Nerd News

⚡ Quick Take

• YouTuber Zach King hilariously recreated the original 1977 Star Wars film entirely with sets and spaceships made entirely from cardboard, and using mostly just friends and family.
• Running 52 minutes long, Cardboard Wars tells the entire story of A New Hope in comedic fashion.
• Nerdist’s Take: Even though there are decades’ worth of great Star Wars fan films, Cardboard Wars might be the best one yet.

Next year, George Lucas’ original Star Wars turns 50 years old. And to this day, no single movie has had as much of an impact on Hollywood as that film. It’s been copied and parodied endlessly since first blasting its way into theaters in 1977. So many parodies exist now, there’s enough to stitch together to make a version of A New Hope made entirely of references. But just when you think they’ve run out of ways to parody Star Wars, one arrives that blows the rest away. YouTuber Zach King has recreated A New Hope, pretty much from start to finish. Only with sets, spaceships, and Death Stars all made entirely out of cardboard. Yes, we even have a Millennium Falcon constructed from pizza boxes. You can watch King’s full (nearly one hour) hilarious fan film Cardboard Wars down below:

King enlisted his friends and kids to lovingly parody every iconic scene from A New Hope for Cardboard Wars. It’s all there, from the opening Fox fanfare, to the Death Star battle, to the Yavin IV base awards ceremony. We definitely think the choice of casting his young son Liam King as Darth Vader was a stroke of genius. And so was using a dog named Manny as Chewbacca. The actual Chewie was based on George Lucas’ own dog, Indiana, so we think it’s only fitting. And yes, that’s MCU actor Randall Park as Red Leader of the X-Wing squadron, seemingly having a blast.

Zach King

This fan film’s runtime is about an hour shorter than the actual Star Wars. However, King still managed to hit about every major story beat. And just about everything except clothing and some alien masks is indeed made out of cardboard. We’re not entirely sure how long it took to make every set and prop for Cardboard Wars. But clearly, the final result was worth the time and effort. Any new Star Wars parody fan film that emerges next (and there’s always another on the horizon), they’re going to have their work cut out for them to outdo Cardboard Wars.

Zach King

You can watch Zach King’s other videos on his YouTube channel.

Eric Diaz is a staff writer at Nerdist and a Swiss Army knife of fandoms. Eric loves DC, Marvel, horror movies, and even Star Wars and Star Trek equally.

The post Hilarious Fan Film Recreates STAR WARS With Cardboard appeared first on Nerdist.

Cursor, known for its AI Code Editor, is launching a new code hosting platform to rival developers' long preferred favorite, Github.

Since portfolio companies often pivot and expand into competing markets, investors view occasional conflicts of interest as unavoidable for large VC firms.

⚡ Quick Take

• Warner Bros. released a brand new teaser for Dune: Part Three tied to presale for insider screenings.
• You can enroll as a Dune insider yourself.
• Insiders can preorder seats for the movie, which comes out December 18.
• NERDIST TAKE: Has Paul’s ability to see the future been good for the galaxy? Obviously not, but it will continue to be good for Dune fans who want to see him on the best screens possible.

Was the arrival of the Kwisatz Haderach good for the galaxy? Obviously not, since the Lisan al-Gaib immediately led the Fremen on a holy war of death. But has the Muad’Dib been good for filmgoers? Absolutely. And we’ll get another chance to see why when director Denis Villeneuve ends his Dune trilogy later this year. But you probably don’t want to wait that long to get your tickets. Those who enroll as a Dune “insider” can now buy their tickets to the best screenings. And Dune: Part Three celebrated the announcement with an intense new teaser that promises an explosive end to Paul Atreides’ big screen story.

Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures have announced fans who sign up as an “insider” at the film’s official site can now purchase their seats for Dune: Part Three. It comes out December 18, the same day as Avengers: Doomsday, aka Dunesday.

Unlike with Marvel Studios’ next crossover event, you’ll be able to revisit Arrakis in IMAX. Villeneuve’s final spicy film snagged exclusive rights to IMAX theaters in the U.S. and many international markets. Those tickets first became available back in April. But you can now secure your seat to see the Lisan al-Gaib again in IMAX 70mm, regular IMAX screens, an other large premium formats.

Legendary/Warner Bros.

Dune: Part Three‘s early advantage is why Disney is releasing Avengers: Endgame in its new Infinity Vision theater format experience. How did Warner Bros. and Legendary get out ahead of the Mouse House on such an important theatrical release window? As powerful as Victor von Doom might be, Paul Atreides is the iconic villain who can see into the future. We’re guessing that probably helped.

Has Paul’s ability to see the future been good for the galaxy? Obviously not, but it will continue to be good for Dune fans who want to see him on the best screens possible.

Editor’s Note: Nerdist is a subsidiary of Legendary Digital Networks.

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist. You can follow Mikey on Bluesky at @‌burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

The post Teaser Celebrates DUNE: PART THREE Insider Screenings Presale appeared first on Nerdist.

If rolled out, the feature would use the social media service’s TikTok Pay offering, which is already available in Southeast Asia for TikTok Shop purchases.

⚡ Quick Take

• Ten years since the game’s first chapter debuted, indie horror game Sally Face is getting a second installment, and the teaser is out.
• We got our first still from the game in June, an image of Ashley after the events of the fifth chapter battle.
• The new trailer gives us a better insight into what the post-apocalyptic world looks like, but still leaves us with plenty of questions.

This year marks the tenth anniversary of Steve Gabry’s Sally Face, an indie horror puzzle game. Now, longtime fans are ecstatic to see the game getting a well-deserved second installment.

Conceived, written, and designed by one man, Sally Face gained popularity as chapters came out. From YouTube exposure to social media clout, it grew to have the sizable audience it does today.

Portable Moose

We got our first look at the new game in June, when Gabry revealed an image of Ashley, whose face now shows the effects of the final battle from the fifth chapter of Sally Face. It seemed she was blind in one eye, and the left side of her hair had gone white.

Now, after PortableMoose gave us that crumb, the official teaser trailer for Sally Face 2 is the entire cake.

The teaser shows us a decrepit, abandoned Nockfell. We see an out-of-use gas station and what little is left of the Addison Apartments. Ashley and Todd are adventuring together, shown standing outside a big city, clearly not the small town of Nockfell, but still appearing to be abandoned.

After the end of the fifth chapter of Sally Face, we know that the plague of shadows didn’t just affect Nockfell. It killed off a third of the world’s population. This game seems to be a post-apocalyptic adventure following Ashley and Todd.

However. Not all hope is lost for Sal. We see him in a shot interacting with Ashley. He looks as he did at the end of the fifth chapter: fragmented and trapped in the afterlife. The text on the screen tells us that “even death holds no solace” for him. In the last few seconds of the teaser, though, we see him regain his solid form, wearing a purple cloak over his typical red pant black shirt attire.

PortableMoose

The teaser leaves fans with more questions than answers. Where the cult is, what challenges the post-apocalyptic world presents, and whether or not Sal is returning as a full-fledged, playable main character. I could go on.

RELATED ARTICLE

7 Things We Want to See in Indie Horror Game SALLY FACE 2

Unfortunately, the devs have not yet announced a release date. Considering PortableMoose is still a very small team (only four people!), it could take a little bit. Antsy fans will have to find some way to entertain themselves. In the meantime, if you’ve never played the first game, I highly recommend going back and playing it in preparation for this release. Sally Face 2 is available for wishlisting on Steam.

Ella R. Dunn writes about movies, TV, games, comics, and all things nerdy for Nerdist.

The post Indie Horror Game, SALLY FACE, Teases a Second Installment appeared first on Nerdist.

⚡ Quick Take

• Disney announced The Imagineering Story is getting a second season during this year’s D23 event.
• Leslie Iwerks will once again bring fans behind-the-scenes to see how their favorite attractions went from an idea to a reality.
• Nerdist’s Take: The announcement that The Imagineering Story will return was among the best news to come out of D23.

Of all the many, many announcements Disney made during this year’s D23 event, one of the most unexpected was also among the best. That’s because we’re finally getting a second season of Disney+’s best show. Leslie Iwerks’ The Imagineering Story is coming back.

Disney’s Horizons: A Carousel of Progress D23 presentation, hosted by Neil Patrick Harris at the Honda Center in Anaheim, included the long-wished for (especially by this guy) news that The Imagineering Story will return for season two. The superb 2019 first season took fans behind-the-scenes to see Imagineers brought their favorite attractions, rides, and experiences from an idea to a reality. It’s an absolute must-watch for Disney and amusement park fans. It’s also a must-watch for anyone obsessed with the creative process.

The first trailer for season two promises to give us more of what made the docuseries so great. Only, this return will have an one big advantage over season one. A big part of season one saw Iwerks’ going back to tell decades-old stories. This time she was there from start-to-finish for a lot of the company’s newest, biggest projects. Chief Creative Officer Bruce Vaughn said Iwerks was there from blue sky concept to shovels in the ground.

“Leslie has been with us as we’ve put all these new projects in motion,” said Vaughn. That level of access will allow her to show fans how Imagineers think things through as they do it and not just in retrospect.

Disney

I genuinely cannot wait. There was a whole lot that I heard during the Experiences Showcase that have me very excited about the future of Disney parks, but getting to watch a TV show about how they’re made was as good as any of them. I just have to wait a little longer to see a season of television I wasn’t sure I’d ever get. The Imagineering Story will return for season two at Disney+ in 2028.

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist. You can follow Mikey on Bluesky at @‌burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

The post Disney+’s THE IMAGINEERING STORY Is Returning for Season 2 appeared first on Nerdist.

The new safeguards include more detailed monitoring of models during the development process, as well as greater emphasis on alignment and security during the post-training process.

Jane Street has installed Etched's first shipped AI cluster system, and was so impressed, it led another massive round, the startup says.

Apple is simplifying its EU App Store fees, replacing its per-install fee with a 5% commission for apps distributed outside the App Store and making it easier for developers to operate alternative app marketplaces.

⚡ Quick Take

• Lanterns episode one ended with a shocking death.
• This character’s demise has precedent in DC Comics lore.
• Nerdist’s take: The death of this Lanterns character means the series could go in many wild directions based on the Green Lantern comics canon.

The first episode of Lanterns on HBO ended with quite a shock, as John Stewart (Aaron Pierre) was called into the small town of Rushville, Nebraska, to investigate a crime. This happens in the 2026 portion of the timeline. And that crime was the probable murder of the former Green Lantern of Sector 2814, Hal Jordan (Kyle Chandler). The local sheriff found his frozen body sitting in the snowy bleachers of the local high school. This has enraged several DC Comics fans, angry that this iconic hero is already dead in the DCU. However, Hal Jordan has died before in the source material. And he actually stayed dead for nearly ten years. So yes, there is DC Comics precedent for all of this.

HBO Max/DC Studios Hal Jordan’s Fall from Grace

For most of his existence in the DC Universe since 1959, Hal Jordan was a stalwart guy, a test pilot who was painted in a traditional heroic light. However, that changed during the early ’90s. Thanks to fallout from The Death and Return of Superman, Hal Jordan’s hometown of Coast City, California, was destroyed. This happened thanks to the evil schemes of the villainous Cyborg Superman. As a result, Hal went into a deep depression. Despite all his power, he couldn’t save his own hometown and loved ones. So he went to his bosses, the immortal Guardians of the Universe, and begged them to resurrect his home. They flat out refused.

DC Comics From Green Lantern to Parallax

To say Hal did not take it well is putting it mildly. Despite his reputation as the greatest Green Lantern in the Green Lantern Corps, the Guardians refused to change the course of known events for one man. Hal Jordan went, to use a scientific term, batshit crazy. He entered the central power battery on the planet Oa, home of the Guardians, absorbing its power, killing all but one of them. Hal later went on a rampage against his fellow Green Lantern Corps members, slaughtering them all, including lifelong friends. He now used the name Parallax, and was a bonafide villain. It was a heel turn no one saw coming. Especially after 35 years of portrayal as a cocky but stand-up guy.

DC Comics

Many DC Comics fans did not appreciate this change to Hal’s character in the Emerald Twilight story. Especially when Parallax tried to “fix” the DC timeline in the Zero Hour event. Defeated by the Justice League and other DC heroes at the end of that 1994 series, Hal then began to fully see the error of his ways. In the 1996 event series Final Night, as a way of redeeming himself, Hal Jordan sacrificed his life to reignite a burned-out sun, which had gone out, leaving Earth in a deep freeze. His role as Green Lantern of Earth was now fully that of rookie Lantern, Kyle Rayner. Rayner was now the only Green Lantern in the universe. Hal Jordan went out a hero, saving the entire world.

DC Comics Hal Jordan as The Spectre

All of that was not the end of Hal Jordan, however. As atonement for his crimes, the soul of Hal Jordan took on a new role in 1999. He became the new host of the Spectre, the embodiment of God’s wrath. Technically still dead, Jordan anchored an ongoing Spectre series from 2001-2003, where he sought his redemption as a vengeful ghost. But to the world at large, Hal Jordan was still a dead man. Hal Jordan wouldn’t properly come back to life until 2005’s Green Lantern: Rebirth by writer Geoff Johns. This series would relaunch the character as a Green Lantern, and explain away Parallax as a fear entity that possessed him. But at that point, Hal had been dead for the better part of a decade.

RELATED ARTICLE

LANTERNS Is a Welcome Change of Pace for Superhero TV (Review) What Does This Mean for Lanterns?

Does this mean Hal Jordan in Lanterns is headed for the same resurrection story? Not necessarily. We don’t see any evidence of Parallax or any of that stuff in the series. But Hal dying and then finding a way back from the afterlife is completely canon with the comics. So maybe just because Hal died on Lanterns doesn’t mean it’s the last we’ve seen of him in the present-day DCU timeline. So before longtime Hal fans get those pitchforks out, remember this lesson. The DC heroes famously have a strong aversion to staying dead and buried. Just ask the Flash and Supergirl. They might have a thing or two to say about it.

Lanterns is currently airing new episodes Sunday nights on HBO and HBO Max.

Eric Diaz is a staff writer at Nerdist and a Swiss Army knife of fandoms. Eric loves DC, Marvel, horror movies, and even Star Wars and Star Trek equally.

The post Is This Lantern Character’s Fate Canon in DC Comics Lore? appeared first on Nerdist.

A new feature added to Comcast's newest routers can detect if there is motion is inside your home without needing traditional motion sensors.

Apple’s leaked camera-equipped AirPods might avoid the privacy pitfalls of other AI wearables by preventing users from recording photos and videos.

This is the latest large-scale DDoS attack to hit the social networking site this year.

The cheapest ad-supported “Select” plan is increasing from $7.99 to $8.99 per month.

⚡ Quick Take

• Derry, Maine is an iconic key location in the Stephen King universe with a long and well-documented history.

Stephen King has made one thing clear in his work. Apparently, a seemingly incalculable amount of wildly dangerous, often supernatural threats are looming throughout his beloved home state of Maine. Still, there are a few notable epicenters that loom especially large and Derry, the setting for the new HBO Max series IT: Welcome to Derry, is chief among them. In fact, Derry has quite the iconic history in Stephen King’s work.

RELATED ARTICLE

IT: WELCOME TO DERRY Trailer: Stephen King Easter Eggs, Pennywise, and Bloody Screams Galore

King’s books are far more interconnected than those only really familiar with him through the countless movie and TV adaptations of his work might realize. Decades into his career, it’s incredibly impressive to realize King’s single-handedly created an expansive shared universe that, thanks to how insanely prolific he is, feels like it’s on par with Marvel and DC, given how much lore there is at this point. Along with recurring characters, much of that lore includes the fictional settings that stories revisit, like Castle Rock, Jerusalem’s Lot, and Derry. Among this Big Three, Derry was the last we’d see, and yet it was percolating in King’s mind for years. 

When Was the First Mention of Derry in Stephen King’s Written Work?

Derry was first mentioned in King’s 1981 short story, “The Bird and the Album.” From there, it became part of the background for King’s fictionalized version of Maine, with other name drops popping up with increasing frequency. Perhaps the most amusing reference came just a year later in 1982, when Derry is evoked in The Running Man, set in the then far future of 2025. The Running Man was written under King’s Richard Bachman pseudonym, while he was trying to keep it a secret that he was the true author behind Bachman’s books. So including the same fictional town is, in retrospect, a bit of a “I dare you to figure it out!” moment. (By 1985, it was, in fact, figured out.)

Derry mentions also popped up in popular King works like “The Body” (the short story that Stand By Me is based on) and Pet Sematary in the early ’80s. But in 1986 he’d finally set a novel there and in doing so, made it worth the wait by delivering a gripping horror epic that showed just how immersed in evil this particular place was. 

HBO Derry Takes Center Stage in IT Novel with Pennywise the Clown

Running over 1100 pages, IT didn’t just use Derry as a setting. It really dialed in on the idea that the ancient title character corrupted things in this place going back long before anyone could remember. A big part of the book involved the “Loser’s Club” kids at the center of the story investigating Derry’s history and learning more about all of the disappearances, murders, and horrific and tragic events that had plagued the town, which seemed to especially bubble up every 27 years. The Loser’s Club came to realize there was, in fact, a source for all of it in the form of the evil being they come to call IT, whether IT was in the guise of its frequent Pennywise the Clown persona or appearing as something else entirely. 

Warner Bros.

King is never shy about exploring the history of the places he sets his stories, and yet IT still felt like the most King had ever built out a town in such a detailed manner within the confines of a single book. As the story goes forward, we get insight into so many important locations and/or dark historical events through the decades. This includes everything from the Kitchener Ironworks explosion to the fire at the Black Spot, not to mention the Well House on Neibolt Street, the Paul Bunyon statue, and so much more.

Among King’s work, it stands out because there is a singular inciting cause for why things kept going awry in such awful ways through so many eras. Sure, there’s plenty of dark and spooky history in a place like Jerusalem’s Lot too, but IT posited that pretty much every notable aspect of Derry’s legacy was infected by the specific presence of IT. 

Spoiler alert for the ending of IT, but that book (and its subsequent miniseries and motion picture adaptations) concludes with the now-adult Loser’s Club truly vanquishing IT. This frees Derry from IT’s clutches in the process. And perhaps that’s why King has not made Derry as much of a large-scale recurring presence as somewhere like Castle Rock. Because everything should be much better there now… Right? 

Of course, this is a horror story, and there is the ever-looming question of whether IT is alive or not. And King has had some fun with this in a couple of his books set after IT that have ventured, albeit briefly, into Derry.

Crossovers Into Derry From Other Characters in the Stephen King Universe

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Stephen King Reveals His 10 Favorite Movies of All Time

In the 1987 novel The Tommyknockers, two characters drive through the town. At one point, one of them begins to hallucinate. He thinks he’s seeing “a clown grinning up at him from an open sewer manhole.” Which begs the question, beyond it being a fun Easter egg, why would Pennywise appear to someone at all after IT is completely gone from Derry? Hmm… 

Then, in 2001’s Dreamcatcher (mainly set just outside of Derry), when that story’s villain, Mr. Gray goes into Derry himself, he sees a plaque dedicated by the Loser’s Club, commemorating those lost in the massive storm of 1985. This is a major event that happens at the conclusion of IT as something that accompanied the final battle against the creature. Yet on the plaque, someone has now ominously scrawled “Pennywise Lives.” Which certainly seems to indicate that a certain clown is still top of mind for some in town. 

Derry has continued to occasionally pop up in King stories. The protagonist of Bag of Bones living there, though he spends most of the book in a different location. And then there’s 11/22/63 including a fascinating section where that book’s time traveling main character, Jake Epping, goes back to Derry in the year 1958. In the wake of IT’s temporary defeat by the child incarnation of the Loser’s Club, Jake not only meets two of that aforementioned club, Beverly and Richie, but feels the feeling of evil permeating this town. 

HBO Max

However, when it comes to telling a story 100% exploring what post-IT Derry is like, 1994’s Insomnia remains unique. It takes place in Derry and focuses on Ralph Roberts, a man whose escalating insomnia leads to him seeing auras around people. Insomnia has plenty of mentions of the big storm of 1985 and its aftermath. And it includes an appearance from another Loser’s Club alum, Mike Hanlon, who was the only one to stay in Derry.

IT/Pennywise makes no return here, but it’s worth noting that the book’s villain, the Crimson King, is part of King’s sweeping Dark Tower series, which eventually connected back to pretty much all of his previous stories in some manner, IT included. In Insomnia, the Crimson King tells Ralph at one point, “shape-shifting is a time-honored custom in Derry,” clearly referencing IT/Pennywise. Because supernatural evil game recognizes supernatural evil game. 

Derry Takes on TV in 2025 in IT: Welcome to Derry HBO

The first season of IT: Welcome to Derry took place in 1962 and pulls heavily from the Derry backstory King included in his book, albeit also with different years for when certain things occurred.

We did get the major event of the Black Spot fire, as well as several other heartbreaking deaths. And, we learned tidbits about previous cycles, like the 1935 one involving the Bradley Gang. The first season dove deeper into the 1908 cycle, where we met a young Rose and Francis Shaw, who ended up with very opposing views in 1962.

Other IT-fueled events from the book’s lore, like the Ironworks explosion, are briefly referenced in the show’s opening credits and will happen in subsequent seasons. Each one will travel back another 27 years earlier, with season 2 indeed happening in 1935. It is very likely that we will see younger versions of characters that we met, like Rose, Hank Grogan, and Lily Bainbridge’s mom.

RELATED ARTICLE

The Scariest and Most Shocking Moments in IT: WELCOME TO DERRY

Unlike some prequels that feel like they’re grasping at straws for a compelling story, Welcome to Derry feels like worthwhile subject matter because King has already laid the groundwork history by providing pieces of information about many pivotal events have occurred in this town, some of which took place hundreds and even thousands of years back further. The show has the chance to continue to build upon these events and further explore what exactly occurred before and after, how IT thrived in the process, and those impacted along the way.

One thing is for sure though. If you’re in Derry and you see a clown, run like hell. 

Eric Goldman writes about movies, TV, games, comics, and all things nerdy for Nerdist.Originally published on October 17, 2025.

The post Welcome to Derry: How This Town Became an Iconic Part of Stephen King’s Work appeared first on Nerdist.

⚡ Quick Take

• This year, several Six Flags locations are bringing the only and only Jason Voorhees into action with JASON: Blood Reign.
• The immersive maze will put attendees into the woods near Camp Crystal Lake as the slasher villain lurks nearby.
• Nerdist’s Take: JASON: Blood Reign is coming at a perfect time with renewed interest in the long-running franchise.

The final months of the year are upon us, which means that it is time for all things chilling and thrilling. While we look forward to all the scary TV and film offerings, like Carrie, Crystal Lake, Clayface, we also cannot wait to go outside. From haunted houses to hayrides, the weeks leading up with Halloween are full of excitement. And, there’s nothing that gets your heart racing like going to a theme park when it is revamped for horrors. This year, several Six Flags locations are bringing the only and only Jason Voorhees into action with JASON: Blood Reign, a maze that puts you into Camp Crystal Lake’s woods. 

Six Flags

This immersive experience will dive fans of the iconic slasher villain straight into his world. Each step in the darkness is one that’s potentially closer to doom as Jason slashes through one victim at a time. The silent killer is waiting for you, if you dare to walk through this Six Flags maze. Right now, there are a lot of specific details about what exactly will happen nor what characters we will see besides our favorite hockey mask wearing hulk of a dude. But, here are the Six Flags where you can experience JASON: Blood Reign: 

• Carowinds | Charlotte, NC
• Kings Island | Mason, OH
• Six Flags Great Adventure | Jackson Township, NJ
• Six Flags Mexico | Mexico City, MX

“It’s incredible to see how fans’ appetite for Jason Voorhees keeps growing,” said Robbie Barsamian, Executive Vice President at Horror, Inc. “Partnering with Six Flags for Blood Reign lets us deliver the iconic slasher straight to our community on an immersive scale.” 

He’s back, and he’s coming for you 🔪 Jason: Blood Reign haunted maze is coming to select Six Flags parks this fall 🩸 Learn more at the link in our bio… will you survive the night? @JasonUniverse13

📍: @KingsIslandPR
📍: @SFGRAdventure
📍: @Carowinds pic.twitter.com/VGBbAmD657

— Six Flags (@SixFlags) July 31, 2026 Nerdist’s Take: Six Flags is Introducing JASON: Blood Reign At the Right Time 

Bringing Jason into these parks for their Halloween transformation is truly perfect timing. Renewed interest in the long-running franchise is amping up thanks to Peacock’s Crystal Lake prequel series, which is coming this October. There are also whisperings of a new Friday the 13th film, although there’s no official greenlight for that project as of July 2026.

It is also the 40th anniversary of the franchise’s sixth film Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives, which is a fan favorite that had a big influence on future franchises like Scream. Like Jason, this franchise continues to live on, and we love it. If you’re a big Jason fan and want to kick off spooky season early, you can watch the first eight movies and have them forever, thanks to this very reasonably priced, limited-edition Steelbook.

RELATED ARTICLE

Jason Voorhees Joins DEAD BY DAYLIGHT (And It Makes Total Sense)

Carowinds will transform into Scarowinds on select nights starting on September 11 through November 1. Kings Island’s Halloween Haunt runs from September 25 to October 31. Fright Fest at Six Flags Great Adventure is from September 18 through November 1. And Six Flags Mexico’s Festival del Terror goes from September 4 through November 17. Find out more information by visiting Six Flags’ website.

Tai Gooden is the Features Editor for Nerdist, a fictional villain apologist, and a horror aficionado who is forever waiting for her trip in the TARDIS.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 JASON: BLOOD REIGN Maze Coming to Six Flags Locations appeared first on Nerdist.

⚡ Quick Take

• After twenty years, The Simpsons Movie is finally getting a theatrical sequel. The New Simpsons Movie is set to hit theaters in fall of 2027.
• We don’t know too much about the movie yet, but caught a brief glimpse of it at D23.
• Nerdist Take: The success of The New Simpsons Movie could impact whether Disney reclaims theme park rights to the franchise.
• Learn More: Explore The New Simpsons Movie first-look footage.

Some twenty years since their last feature film, Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie are getting a brand new movie. A sequel to The Simpsons Movie, The New Simpsons movie, is officially on the way from Disney and 20th Century Studios. This Simpsons sequel movie was originally set to release on July 23, 2027, but will now release on September 3, 2027. We don’t know much about it yet, but this new movie could determine the fate of the franchise at theme parks.

So what will The New Simpsons Movie be about? After 37 seasons on the air, with three more guaranteed, it feels like they’ve done everything with these characters. However, as this is the first animated Simpsons film released under Disney, maybe this sequel will be a proper animated musical? After nearly 800 episodes of the series, they’ve got to make this something special and worth paying money for. The original The Simpsons Movie made a whopping $537 million in 2007. And the show was already 18 years old at that point. But in a pre-streaming, pre-pandemic world, people went to the movies a lot more. Will that tactic work in 2027?

For now, we’ve only gotten the briefest of looks at The New Simpsons Movie. During Disney’s D23 2026 event, we saw a quick tease, which we break down here.

20th Century Nerdist Take: Could the Success of The Simpsons Movie Decide its Theme Park Fate?

Disney may use the success or failure of The New Simpsons Movie to determine the brand’s viability for future theme park inclusion. Right now, Universal Studios has the license. And there are Simpsons-themed Springfield U.S.A. lands in both Hollywood and Orlando theme parks. The license for those expires in 2028. So Disney may want to see if the property still retains enough cultural power for a land in their own parks once the rights revert. If this Simpsons sequel makes bank, then we doubt it’ll be too long before we see Bart taking photos with kids at Disney World. Watch this space.

Eric Diaz is a staff writer at Nerdist and a Swiss Army knife of fandoms. Eric loves DC, Marvel, horror movies, and even Star Wars and Star Trek equally.

Originally published in September 2025.

The post Could THE NEW SIMPSONS MOVIE Decide SIMPSONS Theme Park Fate? appeared first on Nerdist.

⚡ Quick Take

• Since 1940, Green Lantern has been a pillar of DC Comics storytelling. We present the most iconic comic book runs of the emerald warrior.

“In Brightest Day, in Blackest Night. No evil shall escape my sight.” The Green Lantern, the protector of Space Sector 2814, has said that oath for decades. As a character, Green Lantern has been a mainstay of DC Comics since 1940, with many different heroes wielding the emerald Power Ring. DC Studios is even tackling a Green Lantern TV series for HBO, simply called Lanterns. So now is the perfect time to take a deep dive into the many decades of Green Lantern comics from DC. And to help you choose, we present to you the ten greatest Green Lantern comic book runs of all time.

DC Comics 10. The Green Lantern by Grant Morrison and Liam Sharp DC Comics

Grant Morrison is one of the greatest writers in modern comic book history, having written definitive runs for DC’s Superman, Batman, Justice League, and Wonder Woman. While we can’t say their Green Lantern run is a truly definitive run for the character, it definitely contained many interesting moments. In 2018, Morrison took on Green Lantern Hal Jordan, for a new ongoing series simply called The Green Lantern. The intricately detailed artwork for almost the entire run was provided by UK artist Liam Sharp, doing some career-best work.

Morrison, in their usual way, wanted to get weird with it. They focused more on Hal Jordan than the cast of thousands of the previous few years of GL mythos. In Morrison’s portrayal, Hal Jordan is an ordinary guy, just one whose mind expanded after years of experiencing cosmic incidents, death, and rebirth. Not everything lands in this run, as sometimes Morrison gets too esoteric for their own good for a Green Lantern title. But some of the ideas, and especially Sharp’s artwork, make this one to check out if you love Green Lantern.

Issues in Grant Morrison’s Green Lantern Run:

The Green Lantern #1-18, Blackstars #1-3 (2018-2021)

9. Green Lantern War Journal by Phillip Kennedy Johnson and Montos DC Comics

Even though he’s DC’s first African American superhero, there are too few instances where John Stewart headlined a solo Green Lantern title. The first time was the short-lived, yet weird and brilliant Green Lantern: Mosaic back in 1992. But in 2023, DC gave John another shot at a solo ongoing title, in the excellent Green Lantern: War Journal series. This book comes from the creative team of writer Phillip Kennedy Johnson, and artist Montos.

This series featured John Stewart attempting a quiet life on Earth, hoping to retire from the hero car. But soon, John is forced to wear the Power Ring once more when a deadly mystery emerges. This series reconciles the contradicting versions of the character. Was he the idealistic architect from the ‘70s, or the hard-nosed Marine from the 2000s era Justice League cartoons? Well, why not both? Sadly, this book is ending after just 12 issues this year. Yet the 11 issues we did get so far were pretty fantastic and worth your time.

Issues in Phillip Kennedy Johnson and Montos’ Green Lantern War Journal Run:

Green Lantern War Journal #1-12 (2023-2024)

8. Green Lantern Corps (vol. 1) by Steve Englehart and Joe Staton DC Comics

In the early ‘80s, Green Lantern comics were stuck in a rut. Hal had left Green Arrow behind and became a solo act after a decade. Yet aside from the back-up Tales of the Green Lantern Corps from a young Alan Moore, nothing about Green Lantern as a comic was very exciting anymore. DC decided to retire Hal and replace him with John Stewart for an extended period, and later Guy Gardner. But even that didn’t increase sales significantly. So with the events of Crisis on Infinite Earths, DC decided to change things up big time. Green Lantern would become a superhero team book.

With issue #201, Green Lantern became Green Lantern Corps. On writing duties was Avengers and Batman veteran Steve Englehart, with stylized art by Joe Staton. After the events of Crisis, the Guardians departed this reality, leaving their Corps members to chart their own destinies, abolishing space sectors. A group of Lanterns led by Hal Jordan became a team, including John Stewart, his alien wife Katma Tui, Guy Garnder, the alien chipmunk GL named Ch’p, and a brand new Lantern named Kilowog, who would become a fan-favorite. This run proved the GLC as a team book could work, even if the series only lasted 24 issues. For some reason, this series isn’t collected today, an oversight DC should correct right away.

Issues in Steve Englehart and Joe Staton’s Green Lantern Corps Run:

Green Lantern Corps vol. 1 #201-224 (1986-1988)

7. Far Sector by N.K. Jemisin and Jamal Campbell DC Comics

This limited series was written by sci-fi author N.K. Jemisin, and illustrated by Jamal Campbell. It focused on an entirely brand new hero, the Green Lantern Sojourner  “Jo” Mullein. And yes, she’s another Green Lantern from Earth (really, that’s like ten Earth Lanterns now. Enough DC!) A former military officer and ex-cop, Jo has been recruited by the Guardians of the Universe to keep the peace on a planet in the furthest known reaches of known space. She even uses a special Power Ring that slowly recharges on its own instead of needing to recharge with a battery.

The story of Far Sector starts as Jo Mullein becomes a cosmic detective, investigating the first murder victim in 500 years on a distant world. Unlike most G.L. stories, Far Sector actually remembers that the Green Lantern Corps aren’t really space soldiers, they’re actually space police. And in space and on Earth, policing, and what it means to those with no power, creates complications. This is a relatively recent series, released in 2020. But it’s a fantastic standalone story that deserves a lot more attention. Thankfully, Sojourner  “Jo” Mullein has since been incorporated into the larger DC Universe.

Issues in N.K. Jemisin and Jamal Campbell’s Far Sector Run:

Far Sector #1-12, 2020-2022

6. Green Lantern: Emerald Dawn by James Owsley, Keith Giffen, Gerard Jones, and M.D. Bright DC Comics

After the end of the Green Lantern Corps, there were only two Green Lanterns on Earth again—Hal Jordan and Guy Gardner. Guy was in the popular Justice League International series, but Hal Jordan, the OG, was without a home. So in 1989, DC decided to give Hal Jordan’s origin story a modern, post-Crisis update, with the limited series Green Lantern: Emerald Dawn. It was a testing ground to see if Hal was popular enough to headline an ongoing series again. The book, by writers James Owsley, Keith Giffen, and Gerard Jones, with art by M.D. Bright, was an instant hit, spawning an immediate sequel, and eventually a new ongoing series.

This six-issue mini-series added important new elements to Hal’s backstory, like the fact that he wasn’t all that perfect and upstanding before becoming a Lantern anymore, struggling with many personal issues before Abin Sur’s Power Ring chose him. These problems included prison time for a car accident that he caused while under the influence. Emerald Dawn also introduced the idea that future arch-villain Sinestro was Hal’s trainer as a GL, something that remains a facet of his story to this day. The art by the late M.D. Bright is the right mix of modern and classic, making this still a fun read today.

We should note that one of the three writers on Emerald Dawn, Gerard Jones, is a convicted criminal charged with fairly horrible crimes, which is likely why the series has remained out of print.

Issues in Keith Giffen, James Owsley, Gerard Jones, and M.D. Bright’s Green Lantern: Emerald Dawn Run:

Green Lantern: Emerald Dawn #1-6 (1989-1990), Green Lantern: Emerald Dawn II (1991)

5. Green Lantern (vol. 2) by John Broome, Gardner Fox, and Gil Kane DC Comics

The foundation for everything we know and love about the Green Lantern mythology is firmly rooted in the Silver Age stories of writers John Broome, Gardner Fox, and artist Gil Kane. Yes, a Golden Age Green Lantern existed before during WWII, Alan Scott. Yet it was these 1960s stories that defined who and what Green Lantern really is as a concept for the rest of time. In 1959’s anthology title Showcase #22, they took the name Green Lantern and built a whole new sci-fi mythology around it. With a new lead hero, Hal Jordan, rooted in the Atomic Age space race of the day, Green Lantern as a series was much better on the second try.

During this iconic Silver Age Green Lantern run, they not only introduced Hal Jordan. They also introduced the entire Green Lantern Corps, the Guardians of the Universe, Sinestro, and so many other concepts that remain to this day. Yes, the characterizations of the characters are often bland and one-note. There’s an undeniable goofiness to it all. That was just the era. Not to mention, Hal’s adventures and adversaries are way too Earth-bound during this time. But the imaginative storytelling and Gil Kane art will win you over. Even if it would take a later generation of writers to truly make Green Lantern great.

Issues in John Broome, Gardner Fox, and Gil Kane’s Green Lantern Run:

Showcase #22-24, Green Lantern vol. 2 #1-60 (1959-1960)

4. Green Lantern Corps by Peter J. Tomasi and Patrick Gleason DC Comics

Everyone cites Geoff Johns’ epic run on Green Lantern as peak superhero storytelling. As well they should. But during the Johns era, the companion Green Lantern Corps ongoing series from writer Peter J. Tomasi and artist Patrick Gleason was often just as good—sometimes even better—than the flagship book. After the successful Green Lantern Corps: Recharge mini-series, DC took a chance on an ongoing GLC series again. This series almost totally takes place in space, with Honor Guard Lanterns John Stewart, Guy Gardner, Kyle Rayner, and others taking center stage.

In addition to the Earth Lanterns, exciting new characters like Sinestro’s replacement GL, Soranik Natu, were introduced in this series. When Green Lantern Corps was read simultaneously with Johns’ main Green Lantern title, it all felt like one epically large cosmic story when read together. Although Watchmen artist Dave Gibbons wrote the first couple of arcs, Peter J. Tomasi takes over for most of the rest of the run. Throughout all of this, you get the gorgeous artwork of Patrick Gleason. That alone makes this run an all-timer.

Issues in Peter J. Tomasi and Patrick Gleason’s Green Lantern Corps Run:

Green Lantern Corps vol. 2 #1-47 (2006-2010),

3. Green Lantern/Green Arrow by Denny O’Neil and Neal Adams DC Comics

By the end of the Silver Age, American comics were changing. More college kids than elementary school children were reading them. The stories themselves started to deal with more mature subjects and complex characterizations—especially at DC’s rival Marvel Comics. So in 1970, DC tasked young writer/artist duo Dennis O’Neil and Neil Adams, who also reinvented Batman, with reinventing Green Lantern as a socially relevant series. And they brought on Green Arrow as a co-lead, creating one of the comics’ best bromances. Green Lantern officially changed to Green Lantern/Green Arrow with issue #76.

During O’Neil and Adams’ “Hard Travellin’ Heroes” run, Hal Jordan represented conservative, establishment America. Oliver Queen’s Green Arrow was recreated as an almost hippy, hyper-leftist superhero. The two were oil and water, and they traveled America facing the issues of the day, like racism and drug abuse. Even Manson-like cults! Sometimes the writing was a bit preachy and on the nose, but the artwork and dynamic storytelling from O’Neil and Adams always sold it. This run saw the introduction of John Stewart, another reason it’s a milestone series. Hal and Ollie would remain partners for the entire ‘70s. Yet it was the O’Neil/Adams run that is the gold standard, even still.

Issues in Denny O’Neil and Neal Adams’ Green Lantern/Green Arrow Run:

Green Lantern/Green Arrow #76-89 (1970-1972)

2. Green Lantern (Vol. 3) by Ron Marz and Daryl Banks, Paul Pelletier DC Comics

In 1994, the comic book industry took a giant hit when the so-called comic book crash happened. Sales on once-popular franchises like Green Lantern, which a couple of years prior had three titles and a quarterly, were in freefall. So DC gambled. As a result of events during their Death and Return of Superman storyline, Hal Jordan lost his marbles, killed what remained of the GL Corps, and became the villain Parallax. All in the mere span of 3 issues. Only one power ring remained, and it went to a twenty-something slacker in a Nine Inch Nails t-shirt. And with that, Green Lantern was reborn.

In 1994’s Green Lantern #50, the last Guardian of the Universe gave out-of-work artist Kyle Rayner the last Power Ring, and he shaped himself into the universe’s last Green Lantern. A total 180 from Hal Jordan, Kyle was more like the readers—young, relatable, and more interested in art than airplanes. Ron Marz took on writing chores with Daryl Banks on pencils, and together they created a hero for the ‘90s that remains a fan favorite. Kyle had Spider-Man levels of average-guy superhero soap opera, all while trying to live up to a legendary legacy. Marz wrote the first issues, during much of which Green Lantern was once again a backbone of DC’s publishing line. Hal returned a decade later, but Kyle’s run as GL is undeniable.

Issues in Ron Marz’s Green Lantern Run:

Green Lantern vol. 3 #48-125 (1994-2000)

1. Green Lantern (vol. 4, vol. 5) by Geoff Johns, Ivan Reis, Ethan Van Sciver, Doug Mahnke DC Comics

When it comes to Green Lantern comic book runs, few would argue that writer Geoff Johns‘ nearly ten-year run on the title is the GOAT. When Johns came on board for GL in 2004, the character was in a downturn. Kyle Rayner was still the main Lantern, but the series had lost steam after a decade. Especially without Rayner’s creator Ron Marz at the helm. Hal Jordan had gone from villain to dead to the ghostly hero the Spectre. The Corps was disbanded. It was a bit of a broken franchise. Writer Geoff Johns fixed all that almost overnight, starting with the blockbuster mini-series Green Lantern: Rebirth.

In Green Lantern: Rebirth, Johns and artist Ethan Van Sciver re-energized the series by bringing Hal Jordan back from the dead, as well as his main rival Sinestro. They also created a plausible explanation for Hal’s turn to the dark side a decade earlier, creating the fear entity Parallax, which we learned possessed Hal. During the Johns run, alongside artists like Ivan Reis and Doug Mahnke, they expanded the Green Lantern mythology like no ever had before. Together, they created some of the best ongoing superhero yarn-spinning of the last few decades.

DC Comics

During his tenure, Johns created the Sinestro Corps, introduced the concepts of the Emotional Spectrum, the other colored Lantern Corps, like the rage-fueled Red Lanterns, the Third Army, and maybe the peak of the franchise, Blackest Night. This mini-series introduced the zombie-like Black Lantern Corps, made up of the animated corpses of dead DC characters. Geoff Johns’ run on Green Lantern was so epic, that no writer since has ever been able to top it. For a brief time, Geoff Johns turned Green Lantern into DC’s second-biggest franchise after Batman. And it will be a long time before its light goes out in the hearts of fandom.

Issues in Geoff Johns’ Green Lantern Run:

Green Lantern: Rebirth #1–6 (2004–2005), Green Lantern vol. 4 #1–67 (2005–2011) Green Lantern vol. 5 #0–20 (2011–2013) Blackest Night #0-9 (2009-2010)

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Originally published on July 18, 2024.

Eric Diaz is a staff writer at Nerdist and a Swiss Army knife of fandoms. Eric loves DC, Marvel, horror movies, and even Star Wars and Star Trek equally.

The post The 10 Greatest Green Lantern Comic Book Runs, Ranked appeared first on Nerdist.

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