Marvel's problems don't end on screen - here's the MCU complaint you might not be aware of
Some readers say that Marvel's film and TV dominance has hurt its comics – here's why.
For many people, the flipping pages in Marvel Studios' opening graphic are the only comic books they've ever engaged with. What you probably don't realise is that Marvel Comics editors have been working tirelessly to change that for nearly two decades – but may actually have done some damage in the process. Ask a regular reader about today's comic book landscape and you'll likely get the same response: DC is on a winning streak, Marvel is in a creative slump, and both find themselves dwarfed by the booming popularity of manga. There's a lot to say about all three topics, but today, we're focusing on the oft-stated decline of Marvel Comics and its connection to the Marvel Cinematic Universe's own fading fortunes; both are the wounded victims of their own success. But how did we get here? And more importantly, how do we get back? Let's reminisce for a moment about a lovely little year called 2012, when the first Avengers film hit cinemas and surpassed expectations in every conceivable way. The audacious idea of tying four blockbusters into a subsequent crossover was proven successful – and it changed Hollywood cinema forever. But besides its eye-watering budgets, the MCU came at one additional cost: corporate synergy. This jargon term describes a symphonic relationship between the brands owned by a corporation, like the Walt Disney Company. In other words, it's why Dairy Milk and Oreos are often grafted onto one another now (you can thank Kraft for that one). In the realm of comic books, synergy across mediums isn't a new concept. For example, paper Peter Parker developed the ability to produce organic webbing shortly after 2002's Spider-Man film did away with his mechanical web-shooters, thus creating consistency with Tobey Maguire's version of the character. (Spider-Man: Brand New Day now appears to be adapting that same 'Man-Spider' story arc, bringing things full circle.) But as the MCU grew into an unprecedentedly large franchise, so too did its influence become a disruptive force in the eyes of many readers. View Green Video on the source website Since 2012, Marvel Comics has implemented a number of retcons, personality transplants and design changes, which have resulted in a closer resemblance to its interconnected film and TV universe. When the MCU was at the height of its success (i.e. up until late 2019), there was some tolerance for these decisions, even if it stuck in the craw of longtime followers of the affected characters – those who now resemble canaries in the coal mine. Tremors were felt by replacing Nick Fury Sr (more David Hasselhoff) with his son (more Samuel L Jackson); by the James Gunn-ification of the Guardians of the Galaxy; and by Magneto revealing he isn't Wanda and Pietro's father after all (daytime TV producers were thrilled). But the Richter scale registered a major quake during the tumultuous period from 2014 to 2017, which saw two of Marvel's most beloved teams caught in the crossfire of an apparent corporate feud: the Fantastic Four and the X-Men. Both, at that time, were out of the reach of Marvel Studios. Film rights rested at rival 20th Century Fox, which had acquired them more than a decade before the MCU's conception and reaped mixed results from adapting them to the screen. In the stated period, efforts were re-doubled, with ill-fated reboot 'Fant4stic' (as the poster regrettably stylised it) preventing those rights from lapsing, while X-Men prequels Days of Future Past and Apocalypse kept that franchise chugging along. The idea of promoting these projects or laying the groundwork for future adaptations was seemingly anathema to Marvel Comics' business-minded boss Ike Perlmutter (as reported at the time by industry gossip site Bleeding Cool). When it became clear that Fox wouldn't be relinquishing its grip on either property, Perlmutter ordered that the historic and decades-long Fantastic Four comic book be axed. Deemed too popular (read: profitable) to scrap, the X-Men instead saw their status eroded by a heightened focus on the Marvel Studios-owned Inhumans; another race of super-powered oddballs, albeit with a very different hierarchy. The most notable product of this era was Kamala Khan, a teenage girl from New Jersey, who quickly became Marvel's most prominent Muslim character after her latent Inhuman gene was activated. Her eventual fate is a grand irony. During this period, Marvel fans had a strong suspicion that MCU-affiliated characters were getting preferential treatment in the comics, but editors were firm in their denials that any such strategy existed. View Green Video on the source website In one exchange on Tumblr in 2014, Marvel Comics' senior vice president Tom Brevoort even joked that the claims amounted to readers believing they have "magic mind-reading helmets". Still, the perception bled out of comics and into other mediums, including video game sequel Marvel vs Capcom: Infinite, released in 2017, which scrapped long-standing characters like Wolverine, Magneto and Storm in favour of an MCU-dominated roster. That same year, prolific writer Jonathan Hickman appeared to break rank in an interview with now-defunct website Newsarama, where he stated that "Marvel isn't publishing Fantastic Four because of their disagreement with Fox". "We knew a year or so out that the Fantastic Four, as a property, wasn't going to be published at Marvel past 2015," he added. Marvel insisted that Fantastic Four was cancelled due to low sales. The comic returned in summer 2018, at the same time that discussions were well under way about the since-completed Disney/Fox merger. Of course, this could be a coincidence. Cut to: May 2019. Avengers: Endgame shatters records to become one of the most successful films of all time at the global box office, ultimately reaching a staggering gross just shy of $2.8 billion. Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige is thought of by many as one of the most effective producers in Hollywood history, having crafted a franchise that showed no signs of slowing after its 22nd entry. In fact, the Disney/Fox merger (completed two months earlier) only promised more frontiers to conquer, bringing the X-Men and Fantastic Four 'home' to Marvel Studios and, in conjunction with Sony Pictures' Spider-Man deal, 'completing' the MCU. Adding to this sense of expansion was the imminent launch of Disney+, which promised new avenues in which to tell MCU stories, such as 'prestige' limited series (these would go on to cause a few headaches). With so much more work to be done, Feige was handed the keys to the entire kingdom in October, going from president of Marvel Studios (films only) to chief creative officer of Marvel Entertainment (including comics, TV/streaming and animation). At the time, many fans celebrated that 'nerd king' Feige had essentially defeated the aforementioned Perlmutter in corporate combat. The latter executive was eventually laid off in a March 2023 restructure (via The Hollywood Reporter). After his sidelining of the X-Men and Fantastic Four, Perlmutter hadn't endeared himself to fans. Bob Iger claimed in his memoir (via Variety) that Perlmutter's office had objected to greenlighting the MCU's first female-led and Black-led films. "I called Ike and told him to tell his team to stop putting up roadblocks and ordered that we put both Black Panther and Captain Marvel into production," Iger wrote. By contrast, Feige was the friendly face behind dozens of generally well-received Marvel adaptations. But more than six years on, some comic readers have become apathetic to the machine that he represents. A source close to Marvel Comics told Radio Times that, since Feige's promotion to CCO, Marvel Studios has not made any attempt to control their creative choices. Any adopted film or TV elements are at the discretion of the editorial team. Or, as editor-in-chief CB Cebulski put it in December 2023 (via SciFi Now): "If you take Marvel Studios as a body, Disney+ is now the head. The arms are our games and our animation division. The legs are the consumer products – the T-shirts, the bedsheets... but Marvel Comics is the heart." He continued: "It's a circulatory system – the blood goes out from us and then circles the body and comes back in. There are no bad ideas. [If the] games create a character [or the] movies come up with a cool concept, and we say 'why didn't we think of that? That's awesome,' then you bring it back into comics." However, if we're to go along with this analogy, one could argue that an infection in a certain part of the Marvel 'body' might conceivably cause a life-threatening case of sepsis in the larger organism. In late 2023, when Cebulski made this comment, symptoms were flaring. In that year alone, the MCU had seen a string of critical and commercial disappointments, including Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, The Marvels and Disney+ series Secret Invasion. It hardly seems a reassuring transfusion. View Green Video on the source website Five months later, returning Disney CEO Bob Iger announced that Marvel would reduce its output of films and TV shows, acknowledging the franchise's loss of viewership and inconsistent quality since making Disney+ its 'head'. Yet synergy efforts sustained, from a resurgent Kang the Conqueror in the pages of Timeless and The Avengers (an arc that inadvertently coincided with Jonathan Majors's firing) and a second Secret Invasion that proved as successful in-universe as it did in real life (not very). More recently, in 2025, Marvel Comics concocted a year-long storyline in which Doctor Doom took over the world, the timing of which was rendered imperfect when Avengers: Doomsday suffered a seven-month delay. Coming up, comic book event Avengers: Armageddon (is that a synonym for Doomsday?) kicks off its plot in Doom's homeland of Latveria – although the big man himself (soon to be played by Robert Downey Jr) is notably absent. Red Hulk and Sam Wilson are two of the main characters in the forthcoming crossover, continuing a rivalry that dates back to... January 2025, when the comic versions clashed as Captain America: Brave New World crashed into cinemas. A source close to Marvel Comics told Radio Times that Red Hulk's central role in Armageddon has nothing to do with the character's recent appearance in the MCU. Rather, it was the independent choice of writer Chip Zdarsky. Nevertheless, Brevoort did say just last month that it was "common sense" for the publisher to coordinate with Marvel Studios, while insisting that it didn't take a "regimented" approach. "When there's [an adaptation] going on, you want to have things that can take advantage of that cultural zeitgeist," he said on the Word Balloon podcast. "It's not like what we do is just following lockstep from whatever is going on in film or television or animation. We put our planning together with an awareness of all of that stuff, and we find places to synergise where it makes sense." To be fair, it isn't the case that all of Marvel's comics look identical to the MCU, with notable experiments including its horror-tinged Hulk stories ('Immortal' and 'Infernal') and the twisty Ultimate Comics line (set in an alternate reality). But these have been viewed as exceptions at a publisher playing it safe, if not overtly mimicking its live-action arm with titles like TVA, Wiccan: Witches' Road and 'Thunderbolts' (later renamed New Avengers in a stunt matching that of the film). In Cebulski's own words, the current style of storytelling is intended to grant "easy access" to the world of comic books for those who have first encountered Marvel via films, streaming shows or video games. The billion-dollar question is: how many of these multimedia consumers have successfully made the jump into habitual comic book reading? Due to the arcane nature of comic sales reporting, it's tough to say for sure. According to industry trade ICv2, the North American comic book industry was commercially stagnant between 2016 and 2018, while the MCU was in rude health and synergy was operational (see event books Civil War II and Infinity Wars). It grew by a respectable 11 per cent in 2019, but the entire market ($1.21bn) amounted to less than half of Avengers: Endgame's box office gross ($2.79bn). This doesn't paint a picture of movie-goers migrating en masse. In October of that year, Variety even wrote that "comic books create relatively little revenue for Marvel", before disconcertingly describing the artistic medium as "R&D [research and development] for TV and film" – as if it were a Silicon Valley start-up. And when the comic book market boomed during the pandemic, almost doubling in size by 2022, the sharp rise of manga sales and strong performance of children's graphic novels took much of the credit (per Publishers Weekly). In short, while sales data is not comprehensively available to the public, the connection between Marvel's box office success and its total readership has never been strikingly obvious from what we do know. Yet in courtship of an audience that may or may not exist in abundance, Marvel editorial has stirred up ill-feeling among its core fanbase – as any frequenter of comic book forums (guilty as charged) can freely observe. As far back as February 2015, IGN columnist Jesse Schedeen was warning that a fixation on MCU-affiliated characters could cause Marvel's comic books to "become boring and repetitive". More than a decade later, this reliance on a set of overused heroes is only the tip of the iceberg, as Marvel Comics is widely considered to be outpaced creatively by its Distinguished Competition. Both of the 'big two' publishers have found recent success in boldly re-imagining their characters as part of surprising and subversive alternate universes (see Marvel's aforementioned 'Ultimate' line and DC's range of 'Absolute' comics). View oEmbed on the source website The commercial success of these initiatives – which deliberately stray away from the status quo – seems to contradict the view that comics must closely resemble their most famous adaptations in order to resonate with the general reader. Indeed, the Ultimate line has been a source of comfort to anyone disillusioned by the editorial's comparatively pedestrian stewardship of the main '616' universe (i.e. the majority of titles). Heavy hitters such as Spider-Man, Venom and the X-Men have weathered underwhelming comic runs as of late, while titles starring second-tier characters rarely reach 10 issues before being cancelled or relaunched. It's a situation that starkly contrasts with life at DC Comics right now. Current editor-in-chief Marie Javins has been praised for her hands-off approach to the Absolute universe and the main DC continuity alike, giving creators a loose leash to interpret characters as they wish – and earning glowing reviews in the process. In a notable example, writer Skottie Young expressed relief to Off Panel podcast that his new monthly Lobo comic wasn't expected to line up with Jason Momoa's version of the character (featured in this summer's Supergirl film). View Green Video on the source website "My biggest fear was... I don't want to do this if I have to start off, right out of the gate, taking cues and notes from any side of the Hollywood stuff," he said. "Even though I love that stuff, it's just so hard to make a comic book by committee." Fortunately, that proved not to be the arrangement. "I really can't believe they let me do some of the stuff I've done in that first issue, and say some of the stuff I've said," added Young. DC usually has a smaller market share than its Marvel competitor, in part because the latter publishes a larger number of comics per month. But the balance reportedly tipped in its direction late last year. Estimated figures suggest that DC Comics took pole position in the fourth quarter of 2025 (via ICv2), fuelled by its Absolute titles, action-packed event DC KO, and a popular range of budget-priced manga-sized collections, dubbed 'Compact Comics'. Of course, aggressively pitting Marvel and DC against each other is a hobby best left to schoolchildren – you can, and should, enjoy both! – but there is clearly evidence that one company's strategy is proving more fruitful than the other right now. It's not schadenfreude or fanboy-ism, but genuine disappointment that is fuelling dissent in the community. In the short-term, Marvel readers have less to be excited about. But further ahead, the adaptations regularly homaged by today's comics would also suffer if the stream of original ideas slowed down to a trickle. View oEmbed on the source website Perhaps the most contentious example of perceived MCU synergy involved the distinctly wholesome Kamala Khan aka Ms Marvel. As mentioned above, the geeky teenager gained extraordinary abilities when her Inhuman gene was activated (at a time when the fictional group was getting more attention as a proposed substitute for the X-Men). Of course, we all know what eventually happened: Disney swallowed Fox; the X-Men came home; the Inhumans suffered 'death by under-funded network television show' (it's a horrible way to go). When it came time to introduce Ms Marvel to the MCU, the Inhumans were effectively a non-entity in live action (besides an isolated Black Bolt cameo in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, which ended rather badly for him). As a result, Kamala's powers were revealed to be caused by her mutant gene instead. It's ironic that a character created as part of a wider effort to chip away at the X-Men's monopoly on misfit young heroes would ultimately defect to the more popular team. It also sent Marvel's comic book universe into violent convulsions. Suddenly, the comic and live-action versions of Kamala Khan – a potential heir to the post-Secret Wars MCU – were knocked out of alignment in a major way. Ms Marvel was killed off in the pages of The Amazing Spider-Man in May of the following year, having nobly sacrificed her life to save Mary-Jane Watson... from a throwaway villain named 'Emissary' (don't worry, it's not important). Of course, any savvy reader will have known this wouldn't be the end of her story – very rarely is death permanent in a comic book universe – but the speed and functionality of Kamala's return struck a nerve with the readership at large. In fact, Ms Marvel was gleefully bounding back into action by July of that same year, with her comeback being announced (through Entertainment Weekly) a mere two days after her poignant funeral comic in a baffling piece of scheduling. When Kamala resurrected, she did so on the mutant island of Krakoa, where it was revealed that her DNA was part-Inhuman, part-mutant. It doesn't take a conspiracy theorist to suggest that this storyline was a means to an end. A source close to Marvel Comics told Radio Times that, contrary to a heavily reported claim made by comic book writer Cody Ziglar, there was no pressure from the film and TV division to turn Ms Marvel into a mutant. Additionally, co-creator Sana Amanat revealed to Empire that Kamala's mutant status was actually the original vision for the character. Her Inhuman connection was a later development, perhaps for the reasons discussed earlier – Amanat didn't elaborate. Following the Disney+ series, Marvel Comics editors saw the potential to tell exciting stories with Kamala in the X-Men books – and they weren't wrong to do so. In the years since, she has somewhat settled into that corner of the universe. But the backlash was less about Kamala's mutant status being transferred over, and more to do with the manner of its implementation; a strange sequence of events widely considered rushed and not befitting of such a meaningful figure. View oEmbed on the source website This heavy-handed amendment exemplifies how Marvel Comics' approach to film and streaming synergy is often perceived; not subtle or gradual in its execution, but simply hammered into long-standing continuity with blunt force. It's a technique that has left scars across the universe, appearing to place characters and storylines at the mercy of MCU plans. Around the time of Kamala's induction, the wider X-Men books experienced another shock as the high-concept 'Krakoan Age' came to an end sooner than expected, essentially reverting the characters to a more conventional set-up. Speculation quickly simmered that this decision may have been influenced by the return of the classic X-Men in Avengers: Doomsday and the brewing plans for an MCU reboot that would likely hew to a traditional team dynamic. Of course, that may well be completely wrong. But the knee-jerk reaction to blame synergy when controversial choices are made speaks to a lack of trust in Marvel's editorial independence and the wider fatigue felt towards the MCU. A source close to Marvel Comics told Radio Times that, over the past year or two, the publisher has been busy making plans that are distinct from the MCU and should please readers calling for greater experimentation. This includes the mysterious Avengers: Armageddon and the top secret projects set to follow it. View oEmbed on the source website In September 2022, Marvel editor Jordan D White explained that comic book creators were instructed to "stay five to ten years ahead" of the MCU, with the goal being to produce "fun and interesting stuff that [Marvel Studios] can do down the line" (via AIPT). Recently, readers have questioned whether the comics are honouring their side of that agreement. Of course, nerds getting angry about stuff is not, in itself, headline news, but in this case, there is at least a valid argument to be heard. Notably, Marvel Studios is yet to recover from its 2023 crash, with Deadpool & Wolverine's huge success being undercut by last year's trio of box office disappointments – Brave New World, Thunderbolts* and Fantastic Four: First Steps. After years of ever closer union with the MCU and a recent editorial tendency to 'play the hits', it's not hard to imagine the comics themselves falling into a similar lull, unless bolder creative choices do materialise. Synergy giveth and synergy taketh away. Marvel films and TV shows are available to stream on Disney+. Sign-up to Disney+ from £5.99 a month. Check out more of our Sci-fi coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast. Add shows to your watchlist on the <a id="OWA8b702c45-bee9-94e4-f018-57518e78041b" title="https://www.radiotimes.com/download-the-app/?af_xp=custom&pid=website&c=editorial_content&is_retargeting=true&af_reengagement_window=30d" href="https://www.radiotimes.com/download-the-app/?af_xp=custom&pid=website&c=editorial_content&is_retargeting=true&af_reengagement_window=30d" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-auth="NotApplicable" data-outlook-id="449c28d9-909e-4aab-b6b8-153454f55d5e" data-linkindex="0">Radio Times: What to Watch app – download now for daily TV recommendations, features and more.
Project Hail Mary breaks major record for Amazon following blockbuster weekend at box office
It has also secured its spot as the highest-grossing debut of any movie so far this year.
Project Hail Mary has become Amazon's highest-grossing film debut following a blockbuster weekend at the box office. The new movie, which features Ryan Gosling in the lead, was the number one film at the global box office this weekend with $140.9 million worth of tickets sold, also scoring it the highest-grossing debut of any movie of the year so far. It overtook Michael B Jordan's Creed III as the most successful film launch for Amazon since it acquired MGM in 2022, which also granted the streaming giant control over global franchises including James Bond and The Pink Panther. Project Hail Mary is adapted from the book of the same name by Andy Weir. It follows Ryland Grace (Gosling), a science teacher turned astronaut who wakes up aboard a spaceship from a coma with amnesia. He soon discovers he is on a desperate, one-way suicide mission to save Earth from a stellar parasite called "Astrophage" that is dimming the sun. Weir's novel The Martian was also adapted into the 2015 film starring Matt Damon, for which he received an Oscar nomination and won the Golden Globe for best actor. The new film is part of Amazon's pledge to release more than a dozen movies in cinemas annually before making them available on Prime Video. Add Radio Times as a Preferred Source on Google Keep up to date on what’s worth watching with your favourite entertainment news from Radio Times – see more of our exclusive news and interviews featured prominently in Top Stories when using Google. Project Hail Mary received critical acclaim upon its release and was projected to make at least $70 million in sales, a forecast it surpassed by 15 per cent. It is directed by filmmaking duo Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, known for their work on the Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, The Lego Movie, 21 Jump Street and Spider-Verse franchises. Before Project Hail Mary's release, Scream 7 held the title of the biggest debut of 2026. After being released last month the film has gone on to earn $193.8 million at the box office, making it the top-grossing instalment in the franchise’s history. Watch Andy Weir talk to Radio Times about Rocky's look in Project Hail Mary: View Green Video on the source website If you're looking for something to watch tonight, check out our TV Guide and Streaming Guide or visit our Film hub for all the latest news. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Everything you need to know about a potential Scarlet Witch movie.
Film release date: TBC Director: TBC Major cast: Elizabeth Olsen (speculated) Production status: Not confirmed. Reports suggest script development may be under way, but no official announcement. Last updated: 23 March 2026 The Scarlet Witch – otherwise known as Wanda Maximoff – has become one of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s most intriguing and complex characters. Following her starring roles in WandaVision and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, speculation has been rife about whether Elizabeth Olsen’s formidable witch will return in her own solo film. While Marvel Studios has yet to confirm a Scarlet Witch movie, rumblings behind the scenes and the character’s enduring popularity have kept fans on the edge of their seats. With Olsen herself expressing a willingness to reprise the role if the story is right, and reports suggesting scriptwriters may be attached, it seems that the possibility of a solo outing for Wanda is far from dead. So, what do we actually know about a potential Scarlet Witch film – and what could it look like? Here’s everything we’ve managed to uncover so far. Will there be a Scarlet Witch movie? As of now, Marvel Studios has not officially announced a Scarlet Witch solo film. However, reports have surfaced suggesting that a project centred on Wanda Maximoff may be in early development, with Jac Schaeffer and Megan McDonnell – both of whom have previous Marvel writing credentials – said to be penning a script. No official confirmation has been given by Marvel or Disney, and there has been no mention of a director or a production start date. Elizabeth Olsen, who has portrayed Wanda since Avengers: Age of Ultron, has been candid about her openness to return to the character, provided the story does her justice. She has described playing Scarlet Witch as “fun” and “ridiculous”, and has stated she would “jump at the opportunity to be in her shoes again” if the project felt right. However, Olsen has also made clear that she currently has no Marvel projects lined up and is focusing on other work, particularly projects with a guaranteed theatrical release. When could a Scarlet Witch movie release? With no official green light, release date speculation is the name of the game. Should the project move forward, it is unlikely that a Scarlet Witch film would arrive before late 2027 at the earliest. Marvel’s upcoming slate is already packed, with Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars scheduled for 2026 and 2027 respectively. Olsen has stated she will not be in London for the filming of those Avengers movies, as she is committed to other projects. If a solo Scarlet Witch film is indeed in development, the earliest fans could expect to see it would be after the current Phase 6 concludes, possibly as the MCU embarks on a new era. For now, it remains a waiting game, with no date set in stone. Who could return for a Scarlet Witch movie? Should the film go ahead, Elizabeth Olsen would be the obvious – and arguably essential – choice to reprise the role of Wanda Maximoff. Olsen has expressed affection for the character and a willingness to return, provided the story is compelling. Beyond Olsen, there is no confirmed information about any returning or new cast members. Given the character’s ties to Doctor Strange and the magical side of the MCU, it is possible that figures such as Benedict Cumberbatch’s Stephen Strange or Kathryn Hahn’s Agatha Harkness could appear, but this is pure speculation. The events of WandaVision and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness have left Wanda’s fate ambiguous, with her apparent death in the latter leaving the door open for a dramatic return. If the film materialises, it could explore Wanda’s quest for redemption, her mastery of chaos magic, or even her search for her child, Tommy (Speed), who is still lost. The possibilities are wide open – but until Marvel makes it official, fans will have to make do with theories and wishful thinking. Check out more of our Film coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Man of Tomorrow release date: When is it out?
Film release date: 9 July 2027 Director: James Gunn Major cast: David Corenswet, Nicholas Hoult, Rachel Brosnahan, Frank Grillo, Skyler Gisondo, Wendell Pierce, Mikaela Hoover, Lars Eidinger, Isabel Merced Runtime: TBC Where to watch: In cinemas from 9 July 2027 Last updated: 23 March 2026 The film Man of Tomorrow, directed by James Gunn, is confirmed for release on 9 July 2027 in cinemas. This marks the next chapter in DC Studios’ 'Super Family Saga', following the success of Gunn’s previous Superman film. Starring David Corenswet as Superman, Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor and Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane, the film promises a high-stakes superhero adventure. The story will see Superman and his arch-nemesis Lex Luthor forced to team up against a greater threat, with Lars Eidinger set to play the villainous Brainiac. Returning faces from the first film include Frank Grillo, Skyler Gisondo, Wendell Pierce, Mikaela Hoover, and Isabel Merced. At the time of writing, official trailers and promotional material have yet to be released, but first-look artwork has been shared on social media by James Gunn, featuring Superman and Lex Luthor. Man of Tomorrow release date: When is it in cinemas? Man of Tomorrow is officially set to be released in cinemas on 9 July 2027. The announcement was made by director James Gunn, who shared the date along with exclusive artwork. This sequel arrives two years after the previous Superman film, which relaunched the DC Universe on the big screen. Is there a trailer for Man of Tomorrow? A trailer for the upcoming Man of Tomorrow has not yet been released. This page will be updated once one becomes available. Who is in the Man of Tomorrow cast? Main cast expected to appear includes: David Corenswet as Superman / Clark Kent Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane Frank Grillo as Rick Flag Sr Skyler Gisondo as Jimmy Olsen Wendell Pierce as Perry White Mikaela Hoover as Cat Grant Lars Eidinger as Brainiac Isabel Merced as Hawkgirl What is Man of Tomorrow about? Man of Tomorrow sees Superman and Lex Luthor form an uneasy alliance to face a larger threat: the alien android Brainiac. The plot will reportedly give as much focus to Lex Luthor as to Superman, with Luthor donning his iconic warsuit as seen in the comics. The film continues the story of the new DC Universe, with familiar faces from the Daily Planet and the Justice Gang expected to return, and hints that Supergirl may also feature. Man of Tomorrow is set for release in cinemas from 9 July 2027. Check out more of our Film coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
What happens in the second Dune novel, Dune Messiah? Spoilers for book series
The original novel Dune has been covered in film now, but what happens next in the story?
Frank Herbert's epic series of Dune books is set to increase once again as we await Dune: Part Three. This film - which now has a trailer - continues on from the second film from director Denis Villeneuve which adapted the final portion of the original 1965 novel Dune and details what happens once Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) and his mother, Lady Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson), join up with the Fremen, including the young woman he has long dreamt about, Chani (Zendaya). Together, the Atreides - through some unsettling religious manipulation - lead the Fremen in a crusade against the Harkonnens and the Imperium - resulting in one cataclysmic ending. However, the story of the novel Dune does not end there, with this third and final film from Villeneuve adapting the second novel from Frank Herbert in the series, the unique 1968 sequel novel Dune Messiah. View oEmbed on the source website So, what exactly happens in Dune Messiah? Well, here's what goes down and what it all means in the grand scheme of things. *Spoiler warning for Dune Messiah and potentially a third Dune film* What happens in the second Dune novel, Dune Messiah? There’s a time-jump The story of Dune Messiah opens 12 years after the end of Dune. Much has changed in the interim, but many character relationships are the same. Paul-Muad’Dib is the Emperor of the Known Universe and - as they never parted in the first Dune novel - Chani remains by his side as his concubine and closest advisor. Stilgar is also still a close advisor and is now a Minister of State. With the Atreides dynasty now based on Arrakis and overseeing Spice production and Fremen culture, the planet has become the governmental and religious centre of the Imperium. The Imperium has begun terra-forming parts of the planet, and reservoirs of water are being grown, as previously envisioned by Dr Liet-Kynes and hinted at in Paul’s visions (as seen in Dune: Part Two). Emperor Paul-Muad’Dib is all-powerful and is guilty of genocide Having unleashed the Holy War caused by the Fremen that he once dreaded, Paul is now the most powerful ruler in history, and the crusading Fremen has left no corner of the Known Universe untouched, and 61 billion people have perished. Despite the mass death and destruction, Paul’s powerful prescient abilities mean that he has foreseen this as the “narrow path” that avoided even more devastation. Many more than just the Fremen have joined the religious juggernaut behind Muad’Dib, but the religion around this messiah is centred on Arrakis and led by the Qizarate, among whom the high priest is Korba, one of Paul’s former loyal Fedyakin commandos. Lady Jessica is absent Despite her vital role in her son’s ascent to power and God-like status - and her appearance in Dune: Part Three - Lady Jessica is absent in the second novel. Having retired to the old Atreides homeward of Caladan, Lady Jessica has returned to the place she was happiest: her home with her late lover, Duke Leto Atreides. Jessica is not the only one, as Gurney Halleck has also returned to Caladan. Regardless of her absence, Jessica is heavily mentioned and counsels her son from afar and is remembered by the Bene Gesserit for her betrayal of their plans. Yet, Paul is not the only Atreides remaining on Arrakis. Read More: Dune: Part Three star confirms they are only in "one scene" of film Alia Atreides is a religious icon Now a young woman by the time of Dune Messiah, but having been sentient since the womb with all the prescient abilities of her powerful brother, Alia Atreides is worshipped among the religions around him as St. Alia of the Knife, another living deity like her brother. Taking part in many holy ceremonies, Alia is tired of the pomp and circumstance of it all. In the first novel, a four-year-old Alia had been the one to slay her maternal grandfather, Baron Vladimir Harkonnen, with a Gom Jabbar needle and had proclaimed her brother as the Kwisatz Haderach. Despite having had the abilities of an adult Reverend Mother since being a child, Alia is still a maturing young woman and experiences a sexual awakening in the novel. The Bene Gesserit, who consider Alia’s abilities to be unnatural, regard her as an Abomination and fear what dangers lie beneath the surface of her consciousness. Princess Irulan Corino is part of a conspiracy against the Atreides Having never known the affection of her husband and with her family living in exile, Princess Irulan Corrino plots against her husband with his enemies in a conspiracy. The conspirators against Paul include Irulan and Jessica’s Bene Gesserit tutor Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohiam who represents her sisterhood, Edric of the Spacing Guild, whose Spice-related abilities as a Guild Navigator means he can shield the cabal from the Atreides’ prescient abilities, disaffected Fremen who resent Paul’s changes to Arrakis, and Scytale, a shapeshifting Face-Dancer of the genetic manipulators the Bene Tleilax. These parties have been enacting their plots in multiple ways, with Irulan feeding Chani contraceptives to prevent her from having Atreides heirs as she tries to persuade Paul to give her a child of her own. Meanwhile, the Bene Tleilax have given Edric a gift to present to Paul, undermining his standing with the Fremen who will consider it unnatural… Duncan Idaho is resurrected - with a catch Edric gifts Paul with a ghola, a manufactured human body grown from the remains of his old swordmaster and mentor, Duncan Idaho. This ghola is named Hayt and has been trained as a Mentat - a human ‘thinking computer’ - and also a philosopher with no memories of the life of Duncan Idaho, but occasionally flashes of his old life come through and carry his appearance as a younger man than even Paul knew. Paul accepts Hayt as a gift - an act which horrifies the Fremen and even leads to doubts and confusion from his sister Alia. Hayt’s presence also leads to sexual confusion from Alia, who finds herself attracted to him despite her abilities giving her memories of the original Duncan Idaho. Chani longs to give Paul children - but he predicts tragedy After Irulan fed Chani contraceptives through her diet, Chani switched to a Fremen diet and then became pregnant by Paul, but the impact of the poisoning has hastened the pregnancy. Chani realises what Irulan has been doing and longs to kill her, but Paul stops her as he believes his consort still has her uses and can cause them no more harm. Paul also had been aware of what Irulan was doing, but his visions had shown that if Chani gave birth to Paul’s heirs, then she would undoubtedly die. Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohiam is taken prisoner Having been exiled to never return to Arrakis, Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohiam is arrested by Paul’s troops aboard a Guild Heighliner in the planet's orbit and taken to a cell in Paul’s citadel. Irulan visits the captive Mohiam, and the two communicate through their Bene Gesserit abilities. It becomes clear that Irulan is being pragmatic and trying her best to survive in the Imperium, but Mohiam instructs her to sow seeds of discontent and hints at even pushing a potential incestuous union between Paul and Alia to preserve the Atreides bloodline. Eventually, Mohiam is called into a meeting with Paul, and he reveals an offer to her: leave Chani alone, stop plotting for Irulan to bear his heirs, and accept the gift of his sperm. Mohiam promises to write to the Sisterhood on the offer, but knows that artificial insemination is against the laws of her order - Paul has trapped her. Emperor Paul-Muad'Dib is blinded Paul is lured out by a messenger from one of his loyal Fedaykin commandos, Otheym, in the form of his daughter Lichna. This Fremen girl is Scytale in disguise, and this is a trap. Paul, aware of Scytale’s plotting and the trap, goes into the desert to meet with Otheym, who reveals a Fremen conspiracy against Paul. Otheym gives Paul another gift of Tleilaxu origin, a dwarf named Bijaz, who possesses a perfect memory for recording everything that happens. When Paul’s troops attack the Fremen conspirators against him that Otheym led him to, a group of Fremen rebels set off an atomic weapon known as a stone burner, which blinds Paul. The Fremen believe that a blind man must walk into the desert alone, but due to his powerful psychic abilities, Paul is still able to see events as they happen - only further increasing his religious standing. Chani gives birth to twins - and dies After an accelerated pregnancy that weakened her body, Chani gives birth to not just one child that Paul foresaw but two: a son and a daughter, both with the prescient abilities of a Kwisatz Haderach. Despite this surprise, what Paul dreaded most happens: Chani dies in childbirth. Paul is shattered with grief for his true love. Hayt’s true purpose - and Scytale's plan - is revealed Bijaz’s true purpose as Scytale’s servant is revealed, and to deliver a secret command to Hayt, which appears to be to kill Paul when a certain code phrase is revealed. Chani’s death prompts Paul to experience profound grief, and this triggers Hayt, which only revives the latent memories of Duncan Idaho, and he refuses to kill Paul. This reveals that Hayt’s true purpose was to show the powers of the Bene Tleilax and Scytale, then offers to revive Chani for Paul as a ghoul. Paul fears what the Bene Tleilax may force Chani to do and that they will plot to influence the Imperium for their ends, so he refuses. Scytale then threatens to kill Paul’s children in exchange for Paul’s shares in the Imperium’s conglomerate CHOAM to let them live. Then, through his son’s oracular abilities, Paul can see the dangers and aims a dagger at Scytale and kills him. After slaying this enemy, Bijaz then repeats the Bene Tleilax's offer to Paul. In response, Paul has Duncan execute the Tleilaxu agent. A new status quo comes to the Imperium After the killing of Scytale with aid from his infant son, Paul has lost his prescient abilities and is now totally blind and decides to embrace Fremen tradition and goes into self-imposed exile in the desert. Naming his twin children his heirs with the names Leto II and Ghanima, Paul leaves them in the care of Alia, who is named Holy Imperial Regent, and he asks her to spare all of the other conspirators against him. Once Paul has departed, a ruthless Alia orders Stilgar to execute the treacherous Korba, who plotted to blind her brother to increase his own religious power, along with an imprisoned Edric and Reverend Mother Mohiam. Stilgar complies. Irulan is spared, as after being so moved by the loss of Paul and Chani, she has renounced any further devotion to the Bene Gesserit and House Corrino and devotes herself to helping to raise Paul and Chani's heirs. Finally, an emotional Alia and the restored Duncan enter into a new and romantic stage of their relationship. What is the meaning behind Dune Messiah? While Frank Herbert's Dune was a coming-of-age novel and the rise of the anti-hero Paul Atreides to power, Dune Messiah is a darker psychological tale about Paul's downfall and loss of everything he holds dear. All of the darker themes and fears about the dangers of messiahs present in the first book are realised, and Paul himself feels trapped and resigned to his destiny in Dune Messiah. While Dune is an epic novel with a huge ensemble, Dune Messiah is much more intimate and concentrated on political conspiracies and palace intrigues, all while underlining the central message of the first book: beware your heroes and beware how religious fervour can be used by governments to maintain control. In an essay by Frank Herbert titled Dune Genesis, the author wrote: "How did it evolve? I conceived of a long novel, the whole trilogy as one book about the messianic convulsions that periodically overtake us. Demagogues, fanatics, con-game artists, the innocent and the not-so-innocent bystanders - all were to have a part in the drama. This grows from my theory that superheroes are disastrous for humankind. Even if we find a real hero (whatever-or whoever-that may be), eventually fallible mortals take over the power structure that always comes into being around such a leader." Herbert finished this tale with his third novel, Children of Dune, which continues the story of Paul's children, Leto and Ghanima. Read more: 13 Dune Part Two scenes we all won’t be forgetting in a hurry Dune: Part Two review – A spectacular return to Arrakis Who is Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen in Dune: Part Two? Austin Butler character explained What happened in Dune: Part One? Recap for the first Denis Villeneuve film in franchise How is Dune: Part Two different from the book? Book changes explained Which characters are missing in Dune: Part Two? Stellan Skarsgård says reading Dune was “useless” for his Baron Harkonnen portrayal Dune director on casting Austin Butler: ‘I needed a playboy – a rockstar’ Dune: Part Two cast – Full list of actors and characters in sequel What is the age rating for Dune: Part Two? Age suitability explained How to watch Dune: Part One on DVD, Blu-ray and streaming Dune: Part Two is showing in cinemas now. Check out more of our Sci-Fi coverage or visit our TV Guide to see what's on tonight. Try Radio Times magazine today and get 10 issues for only £10 – subscribe now. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day release date, cast, trailer and theories
How many times have you watched the trailer? It's hard to stop...
It finally happened! After months of anticipation, Sony Pictures has unveiled a full trailer for its forthcoming Marvel blockbuster Spider-Man: Brand New Day, which sees Tom Holland return as the underdog hero. The plot of the film has been shrouded in secrecy since it wrapped filming on the streets of Glasgow, which is a rare achievement in a media landscape hungry for any spoiler leaks it can get its hands on. As a result, there were some genuine surprises in the Spider-Man: Brand New Day trailer (check out our analysis of 5 key moments here), including the apparent inclusion of Daredevil's bitter rivals The Hand (last seen in Netflix's The Defenders). The gang appeared alongside Michael Mando's Scorpion, Jon Bernthal's The Punisher and even C-list comic book villain Boomerang (actor to be confirmed), leaving it unclear who exactly the main antagonist would be. Notably absent was Sadie Sink, but the appearance of a psychic entity in the trailer reignited theories that the Stranger Things alum could be playing X-Men stalwart Jean Grey. If the trailer has left you restless, you're not alone! Fortunately, there's only a few months left until we can experience Spider-Man: Brand New Day in cinemas up and down the country. Here's everything you need to know about the Marvel epic. Spider-Man: Brand New Day release date Spider-Man: Brand New Day is currently scheduled for release in cinemas on Friday 31 July 2026. Previously, Brand New Day was expected to release after Avengers: Doomsday (previously due for May 2026), with the natural expectation being that the two films may be tied in with one another to some extent. However, now that Doomsday has been delayed until December 2026, the next Spidey film is first up to the plate – meaning any connections between the two stories must have been reconsidered. That is, unless it was always planned to touch on the crossover only lightly, much like 2018's Ant-Man and the Wasp ignored the cataclysmic Avengers: Infinity War (until its highly consequential post-credits scene). View oEmbed on the source website Spider-Man: Brand New Day cast – new and returning Tom Holland and Zendaya star in Spider-Man: Brand New Day as star-crossed lovers Peter Parker and MJ, who were torn apart by a magic spell at the end of 2021's No Way Home. Jacob Batalon is also back from Spidey's first MCU trilogy as 'guy in the chair' Ned Leeds, who has remained a close friend of MJ's as they embark on their university adventures without their forgotten comrade. Brand New Day has also tapped into the ranks of the wider Marvel Cinematic Universe, bringing Jon Bernthal's The Punisher to the big screen for the first time, following past appearances in Netflix's solo drama series and Disney's Daredevil: Born Again. Mark Ruffalo co-stars as Bruce Banner, who has reverted back to his regular human form after time spent as Smart Hulk in Avengers: Endgame and She-Hulk: Attorney at Law. Michael Mando rounds out the key returnees as Mac Gargan aka Scorpion; a villain who swore vengeance against Holland's Spider-Man in the closing moments of his 2017 adventure Homecoming. He certainly appears to have levelled up since then. In terms of new additions, Stranger Things star Sadie Sink is joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe in what is said to be a key role (according to The Hollywood Reporter), but it's not yet clear precisely who the rising star will be playing (more on that below). Another recruit that got Marvel fans talking is The Bear's Liza Colón-Zayas, who has joined Brand New Day in an as-yet-undisclosed role – but comic book readers all have the same guess as to who she might be. The arrival of Peter Parker's successor in the Spider-Man mantle, Miles Morales, has been teased for years, with superstar Donald Glover (Mr & Mrs Smith) playing the character's uncle, Aaron Davis, all the way back in 2017's Homecoming. Fans have noted that Colón-Zayas could potentially be a fit for Miles's mother, Rio, but that's only speculation for the time being. No further casting has been announced just yet, but recurring Spidey star Jon Favreau is among the rumoured contenders for a return as Tony Stark's former right-hand man Happy Hogan. There's no word on whether Tom Holland's Spider-Verse counterparts Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield could reappear, following an enormous fan response to 2021's No Way Home. Recently, Garfield addressed the possibility in an interview with Entertainment Tonight: "I would love to play the character again in some capacity, but I think it would have to be very weird. I think I would want to do something very strange. "I would want to do something very unique, and offbeat, and surprising, kind of like the creative freedom that they have with the animated Spider-Verse movies. I think they're so great and you can honour the character in so many different ways through the multiverse." Behind the camera, Spider-Man: Brand New Day is set to be directed by Destin Daniel Cretton, who previously helmed Marvel's Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. Who is Sadie Sink playing in Spider-Man: Brand New Day? Of course, with the news that Sadie Sink will be joining the MCU with this film, much speculation has already begun as to who she might be playing – with that information not yet having been divulged. One rumour that has been doing the rounds at this early stage is that she could popular X-Men character Jean Grey AKA Phoenix, who has previously been played by both Famke Janssen and Sophie Turner in the days of 20th Century Fox. Sink would certainly fit the role, and it's been clear for some time now that the Marvel is ramping up its plans for the X-Men to officially join the MCU, but as yet this is nothing more than a rumour. And there are plenty of other characters Sink could potentially play, with fans already having put forward a number of suggestions. One such example is Angelica Jones/Firestar – a comic book super-hero and mutant who has not yet appeared on the big screen, but has teamed up with Peter Parker before in the source material. Another is Felicia Hardy, AKA Black Cat, a character who at various points has been an enemy, ally and love interest of Spidey and was previously played in The Amazing Spider-Man by Felicity Jones. A third possibility is that she could be the latest actress to play romantic interest Gwen Stacy, following Bryce Dallas Howard (in Spider-Man 3) and Emma Stone (in The Amazing Spider-Man films). As soon as we catch wind of any further rumours, we'll post them right here – so do keep checking back. What could happen in Spider-Man: Brand New Day? Plot details for Spider-Man: Brand New Day are few and far between at the moment, but star Tom Holland has described the film as a "fresh start" following Peter Parker's sacrifice at the end of No Way Home. That 2021 blockbuster ended with him asking Doctor Strange to wipe him from the memories of everybody on the planet, in order to prevent the multiverse from unleashing chaos on the main Marvel continuity. Alas, the consequences were dire, as Peter's beloved girlfriend MJ, best friend Ned and mentor Happy, heartbreakingly had no recollection of Peter when he bumped into them after the spell was cast. The transformative development is comparable to that which was seen in controversial comic book storyline One More Day, in which Peter and Mary-Jane made a deal with Mephisto, erasing their marriage in exchange for Aunt May's life. It's no coincidence, then, that this film is titled Brand New Day – the arc that followed One More Day in the source material. "I know we left you with a massive cliffhanger at the end of No Way Home, so Spider-Man: Brand New Day is a fresh start," said Holland at CinemaCon. "It is exactly that. That's all I can say." Indeed, last time we saw him, Peter was moving into a New York City apartment and preparing for a new chapter of his life, without the support network that had proven so crucial over the last several years. Intriguingly, during an appearance on Good Morning America last year, Holland described the fourth entry in his Spidey saga as "crazy" and "different to anything we've done before". That promise seemed to be fulfilled by the Spider-Man: Brand New Day trailer, which was chock-full of villains and head-scratching developments, including Peter undergoing an uncontrollable genetic mutation... into what? Spider-Man: Brand New Day trailer It's here! Watch the Spider-Man: Brand New Day trailer now, in all its glory: View Green Video on the source website Watch the Spider-Man: Brand New Day suit reveal below: View oEmbed on the source website Spider-Man: Brand New Day will be released in cinemas on Friday 31 July 2025. Check out more of our Film coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Project Hail Mary book vs film differences: What was changed for the Ryan Gosling film?
The acclaimed film is adapted from the novel by Andy Weir, but how faithful is it to its source material?
**Warning: Contains spoilers for Project Hail Mary – both the book and the film.** Project Hail Mary is one of the first major blockbusters of 2026, telling a hopeful story of cooperation and bravery in the face of an existential threat. Adapted from the 2021 book of the same name by Andy Weir, the film has received rave reviews – but how does it compare to its source material? Well, it's worth noting that Weir himself was very involved in the project, to a far greater degree than the list time one of his films was adapted for the big screen: The Martian in 2015. "[The process] was completely different," the author explained to Radio Times in an exclusive interview ahead of the release. "In the Martian, they just gave me money and told me to go away, which absolutely works for me. "But in Project Hail Mary, I was a producer, so I was involved in every step of the process. I approved casting, I helped choose the directors. I was there for the shoot. I watched every cut as it came in, and gave feedback and notes and stuff. So it was a completely different experience. It was awesome. It was great. I loved it!" With that in mind, read on to find out just how faithful the new film is to the book. Project Hail Mary book vs film differences: How similar are they? The film, and novel, tells the story of teacher-turned-astronaut Ryland Grace, who awakes on an interstellar ship called the Hail Mary with no memory of how or why he is there. Through the course of the story, Grace slowly pieces together the nature of his situation and realises that the sun is dying — and that's not the only star. Every star in every neighbouring galaxy seems to have been affected by the Astrophage, a life form that reproduces rapidly and consumes the energy given off by stars. Only one star seems to be unaffected by the Astrophage, so mankind mounts a Hail Mary mission to Tau Ceti to uncover why, sending a reluctant Grace along for the ride. And, he may or may not make a friend along the way. The book marked Andy Weir's return to the hard science fiction/survival narrative that made his first novel, The Martian, such a huge success. Like The Martian, Project Hail Mary is a witty and fast-paced adventure that combines dense and accurate science with a man-vs-nature survival tale that makes for a fun and hopeful exploration of human potential against impossible odds. The film adaptation saw screenwriter Drew Goddard, who was nominated for an Oscar for his script for The Martian, try and wrangle Weir's nearly 500 page novel into a cohesive and entertaining film. At over two and a half hours, Project Hail Mary isn’t a short film, but how accurate is it when compared to the book and how successful is it at capturing the heart of story? Overall, Project Hail Mary is a remarkably faithful adaptation with very few major changes from book to film. Directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, known for The Lego Movie and Spider-verse films, were keen to remain as faithful as possible to the story and characters of the novel, while Goddard wanted to ensure that the heart of the book remained in tact in his script. Even when compared to The Martian, itself a very faithful adaptation, Project Hail Mary is very accurate to both the events of the book and how they are structured. What changes are made, and we’ll get to those in a moment, were more about streamlining the narrative and ensuring that the film's central focus remained on the friendship between Grace and scene-stealer genius alien engineer Rocky. Simplifying the science The primary trademark of Andy Weir’s books, beyond witty protagonists prone to pop-culture references, is real, thoroughly researched science. Despite science-fiction situations, Weir’s novels go to great lengths to make the science as accurate and real as possible. Even when he’s inventing technology that doesn’t exist or, in the case of Rocky, species that don’t exist, Weir makes sure that everything is grounded in real science. What's truly remarkable about Weir’s writing is how well he manages to weave this, sometimes incredibly complex, science into his stories in an interesting and entertaining way. The problem is, when adapting this science for the screen, there are only so many times you can watch someone look through a microscope. For that reason, much of the more complicated science has been streamlined in the film. Instead of seeing every step of the process, Lord and Miller use montages and Grace's messages to earth as a means of quickly and efficiently conveying just enough science to help us understand the situation. They've preserved the essence of Weir's way of explaining things without needing to adapt everything exactly it is in the novel. A great example of this is the first time Grace meets Rocky. While the broad strokes of first contact are the same between the book and the film, the book shows significantly more of the trial and error inherent in building the tunnel that connects their two ships, and their significantly different atmospheres. The fun of the book is being there in Grace's head as he figures out these problems, something that would never truly translate on screen. The filmmakers chose to instead focus on the core relationship between Grace and Rocky, realising we don’t need to see exactly how many times they failed in the lead up to their first meeting to feel the same sense of fear and curiosity as Grace when he first meets the star of the film (sorry Ryan). Going nuclear Another moment from the book they chose to omit from the film adaptation involves doing something seriously drastic to slow down the planets cooling. After consulting with a climatologist, the leader of the titular Project Hail Mary, Eva Stratt, makes the decision to nuke the polar ice caps to release methane into the atmosphere to warm up the planet. You read that right, as a means of buying time before the planet cools, crops die and people starve, they chose to use nuclear weapons to speed up global warming. It’s a powerful moment in the book that really serves to underscore the sense of desperation felt by humanity and those battling to save it. Why leave it out of the film, then? Simply, it doesn’t advance Ryland Grace’s story in a meaningful way beyond buying him time for his mission. Given that the film places a singular emotional focus on the journey Grace goes on, and his relationship with Rocky (more on that in a moment), there was no space in the story for this scene. While it is impactful in the book, it's not exactly missed when watching the film. Harrowing as it might be to see the world take such drastic measures, placing that focus on Grace and his story serves the film without distracting from his emotional journey. Rocky saves the day Which brings us back to Rocky. Both the book and the film see Grace and Rocky discover that the reason why Tau Ceti isn’t dying is because the Astrophage that’s causing our sun (and Rocky’s) to die is being eaten by newly discovered life on one of Tau Ceti’s planets. They then resolve to gather samples of this new life form in the hopes that they can use it to cull the rampant Astrophage population and save their stars. This, of course, means doing something incredibly dangerous that inevitably leads to near catastrophe. To get close enough to Tau Ceti to gather the samples, they build an incredibly long chain. However, their plan leads to one of the Hail Mary’s engines leaking, which causes the Astrophage they’re using as fuel to send the ship into an uncontrollable spin leading to Grace being knocked unconscious. It’s here where the book and film diverge. In both cases, Rocky saves Grace by entering the human environment before eventually collapsing, but in the book Grace then returns him to the Eridian airlock, experiencing severe burns, but ultimately helping to revive Rocky. In the film, Rocky saves Grace before finding a way back to the Eridian environment on his own. When Grace wakes, Rocky asks him to watch him sleep (a practice established as important to the Eridians) before falling unconscious for a sustained period of time. The film draws out the tension surrounding Rocky’s survival for much longer. In the film, Grace figures out how this new life form from Tau Ceti, named Taumoeba, works and how it can be used to save their respective stars, telling his unconscious friend about his progress as he goes without ever knowing if he’s even still alive. Given how successfully the Rocky character is translated in the film and just how much you grow to care for that strange, spider-like, faceless puppet, this part of Lord and Miller's sci-fi is agonising. Making you feel Grace's anxiety as he waits for his friend to (hopefully) recover, while figuring out how to use their new discovery to save their respective homes, places the emphasis less on the science and more on the emotion — all without fully abandoning the book's geeky sense of the joy of the scientific method. In the book, the section of problem solving that occurs after Rocky recovers also includes the pair using the Hail Mary's probes, named after the four Beatles, to help stop the uncontrolled spin caused by the leaking engine. This sub-plot was cut as a result of the decision to focus on the tension around Rocky’s recovery. The Ending View Green Video on the source website Another small change comes towards the end of the film. After parting ways with Rocky and beginning his return home, Grace discovers a flaw in the containment system used to store the Taumoeba. This meant that the Taumoeba has leaked out and started to consume the Astrophage being used for fuel. He manages to contain it but realises that the problem will eventually kill Rocky due to the nature of his ship. So, he sends the four probes back to earth and heads off to save his best friend. In the book, a big part of Grace’s decision to save Rocky centres around him knowing that he will eventually run out of food. As Eridian food is toxic to humans, saving Rocky presents a new challenge for Grace. Ultimately, when Grace and Rocky arrive at Eridani, the book tells us that Eridian scientists have been able to synthesise human food to sustain him. The film omits the food subplot, with the epilogue only revealing that Rocky and the Eridian scientists have built an earth-like habitat for Grace on Eridani complete with fog and water that’s just a bit too cold. The epilogue also omits the moment that Rocky tells Grace that Sol, the proper name for the sun, has returned to full brightness, suggesting that earth has received the probes and figured out how to use their Taumoeba to save the planet. In the book, it is here that Grace considers returning to earth with his decision ultimately left ambiguous. In the film, however, the emphasis is once more put on the relationship between Grace and Rocky. Rocky says that the Hail Mary has been prepared for the return journey to earth, to which Grace replies that he needs to think about it first, again leaving his final decision ambiguous. The heart of the book's ending is preserved by showing us Eva Stratt and her team beginning the work of figuring out how to use the Taumoeba to save the world. While the book and the film both end with Grace’s decision to leave Rocky ambiguous, the film's slight reframing of events, omitting the reveal that his mission has been a success, wonderfully reinforces the central relationship at the films core. Ultimately, Project Hail Mary is a remarkable adaptation in that it changes very little, while also somehow streamlining the story to suit the big screen. It’s a testament to just how cinematic Weir’s novel is in the first place that the film, at times, translates scenes almost completely as they are written on the page. It’s also a testament to the skill of Lord, Miller, Goddard and crew when the book and film do deviate, as the film never loses sight of the core essence that makes the book so special. Throughout the press tour for the film, Lord, Miller and Godard have repeatedly talked about preserving that emotional core when translating the book to film. The real heart of Project Hail Mary is the relationship between Grace and Rocky. It’s the story of two characters who are from different worlds, figuring out how to communicate and work together in service of a greater purpose. Every change made in adapting the book for the screen is in service of this central relationship, ensuring that the heart and soul is clear in both versions, regardless of any differences in how they tell the same story. Project Hail Mary is now showing in cinemas. Check out more of our Film coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Project Hail Mary ending explained: Does Ryland Grace survive and does he return to earth?
Ryan Gosling’s goes through the ringer in his new sci-fi adventure, but does he make it out alive?
(**WARNING: Contains spoilers for Project Hail Mary**) It’s safe to say you don’t want to be the protagonist in an Andy Weir adaptation. Project Hail Mary continues the writers trend of throwing smart people into an impossible situation and then using science to help them figure out a way to survive. Both the novel and the film versions of Project Hail Mary put their protagonist, Ryland Grace, through the ringer. The film sees genius school teacher Grace, played brilliantly by Ryan Gosling, getting drawn into an international effort to try and save the sun from a strange life form called Astrophage that’s sapping its energy and threatening all life on earth. Gosling helps concoct a plan that will see three scientists head to Tau Ceti on a suicide mission to find out why it seems to be the only solar system nearby to our own that isn’t dimming as a result of the Astrophage. Along the way he meets an alien – and the real star of the film – he names Rocky, who is in Tau Ceti for the same reason. His home planets star is also dying thanks to the Astrophage. Scientific hijinks ensue leading to Grace and Rocky getting launched across the stars on a kaleidoscopic adventure to save their worlds. But how does it end and what does it all mean? Here’s everything you need to know. Project Hail Mary ending explained Around the mid-point of the film, Grace and Rocky realise that the reason Tau Ceti doesn’t appear to be affected by the Astrophage in the same way as their own is because the planet the Astrophage goes to in order to reproduce is also home to microscopic life forms. And those microscopic life forms are then eating the Astrophage, preventing it from reproducing out of control and causing the planets sun to dim. Grace and Rocky set out to capture some of these microscopic life forms from Tau Ceti in order to use them to eat the Astrophage currently killing the stars in their respective solar systems. And so, they concoct a plan that involves building a huge chain to scoop up samples of the Taumoeba, as Grace calls it, without Grace having to bring the Hail Mary ship too close to the planet. Of course, the plan goes awry thanks to a leak in the Hail Mary’s fuel tank, which leads to the ship entering an uncontrolled spin and Grace getting knocked unconscious. Rocky, whose own atmosphere is dramatically different from our own, leaves the safety of his bubble to save Grace and their mission. With a critically injured Rocky now unconscious and potentially dying, Grace sets out to finish their mission by studying the newly acquired samples of Taumoeba. He figures out a way to breed them in a quantity large enough to successfully control the Astrophage population destroying the sun as well as how to make them resistant to the high levels of nitrogen on Venus, where they go to reproduce. He then uses designs created by Rocky and the same xenonite material that makes up Rocky’s ship, and all of his technology, to create containers to store the precious and dangerous Taumoeba ready for his return home. Thankfully, Rocky awakens having recovered from his injury’s and the two celebrate the success of their mission before preparing to part ways for good in one of the films most emotional scenes. It is during this return journey, after Grace and Rocky have said their goodbyes, that Grace realises a critical issue. The Taumoeba can easily get out of the xenonite containers Rocky constructed to hold it. And when it escapes it heads straight for its favourite food source: Astrophage. Astrophage isn’t just dimming the sun. It’s also the fuel source that powers the Hail Mary. As it feeds, the Astrophage creates an enormous amount of energy which it then releases allowing it to propel the ship forward through space. It ‘toots and scoots’ as one character puts it. Needless to say, the Taumoeba eating all of the fuel on the Hail Mary would be bad news. Luckily, Grace manages to contain the leak quickly on the Hail Mary. However, he realises that Rocky’s ship is made entirely of xenonite, meaning there will be no way for him to prevent the Taumoeba from escaping leaving Rocky stranded and vulnerable to the high levels of radiation. Grace has enough fuel to return home with the Taumoeba samples or he can send the samples back to earth in the four probes, named for each of the Beatles, and then use his remaining fuel to save Rocky. Of course, he chooses the latter. View Green Video on the source website Grace catches up to Rocky just before its too late, reconnecting with his old pal in enough time to save him. The two head off to Eridani, Rocky’s home planet, to save his sun, while the four Beatles make their way back to earth to save our own. Throughout the film, as Grace pieces back together his memory following the amnesia caused by the coma, one crucial piece of information eludes him. Why he ended up as part of the Hail Mary crew. The crew of three, one pilot, one engineer and one scientist, were all specially selected and all understood that it was a one way mission. Only, an accident killed both the science officer and his back-up leaving Grace as the only person with enough knowledge to successfully complete the mission. The problem is, he said no. But no wasn’t an option for mission leader Eva Stratt, who drugged him and stowed him aboard the Hail Mary under the premise that he was humanity’s last and only hope. Only now, as he sacrifices his own return to earth to save Rocky, does he realise she was right. Meanwhile, Stratt and her team of international scientists collect the four probes sent by Grace and set about using the Taumeoba to save the sun. We see her on route to a remote base where the samples are being held, watching one of Grace’s final logs where he admits she was right about him being the best person for the mission. Does Ryland Grace survive and does he return to earth? The film’s epilogue picks up 16 years later and sees Grace living in a huge habitat engineered by Rocky to allow him to survive on Eridani. The habitat creates an artificial climate, controls the temperate of sea water and even causes fog to develop, all allowing Grace to live comfortably on Rocky’s homeworld. Rocky tells Grace that the Hail Mary is ready for his return to earth. Grace considers it for a moment, before telling Rocky he’ll think about it. Grace then makes the short journey to a makeshift classroom on his beach habitat, where he finds a room full of baby-Rocky’s ready and eager to learn from their strange new teacher. It’s a full circle moment, we see Grace back in his element as a teacher after going on this incredible journey across the universe. He finds a friend along the way, one he is willing to be brave for. And it is in this friendship at the heart of the film that the solution to saving the world is found. Though Grace’s return to earth is left ambiguous, the film ends on an optimistic and hopeful note. One that suggests the bond between Grace and Rocky is not the end of the journey but the beginning. Project Hail Mary is now showing in cinemas. Check out more of our Film coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
5 standout moments from Spider-Man: Brand New Day trailer - from Zendaya return to dangerous new villains
The jaw-dropping trailer has given us a lot to talk about.
Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures have done the impossible with Spider-Man: Brand New Day, evading the leaks and spoilers that plague so many comic book blockbusters to cook up a genuine surprise for fans. Even after the Spider-Man: Brand New Day trailer, which launched today to great excitement (and you can watch above), there are still more questions than answers about what to expect from Tom Holland's fourth solo film as the beloved superhero. Picking up after the events of 2021's No Way Home, we see Peter Parker (Holland) forced to fend for himself for the first time, after the entire world forgot he existed due to a powerful spell from Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch). In a fan-friendly move, it tears the character away from the high-tech comforts of Stark Industries, dropping him into a highly comics-accurate status quo of taking down street-level baddies in his local neighbourhood. Following a stellar first trilogy in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), there's reason to be optimistic for this bold new era, with acclaimed Shang-Chi director and Wonder Man co-creator Destin Daniel Cretton taking the reins from earlier filmmaker Jon Watts. If you're as excited as we are, you're in the right place! Here you'll find all the key takeaways from the Spider-Man: Brand New Day trailer broken down with expert analysis. Now, how many minutes away is July? 1. Tom Holland and Zendaya reunite After weeks of rumours regarding their marital status (not that it should matter to anyone but them), real-life couple Tom Holland and Zendaya will be relieved to have something else to talk about in their next media appearance. That is their long-awaited on-screen reunion as Peter Parker and MJ, whose relationship was sadly torn apart at the end of No Way Home, as the former made a noble sacrifice to keep the barriers between multiverses from disintegrating. A spell concocted by Doctor Strange wiped all memory of Peter from the universe, restoring his secret identity, but nullifying even his closest relationships in the process. Some time later, Peter still appears heartbroken by his loss of MJ, who seems to be getting on rather well at university, where she claims to be the happiest she's ever been. Ouch. Not the kind to just give up, Peter does appear to be creeping back into her social circle. The trailer ends with a somewhat awkward meeting between them at a house party, where the ice is broken (again). But will it stir up any of those lost memories? 2. What's happening to Peter Parker? Arguably more intriguing is the suggestion that Peter is undergoing some kind of mutation to his very DNA, not dissimilar to that which real spiders go through (as per the narration – I cannot tell you if it's scientifically accurate). There are two moments in particular that are sure to stir up speculation in this regard. First, we see a scantily clad Peter hanging from a building, with only some webbing around his waist to hold him in place. Intriguingly, he's lacking his wrist-worn web shooters, which has led some to speculate whether he could start producing web organically, as was the case with Tobey Maguire's Peter Parker (who explained as much to Holland's version in No Way Home). These changes do appear to be taking their toll on poor ol' Pete, who later stares ominously down the camera with his eyes turned fully black and red. One possible explanation could be symbiote shenanigans. Viewers will remember that, when Tom Hardy's Eddie Brock was temporarily (and uneventfully) transported to the MCU, he accidentally left a tiny sliver of Venom symbiote behind. Could that have found its way to Peter Parker, whose image Venom enthusiastically licked in the Let There Be Carnage post-credits scene? I'm starting to think I've seen too many of these movies. 3. Dangerous villains strike: The Scorpion, Boomerang and... The Hand? Without doubt, one of the biggest questions hanging over Spider-Man: Brand New Day remains who exactly the 'main' villain is. This trailer doesn't answer that, but does give us some (surprising) candidates. We see Spider-Man in a brief scrap with Frank Castle aka The Punisher, but despite their moral disagreements, he's more of an antihero these days than chief antagonist material (as shown recently in Daredevil: Born Again). Throughout the trailer, we get glimpses of B-tier villains like Scorpion (Michael Mando, returning from Homecoming) and even Boomerang (see top of page, actor TBC), seen hurling his projectiles in an airborne encounter with Spidey. These inclusions will delight Spider-Man fans, for whom a large part of the character's appeal is his day-to-day crimefighting, but they don't exactly scream 'high-stakes blockbuster villain'. Instead, a psychic or paranormal menace could fill that role... An as-yet-unexplained moment in the Brand New Day trailer sees Spider-Man rescue an older woman from a crashed vehicle, whose consciousness seems to hop from that body to a nearby armoured soldier. This unknown entity smirks at Spider-Man from this body, before viscerally jumping again to another nearby individual, as the voiceover (from Severance's Tramell Tillman) warns of a danger we "can't control" or "even see". In a further twist, ruthless ninja clan The Hand (previously seen in Marvel's Daredevil and The Defenders) appear to be in New York City again, raising the possibility of this unidentified enemy being demonic or mystical in nature. But who could take the role of such a powerful antagonist? That's yet another of Brand New Day's enticing mysteries. 4. Bruce Banner's return is finally confirmed... Although widely reported in the press, Mark Ruffalo had been somewhat coy about confirming his return for Spider-Man: Brand New Day, so it's good to see that we can finally put that small matter to bed. In-keeping with Strange's spell, Bruce Banner has no memory of the plucky kid he fought alongside in Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame, but does lend some advice to a worried Peter regarding his uncontrollable mutations. Ruffalo previously worked with Brand New Day director Destin Daniel Cretton on Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, where he appeared in a post-credits scene alongside other Avengers favourites. However, this marks the first time in many years that Banner has reverted to his regular human persona, after an extended stint as 'Smart Hulk' or 'Professor Hulk' depending on your preferred nickname. 5. ... but where is Sadie Sink? Several members of the Spider-Man: Brand New Day cast remain unaccounted for, but arguably, the actor of most interest to Marvel fans is Stranger Things star Sadie Sink. The internet went into meltdown speculating who the star might be playing in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with guesses ranging from burglar Black Cat to mutant Jean Grey and from superhero Firestar to love interest Gwen Stacy. After this trailer, we're still none the wiser, with Sink yet to make an on-screen appearance. Could she be playing the shapeless body-hopping entity that we see wreaking havoc earlier on? Or might she be the hooded individual facing away from us (see above), who boastfully gestures before a high-tech set up designed for who knows what? For now, we can't know, but expect theories and rumours to only intensify as we get closer to Brand New Day's summer premiere. Spider-Man: Brand New Day swings into cinemas on 31 July 2026. Check out more of our Sci-fi and Film coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast. Add shows to your watchlist on the <a id="OWA8b702c45-bee9-94e4-f018-57518e78041b" title="https://www.radiotimes.com/download-the-app/?af_xp=custom&pid=website&c=editorial_content&is_retargeting=true&af_reengagement_window=30d" href="https://www.radiotimes.com/download-the-app/?af_xp=custom&pid=website&c=editorial_content&is_retargeting=true&af_reengagement_window=30d" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-outlook-id="449c28d9-909e-4aab-b6b8-153454f55d5e" data-auth="NotApplicable" data-linkindex="0">Radio Times: What to Watch app – download now for daily TV recommendations, features and more.
5 things the Dune: Part Three trailer revealed to us - from Paul and Chani's child to Robert Pattinson's new villain
There's nine months to go until the release of the third and final chapter in Denis Villeneuve's epic sci-fi trilogy.
We're still nine months out from the release of Dune: Part Three, but anticipation has just been ramped up a few notches thanks to the release of the first trailer for the third and final chapter in Denis Villeneuve's epic sci-fi trilogy. The trailer follows the release of a number of character posters earlier today (Tuesday 17 March), which showed both returning faces like Timothée Chalamet's Paul Atreidis and Zendaya's Chani alongside high profile new additions to the cast, such as Robert Pattinson's shapeshifting villain Scytale. The film is based on the second novel in Frank Herbert's popular series – Dune Messiah – and it remains to be seen just how faithful it will stick to the events of that book. But we get a much closer look of what to expect in the new trailer below – here are 5 things we learned. View oEmbed on the source website 1. Paul and Chani are starting a family The trailer opens with Paul and Chani sharing a quiet moment as they discuss potential names for their child – who appears to be on the way. "If we have a girl, what will we name her?" Chani asks, with Paul responding that her name should be Ghanima and she would "need to be strong, like her mother." He then asks Chani what the child might be called if they were a boy, to which she responds: "I would name him Leto. So he would have the wisdom of his grandfather." 2. Paul still has a lot of enemies – and there is all out war on Arrakis "War feeds on itself," we hear Paul say early on in the trailer as he walks through the remains of a battlefield, and we see plenty of evidence of all out war throughout – with lots of violence and bloodshed. Later, he explains: "The more I fight, the more our enemies fight back." And it certainly looks like he has a lot of enemies, with a couple of sequences showing huge armies partaking in bloody battle. If this is anything to go by, it looks like this third entry will be just as expansive as the previous films. "I am not afraid to die," Paul says at the end of the trailer. "But I must not die... yet." 3. Jason Momoa is back as Duncan Idaho Despite the fact that Jason Momoa's character Duncan Idaho was killed in the first film, we know that he will be back for this closing instalment – and we get a brief glimpse of him in the trailer. Book readers will know how his return comes about, but for those unfamiliar with the source, not too much is given away here – we see only a short scene of him engaging in hand-to-hand combat. 4. Robert Pattinson's new character looks chilling The most high profile new addition to the cast for the third film is Robert Pattinson, who will be playing villain Scytale – a shapeshifting Tleilaxu Face Dancer who executes a plot to dethrone Paul. We get only a short look at Scytale – complete with bleach blonde hair – in the trailer, but it's enough to give the impression that he's not someone to be messed with. If nothing else, he certainly possesses a chilling glare... 5. Lady Jessica seems disapproving of her son We learned this week that Rebecca Ferguson would only be reprising her role as Lady Jessica for one scene in the film – but by the looks of things it could well be an impactful one. At one point in the trailer, Paul turns to his mother for advice, asking her "how did father do it?" Her response? "Your father never started a war." She certainly isn't letting him off the hook then, suggesting that he is to blame for all the violence that we are seeing. Dune: Part Three will be released in UK cinemas on 18 December 2026. Check out more of our Film coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Dune: Part Three star confirms they are only in "one scene" of film ahead of first trailer today – as character posters released
We won't be seeing much of Lady Jessica in the third film in Denis Villeneuve's epic sci-fi trilogy.
Several major stars including Timothée Chalamet and Zendaya will be reprising their roles for the upcoming third film in Denis Villeneuve's Dune trilogy – but one key actor has revealed that her part in the movie will be rather limited. Rebecca Ferguson – who can currently be seen in cinemas in Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man – divulged the information during a recent appearance on Josh Horowitz’s Happy Sad Confused podcast, explaining that at one point her character Lady Jessica may not have been included in the film at all. "I just dipped my toe in. I have no, sort of, comments on it," she said, before adding that fans can expect big things from the project. "The script is great, I’ve read it. I think it’s gonna be fantastic," she explained. "But my journey was No 1 and 2. I don’t even think she [my character] was supposed to be in 3. And then Denis was like, ‘I need to have one scene,’ and I get one scene." Lady Jessica, the mother of Chalamet's lead character Paul Atreidis, played a crucial role in the first two films but does not appear in Frank Herbert's sequel novel Dune Messiah (on which the third film is based), so it will be interesting to see what form her brief appearance will take. Speaking about filming her minor part, Ferguson explained: "That was a weird feeling, walking onto a set that you know so well, and knowing that you don’t have a part of it. "There’s a lot of FOMO. And the acceptance of, ‘This is just what it is.’ You just have to serve [the story].” Dune: Part Three is currently scheduled to be released on Friday 18th December 2026 – the same day as another huge blockbuster in Avengers: Doomsday – and a new trailer is expected to be released today (Tuesday 17 March). Ahead of the trailer, some new character posters were released showing the major players in the film, including both familiar characters such as Chalamet's Paul and Zendaya's Chani and new faces including Robert Pattinson as shapeshifting villain Scytale. You can check them out below: View oEmbed on the source website Speaking at a Variety-hosted event last month, Chalamet gave Dune fans some intriguing hints at what they can expect from the upcoming film. "On this third one, all the great s**t you see on screen is from freedom of movement and freedom of choice," he said. "And with Denis [Villeneuve, director], we really had a good rhythm. It's the eeriest one. It's a big swing." We can't wait! Dune: Part Three will be released in UK cinemas on 18 December 2026. Check out more of our Film coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Project Hail Mary review: Ryan Gosling charms in science fiction with a reassuring soul
This adaptation of Andy Weir's novel is by no means the most original movie – but there's much joy to be had.
The last time Ryan Gosling blasted off into space was in the guise of Neil Armstrong heading for the moon in 2018’s First Man, making it home again before the milk in his fridge had gone off. Project Hail Mary is a considerably longer voyage into the unknown that sees Gosling’s mild-mannered science teacher Dr Ryland Grace on a fictional mission with significantly greater stakes than the one embarked upon by NASA’s real-life history maker. Exactly how long it’s been thus far when Ryland awakens on a spaceship isn’t immediately clear, certainly not to the hippy-haired, shaggy-bearded doc himself who’s suffering from amnesia; the most he can surmise is that he’s “several light years from my apartment” and all his fellow crew members have died. The bewildered traveller’s temporary memory loss is a tidy device, setting up a succession of patchy recollections to serve as flashbacks explaining how he got where he is and what’s happening back on Earth to have made the trip necessary; the sun is dying from a constant bombardment of parasitical extraterrestrial bacteria, and the key to avoiding mass extinction may just lie in a seemingly immune star at the far end of the galaxy. It’s good to get the premise-establishing science stuff out of the way in one sentence, as Project Hail Mary is by no means a film reliant on swathes of technological hokum (Ryland’s on-board problem-solving is framed in the playful manner of middle school classroom exercises), and more a family-friendly, intrinsically human story. Not entirely human, though, as our plucky but still a bit fuzzy-headed hero discovers a creature in the same planet-in-peril boat, or rather a massive craft that dwarfs Ryland’s own; a spider-ish being whose body appears to be comprised of several rough-hewn stones. He decides to call him Rocky. Language barriers are slowly overcome until viewers twig that what they’re watching is, in fact, a buddy movie in all but name, with a personality that could feasibly lay claim to being cinema’s most heartwarming cross-species bromance since Elliott touched fingers with ET. It’s a valid parallel, as the film is riddled with Spielberg-like wonderment (as opposed to the colder, convoluted likes of, say, Armageddon or Interstellar), and cruises along on the innate charm of Gosling, effortlessly hopping between puppy-dog helplessness and steely potential saviour of humankind. Co-directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller cut their teeth in animation (The Lego Movie, the Oscar-winning Spiderman: Into The Spider-Verse), and the duo’s talent for the wittily fantastical transfers well to what is only a second live-action feature, helped enormously by the quality of the source material. View Green Video on the source website Screenwriter Drew Goddard’s previous adaptation of an Andy Weir novel was 2015’s crowd-pleasing The Martian, and there’s much of the earlier film’s Matt Damon central character in Gosling’s Ryland, both retaining a keenly honed sense of the absurd when confronted with supposedly insurmountable obstacles. On Earth, Sandra Huller provides a solid sparring partner for Gosling as the pragmatic project leader who figuratively dragged Ryland away from his cosy, non-life-threatening day job in the first place, employing deadpan humour to manage her recruit while impressing upon him the enormity of the task ahead. With a running time north of two-and-a-half hours, it’s perhaps a touch longer than it needs to be, although it’s nonetheless a tale well told and only intermittently sags; even then, it’s rarely for more than a few minutes before the ever charismatic Gosling rights the ship, either when going it alone or as part of the marvellous Ryland and Rocky show. It’s by no means the most original movie ever made and there are plenty of opportunities to play spot the reference, but they arguably serve as unashamedly affectionate celebrations of the myriad joys out-of-this-world popcorn fare has brought us over the years. This is science fiction with a reassuring soul, where the sombre comes bearing a smile, and the vastness of space is never quite so scary when you’re sharing it with a new pal. Check out more of our Film coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Timothée Chalamet says Dune: Part 3 is a "big swing" for his "last time" in the franchise
The actor said "everything was sacred" as he bid farewell to an iconic role.
Timothée Chalamet has given Dune fans some intriguing hints at what they can expect from the upcoming third film, while confirming that it will indeed be his last in the franchise. Dune: Part Three adapts the second book in Frank Herbert's legendary series of novels, subtitled Messiah, which picks up with Paul Atreides (Chalamet) more than a decade since we last saw him. The novel is known for highlighting the darkest aspects of the character, who seizes the Emperor's throne at a catastrophic cost to the known universe – and now faces a conspiracy from inside his own house. Speaking at a Variety-hosted event this weekend, Chalamet compared Paul's ascendance at the end of Dune: Part Two to the stories of earlier cult-like villains such as The Dark Knight's Joker (Heath Ledger) and Apocalypse Now's Colonel Kurtz (Marlon Brando). "Let me rephrase that... I cannot put myself in that same boat [acting-wise]," he said. "Let's just say, it's these big movies where you could sneak in something. A curveball." Chalamet elaborated that Dune: Part Three is his most experimental turn as Paul to date, helped in part by his growing confidence inhabiting the film's outlandish sci-fi world. "I felt kind of thrown by the futurism [on 2021's Dune]," said Chalamet. "I was coming off Beautiful Boy and Call Me by Your Name and movies that were a lot more naturalistic, and this was a huge movie, so I felt intimidated. "But especially on this third one, all the great s**t you see on screen is from freedom of movement and freedom of choice. And with Denis [Villeneuve, director], we really had a good rhythm. It's the eeriest one. It's a big swing." The actor confirmed that Paul would be back in the pilot's seat of an 'ornithopter' in Dune: Part Three – the franchise's bug-resembling aircrafts – but added that he put more time and effort into those scenes this time around. "As opposed to the first movie, I came out early and studied the control panel — all sorts of hieroglyphics and things that aren't tethered to reality," explained Chalamet. "I wanted to know what each button did, and invent a dynamic for myself with it." View Green Video on the source website He recalled: "I didn't want to be complacent about a single moment. Everything was sacred, and it was my last time doing a Dune film, so I really wanted to treat it as sacred. "People can get complacent, but I was more intense on the third one. It felt like that was the natural momentum, so I wanted to push against that as hard as I could." The comments confirm (as some fans had suspected) that Chalamet will be bowing out of the Dune franchise after Part Three, which reflects the direction of Herbert's books after Messiah. His third novel, Children of Dune, is set nine years later and Paul has a much-diminished role in the plot. That said, he does feature sparingly, so Chalamet's comments imply that he could be recast with an older actor should that book be adapted. View Green Video on the source website That's certainly a possibility too! Director Villeneuve has previously stated that Dune: Part Three is the final entry that he plans to direct personally, but that the franchise could continue without him. "I think that it would be a good idea for me to make sure that, in [Part Three], there are the seeds in the project if someone wants to do something else afterwards, because they are beautiful books," he told Variety, back in late 2024. "They become more and more esoteric. It's a bit more tricky to adapt, but I'm not closing the door. I will not [direct more Dune films] myself, but it could happen with someone else." Chalamet is currently on the awards trail with acclaimed sports drama Marty Supreme. In Dune: Part Three, he'll be joined by returning cast members Rebecca Ferguson, Zendaya and Florence Pugh, plus franchise addition Robert Pattinson. Dune: Part Three is coming to cinemas in December 2026. Check out more of our Film coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast. Add shows to your watchlist on the <a id="OWA8b702c45-bee9-94e4-f018-57518e78041b" title="https://www.radiotimes.com/download-the-app/?af_xp=custom&pid=website&c=editorial_content&is_retargeting=true&af_reengagement_window=30d" href="https://www.radiotimes.com/download-the-app/?af_xp=custom&pid=website&c=editorial_content&is_retargeting=true&af_reengagement_window=30d" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-outlook-id="449c28d9-909e-4aab-b6b8-153454f55d5e" data-auth="NotApplicable" data-linkindex="0">Radio Times: What to Watch app – download now for daily TV recommendations, features and more.
Good Luck, Have Fun, Don't Die review: Clever, infectious and wildly original – AI be damned
Despite some final act issues, the first film from Gore Verbinski in almost a decade is audacious, fresh and a massive amount of fun.
If you only watch one movie this year featuring a CGI centaur with a cat’s head, that sprays glittery confetti from its undercarriage, then make it this one. Gore Verbinski’s hog-wild time travel tale is audacious, fresh and a massive amount of fun, even though it falls over in a confusing final act. Sam Rockwell has a blast as the unnamed revolutionary from the future trying to save the world from a nine-year-old child who is destined to invent a God-like AI that hates humans. To do so he must recruit a team of random strangers who happen to be eating at Norm’s diner on a particular night – the time traveller has tried multiple combinations before only to be thwarted by some outrageous obstacle each time. Could this bunch be the right one? What’s certain is they won’t all make it to the end. Good Luck is at its strongest in its first two thirds, where vignettes showing the backstories of some of the diners are intercut with the overarching mission. These play like micro episodes of Black Mirror, mixing dark humour with tech-terror. View Green Video on the source website Zazie Beetz and Michael Peña are school teachers, menaced by teen zombies mobilised by their phones. The White Lotus star Haley Lu Richardson is a professional princess for children’s birthday parties who is allergic to cell phones and wi-fi. And in the very best one, Juno Temple’s bereaved mother is given the chance to reunite with her son who has been killed in a school shooting, via a cloning programme. This segment is genuinely sad and very troubling in terms of what America looks like now but also laugh-out-loud funny as she is asked to choose her resurrected son’s traits via the film’s equivalent of an Apple Store. Temple carries this segment with absolute commitment – she feels like a real person dealing with real trauma amidst a Stepford Wives-esque nightmare of hollow-eyed parents, many of whom have resurrected their massacred children multiple times. And to reiterate: it’s genuinely funny. Though Good Luck is horror/sci-fi/action/comedy, there’s certainly an underlying scream of frustration in the script, written by Matthew Robinson, who’s best known as the writer/director of Ricky Gervais comedy The Invention of Lying. The apocalypse is coming. It’s already started. No one cares and no one is doing anything about it. Kids are all morons in thrall to their phones. Adults are numbed to stupefaction by the horrors of the world. Attention spans are microscopic, and any creativity is being replaced by AI slop. Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die enjoys playing with very meta elements of this, although that’s also where it ties itself in knots. For a film concerned with short attention spans it’s really long at 134 minutes. It also covers up some of its less coherent plot points by essentially jangling its keys at the audience via tech jargon and flashy CGI. Parts of the final act even feel like it’s playing with what a film would look like were it written by Chat GPT – a bold idea if not entirely successful. The final act trips over its own shoelaces, with several too many endings and some questionable logic. Like Verbinski’s latter two Pirates of the Caribbean movies and 2016’s A Cure for Wellness, it looks fantastic but doesn't entirely make sense by the end. Good Luck will draw comparisons to 2022’s Everything, Everywhere All at Once, though this film is unlikely to be bothering any mainstream awards ceremonies. In a way it’s all the better for it – it’s clever, unpretentious and packed with infectious energy. Crucially too, it’s wildly original – AI be damned! Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die is released in UK cinemas on Friday 20 February 2026. Check out more of our Film coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
New Star Wars film The Mandalorian and Grogu confirms icon of cinema as surprise cast member following new trailer
Hollywood royalty graces Star Wars's return to the big screen.
Star Wars fans have their most in-depth look at the franchise's return to cinemas with The Mandalorian & Grogu, which picks up with the mismatched adventurers after the events of the Disney Plus series. Across three seasons, we saw Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) go from being a cold, solitary bounty hunter to a surprisingly attentive father figure as he took the force-sensitive infant Grogu under his wing. The latest trailer finds more humour in this unconventional parenting set-up, as the fierce Mandalorian warrior must stop his protégé from... fiddling with the spaceship's buttons and eating too many biscuits. Frightening stuff. Of course, more dramatic events ensue as the duo are enlisted by a New Republic leader, played by sci-fi legend Sigourney Weaver, to investigate a plot involving a member of the Hutt crime family (voiced by The Bear's Jeremy Allen White). As if it wasn't starry enough, The Mandalorian & Grogu revealed another A-lister for its voice cast in this brand new trailer. See if you can figure out who it is from the footage alone – or find the answer underneath. View oEmbed on the source website As confirmed by USA Today, the member of Hollywood royalty joining The Mandalorian & Grogu's cast is none other than director Martin Scorsese, whose works include Taxi Driver, Goodfellas, Gangs of New York and Killers of the Flower Moon. Scorsese has been known to take acting roles in the past, including cameos as himself in showbiz comedies Curb Your Enthusiasm, 30 Rock, Entourage and The Studio. For this latest on-screen gig, he lends his distinctive voice to the alien owner of a food van, who initially seems welcoming to Din's enquiries – until he mentions the dreaded Hutt clan. The Mandalorian & Grogu director Jon Favreau previously worked with Scorsese on his 2013 hit The Wolf of Wall Street, where he played lawyer Manny Riskin. Lucasfilm president and chief creative officer Dave Filoni co-wrote the script for the new Star Wars instalment with Favreau, but the trailers haven't given much away about what the story will entail. One possibility is that it could progress the Grand Admiral Thrawn (Lars Mikkelsen) saga, which began in animated series Star Wars: Rebels, before continuing in live-action via The Mandalorian season 2 and Ahsoka. Generally, the franchise under Filoni has become increasingly focused on the animated shows that he previously oversaw, with Rebels protagonist Zeb (Steve Blum) and The Clone Wars deep cut Embo popping up in this latest trailer. Another intriguing option would be to further the character of Grogu, who belongs to the same mysterious species that spawned franchise icon Yoda (and the less popular Yaddle – seriously, she's real). Whatever the case may be, The Mandalorian & Grogu's box office will be watched closely by Disney bosses, as it marks the first theatrically released Star Wars film since the divisive sequel trilogy concluded in 2019. The Mandalorian & Grogu is coming to cinemas on Friday 22 May 2026. Check out more of our Film coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast. Add The Mandalorian to your watchlist on the <a id="OWA8b702c45-bee9-94e4-f018-57518e78041b" title="https://www.radiotimes.com/download-the-app/?af_xp=custom&pid=website&c=editorial_content&is_retargeting=true&af_reengagement_window=30d" href="https://www.radiotimes.com/download-the-app/?af_xp=custom&pid=website&c=editorial_content&is_retargeting=true&af_reengagement_window=30d" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-outlook-id="449c28d9-909e-4aab-b6b8-153454f55d5e" data-auth="NotApplicable" data-linkindex="0">Radio Times: What to Watch app – download now for daily TV recommendations, features and more.
How to watch Predator: Badlands – is it streaming?
The latest film in the long-running franchise – which starred Elle Fanning – was released in UK cinemas last November.
Last year was a pretty great one for Predator fans – with not one but two acclaimed new instalments in the long-running film franchise arriving. Both new movies came from writer/directer Dan Trachtenberg, who had also been behind the excellent 2022 film Prey, marking him out as a master in relaunching and revitalising a film franchise. First up came Predator: Killer of Killers, a straight-to-streaming animated triptych that saw a member of the famous alien species hunting Earth in three distinct time periods, but the headline-grabber was Predator: Badlands, which arrived in cinemas in November. The film – which starred Elle Fanning – was the first in the series to really flip everything on its head, making the Predator the protagonist of the story for the first time. It followed an outcast member of the species named Dek (played in motion-capture by Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi) after he is sent to a deadly planet and forms an unlikely bond with a synthetic human (Fanning) as they each try to navigate the dangerous territory. As with Prey, the film opened to mostly positive reviews – while it also set up an intriguing crossover with the Alien franchise in the future, almost two decades after the last time the two properties merged on screen. If you missed the film during it's theatrical run, or perhaps are simply keen to give it another watch, you might be wondering when it's available to watch at home. Read on for everything you need to know. How to watch Predator: Badlands – is it streaming? Yes! As of Thursday 12th January, Predator: Badlands is now streaming on Disney+ – meaning anyone with a subscription to that platform can now watch the film at no extra cost. And if you're not a subscriber, there are still other options for watching at home, too. The film was released to rent and buy digitally on 6th January from a range of Premium Video on Demand platforms including Prime Video, Sky Store and Apple TV – with the price sitting at £15.99 for rental and £19.99 for purchase. Those who decide to spend the money will also unlock a number of special bonus features, including the chance to see some deleted scenes that were cut from the finished film, a number of behind the scenes featurettes that go into detail on how it was made, and exclusive audio commentary from Trachtenber and other key creative personnel. Predator: Badlands trailer If you're still unsure whether to watch the film, why not check out the trailer below. It gives a pretty good impression of the action-adventure vibe of the film, which is a little more family friendly than previous fare in the franchise. View Green Video on the source website Predator: Badlands is available to watch on Disney+. Check out more of our Film coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
The Last of Us star to lead film adaptation of another beloved video game franchise
The House of the Dead is heading back to screens.
Hot on the heels of the announcement that a Baldur's Gate TV series is in the works, another major gaming franchise is heading to the big screen – and it’s landed a fast-rising star to lead the charge. Isabela Merced, best known for her roles in The Last of Us and Superman, has been cast as the lead in the upcoming film adaptation of Sega’s cult horror shooter The House of the Dead, Deadline reports. The project will be written and directed by Paul WS Anderson, a familiar name to fans of game-to-screen adaptations thanks to his long-running work on the Resident Evil franchise, as well as the 1995 Mortal Kombat movie. First released in 1997, The House of the Dead became a staple of arcades thanks to its frantic, rail-shooter gameplay and its then-revolutionary depiction of fast-moving zombies. Set within a secret government agency known as AMS, the story sees agents battling monstrous outbreaks and shadowy conspiracies. Merced will also serve as an executive producer on the film. The actor has enjoyed a breakout run in recent years, appearing as Hawkgirl in Superman, directed by James Gunn, and starring in the hit sci-fi horror Alien: Romulus. She is also set to return for The Last of Us season 3. A previous 2003 House of the Dead film adaptation was critically panned and failed to make much impact at the box office. This time around, however, here's hoping that stronger creative oversight – and a star with serious momentum – could finally do justice to one of gaming’s most influential horror franchises. Watch a trailer for the previous House of the Dead film below: View Green Video on the source website Read more: The Last of Us cast gets major shake up ahead of season 3 Check out more of our Film coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Thunderbirds creator's story confirmed to be turned into all-new feature film with "real emotional weight"
A festive story from the late sci-fi legend is heading for the big screen.
A previously unseen original story by the late Gerry Anderson is being developed into a new animated feature film. UK producers Anderson Entertainment and Space Age Films are partnering on Merry Christmas, Earthlings!, a theatrical animation based on a story written by Thunderbirds creator Anderson in 2006, reports Screen Daily. The project will be pitched later this month at the Berlin International Film Festival and the European Film Market’s Berlin Animation Days (12th–14th February), as part of a showcase highlighting UK animation. Merry Christmas, Earthlings! centres on the friendship between a young boy and an alien who embark on a heartfelt quest to discover whether Father Christmas really exists. The story was penned by Anderson six years before his death in 2012, aged 83. Alongside Thunderbirds, Anderson’s legacy includes influential series such as Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons and Stingray. <img src="https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2025/09/Thunderbirds00132-069d8ea.jpg" width="1420" height="1080" alt="Virgil Tracy sits at the controls in the foreground, with Gordon Tracy to his left and Alan Tracy standing behind them in the cockpit of a Thunderbird craft, surrounded by detailed levers and instruments from the classic 1960s Supermarionation series." title="Thunderbirds00132" /> The film is currently at the financing stage, with casting underway and plans to announce talent at the Cannes Film Festival later this year. A Christmas 2028 release window is being targeted. Production will be led by Robert Chandler for Space Age Films, working alongside Anderson Entertainment, which manages the late creator’s intellectual property. The screenplay adaptation is being written by Keiron Self and Giles New, with the film designed for a full theatrical release. Jamie Anderson, managing director of Anderson Entertainment and Gerry Anderson’s son, said: "My father wrote this story at a moment when he was thinking a lot about family, belief, and what we pass on to the next generation. For Anderson Entertainment, this needed to be approached as a contemporary animated film with real emotional weight rather than as a heritage project. Space Age Films, and Robert specifically, understood both sides of that challenge." Chandler’s recent animation credits include The Canterville Ghost and The Amazing Maurice, both UK independent productions. Reflecting on Anderson’s influence, Chandler described him as "our Walt Disney and Irwin Allen rolled into one" praising "the power of Gerry Anderson’s vision — his creativity and fearless storytelling in making shows that were high-stakes and exciting, carried big philosophical ideas, and were far ahead of their time." Read more: Thunderbirds creator Gerry Anderson-inspired new animated series confirmed UFO and Space: 1999 revisited – How new novellas are bringing Gerry Anderson TV classics back to life Check out more of our Film coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Avengers: Doomsday release date, trailers and latest news
The full cast list has now been revealed for the upcoming MCU film – and it's certainly a star-studded affair.
We are well and truly on the road to Avengers: Doomsday, with a sequence of cryptic teasers in recent weeks revealing the key factions in Marvel's forthcoming mega-crossover. So far, the heroes spotlighted include Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) and Thor (Chris Hemsworth), both founding members of the Avengers, who made their Marvel Cinematic Universe debut 15 years ago. Of course, that's nothing compared to the tenure of Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen and James Marsden, who reprise the roles of Professor X, Magneto and Cyclops a quarter of a century on from 2000's genre-defining hit X-Men. View oEmbed on the source website How the characters from Fox's older (and once thought-defunct) universe factor into this story is anybody's guess, but Marvel fans have been excited to see Marsden's Cyclops move substantially closer to his comic book and animated counterparts. Most recently, Disney dropped another brief teaser bringing together the Wakandans, led by King M'Baku (Winston Duke) and Shuri (Letitia Wright), plus their bitter rival Namor (Tenoch Huerta) and the recently introduced Fantastic Four. View oEmbed on the source website Avengers: Doomsday directors Anthony and Joe Russo have encouraged fans to look for "clues" in each of the teasers, with fan theories appearing at a rapid rate online – including a few that a Doctor Doom expert told us. Perceived as a make or break moment for the MCU, Doomsday is hoped to redeem a spotty period in the franchise's history, which has seen some giddy highs as well as some embarrassing lows. If you're eager to know more about the Avengers: Doomsday cast, plus the current release date and fleeting story details released so far, read on for your full guide to the hotly anticipated film. Avengers: Doomsday release date Avengers: Doomsday will be released in cinemas on Friday 18th December 2026. The epic film had previously been scheduled for early May of that year – a weekend that the MCU has previously dominated – but was forced to move as production was behind schedule. In its new spot, the Marvel flick will face formidable competition from Dune: Messiah – the third film in Denis Villeneuve and Timothée Chalamet's sci-fi saga – which means that sci-fi fans will be having a very merry Christmas indeed. Downey Jr and Chalamet recently addressed the clash at a special screening for Marty Supreme, suggesting "Dunesday" as the nickname for any double-feature events that might occur (referencing 2023's epic 'Barbenheimer'). "We'll see if we're still friends by then," joked Downey Jr (via Variety). Who will star in Avengers: Doomsday? Confirmed members Avengers: Doomsday stars Robert Downey Jr as Victor Von Doom; a towering villain that unites the combined might of several superhero teams. It's unclear precisely what Doom has planned, or if he'll have any direct connection to Downey Jr's earlier role of Tony Stark (aka Iron Man), but comic book fans know that he is not to be underestimated. It appears that Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) will play a major role in the resistance to Doom's machinations, with the first Avengers: Doomsday trailer revisiting the character after his final moments in Endgame. Previously, Deadline had reported that Hayley Atwell would also appear as Peggy Carter, which seems very likely given how the short clip references Steve's marriage and apparent fatherhood. Some fans aren't ruling out the possibility of a misdirect, however, with one theory suggesting that this version of Steve could be a member of HYDRA – adapting a controversial storyline from the source material (see 'Secret Empire'). Even before Evans's reveal, the cast of Doomsday was looking spectacularly starry, boasting the Avengers, Fantastic Four, X-Men and Thunderbolts teams, as well as wild cards Namor (Tenoch Huerta) and Loki (Tom Hiddleston). Anthony Mackie is reprising the role of Sam Wilson aka Captain America, who was tasked with putting together a new Avengers team at the end of his recent solo outing Brave New World. Likely candidates for that group include Letitia Wright's Shuri, the new Black Panther, plus Chris Hemsworth's Thor, Simu Liu's Shang-Chi, Paul Rudd's Ant-Man and Danny Ramirez's Falcon. As previously confirmed, the cast of Fantastic Four: First Steps will also reappear here, comprised of Pedro Pascal (Mr Fantastic), Vanessa Kirby (Invisible Woman), Joseph Quinn (Human Torch) and Ebon Moss-Bachrach (The Thing). First Steps director Matt Shakman said – apparently mistakenly – in an interview that Mr Fantastic would go on to be "leader" of the Avengers, but Pascal himself has since corrected the record. "It’s big news to me, that's for one," he joked, in an interview with Associated Press. "There is something that happens in the comics where he is sort of drawn in by the Avengers family and asked to be put into a leadership position. "That is something that happens in the comics. It isn't necessarily something that my character's future entails." The Thunderbolts* cast will also reappear in Doomsday, with Florence Pugh (Black Widow), Sebastian Stan (Winter Soldier), Wyatt Russell (USAgent), Hannah John-Kamen (Ghost), David Harbour (Red Guardian) and Lewis Pullman (Sentry) all credited in the announcement. Meanwhile, in a surprise move, Marvel Studios has also announced the return of several cast members from 20th Century Fox's X-Men franchise, which appears to have been revived in the wake of Deadpool & Wolverine's success. Returning from that smash-hit is Channing Tatum as Gambit, alongside franchise veterans Patrick Stewart (Professor X), Ian McKellen (Magneto), Rebecca Romijn (Mystique), Alan Cumming (Nightcrawler), James Marsden (Cyclops) and Kelsey Grammer (Beast). Both Cumming and Marsden had warm words to say about returning from a long absence, with their incarnations of Nightcrawler and Cyclops not being seen since 2003's X-Men 2 and 2014's Days of Future Past respectively. On filming Doomsday, Paradise's Marsden said (via Deadline): "It's been a blast. It really has. It's been a nice little homecoming to a role that really put me on the map. It was the first real event project that I was ever a part of, and a very beloved character – this icon from the comics. And so, to step back into that role was pretty special." Meanwhile, Cumming described it as "really healing and really nice to go back to something that was a terrible experience when I did it the first time" (in another Deadline chat), although his time on set was short as his scenes were scheduled tightly so that he could be released to host the next season of The Traitors (US). Here's the confirmed Avengers: Doomsday cast in full: Robert Downey Jr (Doctor Doom) Pedro Pascal (Reed Richards/Mr Fantastic) Vanessa Kirby (Sue Storm/Invisible Woman) Joseph Quinn (Johnny Storm/The Human Torch) Ebon Moss-Bachrach (Ben Grimm/The Thing) Anthony Mackie (Sam Wilson/Captain America) Chris Hemsworth (Thor) Letitia Wright (Shuri/Black Panther) Winston Duke (M'Baku) Paul Rudd (Scott Lang/Ant-Man) Simu Liu (Shang-Chi) Danny Ramirez (Joaquin Torres / Falcon) Florence Pugh (Yelena Belova/Black Widow) Sebastian Stan (Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier) Wyatt Russell (John Walker/US Agent) Hannah John-Kamen (Ava Starr/Ghost) David Harbour (Alexei Shostakov/Red Guardian) Lewis Pullman (Bob/Sentry) Patrick Stewart (Charles Xavier/Professor X) Ian McKellen (Erik Lehnsherr/Magneto) James Marsden (Scott Summers/Cyclops) Rebecca Romijn (Raven Darkhölme/Mystique) Alan Cumming (Kurt Wagner/Nightcrawler) Kelsey Grammer (Hank McCoy/Beast) Channing Tatum (Remy LeBeau/Gambit) Tenoch Huerta Mejia (Namor) Tom Hiddleston (Loki) As you might have noticed, that list includes some rather glaring omissions who were thought to be all but guaranteed for the next Avengers film. The absence of Tom Holland's Spider-Man, Brie Larson's Captain Marvel, Chris Pratt's Star-Lord, Mark Ruffalo's Hulk and Elizabeth Olsen's Scarlet Witch have been greeted with particular outcry from the fanbase. However, there is hope yet that these characters could factor into the story, with Marvel teasing on its social media channels that there is "always room for more" cast members. Hugh Jackman, Ryan Reynolds and Andrew Garfield are also uncertain, with the latter Spider-Man actor recently telling GQ that he is "unequivocally" not appearing in the blockbuster. It's just so hard to believe him after No Way Home! Recently, Marvel fans have been debating the probability of Reynolds returning as Deadpool for the crossover, with a source telling The Hollywood Reporter that the Merc with a Mouth would have a role – albeit, probably a small one. Reynolds himself later cast doubt on the claim, telling Variety that he hasn't "stepped foot on set", although that may just be some creative wording from the actor – after all, he could well have filmed scenes or recorded audio remotely. As for Jackman, the actor recently appeared on The Graham Norton Show, where he told the host that he is "never saying 'never' ever again," after cancelling his post-Logan retirement for 2023 hit Deadpool & Wolverine. Sadly for fans of Fox's original X-Men cast, Famke Janssen recently revealed (via Entertainment Weekly) that Marvel Studios hasn't ever reached out to her about the prospect of a Jean Grey comeback, so the reunion may never be complete. Something to consider, though, is that this line-up is for Avengers: Doomsday only, which is one half of a two-part storyline set to conclude in 2027's Secret Wars – so it seems likely that the sequel could scoop up some late-comers. Case in point: Benedict Cumberbatch has already told Business Insider that he'll be in the "next one" as Doctor Strange, after previously assuring fans that Marvel Studios was "cooking up a storm" with its latest cinematic event. What is Avengers: Doomsday about? Avengers: Doomsday does not yet have an official plot synopsis, but the movie is set to formally introduce Victor von Doom as a major threat to the Marvel multiverse. The character made a brief appearance in the Fantastic Four: First Steps post-credits scene, where he is seen (albeit, only from behind), approaching the universe's most powerful four-year-old: Franklin Richards. What does he want with him exactly? That remains to be seen. It's possible that the intricacies are still being worked out! Producer Kevin Feige confirmed (via The Hollywood Reporter) over the summer that the script was still being worked on after cameras started rolling, which he actually views as a strength of the production. He said: "Those actors, both the ones that are playing these characters for the first or second time and the ones playing them for the 10th or 12th time, are the best in the world at it, and know these characters so well. So if they have an idea, you want to listen to it and you want to adjust to it and you want to improve it. I wouldn't want to change that." Much like Infinity War and Endgame, which became two of the highest-grossing films of all time, Doomsday and its sequel Secret Wars will serve as two parts of a larger narrative – with one leading directly into the other. Teasing the plot to The Hollywood Reporter, co-director Joe Russo said: "I think these movies are going to be a surprise to people – we found a way into the story that’s very exciting to us but we think very radical and I think it’s going to challenge audiences." In the 2016 comic book series Secret Wars, upon which the film may be inspired, Doctor Doom salvages elements of a destroyed multiverse and reforms them as 'Battleworld' – a domain in which he is the unquestioned god and ruler. Prior to this storyline, the Marvel comics had dealt with the concept of incursions, whereby one reality would collide with another, either destroying both or causing one side to take a deadly defensive action. Perhaps these terrifying events might begin occurring in Avengers: Doomsday, leading Doctor Doom to create his surreal new reality as he did in the source material – leaving enormous questions lingering for Secret Wars to answer. The post-credits scene in Thunderbolts* added weight to this theory, with Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh) addressing a "space crisis" which could well be other planets or realities on a collision course with Earth. Yelena vents frustration that her own New Avengers teams are viewed negatively by the press and public, while Sam Wilson's separately assembled team is regarded as more legitimate – and refusing to share intel. That's when an inter-dimensional ship carrying the Fantastic Four is spotted entering the atmosphere, with the team likely to be carrying a dire warning of apocalyptic threat (if the film's subtitle is any indication). Interestingly, the Thunderbolts* post-credits scene was actually filmed on the set of Avengers: Doomsday, with director Jake Schreier describing it as "a small hint of that film" (via Entertainment Weekly). Another threat to the Fantastic Four will come from a most unexpected place, with Nightcrawler actor Alan Cumming recently revealing that he's filming an action scene that involves "hitting Pedro Pascal against the head" (via Buzzfeed). No doubt Mr Fantastic and Nightcrawler will eventually reconcile to face their real adversary. Don't expect the crossover to come to a neat conclusion, though, with Captain America star Mackie apparently confirming that – as expected – Doomsday will end on a cliffhanger comparable to the catastrophic 'snap' in 2018's Infinity War. "It's one of those stories that really pushes the boundaries," he teased in an interview with Collider. The cliffhanger at the end... the last moments of the film, it really builds and sets us up for a way for the continuation of the Marvel saga, which is really exciting." Mackie added: "You see these characters, and you see how they're introduced and how they play in the universe moving forward, and no one is safe. Everyone is expendable." Why was Avengers: The Kang Dynasty cancelled? Previously, the fifth movie in the Avengers franchise was to be named The Kang Dynasty and to continue plot threads previously established in Disney Plus series Loki and Marvel blockbuster Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. Jonathan Majors appeared in both projects as variants of Kang the Conquerer; a powerful time-travelling menace who was initially intended to be the MCU's next Thanos-level threat. However, Majors was dropped by Marvel Studios after he was found guilty of assaulting and harassing his ex-girlfriend by a jury in New York. He was convicted on two counts but acquitted of a different assault charge and of aggravated harassment. Some had expected Marvel Studios to continue the storyline with a new actor as Kang, but the company has instead decided to go in an entirely different direction with its plans. Avengers: Doomsday trailer Marvel dropped the teaser for Avengers: Doomsday in December 2025, playing first before screenings of Avatar: Fire and Ash before being released online days later. Watch here: View oEmbed on the source website Another, featuring Chris Hemsworth's Thor, followed soon after. Watch now: Avengers: Doomsday is coming to cinemas in December 2026. Check out more of our Film coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Avatar: Fire and Ash star becomes highest-grossing actor of all time following sequel's success
The third instalment of the sci-fi franchise has earned over $1.2 billion worldwide.
It's official, Academy award winner Zoe Saldaña is the highest-grossing actor of all time following the box office success of Avatar: Fire and Ash, which has earned over $1.2 billion at the worldwide box office (and counting). Reprising her role as fierce Na'vi warrior Neytiri has resulted in Saldaña's impressive achievement, surpassing Scarlett Johansson who gained the top spot last year after her appearance in Jurassic World Rebirth. Saldaña's work across the three Avatar movies has certainly boosted her up the rankings, with the original 2009 instalment still being the highest-grossing film of all-time, even 17 years after its release, earning over $2.92 billion globally according to Box Office Mojo. Meanwhile, 2022's highly-anticipated sequel, The Way of Water, raked in $2.34 billion, making it the third highest-grossing film of all-time behind Avengers: Endgame in second place (which Saldaña also stars in) with $2.7 billion. Indeed, Saldaña became a staple of the Marvel Cinematic Universe franchise following her debut in 2014's Guardians of the Galaxy and has since gone on to appear in four other instalments. Included in this run is 2018's $2 billion movie Avengers: Infinity War, giving Saldaña the unique title of being the first actor to appear in four films that have made over $2 billion globally. Beyond Marvel and the seeming golden touch of director James Cameron, it appears as though Saldaña is the most bankable movie star there is. Thanking those who played a part in her landmark achievement, Saldaña took to social media. "I just want to express my sincerest gratitude for the extraordinary journey that has led me to become the highest-grossing film actor of all time today," she wrote. "An achievement made possible entirely, entirely by the incredible franchises and the collaborators that I have been fortunate enough to be a part of, to every director who placed their trust in me." Such directors included Avatar mastermind James Cameron, Avengers filmmakers Joe and Anthony Russo and Star Trek's J.J Abrams who she thanked for "believing in my potential... your faith, your guidance and your vision, they shape not only these films, but me as an artist." With two more Avatar releases slated for December 2029 and 2031, respectively, it looks like Saldaña might be set to continue her rule of the box office roost. Check out more of our News coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
What do the Avengers: Doomsday teasers really mean? Doctor Doom expert decodes every clue
The teasers have huge hints if you look closely enough.
Marvel have now released four teaser trailers for Avengers: Doomsday, featuring the return of much-loved characters such as Steve Rogers, Thor, and the X-Men. However, fans have been left disappointed by the fact that Robert Downey Jr's Doctor Doom has so far been absent. Or has he? If we look closely enough, follow a few Doom clues, and trust some slightly spurious mathematics, then Doom looms into view like a masked and megalomaniac Where's Wally, with huge hints as to what he's going to be up to and even when we're going to find out more. I'm the world's leading (and also only) academic expert on Doctor Doom, with a book and a PhD all about him, and I've used my knowledge of every Doctor Doom comic ever to decode all of the Avengers: Doomsday teasers so far. The Child-catcher View oEmbed on the source website The first of the two trailers reveals that Chris Evans is returning as Captain America, aka Steve Rogers. We see him riding up to an old house where he's looking after a baby who is either his and Peggy's child or, if not, the first client in a new career as 'Nanny America'. The second trailer, with Chris Hemworth as Thor, shows him stomping through a forest on his way to battle. As he stomps he thinks back to some quality time spent with his adopted daughter, Love, with both of them in snazzy matching jim jams. So far so cosy, but sadly history tells us that a movie involving Doctor Doom and children is unlikely to be about the benefits of co-parenting or sleep hygiene. For example, in the 1970 story 'The Son of Doctor Doom!' Doom claimed to have a child of his own, but it soon turned out to be a clone, grown to be a spare body which Doom could transplant his own brain into. A few years later he tried a similar trick by adopting a boy called Kristoff who had a happy childhood right up to the moment he had his mind wiped and replaced with an old recording of Doom's brainwaves, turning him into a living back-up copy. View oEmbed on the source website Doctor Doom has certainly never received a 'Best Dad Ever' mug. The other child associated with Doctor Doom is Franklin Richards, who meets him in the mid-credits scene of Fantastic Four: First Steps. These two have a terrible past together in the comics, including the time Doom kidnapped Franklin and tried to give him to Mephisto, Marvel's version of the devil, in exchange for freeing his mother's soul from hell. Like most of Doom's schemes, this did not end well. Mephisto finally made his MCU debut in Ironheart last year, played by Sacha Baron Cohen, so there's a good chance that he'll be appearing in Doomsday as well. With all of this focus on children, particularly the children of superheroes, could Doom be gathering them up to make another deal with the devil? Across The Multiverse View oEmbed on the source website There aren't any children at in all the third trailer, which takes place in the X-Men's old headquarters, although it does give us another Doom clue to do with the multiverse. The X-Men have an extremely complicated history in both comics and movies, with all sorts of time travel and dimensional shenanigans making it hard to keep track of what's going on without needing a sit down and a cup of tea. In particular there are multiple versions of Professor X, including James McAvoy in First Class, and various different Patrick Stewarts in Logan, Doctor Strange And The Multiverse of Madness and Days Of Future Past. In this teaser he's dressed as he was in Days Of Future Past, but then we also see James Marsden as Cyclops in a costume identical to the one from the animated series X-Men '97, which takes place in another universe entirely. Different parts of the multiverse co-existing in the same physical space like this is exactly what happens in the Marvel comics series Secret Wars. This sees the multiverse being saved from evil pan-dimensional aliens by none other than Doctor Doom, who takes all the coolest bits from the different universes and smushes them together into a single planet called Battleworld. In the comics this is a great excuse for lots of variations of characters meet each other, not unlike the multiple Spider-Mans (or is it Spiders-Men?) in Far From Home. Secret Wars is likely to be the source material for Avengers: Secret Wars, next year's sequel to Avengers: Doomsday, so hopefully we'll get more of the same there. If that's the case then we'll also see Doctor Doom ruining it all by letting his success as a hero go to his head. If only he'd been happy with saving the multiverse from evil space aliens all would have been well, but instead Doom decides to proclaim himself a god and forces everyone to worship him. As a result he has to be overthrown by a bunch of superheroes who have travelled across dimensions in a spaceship piloted by The Fantastic Four. The War Between The Land And The Sea If that sounds familiar it's because we've already seen a spaceship travel across dimensions piloted by The Fantastic Four at the end of Thunderbolts (or The New Avengers if Marvel insist). Here we briefly see the FF's spaceship 'The Excelsior' arrive in universe 616, and this continues directly into the fourth and final trailer, which shows us Ben Grimm meeting Shuri and M'Baku from Black Panther as they all get ready for a big fight with a massive Atlantean army. This army is led by Prince Namor, who is our next Doom clue. Doom and Namor have a long history in comics as best frenemies, going all the way back to Doom's second ever appearance in Fantastic Four #6 in 1962. Here the so-called 'diabolical duo' almost succeed in destroying the FF by sending them and their entire Baxter Building headquarters into the depths of space. It only falls apart when Doctor Doom spoils it all again by double-crossing Namor, stranding him in orbit as well. This was the first in a constant cycle of friendships and betrayals between the two, which was so popular with comics fans that in the 1970s they even had their own series together called Super-Villain Team-Up. It's been rare since then to see Namor without Doom popping by to let him down yet again, and, although they haven't met in the MCU so far, we can be sure that there's a super-villain team-up, followed by a super-villain break-up, coming up in both their futures. The Numbers Game Despite all this evidence of Doom's imminent arrival, we won't know for sure what he's up to until we get a proper look at Robert Downey Jr in action. For that we need to have a proper full-length trailer of him dooming it up in the mask and cape, and we might get that sooner than we expect. The Doom clues to this are at the end of each of the four trailers, which all finish with a clock counting down to the official release of Avengers: Doomsday on 18th December this year. In every trailer the clock glitches, showing a different set of numbers, and the internet has been full of speculation about what it all means. The first trailer, for example, briefly shows the characters '1e 24ber 02020' and these have variously been interpreted as a timecode for specific lines of dialogue in Avengers: Endgame, a clue to something unknown having happened on Christmas Eve five years ago, a code for a webpage, or a best before date for superhero sandwiches. All of these theories have missed the most obvious answer, which is that the numbers shown relate to their positions on the countdown clock itself. For instance, the '1' is in the same position as the number of months to go, the '24' and '17' is the number of days and so on. If we take a month to be equivalent to 28 days (stick with it, it all works out in the end) and count the respective days, months, hours and minutes from when each trailer was first released, then they all point to something happening on Sunday 8th February - the day of the 2026 Super Bowl. Marvel have traditionally shown at least one trailer at half-time during the Super Bowl, so it's a good bet that this is when we'll finally see the first full-length trailer for Avengers: Doomsday. If our other Doom clues are correct then it'll be full of lots more characters from different parts of the multiverse, a guest appearance from a demonic Ali G, and more back-stabbing than Celebrity Traitors. If not, we'll have to settle for Captain America's parenting advice and Thor's pyjamas. Avengers: Doomsday will be released on 18th December 2026. Check out more of our Film coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
How to watch Tron: Ares – is it streaming?
The third entry in the cult sci-fi franchise stars Jared Leto as an AI programme who comes into the real world.
There were a lot of very well reviewed films released in 2025, but it's safe to say that Tron: Ares wasn't quite one of them. Although our own 3-star review skewed ever-so-slightly positive, the film sits on just 53 per cent on Rotten Tomatoes – and didn't perform much better when it came to box office takings. The film was just the third movie to be released in the series since it launched with the original movie in 1982 (there's also an animated TV show and numerous video games), and studio executives clearly hoped that the loyal fanbase developed by the first two entries would be enough to secure another hit. Ahead of the release, director Joachim Rønning had explained in an exclusive interview with RadioTimes.com that he was "a huge fan" of the previous films and admitted that he found it "so daunting going in and making the next chapter of that". He added: "I think the previous films in many ways are masterpieces on so many levels and [that] put a lot of pressure on myself and everybody working on the film to try to take it to the next level or at least earn this next instalment." The idea of a new film had been at various stages of development ever since 2010's Tron: Legacy, before the producers eventually landed on the way to tackle a new film – somewhat flipping the franchise on it's head in the process. "The idea of exploring another part of the Tron mythology and universe in terms of the Dillinger grid, and then the assets coming into our world was sort of a breakthrough concept for us," explained producer Sean Bailey. "Now the digital world is going to come into our own." He added: "The idea of seeing a light cycle speeding down downtown streets sort of got everybody pretty galvanised." If you missed the film during its cinema run and aren't put off by the middling reception – or perhaps are a fan who felt that the reviews were overly harsh – you might be wondering when you can watch it at home. Read on for everything you need to know. How to watch Tron: Ares – is it streaming? Yes! As of 7th January 2026, Tron: Ares is now streaming on Disney Plus. That means it's possible for all subscribers to the platform to watch it at no extra cost. The film was originally released for an exclusive theatrical window – including on IMAX screens – on Friday 10th October, but it failed to ignite the box office, going down as both a critical and commercial flop – with Deadline reporting that it could lose as much as $132 million. According to an official release, the film will also be available in IMAX Enhanced on Disney Plus, which allows fans to watch in IMAX’s exclusive expanded aspect ratio. Meanwhile, both previous instalments in the franchise – 1982's Tron and 2019's Tron: Legacy – are also available to view on the platform, as is 2012's animated series Tron: Uprising. Tron: Ares cast – who stars with Jared Leto? Jared Leto leads the cast of the film as the title character – an AI programme named Ares – and he's joined in the ensemble by a host of other well known faces including Past Lives star Greta Lee and Dahmer's Evan Peters. Meanwhile, X-Files star Gillian Anderson returns to the sci-fi genre in a key role, while there's also space for a brief appearance from original star Jeff Bridges. You can find the full cast list below: Jared Leto as Ares Greta Lee as Eve Kim Evan Peters as Julian Dillinger Jodie Turner-Smith as Athena Hasan Minhaj as Ajay Singh Arturo Castro as Seth Flores Gillian Anderson as Elisabeth Dillinger Jeff Bridges as Kevin Flynn Cameron Monaghan as Caius Sarah Desjardins as Erin Selene Yun as Tess Kim Tron: Ares plot – what is it about? In a twist on the usual formula, the new film doesn't only see humans going into AI world, but AI assets coming into the human world. You can find the official synopsis below: "A highly sophisticated digital Program, Ares, is sent into the real world on a dangerous mission, marking humankind’s first face-to-face encounter with artificial intelligence. As Ares experiences his surroundings and has his first brush with humanity, his consciousness – and conscience – start to evolve. "He finds an unexpected ally in the brilliant technologist, computer programmer and current ENCOM CEO Eve Kim, who is on her own journey to discover a critical code written by Kevin Flynn. Betraying orders and relentlessly pursued, the two fight not only for their survival but for a future where technology and humanity can intersect." Tron: Ares trailer You can get a good impression of the film – and a little teaser of the excellent Nine Inch Nails soundtrack – by watching the trailer below: View oEmbed on the source website Tron: Ares is now streaming on Disney Plus. Check out more of our Film coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Marvel movies legend tipped to join The Batman Part II in major role alongside Avengers' Scarlett Johansson – but who is he playing?
The Oscar nominee looks set to become the latest big name to star alongside Robert Pattinson's Caped Crusader.
After some lengthy delays, we're finally seeing major progress when it comes to Matt Reeves's The Batman sequel – and it looks like the superhero flick may just have landed another exciting star. With Scarlett Johansson already set to join the cast in an as-yet undisclosed role, it's now being reported that another Marvel favourite is in line for a major part: Sebastian Stan. According to Deadline, the Bucky Barnes actor is "in talks" to join the film, which already boasts among its cast a number of high-profile returning stars including Robert Pattinson in the title role, Colin Farrell as the Penguin, Andy Serkis as Alfred and Jeffrey Wright as Commissioner Gordon. As for who Stan will be playing, that's not been confirmed just yet – but one rumour suggests he could be set to play iconic comic book character Harvey Dent/Two-Face, who has previously been played in film by Billy Dee Williams (Batman), Tommy Lee Jones (Batman Forever), Aaron Eckhart (The Dark Knight) and most recently Harry Lawtey (Joker: Folie a Deux). That rumour has been heavily implied by Hollywood journalist Jeff Sneider on X, although that's by no means confirmation that Stan will definitely be playing Two-Face. Sneider had previously reported on TheInSneider.com that Dent, his wife, and his father would be playing prominent parts in the narrative, with Johannson set to play Mrs Dent and Brad Pitt having turned down the chance to play Harvey's alcoholic father. However, these reports also remain unconfirmed for now. Of course, while Stan is still best known for his long-running role in the MCU – which he will be reprising once again in this year's Avengers: Doomsday – he has recently won acclaim for his roles in non-franchise fare, including a standout turn in arthouse film A Different Man and an Oscar-nominated performance as Donald Trump in The Apprentice. He's also got several more director-driven projects in the pipeline, including Cristian Mungiu's upcoming Fjord, alongside Sentimental Value star Renate Reinsve, and Justin Kurzel's Burning Rainbow Farm with Leo Woodall. View Green Video on the source website It was announced last summer that The Batman II aimed to begin production in spring 2026, four years after the brooding first film opened to strong reviews in March 2022, with the sequel's release currently set for October 2027. DC Studios co-CEO James Gunn had previously defended the long gap between films, stating that Reeves "is committed to making the best film he possibly can". "No one can accurately guess exactly how long a script will take to write," he wrote on Threads. "Once there is a finished script, there is around two years for pre-production, shooting and post-production on big films." As soon as we hear any more concrete updates on the film's production timeline, we'll let you know. The Batman Part II is coming to cinemas in October 2027. Check out more of our Film coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
How to watch Avatar: Fire and Ash – is it streaming?
James Cameron’s long-awaited return to Pandora has finally arrived – but can you watch it from home yet?
It’s been 16 years since James Cameron first changed the blockbuster landscape with Avatar, and just three since he followed it up with The Way of Water. Now, the saga has entered a darker, more volatile chapter with Avatar: Fire and Ash. Released in UK cinemas earlier this month, the third instalment in the Avatar franchise expands the mythology of Pandora even further, introducing the Ash People – a Na’vi clan shaped by fire, volcanic landscapes and a far more confrontational worldview. As expected, Fire and Ash has been one of the biggest cinema events of 2025, dominating the global box office in the run-up to Christmas and prompting renewed debate about whether Cameron can keep audiences invested across a planned five-film saga. If you’re wondering when – or if – you can watch the film from the comfort of your sofa, here’s everything you need to know. How to watch Avatar: Fire and Ash in the UK – is it streaming? At the time of writing, Avatar: Fire and Ash is not yet available to stream in the UK. The film is currently playing exclusively in cinemas nationwide, including standard screenings, IMAX and other premium large formats – which Cameron has once again encouraged audiences to prioritise. Based on the release pattern of Avatar: The Way of Water, it’s expected that Fire and Ash will arrive on digital platforms to purchase first, followed by streaming at a later date. When it does become available to stream, the most likely home for the film is Disney+, given that the Avatar franchise is now part of the Disney stable. However, no official streaming date has yet been confirmed. Can you rent or buy Avatar: Fire and Ash digitally? Not just yet. Avatar: Fire and Ash is not currently available to rent or buy digitally on platforms such as Prime Video, Apple TV or Google Play in the UK. A digital release is widely expected in early 2026, with premium video-on-demand likely to arrive first, followed by standard rental and purchase options. Is Avatar: Fire and Ash still in cinemas? Yes – and in a big way. The film was released in UK cinemas on Friday 19th December 2025, and is expected to remain on big screens well into the new year thanks to a strong box office performance and limited blockbuster competition in January. If you’ve been holding out to see it on the largest screen possible, now is still very much the time. Will Avatar: Fire and Ash be released on DVD and Blu-ray? A physical media release has not yet been announced, but a DVD, Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD release is highly likely in 2026. Previous Avatar films received extensive home-entertainment editions, complete with behind-the-scenes features and technical deep dives – something Cameron fans will no doubt be hoping for again. Avatar: Fire and Ash trailer View Green Video on the source website If you’re still undecided about heading to the cinema, the official trailer offers a striking glimpse of the film’s new environments, clans and escalating conflict – with fire and ash replacing the oceans and rainforests of previous instalments. Avatar: Fire and Ash is out now in cinemas. Check out more of our Film coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Avatar 3: Release date, cast, trailer and latest news for Fire and Ash
It's a good week to be an Avatar fan – and if the staggering box office results achieved by the first two films are anything to go by, those are not in short supply. The third entry in James Cameron's epic sci-fi arrives in cinemas in just a matter of days, three years after the second film secured another mammoth hit for the world's most reliably successful commercial filmmaker, and we'd expect it to once again rake in huge amounts of cash. That's despite some rather mixed reviews for the new film. Although our own 4-star verdict was very much on the positive side, some of the write-ups in other publications have been far less enthusiastic, with the film earning just one-star from The Telegraph and the BBC and two-stars each from The Times and The Guardian. Still, if you were a fan of the previous film then you probably needn't worry too much: this latest trip to Pandora looks likely to give you more of the same, as well as some bonus treats. One of the exciting new additions comes in the shape of a new Na'vi clan known as the Ash People, who are led by Oona Chaplin's antagonist Varang, whom the star told Radio Times is a "magnificent beast of a lady." Of course, Cameron has long been vocal about making as many as five Avatar films in total, but recently he has started to manage expectations as to just how likely that plan is to come to fruition. Indeed, he even told us that this film could end the franchise – so fans should really relish this trip to Pandora as much as they can, just in case this really is their final visit. Ahead of the release, fans have been treated to a number of trailers hinting at another rich visual experience, while they've also been told to expect a personal film that taps into Cameron's own experiences with grief. Meanwhile, it's also been confirmed that the film will once again be an epic not just in scale but in length, with a runtime of more than three-hours revealed ahead of release. Read on for everything you need to know about Avatar: Fire and Ash. Avatar: Fire and Ash release date Avatar: Fire and Ash will arrive in UK cinemas on Friday 19th December 2025 – so really not long to wait at all. That's one year later than the initially announced date of 20th December 2024, and comes three years after the previous instalment, The Way of Water – a significantly shorter gap between films than the 13-year wait fans had to endure for the second entry. At present, the as-yet-untitled fourth and fifth entries in the saga are scheduled to arrive in December 2029 and December 2031 respectively, although those could obviously be pushed back – or cancelled entirely – due to any number of factors. Avatar 3 cast: Who stars in Fire and Ash? The confirmed cast for Fire and Ash is: Sam Worthington as Jake Sully Zoe Saldaña as Neytiri Sigourney Weaver as Kiri Stephen Lang as Colonel Miles Quaritch Edie Falco as General Frances Ardmore Britain Dalton as Lo'ak Trinity Jo-Li Bliss as Tuktirey Jack Champion as Miles "Spider" Socorro Bailey Bass as Tsireya Kate Winslet as Ronal Jemaine Clement as Dr Ian Garvin Michelle Yeoh as Dr Karina Mogue CCH Pounder as Mo’at Cliff Curtis as Tonowari Matt Gerald as Corporal Lyle Wainfleet Oona Chaplin as Varang Giovanni Ribisi as Parker Selfridge Joel David Moore as Dr Norm Spellman Dileep Rao as Dr Max Patel Brendan Cowell as Captain Mick Scoresby Filip Geljo as Ao'nung Duane Evans Jr as Rotxo David Thewlis as Peylak Sam Worthington and Zoe Saldaña reprised their roles from the original film for The Way of Water – and there's no surprise that they'll be back once again on this occasion. Worthington previously told Variety of returning for The Way of Water: "We were doing something that had never been done before. "But Jim and I get along because I’m fearless. If he asks me to, I’m going to dive in. I’m good at putting aside all the mechanics and just focusing on, 'What does the boss need me to do?'" Meanwhile, the film also introduced a host of new characters, including Sigourney Weaver's Kiri. Fans were surprised to see the actress voicing a teenager, but she relished the role and will again be back this time around. She told USA Today: "I was just sitting on the side (of the classroom) listening to the pitch of the voices: everything from a childlike voice to an adult voice." Meanwhile, Kate Winslet will also be back in her role as Ronal, while younger stars Britain Dalton, Trinity Jo-Li Bliss, Jack Champion and Bailey Bass will once again be pivotal to events as the younger generation of Na'vi. And there's plenty of new faces joining for the third instalment as well, with David Thewlis the biggest name to be making his maiden voyage to Pandora – but it's Game of Thrones star Oona Chaplin who as the most significant new role in the film as antagonist Varang. Meanwhile, Oscar winner Michelle Yeoh has been confirmed to be joining the cast for subsequent instalments, but Cameron has explained that she won't be involved until the fourth instalment – so don't expect to see her here. And with that film now in a little more doubt than it was previously, perhaps Yeoh will never actually become part of the Avatar universe – we'll just have to wait and see. Avatar 3 plot: What will happen in Fire and Ash? 20th Century Studios understandably haven't released too many plot details for the film just yet, the studio has released an intriguing synopsis – and it certainly looks like the action is going to go up another notch for this entry. "One year after settling in with the Metkayina Clan, Jake and Neytiri's family grapples with grief after Neteyam's death," the synopsis reads. "Eventually, they encounter a new, aggressive Na'vi tribe called the Ash People, led by the fiery tribe leader, Varang, who has allied with Jake's enemy, Quaritch, as the conflict on Pandora escalates to devastating consequences." Actor Jack Champion previously told The Hollywood Reporter of the upcoming film: "I was very shocked by it. It just takes a hard left turn, and that’s not a bad thing. You think you know where it’s going, but then a wrecking ball comes. "So you’re completely like, 'Oh wow, I never thought that would’ve happened.' You also see more regions of Pandora, and you get introduced to more cultures. So I think it’s even better than Avatar 2. Collectively, they’ll each get better." Meanwhile speaking at the 2024 D23 Expo, Cameron teased: "It’s an insane adventure and a feast for the eyes, but it’s also got very high emotional stakes, more than ever before. We’re going into really challenging territory for all the characters you know and love." Animators Richard Baneham and Joe Letteri previously opened up to RadioTimes.com about the movie. "It's fair to say we are expanding the world and you will be exposed to different biomes and new tribes," Baneham explained. "And that was the idea even behind this one," added Letteri. "A lot of people asked after the first one, where is Jim [Cameron] going to take it? But his idea – and he's talked about this – is that it's a big planet and there are a lot of stories to tell. And I think that's what's great about it is we have this license to explore." Is there a trailer for Avatar 3? Yes! The action-packed first trailer for the film arrived in July 2025 – five months ahead of releasee – and contains plenty of the visual splendour we've come to expect from Cameron. A second trailer then followed in September, which you can watch below. View Green Video on the source website Avatar: Fire and Ash is set for release on Friday 19th December 2025. Check out more of our Film coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Steven Spielberg's epic new sci-fi film with Knives Out 3 hero confirms title as it releases tense first look trailer
Josh O'Connor and Emily Blunt lead the cast for the upcoming film from the legendary director.
The thought of Steven Spielberg directing a new movie about UFOs will be enough to get just about any film fan excited – and a new teaser for the legendary director's upcoming movie has just arrived to further whet appetites. The trailer – which has also revealed for the first time that the film's title will be Disclosure Day – introduces fans to the film's star-studded cast, which includes Emily Blunt, Josh O'Connor, Eve Hewson, Colin Firth and Colman Domingo. It opens with O'Connors' character nervously walking into a room before we hear a voice asking, "If you found out we weren't alone, if someone showed you, proved it to you, would that frighten you?" We then see Blunt as a troubled weather reporter who seems to be having great difficulty presenting her slot on a TV news programme, before some pretty unsettling – and unexplained – noises are heard. O'Connor then explains that "people have the right to know the truth" and that it "belongs to 7 billion people", before he announces plans to provide "full disclosure, to the whole world, all at once." Some pretty dramatic and intriguing images follow – including the sight of a small girl and some woodland creatures approaching a lit-up house – before we hear the final line, uttered by a nun: "Why would he make such a vast universe, and yet save it only for us?". Intrigued? You can watch the trailer below: View oEmbed on the source website Beyond what is seen in the teaser, not much has been given away about the plot at this stage – with a brief logline just repeating some of the utterances we hear in the clip. But we do know that the film reunites Spielberg with prolific screenwriter David Koepp – with whom he previously worked with on Jurassic Park – and his long-time collaborator John Williams, who will pen an original score. Of course, Spielberg is responsible for creating two of the most iconic films ever to deal with the subject matter of extra-terrestrial life – 1977's Close Encounters of the Third and 1982's ET: The Extra-Terrestrial, so we're in pretty decent hands when it comes to the new film. It's currently scheduled to be released on Friday 12th June and we'll be keeping an eye out for all sorts of updates between now and then. Check out more of our Film coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Avatar: Fire and Ash review – Another marvel of CG craftsmanship from James Cameron
The third entry in the epic sci-fi franchise embraces all-out conflict – but perhaps doesn't quite justify its length.
It’s time to go back to Pandora. Journeys to director James Cameron’s fictional alien planet have already inspired two of the highest-grossing movies of all time, Avatar (2009) and Avatar: The Way of Water (2022). Only a fool would bet against this third chapter, Avatar: Fire and Ash, doing the same. With this Cameron’s third Avatar movie in a row, it’s a bold, brash return to this mo-cap created, CG-realised world, where you have little choice but to surrender yourself to the visual onslaught. If The Way of Water was more of a hang-out movie, where Cameron introduced the ocean-dwelling Metkayina clan, Fire and Ash is a full-on all-out conflict. Set a year on from events of the preceding movie, the focus is once again Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), the former Marine who became one of the blue-skinned Na’vi people after transferring his consciousness permanently into his avatar. He and his family, including wife Neytiri (Zoe Saldaña), now live with the Metkayina – including Kate Winslet’s free-diving, pregnant Ronal – after leaving their own Omatikaya clan. With the script again penned by Cameron and husband-and-wife team Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver, this time the story introduces the Mangkwan clan, also known as the Ash People, a volcano-dwelling group led by the fearsome tribal leader, Varang (Oona Chaplin). The best antagonist in the Avatar franchise so far, brilliantly brought to life by Chaplin, the red-and-white-coloured Varang is a power-hungry creature, at one with the elements. She forges an uneasy alliance with Colonel Miles Quaritch (Stephen Lang), Jake’s nemesis – the fallen military commander resurrected as an Avatar "recombinant". Or as he puts it here, “I guess I don’t die that easy". He is going gung-ho to take down Sully, as the human-led military group RDA look to colonise Pandora, despite humans still being unable to breathe the air on the surface of the planet. It is Quaritch who introduces Varang to “weapons of metal”, watching her eyes widen as she fires bullets. “Feels good, don’t it?” he purrs. As the very political and ecological stability of Pandora is threatened, the RDA turns its forces to attacking the Tulkun, those beautiful whale-like creatures that dominate the planet’s oceans. It’s these scenes that hit home, as these peaceful innocents are harpooned in a moment that resonates to anyone who has seen footage of the decimation of the Earth’s whale population. Cameron may lack subtlety, but it can't be denied these scenes decrying man’s destruction of Mother Nature feel powerful. Read more: Avatar: Fire and Ash could be the end of the franchise, reveals director James Cameron Avatar: Fire and Ash director James Cameron shares how this film about loss helped him process his "true grief" With operations overseen by General Frances Ardmore (Edie Falco), there is also a return for the Ahab-like Captain Mick Scoresby (Brendan Cowell, on fine form), who now has a metal arm after losing his in The Way of Water. Flight of the Conchords’ Jemaine Clement, as Scoresby’s marine biologist, also reappears, although the film’s central figure is Spider (Jack Champion), the dreadlock-wearing son of the late Quaritch who was adopted by Sully’s family. His journey gives Fire and Ash much of its emotional heft, as the Quaritch avatar pursues Spider for his own nefarious ends. At 3 hours 17 minutes, the film is long, maybe never quite justifying its length, with a story that is – to borrow a recent title – one battle after another. The message is hardly sophisticated (“killing will only bring more killing”) but it's hard to deny the immersive quality of the 3D visuals, with every frame plunging you into Pandora. If spending time in the bio-luminescent forests and turquoise oceans of an alien planet is your thing, then Fire and Ash does everything you’d hope. It’s a marvel of CG craftsmanship and of Cameron’s pursuit of perfection. Avatar: Fire and Ash will debut in cinemas on Friday 19th December 2025 in the UK. Check out more of our Film coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Avatar: Fire and Ash leads this week's winter sci-fi special issue
James Cameron, Oona Chaplin and Sam Worthington reveal why this is the biggest - and riskiest - Avatar movie yet.
When it comes to taking risks, film director James Cameron is in a league of his own. He currently has three of the top five highest-grossing films of all time under his belt, and now he's back with the third instalment of his Avatar saga – Avatar: Fire and Ash. He reckons that if it's watched by 240 million people, all paying an average of $10 for a cinema ticket, it will be deemed a success. And that gross take of $2.4 billion will come in handy if he's going to be able to make the fourth Avatar film. So no pressure. Cameron's been here before, of course. Titanic, his first blockbuster back in 1997, sailed miles over budget, prompting memories of the disastrous Raise the Titanic, a film that cost so much to make its producer Lew Grade quipped that it would have been cheaper to lower the Atlantic. Yet, nearly 30 years on, Titanic still sits at number four on the list of biggest box-office films. Say what you like about Cameron, he knows how to bet big and win. This week, as part of our sci-fi special, we sit down not only with Cameron himself, but also with the film's stars Oona Chaplin and Sam Worthington, to find out exactly what keeps the Avatar world spinning. There is obviously a huge audience for Fire and Ash, but whether this latest one can save a film industry that is suffering badly in a post-Covid world, who can tell. The only safe bet is that you should never bet against James Cameron. The latest issue of Radio Times is out now – subscribe here. View Gallery on the source website Also in this week's Radio Times: Actor and presenter Alan Cumming talks risk-taking, speaking his mind and being a Scottish superhero. Ella Purnell, the star of post-apocalypse drama Fallout, would be right at home if the world was to end. A new documentary The Real Salt Path digs into the backstory of Raynor and Moth Winn and the veracity of their memoir. Did you know you can now order a previous edition of Radio Times magazine with our new back issues service? Add Avatar: Fire and Ash to your watchlist on the Radio Times: What to Watch app – download now for daily TV recommendations, features and more. Check out more of our Film coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Avatar: Fire and Ash first reactions are in as critics single out "unimaginable" and "bold" sequel filmmaking
The third entry in James Cameron's epic sci-fi franchise is released later this month.
The first wave of reactions have arrived for Avatar: Fire and Ash ahead of the release of the third entry in James Cameron's epic sci-fi franchise later this month – and early signs suggest the new film could be another winner. Although full reviews for the film are still under embargo for the time being, critics have begun posting their takes on social media, and the vast majority have been very positive so far. "Three films in and I still can’t get over how magical the [Avatar] movies are," wrote Perri Nemiroff of Collider, adding that Fire and Ash "truly feels like a ride." She continued: "I couldn’t believe how quickly I was pulled back into the world of Pandora and swept up in the situation. And once that happens, there’s a noticeable increase in complexity in quite a few aspects of the production." Critic Courtney Howard called the film "a glorious saga" and added: "Bold, brilliant & awesome in every way, this is what movie theatres were built for," while writer Michael Lee claimed that it "pushes technical boundaries in unimaginable ways". Chris Killian of ComicBook.com wrote that the film was a "damn good James Cameron movie!" and continued: "What else do you need to know? Go see it in 3-D in the best theatre you can find because it’ll blow your mind. That’s what JC does. Every bit as gorgeous as you’d expect, Fire and Ash is also easily the most INTENSE Avatar movie yet." Some viewers noted that the film would work best as a double bill with previous entry The Way of the Water, suggesting that it might be best to rewatch that one before going to see the new film. "It feels like a Part 2 of that story," wrote YouTuber Adam Hlaváč. "I was blown away by the visuals, the score, and many performances. But goddammit, you gotta see this thing in Dolby 3D! It’s unreal how immersive it is." Jesse Hassenger added that it was: "The first James Cameron sequel that feels kinda like a regular follow-up rather than an innovative re-envisioning of its predecessor's world," but added that "it also just casually drops ~3-4 of the best/coolest action sequences of the year and I was rapt the whole time." Read more: Avatar: Fire and Ash could be the end of the franchise, reveals director James Cameron Avatar star Sam Worthington reveals why he didn't interact with one key cast member during sequel filming While most of the reactions skewed very positive, a couple of them did also come with one or two reservations. For example, Eric Goldman wrote that while it was "another visually fantastic epic" and that "Cameron delivers spectacle like no one else", he had "some issues with the third act and Way of Water remains the peak". Meanwhile, Matt Neglia of Next Best Picture wrote that while it "delivers the most emotional moments of the franchise" and is "the most epic in both scope and runtime", the film contained "a few questionable choices" and was at times "frustrating". The reactions were pretty much unanimous in their praise for the visuals, but there were some critics who seemed otherwise unimpressed, with Variety's Clayton Davis calling it the "most bloated entry yet". He added: "The dialogue often makes you cringe, and the story essentially devolves into an episode of My Two Dads meets James Cameron's take on A Pyromaniac's Love Story." Kaitlyn Booth also wrote that "story-wise, it's the same 'capture/rescue' plot over and over again with some laughable dialogue thrown in the middle" adding that "the runtime is criminal, and if you have eye issues, avoid the 3D". The film arrives in UK cinemas on Friday 19th December, with Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldaña, Stephen Lang, Sigourney Weaver and Kate Winslet among the stars to reprise their roles from previous instalments and, Oona Chaplin, Edie Falco, and David Thewlis joining the cast. The official synopsis teased: "A year after settling in with the Metkayina clan, Jake and Neytiri's family grapples with grief after Neteyam's death. "They encounter a new, aggressive Na'vi tribe, the Mangkwan clan, also called the Ash People, led by the fiery tribe leader, Varang, who has allied with Jake's enemy, Quaritch, as the conflict on Pandora escalates to devastating consequences." Avatar: Fire and Ash will debut in cinemas on Friday 19th December 2025 in the UK. Check out more of our Film coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Predator: Badlands director teases "fun ideas” for more Alien crossovers with franchise
Dan Trachtenberg talks about the "elegant" way he managed to bring Alien lore into his new film – and what further plans might be on the horizon.
While the Alien and Predator series each include some undeniably incredible films, it's fair to say previous attempts to combine the two franchises have brought about fairly disastrous results. Both 2004's Alien vs Predator and its 2007 follow-up Aliens vs Predator: Requiem were major critical failures, and since then there have been no further attempts to merge the two properties on the big screen. At least, until now. Dan Trachtenberg's new movie Predator: Badlands – his third entry in the series in little over three years – includes some pretty major nods to Alien lore. Most prominently, Elle Fanning has a crucial role as a Weyland-Yutani synthetic, one of the artificial humans that have always featured in the classic sci-fi franchise, played by the likes of Ian Holm, Michael Fassbender and more recently David Jonsson. For Trachtenberg, the chance to dip into the world of Alien was clearly an opportunity he relished – and there was one thing that especially excited him about his approach. "The coolest part about it to me was no Xenomorph," he explained during an exclusive interview with RadioTimes.com. "Truly, it was not the idea of, 'What if we make Alien versus Predator again?'" He added that a larger scale crossover may still be on the horizon "later down the line" but continued: "The cool [bit] was to use a part of another franchise and include it into the story of this franchise [so] that you can link things without it being like, look at the giant action figures being smashed together. "It literally is just the components. I thought was a really elegant way to blend the two different franchises." As for what specific plans he had bubbling away as to how he might continue to bring the two worlds together in the future, Trachtenberg more or less kept schtum. But, he did say: "I've got lots of fun ideas." One thing is for sure, this certainly seems to open the door for a more fruitful fusing of the franchises in the future. And given he's now gone three for three when it comes to delivering inventive and entertaining new takes on Predator, we can't wait to see what some of those "fun ideas" might entail. Here's hoping it's only a matter of time... Predator: Badlands is released exclusively in cinemas on Friday 7th November. Check out more of our Film coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.