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George R.R. Martin’s Books Prove ‘Game of Thrones’ Made a Huge Mistake With This Character

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Cersei Lannister standing by the balcony in Game of Thrones

Game of Thrones is less colorful than its source material, A Song of Ice and Fire. This is true in a literal sense, except for the Night’s Watch; practically every character is described in the books as having more varied and brighter wardrobes than they ever wore on TV. But it’s also true in a larger sense. George R.R. Martin’s writing is often celebrated for its moral complexity, but it’s also broad, sweeping, and Romantic in the classical sense. He depicts a wide range of customs, worldviews, and personalities that exhibit all the extremes and contradictions of any real person in a more fantastic manner.

Even in its earliest days, Game of Thrones was more constrained in what notes it would let its characters play. The longer it went on, the more that constraint became an issue. Slowly, the color and life were leeched out of the likes of Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke), Arya Stark (Maisie Williams), and Cersei Lannister (Lena Headey).

The flattening of Cersei was particularly frustrating to watch season by season. Martin is outspoken in liking gray characters, but there are still heroes and villains among them. The latter have their reasons for their misdeeds, but it’s hard to imagine anyone regarding Roose Bolton (Michael McElhatton) or Ramsay Snow (Iwan Rheon) as heroes. Cersei is as much a villain as the likes of them, but being present from the beginning, she looms larger in A Song of Ice and Fire.

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As a viewpoint character, we see inside her heart and mind — and what we see is fascinating, the most colorful, entertaining, and sympathetic of the series’ villains to date. Most of the traits that make Cersei so interesting were never fully incorporated into her TV counterpart, and almost none were left by the time the character met her fate in the finale.

Cersei’s Backstory Is Darker in the Original Books

The Cersei played by Lena Headey is clearly derived from the one in the pages of A Song of Ice and Fire. She’s still of the House Lannister, daughter of Tywin (Charles Dance), incestuous twin of Jaime (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau), and older and unloving sister of Tyrion (Peter Dinklage). The story still begins with Cersei as Queen of the Seven Kingdoms through her arranged marriage to Robert Baratheon (Mark Addy). The outside world assumes that Cersei’s three children are Robert’s, but all are bastards born of her sexual relationship with Jaime, and Cersei is one of many in the Red Keep conspiring against her husband. When Ned Stark (Sean Bean) uncovers the truth about her incest, she arranges Robert’s death, arrests Ned, and stages a coup to place her oldest son Joffrey (Jack Gleeson) on the throne with herself as regent.











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Collider Exclusive · Game of Thrones Personality Quiz
Which Game of Thrones House Do You Belong To?
Stark · Lannister · Targaryen · Baratheon · Tyrell
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Five great houses. Five completely different answers to the same question: how do you hold power in a world that will take it from you the moment you stop paying attention? Eight questions will determine where your loyalties — and your nature — truly lie.

🐺Stark

🦁Lannister

🐉Targaryen

🦌Baratheon

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🌹Tyrell

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01

Someone powerful is acting dishonourably and everyone knows it. What do you do?
In Westeros, the answer to this question has ended more than one great house.





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02

What is the source of your power?
Every house endures because of something. What is it for yours?





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03

Who do you truly fight for?
Strip away the banners and the words. The honest answer tells you everything.





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04

How do you deal with your enemies?
A house’s method reveals its character as clearly as its words ever could.





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05

What kind of ruler do you believe in?
Westeros is full of answers to this question. Most of them end badly.





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06

You suffer a devastating loss. How does your house respond?
How a house handles defeat tells you more about it than how it handles victory.





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07

Which of these truths about Westeros do you most believe?
Every house has a philosophy. This is yours.





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08

The Iron Throne is within reach. What do you do?
The answer reveals not just your ambition — but your character.





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The Maester Has Spoken
Your House Is…

Your answers point to the great house whose words, values, and way of surviving in Westeros match your own. Bend the knee — or don’t. That’s very much up to you.

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Winterfell · The North

🐺 House Stark

Winter is Coming — and you have always known it. You prepare not out of fear but out of duty, because the people who depend on you deserve someone who takes the long view.

  • You lead with honour even when it costs you, because you understand that a reputation built on integrity is the only one worth having.
  • Your loyalty to family and people runs deep — not as sentiment but as a code that doesn’t bend when things get difficult.
  • The North endures because Starks endure — not by being the cleverest players in the game, but by being the kind of people others are willing to follow into the cold.
  • You are that kind of person. The pack survives. The lone wolf dies. You already know which one you are.

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Casterly Rock · The Westerlands

🦁 House Lannister

You understand the game — its rules, its exceptions, and exactly when the rules become the exception. You play it without illusions and without apology.

  • You are sharper than most people realise, and you have learned to use that gap to your advantage.
  • A Lannister always pays their debts — and you always keep your word, because your word is an instrument of power, and instruments must be kept in working order.
  • You love your family with a ferocity that sometimes blinds you, and you know it, and you do it anyway.
  • The lion doesn’t concern itself with the opinion of sheep. Neither, in the end, do you.

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Dragonstone · The Iron Throne

🐉 House Targaryen

You carry a sense of destiny that is difficult to explain and impossible to ignore — the feeling that you are not simply participating in the world but meant to reshape it.

  • You are capable of extraordinary things, and you know it, and that knowledge is both your greatest strength and your most dangerous quality.
  • Fire and blood are not just words to you — they are a philosophy about what change requires and what it costs.
  • The Targaryens at their best were transformative rulers who broke chains and defied the limits of what anyone thought possible.
  • At your best, so are you. The dragon has three heads. You are one of them.

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Storm’s End · The Stormlands

🦌 House Baratheon

You are a force — direct, powerful, and difficult to ignore when you enter a room or a conflict. You do not negotiate with challenges. You meet them.

  • Ours is the fury — and yours is a kind of intensity that commands attention, respect, and occasionally fear from those who underestimate what’s behind it.
  • You value strength and straight dealing. You’d rather know where you stand in a fight than navigate a web of courtly whispers.
  • The Baratheons built their house on the back of one of the greatest military victories in Westerosi history — and then struggled with what came after.
  • The lesson of your house is that winning is not the end of the story. Governing is. You are learning that too.

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Highgarden · The Reach

🌹 House Tyrell

You understand that power does not always announce itself — that sometimes it arrives with flowers, good wine, and a smile that doesn’t quite reach the eyes.

  • Growing strong is your house’s motto, and you live it: patiently, strategically, always investing in the relationships and resources that will matter most when it counts.
  • You are charming by choice and calculating by nature — a combination that makes you one of the most effective players in any room you enter.
  • The Tyrells fed King’s Landing and shaped its politics without ever sitting on the Iron Throne — and they were arguably more powerful for it.
  • You know that the person who controls the food controls the kingdom. And you always know where the food is.
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On the page and the screen, Cersei’s marriage is loveless and violent. She’s openly contemptuous of Robert, shaming and manipulating him at one point into killing an innocent direwolf to satisfy her vindictiveness. A resentful Robert indulges in his appetites for food, women, and especially drink, and by the time of A Game of Thrones, he has hit her on several occasions. The Robert of the books is ashamed and frightened of what marriage and “kinging” have made of him (a shame he does his best to ignore). He’s frightened of what Cersei and Joffrey might do were they to gain power. The Robert of the show is a less troubled and more piggish brute. Left unmentioned in the show are Cersei’s threats to kill his bastard daughter if she ever comes to court, and rumors that she had two twins that Robert fathered at Casterly Rock killed. Once Robert is dead, Cersei orders the slaughter of all his baseborn children in King’s Landing.

While angry over Robert’s bastards, the Cersei of the books takes pains not to have any children by him. Game of Thrones invents a legitimate baby who died in infancy, a fact Cersei uses to her advantage but can also discuss sincerely with Robert. In A Song of Ice and Fire, pride and resentment won’t allow Cersei to go even that far. The one time she becomes pregnant, she arranges for an abortion and afterward finds ways to avoid insemination by Robert when they sleep together. Other pieces of backstory unused by the show concern the depth of Cersei’s hatred for Tyrion. Like her father, Cersei blames her little brother for their mother’s death.

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But an additional grievance comes from the prophecy of the woods witch, Maggy the Frog. The show retains a flashback wherein Maggy (Jodhi May) predicts Cersei’s marriage and children, the deaths of all her offspring, and her dethronement by a “younger and more beautiful” queen. But the show cuts Cersei killing the friend who goes with her, the only witness to the prophecy. And it cuts the final prediction Maggy gives, that when everything has been taken from her, Cersei will be strangled by the valonqar – High Valyrian for “little brother.” Though Cersei precedes Jaime in birth by mere moments, making both her brothers younger by technicality, Cersei is convinced that Tyrion is the brother to fear — a conviction that becomes an obsession by the fourth book, A Feast for Crows.

George R. R. Martin’s Cersei Is a More Volatile and Compelling Character

One might argue that these adjustments to Cersei’s backstory are neutral or even necessary trims. Game of Thrones had time constraints that A Song of Ice and Fire does not. The valonqar prophecy, which book fans have long speculated will turn out to be Jaime, didn’t fit into how he and Cersei ultimately die, or the overall diminishment of prophecy and magic in the show compared to the novels. The loss of the valonqar story was one of the worst casualties of Game of Thrones, paring back the magic. But it’s true enough that most of this background material represented a clean lift, and that the Cersei of Season 1 corresponds fairly well to the Cersei of the first book. The real trouble comes when Robert is dead and Cersei begins wielding and contending for power.

Martin’s Cersei is as Trumpian a villain as you’re likely to find, far more so than her son Joffrey, who was sometimes compared to The Donald. She’s a complete narcissist: entitled, self-absorbed, boastful, and self-deluded about her talents and capacity to rule. The most basic flattery convinces her to make unwise appointments and actions. Envy, impatience, greed, and anger all cloud her already impulsive judgment. Her ruthless streak shatters potentially useful alliances and spills innocent blood, on account of paranoia or simple slights. And her moods are compared by Jaime to wildfire; the passions of the moment send her into fits of glee or torrents of rage.

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All this is apparent in the first three books, but A Feast for Crows makes Cersei into a viewpoint character and lets readers see just how deep her narcissism runs. Jaime was made a viewpoint character in the previous book and revealed doubts, guilts, feelings, and his own sense of honor that made him — the man who threw a child out a window — seem a sympathetic and even piteous human being. Cersei’s chapters show her to be coo-coo for cocoa puffs. It’s glaringly obvious how deluded and self-defeating she is, but the immersion into her warped mind is so complete that you can fall into her paranoid, egocentric line of thinking. It’s a fascinating disconnect, making Cersei’s some of the most electrifying chapters of the latest two books to read.

Those chapters also reinforce a harsh truth about Cersei’s relationship with Jaime that earlier books introduced. If you set aside the fact that they’re an incestuous couple, then Jaime comes off as a devoted lover. Whatever his other faults, he never strays with other women and constantly strives to please Cersei. She, on the other hand, regularly turns to sex as a tool of persuasion. She carries on multiple affairs, including one with her cousin Lancel, and was eager to wed Rhaegar Targaryen as a young girl. Her love for Jaime is a love for an extension of herself; when he loses his usefulness to her as a knight and begins to question her judgment, the relationship quickly sours, and as of A Dance with Dragons, the fifth book, Jaime is completely disillusioned with his twin.

Cersei’s love for her children isn’t quite that transactional in Martin’s writing. Even her enemies judge her sincerely devoted to them, though a dangerously unfit mother on account of her… well, everything. But even with them, there is that element of extension. Joffrey and his brother Tommen are tools through which Cersei can wield the power of the Iron Throne, a power she is denied on account of her sex. Westerosi misogyny is a barrier for Cersei throughout the books, but she turns to it as an excuse for any challenge she faces (while also displaying a great deal of misogyny herself to other women). Men like her uncle, Kevan Lannister, don’t doubt her fitness to be regent because she’s a woman, at least not entirely; they doubt her because she’s so clearly unfit for the job.

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‘Game of Thrones’ Flattened Cersei’s Character Completely

Cersei Lannister standing by the balcony in Game of Thrones Image via HBO 

This is the stuff that sets Cersei apart from the likes of Roose and Ramsay, a cold schemer and a violent psychopath respectively. It’s what makes her such a volatile and destructive, yet still dimensional, villain. There’s schadenfreude aplenty to be had in seeing her dig her own hole in A Feast for Crows, which makes her moment of sympathy during the walk of shame all the more impactful. It’s also the stuff that Game of Thrones never knew what to do with. From the second season on, there were awkward attempts to make Cersei a more loving mother and a more sympathetic gray character that always seemed to collapse in on themselves. The murder of Robert’s children is outsourced to Joffrey, who becomes much more of a sinister tyrant than the spoiled bully of the books. The show’s Cersei is fully aware of how demented her son is, deeply troubled by his violence and her lack of control over him – and yet she mourns him just as she did in the book.

Her love and education for Tommen (Dean-Charles Chapman) are less insane, but that love seems to vanish the second he’s dead. She and Tyrion have more heart-to-hearts throughout the series, only for her to go back to hatred. Forget her manipulation and betrayal of Jaime; Game of Thrones has an uncomfortable reworking of a sex scene and a strange amount of sympathy for their incestuous love affair to impart instead. And all those swings of passion, those fits of narcissistic joy, rage, and paranoia that make Cersei’s book chapters so alive? That aspect of the character is diluted from the start, but it was nonexistent in the last few seasons. TV’s Cersei becomes a stone-faced whisperer by the end. Her expression hardly varies, her voice is low and icy, and her vanity and weaponized sexuality are cast aside.

That is a much flatter character than the one Martin wrote. But the problem is made worse by the fact that it happened to so many of the show’s women. Daenerys, Arya, Sansa Stark (Sophie Turner) – they were all rendered ice queens in the end. Such monotony is the death of the kind of color A Song of Ice and Fire injects into its personalities. With Cersei made the last villain standing, one whose defeat is inexplicably given more emphasis than the great battle to save all humanity against a horde of ice demons, such a dull antagonist is one more nail in the series finale’s coffin.

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Game of Thrones is available to stream on Max in the U.S.

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YourRAGE Reveals Alleged Theft By Friend Of 25 Years

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Fellow Streamers Speak Out After YourRAGE Gets Emotional While Revealing His Friend Of 25 Years Allegedly Stole Thousands From Him (VIDEO)

Supporters who have tuned in to YourRAGE over the years have grown to love the bond he shared with his longtime friend Greg, who would appear on his streams. However, that relationship has now come to a heartbreaking end after YourRAGE revealed he’s officially cutting ties with Greg following 25 years of friendship over an alleged theft. 

RELATED: Soulja Boy Announces ‘Rapper University’ After Calling Out Kai Cenat Over ‘Streamer University 2’ & His Ties To DDG (VIDEO)

YourRAGE Opens Up About Alleged Betrayal By Friend Of 25 Years

On Tuesday, YourRAGE’s emotional video about Greg’s alleged betrayal made waves across the internet. In the video, he revealed he’s officially cutting ties with his friend after accusing him of stealing from him.

The post read, “Today I found out my best friend of 25 years has been stealing hundreds & thousands of dollars from me. After giving him a roof over his head, money in his pocket & endless jobs/opportunities, he’s betrayed me. YRG, you will never see Greg again.”

As tears rolled down his face, YourRAGE claimed Greg allegedly took “at least $50,000” from him over time. He reflected on everything he had done for Greg over the years, including being there for him when he was in jail, giving him a place to stay, putting money in his pocket, and saying he would’ve done anything for him. Also, Greg tearfully admitted that he was wrong.

Fellow Streamers Share Reactions To YourRAGE’s Post

Fellow streamers like Agent 00, JasontheWeen, CashNasty, and many more entered the chat as they reacted to YourRAGE’s emotional video.

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Agent 00 shared that, unfortunately, anyone is capable of doing anything. He encouraged viewers to keep YourRAGE in their prayers, saying, “Send your prayers for Rage. That’s one of the situations that give you trust issues for a while. Hopefully he doesn’t develop that and turn into a cynical a**hole to people around him that still show him love.”

JasontheWeen also reacted in disbelief, saying he always knew Greg was a “slimey bastard.” He added, “Can’t trust nobody nowadays, chat… The only person who’s always gonna have your back is you. You can’t give everybody handouts, because you never really know someone’s true intentions.”

CashNasty also shared his thoughts, expressing shock and disappointment over the situation. He said he especially hates thieves when they steal from someone who would’ve done anything for them.

Social Media Reacts 

Folks gathered across social media as they reacted to the clip of YourRAGE. While many said they were heartbroken for him, others shared that this is the unfortunate reality of some friendships. Meanwhile, some felt the emotional conversation between YourRAGE and Greg should have remained private rather than being shared online.

Instagram user @beresowavey wrote, “It be the ones closest too you 😒”

Instagram user @blackcharcoal added, “Man that boy hurt. You can feel it. Coulda just asked instead of taking smh.”

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While Instagram user @nyakaiorr_ wrote, “He ain’t have to post this.”

Instagram user @originally.bre wrote, “50 bandsss??? And you ain’t notic”

Instagram user @theetrillestbih added, “yall tb “you ain notice” 😂😂😂 gng it don’t even matter g ur best friend stealing from you is something you would never expect like that’s top 5 worst things that could happen in a friendship”

While Instagram user @kaylabooks1 wrote, “Wait this not a twitch skit I swear I never know wen shit real😂😂😂😂”

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Instagram user @_nostalgia3_6h 6h. Wrote, “this is a deep hurt. you’re FORCED to put your hands on them, off principle.. but the love you THOUGHT yall had be holding you back from maxing completely. you be hurt frfr. it’s not even anger. 😭”

Instagram user @p23emilio added, “Wow L Greg”

While Instagram user @tabby_loveee3 wrote, “25 years-if you do the math, they’ve known each other since they were about three, so it’s likely their parents were friends and they basically grew up together. That’s a whole different kind of hurt. so sorry rage.”

RELATED:Yikes! DJ Akademiks Enters The Chat After DDG Claims Streamers Make More Money Than Celebrities & NFL Players

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R-Rated Dark Netflix Sci-Fi Thriller Is Over-The-Top Action At Its Best

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R-Rated Dark Netflix Sci-Fi Thriller Is Over-The-Top Action At Its Best

By Jeffrey Rapaport
| Published

One reason we love Netflix is that, like any good streaming service, the platform offers a lot of options. However, the sprawling catalog can sometimes inspire decision paralysis. If you want to lock in on something worth your time, consider Project Power: the thrilling, R-rated film weaving together threads of sci-fi, action, and a dash of real-world commentary into a compelling, singular tapestry. 

Visionary directing duo Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman shot the 2020 film, sporting a unique narrative penned by Mattson Tomlin; their collaborative efforts engineered a cinematic venture that hooked audiences with its novel premise: a pill granting temporary superpowers. Moreover, the movie admirably grounds its tale in the gritty, vibrant streets of near-future New Orleans. It provides a multifaceted exploration of Power, whether supernatural or societal.

Superpowers With A Twist

Project Power begins in the not-too-distant future, when a new drug, unsubtly termed “Power,” has hit the streets. The drug offers users a tantalizing yet dangerous proposition: five minutes of pure, unadulterated superhuman abilities. We’re talking super strength, invisibility, bullet-dodging, you name it. The catch? The powers are unpredictable and unruly, varying widely from user to user and, most damningly, often accompanied by dangerous side effects (including death). 

Jumping from high-concept sci-fi futurism to the intimate, even sociological fabric of fictionalized New Orleans, Project Power’s principal characters are Art, played wonderfully by Jamie Foxx, a former soldier harboring a vendetta; Frank, the ’90s heartthrob Joseph Gordon-Levitt, a local cop bending the rules to protect the city; and Robin, played commendably by Dominique Fishback, a brainy, resourceful teen dealing drugs to care for her ailing mother. 

Different Motivation

project power 2020

Each character retains their burning desire to locate the source of the Power pills, wreaking havoc in their city in the process.

Art’s quest in Project Power is incredibly personal. Tracy (Kyanna Simone), his daughter, was kidnapped by the shadowy, nefarious group behind the drug. Born with natural superpowers due to Art’s exposure to experimental drugs during his deployment, Tracy’s unique genetics mean she’s a perfect guinea pig for the manufacture of the power pills. His mission constitutes a desperate rescue opp. 

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Whereas Frank, on the other hand, witnesses the devastation the narcotic inflicts on his city. Though Frank employs Power to compete with the criminal underworld, he’s nonetheless, motivated by a sense of duty to halt the drug’s spread and expose those responsible for it. 

Thirdly, Robins’s involvement with Power is initially strictly business. However, her journey grows increasingly intertwined with Art and Franks, evolving her into an integral ally in their crusade. With her quick wit and street smarts, she becomes indispensable. At the same time, her personal growth is a central theme of Project Power

Pure, Genre-Blending Bliss

project power 2020

Fusing realism and high-concept sci-fi thematics, themselves borrowing heavily from the superhero universe, the film admirably achieves a simultaneity of genres. In this, it reminds viewers of genre-bending hits like District 9 and Bone Tomahawk. Indeed, at its heart, the movie amounts to more than impressively stylistic, action-packed set pieces, and delves into ethical and moral quandaries posed by its central conceit. 

The film questions the nature of power beyond the drug’s scope; who has it, who wants it, and at what cost? The film scores ethical points, as well, for shining a spotlight on New Orleans. More than a mere backdrop, the city functions as a living, breathing character in Project Power, enriching the film with its cultural tapestry and post-Katrina resilience. All of which offer a poignant context for the movie’s meditation on power dynamics, whether sci-fi or systemic. 

Mixed Thoughts

project power 2020

On the critical side, the movie received mixed reviews, ranging from positive to lukewarm, and currently sitting with a 61 percent approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Critics ardently enjoyed its action sequences, impactful visuals, and performances, principally Fishback’s. That said, experts leveled some criticism at its screenplay, with some suggesting the project’s ambitious premise could have been explored more deeply.

That said, Project Power enjoyed success on Netflix; it became one of the platform’s most-streamed films upon release. Indeed, the streaming service reveals that 75 million accounts streamed the movie within a month of its release. 

project power 2020

Music fans, especially hip-hop aficionados, should consider the film, too, given it features a prominent supporting role by Colson Baker, otherwise known as Machine Gun Kelly, who plays a drug dealer trafficking in Power.

Ultimately, for a sci-fi thrill ride sure to impress with its unique concept and powerful performances, stream Project Power today. 

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India Arie Prompts Internet Debate About Yung Miami’s ‘Spend Dat’

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India Arie Prompts An Internet Debate About Yung Miami's Viral Song 'Spend Dat'

India Arie had something to say about Yung Miami‘s hit song for the summer, ‘Spend Dat,’ and she sparked an internet debate in the process. ‘The Truth’ singer replied to comments on Threads about boycotting the track, and the internet was quick to share their opinions. Now, she’s circling back to clarify what she meant and where she stands. Meanwhile, Caresha seemingly hasn’t responded.

RELATED: India Arie Reveals She Is Boycotting Spotify Following Joe Rogan’s Remarks About COVID-19 & His Repeated Use Of The N-Word

India Arie Agrees With Fan About Yung Miami’s Song ‘Spend Dat’

Yung Miami dropped ‘Spend Dat’ back in April, and the song praises scamming folks and spending money (This for all my scammers︱and my get-money b*tches). The song reached No. 25 on the Billboard Top 100 and is being celebrated as a summer jam, but not by everyone.

One Instagram user commented that the song was degrading to the culture, and India Arie seemed to agree. @mrs.mj.tedla wrote, “I’m calling for a boycott of Yung Miami’s song Spend Dat.’ I believe it’s degrading to our culture. At some point, we have to take seriously the power music has over our perception and the values it reinforces. This can’t be the song of the Summer.”

The Grammy Award winner replied to the comment, advising folks to make “wise choices.”

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“I spent my entire adult life, caring way too much,” she wrote. “Because I finally learned that not everybody Cares ( with a capital C) And explaining it to them is not gonna make them care. Everything you listen to see or eat is going to influence you. So make wise choices y’all. The mass acceptance of this song itself is a CRYSTAL CLEAR sign of the bigger problem.”

In another Threads post, India added:

“I finally realized that not everybody wants to get free, and it was a VERY rude awakening. I finally realized that not EVERYBODY wants to get free. And it was a very, very, very rude awakening. smh. because the mass acceptance of this song is a crystal clear sign of this much bigger truth.”

 

India Clarifies Her Stance On The Song Of The Summer 

Following viral conversations about her stance, India Arie popped into her Instagram Stories to clarify that she was not advocating for a boycott.

“FOR CLARITY!! I did not say that I think anyone needs to boycott this song I said it is a sign of where we are as a culture that this song has been accepted so widely. And… THATS FACTS,” she wrote. “I THINK – people should do whatever they WANT TO DO. you do what you wanna do. I’ll do what I wanna do. And that’s that. MEANWHILE I also said, that the way we are embracing the songs says a lot about where we are as a culture, which … IS JUST FACTS.”

The recording artist also responded to a fan who called out the singer’s generation bringing Salt-N-Pepa and Lil’ Kim into it, and she delivered plenty of shade.

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“You’re the one person I’m gonna answer today. I’ve been speaking out about this since my first television appearance in 2001 with Bill Maher (what year were you born by the way?) A DE ROOM I never said a raunchy song shouldn’t exist I think a lot of times they exist in the wrong context But I have said that many MANY MANY TIMES. MANY way. just so you know……”

India Arie’s Comments Sparked An Internet Debate

Reactions to the recording artist’s comments were mixed as several folks agreed with the ‘Get It Together’ singer while others thought a boycott goes too far.

User @_.nicoleb._ wrote, This song is where we draw the line?? Not the countless songs about killing and drugs? lol ok….”

@sequoia_lasha agreed with the recording artist. But my girl @indiaarie not wrong though. We are watching children who can barely speak sing this song with clarity. It’s truly sad.”

@aflava added, She’s 100% correct. It’s facts & the song is catchy but that message is horrible for our youth! 😮.”

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User @_prophet313 wrote, We knowwwww we just can’t help it 🤷🏾‍♂️😂😂.”

@kizzie_lafox added, Yall take stuff too serious it’s just a song sista solider!”

@theofficialljojo replied, Anywaysss….spend dat shii!”

Music Producer Hitmaka Also Criticized ‘Spend Dat’

Music producer Hitmaka appeared on ‘The Truth After Dark‘ podcast on June 29, and he said ‘Spend Dat’ represents “ho behavior.”

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RELATED: Too Far? Woman & Mom Arrested After Allegedly Stealing $7K Worth Of Louis Vuitton Purses & Posting Video To Yung Miami’s ‘Spend Dat’

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‘Harry Potter’ Season 2 Faces Delays as Search Begins for Major Recasting

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HBO’s Harry Potter series may already have its new Harry, Ron, Hermione, and most of the Weasley family in place, but one major character is still very much up in the air, and that could prove to be problematic when it comes to shooting the next season. While Season 1, which adapts Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, is now in the process of wrapping, the next chapter needs a new addition before things can move forward.

The show is now openly searching for a new Ginny Weasley after Gracie Cochrane exited the role following Season 1, and the latest update suggests the replacement process is still underway. A new open casting call has been launched for a child actor to play Ginny in the HBO Original adaptation. The listing confirms that applicants must be UK residents aged between 10 and 12, with submissions required to come from a parent or legal guardian through the Cast It website.

The search follows the news last month that Cochrane would not return for Season 2 due to “unforeseen circumstances.” In a statement at the time, Cochrane and her family said that stepping away from the role had been a difficult decision, while HBO said it supported the young actor and wished her the best.

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Getting the right actor to play Ginny for Season 2 is imperative for HBO. While Ginny plays a small part, almost a cameo, in the first book, she becomes a key part of the story in Chamber of Secrets and, of course, ends up becoming romantically entangled with Harry towards the latter stages of J.K. Rowling’s seven books.



















































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Collider Exclusive · Sci-Fi Survival Quiz
Which Sci-Fi World Would You Survive?
The Matrix · Mad Max · Blade Runner · Dune · Star Wars

Five universes. Five completely different ways the future went wrong — or sideways, or up in flames. Only one of them is the world your instincts were built for. Eight questions will figure out which dystopia, galaxy, or desert wasteland you’d actually make it out of alive.

💊The Matrix

🔥Mad Max

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🌧️Blade Runner

🏜️Dune

🚀Star Wars

Advertisement

01

You sense something is deeply wrong with the world around you. What do you do?
The first instinct is often the truest one.





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02

In a world of scarcity, what resource do you guard most fiercely?
What we protect reveals what we believe survival actually requires.





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03

What kind of threat keeps you up at night?
Fear is useful data — if you’re honest about what you’re actually afraid of.





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04

How do you deal with authority you don’t trust?
Every dystopia has a power structure. Your approach to it determines everything.





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05

Which environment could you actually endure long-term?
Survival isn’t just tactical — it’s physical, psychological, and very much about where you are.





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06

Who do you want in your corner when things fall apart?
The company you keep is the clearest signal of who you actually are.





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07

Where do you draw the line — if you draw one at all?
Every survivor eventually faces a moment that tests what they’re actually made of.





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08

What would actually make survival worth it?
Staying alive is one thing. Having a reason to is another.





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Your Fate Has Been Calculated
You’d Survive In…

Your answers point to the world your instincts were built for. This is the universe your temperament, your survival instincts, and your particular brand of stubbornness were made for.

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The Resistance, Zion

The Matrix
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You took the red pill a long time ago — probably before anyone offered it to you. You’re a systems thinker who can’t help but notice the seams in things.

  • You’re drawn to understanding how the system works before figuring out how to break it.
  • You’d find the Resistance, or it would find you — your instinct for spotting constructed realities is the machines’ worst nightmare.
  • You function best when you have access to information and the freedom to act on it.
  • The Matrix built an airtight prison. You’d be the one probing the walls for the door.


The Wasteland

Mad Max
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The wasteland doesn’t reward the clever or the well-connected — it rewards those who are hard to kill and harder to break. That’s you.

  • You don’t need comfort, community, or a cause larger than the next horizon.
  • You need a vehicle, a clear threat, and enough fuel to outrun it — and you’re good at all three.
  • You are unsentimental enough to survive that world, and decent enough — just barely — to be something more than another raider.
  • In the wasteland, that distinction is everything.


Los Angeles, 2049

Blade Runner
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You’d survive here because you know how to exist in moral grey areas without losing yourself completely.

  • You read people accurately, keep your circle small, and ask the questions others prefer not to answer.
  • In a city where humanity is a legal designation rather than a feeling, you hold onto something that keeps you functional.
  • You’re not a hero. But you’re not lost, either.
  • In Blade Runner’s world, that distinction is everything.


Arrakis

Dune
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Arrakis is the most hostile environment in the known universe — and you are precisely the kind of person it rewards.

  • Patience, discipline, and political awareness are your core strengths — and on Arrakis, they’re survival tools.
  • You understand that the long game matters more than any single victory.
  • Others come to Dune and are consumed by it. You’d learn its logic and earn its respect.
  • In time, you wouldn’t just survive Arrakis — you’d begin to reshape it.


A Galaxy Far, Far Away

Star Wars
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The galaxy far, far away is vast, loud, and in a constant state of violent political upheaval — and you wouldn’t have it any other way.

  • You find meaning in being part of something larger than yourself — a cause, a crew, a rebellion.
  • You’d gravitate toward the Rebellion, or the fringes, or whatever pocket of the galaxy still believes the Empire’s grip can be broken.
  • You fight — not because you have to, but because standing aside isn’t something you’re capable of.
  • In Star Wars, that willingness is what makes all the difference.

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Who Stars in ‘Harry Potter’?

The cast includes Dominic McLaughlin (Grow) as Harry Potter, Arabella Stanton (Matilda: The Musical) as Hermione Granger, Alastair Stout as Ron Weasley, John Lithgow (Conclave) as Albus Dumbledore, Janet McTeer (Ozark) as Professor McGonagall, Paapa Essiedu (I May Destroy You) as Severus Snape, and Nick Frost (Shaun of the Dead) as Rubeus Hagrid. Currently, nobody has been cast to play Lord Voldemort, despite speculation linking A-list names like Paul Bettany, Cillian Murphy and Robert James Collier with the role.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone is written and executive produced by Francesca Gardiner, with Mark Mylod executive producing and directing multiple episodes. The series will air on HBO and stream on HBO Max from Christmas Day.


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Release Date

2026 – 2026

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Showrunner

Francisca Gardiner

Directors
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Mark Mylod

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Soap Actress Colleen Zenk Arrested for DUI After Crash

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Celebrities Who Got Their Start on Soap Operas

As the World Turns alum Colleen Zenk is facing DUI charges after an arrest in Florida.

Multiple outlets confirmed that Zenk, 73, was arrested in May after a two-vehicle crash. The soap star was charged with two misdemeanors: DUI causing damage to property or another person and DUI with a blood alcohol level of 0.15 or higher.

“The charges are being defended. Ms. Zenk has not been convicted of anything,” a rep for Zenk said in a statement to People. “The truth will be played out in court.”

According to the arrest report, which was obtained by Soap Opera Network, a witness told the authorities that they saw Zenk backing out of a handicap parking space when her vehicle struck a parked car.

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Zenk allegedly continued driving before she was stopped. After exiting her car, Zenk showed signs of unsteadiness. The responding sergeant wrote in his report that he detected the odor of alcohol.

While speaking with the authorities at the scene, Zenk said she consumed “two wine cups.” She agreed to perform field sobriety exercises before showing various signs of impairment, including issues with balance and difficulty following instructions.

Deputies placed Zenk under arrest after the field sobriety exercises. Zenk ultimately provided two breath samples measuring 0.206 and 0.192 BAC.

Zenk posted bond after her arrest and entered a not guilty plea. Her next scheduled court appearance is a hearing on July 29.

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The actress, who is best known for her role as Barbara Ryan on As the World Turns, was previously charged with a first-offense DUI in 2017. She was also arrested in 2010 after the authorities observed her allegedly driving erratically and crossed into an oncoming lane, which resulted in DUI-related charges and an improper lane usage charge.

Zenk appeared on As the World Turns for more than three decades from 1978 until the series ended in 2010. She marked her return to daytime TV in 2023 with a role on The Young and the Restless.

Celebrities Who Got Their Start on Soap Operas


Related: Demi Moore and More Stars Who Got Their Start on Soap Operas

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Many celebrities have soap operas to thank for launching their careers. Before becoming an Oscar winner, Julianne Moore got her start on As the World Turns in 1988. She portrayed sisters Frannie Hughes and Sabrina Hughes, which scored her a Daytime Emmy in 1988. Moore eventually exited the series to kickstart her film career. Thank […]

Zenk’s character, Jordan, didn’t last long, however, and was ultimately killed off in 2025.

“I’m sad Jordan went away so quickly,” Zenk told TV Insider at the time. “I thought that Ian [Ray Wise] and Jordan would go out like Bonnie and Clyde together.”

Zenk expressed gratitude for the ability to book her first soap role in more than 13 years after As the World Turns.

“I can still do this,” she said. “And for my age with no work, I look pretty good on camera, not too bad. For a 72-year-old woman to be given this kind of opportunity, I’d jump in again.”

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Taylor Sheridan Finally Reveals the Truth Behind Kevin Costner’s Shocking ‘Yellowstone’ Exit

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Kevin Costner‘s departure from Yellowstone was one of the biggest entertainment stories going when it happened. The lead in the biggest television show on streaming at that time, Costner and series creator Taylor Sheridan reportedly went head to head over creative differences, and Sheridan won, with Costner walking away from the show. Well, that’s how it was reported, but according to Sheridan, that’s not exactly how it went down.

Speaking on The Bill Simmons Podcast, Sheridan said Costner was originally only meant to lead the series for three seasons, with the story eventually shifting focus to the next generation of the Dutton family, particularly Kayce (Luke Grimes).

“The notion of giving up a hit before it had run out of juice to squeeze is very foreign to a network,” Sheridan said. “Finally, Kevin hit a point where he said, ‘I gotta do my own thing.’ But we originally conceived it together that it was three seasons, and then the baton is handed — because we had to tread water for a bit there, and I think it was pretty evident.”

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Collider Exclusive · Sci-Fi Survival Quiz
Which Sci-Fi World Would You Survive?
The Matrix · Mad Max · Blade Runner · Dune · Star Wars

Five universes. Five completely different ways the future went wrong — or sideways, or up in flames. Only one of them is the world your instincts were built for. Eight questions will figure out which dystopia, galaxy, or desert wasteland you’d actually make it out of alive.

💊The Matrix

🔥Mad Max

🌧️Blade Runner

Advertisement

🏜️Dune

🚀Star Wars

Advertisement

01

You sense something is deeply wrong with the world around you. What do you do?
The first instinct is often the truest one.





Advertisement

02

In a world of scarcity, what resource do you guard most fiercely?
What we protect reveals what we believe survival actually requires.





Advertisement

03

What kind of threat keeps you up at night?
Fear is useful data — if you’re honest about what you’re actually afraid of.





Advertisement

04

How do you deal with authority you don’t trust?
Every dystopia has a power structure. Your approach to it determines everything.





Advertisement

05

Which environment could you actually endure long-term?
Survival isn’t just tactical — it’s physical, psychological, and very much about where you are.





Advertisement

06

Who do you want in your corner when things fall apart?
The company you keep is the clearest signal of who you actually are.





Advertisement

07

Where do you draw the line — if you draw one at all?
Every survivor eventually faces a moment that tests what they’re actually made of.





Advertisement

08

What would actually make survival worth it?
Staying alive is one thing. Having a reason to is another.





Advertisement

Your Fate Has Been Calculated
You’d Survive In…

Your answers point to the world your instincts were built for. This is the universe your temperament, your survival instincts, and your particular brand of stubbornness were made for.

Advertisement


The Resistance, Zion

The Matrix

You took the red pill a long time ago — probably before anyone offered it to you. You’re a systems thinker who can’t help but notice the seams in things.

Advertisement
  • You’re drawn to understanding how the system works before figuring out how to break it.
  • You’d find the Resistance, or it would find you — your instinct for spotting constructed realities is the machines’ worst nightmare.
  • You function best when you have access to information and the freedom to act on it.
  • The Matrix built an airtight prison. You’d be the one probing the walls for the door.


The Wasteland

Mad Max

The wasteland doesn’t reward the clever or the well-connected — it rewards those who are hard to kill and harder to break. That’s you.

Advertisement
  • You don’t need comfort, community, or a cause larger than the next horizon.
  • You need a vehicle, a clear threat, and enough fuel to outrun it — and you’re good at all three.
  • You are unsentimental enough to survive that world, and decent enough — just barely — to be something more than another raider.
  • In the wasteland, that distinction is everything.


Los Angeles, 2049

Blade Runner

You’d survive here because you know how to exist in moral grey areas without losing yourself completely.

Advertisement
  • You read people accurately, keep your circle small, and ask the questions others prefer not to answer.
  • In a city where humanity is a legal designation rather than a feeling, you hold onto something that keeps you functional.
  • You’re not a hero. But you’re not lost, either.
  • In Blade Runner’s world, that distinction is everything.


Arrakis

Dune

Arrakis is the most hostile environment in the known universe — and you are precisely the kind of person it rewards.

Advertisement
  • Patience, discipline, and political awareness are your core strengths — and on Arrakis, they’re survival tools.
  • You understand that the long game matters more than any single victory.
  • Others come to Dune and are consumed by it. You’d learn its logic and earn its respect.
  • In time, you wouldn’t just survive Arrakis — you’d begin to reshape it.


A Galaxy Far, Far Away

Star Wars

The galaxy far, far away is vast, loud, and in a constant state of violent political upheaval — and you wouldn’t have it any other way.

Advertisement
  • You find meaning in being part of something larger than yourself — a cause, a crew, a rebellion.
  • You’d gravitate toward the Rebellion, or the fringes, or whatever pocket of the galaxy still believes the Empire’s grip can be broken.
  • You fight — not because you have to, but because standing aside isn’t something you’re capable of.
  • In Star Wars, that willingness is what makes all the difference.

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What Happened to John Dutton in ‘Yellowstone’?

Then, obviously, Yellowstone became far bigger than anyone expected, which led Paramount to extend the show beyond its initial plan and keep John Dutton at the centre for longer. John was supposed to hand over the position of power to Kayce, but given that Costner was at the heart of the golden goose, they were reluctant to move on. When Costner ultimately decided he wanted to focus on “his own thing,” the planned handover had become much messier than it might have been after three seasons.

Costner exited during the split fifth and final season, with John Dutton killed off in the first episode of the show’s final batch. The actor had previously pointed to scheduling issues and continued changes to the production as part of the reason he could not return — mainly shooting his own Western passion project, Horizon.

The rest of the main cast includes Kelly Reilly (Pride & Prejudice) as Beth Dutton, Cole Hauser (Good Will Hunting) as Rip Wheeler, Wes Bentley (American Beauty) as Jamie Dutton, Kelsey Asbille (Wind River) as Monica Dutton, and Gil Birmingham (Twilight) as Chairman Thomas Rainwater

Yellowstone is streaming now on Paramount+.

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Release Date

2018 – 2024

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Network

Paramount Network

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Directors

Stephen Kay, Taylor Sheridan, Christina Alexandra Voros, Guy Ferland, John Dahl

Writers
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John Coveny, Ian McCulloch

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X-Men ‘97 Season 2 Proves The Past Is Still A Blast

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X-Men ‘97 Season 2 Proves The Past Is Still A Blast

By Chris Snellgrove
| Published

When X-Men ‘97 premiered, it came in like the proverbial wrecking ball. At that point, superhero fatigue was bad enough that many fans were worried whether Marvel (whose live-action films had become very hit-or-miss) still had the juice to create something awesome. Throw in the fact that this was a revival of an absolutely beloved ‘90s cartoon, and we were all very nervous that the writers and animators would drop the ball and ruin an iconic part of our childhood. Fortunately, we worried for nothing: X-Men ‘97 Season 1 was the best thing Marvel made in years, providing episode after episode of nostalgic perfection.

In fact, the only bad thing about X-Men ‘97 was the wait for more. After the final episode streamed back in 2024, we had to sit back and wait a couple of years for another season. It’s been a long wait, but I’m happy to report that it was well worth it. The first three episodes of X-Men ‘97 Season 2 are now streaming on Disney+, and the show picks up right where it left off, with half the team stuck in the distant past and the other half stuck in the far future. Each episode raises the bar for superhero storytelling with ambitious plots and the best character-building on modern television.

When The Past Blasts Back

The plot of X-Men ‘97 Season 2 begins with one half of the team (including Cyclops, Jean Grey, Morph, and Wolverine) tossed into a dystopian adventure in which Apocalypse reigns supreme. There, they try to help the young Nathan Summers (who grows up to become Cable), fight the forces of Apocalypse, and make their way home. Meanwhile, the other half of the team (including Professor X, Magneto, Nightcrawler, and Beast) are tossed into ancient Egypt, where Apocalypse is a rebel fighting against a tyrant. There, Magneto gives him lessons about fighting oppressors, which may lead to either a Golden Age for mutants or a cruel, never-ending Age of Apocalypse.

As you might imagine, both groups of X-Men are very resourceful, and they make allies that help them in their struggle to get (as Bishop so memorably says) “back to the ‘90s.” But they also have a little help: Forge jumps into the future to help Cyclops and Jean’s group while Bishop jumps into the past to help Professor X and Magneto’s group. The real wild card is Cable, who assembles his own X-Force team comprised of himself, Psylocke, Archangel, Sunspot, and Jubilee. They investigate Apocalypse in the present day, but they run into an unexpected enemy: X-Factor, a government-sanctioned mutant team led by Cyclops’ brother.

Redefining Future Shock

Like X-Men ‘97 Season 1, Season 2 does an excellent job of folding various comic book storylines into the animated continuity in new and exciting ways. For example, the X-Force and X-Factor teams in this show will look familiar to any fans of ‘90s X-Men comics, but they have different origins, both being formed in response to the events of the previous season. X-Factor is the government’s response to the disappearance of the X-Men, basically filling the vacuum with their own tame group of superpowered mutants. X-Force is basically a gamble, with Cable assembling a team with the mix of knowledge and skills necessary to hit Apocalypse when he least expects it. 

There are other great nods to different eras of X-Men comics, including Wolverine wearing the same awful bandana he wore in the comics after the adamantium was leached from his bones. Plenty of the young mutants introduced in Grant Morrison’s New X-Men make an appearance, including Quentin Quire and the Cuckoos. As predicted, the future scenes draw plenty of inspiration from The Adventures of Cyclops and Phoenix miniseries, and the past scenes draw heavily from the Rise of Apocalypse miniseries. Fortunately, everything onscreen makes sense in context, meaning you can easily follow along even if you’ve never read any of these comics.

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When Beautiful Animation Meets Killer Voice Acting

The voice acting in X-Men ‘97 Season 2 remains top-notch. The returning cast does an excellent job, but it’s arguably the newcomers who shine brightest. For example, Michael Johnston (of Obsession fame) is excellent as Nathan Summers. Meanwhile, the new Big Bad has two perfect voice actors: Ross Marquand voices the creepier Apocalypse of the future, while Adetokumboh M’Cormack voices the younger version, who goes by En Sabah Nur. As for the returning cast, I was impressed with Chris Potter’s Cable, and I wouldn’t be much of a gamer if I didn’t give a shout-out to Jean Grey voice actor Jennifer Hale (you’ll always be my Commander Shepard).

In short, X-Men ‘97 Season 2 is more than a worthy follow-up to Season 1. It fires on all cylinders, pairing beautiful animation with writing that really respects these mutants and their tangled decades of lore. The voice acting is fantastic, and each episode leaves you wanting more. The first three episodes are out now on Disney+; starting next week, the streamer will release one episode at a time. That may be frustrating if you’re someone who likes to binge your favorite entertainment. Trust me, though: this newest season of X-Men ‘97 is definitely worth savoring. 


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DC Is Now Copying Sony’s Failed Superhero Formula

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DC Is Now Copying Sony’s Failed Superhero Formula

By Chris Snellgrove
| Published

Okay, confession time: long before Supergirl became a critical and commercial bomb, I lauded the DCU as a worthy successor to the MCU. Marvel’s formula had gotten tired and stale, and superhero fatigue seemed like it would be the kiss of death for the House of Ideas. By comparison, Superman seemed like a fresh take on building a cinematic universe from the ground up. Directed by DC Studios co-CEO James Gunn, Superman was a powerful counterpoint to everyone’s collective cynicism, proving that the world was downright hungry for colorful comic book movies built on a foundation of relentless hope for a better tomorrow. 

Gunn kept the momentum up with Peacemaker Season 2, which proved to be a smash hit. However, Supergirl (directed by Craig Gillespie, who is clearly aping Gunn’s style) has proven to be an instant misfire for the studio: it’s been deemed “rotten” on Rotten Tomatoes, and it’s currently set to lose the studio a whopping $125 million. Now, as if doubling down on failure, DC is hard at work on a Deathstroke and Bane team-up movie. Instead of blazing their own successful trail, it seems like Gunn is content to rip off Sony’s failed supervillain formula, making multiple movies around Batman bad guys before making a Batman movie!

Somehow, Morbin’ Time Returned

morbius

Back in the ‘90s, Marvel was going bankrupt, and the company stayed afloat by selling the film rights to some of their most popular characters. This included selling both the X-Men and the Fantastic Four rights to 20th Century Fox; after a merger, those characters are now fair game for the MCU. But they sold Spider-Man to Sony, which has clung to those film rights for dear life. Now, when the hero appears in a Marvel Studios blockbuster like Spider-Man: Brand New Day, he can only do so after extensive negotiations and complex agreements with Sony. As for Sony, they now avoid releasing live-action Spider-Man movies of their own.

Instead, they embraced the utterly insane strategy of releasing movies focusing on Spider-Man’s villains, not. That’s how we got films dedicated to Venom, Morbius, and Kraven the Hunter. He was similarly absent from the Madame Web movie. Notably, only the Venom movies were a success, and everything else was a critical and commercial flop. The lesson there is simple: audiences don’t want Spider-Man movies that don’t have Spider-Man in them. Simple, right? Now, however, Deadline reports that periodic Peacemaker director Greg Mottola is the frontrunner to direct Deathstroke and Bane, a film teaming up two of Batman’s villains. There’s just one problem…the DCU doesn’t have a Batman for them to fight!

It’s Happening Again

Deathstroke and Bane doesn’t yet have a release date, and no contracts have been signed. So there’s a chance it will come out after Batman has been introduced to the DCU. However, it seems bad that we have heard so few definitive announcements about The Brave and the Bold, Batman’s first film in this cinematic universe. Aside from rumors, we don’t know for sure who will be playing the Caped Crusader or who will direct the movie. However, the Clayface movie has already been filmed, and it seems like Deathstroke and Bane is about to have its director announced. That leaves one question for James Gunn: what the heck are you doing?

DC Studios co-CEO Gunn is cheerfully replicating Sony’s failed formula and trying to introduce an entire rogue’s gallery of Batman villains via movies that won’t actually have Batman in them. Before this past weekend, I would have assumed that Gunn, a fan-favorite director, had some kind of vision for his cinematic universe that I just couldn’t see or understand. But he championed Supergirl’s script and moved that film’s production up, yet it became a critical and commercial bomb. That film is set to lose $125 million, and one reason for this is that Supergirl is a less familiar character. How much worse will the box office be when freakin’ Deathstroke and Bane are the headliners? 

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There’s an outside chance this strategy could work. Maybe DCU fans will glom onto Bane, Clayface, and Deathstroke the way that Sony fans glommed onto Venom. But James Gunn is making an absolutely crazy roll of the dice by pairing weird, unpopular characters on the big screen. He’s doing it on the small screen, too, by greenlighting insanity like the Jimmy Olsen/Gorilla Grodd TV show. Should these projects prove successful, Gunn will be lauded as a visionary who built a winning cinematic universe, one quirk at a time. Should they bomb like Supergirl, though, his career will implode, taking all of your favorite DC film and TV projects along with it.


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Inside the Royal Family Rift Divide Ahead of Harry’s Visit

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2628 Us Weekly Cover Prince William and Prince Harry No Chip

It looks like it’s going to be a summer to remember for Prince Harry. In July, the former working royal will travel across the pond to mark the one-year countdown to the 2027 Invictus Games with his wife, Meghan Markle, and their two children, Prince Archie, 7, and Princess Lilibet, 5, in tow. Harry has returned to England a number of times since he moved to the U.S. in 2020, but it will be the first time back for Meghan and the kids since 2022.

Despite their estrangement, King Charles III has invited the family of four to stay at a royal residence during their visit. “He’s made it clear their comfort and security is a priority,” says a source. “Everyone’s buzzing with excitement, saying this might be the first step in mending the relationship at large.”

The olive branch certainly seems like a good sign, but there’s no question the royal family at large remains fractured. And the widest rifts are between Harry and his older brother, Prince William, and Charles and his younger brother Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor (formerly Prince Andrew). William, 44, is angry at Harry, 41, for airing the royal family’s dirty laundry in his 2023 memoir, Spare, and in TV interviews, while Charles, 77, stripped Andrew, 66, of his titles and royal status last fall over his ties to late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

For Charles and William — who’s set to succeed his father to the throne — their loyalty to the crown only complicates matters. “This is a family for whom, for many years, duties come first, and I think that it’s a very difficult balance, because there are human beings involved and at the end of the day, siblings involved,” says royal expert Emily Nash. “You don’t want to turn your back on them completely, but at the same time, you have to protect the institution.”

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2628 Us Weekly Cover Prince William and Prince Harry No Chip
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The once-close brothers are currently not in contact. “There’s no direct communication, no texts, no calls, no emails, nothing,” says the source. While they share a history (“there are only two people alive who know what their childhood was like,” the source explains) and grief over their late mom, Princess Diana, as well as concerns over their father’s health (Charles revealed his cancer diagnosis in 2024), there’s “no movement” toward a reconciliation. “Harry is not Andrew, and he never will be, but William isn’t ready [to make up].”

William hasn’t forgiven Harry for speaking out against The Firm in Spare, the 2022 Netflix docuseries, Harry & Meghan, and in his bombshell 2021 TV interview with Meghan. “[That] created a public, permanent record,” explains the source. “The fly in the ointment has always been William’s ongoing beef with his brother over the Sussexes’ notorious [TV] interview, and the broadsides Harry delivered to the royal family in his memoir,” notes Christopher Andersen, author of Kate!: The Courage, Grace, and Power of the Woman Who Will Be Queen.

Harry, meanwhile, has his own trust issues. A second source tells Us Weekly he worries about “stories being planted in the UK press that are anti-Meghan and Harry and pro-Charles and William.” The father of two previously accused Princess Kate and William’s press office of leaking negative stories about him and Meghan to British news outlets to sway public opinion. “That concern is not something that will go away,” the second source says.

The first source believes the brothers still carry sadness over their falling out. “Harry misses William more than he misses ‘the institution.’ He misses having someone who doesn’t need anything explained,” shares the source, adding they believe William feels the same way, even if he doesn’t say it directly. “William’s desire [to see Harry] exists at a level he hasn’t given himself permission to act on yet.” Adds Nash: “I think there’s almost certainly sadness on both sides, but this is the situation they’re in, and they have to make the best of it.”

Feature 2628 Us Weekly Cover Prince William and Prince Harry Story
Yui Mok – WPA Pool/Getty Images

According to Andersen, the siblings are unlikely to meet up when Harry’s in town. “Is there a sliver of hope? Yes,” Andersen says, adding that it’s more probable that “the Waleses and the Sussexes will assiduously avoid each other.” Nash echoes that there are “no plans” for Harry and William to cross paths. “There’s no communication there at present. It’s very sad for all involved, but they’re both very busy getting on with their lives, and I think Harry does have a bit more of a relationship with his father, so perhaps he will focus his efforts there for now.”

Kate and Meghan are following their husbands’ leads. “They are waiting for William and Harry to decide what’s going to happen,” says the first source, adding, “Kate would love her children to have a relationship with their cousins, and she is interested in seeing the kids as well. But she will respect William’s decision.”

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There’s talk that William and Harry will mend fences — eventually. “They will patch things up in the future,” the first source says. (As for connecting over the 29th anniversary of their mom’s tragic death in August, the source says they grieve “separately.”) In a June 22 interview with The Times, William and Harry’s former private secretary Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton weighed in on a possible thaw between the future king and his younger brother, saying, “I was and am very fond of [Harry]. He has huge redeeming features, and I’m a perennial optimist.”

Prince Harry's Ups and Downs With the Royal Family Over the Years, From Royal Exit to Meghan Markle Tell-All and More


Related: Prince Harry’s Ups and Downs With the Royal Family Over the Years

Prince Harry‘s relationship with his relatives is complex and complicated. Harry is the youngest son of King Charles III and the late Princess Diana. As children, he and his older brother, Prince William, seemed inseparable, but as they got older, cracks began to form in their relationship. “There’s always been a part of Harry that […]

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Charles is stuck in the middle of his sons. “He’s felt as if he were caught in the crossfire,” says Andersen. “But if he had to pick a side, he sympathizes [more] with William.” Nash says Charles and Kate’s cancer battles have bonded them. (Kate revealed she was in remission in early 2025.) “That’s brought Charles and William together,” she says.

Harry hopes to see his dad during his trip. The father and son last met in September 2025, spending roughly an hour together at Charles’ Clarence House residence. While the first source tells Us Charles is handling security matters for the visit, Andersen insists the subject remains a touchy one. Harry lost his initial court case to have taxpayer-funded security while he’s in the UK with Meghan and his children in May 2025; at the time, he said he couldn’t “see a world in which I would bring my wife and children back to the UK” without protection. However, in January 2026, the Mail on Sunday reported that Harry and his family would be allowed government-funded security during trips to his home country after a new risk assessment from the Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures (RAVEC).

Andrew 2628 Us Weekly Cover Prince William and Prince Harry Story
Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images

“Even if they iron out all the details, there’s no guarantee the king will set aside more than a few minutes to meet Harry and his family,” Andersen says. They are “trying to align everyone’s schedules,” says the first source, adding, “the king wants to spend time with Archie and Lilibet. They are seeing if they can have a couple of shared meals together and some casual family time.”

William understands his father’s desire to maintain a relationship with Harry and his grandchildren. “He would not stand in the way of that,” notes the source. “There are mixed emotions about him seeing Harry given their history, but William’s feelings about Harry and his father’s happiness are two separate matters, so he won’t get involved.” However, Andersen believes that without William “signing off on a full-blown reconciliation, Charles will probably just be going through the motions — if he sees Harry at all.”

Charles and his younger brother — who was arrested in February on suspicion of misconduct while in public office — haven’t been in contact in months. (Andrew was released from jail hours after being questioned.) “Charles called Andrew [when he stripped him of his titles] and [let him know he] had no choice. They haven’t spoken since,” says the first source, adding, “they have no relationship.” Nash agrees, telling Us the brothers’ relationship is likely “incredibly strained.”

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Where Do Harry and Meghan Stand With the Rest of the Royal Family


Related: Where Harry and Meghan Stand With Each Member of the Royal Family

Following their shocking step away from their senior royal duties in March 2020, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have distanced themselves from their relatives across the pond. Nearly one year after their initial step away, Buckingham Palace confirmed in February 2021 that Harry and the Suits alum were not going to return as working royals. […]

Like William and Harry, the siblings were also once tight. “Andrew could make Charles laugh,” the first source says. “Andrew was the loud, crazy one, where Charles was measured and refined.” Charles found Andrew’s scandalous behavior increasingly exhausting. (Andrew was previously accused of sexually assaulting a then-17-year-old woman named Virginia Giuffre; they settled for an undisclosed amount of money in 2022. She died by suicide in 2025.) “Charles doesn’t agree with Andrew’s choices and is devastated by the scandal,” says the source. “It felt like a death.”

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Charles feels Andrew posed a serious threat to the monarchy. “I don’t think anyone believed the king would act so decisively, but it’s to his credit that he did,” says Andersen, adding, “Andrew’s downfall was inevitable. To say he felt entitled to do whatever he pleased would be a gross understatement.” Adds Nash: “Charles has come out in support of victims, and that sends a powerful message. He would like for Andrew’s scandal to not be a stain on his reign.”

2628 Us Weekly Cover Prince William and Prince Harry Stroy
JOHNNY EGGITT/AFP via Getty Images

Nash tells Us that Charles and William are “in lockstep” about the decisions regarding Andrew’s removal from royal life. “They are in full agreement about this,” she says. “I think there have been times in the past where perhaps one or the other didn’t quite see the same things, but they’re both resolute about this. They’ve taken the steps they needed to take.”

Andrew — who was booted by Charles from his longtime home at Royal Lodge and is now living at Marsh Farm on Charles’ Sandringham Estate — is keeping his distance. “He stopped answering most calls,” says the first source. “He takes a lot of walks and asked someone to send him his model soldiers from storage, so he’s been [keeping busy with] hobbies.”

The royals are clearly far from exempt from family drama. “They may be royals, but they’re still a family, and the dynamics are the same whether you’re a king or a coal miner,” says Andersen, pointing out that even Queen Elizabeth and her sister, Princess Margaret, famously had their differences. The author also notes that The Firm is made up of several camps that have long competed for attention and money to fund their various causes. “Inevitably, their egos get tied up in all of this,” he explains. “Charles used to hate being overshadowed by Diana, and Harry and Meghan decided they couldn’t live out their days playing second fiddle to William and Kate.”

Now, Charles has the most at stake. He’s caught between his fractured relationship with Andrew, his strained bond with Harry and the ongoing feud between his two sons. “He wants to be seen as a strong monarch,” says Andersen. “He really has to be the glue that holds everything together.”

For more on the royal family rift, watch the exclusive video above and pick up the latest issue of Us Weekly — on newsstands now.

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Sony Ending Physical Disc Production for New PlayStation Games Beginning in 2028 : Coastal House Media

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Sony Ending Physical Disc Production for New PlayStation Games Beginning in 2028 : Coastal House Media

Sony’s June 2026 State of Play showcase was packed with new game reveals, first looks, release dates, and franchise returns. From Marvel’s Wolverine and God of War: Laufey to horror titles like Silent Hill: Townfall and Until Dawn 2, PlayStation delivered one of its biggest presentations in recent memory.

Below are some of the biggest announcements from the event.

Marvel’s Wolverine Gets A Brutal New Look

Insomniac Games finally unveiled an extended look at Marvel’s Wolverine, showcasing Logan’s savage combat style, Team X connections, and several major character reveals. The highly anticipated PlayStation exclusive is currently scheduled to launch on September 15, 2026.

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God Of War: Laufey Officially Revealed

Santa Monica Studio surprised fans with the reveal of God of War: Laufey. Instead of following Kratos, the next chapter puts players in control of Faye as she battles through a dangerous realm filled with magic and mythical threats.

Silent Hill: Townfall Finally Gets A Release Date

Konami’s Silent Hill: Townfall received a brand-new trailer and an official release date of September 24. The latest footage introduced new characters and terrifying creatures lurking within the Otherworld.

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Until Dawn 2 Continues The Horror Franchise

Horror fans also got a fresh look at Until Dawn 2, the sequel to the fan-favorite interactive survival horror game. While details remain limited, the new footage suggests another terrifying experience built around player choices and deadly consequences.

Onimusha: Way Of The Sword Arrives This September

Capcom showcased a new story trailer for Onimusha: Way of the Sword and confirmed a September 25 release date. Players can also jump into a playable demo available now.

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Tomb Raider Returns In Legacy Of Atlantis

Lara Croft is back. Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis was officially announced and is currently targeting a 2027 release window. The reveal trailer teased a globe-spanning adventure packed with ancient mysteries and dangerous exploration.

New Horror Game ILL Looks Absolutely Terrifying

One of the showcase’s biggest surprises was ILL, a first-person horror title featuring grotesque monsters, realistic physics, and an intense dismemberment system. The game immediately became one of the most talked-about reveals from the presentation.

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Rayman Makes A Comeback

Ubisoft announced Rayman Legends Retold, a reimagining of the beloved platforming franchise that introduces new content, updated visuals, and expanded multiplayer features.

Final Thoughts

Sony’s June 2026 showcase featured a strong mix of blockbuster exclusives, beloved franchise revivals, and brand-new experiences. With Marvel’s Wolverine, God of War: Laufey, Silent Hill: Townfall, and several surprise announcements leading the charge, PlayStation fans have plenty to look forward to over the next year and beyond.


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