Absolute Universe would continue to expand. Not only will we get new Absolute takes on fan fave characters, but in February, Absolute Superman #16 by Jason Aaron and Juan Ferreyra will reveal the secret history of the twisted timeline!

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by Stephanie Williams and Jeff Spokes (DC Comics)

Tom King has been helming Wonder Woman for two years alongside artist Daniel Sampere and recently launched the daughter of Wonder Woman comic, Trinity. In 2026, a new scribe will enter the Themyscirian mainstream when writer Stephanie Williams and artist Jeff Spokes take over for a couple of fill-in issues, bringing new voices and vibes. If you've been reading Williams' DC Go hit, Warriors and a Wee Wonder, you’ll know she’s got a great take on the shenanigans that come from babysitting superheroic tots.

When IDW launched their KeiSei era, which reimagines the Godzilla canon in an entirely new way, it was all leading to a connected universe. Now, our first big moment is coming up with the Death of Godzilla. Not only will this pay homage to the iconic Death of Superman series—with a cover by original series artist Dan Jurgens—but it will also literally see the death of Godzilla. Of course, this will not be the end of the King of the Monsters. Instead, we’ll be reintroduced to the monster in his most powerful form yet.

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56 HOLIDAY CON

Amazing Spider-Man #16

The appeal of the early Marvel Comics universe was “the world outside your window,” and this was one of the earliest examples of how tied together the Marvel characters would be. Amazing Spider-Man #16 is the first Spidey/Daredevil crossover—ahead of Avengers: Doomsday, Secret Wars, and Daredevil: Born Again season two, this is probably a steal at $675. This is a great addition to your collection.

Aliens vs. Avengers #1

Here’s the thing. This book is spectacular—all-star writer Jonathan Hickman playing with characters he’s loved and written for decades in a no-stakes intra-company crossover. Esad Ribić gets to draw big, bombastic sci-fi battles. We get a secret Prometheus comic, something everyone should love. The comic was excellent, highly recommended. But also: the way the corporate world works right now, it’s only a matter of time before Alien and Marvel aren’t the same company, and when that happens, these crossover books disappear, making their value sure to skyrocket as soon as it happens. A highly graded copy of issue #1 is going to get very expensive when that happens, so this is a good book to get in on the ground floor of.

Absolute Wonder Woman #1

X-Men #1 (1963)

You don’t really need an explanation here, do you? This is the first issue of X-Men, a key issue in the series that is likely the first big MCU movie post-Secret Wars, the book that launched Marvel’s most popular characters for 30 years. It’s Stan and Jack at their prime, and while it wasn’t their greatest or most groundbreaking work, it’s still a huge hit and a key part of your collection. A 3.5 isn’t the best grade, but for a 60-yearold book, that’s fine. If you’ve got 10 large lying around and someone in your life who is a collector or a comic person, this is a great gift.

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57 HOLIDAY CON

DC’s Absolute line has been… absolutely… stellar. Kelly Thompson has been hitting home runs for a few years now, but this is hands down her best work, teaming with Hayden Sherman to reimagine a Wonder Woman born and raised in a universe corrupted at its origin by Darkseid. Sherman and Thompson use that premise to boil Diana down to her core essence—the most purely good character in the DC Multiverse, who uses her twist origin as a foundation to reexamine everything about her and her world. This book is stellar, gorgeous to look at, and a certain red-hot collectible—this is the closest thing to a DC version of Ultimate Spider-Man #1, so $90 for a 9.8 first printing of issue 1 is going to accumulate a ton of value in the future. A must-have for collectors, Wonder Woman fans, or DC fans in general.

SELLING IF THERE IS EVER A COMIC BOOK CREATOR JIM STERANKO who changed how we look at the medium within the least THRILLED AUDIENCES AT amount of published issues, it’s Jim Steranko. At a time when comic book publishers in the country were restricting BIG APPLE COMIC CON major artists to a house style, Steranko took the paneling and layouts IN A SPOTLIGHT PANEL and turned them into eye-catching pop art. At Big Apple Comic Con 2025, Steranko not only spoke before a packed house at a THAT HIGHLIGHTED special spotlight panel but received an award from the HIS HISTORY-MAKING convention for his tremendous and enduring influence on the comic book industry. LEGACY IN THE COMIC At the panel, moderated by Mike Carbonaro and Mike Raphael, Steranko was asked about his origin story in comic books, recalling his roots as the BOOK INDUSTRY. son of Ukrainian immigrants in Pennsylvania’s coal country. Steranko BY Sam Stone

shared his hardscrabble upbringing in a small home that only had tar paper DEN OF GEEK

58 HOLIDAY CON

PHOTO CREDITS: NICK MORGULIS

ENERGY

Michael Raphael, Mike'd Up host and owner of Spineworks NYC, interviews comics legend Jim Steranko before a capacity crowd at Big Apple Con.

for a roof. With his mother teaching him how to read through cheap comic books available at the time, Steranko proudly declared that comics “are in my blood” and have been from an early age. As Steranko became a working professional in New York City in the ’60s, he decided to create his own original comic book character, reflecting the spy craze in movies and television, spurred by the success of James Bond. Dubbing his creation Agent X, Steranko was encouraged to pitch his work to the major comic book publishers of the era by his personal hero and mentor, Joe Simon, co-creator of Captain America. This led Steranko to schedule a number of pitch meetings throughout Manhattan on one fateful day that changed his career forever, including his then-fledgling role in the industry. Dissatisfied with the reactions he

got from his first meetings, Steranko ended his marathon day by going to Marvel Comics’ offices, where he managed to get in one last meeting with Stan Lee. Noting that the artwork that Steranko pitched with was crude, Lee explained that “it has energy, and I can sell energy,” encouraging him to pick which of Marvel’s current titles he wanted to take on the helm. Knowing that trying to follow comic book auteur Jack Kirby on any of his titles would be “suicide,” Steranko decided to take the reins of Strange Tales, which had a recurring feature starring secret agent Nick Fury. Feeling he couldn’t do worse than Fury’s current stories, involving him taking on fantasy villains at the time, Steranko repositioned the title to be a stylish espionage series; it became an overnight success. Steranko went DEN OF GEEK

59 HOLIDAY CON

OR’S COL L EC T DIGE S T on afterward to write and illustrate other celebrated works, including providing concept art for Raiders of the Lost Ark. As the spotlight panel came to a close, Steranko announced his plans to create the long-awaited third volume of The Steranko History of Comics. Steranko then received his award, with Carbonaro also receiving an award at the panel for his work in organizing Big Apple Comic Con and being a longstanding vanguard of the comic book industry. The panel was followed by an eBay Live auction with proceeds of Jim’s signed work going to the Book Industry Charitable Foundation (BINC), a nonprofit organization supporting independent bookstores and comic book shops in times of unexpected financial need. Hosted by Carbonaro and Raphael, the three freshly signed Steranko items from Big Apple Comic Con were provided as part of Den of Geek and BINC’s yearlong charity initiative: an autographed limited print of Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., an autographed print of the wraparound cover to The Steranko History of Comics II, and a vintage 1975 Star Trek event poster illustrated and signed by Steranko. All three items sold in what quickly became a record-breaking auction and a continued testament to Steranko’s long-lasting comic book legacy.

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COLLECTIBLE

CARDS FEATURING THE 'LOOK AT HOW COOL THIS ART IS’ KIND AND THE 'LOOK AT HOW COOL THIS ART IS, ALSO IT’S A GAME’ KIND. BY Jim Dandeneau

PokEmOn PHAntasmal FlAMEs ElitE TRaiNer BOx

Phantasmal Flames has only been on shelves for a short time, but it’s already flying out the door, and these boxes easily show why. They have nine booster packs, a shiny foil Charcadet, a fancy box and sleeves for your cards, and lots of exciting art and new gameplay. This is a great high-end gift for a Pokémon player who also has a taste for collecting.

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60 HOLIDAY CON

Star WARS UnlimITed GIft BoX

Star Wars Unlimited is a game with a bit of a learning curve. But the characters, settings, and cards in the game help guide you through it in a straightforward way. Also, if you are a Star Wars fan, chances are pretty good that someone in your life already plays this and can help walk you through it. Especially when you have a gift box like this that is pretty close to pick up and play you get an oversized leader card, two variant cards, and eight booster packs to build from. This is very affordable at $35, an easy pick for the Star Wars fans in your life.

A Booster Box of Magic: The Gathering Tarkir: Dragonstorm Packs

Booster boxes are usually on the pricey side, but with good reason. Each box of Magic play boosters comes with 30 packs. That’s 420 cards. Most of them are going to be chaff, but there’s one really great way to make that chaff playable: drafts. You and seven friends (or three, if you want to do a Pick Two draft) sit at a table with three packs each. Everyone opens pack one, picks the best card, and passes their cards to the person on the left, and that continues until the cards are gone. Then you build a deck out of what you pulled and play against the rest of the group. Tarkir: Dragonstorm was the best set from 2025 to draft. It’s expensive at $110, but worth it.

OR’S COL L EC T DIGE S T An Original Lorwyn Thoughtseize

Magic’s next set in 2026 returns to Lorwyn, a plane full of fun fantasy nonsense—elementals, elves, and faeries, where the sun never sets and it’s always spring. So, naturally, the iconic card from the set is a painting of a faerie crawling in an elf’s ear. There are a million reasons why this card is an iconic Magic card besides the art, and each of those million reasons is also an argument for an original Lorwyn version holding its value when it’s inevitably reprinted on Magic’s return to the plane. Bottom line is, for $12, you can have a little piece of history and a supremely playable card.

Magic The Gathering: Final Fantasy Scene Boxes

Do you love the art on Magic: The Gathering cards and wish you could fit them together to form a whole scene? Then these Scene Boxes are just perfect for you. Every time there’s a Magic crossover, we get a fresh batch of these, and they look great. The latest round of Final Fantasy cards includes key scenes from four of the games (I, VIII, IX, and XV), with mechanically unique cards and great art. And at $42 MSRP, they’re very reasonably priced for a friend gift. Or for an office white elephant gift exchange that you want to end up taking home yourself…

Disney’s Lorcana: Elsa Gift Box This Elsa Gift Box has “new player” written all over it.

Disney’s Lorcana is one of the most beginner-friendly trading card games out there, with deep gameplay but a very straightforward onramp for new players. So what better way to help guide someone to the world of card games than by giving them this box, which comes with a sparkly Elsa card, five packs, and a deckbox to protect all your new cards? For under $25, this gift goes a very long way.

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** COLLECTIBLE CARDS CONTINUED **

Street Fighter Wall Art

Any gaming lair needs wall art to mark the territory, and there are posters and other wall hangings to help set the mood. From vintage ’90s gaming posters that helped advertise big launches to custom and modern pieces celebrating classic properties, there is gaming wall art of all shapes and sizes to deck out a gaming den. We’re big Street Fighter fans, so Street Fighter arcade posters, are the perfect decorations for any hangout area.

Magic: The Gathering: Avatar the Last Airbender Beginner Box

Beginner Boxes are a relatively new Magic product that lay out, step-bystep, card-by-card, how the game works. But what makes these Beginner Boxes really great is how thorough they are about the experience. You get spindown dice, you get packs to crack, you even get mats to use. And this goes extra for the Avatar set. It’s a joy to play, with gorgeous art, fun cards and a level of craft and love of the source material that shines through on every level. The box is priced at $34.99, but because the packs are jumpstart, there’s a good chance that you’ll open more in value than that.

Skybox Metal Universe Batman of Zur-en-Arrh

When we talked to Upper Deck about this set in the spring, it refused to give us any details about who or what might be in it. So we didn’t know there would be a 1/1 special foil card for Batman’s emergency backup personality, the Batman of Zur-En-Arrh. Believe it or not, $10,000 for a 1/1 isn’t that ridiculous, so if you’ve got ten large and you are a Batman fan—you should grab this.

NES Classic

A Complete Set of the 1995 Fleer Ultra X-Men Cards

Let’s be 100 percent real here: these cards rule. They often get swept up in derisive criticism of ’90s comics’ excess, but they’re just great. Bright, colorful art from artists at the peak of their game, and characters from an utterly bonkers era of X-Men comics mean you’re going to get some wild pulls in here, and you’ll probably love every one. Be prepared for Albert (the android clone of Wolverine) to become your new cherished possession—$60 is dirt cheap. DEN OF GEEK

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2025 marks the 40th anniversary of the Nintendo Entertainment System, the North American version of Nintendo’s enormously successful Famicom. What better way to celebrate this milestone occasion than to sit down and revisit your favorite 8-bit NES titles over hot cocoa? The NES Classic, providing a smaller version of the console with modern video outputs and a selection of pre-loaded fan-favorite games, is available on eBay without that dreaded price-gouging.

RETRO

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GAminG

CHECK OUT THESE VINTAGE, PRE-LOVED FINDS FROM YOUR FAVORITE FRANCHISES. BY Sam Stone

Yarn Yoshi Amiibo

One of the biggest successes during Nintendo’s divisive Wii U era was the introduction of Amiibo NFC figurines. Detailed miniatures based on Nintendo’s biggest games, the Amiibo interfaced in unique ways with games like Super Smash Bros. and The Legend of Zelda. However, the Amiibo that stands above the rest are the Yarn Yoshi, coming in a variety of colors and primed to interact with your favorite games.

Space Invaders on Atari

Atari has seen something of a resurgence lately, from releasing a cool wave of apparel to producing newer models of classic consoles that interface easily with modern televisions. These revamped consoles play all the classic Atari 2600 and 7800 cartridges which are abundantly found on eBay. While there are thousands of games available, we’re particular fans of Space Invaders.

Nintendo Power Back Issues

Here at Den of Geek, we obviously love print media, and that includes the gaming magazines that proliferated the scene in the ’90s. Before the internet, these mags contained all the tips and tricks, sneak peeks and developer interviews that players craved to get the edge on their favorite games. Nintendo Power is arguably the most recognizable, with each issue providing a fun throwback look at classic Nintendo games. Fans should also consider back issues of GamePro, Electronic Gaming Monthly, and Game Informer.

A Sony PVM CRT

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As much as we love our modern OLED displays, the best way to play older games is still on a CRT for the full retro experience. Given their decades of industry dominance, there is no shortage of CRT sets available that can be configured to interface with classic video game consoles. If you’re looking for the best CRTs for the purposes of retro gaming, we recommend the Sony PVM series as solid after-market models, prime to hook up classic consoles to.

HOLY RECORD, BATMAN!

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A RARE 1940 BATMAN #1 BECAME OUR HIGHEST-PRICED COmIC EVER SOLD ON EBAY LIVE AT BIG APPLE CON IN NEW YORK. BY Darcie Zudell

the Big Apple Comic Con with the sale of one of the most impactful comic books ever published. During a live recording of Crash Media Partners' Mike’d Up pop culture show, which was streamed on eBay Live in partnership with Den of Geek, a copy of Batman #1 from 1940 was sold at auction for $54,000, making it the most valuable comic sold via Den of Geek’s shop on the eBay Live platform. The lucky bidder to walk away with the rare comic was Ramon Llana, who wasn’t exactly a seasoned auction regular. In fact, he’d only been to one other in-person comic book auction before. But with his eyes set on Batman #1 and attending a convention dedicated to comics, Llana traveled all the way from Miami for Big Apple Con. “When I turned 18, I started getting into comic books during college,” Llana says. “I had no idea about the history of comic books, so it took me a long time to learn everything. I went back to books from the ’90s and ’80s, but then I found books from the ’60s, ’50s, and ’40s that really piqued my interest because they're the hardest ones to find, and you can't replace them.” 1940’s Batman #1 is one of the most important comic books ever published. While 1939’s Detective Comics #27 is the first appearance of the Dark Knight, it wasn’t until the following year that the character

broke out into his own title, making him one of the first comic book characters of the era to support his own book. Batman #1 also features the first appearances of both the Joker and Catwoman, as well as an iconic cover featuring the Caped Crusader and Robin. Right now, Llana is focused on collecting Golden Age comic books, so Batman #1 fits perfectly into his collection, right alongside Captain America #1, which he acquired from a collector in California. Other historic books that sold at auction, hosted by Big Apple Con founder Mike Carbonaro and Michael Raphael, owner of Spineworks NYC, included a copy of 1963’s Amazing Spider-Man #1 ($8,750) and rare, high grade copies of The Incredible Hulk #181, featuring the first appearance of Wolverine ($3,800), Iron Fist #14, featuring the first appearance of Sabertooth ($485), and the first appearance of Deadpool in New Mutants #98 ($375). The items were curated by Carbonaro and Crash Media Partners' Scott Mauriello and Chris Parente. The auction began with four charity items, including pieces

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Mike'd Up hosts Mike Carbonaro and Michael Raphael show off the recordbreaking Batman #1.

signed by comics legend Jim Steranko, benefiting the BINC Foundation, a charitable organization dedicated to helping bookstore and comic shop employees and owners with unforeseen emergency financial, medical, and mental health service needs. Carbonaro organized the very first Big Apple Con back in 1996. Llana previously met Carbonaro years earlier when he was just beginning his collecting journey. Carbonaro had given him a signed price guide, which was an unexpected gesture that helped him start his collection. Seeing Llana walk away with such a historic book made the sale all the more meaningful for the veteran convention organizer. “It was great,” Carbonaro says. “Anytime you can sell a comic book for more than 10 cents, it’s a good day.”

PHOTO CREDITS: NICK MORGULIS

History was made at

THE ILLUSTRATED WORD Gallery

opening SOON NYC!