After the disappointing commercial and critical performance of their last original idea, Elio, 2026 proved the perfect comeback for Pixar as they released Hoppers, a fresh family-friendly tale starring newcomer Piper Curda as an animal lover who uses technology to become a robotic beaver. Hoppers started the year off strong for Pixar, earning $388 million worldwide against a reported $150 million budget, and was called one of Pixar’s “funniest movies yet” in Ross Bonaime‘s review for Collider.

But that was merely the appetizer for what would prove a fruitful main course for Pixar fans in 2026. Thanks to Woody (Tom Hanks), Buzz (Tim Allen), Jessie (Joan Cusack), and the rest of the Toy Story 5 gang, Pixar landed itself another billion-dollar hit. Following in the footsteps of the Chinese animated hit Ne Zha 2, the hilarious Zootopia 2, and the video game adaptation, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, Toy Story 5 became the latest animated sequel to smash the billion-dollar boundary, and did so alongside glowing reviews suggesting the franchise was back on track after an underwhelming fourth installment.

“The impressive fifth installment not only justifies its existence but feels like a necessary response to how much the world has changed in the past three decades,” wrote Collider’s Taylor Gates in her 8/10 review of the movie, which was one of many that praised this return to form for Pixar’s flagship franchise. But there was little chance this fifth film could ever reach the heights of Toy Story‘s peak, which came back in 1999 with what many consider to be the greatest animated sequel of all time: Toy Story 2.

‘Toy Story 2’ Just Hit a Streaming Milestone

Thanks to the ongoing success of Toy Story 5, which has transitioned seamlessly from the big screen to the small screen, Toy Story 2 has now surpassed the 100-day mark on the Disney+ top ten in the U.S. This genius sequel is still as beloved now as it was in 1999, when it became the third-highest-grossing film of the year worldwide with a total haul of $511 million. This was against a reported budget of $90 million, which pales in comparison to the $250 million budget of the most recent fifth film.

Toy Story 2 is a streaming hit. Make sure to stay tuned to Collider for more stories.

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Release Date

November 24, 1999

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Runtime

92 minutes

Director

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Ash Brannon, John Lasseter, Lee Unkrich

Writers

Andrew Stanton, Doug Chamberlin, Rita Hsiao, Chris Webb

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Producers

Helene Plotkin, Karen Robert Jackson

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• 
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  Tim Allen

  Buzz Lightyear (voice)

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Friends and family of the late Hayden Panettiere reportedly honored the life and legacy the Nashville alum during a private celebration in Malibu.

Connie Britton, Evan Ross and Ruby Rose were spotted outside the Saturday, September 19, service, according to photos obtained by Page Six. (Us reached out to Panettiere, Britton, Ross and Rose’s respective reps for comment.)

Earlier this week, TMZ reported that around 150 people — including Hayden’s dad, Skip Panettiere — were expected to attend an intimate memorial at a Malibu church. Her loved ones reportedly picked the seaside community in honor of Hayden’s love of marine life. (Hayden was an international ambassador for the Whaleman Foundation, a conservationist charity. She was also memorably featured in the 2009 documentary The Cove, which included dramatic scenes where the actress paddled into the ocean off the coast of Japan to confront dolphin hunters.)

Hayden was found dead at age 36 in a Greenville, South Carolina, residence on August 16. A coroner’s report, which was obtained by Us, determined that there were “no signs of trauma,” though an official cause of death is pending.

Related: Hayden Panettiere’s Ex Brian Hickerson Speaks Out 1 Month After Her Death

The late Hayden Panettiere’s on-off boyfriend, Brian Hickerson, offered brief public comments one month after the former Heroes star’s shocking death at age 36. Hickerson, also 36, was approached by a photographer outside of a gas station in Greenville, South Carolina, on Wednesday, September 16, and was asked how he was holding up, per footage obtained […]

“It is with profound sadness that we share the tragic passing of our beloved Hayden. She was an incredible light and a force of nature who brought immeasurable love and joy to all who knew her — and to the millions who watched her onscreen,” Hayden’s father, Skip, 67, told Us in a statement at the time. “We ask for privacy as our family takes time to process this unimaginable loss.”

A police report indicated that Hayden’s on-off boyfriend Brian Hickerson and his brother, Zach Hickerson, were both at the scene when the actress was found dead. Brian, 37, and Panettiere had a tumultuous relationship that was marred by accusations of domestic violence.

Brian was sentenced to 45 days in county jail in 2021 after pleading no contest to two felony counts of injuring a partner following a 2020 incident in Wyoming. He was also ordered to complete four years of formal probation and 52 domestic violence classes, pay $500 in restitution and obey a five-year protective order as part of his plea.

While Hayden wrote about the volatile nature of their relationship in her 2026 memoir, This Is Me: A Reckoning, she and Brian continued to see each other on-and-off until her death.

Brian broke his silence about Hayden’s shocking death through a statement issued by his lawyer Sloan Ellis on August 20.

“It is important to allow that investigation to proceed,” Brian’s lawyer told Us. “As has been publicly reported, police confirmed there were no signs of foul play. Out of respect for Hayden’s loved ones and the ongoing investigation, there will be no further comment at this time.”

The police investigation into Hayden’s death is ongoing. South Carolina’s Greenville County Coroner’s Office released a statement last week following TMZ’s reporting that Hayden may have taken one oxycodone pill that was laced with fentanyl prior to her death.

Related: Hayden Panettiere Once Dated Brian Hickerson’s Brother Zach

Hayden Panettiere was once romantically involved with on-again, off-again boyfriend Brian Hickerson’s brother before her death. Us understands that Panettiere dated Zach Hickerson in 2019. She and Brian, meanwhile, were together on and off from 2018 to 2020. The Daily Mail was first to report the news alongside photos of Panettiere and Zach holding hands […]

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“We have not released anything at this time. We will send out an email release when ready,” the Coroner’s Office confirmed to Fox Carolina on Monday, September 14.

Hayden’s spokesperson subsequently discouraged speculation about the events leading up to the star’s death.

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“As reported yesterday by the Greenville County Coroner’s Office, Hayden’s death remains under investigation pending the completion of toxicology results, despite reports from some outlets stating otherwise,” her rep told Us in a statement on Tuesday, September 15. “Recent reports attributed to unnamed sources are unverified hearsay and have attributed to conflicting information that continues to circulate.”

The statement concluded, “While we are all eager to find closure and better understand the circumstances surrounding her passing, we must remain patient and allow the investigative process to unfold. The answers we are all seeking will come.”

If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, contact the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).

Brittany Mahomes showed her husband, Patrick Mahomes, all the love ahead of the Kansas City Chiefs quarterback’s primetime game against the Indianapolis Colts.

Brittany, 31, embraced her man while puckering up for the cameras inside Arrowhead Stadium on Sunday, September 20, right before Patrick, 31, kicked off week 2 of the Chiefs’ 2026-2027 NFL season.

The couple’s pre-game PDA is becoming something of a tradition for the pair, after Patrick and Brittany — who share daughters Sterling, 5, and Golden, 20 months, and son Bronze, 3 — kissed for the cameras during warmups at last Monday’s clash against the Denver Broncos.

Just days prior to Sunday’s repeat, Brittany gushed about her husband, whom she married in 2022, via an Instagram carousel that celebrated the quarterback’s birthday.

Related: Brittany Mahomes Shows Off Game Day Fit While Packing on the PDA With Patrick

No one does game day style quite like Brittany Mahomes, and she served Us another lesson at the Kansas City Chiefs’ Sunday, November 23, home game against the Indianapolis Colts. Brittany, 30, rocked a cherry-red windbreaker as she greeted husband Patrick Mahomes on the sidelines before kickoff, sharing a sweet smooch on the sidelines. She […]

“Happy Birthday Babe!! You mean the world to us. Hope you feel so special and loved today but truly everyday you’re so special to us! The heart of our family, we love you the MOST!” she wrote on Thursday, September 17.

Patrick sent love right back, commenting on the post, “Love yall.”

Brittany has proven to be a rock-solid pillar of support for Patrick throughout each NFL season, most recently taking to social media to hit back at critics of the Chiefs in general. (NFL analysts across the board have discussed the team’s troubling injuries, including Patrick’s 2025 season-ending anterior cruciate ligament and lateral collateral ligament tears, in addition to roster turnovers impacting the Chiefs’ 2026 chances of a Super Bowl win.)

After the Chiefs defeated the Broncos, 31-10, at Arrowhead Stadium on Monday, September 14, Brittany shared a screenshot from ESPN’s Get Up picking Denver to win the game.

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Related: Brittany Mahomes Channels Taylor Swift’s Game Day Style at Chiefs Game

Brittany Mahomes channeled Taylor Swift’s game day style while supporting the Chiefs on Sunday night. Brittany, 29, attended the Sunday, September 22, game at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium, in knee-length red cowboy boots and an oversized Kansas City Chiefs shirt as she cheered on her husband, Patrick Mahomes, and his Chiefs teammates. Just one week prior, […]

“Oopsies,” she captioned the image.

Brittany wasn’t the only Chiefs WAG to support her husband on Sunday, with Taylor Swift in attendance as her husband, Travis Kelce, scored a touchdown in the match’s 1st quarter. Swift, 36, was captured cheering Kelce, also 36, on from inside her private suite before pointing to her wedding ring and saying, “That’s my husband!”

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The pop icon, who married the Chiefs tight end during a star-studded New York City ceremony on July 3, was seen enjoying the game between her parents, Scott and Andrea. Just like Brittany, Swift is creating supportive spousal traditions of her own, attending the Chiefs’ opening week game against Denver one week prior.

Seated next to Tom Cruise inside her suite for one portion of the game, Swift reportedly began “schooling” Cruise, 64, on football as they took in the action.

“She was bringing the football [knowledge],” the actor said of their time together during an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on Thursday, September 17.

Killer clowns. Childhood trauma. Alien spiders. Andy Muschietti’s 2017 adaptation of Stephen King’s seminal classic, IT, had everything going for it. Finally, the beloved story would have the modern adaptation that it deserved. After the campy Tim Curry Pennywise, the two-part film series delved into the true depths of horror as Bill Skarsgård took the stage as Pennywise.

IT: Chapter One was a phenomenal, faithful adaptation of the central story, while updating the ‘50s nostalgia to the ’80s. The decision to split up King’s tome was a necessary one, but inevitably, the ending of IT: Chapter Two would not have the same juice as its predecessor. The chemistry between the kids did not translate to their adult counterparts. Though it was a solid attempt, the IT franchise was a bit unbalanced. This was not the case for another two-part series that succeeded where IT failed.

‘Doctor Sleep’ Is the Perfect Combination of Stephen King and Stanley Kubrick

Upon its release, Mike Flanagan’s Doctor Sleep was tragically not embraced. Stephen King’s sequel to The Shining was a fascinating look at sobriety after Jack Torrance’s reign of terror. Doctor Sleep would later be acknowledged as a successor to The Shining in a way that didn’t work with IT.

Flanagan accomplished this by seamlessly interweaving the canon of Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining and King’s original story. The Eyes Wide Shut filmmaker famously threw the king of horror off-kilter with the monumental changes he made to the story. Flanagan’s movie went a long way to rectifying this with the story of Dan Torrance’s (Ewan McGregor) struggle with sobriety in adulthood.

Doctor Sleep picks up decades after his father’s demise in the hedge maze of the Overlook Hotel. While this ending differed from King’s original vision, Flanagan still made it work. After Dan meets Abra Stone (Kyliegh Curran), another child with the Shining, the final showdown with the terrifying psychic vampires known as the True Knot occurs at the structure, which is still standing. Flanagan incorporates the unforgettable score from Kubrick’s movie and the unsettling decor.

The ending of King’s book is also honored, as the Overlook finally gets the book-accurate conclusion the author was waiting for. At the end of The Shining, King writes that the hotel explodes because of the incident in the boiler room. Though Kubrick’s version had an icier ending, the fate of the Overlook finally comes to a head. The hotel burns to the ground at the end of Doctor Sleep, making a clear indication that both versions were worthy of portrayal. This was the difference between The Shining franchise and IT, which was almost shackled by its devotion to book accuracy.

Mike Flanagan’s Artistic Freedom Allowed ‘Doctor Sleep’ To Burn Brightly

Mike Flanagan has never been someone who lives and dies by book accuracy. These adaptations of The Haunting of Hill House and The Fall of the House of Usher merely take inspiration from these celebrated works of horror. Flanagan’s upcoming take on Carrie is also heavily modernized, altering many of the characters for a new generation.

Doctor Sleep had fewer changes, but the changes that were made allowed the movie to soar. Flanagan’s alterations were necessary for the story to resonate with King fans and uninitiated viewers alike. It would have been impossible for him to ignore the canon of something so iconic as Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining. At the same time, none of these features would be here without King, and the director honored him up until the final frames.

Doctor Sleep is genuinely terrifying, as Rebecca Ferguson portrays one of King’s most vicious villains. This differed from Andy Muschietti’s solid attempt at adapting a story as overwhelming as IT. Even splitting the story into two movies was not enough to make this adaptation as iconic as The Shining universe. The two movies still had to cut major components of the book to make a concise narrative.

IT’s greatest achievement would instead be accomplished with the HBO series, Welcome to Derry, which did a better job of being a spiritual telling of the book if not a literal one. The first batch of IT movies were constrained by being too faithful to the book, which made some elements not be a hit with modern viewers. Doctor Sleep may not have accomplished this at first, but time has been much kinder to the sequel to The Shining.

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Release Date

November 8, 2019

Runtime

152 minutes

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Producers

Trevor Macy

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Patrick Clancy addressed prevailing misconceptions, his silent conversations with his deceased children and the devastating wish he made shortly after his ex-wife Lindsay Clancy strangled their three young kids in his first sit-down interview with 60 Minutes following the controversial mistrial.

“So, I didn’t have all the details of Callan’s condition,” Patrick said of the former couple’s youngest child while appearing on the Sunday, September 20, episode of 60 Minutes. “I just knew that they got a heartbeat back. So I remember … that night, I … really thought there was a chance that Callan would live. And I remember just thinking, ‘Just gimme one. Just gimme one kid, and I would raise him as best I could, and I would give him the best life I possibly could. I’d tell him about his brother and sister.’”

Patrick continued, “And I was holdin’ out hope for that. And then when I got to the hospital, I saw the doctor. I saw the look on her face, and… and I knew that it… it wasn’t gonna be.. a good prognosis.”

Callan’s heart continued to beat for four days before clinicians declared the baby brain dead and he was removed from the devices keeping his body alive.

Related: Lindsay Clancy’s Attorney Addresses Conspiracies About Her Ex After Mistrial

Lindsay Clancy’s attorney is addressing online conspiracy theories about her ex-husband Patrick Clancy after a Massachusetts judge declared a mistrial in her triple-murder case for the death of their three children. “I think Patrick, you heard the 911 call, I think you can judge his credibility by that 911 call,” Kevin Reddington told reporters on […]

“I’m so grateful for those four days that I had with him,” Patrick continued. “And I’m so grateful he hung on.”

The father went on to reveal that during those four days, he simply apologized to his son.

“I said, ‘I’m so sorry.’ And I got to… I got to hold him,” he shared. “I got to lay down next to him. And he died in my arms.”

As Us previously reported, Patrick was also joined by his wife, Rachel Danis, for the interview. The couple defended their relationship amid public scrutiny and claims that Patrick moved on too fast after Lindsay, 36, killed their three kids in January 2023.

Patrick was out running errands on January 24, 2023, when he returned home to find that Lindsay had jumped from the second-story of their home. As he called 911, he learned that their children Cora, 5, Dawson, 3, and Callan, 8 months, had been strangled.

Lindsay was then arrested for the murders and was charged with three counts of first-degree murder.

The couple filed for divorce in 2024, while Patrick began dating Danis in February 2024. He and Danis then got married in April 2026.

While Danis has stayed out of the spotlight before the 60 Minutes interview, Patrick was a focal point in the trial and served as the first witness to testify.

Throughout the trial, several conspiracy theories began to circulate that Patrick was involved in his kids’ deaths. In fact, some people even pointed to the timeline of his new relationship with Danis as reason to speculate. (Patrick has adamantly denied the theories and has never been charged or named a suspect in the case).

After Judge William Sullivan declared a mistrial on September 4, Patrick’s attorney threatened legal action against those spreading the conspiracy theories.

“Over the past months, Patrick Clancy and his family have been subjected to a relentless, escalating and destructive defamation campaign,” attorney Howard Cooper said. “This campaign of misinformation has been launched and promoted by minor celebrities, so-called influencers and outright conspiracy theorists who appear intent on boosting their own social media profiles and potential profit by publishing what they know to be outright falsehoods that Patrick was somehow involved in the death of his young children and other vile claims.”

Related: When Did Patrick Clancy Meet New Wife Rachel Danis? Inside Their Relationship

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Patrick Clancy and his new wife, Rachel Danis, are opening up for the first time about their relationship, which has drawn intense public scrutiny given the tragedy that upended Patrick’s life just over a year earlier when his ex-wife, Lindsay Clancy, killed their three children in January 2023. In a teaser for the couple’s upcoming […]

Cooper said that the theories were creating “real life threats to his reputation, livelihood, and life.”

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“This spread of blatant and baseless falsehoods must stop,” he added. “Those responsible should understand that there will be consequences, and every appropriate measure will be pursued to hold them accountable, including legally. Law enforcement has been notified.”

Lindsay has never denied killing her kids, and her lawyers argued that she should not be held criminally responsible due to her struggles with postpartum psychosis. The prosecution has not yet revealed if they plan to bring the case back to trial.

If you or someone you know is pregnant or just had a baby and is in crisis, help is available. Call or text the National Maternal Mental Health Hotline for free, confidential support 24/7 in English and Spanish at 1-833-TLC-MAMA (1-833-852-6262).

A representative for Scott “Carrot Top” Thompson is reportedly giving an update on the comedian’s condition as he remains hospitalized following an alleged suicide attempt.

“Scott remains hospitalized and under close medical care,” Jami Schlicher, Carrot Top’s rep, told Entertainment Weekly in a Sunday, September 20, statement. “He is now awake, breathing on his own and continuing to improve, surrounded by his family and those closest to him.”

The statement reportedly continued, “Humor has always been such an important part of who Scott is and how he connects with people, and that remains true today as he shares moments of humor with the medical staff caring for him. Many messages from fans have been shared with Scott, including stories from people about how his comedy helped them through difficult periods in their own lives.”

Us has reached out to Schlicher for additional comment.

Related: Brad Garrett Supports Friend Carrot Top Amid Alleged Suicide Attempt

Everybody Loves Raymond alum Brad Garrett is sharing his support for friend and fellow comedian Carrot Top after the performer was hospitalized following an alleged suicide attempt. “Oh my beautiful, talented friend @carrottoplive. We’re ALL thanking our lucky stars that you’re OK,” Garrett, 66, wrote via Instagram on Saturday, September 19, alongside a photo with […]

Carrot Top, 61, was reportedly hospitalized in Las Vegas on Friday, September 18, after what has since been reported as a suicide attempt. As a result, his Friday and Saturday comedy shows were subsequently canceled. (Carrot Top has headlined a residency at Las Vegas’ Luxor Casino since 2005.)

“Mr. Thompson is recovering in the hospital and is receiving the care and support he needs,” Schlicher said in a statement shortly after the alleged incident, confirming the comedy star’s hospital stay. “His family and those closest to him are deeply grateful for the concern, prayers and respectfully ask for privacy.”

Days later, Debbie Gibson— a close friend of the long-time Las Vegas comedian — shared her public support for her pal, revealing she tried to contact him just days before his hospitalization.

“Sometimes it’s the ones who make us laugh the hardest who are hurting the most. Sending love to you, Scott 🧡@carrottoplive,” Gibson, 56, wrote via Instagram on Saturday, September 20, also citing the comedian’s real name in her public post. “Scott Thompson a.k.a. Carrot Top is one of those people who will send you a video message at some random time just to let you know he’s thinking of you and to put a smile on your face.”

She continued, “I hadn’t heard from him in a little longer than usual, so [I] reached out literally two days ago. I figured he’d reply this week as he often does post-show weekend, so I didn’t think anything of it when I didn’t hear back right away.”

Other fans and friends were also quick to share their public support of the comedian during his medical emergency, including former Everybody Loves Raymond star Brad Garrett.

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“Oh my beautiful, talented friend @carrottoplive. We’re ALL thanking our lucky stars that you’re OK,” Garrett, 66, also wrote via Instagram on Saturday, alongside a photo with Carrot Top and Ray Romano. “Please take this time to remember how appreciated and loved you are by so many.”

He continued, “We’re here for you. We need you OK. YOU need you OK. Whatever it takes, we’re here for you. You’re getting a second chance for a reason. Use it wisely. We need folks like you around. Show yourself grace. We love you.”

If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org.

For the second time in six days, Taylor Swift took to her throne inside Arrowhead Stadium to support husband Travis Kelce and the Kansas City Chiefs. 

Swift, 36, was seen sitting in between her parents, Scott and Andrea, in her usual suite perch, watching as Kelce, 36, and the Chiefs battled the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday Night Football. 

After Kelce scored a touchdown in the game’s 1st quarter, his first of the season, Swift could be seen pointing to her wedding ring and saying, “That’s my husband!”

Swift attended the Chiefs’ season-opening win against 31-10 win against the Denver Broncos on Monday, September 14, taking in the game alongside Tom Cruise. 

Related: Nikki Glaser Slams Taylor Swift Haters, Praises Travis Kelce in ‘SNF‘ Video

Self-proclaimed Swiftie Nikki Glaser called out Taylor Swift haters while praising the pop star’s husband in a new Sunday Night Football hype video. “When you’re on top of your game, everybody roots for your downfall,” the comedian, 42, says in the video, scheduled to air ahead of the Sunday, September 20, matchup between Kelce’s Kansas […]

“She was schooling me on football. She was bringing the football [knowledge],” Cruise said of the experience during an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon Thursday, September 17.

Cruise explained, “Oh, she knows her stuff. She’s like, ‘This is like…’ I was like, ‘OK!’ She knew nothing about football when she met Travis. It was like her [saying], ‘What was it like playing against your brother, tackling each other?’ She said, ‘You know, he’s so patient.’ I said, ‘I’m sure he was!’ … She knows [football]. She’s just bringing it. She knows.”

.@taylorswift13 is a proud wife after @tkelce‘s TD ❤️

INDvsKC on NBC/Peacock
Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/K0vwQrvUzJ

— NFL (@NFL) September 21, 2026

Cruise called Swift “a genius” and further gushed about watching the game together. 

“I’ve been following her since she was a kid,” the Top Gun actor said. “Everybody there, all their friends… they’re a beautiful couple and magical in their own right. I haven’t been to a football game since pre-COVID … so to get to hang out there and have that moment, it was a lot.”

Swift also took in the Broncos game alongside her parents, Scott and Andrea, her mother-in-law, Donna Kelce, and her brother-in-law, Jason Kelce. 

Related: Pat McAfee Details Taylor Swift‘s Vibe Watching Travis Kelce Play Football

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ESPN’s Pat McAfee revealed details from inside Taylor Swift’s private suite at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri, including how enthusiastic she is while watching her Chiefs tight end husband, Travis Kelce. “She is all in. She is — every snap, [it] was the most into-it suite we’ve ever been in,” McAfee, 39, said during the […]

The pop star and Travis got married on July 3 at a ceremony packed to the brim with A-listers at New York City’s Madison Square Garden. 

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Prior to the season-opener against the Broncos, Travis reflected on the big night during an interview with ESPN’s Chris Berman. 

“It was the best night of my life,” Travis said. “Marrying Taylor, it was more than I could have ever dreamed it to be because of all the people that showed up and the amount of love that was in the air.”

The Chiefs hit the road for their next game, traveling to Miami to play the Dolphins on Sunday, September 27.

There is a significant difference between recreating the imagery of Silent Hill and understanding why the franchise has remained terrifying for decades. Fog, locked doors, and disturbing creatures may be essential pieces of its identity, but those elements mean little without the psychological horror and deeply personal tragedy lurking beneath them. Silent Hill: Townfall understands that distinction, carrying the franchise’s spirit into a new location and perspective without losing what made it special.

While Silent Hill 2 and Silent Hill 3 remain the best games in the franchise, I genuinely believe Townfall is the closest anything has come to matching them. Where Silent Hill f was a beautiful horror game that never entirely felt like Silent Hill to me, Townfall is elevated by how completely it embodies the series. Screen Burn Interactive has made the first-person Silent Hill game I did not realize I had been waiting for, and now I am annoyed that it took this long to happen.

St. Amelia Is the Perfect Setting for a ‘Silent Hill’ Game

Image via Konami, Annapurna Interactive, Screen Burn

Players awaken in the Scottish island town of St. Amelia as Simon, who is searching for a mysterious woman named Zoe. She may be able to help him understand what happened to the community and where the monsters occupying it came from, but nearly every answer creates another question. St. Amelia is a community in collapse, and the town’s physical deterioration reflects the isolation, guilt, personal responsibility, and failed communication running through the story. The town’s circumstances also introduce a tangible source of horror alongside its psychological monsters. Writer and director Jon McKellan called St. Amelia the story’s main character when I interviewed him at a hands-on preview for the game in July, and the game earns that description. Weathered buildings, abandoned spaces, handwritten signs left by townsfolk, and evidence of economic decline communicate what happened to this community before the larger mystery begins surrendering its answers. Slowing down to inspect the town is consistently rewarded, making exploration essential to understanding both St. Amelia and the people it failed.

St. Amelia was already one of Townfall’s greatest strengths during my preview, but spending considerably more time exploring it made its foggy streets and weathered coastal architecture even more beautiful. I love this town so much that I desperately want to steal it for a cozy life simulator, move into one of its little stone houses, and personally fix everything wrong with it. Unfortunately, everything wrong with it appears to include economic decline, widespread abandonment, and several manifestations of psychological torment.

The story asks players to sit with uncertainty, compare interpretations, and recognize horror in details that initially appear insignificant. I was unable to complete Townfall in the time I had to review it, so I cannot assess whether its central mystery ultimately pays off or whether its ending provides an emotionally satisfying resolution. But me not finishing is entirely due to only having one (incredibly hectic, from a personal standpoint) weekend to play. I’m eager to get back into the game. Simon is a perfectly serviceable protagonist, although I was far more intrigued by Zoe. Fortunately, Townfall allows players to spend a substantial amount of time controlling her, and the seamless transitions between them make their stories feel like parts of one experience.

‘Townfall’ Knows Exactly How To Make St. Amelia Terrifying

Fog is inseparable from Silent Hill, but it feels especially natural along St. Amelia’s waterfront. It physically cuts the island off from the rest of the world while concealing just enough to make every step feel like another potentially terrible decision. This is familiar imagery serving a new location instead of a new game thoughtlessly imitating something audiences already recognize. The sound design intensifies that uncertainty without overwhelming the story’s more intimate moments. I never felt completely safe, even when nothing was actively pursuing me, because what I thought I heard somewhere beyond the fog could be considerably scarier than anything placed directly in front of me. Townfall combines that oppressive atmosphere with excellent jumpscares, psychological horror, and enough gore to make me say “ew” without ever becoming nasty purely for the sake of testing my stomach.

Its monsters are terrifying because they retain just enough of the human form to feel recognizable in the worst possible way. McKellan explained that the creatures are rooted in the protagonist’s psychology and designed to build toward moments when players understand what each one represents. The enormous creature I referred to as the “Cloverfield monster” in my preview remains one of Townfall’s most imposing sights, and at the point I’m at in the game now, I’m looking forward to learning more about whatever it is still. I’m confident that understanding whatever it is will not make it any less terrifying.

‘Silent Hill: Townfall’s Narrative Puzzles Are Its Greatest Achievement

Image via Konami Digital Entertainment

The narrative puzzles are Townfall at its best, turning the developers’ desire for players to keep “trying to piece it together” into the game’s most rewarding mechanic. Each solution delivers the “moment of revelation” McKellan described during our interview while preserving enough of the franchise’s signature ambiguity that every answer seems to uncover an even more compelling question. These puzzles do not interrupt the story because solving them is how players participate in telling it. Some are genuinely challenging, which makes finally discovering their solutions considerably more satisfying. I firmly believe that we should emerge from a game slightly better at playing games than we were when we started, and Townfall pushed me toward that goal. It expects players to observe, remember, interpret, and occasionally admit that their first assumption was completely wrong.

The CRTV is the defining mechanic of Simon’s sections, allowing players to tune through frequencies for signals, clues, puzzle information, and indications of nearby threats. It rewards patience and cautious planning, while ignoring its warnings can result in a deeply deserved jumpscare. More importantly, the CRTV makes uncovering the story feel active, as though I am physically pulling fragments of St. Amelia’s history out of the static.

Combat feels as polished as it did during my preview, with responsive melee attacks and gunplay that feels natural in first person. However, Townfall is best experienced by optimizing stealth instead of attempting to kill everything standing between Simon or Zoe and their objective. Simon’s CRTV and Zoe’s pager help players detect threats, plan routes, and avoid confrontations that would drain valuable resources. Resources are plentiful enough to support the experience as long as players explore their surroundings, and the inventory is refreshingly free of meaningless clutter. Everything Simon or Zoe can collect serves first aid, weapons, distractions, or the narrative. There are no traditional collectibles, but the environmental details ensure searching St. Amelia never feels pointless.

Navigation is occasionally frustrating, even if some of that frustration is intentional. Blocked paths, locked doors, and inaccessible gates are essential parts of Silent Hill, but encountering locked gate after locked gate while running for my life still tested my patience. I never became completely lost or struggled to locate an objective, though the camera could feel awkward when I needed to inspect drawers or other small spaces.

‘Silent Hill: Townfall’ is Worth the Trip Back Into the Fog

Image via Konami Digital Entertainment

I spent approximately 10 hours with Townfall before reaching a point I was unable to move beyond due to needing to move onto writing this review. I’m approaching the end of the game and can tell, which made pulling me away so I could type particularly cruel. McKellan previously told me that Townfall contains three base endings and two additional conclusions unlocked through New Game Plus, but I cannot evaluate those endings or how successfully the game responds to a player’s natural behavior.

Based on the substantial portion I played, Silent Hill: Townfall is not better than Silent Hill 2 or Silent Hill 3, but it is the strongest attempt yet to stand alongside them. Its first-person perspective makes the horror more immediate without abandoning the symbolism, ambiguity, and emotional discomfort that give the franchise its identity. Screen Burn Interactive did not merely create a beautiful horror game bearing the Silent Hill name; it created a game that understands why that name matters. The occasional camera awkwardness and frustrating navigation barely diminish an experience defined by exceptional narrative puzzles, unforgettable atmosphere, and one of the franchise’s best locations. St. Amelia is gorgeous, miserable, and so richly realized that I want to save it despite knowing it would probably respond by manifesting a monster from my worst memory. After spending approximately 10 hours in its fog, my biggest complaint is that Silent Hill waited this long to embrace the perspective it was seemingly made for.

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Released

September 24, 2026

ESRB

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Mature 17+ / Blood, Strong Language, Violence

Developer(s)

Screen Burn

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Publisher(s)

Annapurna Interactive, Konami

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Franchise

Silent Hill

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Pros & Cons

• Exceptional narrative puzzles that reward careful interpretation
• Beautiful, atmospheric environmental design throughout St. Amelia
• CRTV and first-person perspective meaningfully reinvent the franchise

• Navigation becomes frustrating during enemy encounters
• The camera can feel awkward when inspecting smaller environments
• Simon is less compelling than Zoe and the surrounding mystery

Editor’s note: The below contains spoilers for Lanterns Episode 6.

However you have felt about Lanterns thus far, here is where the rubber meets the road — or, perhaps more appropriately, the power ring meets the stars. Finally jumping forward to present-day, the HBO drama puts John Stewart (Aaron Pierre) on the case to discover what happened to Hal Jordan (Kyle Chandler), who was murdered in Rushville years after being stripped of his status as Green Lantern. Additionally, Guy Gardner (Nathan Fillion) now has the ring, but that doesn’t do Hal or John any good, as this small Nebraskan town remains the sole focus of their opposite life paths. Will Lanterns stick the landing? That remains to be seen, but if it does, it will be despite the way it has propped up John Stewart at the expense of Hal Jordan, a creative decision that fans will likely have trouble forgiving long-term.

‘Lanterns’ Episode 6 Pushes the Story Into the Present

Jumping forward to 2026, John Stewart is now a successful architect trying to build a new military compound with his brother Marcus. The pair own “Stewart Brothers,” an architectural firm that specializes in large-scale panic rooms designed for entire cities for when aliens or supervillains attack. This comes after what happened a year prior in Metropolis (as seen in Superman) and was largely inspired by John’s previous experience in Rushville. But his time in Nebraska still haunts the almost-Green Lantern, as John gets a call from his mother (Nicole Ari Parker) — whom he now refers to coldly as “Bernadette” — who has received a call from Hal Jordan, who evidently wants to apologize.

As it turns out, Hal was imprisoned for the better part of the last decade after John stripped him of the ring, but now that he’s out, he has relocated to Rushville. Apparently, Bernadette and Hal are now friends, something that rubs John the wrong way. But curiosity gets the better of the former Marine, who returns to Nebraska to meet with Hal at the diner. When John asks for his apology, Hal basically laughs in his face. Hal has no intention of apologizing; that had been a ruse by his mother in order to get the two of them in the same room. “I took the fall; I spent the time, we’re square,” Hal tells him. “No, you fell, and a lot of people got killed,” John retorts, refusing to take any responsibility for his own part in what happened in Rushville. After an aside where Hal tells his would-be protégé that Guy Gardner put a Green Lantern beacon in the middle of Rushville (ripping off Batman in the process), he wonders if the reason John doesn’t talk to his mother is because she was okay with the killing. Hal begins to tell John why he’s afraid, but John doesn’t want to hear it and smacks him instead. “Don’t tell anyone you were here,” Hal tells him, but John leaves the diner angrily.

Upon returning home, John gets a call from Kerry (Kelly Macdonald), still sheriff all these years later. She informs him that Hal is dead, prompting him to return to Rushville once more. “I never thought that he’d actually die,” John says — and the way he says it almost makes him sound sorry that he missed watching it happen himself. Kerry says everyone else in town hated Hal, but she wanted someone else there who cared about him. (That may not really describe John, but it’s not like there was hardly anyone else to call.) It turns out Hal returned to Rushville for her after Kerry and Billy (Jason Ritter) split up years earlier. As they reminisce about Hal’s life post-incarceration, Kerry tells John that Hal would walk around town and knock on doors asking how he could help, wanting to atone for his sins. She offers her couch, but John decides to crash at the motel — only it was never rebuilt. Instead, Kerry sends him to the place that Hal rented in town. John arrives and finds a rifle posted at the front door. When he hears something inside, he finds Earl, the carnivorous plant. While feeding the alien plant, Marcus calls with exciting news about their architectural plans — but that news will have to wait.

‘Lanterns’ Episode 6 Ups the Tension Between John Stewart and Rushville

Image via HBO

The next morning, Kerry and John meet at the diner. Maggie (Hannah Christine Shetler), the waitress, answers Kerry’s questions about Hal’s night at the diner the night before, though she says nothing about John having been there. Kerry deputizes John to help with the investigation, and they attend the autopsy. The ME — who takes every chance she can get to tell the pair how much she hates Hal and John — says that whoever did it was close, with the shooter looking at him head-on. Getting his personal effects, they find a key to the “Fortress of Storage,” where they encounter a voice-command safe, which they unsuccessfully crack with an old voicemail of Hal’s to Kerry, since it requires a live voice rather than a recording.

On his way to Kerry’s for dinner, John picks up some beer from a local store and gets a call from ComfortCo, an assisted living center where his father resides. Apparently, he is having a problem, but John refuses to speak to his father at all. Walking past the Green Lantern beacon, John decides to turn it on, which, naturally, gets him into serious trouble with the locals. When Billy shows up and gets a bit testy, he threatens John, but it does no good. John takes all the guys out anyway, keeping the beacon on. At Kerry’s house, she, John, and Noah (Shea Pritchard) — who is now all grown up — are discussing the boy’s future. Kerry tells John that Noah wants to be a senator, and he evidently wrote to FEMA several times before they showed up in Rushville to rebuild the school. But when Kerry gets a call about John’s earlier activities, the tables turn, and she’s forced to lock him up for assaulting her ex-husband. “I’m keeping you safe,” she tells him.

The next morning, Guy Gardner, the new Green Lantern, arrives in Rushville. Guy tells John that the first time he met Hal, it was also in jail. Apparently, Hal told Guy to go “climb a rope,” but when John informs his successor that their predecessor has been murdered (and that he ought to be buried in his uniform and ring), Guy isn’t so sure. “Guy, everything you have is because I didn’t take it,” John tells him. With that, Guy begins to turn around, but not before first informing John that someone busted Sinestro (Ulrich Thomsen) out of the Guardians’ space prison — something John didn’t know. When the ex-Marine is released on bail, he finds that he has several missed messages from Bernadette, Marcus, and his father’s home (where he shot out a window with his handgun). Instead, John calls his estranged brother Aaron (Romeo Brown) to deal with their father.

‘Lanterns’ Episode 6 Resurrects a Different Version of Hal Jordan

Image via HBO

Soon after, John arrives at Hal’s place to find that Maggie, the waitress from the diner, has been waiting for him. When John asks what she wants, it turns out that she’s the young girl he gave the watch to in the motel parking lot after Rushville was decimated by the Manhunter (Poorna Jagannathan). She demands $313,000 in reparations for what he and Hal did to her back in the day, and if she doesn’t get it, she’ll tell the sheriff about his confrontation with Hal on the eve of his murder. Later, Noah knocks on Hal’s door and offers John a suit for the funeral, though he personally doesn’t plan to attend, even to support his mother.

At the funeral, Guy has come through and got Hal his suit and ring back. However, he doesn’t feel the need to stick around for the funeral (“bad optics”), which consists only of John and Kerry. Well, at first. Hal’s once-upon-a-time love interest, Carol Ferris (Ami Mackenzie), also shows up, having been called by Kerry after the former Green Lantern was murdered. Unable to do so herself, she asks John to deliver the eulogy that Hal had previously (and jokingly) written some time ago. As John stands over Hal’s grave, he reads Hal’s ironic and troubled words — it’s a sorry scene, one that feels at least a little farfetched, given how long Hal was the official Green Lantern of Earth. This is the furthest cry from something like Superman’s funeral in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice or even Iron Man’s memorial at the end of Avengers: Endgame.

Afterward, John tells Kerry he’s going to stick around for a few days, presumably to help her catch Hal’s killer. But once she leaves the grave site, in the dark of night, John digs up Hal’s grave and completely botches the phone pitch he and his brother planned for the colonel in the process. Once he opens the casket, John removes the ring from Hal’s finger and puts it on. With only a 5% charge, he activates the “Halogram,” who is ticked to discover that he’s dead. We’re ticked too, Halogram, but at least you’re still around to keep Kyle Chandler on board this rocky ship as it heads for the finish line. Who knows? Maybe Lanterns will finish out more like Lethal Weapon than True Detective, after all.

New episodes of Lanterns air Sundays on HBO and HBO Max.

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Release Date

August 16, 2026

Network

HBO

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Directors

Alik Sakharov, James Hawes, Stephen Williams, Geeta Patel

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Writers

Damon Lindelof, Chris Mundy, Tom King, Vanessa Baden Kelly, Justin Britt-Gibson, Breannah Gibson

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Pros & Cons

• Nathan Fillion’s Guy Gardner is always a hoot.
• John has finally found some personal agency all these years later, though he remains drawn to the ring.
• Even with Hal dead, it’s comforting to know that his presence isn’t lost.

• No matter how great the Halogram is, killing off Hal Jordan was a dumb move.
• This episode may have been more compelling by inter-splicing John’s 2026 present with Hal’s previous few years, be it in prison or trying to make a life in Rushville, thus making his death a bit more impactful.
• This “reparations” thing from the waitress feels in really poor taste.

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Editor’s note: The below interview contains minor spoilers for Lanterns Episode 6.

As HBO’s Lanterns continues to progress toward the finale, the series is confirming even more connections to James Gunn‘s wider DCU. While the show starts with Hal Jordan (Kyle Chandler) as Earth’s Green Lantern, the situation changes after 2016’s investigation in Rushville leads to an explosive showdown between Hal, John Stewart (Aaron Pierre), and the Manhunter (Poorna Jagannathan). When John ultimately turns down the chance to wear the ring himself, it opens the door for Guy Gardner (Nathan Fillion) to become the next Green Lantern — and as Lanterns‘ latest episode reveals, there’s no love lost between the guy who was originally teed up to replace Hal Jordan and the gym teacher who ended up taking the job.

Ahead of the Lanterns premiere, Collider had the opportunity to speak with several members of the show’s cast and creative team, including co-creator Chris Mundy. Over the course of the interview, which you can watch above or read below, Mundy discusses the process of striking the right balance between the grit of True Detective and more fantastical Green Lantern story components, how Lanterns‘ version of Guy Gardner goes a step further than the character fans met in Superman, why John’s spotlight episode almost aired later in the season, his plan for the show’s potential return after Season 1, and more.

COLLIDER: In terms of the overall blend of genres with the show, I know there’s been some early comparisons to True Detective and things like that, but I was interested in hearing how you wanted to strike the balance between those grittier thriller elements and the more humorous and fantastical elements that almost are more emblematic of the Green Lantern story.

CHRIS MUNDY: Yeah, it’s a tricky balance. We’re trying to hopefully do a good enough job that people accept the mash-up of them. It was weird that things would come in, like, obviously we start with that 60 Minutes interview, so suddenly you’re grounding it in Hal, and he’s in the suit, and then you’ve got this weird scene of borderline child abuse, but then Hal and John, and then immediately that car flies off.

So, in some ways, we gave everyone everything in the first five minutes, but then after that we really wanted to slow it down and ground ourselves. It’s like, “Okay, the mystery is going to be based in this town. We’re going to be in Western Nebraska.” We wanted to get to Hal and John’s relationship, people feeling like they’re living inside of it, and they’re living in sort of the dirt and dust of western Nebraska. Once that was the case, then slowly bring in the comic book stuff as you go.

So, even the way we did the construct sort of started small and went bigger. The suit comes back again at the end of Episode 2, but each time we wanted to ground in one, and if we felt confident that we had done a good enough job with that, then add the next layer of the thing.

This is more of a less serious question, but I was interested in hearing whose idea it was to have “Brand New Key” be the song that Hal purposely picks on the jukebox to start a bar fight.

MUNDY: Do you know what’s so funny? It was like we knew we wanted it. We were in three different locations. I was in my office, Damon [Lindelof] was in his office, Tom [King] was in Washington, DC, and we knew we were going to play the gag of the song. I texted the three of them and said, “We should land on a song.” And, like, two seconds later, Damon texted back, “Brand New Key.” And the second you read it, we were like, “Oh yeah, that’s exactly what it is.”

It’s fantastic. Every time it started up again, I had to chuckle to myself. It was great.

MUNDY: Yeah, same. I’ve seen it a million times, and it still makes me laugh.

‘Lanterns’ Creator Wanted To Take Nathan Fillion’s Guy Gardner “One Step Further” Than James Gunn’s ‘Superman’

“That character, you can play him for as much comedy or as little as you want.”

Image via HBO

I did have a chance to pick Damon and Tom’s brains about bringing Guy Gardner into the story, so I thought you would also be a good person to ask about that. How soon did you know you wanted him to be a part of the show, and what did you really want to emphasize about any difference in the character in Lanterns compared to the version that we meet in Superman?

MUNDY: We knew pretty much right away when we were doing the two time periods we wanted to have him in the show at least a little bit, just to explain to the world where we were in time. Hal was gone, and also to explain that we knew the time period. You know what I mean?

And from that, we had a lot of license. That character, you can play him for as much comedy or as little as you want. James [Gunn] had obviously played him for comedy in Superman, and we just felt like it was license to take it one step further, especially since it’s sort of adversarial the first time when he’s talking to John. So, we just sort of went for it and waited to see if we got any notes, and people seemed to like it. And Nathan [Fillion]’s so good that that helps. On the page, they trusted it, in part because I think he’s just so good.

Given that he is the Green Lantern, at least by the 2026 timeline, obviously it raises the question of, “Well, we know Hal and John are in the show, so what happened in those moments in between?” The premiere ends in a way that I think is going to shock and surprise a lot of viewers — it certainly caught me off-guard. Is there any reassurance that you can offer fans that might be confused, maybe a little bit upset by that particular story choice? Because it is a big one, and the ripple effects carry through the rest of the show.

MUNDY: It’s a big one. I don’t know if there’s anything that gives them peace of mind. I will say that it’s something we didn’t take lightly and that it’s something we want to emotionally earn. We did it to deepen our understanding both of John but also of Hal. So, to whatever degree you get peace of mind from it, it’s in service of Hal’s character and in service of John’s character.

Episode 3 is a very character-forward episode in a lot of ways — focusing on John, his backstory, his very complicated relationship with his family, his parents in particular. But given where it appears in the season, it kind of steps away a little bit from the murder mystery that’s going on in Rushville. Did it ever feel like a bit of a risk, storytelling-wise, to do a pivot to more of a character spotlight at that point in the show?

MUNDY: Originally, when we broke the season, that episode always existed. It was fifth, initially. There was a point where we decided that we felt free to pull it up, that we felt confident in the world we’d created in [Episodes] 1 and 2, and that in a way, it was more important to have a deeper understanding of John, and you learn about Hal in that, too. But we felt like the depth of understanding the characters was more important in the [Episode] 3 spot than making sure the story had momentum. But it was a huge discussion. Like I said, it was originally fifth, and it was a ways in before we pulled it up to [Episode] 3.

Chris Mundy Reveals How Many More ‘Lanterns’ Easter Eggs Are on the Way

“You get a hint of him early, and more of him a little bit later, so we felt like that was enough.”

Image via HBO

There are quite a couple of name-drops of other Lanterns in the show. We get a Ch’p reference. The Mogo reference, I think, is going to give fans a bit of a chuckle. Were there conversations about including more explicit cameos, or is there anything maybe cooking for the finale that you can tee up? I’m curious as to whether we’re going to see any others.

MUNDY: We talked about it, but I don’t think there was ever… In retrospect, a lot of times there are things in a writers’ room they talk about that they’re like, “Oh, wow,” things that have legs for a long time that you just didn’t end up doing, or even things you wrote that just there was too much tonnage of stuff and you pulled.

So, we talked about it, but we felt like our story was full enough, and we felt like we just wanted to keep burrowing into John and Hal. And we knew we were using Sinestro in the season, so we knew people that were waiting to really feel those kinds of presences, that that was coming. You get a hint of him early, and more of him a little bit later, so we felt like that was enough. And the other, it wasn’t going to serve the drive; it was going to take away from the emotional stuff that we were doing with Hal and John.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t wrap up by asking about the longer plan for these characters. Obviously, John is going to make an appearance in another DC project, but if there was an opportunity to do more Lanterns, what’s the general feeling behind continuing the show?

MUNDY: The general feeling is if people are interested, knock on wood, if people like the show, and there seems to be enough interest, we would love to do it. Honestly. I think you want to end in a place where you feel like this was a fall season, but emotionally, there’s so much more to keep going with. So, with a little bit of luck, there’ll be more.

New episodes of Lanterns premiere Sundays on HBO and HBO Max.

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Lanterns

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Release Date

August 16, 2026

Network

HBO

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