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If physical AI is going to match the accomplishments of LLMs, there's a data problem that needs to be solved.

⚡ Quick Take

• 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.

HBO

On 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.

HBO

Bennett: 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.

HBO

Bew: 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/HBO

On 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,

HBO

Bennett: 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.

HBO

Bennett: 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.

⚡ Quick Take

• 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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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.”

AMC

Of 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.

This post has affiliate links, which means we may earn advertising money if you buy something. This doesn’t cost you anything extra, we just have to give you the heads up for legal reasons. Click away!

The post Rolin Jones Teases ‘Devastating Scene’ From Later Books in Louis’ THE VAMPIRE LESTAT Arc appeared first on Nerdist.

Pramaana will focus on highly sensitive verticals like law, drug discovery, and tax preparation — where errors can be costly and reliability is at a premium.

⚡ Quick Take

• 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.

HBO

The “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.

HBO

What 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.

HBO

On 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.

HBO

On 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.

HBO

What 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.

HBO

Whether 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.

HBO

Glynn-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.

The post HOUSE OF THE DRAGON’s Matthew Needham & Tom Glynn-Carney on Larys and Aegon’s Partnership appeared first on Nerdist.

⚡ Quick Take

• 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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The 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.

This post has affiliate links, which means we may earn advertising money if you buy something. This doesn’t cost you anything extra, we just have to give you the heads up for legal reasons. Click away!

The post SPIDER-MAN’S Daily Bugle Building LEGO Set Lets You Swing Into Spidey’s World appeared first on Nerdist.

Critical Energy is turning rocket engines into geothermal power plants, and it wants to build 300 GW per year by 2045.

The Canadian pension giant will acquire an 8.2% stake in CtrlS, a tech giant that operates more than 15 data centers across India.

With this acquisition, DeepL is opening an office in San Francisco to expand its U.S. business.

This will be the second market to have an Uber robotaxi service outfitted with Lucid EVs equipped with a self-driving system from Nuro.

Pinterest has launched 'Ask Pinterest,' an experimental AI-powered shopping app that lets users seek recommendations and inspiration through a conversational interface.

⚡ Quick Take

• Bob Odenkirk returned as Saul Goodman to revamp a classic in-show PSA in honor of the USA’s 250th anniversary.

Better Call Saul, the popular spinoff of the even-more-popular Breaking Bad, ended its run in 2022. But in many ways, Saul Goodman never left us. Today, Bob Odenkirk reappeared in character to give a version of his classic in-show commercial in honor of America’s 250th birthday.

In his sarcastic way, Odenkirk lists off multiple constitutional rights and references the “wallpaper” behind him. He pays homage to the “whole bunch of good people, 250-years-worth” who have upheld the constitution.

“Hi, I’m Saul Goodman. Did you know you have rights?”

The spiel ends with Odenkirk encouraging viewers to “never give up” their constitution-given rights.

The 45-second video was uploaded to a YouTube account called “Saul4Democracy,” and it is unclear when the clip was filmed. The caption reads, “Saul Goodman wants YOU to know your rights!” Peter Gould, the executive producer of Better Call Saul, reposted the video on his BlueSky account and confirmed it was not AI-generated. The video has garnered over 123,000 views so far.

Better Call Saul was a spinoff series of the Golden Globe-winning Breaking Bad. It followed a minor character who first appeared in season two.

Albuquerque lawyer Jimmy McGill scrapes for clients and respect, but every win drags him closer to shady deals, dangerous players, and the alter ego Saul Goodman.

This PSA comes just in time for America 250, or the United States’ 250th “birthday.” For fans of the show, this video was a welcome sight four years after the story concluded. This is made even more impactful after Odenkirk’s 2025 statement.

“He’s not getting out [of prison]. If there’s another Saul show, it takes place inside prison.”

At the very end, the video featured an appearance from Mike Ehrmantraut, played by Jonathan Banks, another beloved character from the series. Many of the comments are raving about the cameo.

This is likely not a sign that the Better Call Saul universe will continue to expand. However, beyond the humor, the message within the video is important and certainly relevant.

The post Did You Know You Have Rights? Saul Goodman Returns for a PSA Honoring America 250 appeared first on Nerdist.

⚡ Quick Take

• CBS will pay a fine for the unauthorized use of a song on Stephen Colbert’s finale episode of The Late Show.
• The rights owners will donate the fine to charity.

It hasn’t even been a full month since Stephen Colbert gave his final bow as host of CBS’ The Late Show and already it feels like years. The eyeball network has moved on to pastures far less green. (They’ve also lost the timeslot’s audience, by some reports). But if you thought Colbert didn’t still have one gift left for his former network, you’d be wrong. You see, on The Late Show series finale, Colbert played a piece of music specifically without a license. Now CBS has to pay for it.

CBS

In news we first saw via The Wrap, Colbert played the song “Lucy and Linus” by the Vince Guaraldi Trio on the episode. (You know, the Peanuts song.) He specifically called out how they didn’t obtain a license for it. Well, now the network has to pony up. The rights holders, Lee Mendelson Film Productions, Inc., said in a statement that they’ll donate the fee. It will go to Chef José Andrés’ World Central Kitchen, Colbert’s charity of choice. The Kitchen sends food around the world to areas hit by problems from natural disasters to civil unrest.

“LMFP found the music’s use on ‘The Late Show’ funny and entertaining, and is proud to support World Central Kitchen’s mission,” Jason Mendelson, Chairman of LMFP, said in a release. “A principal goal of our enforcement actions is to educate individuals, businesses, and government entities about the need to obtain written license agreements to use music in a commercial setting.”

When Colbert had his house band, Louis Cato and the Great Big Joy Machine, to play “Lucy and Linus” in the May 21 episode, he explained that LMFP had cracked down on unlicensed use of Guaraldi tracks. The show had not obtained such an agreement.

“Oh no,” Colbert said. “I hope this doesn’t cost CBS any money.” Neither party has disclosed the amount of money CBS has to pay. But it’s bound to be less than the $16 million parent company Paramount paid to the President of the United States so the Skydance deal went through.

The post CBS Forced to Pay Fine for Colbert Finale’s Music Usage appeared first on Nerdist.

Anthropic's popularity with business users is growing so well that the latest beef with the government might actually boost it, data from Ramp suggests.

In the coming weeks, Apple will move anonymously generated emails addresses to a different domain.

⚡ Quick Take

• Hayao Miyazaki, Studio Ghibli’s renowned animator and filmmaker, brought Kiki’s Delivery Service to the screen in 1989.
• Now, 40 years after the publication of the book series it was based on, BBC studios is bringing the story into the 3-D world.

Eiko Kadono’s Kiki’s Delivery Service book series became an instant classic in Japan when it came out. Just a few years later, animator and filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki picked up the story and released what would become a Studio Ghibli essential watch. Now, 40 years after the book series it was based on came out, Kiki will come into the 3-D world in a live-action Kiki’s Delivery Service TV series.

Studio GhibliWhat Do We Know About the Kiki’s Delivery Service Live-Action Series?

The story of Kiki’s Delivery Service follows a young, broomstick-riding witch and her cat as they move to a calm, seaside town. Throughout the movie, Kiki meets a variety of characters, overcomes challenges, and gains independence by working her own delivery service.

Eiko Kadono, author of the original novels, shares of the live-action Kiki’s Delivery Service movie.

Kiki is about to set off on another adventure into a new world. I can’t wait to see the series come to life.

BBC studios announced that Irena Brignull will write the ten-episode series. Brignull also contributed to The Boxtrolls (2014) and The Little Prince (2016). The project is a collaboration between BBC Kids and Family, Wheel in Motion, and the Kadokawa Corporation based in Japan. The Kiki’s Delivery Service live-action series will be based on the first volume in the six-book series—not the animated Studio Ghibli film. Episodes will be about a half-hour long each.

Nerdist’s Take: Will This Live-Action Kiki’s Delivery Service Series Be Good?

This is not the first time filmmakers have attempted to bring Kiki into our world. A Japanese live-action movie came out in 2014. However, it did not garner much attention or serious criticism and is not available for streaming. Like the upcoming series, the movie was based on the book and not the preexisting animation.

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Miyazaki has been historically incredible at capturing childhood innocence in a way that many other animators are not able to. From Ponyo (2008) to even stories with darker themes like Grave of the Fireflies (1988), Ghibli’s characters have been astonishingly realistic.

And so, it is no surprise that Miyazaki’s thoughtful animation was able to fully capture the story of Kiki’s Delivery Service, Kiki’s complex character, and her surrounding world in such a lush, vivid way. Whether or not a live-action remake will be able to do the same is still unclear.

When Will the Kiki’s Delivery Service Live-Action Series Release?

The Kiki’s Delivery Service live-action series has no release date yet.

The post KIKI’S DELIVERY SERVICE Live-Action TV Series Is Coming appeared first on Nerdist.

⚡ Quick Take

• After three decades, McDonald’s is bringing back their iconic friend apple pie for America’s 250th birthday, but only for a limited time.

If you grew up somewhere in the timeframe of the late ’70s to the early ’90s, then chances are you are intimately familiar with those McDonald’s fried apple pies. These delicious confections often burned the roof of your mouth like sweet lava, but we loved them anyway. Sadly, McDonald’s took them off the menu back in 1992, but Gen X and elder Millennials will forever be nostalgic for them. Well, via People, we’ve learned that as a way of celebrating America’s 250th birthday, the fast food giant will soon bring the fried apple pies back for a limited time only, after 34 years. After all, what’s more American than apple pie, right?

McDonald’s

To commemorate this long-awaited return, McDonald’s also announced they are building a 35-foot version, creating McDonald’s largest fried apple pie. Probably one for the record books. This will become a huge roadside attraction, located off Route 66 just outside of Chicago. Which just so happens to be the headquarters of the iconic fast food chain. McDonald’s said that the giant pie found “off America’s most iconic road,” is a tribute to a “classic American dessert.” The attraction will be available for travelers to stop and look at from June 23 to July 4. Its location is 920 N Broadway St., Joliet, IL 60435.

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Video Chronicles the Weird History of McDonaldland

The McDonald’s fried apple pie began as a family recipe from East Tennessee owner and operator Litton Cochran back in 1968, where it became popular locally. It eventually found its way onto the menu across all McDonald’s locations. But by 1992, America had become far more health-conscious and traded in friend apple pies for baked ones. Which they still sell to this day. But millions never forgot those tasty treats of yesteryear, and are happy to have them back. Whether our cholesterol suffers or not. Hopefully, they still come in those old-school pie cartons, just to make the nostalgic experience complete.

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⚡ Quick Take

• Former Lucasfilm president says Spielberg and Lucas battled it out writing the script for the fourth Indiana Jones movie.

Indiana Jones, the brave tomb-raider and adventuring archaeologist, was one of the most beloved characters of the ’80s—and many fans wish it could have stayed that way. Nonetheless, two more films came out after the year 2000. One of those was Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, which was nobody’s favorite—even the director’s, according to new comments from Kathleen Kennedy.

Lucasfilm

Crystal Skull was a legacy sequel to the original trilogy. It came almost twenty years after the “final” film, The Last Crusade. It holds a steady 77% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, by no means a bad score. However, it is certainly not the highest-revered movie in the series.

Lucasfilm producer Kathleen Kennedy has said that the most significant contributor to why Crystal Skull was so ill-received was the fact that nobody working on it had their heart fully in it—and the fans seemed to know.

According to a Spielberg career overview from Vulture, the alien aspect introduced in the franchise’s fourth movie created a significant rift between he and George Lucas. Spielberg and star Harrison Ford believed aliens didn’t quite fit into the world of Indiana Jones. Kennedy told the publication:

“Steven was struggling with that movie. Harrison was struggling with the movie. They didn’t want to do a ‘Raiders’ movie that involved aliens, and they kind of got into a fight with George [Lucas] about it.”

Lucas said that his original idea for the movie was War of the Worlds-esque, even featuring UFOs. The team went through five scripts before settling on one. It satisfied everybody enough, but still kept the concept of otherworldly beings.

Kennedy says that Spielberg and Ford still never entirely bought into the concept. She thinks this is why the movie was worse than the previous installments. Spielberg went on to pull out of production for the fifth movie, The Dial of Destiny, in 2023. George Lucas, for the first time in the franchise’s run, played no role at all.

Whether or not this lack of participation from the franchise’s founding fathers was due to the tension ignited in 2008 is unclear. James Mangold took over, and the 2023 movie was rated even lower than its predecessor. But at least it didn’t have aliens.

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⚡ Quick Take

• DC Studios’ Upcoming Jimmy Olsen Series is also a Gorilla Grodd series.
• Co-presidents Peter Safran and James Gunn confirm it will shoot soon.

Supergirl is about to release theatrically, and Man of Tomorrow is currently shooting. But a third spin-off of James Gunn’s Superman is also confirmed to start shooting this year, now confirmed by DC Studios co-head Peter Safran. The previously announced HBO Max Jimmy Olsen spin-off, once thought to be titled “DC Crime,” will start production later this year. In an interview with @GoodNerd23 (via Screen Rant), Safran confirmed that the series, which will focus on Jimmy Olsen investigating villain Gorilla Grodd, starts shooting soon. Here’s what he had to say:

We’ve talked about the Gorilla Grodd show for HBO that we’ll start shooting this year. That’s big news, by the way. I probably shouldn’t have said that.

DC Studios/DC Comics

In a post on Threads, James Gunn confirmed the series is a Jimmy Olsen AND Gorilla Grodd show. The rumored title for the show is American Villain, perhaps a nod to the series American Vandal. Rumors suggest it’ll be a faux docuseries about various villians in the DCU, hosted by Daily Planet staffers. In season one, it’ll be Jimmy Olsen with a focus on Grodd. The inclusion of Grodd suggests that another iconic hero of the DC Justice League pantheon may arrive soon, and that’s none other than the Flash.

Threads/James Gunn

Gorilla Grodd, in the pages of DC Comics, is not traditionally a Superman villain. The hyper-intelligent ape from the hidden Gorilla City is one of the arch enemies of the Flash. It would seem impossible to tell Grodd’s story without an appearance by DC’s Scarlet Speedster. After the 2023 movie The Flash bombed, the new DC Studios didn’t seem to be in a rush to announce any new Flash-centric projects. But eventually, this cornerstone of DC lore will need to appear. And this Jimmy Olsen/Grodd series may stealthily introduce him. Which makes this show a much bigger deal than it may seem at first. We imagine we’ll know more very soon.

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⚡ Quick Take

• Matt Reeves’ The Batman – Part II will prowl the streets of Gotham again as a DC Elseworlds movie project. Here’s what we know about the film.

Although it will not belong to the main on-screen DC Universe, we were very happy to hear that The Batman – Part II will continue on in DC’s new world order. Under James Gunn and Peter Safran, The Batman – Part II will belong to DC’s Elseworlds Projects. These projects will take place in TV, movie, or game form but will not factor into the main universe story. Still, they play a critical role in keeping the DC Universe varied and interesting.

Warner Bros.

After A LONG journey, The Batman — Part II finally has an official logo. We know a script for the DC movie was completed in August 2025. But… that’s almost a year ago now. So, it’s good to see some forward motion on the film.

Warner Bros.

Here’s everything we know about The Batman – Part II.

Title

For now, the sequel to The Batman carries the descriptive title of The Batman – Part II.

The Batman – Part II‘s Plot

We don’t know much yet about The Batman – Part II‘s plot. But we do know that a cinematic universe is building for The Batman. Next up, we’ll see a Penguin series on HBO Max, and that will tie directly into the coming sequel.

Warner Bros.

One thing is clear about The Batman – Part II; its focus will stay on Batman, a.k.a Bruce Wayne. Reeves shares:

To me, the thing that I really feel is that I also believe that Rob [Pattinson] is so special in the role. My goal has always been to do these point-of-view stories that allow the character to always be the emotional center of the story. Because a lot of times what happens is, after you do the first one, then suddenly other Rogues Gallery characters come in, and they kind of take over, and then Batman takes a backseat sort of character-wise, or emotionally.

But what is the current state of The Batman – Part II? Unfortunately, the film has been delayed once more. Although The Batman – Part II was originally meant to arrive in 2025, it will now be released on October 1, 2027, after two delays. James Gunn confirmed the news on Threads, revealing, “The only reason for the delay is there isn’t a full script (those of you who follow me here probably know that already). Matt is committed to making the best film he possibly can, and no one can accurately guess exactly how long a script will take to write. Once there is a finished script, there is around two years for pre-production, shooting and post-production on big films.”

But happily, Matt Reeves and co-writer Mattson Tomlin have finally finished The Batman—Part II‘s script. They took to Instagram to celebrate the news. And hey, although the script was delayed, it comes right on schedule, at least according to James Gunn.

Gunn recently shared in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, “Listen, we’re supposed to get a script in June. I hope that happens. We feel really good about it. People should get off Matt’s nuts because it’s like, let the guy write the screenplay in the amount of time he needs to write it. That’s just the way it is. He doesn’t owe you something because you like his movie. I mean, you like his movie because of Matt. So let Matt do things the way he does.”

Gunn additionally shared, “I am irritated by people. I mean, it’s just that thing people don’t need to be entitled about. It’s going to come out when he feels good about the screenplay. And Matt’s not going to give me the screenplay until he feels good about the screenplay.” Happily, it seems like that time has finally come. Reeves and co made the June deadline. And, according to Variety sources, “the studio is thrilled with Matt Reeves’ just-submitted screenplay draft for the sequel to The Batman.” Huzzah!

The Batman – Part II‘s CastWarner Bros.

For now, we know Robert Pattinson will return as our Bruce Wayne/Batman. It just wouldn’t be a The Batman movie without him. In addition, an article in GQ notes that Matt Reeves has confirmed Andy Serkis’ return as Alfred Pennyworth in The Batman – Part II.

A February 21, 2024 interview on Vanity Fair also confirmed Barry Keoghan—who had a brief cameo in the first film as the Joker—will return, presumably in a much bigger role, for The Batman – Part II.

Warner Bros.Behind the Scenes

Matt Reeves is returning to write the sequel to The Batman. But this time, he will find a co-writer in Mattson Tomlin. We assume Reeves will also direct The Batman – Part II.

The Batman – Part II Release Date

The Batman – Part II will release on October 1, 2027. Production on The Batman—Part II officially began in the spring of 2026.

Originally published on February 8, 2023.

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