Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers for Daredevil: Born Again Season 2 Episode 8.Daredevil: Born Again has been, admittedly, quite hit-or-miss with audiences. Some have praised the series (especially the second season) for its attempts to recapture the look and feel of the original Netflix Daredevil series. Others have criticized the Disney+ revival for its departures from the cast dynamics that made the original great, as well as its obvious political allegory. Whichever side of the camp you fall, it’s abundantly clear that Born Again is not the ratings success that Marvel likely hoped it would be. But there is one thing that may just turn the tables on the series ahead of its upcoming third season: Spider-Man.

‘Daredevil: Born Again’ Hasn’t Been the Ratings Hit That It Should Have Been

Despite the fact that Daredevil: Born Again premiered to 7.5 million viewers on Disney+ back in 2025, the series itself has since failed to chart in either its first or, again now, in its second season. For such a highly anticipated MCU series, that’s a big deal. But even more damning is that ComicBookMovie reports that, according to a third-party estimation, “Daredevil: Born Again Season 2 has accumulated 4,515,000 season views.” Comparatively, the outlet notes that “Season 1 generated 8,357,000 season views,” which means that Born Again has seen a nearly 50% decease in viewership since its debut. No amount of critical praise or build-up was enough for some to dive headfirst into the Disney+ revival, which simply isn’t pulling in an audience. With Season 3 still underway, we have to wonder if even the return of the Defenders — who have been confirmed for next season — could change that.

There are a plethora of possible reasons why Daredevil: Born Again has failed to measure up in the ratings game. For one thing, the first season was cobbled together after a creative overhaul that some believe didn’t do enough to distance itself from the original tone and narrative pre-Dario Scardapane, Justin Benson, and Aaron Moorhead. While the overhaul certainly allowed Born Again to feel more akin to the original series, the controversial decision to kill off Foggy Nelson (Elden Henson) and write off Deborah Ann Woll‘s Karen Page for much of the season, combined with the heavy-handed Trump allegory, likely sealed the deal for many. Born Again‘s first season may have outshined, say, The Defenders, but it struggled to touch the original series at its peak. So, by the time Season 2 took those lessons to heart and further corrected some of its past mistakes, audiences were no longer interested.

Of course, what might actually make an impact on the ratings future of Born Again is if Charlie Cox‘s Daredevil were to appear in Spider-Man: Brand New Day this summer — and we do mean Daredevil, not Matt Murdock, who previously showed up as Peter Parker’s (Tom Holland) lawyer in Spider-Man: No Way Home. We’re talking masked heroes in live-action, battling common street-level crooks and supervillains on the rooftops and back alleys of New York City. Since Marvel appears to be rebranding the MCU Spider-Man as a more “street-level” hero — a term dropped by Vincent D’Onofrio‘s Kingpin in Born Again Season 1 — it stands to reason that perhaps the best way to get audiences to return to that corner of NYC is by giving us the Spidey/Daredevil team-up we’ve long hoped for. And some of us have been waiting since Tobey Maguire and Ben Affleck wore the masks and skin-tight outfits…

‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ Presents a Golden Opportunity for Daredevil

Although the Season 2 finale, “The Southern Cross,” could certainly complicate things for this MCU crossover, there is no telling when exactly on the timeline that Brand New Day is set. What little we see from the trailers shows Spider-Man battling members of The Hand, the assassin organization that Matt battled back in Daredevil Season 2 and The Defenders. One shot even looks as if Spidey and The Hand are fighting in prison, which could connect to Matt’s fate in the finale. (Alternatively, this could be a montage sequence chronicling Peter’s life post-No Way Home, leaving the door open for Daredevil to appear.) With The Hand’s return, it may be possible to see Spidey battle the Hand alongside Daredevil — especially if we consider Marvel Studios’ practice of promoting their films with incomplete or deceptive shot compositions. In any event, this could be a moment of synergetic crossover that could work in Marvel’s favor.

While Daredevil has always been a part of his own corner of the MCU, Spider-Man has intersected with the entire franchise, and his popularity alone may help boost The Man Without Fear ahead of his third season next year. Prior to Born Again, Daredevil and Kingpin appeared on shows like Hawkeye, Echo, and She-Hulk: Attorney At Law, all building toward their eventual revival series, and there’s no reason that technique could not be replicated. (Even Jon Bernthal‘s Frank Castle, who began his run on Daredevil, is showing up in Brand New Day, leaving us to wonder if Matt isn’t far behind.) Seeing the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen in action beside our friendly neighborhood Spider-Man may just be the best thing for Born Again‘s image — and Daredevil’s MCU future.

Daredevil: Born Again airs Tuesdays on Disney+.

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Release Date

March 4, 2025

Network

Disney+

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Showrunner

Dario Scardapane

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Directors

Aaron Moorhead, Justin Benson, David Boyd, Jeffrey Nachmanoff

Writers

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Jesse Wigutow, Jill Blankenship, Thomas Wong, David Feige, Grainne Godfree

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President Donald Trump is apparently concerned for Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes’ health after his season-ending injury last year.

“Most importantly, how’s Mahomes doing?” the president, 79, asked Slap’s BBQ owners, Mike and Joe Pearce, of the NFL player’s status while hosting the brothers at the White House on Monday, May 4, according to a video shared via X.

Mike and Joe assured Trump that Mahomes was recovering, but Trump seemed unconvinced and had more than a few follow-up questions.

“Is he going to be OK?” he asked, before sharing, “You tell the people we love him. He’s gotta be OK.”

Trump also asked the Kansas City locals if they thought Mahomes would make it on the field for the start of the 2026-2027 NFL season. The eatery owners told Trump they were “hoping” Mahomes would be able to suit up for the season opener in week one. (The NFL has not released its official schedule at the time of publication.)

“He’s gonna be close right?” Trump asked of Mahomes’ status, again, before calling the quarterback a “fantastic guy.”

Trump also asked the brothers if they have interacted with Mahomes or any of the Kansas City Chiefs players. The restaurateurs shared that the Chiefs organization has ordered from their restaurant “quite a bit from time to time.”

“You let him know, I want him to get better fast, I hope he plays the whole season,” Trump reiterated.

Mahomes ended the NFL season early last year after tearing his ACL and ICL in December 2025. After undergoing surgery, Mahomes gave an update on his recovery process and his hopes for the following season.

“The doctor kind of gives you goals to get to,” he shared via a January Instagram video. “I just try to maximize those — they hold me back, because I always want to go a little bit further. I want to be ready for Week 1.”

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Related: Patrick Mahomes Stuns Fans With Major Health Update During Offseason Rehab

Patrick Mahomes gave Kansas City Chiefs fans plenty of reason to be optimistic with a video from his offseason rehab program.  Mahomes, 30, shared a clip of his workout via his Instagram Story on Wednesday, March 25, showing the quarterback moving with relative ease just over three months after suffering a season-ending torn ACL and […]

The quarterback continued, “The doctors said I could be, but I can’t predict what happens throughout the process. You want to be out there healthy and give us the best chance to win. I hope to do some things in [Organized Team Activities] and training camp, and be able to do a lot there.”

Coach Andy Reid has also remained optimistic about Mahomes’ reuniting with the team.

“Every player is different. I will tell you though, I would never bet against him,” Reid, 68, said during the NFL’s annual meetings in March, per ESPN. “He’s going to put in the time and effort and always push it but within reason, so he doesn’t take steps back.”

Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers for the Daredevil: Born Again, Season 2 finale

As Daredevil: Born Again reaches its Season 2 finale Tuesday night on Disney+, everything is unraveling at once in the tense hour of “The Southern Cross.” Our titular hero, Daredevil, played by Charlie Cox, exposes himself as Matt Murdock to stop Fisk (Vincent D’Onofrio). But it’s that courthouse sequence that turns the sophomore season into a real battleground — and bloodbath. Just as Fisk loses control of the narrative he’s been carefully building all season, Wilson Bethel’s sharp-shooting Bullseye shows up. Not so much as part of the plan, but as the thing that completely breaks things apart.

That unpredictability carries into the episode’s final moments, too. In an interview with Collider, Bethel hints that ol’ Poindexter’s story is far from over, especially once Mr. Charles (Matthew Lillard) enters the picture. “Bullseye at the end of the day, in a lot of the comics, is just a straight-up hitman for hire,” he says, adding that “I don’t think it would be out of the realm of possibility for a government to be the one that comes up with the money to hire him.”

It’s that last scene of Dex with Charles on the plane that reframes Daredevil’s nemesis as not exactly rescued or redeemed, but possibly stepping into something bigger and more dangerous. Because, as Bethel points out, his character is still “operating for himself and through his own very specific lens.” Whatever deal he’s making now, it’s likely on his terms since that finale twist feels less like an ending and more like a handoff that leaves Matt behind bars, Fisk in exile to a lonely island, and Bullseye heading somewhere no one can really control.

Bethel Brought Back One Tiny Bullseye Habit From Netflix’s Daredevil

Dex’s coin trick was Bethel’s way of showing how Bullseye constantly sharpens his killer instincts.

Image via Disney+

Before we talk about the finale for Daredevil: Born Again, what’s a small detail about Bullseye this season compared to the Netflix seasons that fans might not notice, but you really love that you brought to the screen?

BETHEL: That’s a cool question. Well, one thing I brought back from the Netflix show, it’s a small detail, is this thing that Bullseye does with the coin in his fingers. He does it at the diner. He does it, I think, in another scene as well. That was something I started back in the Netflix days. It was this idea I had that Bullseye is somebody whose hands are so essential to who he is as a killer that he is always sort of honing his dexterity. So that’s just a little thing that he does to keep his hands fresh.

I love bringing stuff like that in. There are a lot of little things. There’s one scene that got cut, unfortunately, that I loved that was a sort of throwback, and there’s still a piece of it in the show, but now you won’t quite catch it, maybe. In Episode 4, when Daredevil comes to Dex’s apartment, and they have the fight in the apartment, Dex has got a Discman on, and one of the original ideas there was that he’s got the old tapes that he used to listen to, back in the day, in the Netflix show. But anyway, those are a couple of little details.

Those are great. So, when Bullseye tells Matt he killed Foggy, there’s no remorse in that conversation. It’s just sort of a fact. Is that how he processes it, or does he understand the weight of what he’s done to somebody who really cared about someone else?

BETHEL: That’s a great question. Empathy is not really part of Dex’s skill set, so he might be able to understand it on an intellectual level to a degree. What’s fascinating to me about that conversation is that the emotion that’s coming from Dex is about his own struggle and has really nothing to do with what poor Matt’s been through with the death of his best friend. That’s one of the confounding, interesting, and really fun-to-play elements of this character is that he is so in his own world. What’s happening in other people’s hearts and other people’s minds just doesn’t even register on his radar. He’s operating for himself and through his own very specific lens. Of course, that can mean that his perception of a larger reality is extremely skewed, which, again, is what makes it fun.

Bethel Breaks Down Bullseye and Karen’s Haunting Reunion

Bullseye’s first words to Karen matter because longtime Daredevil fans know exactly what those two words mean.

Image via Disney

For sure. You’ve had some great scenes this season, also, with Deborah [Ann Woll]. I thought that was a great scene, the moment you guys are sharing. There’s this push and pull of her being so upset and angry, and she just wants to kill him.

BETHEL: Literal push and pull! She pushes me away, pulling me in with a gun to my head.

What was that like sharing that scene with her? It is so emotionally charged.

BETHEL: Dude, for starters, Deborah is obviously a powerhouse in this show. I think that in so many ways, she’s sort of the emotional heart of this whole show, and when she gets to really show that off, and when her character gets dropped into those moments where she’s feeling so much, I think it just draws the whole narrative, in an amazing way, together.

I loved getting to do that scene, partly because the emotional stakes are obviously so high, and I think she carries that so well, and that these two characters, again, just speaking on what we mentioned before in the other part of the interview, there’s so much history now between these characters. It really makes it fun, man. So when Dex, in that scene, wakes up out of his little semi-coma or whatever, then his first words are, “Hello, Karen,” anybody who’s been watching the show since the Netflix days knows that those two words mean a lot.

It was very haunting — almost sort of chilling in that sense. Throughout the season, Matt refuses to let Bullseye kill Fisk because it would make Fisk a martyr. Knowing what the politics behind all that is, do you think Bullseye understands that kind of long-term thinking at all, or is he sort of like in his own element right now?

BETHEL: To my earlier point, I don’t think it really concerns him. He has his own point of view, and he’s so firm. Nothing you’re going to say is going to talk him out of his point of view. So, yeah, he’s not logical.

That’s such an interesting thing about him. I used to wonder, in past seasons, obviously, maybe he’s got a little bit of a heart there. Maybe he does care more than you see. But then you see the opposite.

BETHEL: Just to be clear, the two things are not mutually exclusive. You know what I mean? Like, this is a mentally ill person. So, it’s not that he doesn’t have a heart. It’s that his brain is so tremendously clouded and afflicted that he can’t see things clearly a lot of the time. But I think that’s one of the interesting things is that, I think there are moments from when we first started doing this series where Dex’s heart actually is visible in different ways, and part of that is what has allowed people to respond to this character as much as they have and why he, to most people’s eyes, does not register as a traditional villain in a lot of ways. Because there’s a lot going on under the surface that you can’t necessarily fault him for, and that he is very clearly human. He’s not just like some robot killer.

Also, with Bullseye cutting through Fisk’s fake Bullseye team, taking over the sniper position, that felt like he was reclaiming his identity in real time. Did you approach that as him correcting an imitation, or like, “This is who I am. Don’t mess with me?”

BETHEL: It’s funny, I don’t think that I actually thought of it that way when I was shooting it, but I actually like your version. So now, if anyone else asks, that is Bullseye reclaiming himself. Hell yeah, girl! Thank you for that.

Bullseye’s Plane Scene May Point to His Next Shady Mission

The finale with Mr. Charles suggests Dex may be recruited into something bigger, not simply rescued.

Image via Prime Video

[Laughs] You’re totally welcome. So by the end, when Bullseye is on the plane with Mr. Charles, Matthew Lillard — great to see him on the show — it does feel like he’s being absorbed into something bigger. I know you can’t say too much, but there is that Easter egg of Mr. Charles speaking to Allegra, which we assume is her. Do you want the audience to feel like he’s being rescued or recruited, or just reassigned somewhere?

BETHEL: Yeah, I think there’s a very fair assumption to make, and I certainly won’t push back on it. We know from the comics, too, that at various moments, Bullseye has worked for the government in all kinds of shady capacities. Bullseye at the end of the day, in a lot of the comics, is just a straight-up hitman for hire, and so, I don’t think it would be out of the realm of possibility for a government to be the one that comes up with the money to hire him.

I know you said that Bullseye has this trajectory where he doesn’t really see anything else outside what he wants, but going from working under Vanessa to potentially working with Mr. Charles, does that feel like progress for him or just like the same cycle under a different boss?

BETHEL: I think it all depends on the terms of the arrangement. How much freedom does a guy like that get to be who he is? I think that’s what it comes down to. With Vanessa and with Fisk, in their separate arrangements, whether from Season 3 of the Netflix show or Season 1 of Born Again, those were both versions of Dex operating from a weakened position of leverage. With Fisk, he was being actively manipulated. With Vanessa, he had to make that deal essentially to get out of an institution; otherwise, he was going to die there, probably, and that is how he got his mind back. But I like to think that if he’s making any kind of bargains or deals about what his future holds at this point, he’s doing it from a position of power, and I think that gives him a lot more freedom.

Bethel Knows Exactly Which Marvel Heroes Bullseye Should Fight Next

Bethel hopes Tom Holland makes another Spider-Man movie — and that Bullseye gets to be part of it.

Image via Sony Pictures Releasing

I know you can’t get into specifics, but what does that ending suggest to you about his future in the MCU, and is there a character you’d love to see him go up against?

BETHEL: Man, look, one of the things that I think is amazing about this character is I think he would operate so well in so many different scenarios and contexts. Obviously, he’s not a character that would function particularly well against, like, Galactus, but I think it would be a hell of a lot of fun to see him up against somebody like Spider-Man. It’d be a hell of a lot of fun to see him against somebody like Hawkeye. It would be a hell of a lot of fun to see him go up against Punisher. So I think there are a lot of different avenues that this character could continue to be used in, and I sure hope I get to do a lot more of it.

I know that Spider-Man’s coming up, and the Punisher is in it, so who’s to say?

BETHEL: Let’s just hope that Tom Holland decides to do another one, and I can be a part of that one.

Daredevil: Born Again is now streaming on Disney+.

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Release Date

March 4, 2025

Network

Disney+

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Showrunner

Dario Scardapane

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Directors

Aaron Moorhead, Justin Benson, David Boyd, Jeffrey Nachmanoff

Writers

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Jesse Wigutow, Jill Blankenship, Thomas Wong, David Feige, Grainne Godfree

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Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni have officially brought their year-long legal battle to an end, reaching a settlement on Monday, May 4, just two weeks before they were set to face off in court.

The resolution may have closed the case, but it has opened up a new debate online. Fans quickly took to social media to argue over who truly “won,” with some pointing to Lively’s earlier courtroom setback, where a judge dismissed ten of her 13 claims, as a sign Baldoni had the upper hand.

Others, however, questioned why Baldoni and his legal team agreed to a joint statement at all, suggesting that the move undercut what some believed was growing momentum in his favor.

Lively and Baldoni have officially settled their long-running legal battle, bringing an end to months of back-and-forth between both sides.

The two stars, who worked together on the film adaptation of “It Ends With Us,” reached an agreement on Monday, signaling a dramatic close to the dispute that began after she accused Baldoni of sexual harassment on set, along with several other claims.

Following the settlement, the pair released a joint statement, emphasizing that despite the legal turmoil, their experience working on the hit film remained a source of pride.

They also stressed a shared commitment to supporting survivors of domestic violence and fostering safer workplaces.

“We acknowledge the process presented challenges and recognize concerns raised by Ms. Lively deserved to be heard,” the statement read, per Page Six. “We remain firmly committed to workplaces free of improprieties and unproductive environments.”

Fans Debate ‘Winner’ In Lively-Baldoni Settlement

Following news of the settlement, fans quickly flooded social media to debate who actually came out on top. Many argued that, despite the legal outcome, the battle may have already been decided in the court of public opinion.

“I honestly don’t think it does. They’re taking the high road, and there’s really no win for Lively in the court of public opinion,” one Reddit user wrote, adding that the backlash surrounding the case may linger beyond the settlement.

Another user echoed a similar sentiment, suggesting that any potential courtroom victory would have struggled to outweigh the negative attention generated during the dispute.

Still, not everyone was convinced the saga is truly over. “This CANNOT be the end. I refuse to believe they went through years of torment for it to end with this,” a third commenter wrote.

Blake Lively Was Bent On Seeing The Case Through To Trial

Weeks before their settlement, Lively had made it clear she was prepared to take her legal battle with Baldoni all the way to trial, even after the major setback when a judge dismissed most of her claims.

That ruling left her with just three claims to try to prove in court, namely breach of contract, retaliation, and aiding and abetting retaliation.

In a statement shared to Instagram at the time, she said she was not only seeing the case through for her sake but also for those “who don’t have the same opportunity” and can’t fight for themselves.

Lively’s Unsealed Conversation Shows How She Threw Jabs At Baldoni

During Lively’s deposition, previously private conversations were released, showing the actress and then-close friend Taylor Swift taking pointed jabs at Baldoni as tensions escalated behind the scenes.

In one exchange, Swift allegedly referred to the actor in harsh terms, suggesting he “knows something is coming,” according to PEOPLE.

Elsewhere, emails revealed Lively reached out to Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez, asking them to watch her cut of It Ends With Us amid the ongoing dispute. Another message showed Lively asking Swift to endorse a version of the film’s script “even without having read it,” with the singer responding that she would support her.

Blake Lively Attends Met Gala

Lively made a headline-grabbing return to the Met Gala on Monday night, marking her first appearance at the star-studded event in four years. The actress turned heads in a flowing multicolored Versace gown, confidently posing for cameras and smiling as she walked the red carpet.

Her appearance, however, arrives amid growing chatter about her standing in Hollywood following the legal drama. According to the Daily Mail, an unnamed industry insider claimed the lawsuit has significantly damaged her reputation, alleging it could affect future opportunities.

If you’re after traditional Westerns, you’re not going to find them here. The movies that make up Robert Rodriguez’s Mexico trilogy are all a little offbeat, unusual at times, and also a good deal more violent than most Westerns. Not, like, Bone Tomahawk level or anything, but they’re probably not the sorts of Westerns your dad or grandfather would like, unless they’re open-minded, or they might if they dug spaghetti Westerns back in the day. Not that these are spaghetti Westerns, but they’ve got that sort of attitude and playfulness, all the while being very, you know, Mexico-heavy. It’s the Mexico trilogy, or it’s sometimes called the El Mariachi or Desperado trilogy.

Those are the two movies that begin the trilogy, which things come to a messy and explosive climax with Once Upon a Time in Mexico, which isn’t quite Once Upon a Time in the West or Once Upon a Time in America quality-wise, but it’s about what you’d expect an epic, by Rodriguez’s standards, to look like. He’s always been an interesting filmmaker, having made some very violent and goofy movies alongside some very nonviolent goofy movies, like Spy Kids. And there was also Alita: Battle Angel, and the visually distinctive Sin City. But… sorry, no. Best to stick to the Mexico trilogy. Not a bad place to start, since El Mariachi is an almost perfect introduction to Rodriguez’s filmmaking style in a couple of ways.

What Happens Throughout the ‘Mexico’ Trilogy

What happens in these movies? It’s not super important. It’s not a trilogy like The Lord of the Rings is a trilogy, but it isn’t as loose as, say, a thematic trilogy like Edgar Wright’s Cornetto trilogy. It rides a line between narrative and thematic trilogy, possibly being most comparable to the three Sam Raimi-directed Evil Dead movies, just because they got more polished and expansive – not to mention increasingly comedic – as they went along, and the trajectory from El Mariachi to Desperado to Once Upon a Time in Mexico isn’t too dissimilar.

In El Mariachi, the titular character is not yet played by Antonio Banderas, but Carlos Gallardo instead. Mariachi is going through a town, all of it with a very neo-Western feel, and then he’s mistaken for a criminal, which sends his life temporarily into violent chaos. He has to fight his way from/through a bunch of adversaries. Then, in Desperado, the budget was much bigger, and the narrative got a little more ambitious, with Mariachi seeking revenge after losing much of what was important to him during the chaotic events of El Mariachi. Salma Hayek memorably joins the cast here, while the likes of Steve Buscemi (playing a character named Buscemi), Cheech Marin, and Danny Trejo are all fun in supporting roles. There’s more revenge being sought in Once Upon a Time in Mexico (Mariachi can’t catch a break), and a whole heap of wacky characters that make it veer perhaps a little close to broadly comedic territory at times.

The Significance of the ‘Mexico’ Trilogy Within Robert Rodriguez’s Filmography

Image via Sony Pictures Releasing

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Johnny Depp, Mickey Rourke, Eva Mendes, Enrique Iglesias, and even Willem Dafoe (the latter in a somewhat questionably cast role) all appeared in Once Upon a Time in Mexico, and it signified that Robert Rodriguez had really made it, as a full-on director, by this time. Like, Depp was in the game-changing Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl the same year Once Upon a Time in Mexico came out, and he has a sizable role in the latter, so that likely raised the trilogy’s – and Rodriguez’s – profiles further. Once Upon a Time in Mexico had problems, but it showed he could do something bigger than he had before, and if it led to him getting a job as the co-director on the remarkable Sin City two years later, then that can’t be anything but a good thing.

It’s most interesting to consider El Mariachi within the filmography of Robert Rodriguez, though. He famously made it for very little money when he was still in his early 20s, and some of that money came from the director himself participating in experimental clinical drug testing. Like Kevin Smith with Clerks, he took a huge risk and made something strange for not much money, albeit still had it feel like a risk, and then things paid off. Desperado, then, was Rodriguez doing what Raimi did with Evil Dead 2, saying, “Yeah, see what I did with a few thousand bucks? Give me a few million and I’ll blow you away.” Okay, maybe he didn’t say exactly that. But he could’ve, and then he would’ve blown them away, because he handled that far greater budget with style ($7000 for El Mariachi versus $7 million for Desperado… the El Mariachi budget went up during some extra post-production, but still, they did all the planning, filming, and editing to a standard for a home video release with $7000… the added budget was to make it look a little more presentable for a theatrical release).

How the ‘Mexico’ Trilogy’s Wildness and Sense of Escalation Make It Rewatchable

Image via Sony Pictures Releasing

The rest could be history, if Rodriguez had stopped making movies, or if he were procrastinating like Quentin Tarantino (they go way back), but Rodriguez is still active and doing his own thing. He’s a filmmaker who’s easy to respect and one worth reading into if you yourself have ever had aspirations of working within the film industry. His endeavors while making the Mexico trilogy and beyond are continually interesting, and the El Mariachi production is covered well in a Rodriguez-written book called Rebel Without a Crew: Or How a 23-Year-Old Filmmaker with $7,000 Became a Hollywood Player.

It’s fun to rewatch El Mariachi having already read about it, or it’s also one of the most enjoyable movies to revisit with Rodriguez’s enlightening audio commentary. Desperado is fun to watch again and again because it’s such a relentless action movie that wastes no time giving people what they want, and then Once Upon a Time in Mexico… well, it’s interesting. It’s a mess, but parts of that mess are fun, and the other parts of the mess you just have to struggle through. But such troubled films do sometimes find themselves worthy of critical re-evaluation eventually, one day, so who knows? It might end up happening to Once Upon a Time in Mexico. The only way to know is to not pretend it doesn’t exist and perhaps rewatch it from time to time.

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El Mariachi

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Release Date

February 22, 1993

Runtime

81 minutes

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Director

Robert Rodriguez

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Producers

Carlos Gallardo

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  Carlos Gallardo

  El Mariachi

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Prime Video has become one of the most versatile streaming services in the television world, thanks to its wide variety of original shows. Two of its biggest shows are Invincible and The Boys, which often skewer superhero conventions. In the case of The Boys, it uses the superhero genre to offer commentary on current events — even if that commentary often veers into extremely crude territory. Invincible, on the other hand, explores how being a superhero can take a toll on you mentally and physically (especially physically). While both shows have received immense praise and drawn big audiences, they were beaten to the punch by another series that satirized superheroes.

That series is The Tick, created by Ben Edlund. Based on Edlund’s original comics, The Tick follows Arthur Everest (Griffin Newman) and his encounters with The Tick (Peter Serafinowicz), a boisterous, blue-clad superhero who wants Arthur to be his sidekick. Arthur and Tick begin investigating a mysterious conspiracy involving the criminal mastermind known as The Terror (Jackie Earle Haley). While it lasted only two seasons, The Tick was a near-perfect satire series that got lost in a sea of superhero adaptations, but it still deserves its due.

‘The Tick’ Expertly Balances Comedy & Drama

Image via Prime Video

A large part of what makes The Tick work is its willingness to spoof every form of superhero media​​​​​. The Tick and Arthur live in a world populated by superheroes that include the mighty Superian (Brendan Hines) and the trigger-happy Overkill (Scott Speiser). Overkill is obviously a dig at more lethal vigilantes in comic books like the Punisher or Ghost Rider, while Superian’s eventual fall from grace predates the darker turns on Superman’s legacy that Invincible and The Boys brought to the table with Omni-Man (J.K. Simmons) and Homelander (Antony Starr). Unlike those shows, The Tick mostly plays its parodies for laughs, and more often than not, it earns those laughs.

What helps The Tick stand out from other superhero parodies is its earnest approach to Arthur’s mental health. It turns out that Arthur’s mild-mannered personality is the result of a deep-seated trauma, as he watched his father die in the middle of a battle that involved the Terror. Despite his sister, Dot (Valorie Curry), wanting him to live a normal life, Arthur eventually comes to embrace his role as the Tick’s sidekick and faces off against the Terror. The Tick beat Invincible and The Boys to the punch in exploring the balance between superheroism and mental health, and it didn’t have to shed any blood in the process.

‘The Tick’ Was Overshadowed By Other Major Superhero Movies & TV Shows

While The Tick might have been Prime Video’s first foray into superhero satire, it had to contend with a plethora of superhero shows and movies in the marketplace​​​​​​. Season 1 premiered in 2016, during which pop culture debates were sparked over Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Suicide Squad. Future episodes would have to contend with the release of other big blockbusters like Wonder Woman and Avengers: Infinity War, and Season 2 would be overshadowed by the premieres of Avengers: Endgame and The Boys. Despite this uphill battle, The Tick still managed to cultivate a loyal following, even when Ben Edlund revealed that the series wouldn’t receive a third season.

“I’m sorry we could not reward your glorious support with better news. I am so proud of the show, of the cast and crew and writers, and so warmed by the fans.”

The cancellation couldn’t have been worse, as The Tick ends with a collection of unresolved subplots. One of its cast members would go on to star in another Prime Video superhero satire, as Valorie Curry recently played the ultra-patriotic superheroine Firecracker in Seasons 4 and 5 of The Boys​​​​​​. Her appearance serves as a bittersweet reminder that Prime Video had true gold on its hands with The Tick, and that the seriesstill deserves to be watched. Invincible and The Boys might be popular picks now, but The Tick helped pave the way for their success.

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Release Date

2016 – 2019-00-00

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Network

Amazon Prime Video

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Meghan Markle was recently roasted on “Saturday Night Live,” sparking renewed debate over her standing in US entertainment and fashion circles.

Now, royal commentators have suggested the duchess’s absence from the Met Gala reflects strained relationships with key industry figures and a possible decline in influence.

While speculation continues, Meghan Markle remains active in fashion and public life, including appearances at Paris Fashion Week and recent family-related events.

“Saturday Night Live” recently made jokes about Meghan, and some royal commentators have used it as evidence that she is losing influence in the US.

Royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams noted her absence from the Met Gala, describing it as noticeable and suggesting it reflected strained relationships with key figures in fashion and entertainment, including Anna Wintour, Lauren Sánchez Bezos, and members of the Kardashian circle.

According to the Daily Mail, he claimed the Duchess of Sussex has a “disastrous habit of falling out with Hollywood’s top power brokers.”

Phil Dampier also weighed in, saying public interest in Harry and Meghan in the US seems to be fading. He suggested that the way they are being discussed and seemingly mocked in mainstream and entertainment media shows a shift in how they are viewed.

Over the weekend, “SNL” aired a sketch that included harsh jokes about Meghan, even referring to her as a “terrorist” in a fake news-style segment involving Harry and King Charles. The sketch sparked mixed reactions online.

Meghan Markle’s Met Gala Absence And Ongoing Public And Fashion Appearances

Meghan’s absence from the Met Gala in New York added to the conversation. The event was co-chaired and sponsored this year by figures linked to people she has been rumored to have tensions with, which fueled more speculation about possible fallout.

There have also been unverified reports from unnamed sources suggesting friction between Meghan and some Hollywood and business figures she has worked with, including streaming and fashion partners. These claims have not been confirmed publicly.

Despite the criticism, Meghan has continued to appear at high-profile events. She was at Paris Fashion Week last year and has also been involved in fashion-related projects and investments.

Separately, she recently traveled within the US to attend a First Communion service for her godson in Chicago. She was seen at Holy Name Cathedral during the ceremony.

A photo taken at the event briefly appeared online before being deleted, which sparked comparisons with past situations where images involving the Sussexes were also removed from social media.

Reports Link The Duchess’s Met Gala Absence To Fashion Industry Strains

On the Met Gala specifically, reports suggest Meghan and Prince Harry were not on this year’s guest list amid claims of strained relationships within the fashion industry.

According to the Daily Mail, some insiders believe there has been long-standing tension between Meghan and Wintour, the influential Vogue editor and Met Gala organizer.

One claim is that things shifted after Meghan chose to work with Edward Enninful at British Vogue in 2019 instead of appearing on American Vogue under Wintour.

She later guest-edited a British Vogue issue, which was seen as a major fashion moment for her.

“Meghan pledged her allegiance to Enninful, which p-ssed off Anna,” an insider alleged, adding: “Anna hates her. Meghan doesn’t want to pay and never returns things. Also, Anna loves the Royal Family. She is a Dame. Anna would have hated how they [the Sussexes] handled their exit from The Firm.”

Meghan Markle’s Continued Presence In High-Fashion Circles And The Cost Behind It

At the same time, Meghan has continued to engage with the fashion world. Her surprise appearance at Paris Fashion Week in 2025 drew attention across the industry.

At the time, the duchess’s spokesperson shared that the fashion event was thanks to “the culmination of many years of…friendship” with

However, while addressing Meghan’s surprise appearance, Balenciaga’s creative director, Pierpaolo Piccioli, revealed that the royal asked him if she could attend the show,

“Meghan and I met some years ago, and we’ve been texting ever since. She reached out and said she’d love to come to the show,” Piccioli stated, emphasizing that “no strategy or big orchestration” was involved in her appearance.

“I didn’t tell anyone she was coming because I wanted it to stay a surprise,” he added about Meghan. “In fashion, real surprises are rare, and this one was beautiful.”

Meghan Markle’s Continued Presence In High-Fashion Circles And The Cost Behind It

Fashion insiders note that Meghan’s attending major runway shows often involves high behind-the-scenes costs, including travel, accommodation, styling, and security.

Stylist Phillip Bloch, in a chat with NewsNation, estimated that for high-profile guests like Meghan, these expenses can easily run into hundreds of thousands of dollars depending on arrangements and security needs.

As he put it: “I would imagine everything was paid for — travel, hotel, clothing, cars, and of course security in Madame’s case, because we know it’s such a big issue with her.”

Editor’s note: The below contains spoilers for Euphoria Season 3.

Euphoria Season 3 has been a lot. Four episodes in, Rue (Zendaya) is a federal informant playing poker with the cartel-adjacent strip club magnate she’s recording for the DEA, having graduated from drug addict to drug mule to snitch in roughly the time it took Nate (Jacob Elordi) to marry Cassie (Sydney Sweeney), lose a toe after their reception, and leave her with a million dollars of his debt. Kingpins, cartels, cockatoo funerals. Sam Levinson really has thrown everything and the stove pot at the wall. Even stranger is that the moment audiences can’t stop talking about from Euphoria‘s newest episode involves none of those people.

Who Is Kitty in ‘Euphoria’ Season 3?

Kitty (Anna Van Patten) is a dancer at the Silver Slipper, the strip club owned by Alamo (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje) that’s become one of Season 3’s central locations. She’s young, soft-spoken, and presents herself as exactly the kind of girl you’d be scared to ask too many questions about. When Rue ends up at the club while working her way deeper into Alamo’s drug operation, she clocks Kitty as Angel’s (Priscilla Delgado) replacement, just another body to shove up on stage while her boss makes his real money slinging pills and fencing guns. She has no agenda, backstory, or allegiance in the Laurie-versus-Alamo Cold War that’s quietly escalating around her, and she gets maybe three minutes of screentime, total, but it’s enough to change the direction of the show in a way fans didn’t see coming.

Rue and Kitty’s one actual scene together happens in a bathroom, in which Rue pulls Kitty aside, gently, and asks if she’s okay, if anyone is making her do this, and if she needs help. It’s a small moment of human decency from a character who has not been dispensing much of that this season, and it comes after Rue witnesses the poor girl being used by a room full of middle-aged men who seem to be reliving their frat days by getting high and cheering each other on in the backroom of a strip joint. Kitty’s response to Rue’s concern is chilling, hidden behind a breezy brush-off and smeared eye glitter: “I just like to dance.”

What Does Kitty’s ‘Euphoria’ Season 3 Scene With Rue Actually Mean?

Image via HBO

The easy read is that Kitty is being exploited and either can’t or won’t admit it. The more interesting takeaway is that it doesn’t matter which one is true, because Rue can’t do anything about it either way. Rue has spent Euphoria Season 3 operating under the logic that she can move through Alamo’s world without becoming complicit in it, that she can be the cartel’s errand runner, the DEA’s informant, and still be the person who checks on the girl in the bathroom. Kitty’s experience shatters that fantasy in about ten seconds. Whether Kitty genuinely likes to dance or has simply learned to say so, Rue is still standing in a strip club owned by a man running a drug operation, and she put herself there. The moment she walks out of that bathroom and back to work, she’s made her choice.

It’s also worth noting what the show is doing by cutting Kitty’s story in between shots of Cassie’s influencer party adventure. Cassie spends Episode 4 snorting top-shelf cocaine in a mansion, strategically letting a 22-million-follower influencer think something might happen before Maddy (Alexa Demie) swoops in with a camera. She monetizes the possibility of sex without her body ever being in any real danger. Kitty, meanwhile, ends up in a champagne room with four men and no one to save her. That gap between glamorized and unglamorous sex work, between who gets to make money on her own terms and who doesn’t, is exactly what Rue’s trying to correct when she corners Kitty later on.

Who Plays Kitty in ‘Euphoria’ Season 3?

Image via HBO

Kitty is played by Anna Van Patten, and yes, if she looks familiar, there’s a reason for that. Anna is the younger sister of Grace Van Patten, who leads Hulu’s Tell Me Lies as the self-destructive, sometimes downright unhinged Lucy Albright. The resemblance is striking enough that fans spent most of Episode 4’s runtime wondering if the more well-known sibling had snuck in a guest spot on the HBO series before Google corrected them. Anna Van Patten is earlier in her career than her sister but has been building a resume that includes her sibling’s Amanda Knox drama, plus a 2022 horror movie with Regina Hall. The girls’ father is Tim Van Patten, a veteran TV director whose credits include The Sopranos, Boardwalk Empire, and Game of Thrones. So yes, the nepo baby discourse is getting fed this week.

In terms of Kitty’s potential future on Euphoria, nothing has been confirmed, but Episode 4’s title, “Kitty Likes to Dance,” doesn’t feel like an accident. Euphoria doesn’t name episodes after characters who are going to disappear. Given that Rue is now a DEA informant being asked to gather intelligence on Alamo’s operation, and that the Silver Slipper is squarely inside that operation, the two will almost certainly cross paths again. The more pressing question is what Rue does with that. She couldn’t save Kitty in the bathroom, but whether she tries again will say a lot about where Season 3, and her character, is actually going.

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Release Date

2019 – 2026-00-00

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Network

HBO

Showrunner

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Sam Levinson

Directors

Jennifer Morrison, Augustine Frizzell

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The police have completed their interview regarding allegations of Noah Beck’s sister Haley Beck having an alleged relationship with a second student.

“We have completed the interview with the reporting party and are continuing to follow up on all leads,” a spokesperson for the Peoria Police Department in Arizona told Us Weekly in a statement on Tuesday, May 5. “We take all reports of potential criminal activity seriously and are working to determine the facts.”

Earlier this month, the Peoria Police Department confirmed to Us that they were “looking into” accusations about a possible inappropriate relationship between Haley, 27, and another student. Authorities stated they were acting on a tip they received from a woman who is “basing it all off a TikTok.”

Police shared it was “simply allegations” and they “haven’t confirmed anything.”

Related: What to Know About Noah Beck’s Sister Haley’s Grooming Scandal

Baywatch star Noah Beck’s older sister Haley Beck was fired from her teaching job in Arizona after the Peoria Unified School District conducted an investigation, claiming that she groomed a minor student. “After a review of the investigator’s findings, the decision maker found that Ms. Beck groomed a student,” a spokesperson for the school district […]

Us previously reached out to Noah’s team for comment but did not hear back.

Haley, who was a teacher at Centennial High School in Peoria, Arizona, made headlines last month after she was accused of grooming a student. An investigation was conducted by the Peoria Unified School District into the allegations. Upon the completion of the independent investigation, Haley was fired from her job for having an inappropriate relationship with a student.

“After a review of the investigator’s findings, the decision maker found that Ms. Beck groomed a student,” a spokesperson for the school district said in a statement. “[She had] a sexual relationship with that student and therefore [we] recommended her termination.”

According to an official police report obtained by Us following Haley’s termination, she allegedly sent multiple overtly sexual text messages to an unnamed student. A spokesperson for the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office told People on April 29, that Haley’s case was “still under review” after the Peoria Police Department resubmitted its recommendation of a pandering charge.

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Related: Haley Beck Calls Students Her ‘Best Friends’ in Video Amid Grooming Claims

Noah Beck referenced sister Haley Beck’s alleged relationship with her students in a resurfaced video amid claims the former educator groomed a male teenager. In a resurfaced clip shared via TikTok on Monday, April 6, Noah, 24, and Haley, 27, can be seen participating in the so-called suspect running trend. (The viral trend mimics a […]

This isn’t the only scandal that the Beck family has endured in the past few months. Noah and Haley’s mother, Amy Beck, was put on administrative leave from the Coyote Hills Elementary School in Peoria, Arizona in April.

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The Peoria Unified School District confirmed to Us that a message was sent to the parents of students in Amy’s class explaining that their teacher’s leave came “out of an abundance of caution.” Amy was also being investigated but the matter did “not impact the safety” of the students. While the matter of Amy’s leave was not stated, the timing came after a video of her simulating oral sex with Noah resurfaced online.

Us confirmed that Amy would be allowed to return to work on Monday, May 4. The school and district “addressed concerns regarding videos that were published in 2020” and “appropriate measures have been taken.”

If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673). If you or someone you know is experiencing child abuse, call or text Child Help Hotline at 1-800-422-4453. 

Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni‘s long legal battle has finally come to an end, leaving many shocked, especially due to the actress’s bold words about the case after most of her claims were dismissed.

Insiders have now opened up about the reason for their “last-minute deal,” revealing that the former co-stars were encouraged to sheathe their swords.

Blake Lively is also said to have left the settlement empty-handed while the attorneys involved in the legal feud enjoyed earnings worth millions of dollars.

Blake Lively and Justin  Baldoni’s legal war came to a screeching end on Monday as both stars reached a settlement. Sources have now told Page Six that both of them reached a “last-minute deal” after being encouraged to settle.

“They finally came to an agreement today. It was a last-minute deal,” an insider said. “The magistrate and the judge wanted to avoid this going to trial as it was going to be a long, drawn-out case, so they were encouraged to reach an agreement.”

Lively’s case was dealt a major blow after Judge Lewis Liman dismissed 10 out of her 13 claims against Baldoni, including sexual harassment and defamation.

However, she shared in an Instagram update at the time that she was “grateful” for the ruling, which allows “the heart” of her case to be presented to a jury when the scheduled trial kicks off May 18.

Legal Expert Says The Case Was Always Going To Get Settled

According to the news outlet, New York litigation attorney Richard C. Schoenstein explained that the case was always going to go into settlement because of the unpredictability of the jury.

“It’s not clear that a jury would like either of the litigants. It was never clear to me what either party could get out of the case,” he told Page Six. “I think [Lively] was going to have trouble proving she was retaliated against, and then I think she was going to have trouble proving damages.”

The legal expert also brought up the fact that mediation had begun since February, although the talks had been unsuccessful before Monday.

“Like many cases, I suspect they’ve been having some sort of settlement dialog for a long time,” he explained, “and this court settlement process since at least February, [leading] to the settlement now.”

He also added that it wasn’t in the best interest of both parties to head to trial because “there are facts that are embarrassing to both sides.”

Blake Lively Received No Money From The Settlement, Sources Reveal

The legal war between Lively and Baldoni seems not to have benefited the actress financially, as sources revealed to TMZ that she received nothing in the deal.

According to the news outlet, Lively brought in a new legal firm, Susman Godfrey, to defend her case days before she and Baldoni reached a settlement.

The firm is a major litigation powerhouse with huge victories under its belt, including a $425 million verdict against Google.

However, unfortunately for Lively, the opposite was the case for her, as only the lawyers involved in the protracted legal fight walked away with a combined earning of $60 million.

Blake Lively And Justin Baldoni Shared Their Pride On Featuring In ‘IEWU’

Following their settlement, Lively and Baldoni shared a statement expressing that they remain committed to upholding the objectives of their hit movie and speaking up for victims.

“The end product – the movie ‘It Ends With Us’ – is a source of pride to all of us who worked to bring it to life,” they said. “Raising awareness, and making a meaningful impact in the lives of domestic violence survivors – and all survivors – is a goal that we stand behind.”

They continued, “We acknowledge the process presented challenges and recognize concerns raised by Ms. Lively deserved to be heard. We remain firmly committed to workplaces free of improprieties and unproductive environments.”

Lively and Baldoni added that they hope the settlement “brings closure” and allows everyone involved “to move forward constructively and in peace, including a respectful environment online.”

Several internet users have taken to social media to share their “disappointment” with Baldoni agreeing to it, as many debated who emerged victorious now that it’s all over.

“Please tell me Justin got paid a ginormous amount of settlement money!!!” an X user wrote.

Someone else said, “Two years of public mud-slinging, leaked texts, press tour drama, and now suddenly ‘the movie is a source of pride for all of us’? Nah. They used survivors as the emotional shield the second the lawyers said settle.”

“While I didn’t expect the lawsuit to reach a conclusion this quickly, it’s been my opinion all along Blake Lively would never submit to get on the witness stand & be cross-examined by Freedman-somehow, someway she’d avoid it,” a third person said.