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The 8 Scariest Levels of the BACKROOMS
- While the movie is a big hit, the Backrooms creepypasta has many levels that are even more terrifying. Here are the 8 scariest.
The Backrooms movie is out in the world and it’s a bonafide hit, raking in $262.3 million at the global box office at the time of this writing. That makes it the highest-grossing A24 movie of all time, a feat it achieved on its second weekend in theatres. This isn’t a totally shocking thing if you followed any of the early talk about the film’s potential, and even less so if you were aware of the massive popularity of the Backrooms internet lore.
Young people have Backrooms fever and have had it for a while. Since 2019, to be exact, when the eerie image that originated the phenomenon appeared on 4chan.
The photo, which shows a seemingly innocuous room that looks like it exists in a liminal space, captured the attention of other 4chan users who shared their own unsettling pics. One user responded with the following, which includes the first mention of the name Backrooms:
“If you’re not careful and you noclip out of reality in the wrong areas, you’ll end up in the Backrooms, where it’s nothing but the stink of old moist carpet, the madness of mono-yellow, the endless background noise of fluorescent lights at maximum hum-buzz, and approximately six hundred million square miles of randomly segmented empty rooms to be trapped in. God save you if you hear something wandering around nearby, because it sure as hell has heard you.”
Though the photo was later identified as a room from a HobbyTown USA store in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, the lore was already established. The Backrooms became a creepypasta legend that inspired young filmmaker Kane Parsons to create a series of YouTube shorts that eventually became the feature film.
A24While the film somewhat departs from lore established in the creepypasta fandom, it didn’t stop said fandom from continuing to build their own digital Backrooms. This includes a series of “levels”, video-game style, that are part of the intricate and interconnected layers of the Backrooms. These levels are somewhat of a group project, with wikis dedicated to each one which fans regularly expand. Many contain monsters known as “entities”, which gives the project a Lovecraftian feel.
Even though the movie doesn’t really get into the level aspect of the Backrooms, it’s still one of the more fascinating and frightening elements of the whole thing. Here are eight of the freakiest levels from Backrooms lore, with the added caveat that said lore is sometimes different depending on what site or internet community you’re reading. For the sake of ease, I’m sticking to the most popular descriptions of each level, taken mostly from the main Backrooms wiki.
The BrokenLet’s start with one of the more fascinating levels, The Broken. This isn’t a standard level because it technically exists outside of the Backrooms. This kaleidoscopic realm’s description calls it a “fragmented, corrupted expanse” on the wiki, kind of a garbage dump for corrupted levels that now exist collectively in one space. But the space makes no real sense, containing “pieces” of these deleted levels (broken buildings, hallways that bleed into themselves). If you make contact with any of the surfaces, they suddenly turn into horrific caricatures of themselves that pulsate heat.
Believed by some to be the energy source of the Backrooms, it’s perhaps the most incomprehensible non-level level. And that’s exactly what makes it so scary. Imagine colors that look right out of TV static and other nonsensical patterns and dimensionality, and you might be able to picture the Broken. But probably not. What’s more eerie than a space that’s so conceptual you struggle to even describe it?
TH3 SH4DY GR3YAnother conceptual nightmare (which is saying something for a place that exists within a liminal space), TH3 SH4DY GR3Y is also not a traditional level but a cluster of environments totally drained of color, and only existing in shades and shadows. Similar to the Broken, it appears almost like corrupted files, with glitchy forests that grow more surreal as you wander through. The abstract void of it all makes this another level horrifying in its intangibility.
Welcome to HellOne of the levels that comes up a lot in online discussions about the scariest Backroom locations is Welcome to Hell, which is appropriately also level 666 (most levels have numbers associated with them). This one is scary because it’s almost entirely psychological, designed to make anyone who enters go insane. It appears as a network of blood-red rooms lit with a harsh red glow, and manipulates perception the deeper you go. This leads to paranoia and hallucinations, as well as a growing feeling of hopelessness. Essentially the mental health subsection of the Backrooms, it also feels similar to one of the Circles of Hell in Dante’s Inferno.
Level FunProbably the scariest level to me personally, don’t let the title fool you. Unless you’re unbothered by terrifying clowns and other childhood birthday party ephemera. An endless series of hallways and rooms covered in murals of bright cartoon characters that seem innocent enough at first pass until you realize the faces have a sinister element. The Partygoers you might run into, the level’s entities who look like children, also have frightening faces and unsettling vibes. The air is humid and there’s a faint odor that gets worse the farther along you go.
You’ll also find bouncy houses and trampoline parks and messages on the wall attempting to lure you deeper into Level Fun. No thanks! There is already something uncomfortable about the standard childhood birthday parties of youth, with all of the balloons and bright colors. This one also feels somewhat connected to the HobbyTown location in the original photo.
The Island of the VoidIf you fear isolation, this level might be especially triggering to you. Level 999, this one is a floating island within a space-like void. Though it slightly resembles a tropical island in shape and fauna, everything presents in greyscale, you arrive into an endless night with no stars or moon in the sky, and no indication of what exists beyond the shore. Basically, in Level 999, you are totally isolated on a small patch of land surrounded by nothingness, with no hope of escape. Eek and also yikes.
Run for Your LifeAnother one that’s so simple in construct it seems almost normal—until you really start thinking about how absolutely horrific it would be. Also known as Level !, Run for Your Life is very well-known in Backrooms lore. It’s essentially one long, never-ending hallway illuminated by flashing red lights and blaring alarms. There’s no time to adjust to this level. As soon as you enter, fast entities immediately chase you, and you have no choice but to run. This level resembles an abandoned hospital which adds to the uncomfortable feeling. It sounds like an actual nightmare you might have, running forever, chased by monsters intending to kill you, with no real hope of escape.
Cave SystemA somewhat self-explanatory one based on the name, this level is all about being caught in an endless underground cave system. If you’ve seen the movie The Descent and it scared you like it did me, then this is another truly nightmarish realm of the Backrooms. In this one, there are rocky heights and deep burrows, which get increasingly claustrophobic as you navigate them. There are giant spiders and large deadly moths that flock to light. It isn’t a good idea to carry a flashlight through this level, despite the darkness. Flimsy, broken bridges and abandoned settlements dot the Cave System and there are no known exits. Just another reason to never even toy with the idea of stepping into the Backrooms.
Lights OutI imagine this one will be the freakiest to many and for very good reason. It’s similar to Level 0, the “lobby” of the Backrooms from the original photo, only here the lights are off. In fact, you can’t see anything in this level—it’s entirely dark. It’s also entirely silent and contains no entities, which may sound like a relief, but remember: you have to navigate this one in absolute darkness, with nothing to guide you. The walls are cold and smooth like concrete and as a result of the silence, many who enter experience auditory hallucinations. As someone who has to sleep with a nightlight even as a very grown adult, I don’t even like thinking about this one!
These are just a few of the many, many horrifying levels in Backrooms lore. If you’re interested in learning about others, check out the Levels List on the Backrooms wiki—if you dare.
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Terror Comes to Starfleet in STAR TREK: HOLO-WEEN II (Exclusive)
- Halloween returns to the Final Frontier in IDW’s new Star Trek: Holo-Ween II, which takes the terror off the Enterprise and to Deep Space Nine.
We may be in the early part of summer, but that just means we’re that much closer to spooky season. And the folks at IDW Entertainment already have your Halloween comic books ready to go to Warp 10, once again taking place in haunted corners of the Final Frontier. Last time, the terrors stalked the corridors of Captain Picard’s starship Enterprise. This time, the haunted Halloween happenings are taking place on the station Deep Space Nine, in Star Trek: Holo-Ween II.
IDW EntertainmentStar Trek only really ever had one notable Halloween episode, back in 1967. But now IDW is giving us the DS9 Halloween episode we always wanted, but never got, with Holo-Ween II. This follows up on the first 2023 Holo-Ween series, which focused on the crew of The Next Generation. This mini-series arrives every week in October, written by Alex Segura, with art by Bailie Rosenlund.
Alex Segura shares of the exciting Halloween and Star Trek crossover:
Writing Star Trek has been on my bucket list for as long as I’ve been a writer – probably even longer! I remember my well-worn copies of classic Trek novels lining my shelves alongside stacks of Star Trek comics. Getting to weave a tale of the final frontier aboard Deep Space 9, with one of my favorite characters, Jadzia Dax, front and center? To call that a dream come true would be an understatement. I’m so lucky to be working with an amazing team – and Bailie’s refreshing art will help guide readers through a winding supernatural mystery that will hopefully keep them guessing – and turning the pages! Whatever you do, don’t step into the holosuite alone!
And if that doesn’t get you excited, we don’t know what will. There’s nothing we love more than a true fan writing for a series they love. Plus Halloween?! Our dream. You can read the synopsis for all four eerie issues, as well as check out the covers for each one, down below:
Star Trek: Holo-Ween II #1A Halloween mystery unfolds on Deep Space 9! On the eve of a high-stakes diplomatic summit, Deep Space 9 is thrown into chaos by a sudden communications blackout and a string of deeply unsettling incidents. With senior leadership called away, Worf, Dax, Odo, and Bashir must hold the station together as tensions rise among visiting dignitaries.
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Then, a distressed starship arrives with explosive claims—and one member of the DS9 crew stands accused of murder. As suspicion spreads and paranoia takes hold, a creeping sense of dread settles over the Promenade. And somewhere inside the station’s holosuites, something has gone terrifyingly wrong… A locked-station thriller begins here.
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The Halloween event continues—and the danger deepens. Deep Space 9 remains on edge as unexplained incidents multiply and trust continues to fracture. With conflicting testimonies, missing personnel, and diplomatic tensions nearing a boiling point, station security faces a mystery that refuses to add up. While suspicions mount and the clock ticks toward disaster, a growing sense of unease suggests the truth may be far stranger—and far closer—than anyone suspects.
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Part three of our Halloween event! A dire, garbled warning breaks through from Benjamin Sisko. He’s identified the suspects, and they’re extremely dangerous. Then the signal dies. With communications severed and panic spreading, Worf and Odo move fast to protect the civilians and visiting dignitaries, sealing off the station and turning Deep Space 9 into a high-stakes locked-room mystery. But just as order seems within reach, a chilling realization hits. Bashir and Dax are missing…and no one knows where they’ve gone.
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The terrifying finale of the Halloween event! Time has run out. Lives hang in the balance. And the nightmare consuming Deep Space 9 is finally ready to show its face. Cut off, outmatched, and pushed to their limits, the crew must confront the true force behind the chaos before the station—and everyone on it—pays the ultimate price. Shattering revelations ignite desperate gambits, fragile alliances strain to breaking, and survival demands impossible choices. Enter a final confrontation where horror meets heroism, morality is put on trial, and the fate of countless lives turns on a single perilous moment.
When Does IDW’s Star Trek: Holo-Ween II Release?The first issue of IDW’s Star Trek: Holo-Ween II goes on sale October 7. This will be a 4-issue weekly Halloween event. Pre-orders for all 4 issues are due by 8/31/26.
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Peter Capaldi Says DOCTOR WHO Has Too Many Regenerations
One of the primary tenets of Doctor Who that has kept the show alive for decades is regeneration. The Doctor’s ability to heal from what would be a fatal injury to humans and transform every cell into a form that’s totally different is incredibly cool. And, it has allowed a plethora of people to play the Doctor over the years. In more recent times, Doctor Who even created the concept of a bi-generation with Fourteen and Fifteen splitting from each other. But, if you ask Twelfth Doctor actor Peter Capaldi, Doctor Who does too many regenerations.
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Why DOCTOR WHO and Its Fandom Need This HiatusCapaldi made an appearance on the YouTube series 100 Questions with John Simmons, and spoke about this time on the show. He noted that it felt like it was time to leave the TARDIS because Jenna Coleman (Clara Oswald) had already left and showrunner Steven Moffat was leaving. When he spoke about Twelve’s regeneration into the Thirteenth Doctor, played by Jodie Whittaker, Capaldi said it was “very sad,” and gave his opinion on regenerations, saying that the concept has become diminished over the years.
“I love all the Doctors, but I’ve lost count now of how many of them there are, so the weight of this kind of regeneration is diminished. Whereas when I grew up as a kid, the first time it happened it was: ‘What just happened there?’ It was mysterious and strange. It holds the mystery of the show, the regeneration.”
BBCWell, he does have a point to a degree. It makes the danger that the Doctor is in feel less perilous because 1) they can regenerate and 2) we usually know in advance when an actor is leaving the role. There hasn’t been a surprise regeneration aside from the sorta fakeout one that we had when the Tenth Doctor used his severed hand to maintain his form. That’s totally different from Capaldi’s childhood experience with Doctor Who when no one knew when a regeneration would happen.
And, with Doctors not spending as much time in the role, it feels like a regeneration happens far too often and they have indeed lost their poignant punch over the years. But, without regenerations, we wouldn’t continue to have a show anymore, so they are necessary.
Hopefully, when Doctor Who returns in the distant future, there will be an actor who sticks around for a while. And maybe we will get a regeneration that surprises us in a big way without bringing back a familiar face for nostalgia bait.
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HOUSE OF THE DRAGON’s Addam, Ulf, and Hugh Talk Season 3 and Their Silly Spinoff Idea
- House of the Dragon stars Clinton Liberty, Kieran Bew, and Tom Bennett on what it’s like to be lowborn dragonriders and a silly spinoff idea.
House of the Dragon‘s second season gave us three new dragonriders. During the Red Sowing Targaryen bastards Ulf the White claimed Silverwing and Hugh Hammer claimed Vermithor. Meanwhile, in a dragon/rider role reversal, Seasmoke claimed Velaryon bastard Addam of Hull. The three men are very different, yet all have something very important in common. They are all baseborn denizens of Westeros who became some of the most powerful people in the world.
What does that mean for the three of them—both their characters and them as actors—going into season three? We found out when Nerdist took part in a virtual media roundtable with stars Clinton Liberty, Kieran Bew, and Tom Bennett ahead of the show’s HBO return, which will see them spending a whole lot of time together.
Turns out these three have more in common than just playing bastards who became dragonriders. They’re also very silly.
HBOOn how their lowborn backgrounds clash with the highborn members of House Targaryen.
Kieran Bew: I’ve always known I am directly connected to the family. [Hugh’s] mom was Daemon’s aunt and I’ve been keeping that a secret. I’ve always known that I was an illegitimate and secret cast out member. And he’s denied it as well. So actually admitting it to his wife and using that as a reason to go and fulfill this task is a strange shift for him given that he’s rejected it for most of his life.
Unfortunately, that means that Targaryen madness is waking up in someone who’s really been suppressing it. So for me as an actor, that’s really exciting because there’s an unpredictability to it. It’s quite fertile ground. There’s a lot there because the book exists, the script exists, the characters exist, and the Targaryenss are really fun. They’re f***ing mad, but they’re really fun.
Tom Bennett: Ulf comes from nothing. He is the lowest of the low, and he has told this story for 30 odd years that he’s part Targaryen. We’ve discussed, “Does he believe it? Did he ever believe it?” Until it actually comes true and it’s, “Oh shit, I’ve got a dragon. All of this, it was all true. Oh, right. Now it’s true.” Now it all suddenly gets a bit scary, rocky ground and uneven footing. He comes from nothing and now is one of the most powerful people on the planet. It’s a real shift and a real dynamic, certainly for someone with a chip on their shoulder.
Clinton Liberty: All of us coming from being commoners and coming from a normal background, we all want different things. But there’s conflict there because Addam’s trying to prove himself to the Queen and his family, but Ulf is after something different. Addam knows that we all need each other in order to increase our likelihood of survival. And then [Hugh] is kind of cool, laid back. You don’t really know what he’s after. You can’t quite read him, but all want something coming from a common background. It’s kind of trying to get at the same mission of pleasing the Queen and the royalty, but also getting what we all want in to be cohesive.
HBOBennett: And we are the only three people in the world that have come from any of our positions.
Liberty: Exactly.
Bennett: The Targaryens as a clan have been raised to speak High Valyrian and ride dragons. We haven’t. So we’re the only three humans on the planet that have shared this experience. That shared experience does make us a little bit of a team or a dysfunctional family, all of whom are trying to work each other out and work out the lay of the land, which is brilliant. So much fun for us to play with.
On what a potential spinoff focusing only on their adventures would look like.
Liberty: Funny.
Bennett: I’ve discussed this with Ryan [Condal, the showrunner]. He tends to walk away when I try and discuss it, but I think there is a lot to be said in a lighter, half hour sitcom filmed in front of a live studio. We don’t do the dragons because they’re expensive. So actually we can make it quite cheaply and it’ll be lighthearted. It’d be a bit of fun. We visit a different town or village. We solve a problem or kill a monster in every town or village. Villain of the week stuff.
Bew: Exactly.
Bennett: Filmed in front of a live studio audience. But Ryan walks away when I mentioned that.
Liberty: And with a budget enough to only have one shot of Vermithor or Silverwing and then that was it.
HBOBew: We were talking about the dragon training about how funny that would be to watch us all mess up dragon training and mispronounce all the words and the dragons are doing different things. So dragon bootcamp would be fun. But also the idea that [the royals] treat us really badly and we all have to sleep in the same room on bunk beds.
Bennett: We should all be in a triple bunker.
Bew: Because [the Targaryens] treat us like sh*t.
Liberty: And also learning how to speak High Valyrian.
Bennett: Yeah, because my accent… I can’t speak High Valyrian.
Bew: But your thing about the detective, the sort of story of a week detective thing, that’s quite funny.
Bennett: Ryan doesn’t seem interested in it.
At this point the conversation moved on to bemoaning the fact the title How to Train Your Dragon is already claimed, but the trio landed on “How To Train Your Dragonriders” as a possible name for their spinoff.
Ollie Upton/HBOOn what it was like as performers to return to the show knowing they now have an elevated position within the story?
Bew: It’s really exciting.
Bennett: Exciting.
Bew: Except we’re still bound within the confines of whatever they want us to do, the aristocracy. But it’s incredibly exciting coming in knowing that there has been a time shift. We have learned to ride the dragons and we’ve done some skirmish as missions and whatnot and that time has moved on. We get new costumes for a start, which is amazing, always fun to come in with new threads. But yeah, it’s really,
HBOBennett: And coming back for a new season, there is less of a degree of it’s your first day at school. Like, “Oh yeah, we’ve been to school here for a year. We know the lay of the land a bit. We’ve been given a bit more power. We get to fly dragons.” It’s such a nice place to work and be and get to play and just knowing that we got to do it again and knowing that we get to do it again is, for me, magical.
Liberty: Also just in season two, feeling like because we were like the new kid on the block, having to kind of prove yourself because season one was already established and it was a massive hit and then you’re coming in. But then in season three, feeling more established and more part of the family, it’s just exciting and you just get to enjoy it a lot more.
For me, I was a lot more grounded this season because last season I was so nervous. I wanted to do as best a job I could, but this season it was really fun and it’s always, always a pleasure. And all jokes aside, Kieran and Tom, I learned so much from them. I talk to them all the time, especially when we’re in between takes or we’re just chilling in our trailers. They’re just absolute dreams to work with. So I’m extremely grateful that I get to come back to work with them specifically as well.
HBOBennett: Knowing we get to do it all together again as a threesome, it’s great because we all get on so well because we have to spend a lot of time with each other. Unlike the
Liberty: Unlike the characters, we really love each other.
Bew: It’s funny, though, because I think the frustrations of the characters within what they’re allowed to do and not do is the same for us because we would like to just go for a big ride on the dragons. When you get off the book, when we’ve done the work, you’re like, “Really? Can we not just keep going? Do it tomorrow?”
Liberty: Or just stealing the buggy and going to different sets that you’re not even a part of. It’s like you can’t even do that.
Bennett: Because they really tell you off. “Where’s your pass?”
Liberty: I’m a dragonrider!
Bennett: I’m dressed like an idiot. Why do I need a pass?
The post HOUSE OF THE DRAGON’s Addam, Ulf, and Hugh Talk Season 3 and Their Silly Spinoff Idea appeared first on Nerdist.
Rolin Jones Teases ‘Devastating Scene’ From Later Books in Louis’ THE VAMPIRE LESTAT Arc
- The Vampire Lestat showrunner Rolin Jones teases a “devastating scene” from later Anne Rice books in Louis’ arc this season.
- Jones notes that Louis and Lestat are on “parallel journeys.” And Jacob Anderson shares he’s happy with Louis’ arc.
- We can’t begin to say which scene is involved, but we’re sure it will hurt.
Much to the chagrin of fans throughout the ages, after telling his story in Interview with the Vampire, Louis de Pointe du Lac barely appears in Anne Rice’s second novel, The Vampire Lestat. But this was an especially great area of concern for fans of AMC’s adaptation of the series, returning to our screens as The Vampire Lestat in season three. In seasons one and two of Interview with the Vampire, we had all come to adore Jacob Anderson’s rendition of the complex and tragic Louis de Pointe du Lac—and we were not ready to lose him to the narrative. Happily, neither was showrunner, Rolin Jones. When Nerdist asked about finding the right arc for Louis in AMC’s The Vampire Lestat, Jones gave us a juicy tease. Here’s what he had to say.
“Always go to Anne.” Rolin Jones wisely noted as he began his discussion of the shifting narratives for Louis in The Vampire Lestat. “And there was a very, very devastating scene in one of the books later on. Said, ‘Okay, that’s an interesting place to drive.’ We also had some things that lingered from season two, and in the writer’s room, we thought they didn’t get quite there, or there was still more to uncover. And probably somewhere in working on that, we saw how that would actually bring Lestat and Louis together on a parallel journey. So it’s one of those wonderful times in the way we’re adapting this, where we took a book from the future, grabbed it, and used it for the here and now.”
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THE VAMPIRE LESTAT Is Unlike Anything Else on TV (Review)Anderson adds about bringing more Louis into The Vampire Lestat, “Yeah, I fought them on it. I’m not going to lie. But I think that my own personal sense of wanting things to be sort of clean and neat had to be challenged, and it really was. And I think it’s very satisfying. I’m happy with Louis’ arc.”
AMCOf course, both Jones and Anderson laugh together over this and note they were not really fighting about Louis’ journey in The Vampire Lestat, but merely collaborating on their visions of the story to push the series to its greatest heights as a team. And that’s the kind of meeting of the minds we’re excited to see the results of.
Now, what is this “devastating scene” from later Anne Rice books that gets pulled into The Vampire Lestat as a part of Louis’ arc? Of course, we will have to leave you to speculate on that one. But rest assured, when a scene from The Vampire Lestat gets called out as specifically devastating, as opposed to just garden-variety upsetting, angsty, and intense, well… it must be major.
The Vampire Lestat (or season three of Interview with the Vampire) is currently streaming on AMC and AMC+. New episodes arrive Sundays at 9 pm PT/ET on AMC and at midnight on AMC+. You can also read Anne Rice’s The Vampire Lestat book today.
Rotem Rusak is the Editor-in-Chief of Nerdist. She cannot take any more Interview with the Vampire/The Vampire Lestat devastation for Louis, Lestat, or anyone else.
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HOUSE OF THE DRAGON’s Matthew Needham & Tom Glynn-Carney on Larys and Aegon’s Partnership
- House of the Dragon stars Matthew Needham and Tom Glynn-Carney talk about Larys and Aegon’s partnership.
House of the Dragon‘s second season produced an unlikely partnership. Larys “The Clubfoot” Strong found a kindred spirit in Aegon Targaryen after his brother Aemond bathed the King in dragonflame. Larys then helped Aegon escape a second attempt on his life by his brother, Aemond. The two fled King’s Landing for parts unknown. What will that mean for both in season three? House of the Dragon stars Matthew Needham and Tom Glynn-Carney talked about that and a whole lot more during a virtual media roundtable Nerdist participated in recently.
HBOThe “most enticing thing to explore” about Larys and Aegon’s relationship and what this partnership taught each character.
Matthew Needham: For Larys it’s about being out of control. He’s used to machinations in court. And he’s used to controlling people in very not calm environments, but less hectic than this. Suddenly he’s in the wilderness with a crazed, rage-fueled person he has to try and shepherd to safety. It’s a real test. His patience is tested. He’s an endlessly patient person, but it’s really stretched breaking point this season.
Tom Glynn-Carney: I feel for Aegon. He’s at a point in his life where everything he had, and had been accustomed to, has crumbled away. He’s starting again almost with a new physicality and a new way of approaching life. That is obviously anxiety inducing. I don’t think Aegon deals very well with that and lashes out. [He’s] a ball of untamable energy, with a lot of rage like Matt said. And working out how to navigate each other and essentially get the thing that we both want, which we have common ground on at least.
HBOWhat their characters’ dynamic would be if they were in a buddy-cop movie.
Needham: Sam and Frodo if they’re both amoral psychopaths? It’s a very twisted road trip, isn’t it? It’s these very dysfunctional people who can only actually learn to function with each other.
Glynn-Carney: Yeah. Can’t be with you, can’t be without.
Needham: But really they are. It’s so desperate. They are all that they have. There’s an antagonism to that at the beginning, but hopefully it becomes something later on. It sort of mellows into something different, let’s say that.
HBOOn whether they ever expected to be a part of season three considering both characters vanish from the written history at this point in the story and Game of Thrones’ itself sidelined Bran for an entire season.
Glynn-Carney: I didn’t think of it like that. I’ve always seen such potential in Larys and Aegon’s relationship and their journey together. It would’ve been a waste to not focus on that, even though they’re away doing their own thing. Also, it expands the world a bit more. It pushes people out of King’s Landing to other more recognizable places like Dragonstone and Harrenhal. We really do expand the world of it through our plotline this year.
Needham: Although it would be so funny to just turn up in episode four with tans.
Glynn-Carney: Beautiful tans. Ripped.
HBOOn whether or not they liked being off on their own side quest in season three.
Needham: I liked being off on our weird little rookery adventure. I had a lot of King’s Landing in the previous season, so it was nice to just get out and get feathery. It was good fun.
Glynn-Carney: It was nice to have some fresh air. We were stuck in those studios for a good couple of years. So it was nice to get out and see some daylight.
Needham: Although hour four inside that wagon—
Glynn-Carney: The wagon days were tough. Those ravens were vicious as well. Those days were tough.
HBOWhat was it like for Glynn-Carney to play a physically vulnerable Aegon.
Glynn-Carney: Very, very satisfying to lean into. The whole thing I’ve been trying to carve out with Aegon is to bring to light his fragility, his vulnerability, and his childlike nature. Not just play the villain. So now, having the physicality that lends itself to that vulnerability and fragility, helps the cause. Definitely.
But also, when you see someone in a vulnerable state like that, they’re in survival mode. They’re desperate, and there’s a way of behaving that is inherently childlike. And needing Larys there with him really, this love/hate situation going on. I found it really nice to lean into that aspect of Aegon this time.
If protecting Aegon is an ego boost for Larys.
Needham: Probably on some level. He wants control. He wants influence rather than power, but I think it’s more immediately dangerous than that. There’s more at stake. It really is, it’s life or death every minute and he is [Aegon’s] only hope and chance of survival. It’s more about preservation than ego at the moment, but I’m sure there’s a quality of it there.
HBOWhether Larys and Aegon see the humanity in each other or if this partnership is entirely a marriage of convenience for both.
Needham: Larys sees a lot of humanity and a lot of himself and his own pain he had as a child growing up in what Aegon is going through in the moment. He sees a lot of similarities in him. They’re both brothers who are overshadowed by their brother, don’t feel the love of their father. There’s a lot of similarities. It doesn’t mean it’s not convenient though, but I believe it’s sincere.
Glynn-Carney: I agree with Matt on that. It might start off as convenience and we later discover that, ”Oh, actually, no, it’s more than that.” There’s levels to it.
What it’s like as actors to play characters with this level of intimacy but who don’t always get along.
Needham: It’s really fun because you get to be on the receiving end of very explosive energy and you have to absorb it rather than giving it back in any sort of way. Which is a really lovely challenge to do. Larys grows to respect Aegon’s defiance and bravery and singleness. I just don’t think it’s a trait that [Larys] has in himself. He admires that.
HBOGlynn-Carney: Aegon has a growing respect for Larys throughout the season. Ebbs and flows. It’s not just a gradual gradient, but there’s a real respect for Larys’ determination and his kind of stop-at-nothing attitude to achieving what we are set out to achieve.
Matt described Larys before with a beautiful analogy as a rat that would chew his own arm off to get out of his confined area. And there’s an aspect of that that Aegon sees and just has a complete respect for and wants to be able to have that access.
It fuels Aegon’s motivation and the momentum that they eventually achieve.
On the conversations they had before the season about the dynamic shift between the two.
Needham: We didn’t go into huge detail. We talked about who was carrying the crown as being symbolic of where [Aegon’s] trust was in Larys. And there were times when it was given back and forth, because I don’t think it’s a steady mistrust or trust.
Glynn-Carney: That’s a little Easter egg for people, to be able to spot and go, “Oh, that’s how [Aegon] feels about Larys at this moment on this day.” It was so circumstantial, depending on the scene and depending on what had just happened and whether a character had been able to gain trust in the other. It just changed so much. But that’s what makes that relationship so dynamic and unpredictable and volatile, as well.
How Aegon feels about his family this season.
Glynn-Carney: Not supported, put it that way. His mom has basically fed him to the lions. His brother has tried to kill him. And his sister is in her own world of existence and got her own things to think about and deal with and she’s not really present. So he’s a lone wolf this time, which is why the relationship with Larys is so vital for him. It’s such an anchor, a grounding force. Without him he would either spiral out of control or fade away into nothing and just be a corpse on a hill somewhere. So they really do rely on each other.
The family thing really doesn’t play, at least into my mind. The only thing that I had in my back of my mind as playing this season was the hatred and the vengeance towards Aemond and wanting to give him a taste of his own medicine at some point.
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SPIDER-MAN’S Daily Bugle Building LEGO Set Lets You Swing Into Spidey’s World
- Spider-Man’s Daily Bugle is getting its very own giant LEGO set, and it comes with 25 minifigures to recreate your favorite Spidey moments.
Today’s top story: LEGO Hits Daily Bugle’s Front Page! The most memorable building in the entire Spider-Verse is available in stores. But this giant set won’t just be a good place to get pictures of Spider-Man. It will also let you play through some of the web-slinger’s most famous stories alongside iconic friends and foes. Check out LEGO Spider-Man‘s Daily Bugle Building set below.
LEGO
LEGO has released its massive new 3,772-piece Daily Bugle headquarters Spider-Man set. The “intricate” collectible is designed for grown-ups, partly because it will tower over kids. It measures 82 cm (about 2.8 feet) tall. And with all that room, there’s plenty of space to turn that memorable Marvel news hub into an entire week’s worth of stories.
The Spider-Man Daily Bugle set boasts three floors full of office furniture and equipment, along with a front street and the back alley. The whole set is also modular, so you can remove walls and floors to access the inside. There you’ll find plenty of famous characters and popular Spider-Man stories waiting to be recreated. That starts with the ground floor entrance. It can be “destroyed to look like an explosion has taken place.”
LEGO
Things get even more dangerous when you get inside the Daily Bugle. You might find the Green Goblin smashing Peter Parker’s office window on the second floor. Or Doctor Octopus clinging on the other side. And on the top level, fans will find both Betty Brant’s and J. Jonah Jameson’s offices. That’s where you’ll hear the most screaming. (Not because anyone is in danger. Just because you’ll be too busy playing with the set to get Mr. Jameson those pictures he’s demanding.)
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Kermy Meets Spidey in MUPPETS TAKE ON THE MARVEL UNIVERSEThe Spider-Man Daily Bugle LEGO set also comes with a whopping 25 minifigures. That includes five new exclusives: Blade, Jameson, Punisher, Black Cat, and Daredevil. Joining them are Fire Star, Blade, Doc Ock, Spider-Man, Betty Brant, Venom, Miles Morales, Spider-Ham, Green Goblin, Gwen Stacy, Carnage, Punisher, Peter Parker, Spider-Gwen, Robbie Robertson, Ben Urich, Mysterio, Daredevil, Sandman, and Aunt May. Along with a newspaper worker, a New York taxi driver, and a receptionist.
LEGO
A big set comes with a big price tag. You can get your LEGO Daily Bugle set today for $349.99. That’s pretty steep for a street-level hero. But for Spidey… He is one of our very favs. And if you get this set, you’re going to get all the Spider-Man you want.
Originally published on May 17, 2021.
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