Entertainment
Born Again,’ Jon Bernthal’s ‘Punisher’ Special Just Set the Stage for Frank Castle’s Comeback
Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers for The Punisher: One Last Kill
Summary
Almost a decade since its finale on Netflix, Marvel brought back fan favorite Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox) for Daredevil: Born Again, presenting the Disney+ series an opportunity to resurrect yet another beloved onscreen character with Jon Bernthal’s anti-hero Frank Castle/The Punisher. Since his own Netflix series was cut short in 2018, fans have felt Castle’s absence, though maybe none so much as The Punisher himself. “He’s lived with the character,” Reinaldo Marcus Green, director of The Punisher: One Last Kill, tells Collider’s Steve Weintraub. “He had been working on this for a good long while.”
After a brief appearance in Born Again and a surprise cameo announced for Spider-Man: Brand New Day, Frank Castle is once again donning the bulletproof vest for One Last Kill, marking the third of Marvel’s Special Presentations, a short-format adventure that kicked off with the critically acclaimed Werewolf by Night. In the 44-minute one-shot, co-written by Bernthal and Green, Castle is haunted by his past, struggling to find purpose beyond his obsession with revenge, when an unexpected foe lures him back into the fold. One Last Kill also brings back Jason R. Moore as Curtis Hoyle and introduces Emmy Award winner Judith Light to the MCU as supervillain Ma Gnucci (“She’s different than the comic, in a good way”).
One thing’s for sure: fans are thrilled by the Punisher’s return, but hungry for more. While talking with Collider, which you can watch in the video above or read below, Green discusses Bernthal first approaching him with the idea and the merits of returning to screen with a Marvel special. “Hopefully, that is a way for them to gauge audience reactions, what they want, and demand for the character,” Green says. “And give us more runway to do something bigger and better in the future.” He shares behind-the-scenes details for their 11-day shoot, working with the limitations, where on the MCU timeline One Last Kill falls, and what introducing Ma Gnucci ultimately means for the fate of Castle. As for now, however, the director admits, “We’re not sure where the Punisher goes.”
Jon Bernthal Took a “Gloves-Off” Approach to ‘Punisher’s Violent One-Shot
Director Reinaldo Marcus Green also shares new details on Southern Bastards.
COLLIDER: Before we jump into The Punisher, I know you directed the pilot of Southern Bastards, so what do you want to tell people about that, and any word on whether it might go forward?
REINALDO MARCUS GREEN: Amazing cast. We just wrapped on Thursday, so it’s in Hulu’s hands. I head out to LA for the edit next week. So, yeah, early days, but I feel very, very strong. We’ve got great material, Kevin Bacon, Erin Kellyman, Tim McGraw, Amin Joseph, Jonathan Tucker, and Ethan Suplee. Amazing cast, really. Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor. Tremendous cast. Great setting, great comic book. If you don’t know it, it’s based on a graphic novel. So, just really a lot of fun. I’m really happy about that one, so we’ll see. I’m optimistic we’ll have a future life there.
Yeah, with that cast. Congrats. I hope it does get picked up. So, I’ve got to ask the most important question. Why do you think it is Marvel doesn’t do more one-shots? Because they’re two for two now, including what you guys made.
GREEN: I don’t know. Maybe they will start doing them. I think, like you said, they’re fun. For me, it was like dropping a single on an album, you know? It’s just fun to be able to approach it with that respect, giving the audience something that they want. It was really a lot of fun for us, so I hope they do more, and I hope this is an inspiration for that.
What do you think the one-shot, 50-minute format is able to accomplish that the two-hour movie or the 8–10 episode season isn’t?
GREEN: I think it’s a toe-dip. For people who are afraid to go on a long commitment, they can start with 50 minutes. For folks that don’t know anything about the Punisher, who will be introduced to the character with this one, I think it’s, “Oh, I really like this guy. I really enjoyed that ride. Is there more?” So, it’s a short commitment, for sure. It’s a cinematic experience in a fun, digestible way, and hopefully leaves you wanting more.
So, if we’ve done our job right, hopefully there’ll be future Punisher, in whatever form, whether it’s film or TV, whatever route that they want to go. We know that he’s going to appear in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, but after that, we’re not sure where the Punisher goes, but hopefully that is a way for them to gauge audience reactions, what they want and demand for the character, and give us more runway to do something bigger and better in the future.
You’ve worked with Jon [Bernthal] previously, obviously. At what point did you two actually start talking Punisher and possibilities, and how does it correlate to mentioning it to Marvel? Were you guys talking about doing something and then going to Marvel? What’s the timeline?
GREEN: I think Jon has been talking about this for a lot longer than I have. He’s lived with the character. He’s been with the Punisher for a long time. This was introduced to me about a year and a half before we started filming, was when I got wind of it. He told me he was going to do a special. To be fair, I didn’t know I was going to be called for it. I didn’t know I was going to be the right guy for the job, and even so much so, I asked Johnny, “Are you sure?” Going from tennis balls to bullet wounds is a different thing. I’m a nonviolent guy, and so it’s just a different lane for me to play in, which was a lot of fun.
But yeah, to have that buy-in from the actor, I think, is super important. For Jon to see something that I didn’t even see in myself, I think, was important. And I was a Punisher fan as a kid, but it had been 25 years before I opened up the comic books again. I had kind of shelved everything as a teenager. So, here I am now, grown, with school-aged kids. It was fun to dive back in.
So, yeah, when Jon approached me with it, I think he had already had those conversations with Marvel about doing it. It was going to be sort of a gloves-off type situation. He kind of knew the story that he wanted to tell. He had sort of cracked early versions of the script, so he had been working on this for a good long while before I came into it. I think it was good for me to have a bit of distance from the character.
Where Does the ‘Punisher’ Special Fall in the MCU Timeline?
“There was an inside job, so to speak…”
So you two sit down, you’re writing this thing. How much in the writing process did you know, “Well, we’re going to have this much money. We’re going to have this much time to shoot,” and how does that correlate to the screenplay you’re working on, or was it a result of, “Let’s write our screenplay, and then let’s see how much of this we can actually do?”
GREEN: I think it was probably somewhere in between. I didn’t know how much to begin with, not that that was the reason to do the project. Once Jon said that I was the guy, and I committed to it, and Jon knows this about me, I’m 110% once I’m in. So, it’s about diving in, getting into character.
Of course, the budgets reveal themselves, and days started getting a little shorter, and we were saying, “Okay, well, we can’t do this. We can’t do this.” But to be fair, I don’t look at anything like a limitation. I think they’re all opportunities. We knew this was going to be a special. What is essential to telling the story? Where is his headspace at? That doesn’t change anything. I think it may change the number of bodies that can fall off roofs, it can change the number of backgrounds, but ultimately, if you have committed actors and crew, you can do a lot. I think we achieved a lot in 11 days, and I think ultimately, hopefully, it was all towards the story that we were trying to tell. It was wonderful that we had Jon, as committed as he is, who did all the action himself.
So, look, I don’t know if there’s a filmmaker with a budget, even up to $300 million, that says they have enough. Ultimately, can you do more with more? Yeah. But you can also maximize what you have. We were able to get Robert Elswit, one of the great living cinematographers, based on relationship. I did this based on my relationship with Jon. That was my commitment to the Marvel community, was Jon asked me to do it, I spoke with Jon, and that was my buy-in. It wasn’t about the financial aspects of the shoot or even how much we had to shoot it. And the same thing with Robert. Robert’s like, “If you’re doing it, I’m doing it.”
So, I think when you can build a team based on that, we were able to create what we could create based on our relationships to one another, and just use every limitation as an opportunity and say, “Hey, alright, this is what we can do. This is how we best achieve it. Let’s go.” We shot 11 days in New York, all on location or in Jon’s apartment, in the interior apartment. But other than that, we were really on the streets in New York, grinding with natural daylight.
Did Marvel say to you guys anything about connecting to the larger story, or were they like, “Hey, you can do your thing, but we don’t want it touching other things. It needs to just be a self-contained Punisher story?”
GREEN: There were certainly conversations about where this would live in the timeline. Nothing that felt restrictive to the story that we were telling. This was always going to be kind of a standalone special, where it sat sort of post-Daredevil [Born Again] and pre-Spider-Man [Brand New Day]. I think it was still a question, at some point, but as we started filming, there was a natural timeline that started to reveal itself. Obviously, there are a lot of sort of smart people at Marvel who were able to quickly connect those dots, but I never felt those limitations, or, “You can’t do this, you can’t do that.”
I think because Jon, who this was really kind of his baby, this was something where he knows the character very well. It was easy for him to adapt. It wasn’t a difficult thing for him to know where the character was or where the character was headed. He also knew that he was going to be in Spider-Man, so I think there was an inside job, so to speak, that Jon, the character himself, was also aware of where his character was going based on the next project he was getting ready to go off and do. So, we had a timeline that really happened organically.
‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ Is Officially Doubling Down on the Most Divisive Peter Parker MCU Trend
Mark Ruffalo and Jon Bernthal also star in the MCU film.
There is a crazy amount of action in this for such a short shooting schedule. Is it one of these things where Jon and the stunt team are doing a lot of rehearsals in advance, so when you’re on set, you’re able to get the maximum time you have for the days you have? And part two, how long did you have to shoot that building sequence? Because it’s crazy how much action you pull off and the extent of the violence that you pull off in a Marvel one-shot.
GREEN: Yes, Jon certainly was rehearsing. He knew almost every move before we filmed it. We had three pre-visualizations, so our stunt supervisor and our stunt coordinators would work it out on the stage, we would see it, we would approve it, we would go back, and we would adjust. Then Robert Elswit and myself would then go watch those stunt rehearsals, and then we’d say how we would film it versus how they would do it on a stage, obviously with different cameras.
But the design really started happening even before we were finished with the script. A friend of mine, Will Poulter, a great actor, recommended a series called Gangs of London, which I hadn’t seen. He said the action in there was great, and I said, “Okay, great.” There’s a guy named Jude Poyer Jude had designed the stunts there. I’m living in London, and he was living there, so I thought, “Oh, I have access to him very early on.” We didn’t have a lot of prep time for this, so we could at least start talking about the character, the state of the character, what we were doing, and what the action would look like. So, we had early conversations with Jon, who was living all the way in LA at the time, that were able to kind of inform those early passes of the script based on the action that we were talking about.
Then, when we got on the ground, it really took a full team operation. Jon has a long-standing stuntman, Eric [Linden], but Jon also being the person who does all of his stunts, we really set him on fire, we really dropped him from buildings, and obviously he’d spent all those years on The Walking Dead. We brought on a guy named David Conk, who was also super instrumental in helping us orchestrate. So, that whole collective, together, was instrumental in helping us with the pre-visualizations, shooting that previs, approving that previs before we would then go to shoot it because we didn’t have a lot of time, as you said, on location to do that.
But our part of our job was really designing it based on the story, based on the intention, based on, “Why would he do that? What’s the reaction to that?” So really trying to be story-driven with the action so that it doesn’t just feel like he’s just killig for no reason, that there was an intention behind the killings.
And then obviously, the precision in which the Punisher works, how do we orchestrate that so that feels very, very real and authentic? We also had one final beat, which is the military consultants that we had not only as consultants but also as actors in the film. The guys who are in that room with John are real ex-military, real ex-Green Beret. You have folks who are military trained to help Jon orchestrate that. So, we had a lot of hands on deck when it came to the authenticity of the fight sequences. But yeah, a lot of time went into the design of them so that we were not just running on the day without knowing what we were going to do.
You guys pulled off an awesome action set piece. So a lot of Marvel stuff has an after-credits scene. How much did you guys debate having an after-credits scene, and did it come close?
GREEN: No debate on my end. It didn’t come up as far as I was aware. It was never something that was discussed internally on my side.
Judith Light’s Marvel Villain Is a Perfect Opportunity for More ‘Punisher’
“Selfishly, it’s great for us as fans.”
Judith Light plays Ma Gnucci. She obviously escapes at the end. How much was that a conscious choice to leave a breadcrumb, in case you guys wanted to do more, and how much did you debate him taking care of her before this thing ended?
GREEN: We love the question mark. Selfishly, it’s great for us as fans, and hopefully, we’ll see more of her and more of Jon. So, for us, it was kind of fun to leave the open door, but it also made the moral choice just that much harder in the piece. You either go after her or go save a young innocent, and we see the decision that Jon made in that moment.
Judith is incredible… I mean, she’s been around for forever. I met her at the Sundance Lab years ago as an actress there, and what a terrific talent. And I think what was so great is Jon had brought her name up, and I thought she was so fascinating. She is not somebody that you would expect in the Marvel Universe, and I thought that was what made that casting choice so interesting and unique. She’s terrific. She’s fun. She’s different than the comic, in a good way. It was just fun to play with, and I think together on screen they were really electric.
Obviously, this one-shot really deals with the mental health of Frank Castle, and really gets in there. Can you talk about the way you and Jon wanted to make sure that you’re honoring so many people who are going through mental health challenges, especially members of the military, and can you talk about the writing and the shooting, to make sure you tried to do it the best you could?
GREEN: Again, Jon really is very, very close with the military community. There was a gentleman by the name of Nick Koumalatsos, who’s an actor in the film, as well, but he was really there from the early stages with Jon, talking about PTSD and the conditions that some of these military guys go through. And Colton Hill. These guys were critical to Jon’s psychological state. They would talk about what it’s like coming home from war and the things that they faced. So, I know for sure it was about trying to do honor and justice to the military community first and foremost, and that was driven by Jon’s total and relentless commitment to that community and getting it right.
So, that really drove where Frank’s psychological state is at the start of our piece and where he ends up. I know that had to go into the early stages of the draft and obviously into the piece that we ended up coming with. But those guys were instrumental in helping Jon really create that psychological state, and critical to the foundation of what you see in our piece.
What was it like in the editing room with the one-shot? Did you end up having a longer cut, or was this always about what it was going to be? Did you end up with a lot of deleted scenes?
GREEN: Not really. To be fair, we didn’t have a lot of time for deleted scenes, which is great. It’s very rare when you get into the edit and you don’t have to kill all your darlings, and so on. So, that was kind of exciting, but also scary when you’re like, “Oh, we actually have to use everything that we shot.” So, it’s scary when there are no second unit days. There’s no go-back-and-get-it. This is one chance.
It was great. We utilized pretty much everything that we shot, which is fantastic. I can’t really speak to a deleted scene. There might be one or two bodies that were left on the floor, so to speak, on the cutting room floor, but I think in terms of the structure and the story, this was as clean as you can get in the edit. I think it’s shorter than we had imagined, a little bit shorter, but I think that natural tightening came in the edit, for the better. I think the piece is as long as it needs to be to tell the genetic story and hopefully get fans and audiences on Camp Frank.
The Punisher: One Last Kill is available to stream now on Disney+.
- Release Date
-
May 12, 2026
- Runtime
-
60 Minutes
- Director
-
Reinaldo Marcus Green
- Writers
-
Reinaldo Marcus Green, Ross Andru, Jon Bernthal, Gerry Conway, John Romita Sr.
- Franchise(s)
-
The Punisher
Continue Reading
Two years after ending its five-season run, Taylor Sheridan’s mega Western franchise Yellowstone is expanding yet again. As you already know, there are now five series in the franchise, including the original, which ran from June 20, 2018, to December 15, 2024, on Paramount Network and follows the Dutton family who own the largest cattle ranch in Montana, the Yellowstone Dutton Ranch. This year has seen two sequels debut: Marshals and Dutton Ranch, the latter of which is still airing and is currently the most popular Western on television.
Amid the continued success of the Sheridanverse, Paramount announced tentative plans during Summer Game Fest to develop Yellowstone into a video game through its new gaming division, Paramount Games Studios. The multimedia company is collaborating with action-game developer PlatinumGames on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin, with plans to also make games for Star Trek, Avatar: The Last Airbender, and SpongeBob SquarePants, before moving forward with other projects, including adapting the Sheridanverse.
During an interview with Polygon, Shawn Kittelsen, head of creative and production at Paramount Games Studios, revealed more about what to expect. “All of the Yellowstone and Yellowstone-adjacent titles, Landman, Tulsa King, these are all priorities for us.” He also mentioned video game plans for Lioness, which returns for Season 3 this summer. Lioness, starring Zoe Saldaña, is Sheridan’s hit spy thriller centered on a CIA team that enlists female operatives to go undercover in life-threatening situations.
What Can Fans Expect From the Yellowstone Video Game?
With the game-changing Yellowstone update, Paramount execs want fans to know the video game will honor their devotion to the franchise. And this doesn’t mean these games will be rushed into development; top-tier quality is the utmost priority. That said, Paramount Games is taking every necessary step to select the “right partners” who work best for each IP, with the intention of working only with developers who already have a strong track record of making successful games. Kittelsen said as much while breaking down this new phase:
“If we build pillar by pillar, find the right partners, and make the right games for the audience, I think we can achieve massive success… Everything has to come from that player-first, fan-first perspective. We’re being much more selective about our partners because everything that we do, we don’t want to just spray and pray. Like we always say: we want missiles, not bullets.”
In the meantime, fans can keep up with the latest Yellowstone entry, Dutton Ranch, which premiered on Paramount+ on May 15, 2026, to conclude after nine episodes in July. Kelly Reilly and Cole Hauser reprise their roles from the mothership as Beth Dutton and Rip Wheeler, who gamble everything on a new life in South Texas, away from their home in Montana.
Yellowstone and Dutton Ranch stream on Paramount+.
- Release Date
-
2018 – 2024
- Network
-
Paramount Network
- Directors
-
Stephen Kay, Taylor Sheridan, Christina Alexandra Voros, Guy Ferland, John Dahl
- Writers
-
John Coveny, Ian McCulloch
General Hospital spoilers for the week of June 15th through the 19th will reveal Lucas Jones (Van Hansis) is really dead or somehow survived three gunshots to the chest. Plus, his sister Carly Corinthos (Laura Wright) is acting out when she gets more desperate about her daughter.
Let’s get into what is coming the week of June 15th. And as we always do on early edition day, we start with what’s coming the rest of this week. Then we dive into next week’s action.
General Hospital: Wednesday & Thursday – Conflict at the Shower and Desperate Measures
So on Wednesday, June 10th, we’ve got Curtis Ashford (Donnell Turner) and Portia Robinson (Brook Kerr) continuing to face off at the baby shower. This picks back up from Tuesday’s episode where Portia told Curtis he likely wasn’t going to be a good dad being basically violent and unhinged like he is. And Portia said she did Trina Robinson (Tabyana Ali) a favor by not letting Curtis raise her. Wow.
Where is Marcus Taggert (Real Andrews) when we need him? Right. So Trina’s going to leave the baby shower upset. She was really mad at Portia, if you remember, for keeping the paternity secret. But at this point, her dad, Curtis, is being a real tool. So, this has got to be super hard on Trina. Now, hopefully her pseudo mom slash second mom, Ava Jerome (Maura West), will be there to comfort her since she is at the shower. But then Trina is going to take off to go and see her friends and vent about this issue.
General Hospital Spoilers: Stella Flips Out
So, we also have usually calm Aunt Stella Henry (Vernee Watson) going off on both Curtis and Portia and telling them if that is all they care about, then their kids are going to lose. And I’m sure that is slinging accusations at each other. And I’m sure also this is Stella thinking they need to chill out, both of them. But honestly, this is 97% on Curtis’s bad attitude. If he’s not careful and he’s convicted of felony assault, he may miss the baby’s birth and wind up with restricted visitation.
Also, Carly wants to spring into action on Wednesday. But Valentin Cassadine (James Patrick Stuart) tells Carly that everything changes if they play this the wrong way. So, she may be wanting to run and report to that WSB person that Jack Brennan (Chris McKenna) asked them to go to. And Valentin wants to tap the brake because he doesn’t want to be back in Steinau.
General Hospital Spoilers: Dante Shocked by Bad News
Dante Falconeri (Dominic Zamprogna) gets some bad news. Maybe that Lucas was shot or Liesl is missing or Brook Lynn Quartermaine (Amanda Setton) is trying to point him to Willow as the other driver that Jordan ran off the road. And speaking of Willow Tait (Katelyn MacMullen), she’s panicking and tells Jack that since he can talk, the sooner she gives him the injection, the better. Willow gets an offer that’s hard to refuse, likely from Jack, he may promise to help Willow not turn her in.
And you know, she may be somebody who could help him get word to his WSB contact. But also, we saw that Nina ducked out of the baby shower on Tuesday. And if you recall, she was planning to head back to Turning Woods to see Jack. So, I wonder if Nina intervenes and stops Willow from trying to give Jack the shot if his offer doesn’t convince her daughter.
Also, Trina makes a big move, she may just cut both of her parents out of her life at this point. She’s venting to Kai Taylor (Jens Austin Astrup) and Emma and Gio saying she doesn’t want to be a part of it. So, she is done. Now, maybe it’s the showcase. But fresh off this baby shower, I tend to think that she’s done with the drama of Curtis versus Portia with a side dish of Jordan and Isaiah.
General Hospital: The Lucas Shooting Mystery
Laura Spencer (Genie Francis) is frantically smacking at Lucas’s face, asking if he can hear her. So, he’s laying unconscious after Jenz Sidwell (Carlo Rota) shot him three times in the chest. But, did you notice Lucas wasn’t lying in a pool of blood? And the fact that Laura is even there is strange. And she’s not trying to apply pressure to Lucas’s chest, which is also kind of suspicious.
That’s the first thing you do to a gunshot victim. So after three bullets, Lucas should be spewing blood because the chest, the heart, all that. And he was in that odd jacket that was buttoned all the way up and practically goaded Sidwell into shooting him. So, I suspect Lucas might be in a bulletproof vest and Laura’s smacking him to try and revive him because when you get shot like that wearing a vest, it still can take your breath and knock you out.
This might have been a setup because Lucas invited Sidwell there knowing that he had caught him right by the safe. I hope Laura and Lucas were working with Sonny Corinthos (Maurice Benard) and got him on tape. If so, the question is, will they turn the tables on Sidwell and blackmail him or just turn him over to the PCPD?
General Hospital: Thursday & Friday – New Schemes and High-Profile Arrests
Thursday, June 11th, Charlotte Cassadine (Bluesy Burke) and Danny Morgan (Asher Jared Antonyzyn) cook up a new scheme. I wouldn’t be surprised if they took off trying to find Rocco Falconeri (Finn Carr), thinking they can fly under the radar and Cullum won’t follow them. Sonny is surprised. So, he’s going to hear from Kristina this week about medical school. And Friday may actually be her last air date. That’s not confirmed. But several signs point to it.
Nina reaches out to not Nathan. So this may be about whether he has seen Liesl Obrecht (Kathleen Gati) because you know she got snatched up. So I kind of doubt he’s going to tell Nina who he is. I think he’s going to keep that circle of trust close on his identity. I do expect as long as Liesl is stuck at Wyndemere he will keep pretending to be Nathan to everybody else.
Cody Bell (Josh Kelly) impresses Molly Lansing (Kristen Vaganos). We’ll see what it’s about. But I’m excited to see Kelly Krueger make her debut in July as his sister Serena.
General Hospital Spoilers: Valentin Cautions Carly
Valentin cautions Carly. He already warned her on Wednesday to be careful. Obviously, Valentin thinks that warning bears repeating and Ava is bothered by her conscience.
Then on Friday, June 12th, Willow faces Tracy Quartermaine’s (Jane Elliot) wrath and this may be about the Chase job offer. Also, Sonny is helping Brooklyn Quartermaine (Amanda Setton). Alexis Davis (Nancy Lee Grahn) makes a good case by the end of the week and this may be in her conversation with Kristina about medical school.
Harrison Chase (Josh Swickard) makes an arrest and it’s very high-profile. So, it feels like one of two things. Could be Sidwell for trying to murder Lucas or it could be Willow for the trumped up allegations about her being the second driver in Jordan’s accident. I’m guessing Sidwell. But we will see.
Ethan Lovett (Nathan Dean Parsons) weighs his options, so he might be having some second thoughts about Phoebe. This week, Ethan has another important talk with Alexis.
General Hospital: June 15th-19th – The Search for Josslyn and Family Revelations
Then the week of June 15th through the 19th, Carly’s getting more desperate to find Josslyn. And the sooner Jack is out of Turning Woods, the better because he might be able to get a bead on her. But Ross Cullum (Andrew Hawkes) remains a big problem. Liesl is going to have to work on Faison’s final project and finish the prototype because she doesn’t want Josslyn or Cody at risk. I’m kind of excited to see Liesl and Cody doing mother and son bonding since she’s sad about Nathan. But also thrilled that she’s got another son.
Charlotte and Danny may land in trouble again for this latest plot. We’ve heard from our leaker that Britt Westbourne (Kelly Thiebaud) and Rocco are supposed to be on the run for all of June. So, it looks like they return or are found as July sweeps kicks off starting June 25th on General Hospital.
General Hospital Spoilers: BLQ on a Mission
Brook Lynn and Sonny work together. But it may be easier getting Sidwell out of deception if he is the one that Chase arrest this week. Plus, Trina’s frustrations are evident, understandable, and mounting. The question is, will she go confront Curtis and Portia and let them know that as long as they are at each other’s throats, she is not going to be around and playing these reindeer games. I’m sure that Trina will show up for her baby sibling’s birth. But she can still avoid her parents in the meantime.
Tracy’s keeping a very close eye on Chase. She does not trust him one single bit. And Ethan may get closer to Ava and I would definitely be here for that. We’ll see. Cuz she needs a man in her life and she doesn’t really need a good man. She does a lot better when she’s got a schemer on her arm.
By Doug Norrie
| Published
When it comes to icons of Hollywood, Jeff Bridges, with his raw charisma and seasoned acting chops, undoubtedly makes the list. In a career spanning decades, Bridges has taken on roles that linger long in memory, etching moments of cinematic magic. And the dude is still kicking today. Which is why it’s cool to see him starring in The Giver, a dystopian sci-fi drama that’s currently available to stream for free.
This dystopian tale sees Bridges not only as a key character but also as a driving force behind the film’s creation. If you’re looking for a deep dive into a world where emotions and memories are regulated commodities, then The Giver will definitely do the trick.
A Dystopian Adaptation
The Giver, based on the beloved young adult novel by Lois Lowry, paints a picture of a future society that has traded depth of feeling and memory for the illusion of peace and simplicity.
In this colorless, seemingly utopian world, all pain, war, and emotions have been eradicated. Every aspect of life is controlled, from the jobs citizens will hold to their family units, ensuring that there’s no room for chaos or unpredictability.
In the heart of this society stands the Receiver of Memory, a sole individual entrusted with holding onto the past. Jeff Bridges, with his signature gravitas, brings to life the current Receiver, who’s tasked with passing on the world’s memories to the next appointed individual.
Enter Jonas, played by the talented Brenton Thwaites, a young boy chosen to inherit the position and its accompanying emotional weight. As Jonas undergoes the process, he’s exposed to an array of emotions, from the joy of sled rides to the horrors of war, revealing the true cost of his society’s supposed tranquillity.
Guiding Jonas through this turbulent journey, Jeff Bridges’ character, later dubbed The Giver, becomes a mentor and beacon of truth, challenging Jonas to question the very fabric of their existence.
The Need To Preserve History
The duo is complemented by a remarkable cast including Meryl Streep as the Chief Elder, the leader of the community with a staunch belief in the system, and Katie Holmes and Alexander Skarsgård as Jonas’s assigned parents, figures that exemplify the society’s detached demeanor.
Odeya Rush plays Fiona, Jonas’s interest, and a symbol of the natural human connections that the community suppresses.
Director Phillip Noyce weaves this intricate tale, touching on profound themes of memory, individuality, and the essence of humanity. Throughout The Giver, Jeff Bridges acts as the linchpin, embodying the pain of the past and the hope for a more genuine future, navigating Jonas and the audience through the stark contrast between the real and the artificially manufactured.
The film not only poses challenging questions about society and morality but also showcases the power of human connection and the importance of preserving our collective history.
The Reception To Jeff Bridges And The Giver
The Giver arrived in theaters with high expectations, thanks to the cherished status of Lois Lowry’s source material. From a box office standpoint, the film enjoyed moderate success. Released in August 2014, it grossed around $67 million globally against a production budget of approximately $25 million, proving that audiences were curious about this cinematic adaptation of a much-loved novel.
Critically, however, The Giver garnered a mixed reception. On one hand, some lauded the film for its performances, particularly that of Jeff Bridges and Meryl Streep. The dystopian narrative, rich with thought-provoking themes, also earned praise from several quarters. On the flip side, many critics felt that the film didn’t capture the full depth and nuances of the book, leading to challenges in fully conveying the story’s emotional weight. There were also concerns about the film’s pacing and certain changes made in adapting the story for the big screen. It’s sitting at a paltry 34 percent on Rotten Tomatoes.
The Giver is currently available to stream for free on Pluto TV, Sling TV, Fandango at Home, and The CW. While critics were divided on the adaptation, there’s still something to be said for giving it a second chance, especially for Jeff Bridges’ performance as the keeper of a world’s forgotten memories.
Tom Felton will probably always be Draco Malfoy first in the public imagination, which is both a blessing and a weird career trap. Harry Potter made him instantly recognizable, but it also means every new role has to fight through two decades of audience memory before viewers judge it on its own terms. That is why his recent genre work, which is now headed to HBO Max, carries substance.
The movie had a rough theatrical life. It opened on March 27, carried an R rating, leaned hard into blood, gore, dark comedy, cult violence, and survival-action chaos, then ended up grossing only about $19 million against a reported $20 million budget. That is a bad theatrical equation, but horror has always had a different afterlife than most genres. A movie can miss in theaters, land digitally, and find the right late-night audience. The Empty Man, Malignant, and Jennifer’s Body are good examples of this behavior.
Felton’s latest film is They Will Kill You, and it hits HBO Max on June 12, 2026. Zazie Beetz leads as Asia Reaves, an ex-con who takes a housekeeping job at the Virgil, only to discover the building is basically a death-trap tied to a demonic cult. Felton stars alongside Myha’la, Paterson Joseph, Heather Graham, and Patricia Arquette, with Kirill Sokolov helming the script he co-wrote with Alex Litvak. The critical response has already split in the exact way cult horror often does on RT — the movie has a 64% score from critics, 77% from audiences. The movie is as if Ready or Not, John Wick, and Looney Tunes had a baby with pure chaos. HBO Max is probably the better arena for that kind of movie anyway.
Tom Felton Has a Total of 56 Acting Credits, Including an Upcoming Film
Felton’s post-Harry Potter career has been less blockbuster-heavy, which is why his filmography is easy to underestimate. IMDb lists him with 56 acting credits, but most viewers probably remember only the cleanest post-Draco pivot as Rise of the Planet of the Apes, where he played another smug, cruel young antagonist right as the Potter era ended.
Since then, he has moved through indies, genre films, TV, music video, and smaller dramatic roles. His upcoming film As Deep as the Grave, however, gives him a more interesting historical lane, and casts him as archaeologist Earl H. Morris in a story about Ann Axtell Morris and Canyon de Chelly, with the project also drawing attention and controversy for its AI-generated Val Kilmer performance. As Deep as the Grave is currently in its post-production phase, with no clear release date.
They Will Kill You will be available to stream on HBO Max starting Friday, June 12, 2026. The film will then make its debut on the HBO cable network on Saturday, June 13, 2026, at 8:00 p.m. ET. Stay tuned to Collider for more updates.
- Release Date
-
March 27, 2026
- Runtime
-
94 Minutes
- Director
-
Kirill Sokolov
- Writers
-
Kirill Sokolov, Alex Litvak
The epitome of cinematic excitement at its heart-racing best, the action–thriller genre has produced a plethora of iconic hits over the decades, ranging from bombastic and bizarre ’80s hits to daring and dashing gems of modern times as well. The nature of action cinema’s sheer spectacle means there is something of a trend of genre films becoming more sensational over the years, as the technology and resources available to filmmakers have evolved exponentially.
However, it isn’t always the case. Plenty of action-packed thrillers haven’t just endured over the years, but have genuinely improved, be it due to their slick sense of style, the momentous scale of their production, or just the pure joy of watching practical effects in this modern age of CGI. Ranging from defining blockbuster classics of decades long past to some more recent classics that have enshrined themselves among the most exhilarating movies of the 21st century thus far, these action-thriller masterpieces only get better with every year that passes.
‘Hard Boiled’ (1992)
Hong Kong has long been a heartbeat of action brilliance on the international stage, dating as far back as the martial arts movies of the 1970s and right up to the abundant, unbridled excess of modern-day gems. Hard Boiled is something of a classic of the region, a no-holds-barred blitz of balletic brutality that follows a vengeful cop and an undercover mole as they bring down a reign of violence on the crime syndicates that have turned the city into a warzone.
While it is anchored by strong character dynamics and an emphasis on ideas of brotherhood, duty, and conviction, Hard Boiled has earned its enduring brilliance through the precision of its practical action effects. Director John Woo captured the ultra-violence with long, steady tracking shots that revel in the majesty of the “Gun-Fu” style with gleeful abandon. Of course, this is also a significant feat of stunt co-ordination and physical performance. These elements conspire to make Hard Boiled an ageless triumph of action-thriller mayhem, and a true highlight of foreign film.
‘The Raid’ (2011)
Emblematic of action cinema at its bruising and brutal best, The Raid excels at operating with such violent ferocity, and yet such artfulness and precision, that it is awe-inspiring from beginning to end. When a police operation to take down a drug lord in a Jakarta apartment block goes awry, a rookie cop and his team must use their limited resources to fight off waves of gangster thugs while working towards their target.
Director Gareth Evans places a tremendous amount of trust in the martial arts mastery and physicality of his actors, operating with subdued shots and simple, invisible editing that allows the combative prowess of the stars and the choreography to take center stage. It is a treat of hand-to-hand combat action that all lovers of the genre are sure to enjoy, especially in today’s cinematic landscape dominated by special effects and CGI.
‘Kill Bill Vol. 1’ (2003) & ‘Kill Bill Vol. 2’ (2004)
Heavily inspired by everything from spaghetti Western cinema to Japan’s revenge dramas of the 1970s, Kill Bill is a medley of style and influence that unfurls as the most action-packed movie Quentin Tarantino has directed thus far. Utilizing everything from surrealist martial arts action to anime flashbacks, arresting and vibrant colors, and a trademark appetite for visually spectacular blood splatter, it casts a wickedly enchanting spell. It follows The Bride (Uma Thurman) in her vendetta to kill the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad, a team of elite mercenaries that she was once a part of.
Most notably, the Kill Bill movies have aged well because they excel as a propulsive vision of violence and vengeance. It’s all brilliantly supported by eye-popping action, memorable and exciting characters, and an adherence to practical effects that is perhaps even more palpably exhilarating today than it was in the early 2000s. The duology has achieved status as two of the most iconic pictures of the 21st century thus far.
‘V for Vendetta’ (2005)
Based on Alan Moore’s graphic novel of the same name, V for Vendetta is an enticing spin on superhero drama, following masked vigilante V (Hugo Weaving) as he rises against the authoritarian leaders of a futuristic and totalitarian Britain. In 2005, the film was an exciting and stylish action flick that handled its ideas with impressive care without ever sacrificing blockbuster spectacle. In today’s world of superhero excess, V for Vendetta is even more impressive.
Set in the midst of an oppressive regime’s reign of power, it holds a thematic might that most other movies in the genre lack. V for Vendetta explores confronting ideas of state surveillance, media manipulation, and societal control while still reveling in the superhero appeal of V’s mission. Interestingly, Moore’s original comic book was written as a critique of Margaret Thatcher’s tenure as the British prime minister, making it an eerie commentary on the cyclical nature of power and politics that is again so relevant in today’s world.
‘Casino Royale’ (2006)
The James Bond franchise is one of cinema’s most interesting. It has often struggled to grasp a sense of true timelessness, with even the very best of its earlier classics still tinged with scenes of chauvinism and misogyny. However, Casino Royale presented a distinct turning of the page that modernized 007 with a grit that resonated with 21st-century audiences while still maintaining the franchise’s appetite for suave sophistication and style.
As Daniel Craig’s debut in the role, Casino Royale is a groundbreaking new vision of the iconic character that fills its extensive 144-minute runtime with a seamless procession of captivating action, awe and smooth-moving storytelling. Even as ensuing Bond films have impressed, Casino Royale remains a timeless gem, a stunning example of what the franchise could be at its progressive best. It stands tall among the most energizing and extraordinary spy movies of all time.
‘Terminator 2: Judgment Day’ (1991)
35 years have passed since Terminator 2: Judgment Day first hit cinemas, and yet the thrilling James Cameron blockbuster remains a perfect example of how to incorporate new filmmaking technology into a major studio production. An amalgamation of sci-fi, action, horror, and thriller, the legendary sequel sees the T-800 (Arnold Schwarzenegger) sent back in time to protect a teenage John Connor (Edward Furlong) from the pursuit of an advanced Terminator machine, the T-1000 (Robert Patrick).
Its hybrid of practical effects and CGI is a marvel that hasn’t aged a day, while its sentimentality and heart give it an emotional pull that many modern action-thrillers foolishly neglect, if not avoid altogether. T2 remains one of the most exciting and entrancing movies the genre has ever seen, a glorious highlight of the blockbuster brilliance of yesteryear that flaunts action scenes that still engross and characters that still mean something to the viewers.
‘Mad Max: Fury Road’ (2015)
Only 11 years have passed since Mad Max: Fury Road first released in theaters, and yet the reputation and status of the movie has grown exponentially in that time to the point it’s already revered as one of the defining movies in action history. Directed by George Miller, this operatic chase through a post-apocalyptic wasteland sees roguish nomad Max Rokitansky (Tom Hardy) join forces with a fleeing warrior and a warlord’s brides to escape the clutches of Immortan Joe (Hugh Keays-Byrne), his frenzied “War Boy” army, and the despair of the Citadel.
Ceaseless, propulsive, and relentless throughout its two-hour run, Mad Max: Fury Road is as high-octane as cinema gets, a thrilling non-stop fight for survival and freedom that marries efficient and energized storytelling with ravishing action filmmaking across the board. While several action blockbusters from the mid-2010s have already aged poorly due to their heavy reliance on CGI, Mad Max: Fury Road only grows more gorgeous with every rewatch, establishing itself as a true modern masterpiece of the genre and a defining highlight of 21st-century cinema at large.
‘The Dark Knight’ (2008)
Another example of an early superhero classic that has remained at the pinnacle of the genre courtesy of its thematic convictions and the confronting darkness of its story, The Dark Knight is arguably the emblematic blockbuster of 21st-century cinema so far. Following Batman (Christian Bale) as he struggles to protect Gotham from an anarchistic terrorist seeking to plunge the city into chaos, it endures not only as a heart-pounding and propulsive epic, but as a fascinating examination of the nature of symbols in society as well.
Its moral complexity and the web of ethics and responsibilities the Joker (Heath Ledger) ties Batman and Gotham City in makes for a sense of psychological tension that no other mainstream superhero movie has been able to match. In fact, there are very few action-thrillers that can rival The Dark Knight in terms of its visceral, nerve-rattling brilliance. Also bolstered by Sir Christopher Nolan’s insistence on ageless practical effects, Ledger’s unforgettably perfect performance, and the grounded realism it employs, The Dark Knight is a classic that only grows in stature with each passing year.
‘Heat’ (1995)
A thrilling crime epic that also boasts some of the greatest action set pieces cinema has ever seen, Heat is a defining classic of ’90s cinema. Following two characters on opposite sides of the law, it unfolds as calculating robber Neil McCauley (Robert De Niro) plans one final heist with his crew before retirement while Lt. Vincent Hanna (Al Pacino) sets out to thwart his plans of collecting one final big score.
While the entirety of the movie’s 170-minute runtime is masterful, few viewers will ever forget the famous shootout scene in the streets of downtown L.A., a ferocious battle of unrivaled tactical realism that stands as arguably the greatest action scene of all time. It is a great testament that the scene, and the other high-intensity moments of the film, almost eclipse the appeal of De Niro and Pacino acting alongside each other for the first time despite their decades-spanning career. Complimented by Michael Mann’s astute direction and immersive sound design, Heat presents a pulsating action spectacle that is impossible to forget.
‘Die Hard’ (1988)
Every Christmas seems to be the rewatch schedule for Die Hard in a lot of households, and it is easy to see why. It follows New York cop John McClane (Bruce Willis) as he finds himself embroiled in a nerve-rattling battle when terrorists take over the Christmas party of his estranged wife’s workplace. Die Hard is an enthralling and deceptively clever movie that grounded ’80s action excess in a more contained sense of tension, and transformed the muscle-clad, invulnerable hero into a relatable everyman.
For these reasons, Die Hard has aged far more gracefully than many of its contemporaries. Its screenwriting precision, perfect balance of suspense and entertainment, and litany of faultless performances have seen it remain an unrivaled classic of the genre even after almost 40 years. It is still heralded as a defining benchmark of action-thriller cinema, and it seems that every December, when it is watched again, it only grows greater.
Blueface is turnin’ heads and leaving internet users wondering if he’s trying to shoot his shot with LisaRaye McCoy.
RELATED: Switchin’ It Up! LisaRaye Sparks Mixed Reactions Following Her Recent Wardrobe Refresh (WATCH)
Is Blueface Trying To Shoot His Shot With LisaRaye?
On Tuesday, June 9, Kia Todd, a talent agent, took to Instagram to share footage from her time apparently escorting LisaRaye McCoy at the 6th Annual Hollywood Unlocked Impact Awards. Furthermore, the footage showed Blueface standing near McCoy as he seemingly told Todd he was going to “crash out.”
“Y’all think I’m playing. I’m not playing, bro,” he said before turning to look at McCoy. “If she’s me, I’ll stop cheating. I’ll stop cheating for her. I’ll stop cheating for her. You gon’ tell her after this?”
Ultimately, Todd captioned the clip, “Haha @bluefasebabyy was so serious bout my girl
@thereallraye1 😂😂😂 Yall believe him???! 😂🫣…”
Peep the clip below.
Social Media Is REACTING
Social media users slid into TSR’s comment section with a plethora of reactions to the clip of Blueface and LisaRaye McCoy.
Instagram user @sue.bankss wrote, “She ain’t paying him no mind 😭😭”
While Instagram user @simply.shaiyah added, “now how he even get in the same room as LisaRaye?”
Instagram user @_sp0ildchic wrote, “He don’t want LisaRaye, he wants Diamond 😂😂😂😂”
While Instagram user @dswervyyy added, “Get tf away from her NEOWWWWW!”
Instagram user @_relleshanel wrote, “Boy plz she too grown and u don’t make enough 😂😂😂😂”
While Instagram user @bigheadloudthoughts added, “I know she heard him but was ignoring tf outta him”
Instagram user @nitakproductionsllc wrote, “Who wants a grown man with scribble scrabble all over his face…I don’t think Lisa does😂”
While Instagram user @hectorcamacho631 added, “She’s upset that he thinks he can talk to her 😂”
Instagram user @mamanezzy_ wrote, “I mean……Birdman got Toni Braxton 🤣🤷🏾♀️ stranger things have happened”
While Instagram user @issheemmamarie added, “You got Walgreens tatted on your face bro goodbye 💀😂😂”
Before The Clip Showed Blueface Alongside LisaRaye, He Turned Heads With THIS
Before the footage showed him alongside LisaRaye McCoy, Blueface was already turning heads at the 6th Annual Hollywood Unlocked Awards. As The Shade Room previously reported, when photos initially surfaced of Blueface at the event, they showed him donning a suit. Subsequently, social media users went IN with reactions in TSR’s comment section.
One person wrote, “THE TIE IS PISSING ME OFF”
While another added, “Looking like a public defender on the weekdays and a used car salesman on the weekends suit.. 😩😩🙏🏽”
RELATED: Hol’ On! Blueface Stepped Out Wearing A Suit & Social Media Users Can’t Stop Talkin’ About One Thing (PHOTOS)
What Do You Think Roomies?
Entertainment
Matthew Broderick calls Jack Lemmon's 'effortless' performance in “The Apartment” 'the hardest thing to do'
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():format(jpeg)/matthew-broderick-jack-lemmon-the-apartment-061026-389628b64a8c49c28a027c51cdb0b079.jpg)
Lemmon was nominated for an Academy Award for playing C.C. Baxter in the 1960 film.
By Jonathan Klotz
| Published
Comedy is hard to do right. Science fiction is hard to do right. A sci-fi comedy is nearly impossible. That’s what makes Resident Alien one of the best series of the decade. It’s a funny, well-written sci-fi comedy allowed to tell a complete story from beginning to end. After originally airing on SyFy, the series went to Netflix, and now, the final season has arrived for you to easily binge Alan Tudyk’s greatest performance.
The Perfect Role For Alan Tudyk
Tuidyk plays “Harry Vanderspeigle,” or rather, the alien with a name humans can’t pronounce, impersonating the town doctor (also played by Alan Tudyk in flashbacks), whom he accidentally killed when landing in Patience, Colorado. Harry learns medicine by watching Law & Order, and slowly picks up on human emotions, customs, and social cues as the series goes on, all to further his mission to exterminate the human race. Early on, he realizes that a young boy, Judah, can see his true alien form. He tries to exterminate the witness, but fails, and ends up befriending him instead. Be a different series if the bone saw had worked.
The first few episodes have the other residents of Patience playing the straight man to Harry’s quasi-murderous antics, before Resident Alien finds its groove and settles in. As the seasons go on, Harry finds an ally in Judah’s mom, Asta (Sara Tomko), and a new enemy when the government moves into Patience, which, as with Stranger Things, is represented by Linda Hamilton as a no-nonsense extraterrestrial hunting General. Hamilton isn’t the only sci-fi cameo. Resident Alien is filled with familiar names and faces having the time of their life on the show.
Alan Tudyk’s Firefly co-stars, Nathan Fillion and Jewel Staite, turn up as a telepathic octopus and an FBI Agent respectively. Clancy Brown, Terry O’Quinn, George Takei, and Stephen Root all drop by while behind the camera, Star Trek Voyager’s Robert Duncan McNeill is often directing the big episode of the season. When the star of the show is one of the most beloved performers in Hollywood, it’s easy to get everyone to show up.
Resident Alien Is The Decade’s Best Sci-Fi Series
Resident Alien is an absolute blast of a series. It’s a throwback to the old SyFy slate of Eureka and Warehouse 13, and the only show this decade to nail that vibe. It took a while to catch on. Season 1 flew under the radar with barely a million viewers for each episode. Once it was available on streaming, it became a social media hit, and viewership boomed. Now that it’s complete on Netflix, expect it to again experience a new surge in popularity.
There’s a lesson to be learned here by studios about producing original sci-fi, or well, almost original, since it does adapt the comic book series by Peter Hogan and Steven Parkhouse, and then giving them room to grow, develop, and find their audience. Too often, sci-fi shows are canceled after one season before anyone even knows how great it is. Resident Alien did everything right, barely survived for four seasons, and is now going to be your new favorite series
![90 Day Fiance: Mallorie Serves up a Redneck Welcome - Recap [S12E05]](https://wordupnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/90-Day-Fiance-Mallorie-1024x576.jpg)
On 90 Day Fiance, Mallorie prepares Rasit for life in the south by throwing a redneck party to welcome him. Edward Miguel Gomez arrives at Marissa Rubinetti’s house and quickly learns the rules. Ashia and her mom make the trek to Nigeria. Josh Atkins is hurt by Catie Norboe’s admitted indiscretions. And Mohamed “Mido” Fayed shows a dark side to Debby Rolando. Let’s break it all down in this recap of Season 12, Episode 5 Something Old, Something New.
90 Day Fiance: Mallorie and Friends Welcome Rasit
On 90 Day Fiance, Mallorie wants Rasit to feel comfortable in his new home in Alabama. But a visit from her friend Brandon leaves Rasit uneasy. Because at one time Brandon was a friend with benefits. Mallorie assures him that was in the past. But she’s not giving up Brandon as a friend. Because after her car accident he cared for her dogs. And supported her in her time of need. But Rasit doesn’t agree. And calls him Brandy.
Later Rasit battles for space in the bed with Mallorie’s dogs. He succeeds in getting them out of the bedroom so he can have alone time with Mallorie. In the morning the couple enjoy a coffee run in the rain. Mallorie gets emotional admitting that some of her friends have actually referred to Rasit as a terrorist. Because of his Muslim faith. She asked her friends not to include them at the welcome party for Rasit.
Mallorie’s friends are throwing a “white trash bash” to welcome Rasit to the south. It includes plenty of drinking and themed outfits. Rasit jumps right in donning a red, white and blue bandanna with attached mullet. He isn’t shy, shot gunning a beer and taking a shot with Brandon. He tells Mallorie he wants a word with him. And jumps on Brandon’s open truck tailgate. Brandon cites that as pure disrespect. And Rasit struggles for the right words. For now.
90 Day Fiance: Edward Learns the House Rules
Edward Miguel Gomez arrives in America and Marissa Rubinetti is eager to get him home on 90 Day Fiance. He’s impressed to see her house on a treelined suburban street. It reminds him of the house on Home Alone. He’s even more impressed with the inside. But wasn’t expecting Marissa to start rattling off rules. First, he has to remove his shoes. And she suggests he’s getting a privilege her ex-husband did not. Permission to use the master bedroom bath.
Edward Miguel Gomez is eager to show off his surgery down under. Marissa Rubinetti is pleased with the results. In the morning she serves up a protein shake and some packaged cold hard-boiled eggs. Edward is enthralled with the sink that turns on with a tap of the hand. During a power walk Marissa sets up what will happen later in the day when her ex-husband Michael will drop off the kids. She advises him not to go head-to-head with her ex.
Michael arrives with the kids who are happy to see Edward on 90 Day Fiance. Michael is aloof but polite, suggesting he thought Edward was shorter than he is. Edward takes this as a stab at him. But later when the two men talk alone, Michael warns that he will fight anyone over the kids. But also cautions Edward about Marissa’s wealthy parents. Who made him feel less than. Edward heeds the warning and assures Michael he’s not aggressive but can hold his own.
90 Day Fiance: Ashia Heads to Nigeria on a Mission
90 Day Fiance newbie Ashia is on a mission. After her fiance Maxwell was denied a k-1 visa due to “fraud” she’s determined to get to the bottom of things. Her mom is accompanying her on the trek. Her friend drives her to the airport. But she’s got plenty of questions and doubts. Ashia doesn’t appreciate the negative energy. She has faith in the lord and her relationship. But if there is a secret uncovered, she’ll bolt.
Mother and daughter make it to Nigeria. Maxwell is waiting with flowers. He’s put on a few pounds at Ashia’s request. He admits she films his bald spots while he sleeps. He’s working on his skincare too. Ashia is pleased with his beefier physique. But admits the skincare still has a way to go.
90 Day Fiance: Josh and Catie Get a New Place
Josh Atkins is a nice guy on 90 Day Fiance. He laughs often at his fiance Catie Norboe’s quirks. But some of her behaviors stress him out. Such as getting black out drunk and asking her friends to kiss her on the lips while he was there. Josh worries what his future will be like. The pair are packing up to move into an apartment she rented sight unseen. And Josh is concerned what they will be walking into. Catie’s OCD kicks in and she forces Josh to check every inch of the hotel with her.
The couple arrive to the complex and discover it’s spacious but the floors are concrete. Catie Norboe has prioritized packing an adult toy and Josh Atkins finds it funny until she suggests using it on him. A tiny twin bed with a nasty mattress makes Josh uneasy. Catie is less bothered citing differences in how they see things. But after she makes up the bed they cuddle together and realize there’s a loud noise to deal with every time the garage opens in the building.
90 Day Fiance: Debby Sees the Dark Side of Mido
Debby Rolando is frustrated with Mohamed “Mido” Fayed giving her the silent treatment. She rented a bigger apartment to keep him happy. Mido pouts that she didn’t capture him on video driving the moving truck. He trots downstairs and says good morning to a weepy Debby. Who says she didn’t sleep well after the argument. She suggests going out to breakfast so they can have a conversation.
Mido is aggravated and brings up how in his culture the woman should respect the man on 90 Day Fiance. He thinks since she hasn’t lived with a man in so long she has forgotten. But Debby is no pushover in spite of being head over heels with him. Mido is rude, self-centered and clearly not invested. He brings up his dream of acting again. Debby recognizes this as a red flag. But still asks him for a ring. Till next time!
More than 30 years after first suiting up as Buzz Lightyear, Tim Allen is still finding new adventures. This summer, the actor returns as the beloved Space Ranger in Toy Story 5, the latest chapter in a franchise that has become a touchstone for generations of families. Looking back, Allen is struck by the enduring success of the Pixar phenomenon, which premiered in 1995 as the world’s first fully computer-animated feature film. “It’s an amazing part of my life,” the 73-year-old actor tells Us Weekly. “Buzz has become such a part of me, and vice versa.”
In part five, Buzz, Woody (voiced by Tom Hanks) and the rest of the gang compete against the allure of tech after their owner, 8-year-old Bonnie, acquires a tablet named Lilypad. The passage of time since the original wasn’t only reflected in the storyline — Allen admits he received some constructive criticism when he sat down to film the new installment. “In their nicest way, Pixar said, ‘Buzz sounds a little old these days,’” he says with a laugh. The actor worked with an opera singer from New York to learn how to relax his voice. “I’d never warmed up before, but the longer you do this, you just can’t start off; you have to do warm-ups.”
Buzz is just one of many iconic characters the stand-up comedian has portrayed during his impressive film and TV career. After starring as Tim Taylor in the hit ’90s series Home Improvement, he went on to do nine seasons of Last Man Standing and, in 2025, he struck sitcom gold again with Shifting Gears. (He portrays a widowed dad who owns a classic car restoration business — Allen is a car enthusiast in real life, too. Season 3 begins filming in July.) “The fact that Shifting Gears is a success… I don’t sit with that very often, because who cares, really?” he says, adding, “Looking in the rearview mirror is a recipe for disaster. I just love entertaining.”
The dad of two (he shares Kate, 36, with ex-wife Laura Deibel, and Elizabeth, 17, with his wife of 19 years, actress/producer Jane Hajduk, 59) chats with Us about family life, his offscreen bond with Hanks and the latest on a Home Improvement reboot.
Congrats on Toy Story 5! What can you tell Us about the movie?
When we did Toy Story 4, I said, “We need a little more Buzz in this.” I was kidding, so it was very startling when I saw the storyboards. I said, “OK, you took that seriously.” It was very challenging to be that many Buzzes, and then it got very confusing [as to] who’s talking to who, and I’m not sure exactly how they smoothed it out, but it was very funny to be part of that. [The film features a whole cargo container of Buzz Lightyear toys becoming part of the action.]
The first film came out in 1995. Why do you think the franchise has been able to span multiple generations?
Essentially, it’s a story about a wonderful friendship. Kids recognize it, and adults recognize it, and they’ve added a whole color palette with the other toys, so it’s like a little community. I think [if it were with] stick figures, it would still be very popular.
What’s the best part about playing such an iconic character?
Seeing a kid’s face when I say, “To infinity… and beyond!” Tom taught me this trick — we’ll have [kids] shut their eyes and turn around, and then we do Woody and Buzz, and to see the look on their faces… What these characters have done for them is what Mickey and Donald Duck did for me at a certain time in my life. I think it’s time to [do] a high-end Donald Duck and Mickey Mouse [project], because those two were Woody and Buzz for me when I was a kid.
Does everybody know what time it is? That was the famous phrase that came out of Home Improvement, the ABC sitcom that aired from September 1991 to May 1999. The 30-minute comedy followed Tim “The Toolman” Taylor (Tim Allen) as he hosted a home-improvement show titled “Tool Time,” even though he’s not at all a […]
Is it cool when young family members discover you’re Buzz?
My niece just had her second child, and it’s amazing when the kids realize their uncle is Buzz Lightyear. I try to explain I’m not actually Buzz Lightyear, but then it gets creepy, like, “How come you sound like him, and you look like this?”
Did you have any idea the franchise would become so successful?
When we first saw Toy Story, everybody was in the room going, “I don’t know what to make of this.” [The] powers-that-be were very unsure it would [translate]. [They] thought, “Maybe we just go right to DVDs.”
This film pits the toys against tech. What did you think of that angle?
I’m amazed Pixar did this. They’re into tech, and yet they’re putting a light on their own tech. That scene where all the kids are on their phones in the houses, everybody got very quiet in the screening room. It was courageous to re-encourage kids to play.
Disney has said it plans to keep the franchise going. Where would you like to see Buzz go in the future?
I always thought it would be interesting if Buzz realizes where he was built. I love the indication that all of us can reinvent ourselves. I still have my girls’ stuffed animals. They throw them away for a while, but my daughter, every now and then, she still picks up this bear.
Do you remember watching your kids play with any toys for the last time?
I do. I got my daughter a lion rocking horse from FAO Schwartz when she was really little. She played with it, then she put it in a corner of her room, then it’s in the living room, then it’s just become [like a] sculpture. My daughter will watch the nieces, nephews and everybody’s kid play with it the same way she did. My mother — who’s really failing at 97, she can’t see or hear anything — [was over for] our big Thanksgiving dinner, and out of nowhere she goes, “That lion still looks at me.” I don’t know how she remembered it.
You’ve accomplished so much in your career. Do you ever have pinch-me moments?
Yes. There was a poster that said [I had the] No. 1 book, TV show and movie, and it all happened on a Monday. It’s funny, my publicist didn’t know it, Disney didn’t know it, ABC didn’t know it — but there was a Monday when Home Improvement and The Santa Clause were No. 1 and I’d done a book [1994’s Don’t Stand Too Close to a Naked Man]. I’ll always look back and be content with that. Some great high-profile actor who I know saw me at an event and said, “You just keep reinventing yourself,” but I never look at it that way. I love what I do, so opportunities come up, and I take them.
Are there challenges to working in the biz at this point in your life?
I’m getting too experienced. I’ve done so many things that when we start a new project, it’s challenging to hear new people tell me how the business works. I’m respectful because they’re either bosses or higher-ups, but the comic [inside me] wants to say something outlandish. There’s a point where you’re too mature for something [so you just say,] “You guys deal with this, and I’ll deal with something else.” There are moments where I lose my patience, but I don’t want to be rude. I don’t want to be like, “Don’t look me in the eye.” I’m a successful actor because of the people who watch and because of the people who do all the real work, from craft services to camera people.
Your daughter Elizabeth played your daughter in the Disney+ series The Santa Clauses. What was that like?
We did Zoom auditions for the other actors, and [the producers said], “Who’s that reading with you?” And I said, “That’s my daughter, but she’s in school, and I don’t even want to think about [that].” Eventually, they said, “Can she read for the big role?” and she ended up playing my daughter. She’s really good at school, and her mom and I wanted her to finish that. But there was a scene where she was very upset [and] dare I say, she’s a natural. I hugged her as Santa Claus, but it was Dad and daughter there, and I told her as I walked away [feeling] very emotional, “This is going to sit with me forever.”
You’re close with Tom Hanks and Jay Leno. How important are those friendships to you?
When I’m around all my showbiz friends, there’s a camaraderie because they know exactly what it’s like [to be famous]. So then it’s about, “What are your kids doing?” It levels [things] off.
How do you feel about fame?
I’m more of an introvert than I thought I was. I don’t really like crowds. Sometimes I just want to eat my lunch or go to the dry cleaners. It’s a pleasure to have people love what you do. I love doing stand-up, and I’m getting more authentic on stage, and I love that moment of connecting with people. It’s a paradox: I love entertaining crowds, but I don’t like being in crowds. When I get out by myself, I’m a pretty quiet person.
Before you had kids, what kind of dad did you think you’d be?
I never really wanted to be a dad. I joke about it on stage; I’ve just never been a real fan of children. As people have said many times about parenting, you go through all this [stuff] to get a driver’s license or a passport, but there’s nothing about [raising] children. It was a work in progress. My wife says we wish we’d had five kids because you learn on the first two. With Kate, I was gone a lot, so her mom did most of the raising. I come from [a family of] seven boys and two girls, and it’s a very different world to me with girls. I have a different view of what will make a strong woman. The girl stuff I have little interest in — clothing, looks, gossip, and all that — [I focused on] learning finances, learning how to take care of yourself, and that works for boys and girls.
Were you scared of being a girl dad?
No. My sisters are well-rounded because they were around a very strong mom, and these girls are around strong moms. There’s a connection between moms and sons that’s undeniable, and there’s a connection between fathers and daughters that’s undeniable. We communicate on a different level. I didn’t realize how much I got through to my older one [but] now and then she’ll say, “You used to say this all the time,” and I go, “You actually listened.” Both daughters are very creative and self-assured, [more] than I was. They have natural abilities I never had, and they’re very modest about it.
What was it like for them to grow up with such a famous dad?
[With Elizabeth] it’s a double-edged sword. I’m able to be of assistance because I can put attention on things that can be helpful for her school, but it also gets in the way because I think people treat her differently to get access to me.
Are you in constant contact with your girls?
I adore my older daughter’s husband and they don’t live far away, and I see her all the time when we’re shooting Shifting Gears because she’s in the production office. Sometimes I’m in a crotchety mood when I’ve been working eight hours and I don’t want to deal with minutiae and she goes, “Just call me,” because she’s very good at that. She’ll stare me down [sometimes]. I tell her, “You’re the only one that ever talks to me like that.” My youngest and I love watching Avengers movies — I learned this from an old friend — make a movie night with your kid, along with a date night for your wife. Our joke is I’ll say, “I love you more than anything,” and she goes, “Well, I love you more.” It seems like the silliest thing, but we just did it about 25 minutes ago.
You lost your dad at a young age. [He was killed by a drunk driver in 1964.] How did that impact you?
I kind of turned into a different person after that. Trauma has that effect. I turned into my spiritual or metaphysical or religious self. My blood father was really involved in pruning the car [and] all the stuff I really like now. My dad got me into that. I really missed that connection. I didn’t have that with my stepfather, but he was an extremely wonderful guy.
When you were younger, you got off on the wrong foot — how would you say those experiences shaped you into the person you are today?
I’d lost focus after college, where I got into criminal stuff. [Allen spent two years in prison.] When I was incarcerated, I started reading books [about] men and women who had been successful out of nowhere, and I started focusing on where I wanted to be. I did not want to do that ever again. I humiliated my family and friends and myself. I did not want to make that mistake [again].
Disney/Mike Taing It didn’t take long for Kat Dennings and Tim Allen to build a real-life bond similar to their Shifting Gears daughter-dad duo. “It clicked pretty fast. We had lunch after I accepted the role and I felt immediately like I could trust him for some reason,” Dennings, 38, exclusively shared in the newest […]
You and Jane will celebrate your 20th anniversary in October. What’s your secret to a successful marriage?
I think a sense of humor saves us so many times. We both struggle with golf, and [we were talking about how] Elizabeth will be a senior next year, and we’re going, “What’s that going to be like?” and then Jane sat in the golf cart and said something really funny. I’d forgotten how much I adore her sense of humor. We’re very different people. She’s a very good athlete and got me involved in training, and she’s a staunch Catholic, and I joined her with that. I’m not a Catholic, I don’t belong, so I don’t have to obey the rules, but I think she admires that I made that move. We both pull a bit on either side. We’re pretty good buddies.
How does faith fit into your life?
I’ve been a questioner most of my life. It’s been a long path to learn [how to] accept things as they are. If I look back at the horrible things that have happened to me or to others, am I supposed to be OK with that? Or is it none of my business? For a long time, I still enjoyed church services now and then, but underneath I was going, “I don’t like this creator because you can take anybody any time you want for no reason.” I remember one time a Catholic school bus fell off the road somewhere… I spent some time in behind bars, and there’s never a prison bus on the way to court that gets hit by another truck; it’s always a school bus. I’ve learned to stop asking.
How are you feeling about your youngest daughter flying the coop next year?
We’ve gone down to her room to say “good night” since she was a little kid, and now she’s up with glasses on and with her computer, finishing her math homework. She still says, “Are you guys coming down to say good night?” I told her I’m probably going to come down for quite a while after she’s gone. I’ll just sit in that room because I will really miss her presence.
You were 55 when you had Elizabeth. Did you set out to do things differently with her?
I was not sober for some of [Kate’s] formative years. I made amends to her. With the younger one, I see how much different it is when I’ve been sober almost 30 years. She never knew any of that guy. I’ve thought about it many times, and I’ve talked to Kate, and she doesn’t hold it against me.
How has sobriety changed you?
I’m still the same lunatic. I have a group of guys, we’ve been meeting for over 20 years; it’s all about honesty.
What can you share about season 3 of Shifting Gears?
My relationship with the grandkids is growing, and my son came back from the Navy. My question is — and we haven’t talked about it yet — but is [love interest] Jenna [Elfman] going to move in with me, or am I going to move in with her? I’d like to stretch it out where we’re just dating for a bit. A show I really like is Kim’s Convenience — it [split] out from the different apartments and everybody’s got their own life; our show has [the] capacity to [do that with] Kat [Dennings] and her kids if they move out. I don’t want them to because I love them, but you’ve got so many great people who can do a scene by themselves.
You’ve mentioned doing a new version of Home Improvement. Where does that stand?
They keep talking about how it could move forward, but they get stuck [because] there are some personality problems right now with the boys. [Zachery Ty Bryan was arrested in November 2025 over a domestic violence violation; he was previously arrested for suspicion of DUI, felony assault and robbery; in 2024, Patricia Richardson said on a podcast that fellow alum Jonathan Taylor Thomas isn’t “interested in acting.”] They’ve got their own issues. I always thought it would be cool if it was a story about them. That’s a little challenging right now, to put it mildly.
You’re also doing stand-up again…
My younger brother encouraged me to be more ad-libby, so I spend 20 minutes [talking about] what’s going on in my life. It’s been amazing. I have my big block of material, but I’m opening up.
What’s left on your to-do list?
My older daughter and I have traveled a bunch, we got close to Antarctica and the North Pole, but scheduling [didn’t work out]. I really want to do those. Those are on my bucket list.
Well, we have to get Santa to the North Pole…
That’s right!
For more on Tim Allen, watch the exclusive video above and pick up the latest issue of Us Weekly — on newsstands now.
NewsBeat2 minutes ago
England vs Costa Rica LIVE: New kick-off time confirmed after thunderstorm havoc and delay
Business3 minutes ago
US stocks: US market indexes fall over 1%, dragged by tech and Iran war worries
Crypto World4 minutes ago
it’s Bitcoin’s problem, not Ethereum’s
-
Fashion5 days agoWeekend Open Thread: Evereve – Corporette.com
-
Crypto World5 days agoJensen Huang Approves Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron for NVIDIA (NVDA) HBM4 Memory Supply
-
Crypto World3 days agoAnatomy of the June crypto crash: Fed, Iran, Saylor
-
Entertainment4 days agoThe Best Mystery Series of All Time Is Surging on Streaming 30 Years After It Ended
-
NewsBeat3 days agoAlexander Zverev wins the French Open to finally earn a 1st Grand Slam title
-
Tech5 days agoSuspicious Polyfill login prompts pop up on Toshiba, Muji websites
-
Crypto World4 days agoSenator Cynthia Lummis Calls CLARITY Act the Most Consequential Financial Legislation of This Generation
-
Tech5 days agoMicrosoft launches MXC, an OS-level sandbox for AI agents, with OpenAI and Nvidia already on board
-
Tech3 days agoMicrosoft unveils seven homegrown AI models in new bid for ‘long term self-sufficiency’
-
Business5 days ago(VIDEO) Justin Bieber Delivers Surprise Happy Birthday Serenade to Diners at Los Angeles Mexican Restaurant
-
Business4 days agoThe Pain Points Taking a Fragile Tech Rally Down a Notch
-
Crypto World2 days agoEli Lilly (LLY) Stock Surges 4% Following Breakthrough Sleep Apnea Trial Results
-
Crypto World5 days ago
LBank Surpasses 25 Million Users Worldwide as AFA Partnership Continues to Drive Global Growth
-
Tech5 days agoVon der Leyen’s AI envoy pick draws conflict-of-interest fire
-
Crypto World3 days agoTrump’s AI Ownership Plan Could Benefit Anthropic at OpenAI’s Expense
-
Tech5 days agoMeta steals a tactic from Tesla and builds data centers in tents
-
Sports1 day agoBangladesh beat Australia after 20 years in ODIs, register only their second win over six-time world champions | Cricket News
-
Business3 days agoHigh Stakes for Wembanyama as New York Pushes for 3-0 Lead
-
Tech5 days agoHackers now exploit SolarWinds Serv-U flaw to crash servers
-
Tech3 days agoNotion restores access to Anthropic after service disruption
You must be logged in to post a comment Login