Nerd News

⚡ Quick Take

• In our exclusive interview, The Vampire Lestat/Interview with the Vampire showrunner Rolin Jones promises that we WILL see Daniel’s vampiric turning on our screens IF we get a season four.
• Armand turned Daniel into a vampire at the end of Interview with the Vampire season two, but we never got to see the actual moment.
• Armand turning Daniel is a huge moment for the pair in Anne Rice’s books, and fans are hoping to finally see it adapted on screen.

In season two of Interview with the Vampire, something very important took place that was both expected and shocking. After centuries without making a fledgeling, The Vampire Armand turned Daniel Molloy into a vampire. Of course, Armand is Daniel’s vampiric maker in the Anne Rice books as well, but the timeline is very different in the series and the books. Still, fans of Armand, Daniel, and Devil’s Minion were delighted with this turn of events. HOWEVER, the actual moment of Daniel’s turning wasn’t shown on screen in Interview with a Vampire season two, only its aftermath some months later. And this has left fans curious about whether we’ll ever see Daniel’s turning in full. A desire compounded by how important the scene is to the relationship between Armand and Daniel in the Anne Rice book, Queen of the Damned. Armed with fan curiosity and my own, I took the question to showrunner Rolin Jones in the lead-up to The Vampire Lestat. So, will we see Armand turn Daniel into a vampire on screen? …Yes, but not yet.

The Vampire Lestat showrunner, Rolin Jones, is a true gift to fans. It’s a known fact that he always goes out of his way to speak to those who love the show at events and offers up his true perspectives and insights when he’s able. And, in response to the question of whether Daniel’s turning into a vampire would make it to our screens, Jones was much the same. “Look, I’ll do this.” Jones said, sincerely squaring with me, “If they give us a season four, you’ll see it.”

RELATED ARTICLE

THE VAMPIRE LESTAT Review: Devil’s Minion Edition

Next to Jones, Sam Reid and Jacob Anderson burst out into cackles. “You’re outrageous,” Reid told Jones between laughs. And Anderson shook his head, “Diabolical.” But you know what? It works for me. I got the real sense that Jones wanted us to know that even if it wasn’t coming this season, it was on his mind to film. And this offered notion wasn’t meant to be dangled in front of us like a carrot, but merely a pretty honest offering to fans. To me, it felt like Jones wanted to level with us. The scene isn’t coming this season, but it is coming. I know it may not be the answers fans expected or wanted to hear, but where other showrunners may have obscured and teased, Jones’ honesty really struck me as a gift to those who are hoping for this scene. And, with all that said, turning or not, there’s still a lot for fans of Devil’s Minion to feel excited about… and that’s said with one whole episode we haven’t yet seen.

AMC

In a recent interview with The Vampire Lestat‘s Assad Zaman, who plays Armand, Zaman shared more about Armand turning Daniel into a Vampire, “Vampirism to Armand, I think, acts like a form of self-flagellation, similar to the way prayer and punishment go hand in hand. So yes, there’s agency in turning Daniel, but also, he’s punishing a man whom he also worships in a fucked up way.” And I feel we simply must see this blend of worship and punishment manifest. Plus, as mentioned, it’s a pivotal scene for Armand and Daniel; one worth finally bringing to our screens.

AMC

So, Rolin Jones, if you’re reading this. Please know that telling me in a junket that, if we get a season four of Interview with the Vampire/The Vampire Lestat, we’ll see the scene of Daniel’s vampiric turning in full does count as a blood pact which cannot be dissolved.

Fans, if you’re reading this and you want to see Armand turning Daniel into a vampire in full color and sound, I guess we’d better keep converting the masses to the wonder of this series and tuning in to watch The Vampire Lestat as it airs on AMC and AMC+ (on Sundays at 9 pm ET/PT and midnight, respectively).

Rotem Rusak is Editor-in-Chief of Nerdist. She is waiting for Armand and Daniel to finally get together so one of her canon ships can finally sail on The Vampire Lestat.

Originally published on June 8, 2026.

The post We WILL See Daniel’s Vampire Turning, Promises Rolin Jones… BUT Not Until Season 4 of IWTV/THE VAMPIRE LESTAT (Exclusive) appeared first on Nerdist.

If you're building something ambitious, this is a fast track to the people who can move your startup forward.

The new image-generating model has numerous use cases, including advertising, decorating and creator-based opportunities.

Open source models’ success isn’t coming at the expense of frontier labs. Instead, they each seem to capture two phases of the same life cycle.

Microsoft is the latest Silicon Valley giant to cut back on its AI spending.

⚡ Quick Take

• Akasha mention a mysterious “Amel” in The Vampire Lestat. This character is extremely important to Anne Rice’s vampiric mythology.

The vampiric Queen, Akasha (Sheila Atim), quickly dropped the name “Amel” in her big debut scene in episode five of The Vampire Lestat, “New York,” where she awakens after centuries thanks to Lestat (Sam Reid). Additionally, we hear Lestat himself address “Amel” in his voice-over earlier in the episode, as though he’s speaking to the figure. (“But I, Amel, digress…) Fans of Anne Rice’s Vampire Chronicles series know that Amel is a being that is at the core of Rice’s vampire lore, quite literally. And Amel has powerful connections to both Akasha, the Queen of the Damned, and the Vampire Lestat himself, as this episode of The Vampire Lestat suggests. Amel’s history developed quite a bit over the decades of Rice’s 13-volume series of novels, but now that the TV series is bringing him into its fold, however obliquely, it’s time to learn more about the powerful being. Who is Amel in The Vampire Lestat? And what’s he got to do with our main characters? Let’s dive in.

Amel Is the Unnamed “Demon” in The Vampire Lestat (1985): He’s Responsible for Creating All Vampires AMC

Amel is first mentioned as an unnamed demon in the 1985 novel The Vampire Lestat. When the ancient Marius de Romanus explains the origins of the vampire species to Lestat, as they were explained to him 2,000 years earlier, he mentions a noisy, powerful spirit that haunted the kingdom of Kemet (now Egypt) some 6,000 years earlier. King Enkil and Queen Akasha ruled this kingdom. During a rebellion and assassination attempt on the royal couple, Amel entered through the wounds inflicted on Akasha, fusing with her blood, and making her the first vampire. Yes, Amel is the entity responsible for all vampires in the world of The Vampire Lestat.

Amel Gets a Name in The Queen of the Damned (1988) and Creates Vampires AMC

In the third Vampire Chronicles novel, The Queen of the Damned, we get the full story of Amel. We learn that a pair of young witches who lived 6,000 years ago, twins named Maharet and Mekare, could summon spirits. The spirit Amel took a particular liking to these twins. He proved his power to them, even “biting” their skin, showing he had a taste for blood. Eventually, Queen Akasha attacked their tribe for practicing ritualistic cannibalism in the form of massive funeral feasts, where the community consumed the heart and the brain of the deceased.

RELATED ARTICLE

THE VAMPIRE LESTAT’S Backstory, Explained in Linear Fashion

As revenge, the twin witches summoned Amel, who haunted the kingdom of Kemet. And by haunting, we mean Amel brought a destructive, Poltergeist-style haunting that caused actual damage. After Akasha had the twins assaulted and tortured as punishment, Amel became even angrier and fused with Akasha’s brain, heart, and blood, creating what vampires would later refer to as “the Sacred Core” of the vampire species in the world of The Vampire Lestat. It’s this sacred core that is necessary for the continued survival of vampires. But once Amel fused with Akasha, his personality went dormant, as the Queen’s personality dominated. However, he wasn’t erased. He was simply waiting for his time.

Amel Finds a New Vampire Host in Mekare AMC

In the year 1985, the twins, who had become vampires themselves, returned to exact their revenge on Queen Akasha. But since Akasha held the Sacred Core, killing her meant destroying what remained of the vampire species along with her. To avoid this fate, one of the twins, Mekare, decapitated Akasha and ate her brain and heart. Since vampires don’t really ingest food like humans, the brain and heart remained inside Mekare, fusing with her own blood, and she became the new Queen of the Damned. Her survival, and, in a sense, the survival of Amel, meant also the continued survival of the vampire species. And thus, the vampires continued for several decades with Mekare as the holder of the Sacred Core/Amel.

Amel Reemerges in Prince Lestat (2014) AMC

Sadly, Mekare suffered brain damage from thousands of years of lying dormant in the Earth. Within Mekare, Amel’s personality re-emerged. Amel became simply “the Voice” and began causing trouble as he telepathically urged the stronger, ancient vampires to slaughter the younger ones. Amel found one particularly ancient vampire, Rhoshamandes, and had him kill Maharet, the other twin. Amel wanted to reside within Rhoshamandes, whom he could control better. But after several developments, Mekare gave permission for Lestat to kill her and take in the Sacred Core of Amel himself. Lestat becomes Prince Lestat, and now the new source of power for the vampire species. Amel comes to live inside of him and the parasitic relationship between the spirit and his host is… an intense one.

Anne Rice writes:

Amel laughed softly inside me. “You are my beloved,” he whispered.

I stood silent, feeling a slow subtle movement inside of my body, as if some fine tangle of tendrils were moving purposefully out of my brain and down the length of my spine and then out again through my limbs. I could see this as I felt it, see its subtle golden electric pulse.

Out of the depths of my soul, my soul that was the sad and struggling sum of all I’d ever known, I felt my own voice yearning to say, And I will never be alone again.

“No, you will never,” said the Voice, “you will never be alone again.

But this change does not last very long.

Amel’s True Sci-Fi Origin Story Revealed in Prince Lestat and the Realms of Atlantis (2016)

In Prince Lestat and the Realms of Atlantis, we learn Amel’s true origin. And it is quite wild. Anne Rice goes into pure sci-fi territory for Amel’s actual backstory. We learn that he wasn’t always a disembodied spirit at all. He was born a human in 12,000 BC, eventually abducted by an avian-like alien species called “The Parents.” They altered his DNA, fusing it with that of Replimoids, humanoid immortal creations made by The Parents. They sent Amel back to Earth to post listening stations for them, and to halt barbaric early humans from achieving higher technology. But Amel turned on The Parents, and decided to share what he knew with primitive humans. He created a paradise of advanced technology, which he called Atalantaya. Yes, that is the source for modern-day myths about Atlantis.

Amel and Lestat’s Bond Severed in Prince Lestat and the Realms of Atlantis

Eventually, The Parents punish Amel for his disobedience. They destroy Atalantaya, and him with it. But because of the enhancements they gave him, derived from an alien polymer called Luracastria, his essence survived. Eventually, Amel forgot what he was when he was an enhanced human, and became the invisible spiritual being that eventually fused with Akasha, creating the vampiric race.

In the modern day, the vampire doctor, Fahreed Bensali, found a way to sever the Sacred Core from Amel and from Lestat without killing off the rest of the vampires. Fahreed finds a way to replicate a Replimoid body for Amel, which looks uncannily like both his original body and a bit like Lestat, where he continues to reside and study humanity. Amel visits Lestat in Paris, where he first became a vampire many centuries ago, severing his last tie with the undead species he accidentally created.

RELATED ARTICLE

THE VAMPIRE LESTAT’s Major Character Deaths

Will we see any of the more recent sci-fi elements of Amel’s backstory appear in AMC’s Anne Rice Immortal Universe or in future seasons of The Vampire Lestat? Many of those came from later novels. But the series has been dipping into material from much later Anne Rice novels, so anything is possible. It does seem like Lestat will meet Amel for certain. But perhaps the series will keep its origins to simply a disembodied demon. Or maybe, aliens!

In the meantime, The Vampire Lestat continues to drop new episodes on AMC and AMC+ on Sunday nights.

The post Who Is ‘Amel’ in THE VAMPIRE LESTAT? appeared first on Nerdist.

The company confirmed that the issue had been affecting accounts since May, with an additional 200 users banned over the weekend before its team identified and fixed the problem.

Google's upcoming event in August will introduce new Pixel devices.

The Y Combinator-backed company started a vibe coding platform and later built an agent creation product.

⚡ Quick Take

• The first LEGO Pokémon Minifigures have arrived in the new Iconic Trainer Moments Poké Ball set. They are Red, Picnicker, and Professor Oak.

It’s an exciting day for Pokémon and LEGO fans. Recently, there have been many historic firsts in the partnership between these iconic brands. But now, we finally have the first-ever Pokémon LEGO minifigures! Minifigures are among the most iconic LEGO innovations of the past few decades. When they first appeared on the scene in 1978, Minifigures sent the LEGO world into a tizzy. And can you blame fans? Who doesn’t love a tiny model? After several Pokémon sets from LEGO, including LEGO Eevee, LEGO Pikachu, and the iconic LEGO Evolutions set, we finally have Minifigures from this iconic franchise as well. What are the first LEGO Pokémon Minifigures, you ask? Why, they’re three characters from the video games… And two fan-favorite Pokémon in all their adorable glory. Let’s take a look at LEGO’s Iconic Trainer Moments Poké Ball and its seminal Pokémon Trainer Minifigures.

LEGO We Love These New LEGO Pokémon Minifigures

So, who are the first LEGO Pokémon Minifigures? They are Red, Picnicker, and Professor Oak, plus Eevee and Pikachu. Professor Oak, of course, needs no introduction. Whether you’re a fan of the Pokémon video games OR the TV show, you know of this lovable mentor figure who helps set Ash on his journey to become a Pokémon Master. Red, meanwhile, is the player character in the Generation I Pokémon games: Pokémon Red, Green, Blue, and Yellow. Red also returns as the male character option in Generation III remakes, Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen. And now you can play with him in real life in your new Pokémon LEGO set. Lastly, Picnicker is a kind of Pokémon trainer from the Generation 1 games. Of course, we NEED Pokémon Minifigures in a Pokémon LEGO set. And that’s where Eevee and Pikachu Minifigures come in to join the fun.

We stan these nostalgic Pokémon icons and are glad to see them arrive as LEGO Minifigures.

RELATED ARTICLE

LEGO Pokémon Sets Breakdown: Training Tech, Easter Eggs, and More The Iconic Trainer Moments Poké Ball Is a Trainer’s Dream Click To View Gallery LEGO LEGO LEGO LEGO LEGO

But, of course, there’s more to this new Pokémon LEGO set than its Minifigures. The Iconic Trainer Moments Poké Ball LEGO set lets you literally build a Poké Ball from LEGOs. And that sounds like a ton of fun. The official description reveals:

Unlock the magic of the Pokémon Trainer journey with the Iconic Trainer Moments Poké Ball (72154). This building set for adults is bursting with authentic details and cool features, including Red, Picnicker, Professor Oak, Eevee and Pikachu minifigures to create epic Pokémon decor with classic characters. Open the Poké Ball with easy precision to reveal a battle scene in the bottom half and a recreation of Professor Oak’s laboratory in the top section, including a library, computers, 3 molded Poké Balls and 2 Pokédex tiles. The display stand is designed to make the large Poké Ball model look as if it has been thrown to the ground, just like in the game. Add to your own video game decor collection or treat another adult Pokémon fan to this impressive birthday, holiday or any day gift idea. For an added digital experience, the LEGO® Builder app allows users to zoom, rotate in 3D, track progress and follow digital instructions. This set contains 2,386 pieces.

When Can You Buy This New LEGO Set?

The Iconic Trainer Moments Poké Ball LEGO set is now available to pre-order. It will release on October 1, 2026. The cost of this new LEGO Pokémon set is $299.99. We can’t wait to build this one and catch all the new Pokémon LEGO Minifigures inside.

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 LEGO POKÉMON Minifigures are Here in New Poké Ball Set appeared first on Nerdist.

⚡ Quick Take

• The highest-grossing Terminator movie is coming back to theaters.
• Arnold Schwarzenegger stars in the early-90s AI-takeover movie.
• No new Terminator content has come out since 2019.

Arnold Schwarzenegger was certainly not kidding when he said “I’ll be back.” In honor of the iconic sequel’s 35th anniversary, T-800 will return to the big screen in Terminator 2: Judgment Day. The movie has received plenty of love from fans and critics, winning four Oscars and boasting a Rotten Tomatoes score of 90%. The audience score is even better at 95%.

Carolco Pictures/ Lightstorm Entertainment/Pacific Western Productions/Studio Canal

The sequel to the 1984 Terminator, Judgment Day is the highest-grossing movie in the franchise. Judgment Day is more than just an action film—coming out in 1991, it was a reflection of the fears of the time, with more and more advanced tech looming on the horizon. It takes the public’s fascination with robots, explored in other 1980s movies like Blade Runner and Tron, and introduces a fear of being overtaken by our own creations.

RELATED ARTICLE

Puzzle Over the Complete TERMINATOR Franchise Timeline

Now, more than ever, the same fear is valid. In a world where people willingly give up their power and ability to think for themselves to AI, a movie like this is sorely needed.

“I believe it’s safe to do spoilers after 35 years, so SPOILER ALERT: the good guys win against the AI superintelligence!” said director James Cameron. “And maybe that’s a message of hope we all could use this summer.”

Judgment Day was hardly the end of the franchise, with four more movies coming out after its release. The most recent movie, Dark Fate, was actually a direct sequel to Judgment Day. Now, Cameron is working on yet another installment to the franchise. In an interview with io9, he said he believes the topic still very relevant.

“Science fiction has caught up and is actually overwhelming us at this point. We’re living in a science fiction world, and we’re literally having to deal with problems that in the past only existed in science fiction books and movies. Now we’re living it for real.”

If we can’t have the new one now, we’ll settle for watching the franchise’s highest-rated movie on the big screen. Terminator 2: Judgment Day will return to theaters starting on August 28 until early September, in honor of the movie’s “judgment day” date (Aug. 29).

The post TERMINATOR 2: JUDGMENT DAY Coming Back To Theaters appeared first on Nerdist.

⚡ Quick Take

• The Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender trailer basically confirms Zuko as a bisexual, queer king and we absolutely love it.

Listen, the fine folks in fandom have always known that Zuko is one queer character. His friendship/rivalry with Jet, his romance with Mai, his rivalry turned true love with Aang, his situationship with Katara, his great chemistry with Sokka, and his hold over Toph, all serve to confirm that basically everyone is always falling in love with Zuko, and Zuko is pretty much always ready to be loved. But sometimes, what’s obvious to fandom is not always obvious to the official canon. And yet, front and center in the first Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender trailer is delicious confirmation that Zuko is a bisexual King… or a bi Fire-Lord, we guess. He’s literally flaming, is what we’re getting around to. And we love it, because Zuko is the queer representation we deserve.

Midway through the Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender trailer, the Gaang discovers a mysterious airbender trapped in ice. Toph notes, “My senses tell me this guy is pretty attractive.” To which Sokka hems and haws, “What does attractive even mean?” “Just give me a straight confirmation,” Toph insists. Well, hilariously, a straight confirmation isn’t forthcoming. But Zuko is happy to offer a queer one. “He’s very attractive.” Zuko confirms matter-of-factly, and then adds, “What, he is? It’s all in the bone structure.” What, not everyone finds both men and women attractive? Zuko seems to find that idea silly in this Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender sneak peek. We love you, Zuko, our bi-con. Aang, Sokka, Toph, and Katara all seem pretty interested in this revelation too—and can you blame them?

Paramount

Of course, as queer people, we are always hoping for full and overt representation in our fiction. If a het couple can kiss on screen, why can’t a queer one? But, whether Zuko ever actually kisses a man or not, we can also cherish this more casual kind of representation as well. Zuko, a main character, arguably the most beloved character, from Avatar: The Last Airbender, CAN and DOES find men and women attractive, and it’s not a big deal. And that’s a canon point worth celebrating. And celebrate it we do.

RELATED ARTICLE

Dante Basco and Zach Tyler Eisen Dive Into Zuko & Aang’s Friendship and Talk 20 Years of ATLA

 Zuko and the rest will return when Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender premieres globally on Paramount+ on Saturday, July 25.

The post Zuko: Confirmed Bi King in AVATAR AANG: THE LAST AIRBENDER Trailer appeared first on Nerdist.

Netflix is bringing 2- to 20-minute videos to its platform through new partnerships with digital publishers, including Rolling Stone and Variety.

From a massive DOGE data breach and the hacking of critical energy and water systems to the hack of an FBI surveillance system, here are the most damaging security incidents and data breaches of 2026.

Anthropic’s Claude Cowork is now available on web and mobile for Max subscribers. Until now, Cowork largely lived on a user’s laptop. With the update, users can start a task from their desk, get status updates on their phone, and pick up the finished output later — even if their laptop is closed. 

⚡ Quick Take

• The Legend of Aang: The Last Airbender continues the original series’ story in a new movie feat. older versions of our favorite characters.

Water. Earth. Fire. Air. Long ago, the four nations lived together in harmony. Then everything changed when a new Avatar: The Last Airbender movie was announced. Yes, we’re getting a cinematic outing that will continue the story of all our favorite characters from the original series. The Gaang, a.k.a Aang, Katara, Sokka, Zuko, Toph, and company, will grace our screens again in a brand new movie titled Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender.

After a set of rough circumstances, we finally know exactly when Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender will release. Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender will premiere globally on Paramount+ on Saturday, July 25. You can check out its trailer above.

Here’s everything we know about the new Avatar: The Last Airbender movie.

Title

The new Avatar: The Last Airbender animated movie finally revealed its new name. The Avatar: The Last Airbender movie is now officially titled Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender. That’s not much of a change from the working title Aang: The Last Airbender, but hey, why not?

Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender Movie‘s Plot

It seems the group in Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender is somewhere in their late 20s. That will certainly be an interesting age to explore the dynamics between them all. Target has also shared some first looks at the adult Gaang, and they look GOOD!

Target

A synopsis shares, “Avatar Aang, the world’s last Airbender, learns of an ancient power that could save his culture from extinction. With the help of his friends, he embarks on a global quest to find it before it falls into the wrong hands and threatens to upend the peace they sacrificed everything to achieve.“

Paramount

We assume the movie will also reveal to us Aang, Zuko, and pals’ continued quest to bring peace to the four nations after the intense upheaval Fire Lord Ozai wreaked upon the world. A lot still needs fixed, after all. We hope this movie can continue the series’ legacy of delivering exactly the right story to its fans.

Nickelodeon

Additionally, we know that this movie is one of three animated Avatar movies that Nickelodeon’s Avatar Studios will create. Avatar Studios is “a newly formed division designed to create original content spanning animated series and movies based on the beloved world of Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra.” We don’t know, however, if the movies will serve as sequels to one another or each will be a stand-alone.

The Legend of Aang: The Last Airbender Movie‘s Cast

We know that Dave Bautista and Eric Nam will headline the voice cast of the new Avatar: The Last Airbender animated movie. Bautista will play a villain in the film, while Nam will voice Aang. Joining this pair in the voice cast are Jessica Matten (“Katara”), Román Zaragoza (“Sokka”), Steven Yeun (“Zuko”) and Dionne Quan (“Toph”), alongside Freida Pinto, Ke Huy Quan, Taika Waititi, Geraldine Viswanathan, Ronny Chieng, and Ken Jeong. Dee Bradley Baker reprises his roles as Aang’s beloved pets, Appa and Momo.

Nickelodeon

Recently, Toph’s original voice actress Michaela Jae Murphy, also knowns as Jessie Flower, noted she didn’t believe the original cast would return. However, there’s not yet an official confirmation of this statement. Hopefully, our original actors will have a role to play yet.

Behind the Scenes 

Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender was directed by Lauren Montgomery and co-directed by Steve Ahn and William Mata. Producers include Latifa Ouaou, Maryann Garger, Bryan Konietzko, Michael Dante DiMartino. The screenplay was written by Tim Hedrick and Christopher Yost, with the story by Bryan Konietzko, Michael Dante DiMartino, Tim Hedrick and Kenneth Lin.

Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender Movie‘s Release Date Paramount

The new Avatar: The Last Airbender movie will also skip theaters and head right for Paramount+. We admit, we’d been hoping to see this one in movie theaters. But these days, it is what it is. It seems Paramount+ will be the new home for ALL Avatar: The Last Airbender animated content, including The Legend of Aang.

Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender will release on Paramount+ on Saturday, July 25.

Originally published on May 2, 2023.

The post Everything We Know About THE LEGEND OF AANG: THE LAST AIRBENDER appeared first on Nerdist.

⚡ Quick Take

• We have an exclusive clip from Evil Dead Burn.
• In it, a tense family dinner gets even more tense with Deadites around.
• It also features a man literally frothing at the mouth.

Family dinners are not always the most wholesome and happy occasions. Estrangement can breed awkwardness or hostility, and sometimes being around your family too much can do the same. The movies know how to deal with this indelible (and intolerable) familial rite with some of the most excruciating takes you’ll ever see. But for all of cinema’s long history of depicting these tense scenes, perhaps only Evil Dead Burn has done one with someone actively frothing at the mouth. In our exclusive clip from the film, heading to theaters on July 10, the grieving family at the center of the horror mince no words as they lay into one another. Prior to the evil dead burning, of course.

In Evil Dead Burn, Alice (Souhelia Yacoub) returns to her late husband’s family home as they all grieve his passing. This grief becomes the centerpiece to a whole lot of Deadite drama. That all starts in the dinner scene, in which the family patriarch Edgar (Erroll Shand) begins to accuse Alice of disloyalty to his son. She’s not wearing her wedding ring anymore; she evidently worse not-dress clothes to the funeral. It makes him angry, shall we say? The whole time he’s talking, if it were me there, I’d try to pass him a napkin. Wipe your mouth, dude.

Warner Bros.

Evil Dead Burn is the sixth movie in the long-running Evil Dead series. “The ultimate experience in grueling terror” began in 1981 with Sam Raimi’s original The Evil Dead, still one of the most influential movies of all time. He followed this with two beloved and increasingly comedic sequels, 1987’s Evil Dead 2 and 1993’s Army of Darkness. All three starred Bruce Campbell as Ash, the stalwart/swaggering/kinda dumb and cowardly hero.

Beginning in 2013, new directors have taken a crack at Raimi’s world. Fede Alvarez helmed the ostensible reboot Evil Dead. Then, in 2023 Lee Cronin (of his own The Mummy fame) took the franchise from the woods into an apartment for Evil Dead Rise. Now, for Burn, we have French director Sébastien Vanicek, creator of the grotty spider movie, Infested.

We can see if Edgar ever wipes his mouth when Evil Dead Burn hits theaters this Friday, July 10.

Kyle Anderson is the Senior Editor for Nerdist. He hosts the weekly pop culture deep-dive podcast Laser Focus. You can find his film and TV reviews here. Follow him on Letterboxd.

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 EVIL DEAD BURN Clip Shows the Worst Family Dinner (Exclusive) appeared first on Nerdist.

⚡ Quick Take

• Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender will officially release in July on Paramount+. You can now check out the epic trailer for the new ATLA movie.

It’s been a long road for the new Avatar: The Last Airbender movie, Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender. First, the movie’s release was shifted from theatrical to streaming. Then the movie was sadly leaked in full across the internet. But, like Aang before it, Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender is dusting itself off, getting up, and persevering. And we hope all Avatar fans will join us in lending their support to this movie because if the Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender trailer is anything to go by, it’s emotional, gorgeous, and timely. In addition to its trailer, Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender also revealed a new, early release date. It’s finally time to celebrate this new Avatar: The Last Airbender movie as it is meant to be celebrated. You can check out the trailer for Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender below.

Nerdist Take: Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender and Its Trailer Look AMAZING Paramount

Man, just those notes of the familiar Avatar: The Last Airbender theme hits us HARD and right in the feelings. The Gaang is all grown up, and so are we. It’s hard to imagine it’s been over 20 years since we first met Aang, Zuko, Katara, Sokka, and Toph, and went on an adventure that would change all our lives. But it’s thrilling to see them again now, older, more epic, but probably not wiser. We can tell from this Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender trailer that the Gaang have evolved but not changed, Aang keeping some of his optimistic sparkle, Katara her fierceness, Zuko his awkward turtle-duck energy, Toph her sass, and Sokka his dad jokes. And we love them all. And yeah, we’re pretty sure Zuko just confirmed he’s a bi-con in this trailer. We’ll certainly take it.

Paramount

But the times have been changing. There’s peace among the kingdoms now, but Aang laments the loss of his own people. A new airbender who arrives on the scene may help that… or hurt. And the unrest between benders and nonbenders and the power dynamics involved there is starting to bubble up. There’s a lot of good story there and we can’t wait to see it unfold. Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender and its trailer looks amazing to us.

Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender Gets an Early Release Date Paramount

After its tumult, Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender will now release early on streaming. Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender will premiere globally on Paramount+ on Saturday, July 25.

Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender Synopsis

In addition to the Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender trailer, here’s what we know so far about the movie. The Avatar: The Last Airbender movie’s synopsis shares:

The new film, based on the animated series created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, sees Avatar Aang, the world’s last Airbender, learn of an ancient power that could save his culture from extinction. With the help of his friends, he embarks on a global quest to find it before it falls into the wrong hands and threatens to upend the peace they sacrificed everything to achieve.

The new original film stars Eric Nam (“Aang”), Dave Bautista (“Tagah”), Jessica Matten (“Katara”), Román Zaragoza (“Sokka”), Steven Yeun (“Zuko”) and Dionne Quan (“Toph”), alongside Freida Pinto, Ke Huy Quan, Taika Waititi, Geraldine Viswanathan, Ronny Chieng, and Ken Jeong. Dee Bradley Baker reprises his roles as Aang’s beloved pets, Appa and Momo.

Paramount

We couldn’t have ATLA without Appa and Momo, of course! As mentioned, Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender will release on Saturday, July 25.

The post AVATAR AANG: THE LAST AIRBENDER Sets New Release Date, Shares Trailer appeared first on Nerdist.

⚡ Quick Take

• Eric Bogosian and Assad Zaman talk to Nerdist about Armand and Daniel’s past and present in The Vampire Lestat.

It’s an exciting time for fans of Devil’s Minion in The Vampire Lestat. The Anne Rice book canon relationship appears to be unfolding before our eyes, in a way that’s incredibly romantic if… a little… okay, a lot… twisted. At Nerdist, we had the privilege of speaking to the cast of The Vampire Lestat ahead of the season’s release. And we’ve shared a lot of that conversation with you so far. But at times, things got a little spoilery, so like any good vampire maker, we withheld from you, our fledglings, just a little bit. But now that episode five of The Vampire Lestat is in the world, we can reveal to you Eric Bogosian’s full meditation on what exactly Daniel Molloy makes of his relationship with the Vampire Armand. And also an extra little drink of Bogosian and Armand actor Assad Zaman bantering in a way that’s half in-character, half out, but all delightful. Enjoy, Beloveds.

Nerdist

When we ask Bogosian about how Daniel really feels about Armand’s post-vampire turning abandonment, he fills us in about the full scope of what’s at hand. Bogosian shares, “Well, it does start out with raw anger, but just as we ended the second season, there’s more to be learned when it comes to Armand. There is a lot more to be learned. As he learns it, he’s really put on his back foot, and he has to… I mean, you get told things like that, that this guy has been part of your life for 50 years, and you go, “Okay.” But then you start to think about it, and it’s something that sinks in and causes a kind of deep corrosion in your personality. If you think about it too much, it can drive you crazy. So I think it’s something that just keeps moving along through the season.”

AMC/Nerdist

As we all giggle a little bit about the spoilers we agreed not to talk about, but will, of course, not use to ruin anyone’s experience, Bogosian turns to Zaman with a very Daniel-like huff, “What are you laughing about? You love the idea that you’re corroding my brain.” We’re not fully sure if he means Armand loves the idea of corroding Daniel’s brain, Zaman loves it, or both. But we feel “both” is probably a good bet on that one. And we love it too!

We just hope Daniel isn’t feeling too corroded as The Vampire Lestat wraps up because we’re ready for Devil’s Minion to kick in full blast. Ultimately, Bogosian reconfirms here just how intensely Armand wrapped himself around Daniel’s life from the ’70s onward. But, even still, we can’t really get a read on whether that means that Daniel knew of Armand’s interference at any point or not. Still, we’ll take “a part of your life” and the idea that this thread between Armand and Daniel keeps moving along through this season of The Vampire Lestat. Whether or not Daniel knew Armand was a part of his life at any point, the idea that Armand has been a significant influence on it, whether as an erased member of a full relationship or a devilish guardian angel, is… again, both romantic and twisted.

We’ll also take how exceptional this cast is in their performances, how well they know their characters, and how charming they are together talking about them. Truly, The Vampire Lestat is the gift that keeps on giving.

RELATED ARTICLE

THE VAMPIRE LESTAT Review: Devil’s Minion Edition

The Vampire Lestat airs at 9 pm ET/PT on AMC and AMC+. You can also read The Vampire Lestat by Anne Rice today as you wait for the next episode of the series to air.

Rotem Rusak is the Editor-in-Chief of Nerdist. She is ready for Devil’s Minion to become canon so one of her ships can finally sail. Let’s go Armand and Daniel!

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 Eric Bogosian on ‘Armand Corroding Daniel’s Brain’ (Lovingly) in THE VAMPIRE LESTAT appeared first on Nerdist.

X is rolling out a new video editor and recorder for iOS with multilingual captions, green screen effects, and other editing tools.