The Nerdist

One Piece season three was confirmed before One Piece season two ever aired. And that was a wise choice because One Piece season two absolutely crushed it. Now, Netflix has given us a sneak peek at the upcoming season, no doubt knowing that we cannot WAIT for more from the live-action adaptation. In this new look at One Piece season three, Netflix confirms what we already knew. One Piece season three will take on One Piece‘s famed Alabasta arc, bringing together powerful villains, emotional bonds of friendship and family, political intrigue, and a whole lot of adventure. Up until now, One Piece‘s episodes have been focused on island hopping through character backstories and tales. But now, we have our crew, and we’re ready to set sail into one breathtaking plot. Here’s what we know about One Piece season three and its journey into the Alabasta arc.

See you in 2027, Straw Hats! 🏴‍☠️ The battle of Alabasta is approaching. pic.twitter.com/ciAnbHnB6N

— ONE PIECE(ワンピース) Netflix (@onepiecenetflix) April 7, 2026

Netflix reveals, “In this upcoming season, war is coming for Monkey D. Luffy and the Straw Hat crew in the desert kingdom of Alabasta, Princess Vivi’s homeland. A rebellion threatens to tear the nation apart, fueled in secret by one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, the ruthless Sir Crocodile, and his underground syndicate Baroque Works, who seek to conquer Alabasta for themselves. In a season defined by unbreakable bonds and impossible choices, the Straw Hats must face a brewing civil war and a powerful warlord to save Vivi’s kingdom before it crumbles into the sand. Fans can look forward to formidable new enemies and brand-new worlds where the stakes have never been higher.”

RELATED ARTICLE

Shocking ONE PIECE Cameo Confirms Long-Time Fan Theory

Joe Tracz and Ian Stokes, ONE PIECE co-showrunners add, “The Alabasta saga is one of the best-loved stories in all of ONE PIECE — and one of our personal favorite arcs — so it’s a huge honor to bring it to life. Season Three builds on everything we’ve done before to tell a war story that’s epic and emotional, spectacular and surprising. We can’t wait for fans to join us in Alabasta, where the stakes are high… and the ducks are big.”

THE DUCKS ARE BIG. We are seated.

Netflix

We don’t want to spoil too much of the Alabasta arc for you—but we do have a character explainer for Sir Crocodile, who will prove to be a most important character in this arc. Additionally, we’ll remind everyone that Xolo Maridueña has been cast as Portgas D. Ace for One Piece season three. And, in short, Ace is basically another important member of Luffy’s found family. Will we see any other members of Luffy’s extended community appear? What about his blood family? We don’t know yet. But we do know that more Baroque Works agents are on the horizon. One Piece season three: The Battle for Alabasta will arrive in 2027.

RELATED ARTICLE

ONE PIECE’s Baroque Works, Explained (A Spoiler-Free Guide to the Agents and Organization)

Hold onto your sails, kids, this one is going to be EPIC. You can stream seasons one and two of One Piece on Netflix right now.

The post ONE PIECE Season 3 Sails to Alabasta in Sneak Peek appeared first on Nerdist.

Last year, Universal Studios Hollywood launched a new event, Universal Fan Fest Nights. Think of it as several immersive experiences in the iconic theme park keyed to particular IP, similar to their Halloween Horror Nights. Only with far more family-friendly vibes. This year, they’re bringing in new experiences to Fan Fest Nights, including Scooby-Doo, and one epic-looking One Piece: Grand Pirate Show. As a way of celebrating this year’s FFN, Nerdist recently attended a preview of everything coming to this year’s event. Here’s an overview of what to expect from this year’s event, including all the new merchandise and copious amounts of new and tasty food offerings.Universal Studios HollywoodScooby-Doo Meets the Universal Monsters: Mystery on the Backlot

Scooby-Doo x The Universal Monsters is maybe the experience we’re most excited about. In Mystery on the Backlot, guests will venture into the century-old Little Europe and Court of Miracles sets on the Universal Backlot, via Studio Tour tram. During this immersive walk-through experience, fans are transported into a real-life Scooby-Doo episode.

Universal Studios Hollywood

At last, you’ll get to solve a mystery with the Mystery, Inc. gang. Only this time, they’re not fighting cheap monster knock-offs with “Old Man Fill-in-the-Blank,” they’re running scared from the actual Universal Classic Monsters, including Frankenstein, Dracula, Bride of Frankenstein, and the Wolf-Man. Zoinks!

Click To View Gallery Universal Studios Hollywood Universal Studios Hollywood Universal Studios Hollywood Universal Studios Hollywood Universal Studios Hollywood Universal Studios Hollywood

In addition to the experience itself, in which guests will become embroiled in “The Case of the Phantom Director,” there will be several Scooby-Doo-themed food items available. You’ll be able to buy actual Scooby Snacks, which consist of honey and cinnamon dog tags, and chocolate paw prints. We can confirm these are delicious, and we finally get Scoob’s longtime obsession with them. You’ll also be able to taste a Super Saggy Sandwich and Colossal Monster Dog. And when they say “colossal” they mean it. These are exactly the kind of gigantic items you’d see the ever-hungry pair of Scooby and Shaggy eat on the Hanna-Barbera cartoon show. You can have a sneak peek at these tasty offerings above.

One Piece: Grand Pirate ShowUniversal Studios Hollywood

After a successful character meet and greet last year, in 2026, the iconic anime One Piece returns to Fan Fest Nights, only this time, with a live-action spectacular on the Waterworld staging area. The show, featuring Luffy and friends, is called the One Piece: Grand Pirate Show. The Universal Studios Japan production inspired this new one at the Hollywood location. Beloved One Piece characters Monkey D. Luffy and his Straw Hat Crew will put on an action-packed show filled with laughs and stunts, and will also introduce Buggy to Fan Fest Nights.

Click To View Gallery Universal Studios Hollywood Universal Studios Hollywood Universal Studios Hollywood

In addition, there will be a One Piece-themed takeover of the surrounding area, including a new menu of food options. You’ll be able to taste Brook’s Spicy Katsu, along with Jinbee’s Watermelon Salad. But we think the biggest hit will be the Pirate Funnel Cake. At the preview event, we got the chance to taste Luffy’s Meat on the Bone, which was indeed delicious. Other food items include Sanji’s Seafood Rice, Franky’s Loco Moco Burger, Luffy’s Straw Hat sugar cookie, and one very sweet-looking Chopper Cupcake. In terms of drinks, they’ve got Luffy’s Monkey Punch, Zoro’s Santoryu Strike, and Nami’s Tangerine Breeze, among others.

Dungeons & Dragons: Secrets of WaterdeepUniversal Studios Hollywood

Returning from a successful run last year that left fans thrilled is Dungeons & Dragons: Secrets of Waterdeep. Although this is a returning experience, expect some updates and surprises. Like last year’s activation, Dungeons & Dragons: Secrets of Waterdeep transports guests to the town of Waterdeep within the world of D&D. Guests can join the heroic spy network called the Harpers to help put an end to the Beholder known as Xanathar and save the realm. The Xanathar animatronic, created by Jim Henson Studios, was a big hit with guests last year. We expect he’ll thrill newcomers just the same.

Click To View Gallery Universal Studios Hollywood Universal Studios Hollywood

A Dungeons & Dragons bar will also return, featuring a new menu of food options. There’s the Beholder’s Brew Fondue, Cockatrice Hot Wings, and the sweet Dragon Egg Cheesecake. These look especially tasty. For drinks, if you really want to celebrate, there’s Red Dragon’s Breath, a cherry-red cocktail, and Detect Magic, a non-alcoholic blue-tinged beverage. Will any of these give you magic powers to defend the realm? Only one way to find out.

Super Nintendo World: Colorful Yoshi Celebration Universal Studios Hollywood

During Fan Fest Nights, we’re sure Super Nintendo World: Colorful Yoshi Celebration will top off the event for many guests. This activation will bring in a metric ton of Yoshis to the Mushroom Kingdom located in the park. Expect new photo ops with a whopping five new Yoshis, among them green, light blue, pink, yellow, and purple ones. Guests will have their choice of several Yoshi smoothies, and a Yoshi and egg drink bottle will be on sale as well, which you can see below:

Click To View Gallery Universal Studios Hollywood Universal Studios Hollywood

And there’s even more at Universal Studios Hollywood’s Fan Fest Nights 2026, including a Sailor Moon CGI short film, shown for the first time in the United States, as well as others. Universal Studios Fan Fest Nights run for 12 select nights this spring. The dates are April 23-25, May 1-3, 7-9, and 14-16. For more information, and for how to purchase tickets, be sure to head on over to Universal Studios Hollywood Fan Fest Nights’ official site.

The post Universal Fan Fest Previews Scooby-Doo, ONE PIECE, and More appeared first on Nerdist.

Video game movies are finally coming into their own. It’s like filmmakers finally played enough games to realize why people like playing games. And while big AAA titles like Street Fighter and Resident Evil will always have the name recognition, smaller titles will need to rely on premise. We’ve just seen how Markiplier’s uber-low-budget film version of Iron Lung cleaned up at the box office. Now we have another indie horror game is arriving stateside with a trailer that looks absolutely terrifying. Please enjoy the madness of Exit 8.

The Exit 8 (the “the” often dropped colloquially) is a 2023 puzzle horror game wherein you, the player, must walk through a seemingly normal subway corridor that inexplicably repeats and repeats forever. If you see any kind of anomaly, if anything appears different on one of your walks, you must immediately go back the other way. Eventually, you find the exit. But along the way, the anomalies get scarier, weirder, and even more uncanny.

RELATED ARTICLE

EXIT 8 Manages to Turn a 20 Minute Game into Compelling Feature Film (Review)

I confess to skepticism when I heard the game was getting a movie adaptation. How, after all, could a puzzle game such as this that only runs around 30 minutes turn into a feature film? Somehow, it looks like director Genki Kawamura actually pulled it off. The movie premiered at Cannes last year and did the genre festival circuit for a while. NEON has picked up the movie for US distribution, which means we’ll all get to see what looks like it understands why people like games like Silent Hill more than the makers of Return to Silent Hill do.

NEON

Exit 8 looks like a hallucinatory nightmare and that’s exactly right. It kind of makes us wonder if the infamous P.T., the playable teaser for the abandoned Hideo Kojima Silent Hills game, could make a good movie. If Exit 8 does well, maybe we’ll get to see.

You can check out an additional trailer for Exit 8 below.

Exit 8 hits cinemas April 10, 2026.

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.

The post EXIT 8 Movie Trailer Gets Freaky in the Subway appeared first on Nerdist.

Last year, we set out to chronicle the number of price hikes we’d see across streaming platforms. It had started to feel like every day, a streaming platform would raise its prices and increase its costs to subscribers. And that turned out to be… basically true. In 2025, we saw a total of SIX streaming price hikes — averaging out to about one cost increase every other month. While in a vacuum, streaming price increases can feel immaterial, taken altogether, the constant cost hikes are INTENSE. So this year, we’re doing it again. Join us as we take a look at every streaming price hike and cost increase in 2026. Will we be over or under the 2025 total? We hope for under, but we don’t feel that hopeful about it.Table of Contents; Jump To:

• All the Streaming Price Hikes in 2026
  • 3/26/26 – Netflix Increases Costs Across All Subscription Tiers
  • 3/13/26 – Prime Video Increases Price of Ad-Free Tier
• How Many Streaming Price Increases Will We See in 2026?

All the Streaming Price Hikes in 20263/26/26 – Netflix Increases Costs Across All Subscription TiersNetflix

Nearly three full months into the year, we had our second streaming price increase. Netflix raised its costs across all streaming subscription tiers. Here’s the breakdown:

• Netflix’s Standard with Ads Plan went from $6.99 to $8.99/month.
• Netflix’s Standard (No Ads) Plan went from $17.99 to $19.99/month.
• Netflix’s Premium Plan went from $24.99. to $26.99/month. It inches VERY close to $30/month.

This time, we didn’t see any added perks associated with the 2026 price increase. AND this increase in Netflix cost comes just about ONE year after the last time the streaming platform raised its prices. You can read all about it here.

3/13/26 – Prime Video Increases Price of Ad-Free TierPrime Video

We saw our first streaming price hike of 2026 in March. Prime Video raised the price of its ad-free tier for the first time. Nominally, we understand this increase to be aimed at driving subscribers toward subscription tiers with ads. But we have to ask. Once subscribers all move to ad-supported plans, will the subscription cost increases STOP? If not, then we again have to ask, where does it end?

Originally, the Prime Video ad-free tier cost an additional $2.99/month on top of the Prime subscription. Now, the Prime Video ad-free tier is seeing a price hike of $2/month, bringing the cost to $4.99/month. You can read all about it here.

How Many Streaming Price Increases Will We See in 2026?

So how will streaming price hikes stack up in 2026? It’s too soon to tell, but we’ve seen two price hikes in three months, so… right now, it’s looking like another year full of streaming cost increases. Will consumers finally have enough? Will moving to ad-supported tiers stop the price hikes from coming? Will we simply see a model where consumers subscribe and then unsubscribe? Only time will tell.

The post Every Streaming Cost Increase In 2026: TWO Price Hikes Already appeared first on Nerdist.

This post contains major spoilers for The Boys season five premiere. Yes, we’ll potentially be talking plot points, deaths, shocking moments, and more. So if you want to outrun this information, you can instead read our non-spoiler season five The Boys review.

The Boys‘ final season didn’t wait long to deliver a shocking death. Reggie Franklin, better known as A-Train, didn’t survive the season five premiere. The fastest Supe in the world saved Hughie’s life during the breakout of Freedom Camp 47. Reggie’s heroism cost him his own life, though, as he died in a truly full-circle moment that showed just how much he had changed over the years. It was a final, redemptive act by someone who once seemed incapable of caring about anyone but himself. A-Train’s death also made clear that The Boys is not holding back.

Prime Video

Starlight’s original plan to get Hughie, Frenchie, and M.M. out of the Vought concentration camp was to have Reggie run each of them out. He initially said he wouldn’t because he knew Homelander would be there. It wasn’t about being afraid, but about staying alive so he could protect his own family. A-Train had reunited with his estranged brother and had been hiding his family in France for the last year. That was until The Deep, who promised not to give up looking for them, tracked them down, and Reggie had to relocate his family.

Prime Video

When the camp rescue went awry, though, Reggie—not A-Train, as he wasn’t wearing his famous super suit—was there. He helped save Mother’s Milk before rescuing Hughie from getting a fatal laser-fueled hole in his head via a furious Homelander. After that, the chase was on. Reggie sped off as a flying Homelander followed wildly, firing more lasers at the former member of the Seven.

The world’s fastest man was exactly that, as he outpaced Homelander. But when A-Train avoided a young woman crossing the street at the last possible moment he stumbled and crashed into the woods. Homelander then found him. What he didn’t find was a scared man. Even though he knew he was going to die, Reggie Franklin laughed in Homelander’s face. He called out the world’s most powerful Supe for the loser he is. A-Train called Homelander an empty suit who has nothing but the powers given to him. This enraged Homelander more, but that just made Reggie laugh again. That was until Homelander snapped his neck, killing him. And so, A-Train met his death in The Boys season five’s first episodes.

Prime Video

A-Train’s death isn’t just memorable because of how he faced his final moments or for saving his former enemy’s life. It’s the reason he got caught. The Boys began with Maeve and Homelander acting like true heroes. They stopped a bank robbery and saved the lives of two boys. Viewers only learned the truth about Supes in the next scene, when A-Train, high on Compound V, sped through Robin Ward. The impact turned her into a cloud of blood and bones as her boyfriend Hughie held her hands, the only thing the speedster left intact as he sped away without an apology.

Eventually, A-Train did sincerely apologize for what he’d done. He also saved Marvin’s life, provided the Boys with useful intent, quit Vought, and joined up with Starlight to fight back against Homelander. He went from being a selfish Supe to a more caring person. But his full redemption didn’t come until he instinctively avoided that innocent pedestrian. In that moment, he showed no ego or self-preservation. He was completely selfless. He was a true superhero.

When A-Train’s story began on The Boys that seemed impossible. His final moment showed it’s never too late to change and to do the right thing. But while Reggie’s story is over, the show is not. And A-Train’s death, the death of a major Supe, proved no one is safe during The Boys final season.

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist. He thinks A-Train’s death is an all-timer. You can follow him on Bluesky at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

The post THE BOYS Season 5 Premiere SHOCKED Us to the Core appeared first on Nerdist.

One of the biggest questions in The Boys season five is whether the supe killing virus really works… and does it work perhaps too well. Sure, we want to see the Boys finally get the best of Homelander and take down Vought for good. But a supe killing virus could possibly kill ALL supes, including those we love like Kimiko and Annie. (We love Butcher sometimes, even if he is a real jerk.) How well does it actually work? We begin to see in season five’s second episode. 

After killing A-Train, Homelander wakes Soldier Boy up and sends him on a mission to hunt down Annie and Butcher. Of course, he doesn’t tell his father about Butcher’s supe killing virus, instead promising Soldier Boy that he will have power and a pardon if he does this. For all of his faults, Soldier Boy is a great tracker. Meanwhile, Butcher and friends (including Victoria Neuman’s not-so-dead scientist husband Sameer) are in Erie, PA, where Butcher has an entire lab to work on the virus.

Jasper Savage/Prime VideoThe Boys Test the Supe Killing Virus on Teenage Kix to Deadly Results

They decide to do a test run on a local supe with the Teenage Kix, who has become a rocky volcanic version of himself. Butcher, Kimiko, and Hughie are transporting the virus when Soldier Boy intercepts them. Butcher fights Soldier Boy and allows Hughie and Kimiko to escape, but Soldier Boy still ends up on their tail. He goes into the room with the Teenage Kix supe, and Frenchie unleashes the virus.

It’s quite the gamble, even with masks on. Sameer says it is a very unstable virus and they are conducting things in a very uncontrolled environment. It could cause the death of any nearby supe, and could possibly be fatal to humans as well. 

RELATED ARTICLE

Compound V and Compound V24 in THE BOYS and GEN V, Explained

The virus appears to kill Soldier Boy and the other supes, which is devastating to Homelander. However, as he turns to walk away from Soldier Boy, we see him sit up inside his body bag. Welp. Will Soldier Boy be the same again, or more like a zombified/less hot version of himself? We truly don’t know. So it seems the supe killing virus in The Boys does work, but not on every supe.

Why Didn’t the Supe Killing Virus Work on Soldier Boy?

It is possible that because Soldier Boy took Compound V-One (or V1), the supe killing virus did not take hold. It did make Thomas Godolkin immortal, and we see that Soldier Boy has never aged at all. So we guess the only thing that can stop him is Marie Moreau popping his noggin. Homelander doesn’t have V1 in his veins and it is not clear if any is still lingering around. Hopefully not! Let’s see what happens as The Boys final season progress, and which supes can survive the supe killing virus.

The post Does the Supe Killing Virus Actually Work in THE BOYS? appeared first on Nerdist.

You don’t have to be Sister Sage to know this post will contain spoilers for The Boys season five premiere. But just in case you’re The Deep and can’t figure it out on your own, we thought we should warn you. If you prefer, check out our non-spoiler season five The Boys review. For now, here’s how The Boys reunite in season five and why the team comes back together.Prime Video

The Boys’ fourth season ended on a bleak note. Butcher killed Vice President-elect Victoria Neuman right after she agreed to work against Homelander. Her death put a patsy in the Oval Office, and that put Homelander in charge of the entire country. The new de facto leader wasted no time rounding up his non-Supe enemies and imprisoning them in concentration camps. That included three of his greatest foes, Hughie, Frenchie, and Mother’s Milk. But in the season five premiere an angry Homelander’s latest gambit helped get the gang back together after a year apart. What took so long? What finally motivated them. Shame played a big role in delaying The Boys’ reunion and loyalty, desperation, and bravery brought the team back together.

Starlight Delays The Boys’ Reunion Because of Her Shame

Season five of The Boys revealed that Hughie, Frenchie, and Marvin all got sent to “Freedom Camp 47” about 20 miles outside of Rochester, New York. (Why camp “47?” This is The Boys. We know. We know.) Other prisoners included Starlighters, former employees of the Federal Bureau of Superhuman Affairs (FBSA) where Hughie had worked, and anyone Homelander personally deemed his enemy. In addition to armed guards, Cindy, the Supe with deadly telekinetic abilities, prevented anyone from escaping.

Starlight had known for a while that the three were there, thanks to her own reconnaissance missions. She even had pictures of the camp. She never attempted to break them out, though. Annie claimed it was because they were safer there, but an old “friend” called her out for her inaction later in the episode. He said it was because she was avoiding letting The Boys reunite because she was ashamed to tell Hughie about all the terrible things she’d done while he was locked up. Starlight didn’t argue with that assessment. She didn’t agree that it was okay, though.

Prime Video

That old mate thought her dark deeds were justified because it was Billy Butcher, the world’s number one fugitive. After stopping off in London to kill his father, he headed to Manila in the Philippines to recruit Kimiko. Kimiko, who has regenerative healing powers and is nearly invincible, got deported there after Vought got tired of her ripping their guards in half. She initially thought Butcher was there to fight, but he was there to recruit her for a new timely mission.

Why Did The Boys Reunite? Homelander’s Threatens to Kill Hughie, Frenchie, and M.M.

Butcher needed her help after Starlight successfully aired the footage from Flight 37 when Homelander let everyone die. The insecure, angry Supe responded with his own plan for vengeance. He would lure both Starlight and Butcher out by announcing the execution of Hughie, Frenchie, and M.M. in 72 hours. Kimiko agreed to go with Butcher. He had his own CIA jet to get around the globe, proving he still has powerful friends helping him.

Prime Video

Annie wasn’t excited to see Butcher, but she was thrilled to see Kimiko, who revealed she now talks thanks to a lot of therapy and TikTok. The three knew the announcement of the executions was a trap, but with no other way to save their friends, they hatched a breakout plan. Butcher recruited another former Vought Super, the dirt-eating, tunnel-digging screenwriter Worm.

How Did The Boys Reunite? The Team is Back Together But Now Without Disaster

Starlight tried to get A-Train in on the plan. She just wanted him run everyone out of the camp quickly, but he initially said no because he had his own family to keep safe. After that, Annie said she would fly everyone away instead. That would be much slower. She also had to agree to Butcher’s plan to get Frenchie out first, since he’s the only one who can strengthen the Super virus so it’s strong enough to kill Homelander. (Homelander knows all about the virus and seems unconcerned.)

Prime Video

It was a trap. Homelander was waiting for the rescuers with the three Boys bound and gagged. He lazered Kimiko in half, but a timed misdirect left Homelander blinded by Starlight’s blast of light. It wasn’t enough to spring their friends, though. After an all-out battle in the camp, a furious Homelander was about to kill Hughie with his laser eyes when A-Train showed up and saved him. Homelander then flew after the speedy former member of the Seven. And alas, A-Train died in The Boys season five premiere. While A-Train gave his life protecting others, his bravery allowed the Boys to escape and reunite as a team. It wasn’t an entirely happy success, though. Hughie was confused and angry that Starlight left him to get Frenchie (and the top half of Kimiko) out of the camp first.

Will he be mad when he finds out why she let him stay in that Freedom Camp for a year? Hughie talked a lot about the importance of hope in this episode. But in a war against a powerful sociopath sending people to concentration camps, hope means nothing without action. We’ll see where this The Boys reunion takes us as season five unfolds.

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist. He is not interested in reading Worm’s specs. You can follow him on Bluesky at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

The post How and Why Do THE BOYS Reunite In Season 5? appeared first on Nerdist.

This is the final season for The Boys, yet we are still somehow getting new characters in the mix. Of course, there are always your random characters who basically show up to die and/or fill the background. But one new face on the scene is Daveed Diggs, who plays Oh-Father in The Boys season five. We meet him in the show’s first episode and, well, he certainly is something else. 

Prime VideoDaveed Diggs’ Oh-Father Is a Supe From The Boys Comic Series

Interestingly, this character was a minor antagonist in The Boys comics. He was a corrupt religious supe who organized an event called Capes for Christ. Oh-Father was also horrific, specifically in his crimes against his child sidekicks. We won’t get into that. Oh-Father was absolutely #TeamHomelander and planned to take over the world with him. He ends up in a fight beside him during an attack on the White House. The military swooped in and quickly dispatched him, quickly ending his act of terror.

Oh-Father in The Boys TV Series: The Suspicious and Religious Husband of Ashley 

Of course, the show has veered very far away from its source material in the best way. We weren’t sure if he was going to be another supe joining the Seven. That name seems wrong considering the collective has been crumbling for some time. It turns out that Diggs’ Oh-Father is still a hyper religious supe but also married to Ashely, who is back on the scene and the Vice President of the United States. We meet them during an interview with Firecracker, where Ashely says she met him at the National Prayer Breakfast. 

RELATED ARTICLE

THE BOYS Season 5 Release Schedule Reveals Series Finale Date

He looks like a parody of TD Jakes/Creflo Dollar in a white suit adorned with gold crosses. They talk about being a “match made in Heaven.” We discover that he’s taken Ezekiel’s place as head pastor at Samaritan’s Embrace. In case you forgot, Ezekiel was the head of Capes for Christ and the guy that Butcher killed in Firecracker’s trailer last season. They go on about being anti-DEI and wanting a Christian nation. Oh boy. We don’t know what personal plans are in motion for Oh-Father but he certainly will end up being someone to watch. 

The interview gets cut short when Sage interrupts, and her conversation with Ashely reveals that the marriage is for public perception. Interesting. In episode 2, we see more of Oh-Father as he preaches at A-Train’s funeral, using his ability to echo and amplify his voice to get the crowd going. Of course, he blames Starlight for A-Train’s death, and says that Starlighters are “possessed” and evil. Ashley doesn’t look too happy at all, and neither does Homelander. The unraveling of their deeds continues…

Let’s see what Oh-Father blesses us with asThe Boys season five continues. 

The post Who Is Daveed Diggs’ Character Oh-Father in THE BOYS? appeared first on Nerdist.

The Boys is back and things are moving faster than the A-Train, baby. Homelander is essentially the POTUS and in full crash out mode because he has all that power, yet he’s still a sad, angry supe because no one loves him. Boo hoo. Butcher’s back on the scene and the Boys are back together again after a seriously bloody fight at a freedom camp. And with this final season comes another round of unfortunate souls who won’t survive. So, who dies in The Boys season five? There are some shocking names on this list. 

RELATED ARTICLE

5 BIG Questions That THE BOYS Season 5 Must Answer

Note: We are only counting main and frequently recurring characters on this list. Sorry to all the ancillary humans and supes. 

Love Sausage

MM is surely rejoicing at Love Sausage’s demise. We would feel the same way if this supe put his penis on us more than once, and even knocked us out with it to get us locked up in a “freedom” camp. Gross. We even see him beating a freedom camp detainee with it early in episode one of season five. But MM finally gets the win by fighting Love Sausage and strangling him to death with his own massive penis. 

A-Train Prime Video

The end of episode one shocked the hell out of us, too. After having quite the epic redemption arc, making amends with Hughie, and mending his relationship with his family and community, A-Train’s character arc came full circle. He was a far cry from the brash and braggadocious speedster we met in season one, in the best way. We knew that he would be a part of the resistance after showing up alongside Annie in the Gen V season two finale.

And, the first episode of The Boys season five briefly showed what his life was like on the move. He continued to protect his family from Homelander’s wrath and work with Annie to make America a better place. After Annie asked him to help break MM, Hughie, and Frenchie out of a freedom camp, he refused and said he had to take care of his family. But, we think his confrontation with the Deep, who continued to follow him yet keep his findings from Homelander, could have been a game changer. 

A-Train knew that the Boys would need his help to escape the freedom camp. Right now, they are the best chance to take down Homelander. And, A-Train was probably tired of running and fighting. He knew there would be a chance for him to get hurt or worse, but it was worth taking to defeat Homelander. It seemed he would get to be around longer, but Eric Kripke had other plans. He shows up right in time to save Hughie’s life and give them a chance to escape. 

Prime Video

A-Train is running from Homelander, who is flying close behind him and lasering everything with rage. A woman is crossing the street and A-Train sees her. Instead of running right through her like he did with Hughie’s girlfriend in the first episode of The Boys, he slows down, causing him to go off track and hit a few trees. Homelander has him and, even in the face of death, A-Train finally tells Homelander exactly what he thinks of him with a smile on his face. His scathing remarks put tears in Homelander’s eyes.

Sadly, Homelander snapped his neck and the A-Train came to his last stop. It’s a sad way for him to go. The funeral is an interesting time for Homelander, who seems to have some anger/remorse for his actions. He even talks to A-Train’s casket after everyone leaves. Hughie also honors A-Train, actually calling him a hero.

Mayyybeeee Black Noir II Isn’t Alive Anymore in The Boys?!

Now, this one doesn’t count quite yet, but we personally believe that Black Noir 2.0 is also dead. To find out why, check out our theory. 

We will keep you updated on the death toll as it rises in The Boys season five.

The post All The Big Characters Who Die in THE BOYS Season 5 appeared first on Nerdist.

In the very first scene of The Boys season five, Annie is on a mission. She works with a tech guy to sabotage Homelander’s latest event and show the Flight 37 video to the masses. In case you forgot, that’s the clip where Homelander clearly threatens desperate passengers before leaving them to die. It didn’t quite work the way she thought it would, and things got a little complicated when Black Noir II showed up, too. But, after that scene, Black Noir II was acting strange in The Boys season five. And I think I know why. 

RELATED ARTICLE

The Zodiac Signs of THE BOYS’ Characters, According to Black Noir

We see Noir and the Deep have a tense meeting with Homelander. He’s upset that Annie was able to get that video out and is also not happy that they haven’t found A-Train. Black Noir II remains silent in front of Homelander, even when questioned. But, as we know, this new Black Noir is actually pretty chatty otherwise, especially with people like the Deep. However, when they are alone in the hallway, Noir doesn’t say a word. Sure, he could’ve been annoyed with the Deep in general. But I don’t think that’s the case. Here’s my theory about Black Noir II, specifically that he’s possibly dead or at least being held hostage. 

Annie was certainly not working totally alone in that first scene. Sure, the tech guy was in on it, but there had to be someone else from the resistance as well. We know it wasn’t A-Train, as he was with his family over in France. The Gen V kids are up to their own activities of liberation. Kimiko was in another country and the rest of the Boys, save for Butcher, were locked up at the freedom camp. That only leaves one person for her to work with: Polarity. He survived the events of Gen V season two and promised the group that his work wasn’t done yet. 

Prime Video

And, thanks to Marie, his powers are sharper than ever. Annie managed to get the upper hand on Black Noir II in that control room, knocking him out. It would have been easy for them to drag Noir II away and either kill him or hold him captive somewhere so Polarity could take his suit. He’s an in shape dude and has the maturity and poise to pull off this dangerous kind of mission. Homelander can sense a person’s nervously beating heart, after all. Annie and the Boys need an inside person close to Homelander whom he still trusts to a degree. 

Polarity also has some personal beef with Black Noir II. In Gen V season two, he was driving Doug, a man who had been mind controlled by Thomas Godolkin for decades, to somewhere safe. The duo even have a touching conversation in the car. Unfortunately, Noir II shows up, killing Doug and taking Polarity to be locked up. Polarity escaped after Sage allowed him to for reasons that still aren’t totally clear.

Prime Video

We know that the Deep is not totally aligned with Homelander because he knew where A-Train was. Sage is also plotting something against Homelander in a sense, too. So why not have Black Noir II turn out to be Polarity in disguise when the time is right? Maybe the resistance runs deeper than what meets the eye…

The post Is Black Noir II Someone We Know Well in THE BOYS Season 5 appeared first on Nerdist.

Guess who’s back? No, not Eminem. Ashley is back in The Boys season five, and she’s got a shiny new job title. At the end of season four, Ashley injected herself with Compound V after The Deep suggested to Homelander that they should kill her because of her knowledge of the Seven and Vought’s many crimes. Of course, that went terribly wrong as her body started to morph.Prime Video

Sage mentioned in Gen V’s second season that Ashley was not fit to be the CEO of Vought, so she stepped in. Well, it seems that Ashley found the right chemicals to regulate herself because she’s the Vice President of the United States in The Boys season five. 

We see her step in for a press conference as she calls the very real Flight 37 video a “deepfake AI” slander attempt from Starlight. Ashley is also married to Oh-Father, a religious supe, to make herself look better in the public’s eyes. We know that Ashley isn’t 100% devoted to Homelander. She did have that terse alliance with A-Train for a bit after catching him in Homelander’s V stash, and she took some herself. And, before that, she allowed Maeve to leave and find her own quiet life. 

RELATED ARTICLE

5 BIG Questions That THE BOYS Season 5 Must Answer

How Ashley was able to mend fences and gain a new position of power remains to be seen. But episode 2 does reveal that Ashley has a psychic tumor and a whole other face on the back on her head. It fuels her internal dialogue and she’s able to read some people’s minds, with the exception of Sage and presumably Homelander. It is not clear if she can be an asset or detriment to the Boys collective. She’s pretty upset at A-Train’s funeral and doesn’t like the path that Homelander and Sage are going on. Ashley also knows that Sage has some ulterior motives. Honestly, Ashley has been such a terrible person that she deserves to die just as much as Homelander. Let’s see if she makes it to the end of The Boys.

The post THE BOYS Season 5 Brings Back This Major Character appeared first on Nerdist.

This year marks the 75th anniversary of Walt Disney’s iconic Alice in Wonderland. How will you celebrate this iconic cartoon classic? A tea party? A round of croquet? Falling into a literal rabbit hole? All good choices! But Disney has a new way for fans to enjoy its legendary animated film that might make you lose your head (metaphorically). It gave Alice in Wonderland a gorgeous 4K restoration that will soon be coming to both digital and Ultra HD Blu-ray.Disney

Disney has announced a very special release. The Walt Disney Film Restoration team spent nine months remastering Alice in Wonderland. They focused on giving fans the version animators originally meant for them to see it. In a press release Disney explained the restoration process:

Artists completed a digital scan of the original nitrate Successive Exposure (SE) negatives, followed by extensive clean-up to address dust, warping, and age-related wear. The team also referenced original production artwork preserved by the Walt Disney Animation Research Library to ensure the restoration remained true to the filmmakers’ original intent, collaborating closely with Walt Disney Animation Studios veteran Michael Giaimo to review every shot and refine color and luminance.

Disney also shared a short reel showing how this version restores the film to its original glory. It’s really incredible to see in comparison. The 4K restoration of Alice in Wonderland adds color, vibrancy, and highlights the artistic vision set forth by Disney legend Mary Blair.

“This milestone restoration brings new depth and dimension to the film’s imaginative world, offering a vibrant presentation for longtime fans and a new generation of audiences alike,” said Kevin Schaeffer, Director of Restoration & Library Management, in a statement about the new Alice in Wonderland release.

Fans will get to see it in its entirety soon enought. This remastered Alice in Wonderland arrives on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray and digital on May 5. This restored version will also arrive with what Disney calls a “robust collection of bonus features, offering rare behind-the-scenes and archival material.” That will include: footage with commentary by the voice of Alice, Kathryn Beaumont, companion shorts, deleted scenes, and music videos including “Beware the Jabberwock” and “If You’ll Believe in Me.”

We were leaning toward falling down a big rabbit hole as our preferred 75th-anniversary celebration. But that seems mad compared to watching this remastered version instead.

The post ALICE IN WONDERLAND Gets Stunning 4K Restoration for 75th Anniversary appeared first on Nerdist.

Listen, there’s no doubt that times are tough right now. And when times are tough, don’t you want to just snuggle a big legendary Pokémon to feel a little better? We love a soft, iconic diva that can flap its wings and cause a storm, but also gently and powerfully protect its young (you) from harm. Yes, we’re talking about this HUGE Lugia Pokémon plush, which is adorable and fierce… And half price. Snag your Lugia plush and become best buddies today.Jazwares

This Lugia plush is 1 foot tall, with a wingspan that spreads even wider. It’s got an expression on its face we can’t quite read, but at times, we take it in as smiling and as others… a bit of a threat. But never to you. This plush Lugia is super soft. And it probably won’t start a thunderstorm in your living room. But we make no promises.

RELATED ARTICLE

These Customizable POKÉMON Wedding Rings Are Just Lovely

What we do know is that this massive Lugia plush typically costs $ 44.99, and right now it’s available for $22.99. Which means you can have your Pokémon plush cake and eat it too. What’s the point of having adult money if you can spend under $25 of it on the leader of all legendary birds? (Widely known to be some of the coolest Pokémon around?) Plus, it looks like a dragon. Enough said!

Jazwares

Speaking of dragons, in addition to Lugia, we’re also kind of obsessed with this Dragonair plush. (Dragonair is one of our favorite Pokémon, she’s beauty, she’s grace, etc.) We’re also completely obsessed with this Dragonite plush, which is a perfect ten in our book. Bring on the soft dragons!

Jazwares

In any case, if you need us, we’ll be snuggling our huge Lugia plush and hiding behind it in the hopes of escaping all of life’s problems. You can direct all questions to the Pokémon.

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 HUGE Lugia Pokémon Plush Is HALF Price appeared first on Nerdist.

A new Star Wars movie which would see the return of Ben Solo was seemingly greenlit… then axed…last year. Unfortunately, thanks to Disney, The Hunt for Ben Solo is a dead dream. Lucasfilm, along with Adam Driver and Steven Soderbergh, were totally on board with the spin-off. It made it pretty far up the corporate chain, too, before Disney decided to scrap it since Ben Solo (Kylo Ren) died in The Rise of Skywalker (because that’s totally stopped them before). Following Kathleen Kennedy’s departure from Lucasfilm in January of this year, Soderbergh is once again expressing his frustration in a conversation with BKMAG. After two years of unpaid work on the Ben Solo Star Wars project, he is disappointed. Lucasfilm

“We were all frustrated,” Soderbergh shares in the interview about the process of making the Kylo Ren/Ben Solo Star Wars movie and what happened with The Hunt for Ben Solo. “You know, that was two and a half years of free work for me and Adam [Driver] and Rebecca Blunt. When Adam and I discussed him talking about it publicly, I said, ‘Look, do not editorialize or speculate about the why. Just say what happened, because all we know is what happened.’ The stated reason was, ‘We don’t think Ben Solo could be alive.’ And that was all we were told. And so there’s nothing to do about it, you know, except move on.”

RELATED ARTICLE

THE HUNT FOR BEN SOLO Fan Campaign Gets Times Square Billboard

Soderbergh was set to front the Ben Solo project with Rebecca Blunt. Driver is the one who came forward with the idea to Soderbergh some years ago. “I always was interested in doing another Star Wars,” said the actor in an interview with Associated Press. And the dream became very real for the duo. Until Disney put their foot down on The Hunt for Ben Solo. A real slap in the face. According to then-Lucasfilm head honcho Kennedy, this was the first time Disney had straight-up rejected a finished script.

“I’d kind of made the movie in my head, and just felt bad that nobody else was going to get to see it,” said Soderbergh, “I thought the conversation was strictly going to be a practical one, where they go, ‘what is this going to cost?’ And I had a really good answer for that. But it never even got to that point. It’s insane. We’re all very disappointed.” And fans are disappointed to, we know many who would have wanted to see The Hunt for Ben Solo become a real movie.

RELATED ARTICLE

Adam Driver and Steven Soderbergh Pitched STAR WARS Movie, Disney Said No Lucasfilm

On the bright side, the turnover, with both Kennedy and Disney CEO Bob Iger stepping down, may lead to greener pastures ahead. Meaning, under new leadership, there’s always a chance for Lucasfilm and Disney to circle back to The Hunt for Ben Solo in the future.

But it sounds like Soderbergh isn’t interested in pursuing that course. He shares, “Nope,” When asked if new leadership might provide a chance to make the Ben Solo Star Wars movie. “As soon as it became apparent, OK, not gonna happen, I sat down and started writing [something else]. It’s like, ‘OK, new scenario, let’s get cracking.’ At a certain point, it’s like complaining about the weather. You just gotta keep moving.” Adding, “Look, if it was gonna happen, it would have happened. It’s that simple.”

And ultimately, he doesn’t even seem to want to do more Star Wars. Soderbergh says “It was strictly Adam saying, ‘I think there’s still somewhere to go with this character.’ That’s how it started. Otherwise, I never in a million years would have found myself in that universe again.”

Well, if it will happen, it will happen; until then, Star Wars‘ focus rests on The Mandalorian & Grogu and Star Wars: Starfighter.

The post Steven Soderbergh Is Frustrated Over THE HUNT FOR BEN SOLO appeared first on Nerdist.

Space seems to be the top of everyone’s mind right now. In the cinematic world,Project Hail Mary continues to dominate, officially surpassing $420 million in the global box office. Much deserved, might I add. In the real world, and even bigger milestone as the Artemis II space mission successfully completed its lunar flyby on Monday, April 6. It makes history as the first crewed spacecraft to do so in more than half a century. As with most things, the internet has been following along every step of the way. One particular moment caught on the spacecraft’s livestream has everyone talking. Watch as this random jar of Nutella hilariously photobombs the Artemis II livestream.

#NEWS 🚨: Watch as a random jar of Nutella photobombs the Artemis II livestream pic.twitter.com/MpVsHoWmPy

— Latest in space (@latestinspace) April 6, 2026

This Nutella moment was caught on the Artemis II livestream and posted on X on April 6. One peek at the comments and you’ll fall into a minefield of memes. Many poke fun at the funny moment being unintentional (or meticulously planned) ad placement for Nutella. Ironically, it kind of is. When the jar appears on camera, it turns perfectly so that its label is directly facing us.

NASA

Other comments find it hilarious that the jar of space Nutella isn’t stored away somewhere in special packaging. Hey, maybe that was all intentional. Who are we to judge if the astronauts on board want a sweet PR deal?

RELATED ARTICLE

Artemis II Crew Quoted PROJECT HAIL MARY’s Rocky

The post has already topped two million views and continues to climb. You would think that the crew attached to the Artemis II space mission would be the ones making history, but no. It’s actually a random jar of Nutella that happened to be in the Artemis II cabin. I can’t imagine the surprise for anyone who caught this moment on the actual livestream rather than X. Even funnier, Nutella has since responded to the bit by resposting the video on Instagram with the text, “Nutella is out of this world.”

Artemis II is the first crewed mission to the Moon since 1972. I guess the Artemis II mission has also created the first Nutella astronaut to go to space. The flyby took six hours and set the record for the farthest distance from Earth traveled by humans. That record was previously held by Apollo 13 in 1970. You can check out a recorded livestream of the Artemis II lunar flyby here or below. And hey, if you want some Nutella in our orbit, you can snag some right now.

The post This Random Jar of Nutella Photobombing Artemis II’s Livestream Unites Us appeared first on Nerdist.

Neighbors can be a nightmare. I’m sure we’ve all had our fair share of nosy neighbor horror stories. Other times, neighbors might just become your best friend. Or something else entirely. In the trailer for A24’s upcoming film The Invite, it’s not entirely clear which is the case. Seth Rogen, Olivia Wilde, Penélope Cruz, and Edward Norton play neighboring couples in the intriguing first look below.Watch the Official Trailer for The Invite!

The film is described as a charged romantic dramedy, which the trailer makes evident. It keeps things pretty vague, clueing us in just enough without giving too much of the plot away. There’s a strikingly obvious tension between the couples. My takeaway is that Cruz and Norton have got to be swingers.

RELATED ARTICLE

Anne Hathaway Is Iconic in A24’s MOTHER MARY Trailer

The movie follows couple Joe and Angela (Rogen and Wilde), whose marriage rests on thin ice. They invite their mysterious upstairs neighbors (Cruz and Norton) over for a dinner party, which we see unravel in the trailer. The night spirals into unexpected outcomes, leading to a proposition that threatens to change everything. It’s a raw look into the complexities of marriage, one that’s both funny and deeply human.

The Invite is Wilde’s first directorial effort since Don’t Worry Darling in 2022. The Invite is a remake of the Spanish film The People Upstairs. It is co-written by Rashida Jones and Will McCormack. David Permut, Megan Ellison, and Ben Browning produced.

A24

The Invite received high praise when it premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January, igniting a bidding war that A24 ultimately came out on top of. The trailer gives us an enthralling first look at the upcoming film. My guess is that it will likely be A24’s next big hit following The Drama. What unforeseen outcomes will unfold at this dinner party? Find out this summer. The Invite heads to select theaters on June 26 and is out everywhere in July.

The post THE INVITE Trailer Sees Seth Rogen, Olivia Wilde at a Fraught Dinner Party appeared first on Nerdist.

Any Batman is only as good as his allies. For Robert Pattinson’s (the) Batman, he has a damn good James Gordon in the form of Jeffrey Wright. And though he’s not in the 2022’s The Batman as much as I might have liked, Andy Serkis is a distinctly stabilizing force as Alfred Pennyworth. So, one would hope Alfred would play a major part in the long (long, long)-awaited The Batman Part II. But Serkis is a busy man, both with his upcoming directorial duties for Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum and doing press for his animated Animal Farm. Fear not, however, as Serkis says he should be returning to Wayne Manor.Warner Bros.

Speaking to Collider (via Deadline), Serkis says scheduling has been an issue with the London shoot for Matt Reeves’ The Batman sequel. That has a planned start date for production this June. “I’m pretty certain it’s all going to work out. Yeah, we’re working on it, but I think it’s all looking good.” Serkis went on to say that he “won’t be joining them immediately,” them being Batman II, but “by the end of the year, I will be.”

Look, I’m happy for any and all Alfred we can get in a new Batman movie. Any Batman movie without Alfred would be worse for it. But, sixth-ish months of production without him certainly doesn’t make it seem like we’ll get a ton of Alfred in the movie. Ah well.

The Deadline article ends with a list of the remaining cast. “Colin Farrell as the Penguin, Scarlett Johansson, and Sebastian Stan as Harvey Dent.” To our knowledge, Stan has only been rumored to play Harvey Dent, not confirmed. It’s certainly likely, given pretty much everything about Sebastian Stan’s screen persona, plus the fact that Johansson’s role is rumored to be someone named “Golda.” In The Long Halloween, Harvey’s wife Golda plays a major role.

Anyway, Alfred’s back. Yay.

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.

The post Andy Serkis to Return as Alfred for THE BATMAN PART II appeared first on Nerdist.

For over seven seasons, Game Changer, the competition series from the indie comedy platform Dropout, has been amassing quite a following. The show, hosted by Sam Reich, even had a crossover of sorts with the ABC procedural series The Rookie. The basic premise of the show has the contestants left completely unaware of the rules, let alone the game’s premise, until the episode starts. And every episode features a brand new scenario, hence the title. And soon, fans will be able to bring this specific Game Changer brand of hilarious insanity home. On May 5, a Game Changer: Home Edition tabletop game is launching via Kickstarter. Fans have waited patiently for this one. You can check out the social media announcement for the Kickstarter below:

🎉 It’s time for a…

Game Changer: Home Edition – coming to Kickstarter on May 5th!

Three games. One box. Infinite possibilities. pic.twitter.com/9njnlvrxts

— Game Changer 👐 (@GameChangerSam) April 7, 2026

And here’s the official description on the Kickstarter page for the Game Changer: Home Edition, the chaotic party game where the rules change with every round.

Three games. One box. Infinite possibilities. Prepare yourself for a chaotic new party game, based on Dropout’s hit game show, where the only rule is that the rules keep changing.

Kickstarter/Dropout

It seems Dropout is keeping most of the details of this new home version of Game Changer under wraps. But we expect it to be suitably chaotic. We imagine that as the months roll on, we’ll get more information once the Kickstarter campaign hits its goals. Game Changer began in 2019, as the brainchild of its host, comedian Sam Reich. Most of the contestants on the show have been comedians of one type or another, or folks adept at on-the-fly improv. These include Howie Mandel, Eric Warheim, and former RuPaul’s Drag Race stars like Bob the Drag Queen and Laganja Estranja. Even esteemed actor Giancarlo Esposito has appeared on the show. Here’s hoping the home edition is just as wild as the version on our screens all these years.

If you want to bring Dropout’s Game Changer home, support the Kickstarter today.

The post Dropout Launches GAME CHANGER: Home Edition Kickstarter appeared first on Nerdist.

Listen, it’s a wild world out there. We’ll take joy where we can find it. And if there are two things that give us joy, it’s LEGO and One Piece. And so, seeing LEGO AND One Piece together gives us a huge shot of adrenaline. In the teaser trailer for LEGO One Piece, we get a taste of what’s to come, and that’s a fabulous retelling of live-action One Piece‘s first two seasons, as told by the Great Captain Usopp. Yes, we’re pretty sure that’s Jacob Romero Gibson’s voice we hear in this LEGO One Piece trailer. And honestly, we’re grinning from ear to ear about this one.

Straw Hat Pirates fans will get not one but two parts of this LEGO One Piece animated special, premiering on September 29. As Netflix shares, “A Netflix first, this animated special produced in partnership with the LEGO Group, Shueisha and Atomic, retells the epic events of the first two seasons of the live action ONE PIECE, in a way only the LEGO Group can —jam-packed with comedy, high-stakes thrills, and brick-built action that is the perfect entryway for new recruits and an exciting new perspective for veteran pirates.”

RELATED ARTICLE

ONE PIECE Season 2 Earns Five Stars for Flawless Second Chapter (Review)

From taking down the Arlong Pirates, to dancing with Baroque Works assassins, to battling Devil Fruit users and the insecurities inside of their hearts, we’ll see ALL of the Straw Hat Pirates’ greatest hits come to life in LEGO form. And, of course, there will be the narration of the Great Captain Usopp to keep us full of cheer. And Usopp won’t just be telling his stories to us, he’ll be telling them to the most adorable Straw Hat pirate of all, Tony Tony Chopper. Chopper becomes EVEN cuter in his LEGO reindeer form.

Netflix

We honestly just can’t wait to go on these One Piece adventures with the LEGO crew. And hey, if you can’t wait until September, you can pick up these LEGO One Piece sets TODAY. There’s the Going Merry set, the Baratie, Windmill Village, Buggy the Clown’s Circus Tent, and even a brick Battle with Arlong Park.

You can also head to Netflix to stream One Piece seasons one and two right now. If you haven’t watched yet, we highly recommend it!

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 ONE PIECE Special Makes Us Grin Big (Much Needed) appeared first on Nerdist.

When you’ve made as many films, as many amazing films, and as many amazing sci-fi films specifically, as Steven Spielberg, your opinion carries quite a bit of weight. So when the director says—ahead of the release of his own new sci-fi movie Disclosure Day—that Denis Villeneuve’s Dune movies are among his favorites, that’s some high, high praise. Villeneuve is about 8 months away from the debut of Dune: Part III, his fifth sci-fi movie in a row. The sweeping grandeur of these movies has made him a must-watch filmmaker. And Spielberg is one such watcher.

Speaking to Empire (via Variety), the Close Encounters of the Third Kind director praised the Dune films. “Recently, I’ve loved the Dune movies. They are among my favorite science-fiction movies, not just recently, but of all time. Especially the second film,” Spielberg said. “I think [Part Two] is the best movie Denis has ever made. I cannot wait to see the third one. I’m sure he’ll show it to me early. I’m such a fan of his.” 

WB/Universal

He goes on to say that the movies aren’t just good, but they would make the author of the source material proud. Spielberg continued, “I love the Dune books, and I just think his tribute to the books is like Guillermo [del Toro]’s tribute to Mary Shelley with Frankenstein: he honored Mary Shelley as I think Denis honored Frank Herbert.”

I legitimately can’t think of a better and more touching compliment from a master filmmaker to another. And he was just handing them out in this interview. Spielberg later went on to heap praise on Zach Cregger’s Weapons in a similar fashion.

Warner Bros.

“I haven’t directed a horror film yet, and I’ve always wanted to, and someday I may. But there have been some great horror films out already that satisfy that itch. When I see a great horror film like Weapons, I don’t have an itch I need to scratch. I see Weapons, and it doesn’t make me want to make a horror film that’s as scary or scarier than Weapons. It satisfies me so completely, it actually arrests my desire to someday make a really, really scary movie.”

Damn, dude. Spielberg loves cinema. Go figure.

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

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.

The post Steven Spielberg Names DUNE Among His Favorite Sci-fi Movies appeared first on Nerdist.