We’re now in the second half of June, and the early summer 2026 slate has been packed with must-watch shows. The return of the Gilmore Girls replacement, Sweet Magnolias, created by Sheryl J. Anderson, has been keeping Netflix subscribers entertained; Rip (Cole Hauser) and Beth’s (Kelly Reilly) ranch rivalry in Dutton Ranch has kept Paramount+ subscribers hooked, and Apple TV’s new adaptation of Cape Fear has been topping the streaming charts. But, once again, Prime Video has been making a strong case for the title of best streamer. With that in mind, here’s a look at three Prime Video shows you need to binge this weekend.

For more recommendations, check out our list of the best shows and movies on Prime Video.

1

‘Every Year After’ (2026)

Rotten Tomatoes: 73% | IMDb: 6.3/10

The Summer I Turned Pretty was arguably Prime Video’s defining show of 2025, and the feature film finale is getting closer by the day. But to pass the time, Prime Video has just debuted the perfect replacement. Every Year After, based on Every Summer After by Carley Fortune, follows Percy Fraser (Sadie Soverall) and Sam Florek (Matt Cornett), who, a decade after falling in love during a summer at Barry’s Bay, explore whether their first love was true love.

A touching, heartwarming series set against a gorgeous backdrop, Every Year After is an easy watch waiting to whisk you away this weekend. All eight episodes in the series are available to watch right now, and, with its success on the streaming charts, there’s a chance this could be the start of another YA franchise. “If showrunner Amy B. Harris has her way, we’ll hopefully be spending more summers in Barry’s Bay, and I’d welcome the chance to return,” said Meredith Loftus in Collider’s review.

2

‘Teen Titans’ (2003–2006)

Rotten Tomatoes: 92% | IMDb: 7.9/10

Image via Warner Bros. Animation

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As The Boys and Invincible have recently shown, superhero shows are hugely popular on Prime Video. So, this weekend, why not head back to 2003 and binge-watch one of the very best? Created by Glen Murakami, David Slack, and Sam Register, Teen Titans follows five teenage superheroes as they face the world’s most evil villains, as well as typical teenage angst.

Few animated superhero shows are better than Teen Titans. A pitch-perfect adaptation of the DC Comics superhero team, 66 episodes of Teen Titans are currently available, with each season growing from strength to strength. With animation inspired by anime and a desire to tackle some nuanced, mature themes, this is a show you certainly won’t regret watching.

3

‘The Night Manager’ (2016–Present)

Rotten Tomatoes: 88% | IMDb: 8.0/10

Although there was a 10-year wait between Season 1 and Season 2, nothing could stop this clever, twisting series from being a hit. Based on the 1993 novel by John le Carré, The Night Manager follows Tom Hiddleston as former military officer-turned-hotel manager Jonathan Pine, as he is caught up in a criminal underworld.

Also featuring the likes of Hugh Laurie, Olivia Colman, Tom Hollander, David Harewood, and Elizabeth Debicki in Season 1 and Diego Calva, Camila Morrone, and Hayley Squires in Season 2, The Night Manager is a star-packed whirlwind that will keep you hooked from its very first moments. A winner of two Primetime Emmy Awards and three Golden Globes, this is one of the best adaptations on streaming today.

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Release Date

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2016 – 2025-00-00

Network

BBC One

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Based on a novel by John le Carré

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Former “Summer House” star West Wilson said he knew that his time on the Bravo reality series was coming to an end long before the network confirmed his departure. In the season 10 bonus episode, titled “The Aftermath,” Wilson, 31, told his co-star, Kyle Cooke, that his performance during one critical moment was the nail in the coffin.

In the “Summer House” bonus episode, Wilson spoke with Cooke about his secretive romance with his estranged wife, Amanda Batula. At the beginning of the conversation, Wilson said that he wanted to meet with Cooke privately; however, the latter suggested they film the sit-down for the cameras since the audience was invested in their personal drama.

During the conversation, Wilson appeared to tell Cooke that he was done filming the Bravo reality show, saying, “This won’t make it, but, like, my time on camera is over.” Continuing, the Missouri native said his departure was due to the “bad job” he did during the season 10 reunion.

Why West Wilson Wanted To Speak With Cooke About His Romance With Batula Privately

Elsewhere in the conversation, Wilson told Cooke, who joined the “Summer House” cast in 2017, why he preferred to meet with him privately rather than on camera.

“In my experience, anything I’ve done following it, publicly, has landed poorly,” Wilson said, referring to the pushback he faced following the season 8 reunion, during which he confirmed he ended things with co-star Ciara Miller after introducing her to his family.

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“And so, I didn’t want you to think I, like, waited ’til the reunion was over and then, like, gathered myself and then was like, ‘Oh, let’s film a scene together’ kind of thing. The processing and, like, slowing down and just sort of, like, soaking it all in didn’t really happen until the last two weeks,” he continued.

West Wilson Said He Was Disappointed In Himself For Fracturing Some Of His Friendships

Cooke asked Wilson whether his revelations had come to him “post reunion,” to which Wilson replied, yes.

“I mean, when this all happened, everything was just such a f–king disaster tornado, and there’s so many layers to this. But, like, the friendship part of this has been really hard to process. To watch it fully implode with other people who you care about, I care about, um, f–kin’ sucks. … It’s really f–king hard to know that something so special, like, I f–kin’ super fractured,” Wilson added.

Their conversation occurred months after Wilson confirmed he was dating Batula—Cooke’s estranged wife and Miller’s former best friend. The pair released a joint statement following weeks of speculation, saying their relationship had developed over the years.

Wilson Joined ‘Summer House’ In 2024

Wilson gained significant popularity after joining the cast of “Summer House” in 2024. During his debut season, the sports journalist shared that he was looking for a change after being laid off. He also discussed his love life, revealing that he was scared of commitment.

Over the years, Wilson’s star began to fade as the Bravoverse criticized him for appearing to live one way in front of the cameras and another when they went down. His co-stars also hinted at this being true during the season 10 reunion.

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He was fired from the series days ago, according to The Blast, and it’s unclear if he’ll be featured on the program again.

Bravo Exec Speaks About Wilson’s ‘Frustrating’ Reunion Performance

A Bravo and “Summer House” executive discussed Wilson’s fall from grace, according to The Blast, and opened up about why his reunion performance was so bothersome.

“When you watch the reunion, as incredible as it is, and as great television as it is, you walk away feeling a little unsatisfied because of the way that West and Amanda handle themselves,” Noah Samton, the current SVP of production for Bravo and Peacock unscripted, said. “They didn’t explain themselves in a satisfying way. And then there was a whole separate conversation with Meija, who nobody knew anything about. To me, those were the three stories that needed to be fleshed out further.”

“I think we didn’t get that in the reunion, and that was very frustrating for us. So I feel very happy that we were able to make a lot of progress in that ‘Aftermath’ episode,” Samton added.

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Anne Hathaway has plenty of iconic roles to be proud of, but perhaps none more special than mom.

The actress married Adam Shulman in 2012, but their path to starting a family wasn’t easy. Hathaway suffered a miscarriage in 2015 while performing in a play that required her to “give birth on stage every night.”

“It was too much to keep it in when I was on stage pretending everything was fine,” she told Vanity Fair about the toll it took on her emotional well-being nearly 10 years later in 2024.

Hathaway and her husband did eventually expand their family with two sons.

Related: Anne Hathaway and Adam Shulman: A Timeline of Their Relationship

Anne Hathaway met husband Adam Shulman and it was love at first sight — but their real-life fairy tale almost didn’t come true. “You know when you don’t know someone very well, you just meet them and you’re like, ‘Wow, you really have it going on?’… We hit it off immediately, but it took us a pretty long […]

“When it did go well for me, having been on the other side of it — where you have to have the grace to be happy for someone — I wanted to let my sisters know, ‘You don’t have to always be graceful. I see you and I’ve been you,’” she continued in a message of support to other women.

Two years later, news broke in June 2026 that Hathaway is pregnant once again. Scroll down to meet her family:

Adam Shulman

Hathaway met Shulman through mutual friends at the Palm Springs Film Festival in 2008, and the rest is history.

Along with working behind the scenes, Shulman has made appearances on the TV series American Dreams and in the TV movie The Dukes of Hazzard: The Beginning. He studied theater at Brown University.

Jonathan

Hathaway and Shulmen welcomed their first child, a son, in March 2016.

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Jack

Jonathan’s younger brother was born in November 2019.

Kate and Gerald Hathaway

The actress’ father, Gerald, worked as an attorney. Her mother, Kate, was also involved in the entertainment world as an actor and theatrical producer.

Along with Anne, the couple share sons Michael and Thomas.

Plenty of adventure movies are fun, or if they’re not fun 100% of the time, the darker parts aren’t really overwhelming. You’ve got films like The Princess Bride that are pretty lightweight all the way through, and then maybe The Lord of the Rings is more what you’d expect tonally out of a standard adventure movie, since there are emotional highs and lows there, but ultimately more of a focus on the highs, once all is said and done (also, very little about that trilogy is “standard” in a technical sense, it has to be stressed).

Yet not all adventure movies are wholly fun, or even partly fun. The following ones, for example, are pretty downbeat all the way through, and some are genuinely soul-crushing. They’re the heaviest adventure movies ever made, basically, and maybe some you have to squint at a little, before you see they’re adventure films, but if “adventure” is listed as a genre on either Letterboxd or IMDb, then it’s fair game to be included here.

10

‘Gerry’ (2002)

Image via THINKFilm

The first entry in a bleak thematic trilogy directed by Gus Van Sant, Gerry does star two very recognizable actors, Casey Affleck and Matt Damon, but is otherwise a pretty difficult-to-approach movie. It’s about their two characters (both named Gerry, because of course they are; it’s that kind of film) getting lost in the desert, and finding it increasingly difficult to get back to somewhere familiar.

It’s not like you can read into it, but more that you have to read into Gerry and come up with something beyond the surface-level stuff here. It’s an art film, and a particularly aggressively artful one at that. Maybe it’s a bit pretentious, too, but it is technically a sort of adventure/survival film, and it’s a pretty anxiety-provoking and overall unhappy one, so it feels like it belongs here, even if its actual quality is kind of questionable and up for debate.

9

‘Beau Is Afraid’ (2023)

Image via A24

The title doesn’t lie, because Beau really is afraid throughout the entirety of Beau Is Afraid. What might be more surprising is just how long he’s afraid for, since Beau Is Afraid comes in at a kind of ridiculous three hours in length. Okay, technically, it’s a couple of minutes shy of three hours, but so are The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers, respectively (at least the theatrical cuts of those films), so being hyper-fixated on the runtime here feels understandable.

It’s definitely an adventure movie, too, albeit a dark and consistently intense one, since the plot here involves a man having to undertake a long trip so he can attend his mother’s funeral, even though the idea of leaving his comfort zone (which doesn’t look too comfortable in the first place) is absolutely terrifying to him. Beyond all that, Beau Is Afraid is also a comedy, more or less, and does succeed at being both a tonal and general nightmare, so approach this one with caution… even if there is quite a lot here to appreciate; like, the sheer gutsiness of it all.

8

‘The Northman’ (2022)

If The Northman counts as an epic, then it is admittedly on the shorter side of things, by epic movie standards, but it does feel pretty big, and you can’t fault its ambition, either. It’s about a young boy whose father is murdered by his uncle, and he escapes while vowing revenge, once he’s older. Then, the film jumps forward, and he is older. Vengeance ensues, and then also, vengeance turns out to be a messy thing to try and get.

There are some strange fantastical elements at play throughout The Northman, and then it’s also got quite a bit of action for something so unusual and unsettling, with all of that adding up to make a fairly unique film, even if the narrative is familiar, what with it being based on the story that influenced the (also influential) Hamlet and all. It’s not quite as downbeat as some of the horror films Robert Eggers has directed, but it’s also not too far off, and is pretty savage and brutal when judged as a fantasy/action/adventure film.

7

‘El Topo’ (1970)

Image via ABKCO Films

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El Topo is one of the most surreal Westerns ever made, and since it depicts a strange and drawn-out journey, it can technically count itself among the weirdest adventure films of all time, too. The central characters here are a violent man and his son, and they venture through a landscape that gets increasingly bizarre and difficult to navigate, with the whole movie feeling quite episodic, and frequently very violent, too.

For better or worse, El Topo does a very good job at feeling like a nightmare transposed to the big screen, with it being one of the trippiest films not just of its era (which, you know, was pretty trippy in the first place), but maybe even of all time. There are some very dark and unpleasant places it goes to, even for something that seems very willing to push boundaries while running the risk of offending people, so to say it’s not the sort of thing that’s for everyone would be a massive understatement.

6

‘Watership Down’ (1978)

Image via Cinema International Corporation

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Sure, it’s an animated movie, and it features rabbits, but Watership Down is indisputably savage and overall a pretty feel-bad affair. The narrative centers on a group of rabbits who have to undertake a journey to some sort of new land after events transpire, and it turns out they can’t really live where they used to anymore. From there, things get dark pretty early on, and eventually, things also get surprisingly violent, too.

By this point, it’s probably well known that Watership Down is not really kid-friendly, or if younger viewers do watch it, they should be warned it’s not going to be sunshine and rainbows, or otherwise very “Disney,” for lack of a better word. It’s not going to surprise people in that sense anymore, because it’s known for being one of the darker animated movies out there that’s not technically only for older audiences, but still, it is surprising, to some extent, where this one’s willing to go, and especially where it eventually ends up narratively and thematically.

5

‘Deliverance’ (1972)

Image via Warner Bros. Pictures

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With Deliverance, you get something that starts out feeling a bit like an adventure movie, with the focus being on a group of friends who go on a river-rafting trip, but then things eventually take a turn that throws the film more into survival/psychological thriller territory. If you know, then you know, and if you don’t know, maybe you’re better off not knowing, because Deliverance – despite its age – is still incredibly confronting.

There’s a lot done here with a simple premise, and the way in which a handful of characters are pushed to their physical and psychological limits. It might well even seem a bit too straightforward, but in execution, Deliverance makes it all work brutally well. The whole movie inspires fear of things you might not have been fearful of before, yet post-Deliverance, such things can never be seen (or heard) through innocent eyes (or ears) ever again.

4

‘The Descent’ (2005)

Image via Pathé Distribution

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The Descent is most easily classified as a horror movie, but it’s got adventure film qualities, too, since it revolves around a group of women going on a caving expedition through increasingly claustrophobic territory. The darkness and the general confinement are already tense enough, but then The Descent throws in some creatures to make the whole experience so much worse for the main characters, and in that way, it transitions from a survival thriller to more of a horror film.

Also, the main character in The Descent is grappling with a recent personal tragedy when she agrees to go on the expedition, so that leads to some extra heaviness, and heaviness that’s there right from the start. The Descent jumps around a lot, making you feel sad at times, unsettled at other points, and then sometimes genuinely terrified, too. It’s a lot to handle, and it’s also really good, so long as you don’t mind feeling on edge throughout, then more than a bit bummed out by the time it’s all over.

3

‘Sorcerer’ (1977)

Image via Paramount Pictures

There’s a bit of a dilemma here, and it comes down to not feeling comfortable including both The Wages of Fear and Sorcerer, just because they’re heavy-going and anxiety-provoking for similar reasons. The Wages of Fear came first, and might be the better film because it was more groundbreaking and admirable (considering its age), but Sorcerer, its remake, is perhaps even more downbeat and unapologetic with just how cynical it’s willing to get.

So, consider The Wages of Fear honorably mentioned, as something that pre-dated Sorcerer by about a quarter of a century, and was also about some desperate men trying to transport highly explosive material through dangerous terrain. Sorcerer is here, though, because William Friedkin admirably attempted to make the whole thing even darker and more vicious, and potentially succeeded, since Sorcerer stands a good chance at shocking and unnerving you even if you’ve already watched The Wages of Fear beforehand.

2

‘The Road’ (2009)

Image via Dimension Films

Cormac McCarthy wrote a post-apocalyptic book about surviving the aftermath of some sort of world-ending catastrophe called The Road, so of course the movie based on that book is a pretty darn bleak – and overall desolate – affair. Of all the movies here, this one feels like the biggest stretch, in terms of labeling it an adventure film, but there is a journey undertaken here throughout the whole thing, by a father and his son, even if the destination feels uncertain a good deal of the time.

For what it’s worth, it is a very effective film adaptation of some challenging source material, since both the book and movie versions of The Road manage to be bleak and upsetting in comparable ways. This is the sort of film you should probably watch, but it’s also maybe one of the least rewatchable films ever made. One viewing is more than enough, in other words.

1

‘Aguirre, the Wrath of God’ (1972)

Image via Filmverlag der Autoren

By all accounts, Fitzcarraldo was the more hellish adventure film to make, for Werner Herzog and everyone else involved, but the film itself is not quite as confronting and despairing as Aguirre, the Wrath of God. And, for what it’s worth, there were still some production problems when it came to making this, but the reason the movie’s here, in the #1 spot, is that it’s pretty much the quintessential “going on a doomed expedition” sort of film.

The journey here involves looking for the lost city of El Dorado, with basically nothing going right early on, and then things going more aggressively wrong, like, later on. It’s a psychologically harrowing and unusually gripping film about madness, and it’s sort of just the cinematic equivalent of a non-stop – and continual – downward spiral. Aguirre, the Wrath of God is also really good, even if it feels designed to make you feel kind of bad.

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Aguirre, the Wrath of God

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Release Date

April 2, 1977

Runtime

95 Minutes

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Director

Werner Herzog

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Writers

Werner Herzog

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• 

  Klaus Kinski

  Don Lope de Aguirre

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  Helena Rojo

  Inés de Atienza

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Texas Senator Ted Cruz threw a light jab at Katy Perry’s boyfriend, Justin Trudeau, suggesting the former Canadian prime minister is essentially punching above his weight by being with her.

The “Dark Horse” singer certainly does not seem to see things that way, as she recently gushed about how Trudeau has changed her perspective on love and life in many ways.

Perry also reflected on how the past year was “tough” for her, but said she chose to remain cool and collected, even though she felt she had every reason to be “angry.”

Texas Senator Ted Cruz gave a surprisingly candid take on international relations this week, weighing in on the steamy romance between Katy Perry and Justin Trudeau.

When cornered by a TMZ reporter, the Republican senator was asked directly about his thoughts on the budding couple. He did not hold back, leaning into a classic football analogy to describe the pairing.

“Well, you know, there’s an old phrase of ‘outkicking your coverage,’ and I think Justin’s managed to do so,” Cruz said with a grin.

However, the senator was quick to make sure his comments did not come across as offensive, immediately adding a self-deprecating caveat: “Although to be fair, I’m in that same camp as well,” referring to his wife, Heidi Cruz.

The interviewer then asked whether he thought the relationship had any effect on U.S.-Canada relations, to which he replied, “objectively, it does affect U.S.-Canada relations,” before walking away.

Trudeau’s Supportive Boyfriend Moment Stirred Debate

Although the couple had been linked for some time, they only made their red-carpet debut on June 8 at the Tribeca Festival in New York City, while attending the premiere of “Katy Perry: The Lifetimes Tour – Live from Paris.”

However, their romance has already sparked tension among citizens of both nations, as many took to social media to call out Trudeau for traveling to the U.S. to watch the U.S. play in the ongoing World Cup, even though his home country, Canada, was also playing.

“Sometimes supportive boyfriend duties call. But you know who I’m rooting for to take the Cup,” he wrote in an X post, adding a Canadian flag emoji.

Katy Perry Opens Up About Her New Love

Unlike what Cruz appeared to suggest, the “Roar” singer seems happy and satisfied with the way things are between her and Trudeau, and with the kind of love he has shown her since they got together.

In a recent chat with Justin Tranter on his “UnFamous Podcast,” Perry explained that it has been a transformative journey for her, saying Trudeau has helped change her perspective in no small way.

“I have love in my life now. That’s transformed me,” she said on the Wednesday, June 17, episode of the podcast when asked about how she has changed as a songwriter through the years. “You think when The Beatles say, ‘All you need is love,’ it’s a cliché? Clichés are clichés for a reason … it’s like you don’t know until you have your baby how beautiful that experience is and how it transforms you.”

“I am constantly in transformation, and I have so many placements of Scorpio in my chart that it would be easy for me to go to the dark side,” she added on Wednesday’s episode. “I’m constantly rebirthing, constantly transforming, constantly, you know, phoenix to ashes, then hopefully eagle.”

Perry Says Trudeau Has Become Her ‘Anchor’

The pair seems so enamored with each other that they cannot keep their hands off each other and have been spotted several times packing on the PDA.

During their appearance at the Tribeca Festival for the premiere of her concert film, “Katy Perry: The Lifetimes Tour – Live from Paris,” Perry spoke about how meeting Trudeau has been an “anchor” for her.

“I am very in love. And actually, that show was after I met the love of my life, and so I felt very anchored by that because I’m a little bit like a rainbow kite,” she said during a Q&A session, per PEOPLE. “I fly super high and touch the veil … cosmos … and sometimes I need to be anchored. So, to have that anchor finally makes me feel really whole now.”

Katy Perry Says Boundaries Changed Everything

Their relationship comes after a “tough” year for the “California Gurls” singer, who endured a painful split from her ex-fiancé Orlando Bloom, with whom she shares daughter, Daisy Dove. She also faced heavy criticism after joining an all-female space trip aboard Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin vessel.

Perry told Tranter that instead of falling into “that weird victim triangle,” she decided to sit with her emotions, learn from them, and get feedback.

After coming to terms with the split, she adjusted her “boundaries” before meeting Trudeau.

“You know what it is? It’s really boundaries [of] boundaries within yourself, and then, when to boil it even further down, it’s just self-respect. It’s just love for yourself,” Perry stated. “If you don’t have boundaries, you may need to look at that … or peel yourself out of it. That’s what I’ve been doing is peeling myself out of all the conditioning.”

By Chris Snellgrove
| Published 11 seconds ago

At this point, it’s safe to say that The Mandalorian has really fallen off. The third season was aggressively mid and likely contributed to the disappointing box office for The Mandalorian and Grogu, the movie we got instead of Season 4. Once upon a time, though, the show seemed like it just might save Star Wars. The Sequel Trilogy was already leaving a bad taste in our mouths, and The Mandalorian seemed like the kind of hip, space western that could potentially save the franchise. While the show’s titular gunslinger was cool, the series’ real secret weapon was Grogu, everyone’s favorite adorable monster.

Long before he got his (frankly, pretty awful) name, Grogu was more popularly known as “Baby Yoda.” It’s a fitting moniker, as he’s designed to look exactly like a younger, cuter version of the Jedi Master who taught Luke Skywalker the ways of the Force. When The Mandalorian came out, the idea seemed very novel; like, who could imagine the idea of a baby Yoda who lived in the Jedi Temple before the events of Order 66? It wasn’t really an original idea, though. After all, an infant Yoda character was shown in a Star Wars comic that came out 17 years before the premiere of The Mandalorian!

Grogu’s Hidden First Appearance?

The comic is Star Wars Tales, which is the best comic to ever take place in a galaxy far, far away. The gimmick of these 64-page, oversized comics is that you get a selection of very different tales from various artists and writers. They were all non-canonical, which was annoying to lorehounds hoping for more official stories. But the non-canonical nature of these stories allowed their creators to get away with things they otherwise couldn’t. This included the adventures of Tag and Bink (two slackers who Forrest Gump their way through the entire Original Trilogy) and a hilarious trial where Han Solo has to argue he shot Greedo in self-defense and not cold-blooded murder.

In Star Wars Tales #13, there is a story named “Children of the Force.” It’s about a woman hired to bring a young, would-be Padawan back to their parents after the Jedi took the child. It’s a really good story, one which questions the ethics of monastic space police stealing children from their parents in the name of the greater good. Heck, it even has a fun moment where the woman hired to steal someone’s kid back teases Mace Windu about lightsabers being symbolic penises. But what fans of The Mandalorian might find fascinating is a brief glimpse of a Baby Yoda in the Jedi’s nursery.

From Comic Cameo To Cutesy Cannibal

So, was this particular Baby Yoda actually Grogu? Nope. Obviously, it would have been impossible for the creators to know what Jon Favreau would be cooking up 17 years later. In all likelihood, this was just a visual gag, one that might have been explained by the still-confusing appearance of Yaddle, another member of Yoda’s mysterious race. Additionally, this story, like all featured in Star Wars Tales, is non-canonical. But we also don’t know exactly when this tale takes place, so it can certainly be part of your own headcanon that this is actually Grogu chilling in the nursery.

In retrospect, it’s lucky that Star Wars Tales could include a baby Yoda, even as a gag. Eight years before this issue came out, George Lucas had all copies of a trading card recalled and destroyed because it portrayed members of Yoda’s race worshiping a weird, Spaceballs-esque idol. Basically, he wanted Yoda’s race to remain as mysterious and unknown as possible. Now, The Mandalorian has ensured that we know a lot more about these guys than we ever thought possible. For instance, thanks to Grogu, we know that Yoda was probably also a freaky little cannibal who ate everything that could fit into his mouth.

Too old to begin the training? Nah, man. Luke Skywalker was just too big to fit into Yoda’s pot of stew!

The first reactions to Supergirl have arrived, and if the early buzz is any indication, DC may have another major success on its hands.

Critics and journalists who attended early screenings have praised the film’s emotional storytelling, stunning visuals, and, above all else, Milly Alcock’s performance as Kara Zor-El. Many are calling her portrayal one of the standout superhero performances in recent years, describing her Supergirl as fierce, vulnerable, rebellious, and deeply human.

Entertainment journalist Brandon Davis wrote that Supergirl is “a visually stunning and emotionally rich adventure” and praised Alcock for delivering a “star-making performance.” Others echoed that sentiment, saying she completely owns the role and creates a version of Kara that feels dramatically different from Superman while remaining just as compelling.

Several reactions have highlighted the film’s unique tone, noting that it feels less like a traditional superhero movie and more like a cosmic fantasy adventure. The story reportedly embraces the darker, more emotional elements of the Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow comic, following Kara on an interstellar journey filled with loss, vengeance, and self-discovery.

One early reaction described the film as “heartbreaking, hilarious, and visually gorgeous,” while another praised director Craig Gillespie for creating a world that feels expansive and unlike anything previously seen in the DC Universe. Critics have also singled out the chemistry between Alcock and Eve Ridley, who plays Ruthye, saying their relationship forms the emotional core of the movie.

Credit: Warner Bros.

The praise surrounding Alcock has been especially consistent. In a recent profile, Gillespie praised the actress’s commitment and authenticity, while DC executives reportedly knew they had found their Supergirl after seeing her screen test. Her version of Kara is described as tougher, more emotionally scarred, and more rebellious than previous incarnations of the character.

That approach aligns closely with the film’s source material. Based on Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, the movie presents Kara not as an idealized hero, but as someone carrying the trauma of Krypton’s destruction while searching for her own purpose in the universe.

With Superman helping launch the new DC Universe and Supergirl now earning rave first reactions, fans have even more reason to be excited about the future of DC Studios.

If these early impressions hold true with audiences, Milly Alcock may have just delivered the definitive live-action Supergirl for a new generation.

Anne Hathaway met husband Adam Shulman and it was love at first sight — but their real-life fairy tale almost didn’t come true.

“You know when you don’t know someone very well, you just meet them and you’re like, ‘Wow, you really have it going on?’… We hit it off immediately, but it took us a pretty long time to get together,” Hathaway told Vogue in October 2010, noting that despite the terrible timing, she was convinced she had found The One.

The pair first crossed paths through mutual friends while attending the Palm Springs Film Festival in April 2008. While the Ella Enchanted actress told Harper’s Bazaar UK in February 2013 that she knew “from the second I met him that he was the love of my life,” she “also knew that I couldn’t have met him at a worse time.”

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Hathaway ultimately took a chance on Shulman — and she hasn’t looked back since.

The Modern Love actress and American Dreams alum went on to get engaged in 2011 and tie the knot one year later. Since their nuptials, the couple have welcomed sons Jonathan and Jack, who were born in 2016 and 2019, respectively. In June 2026, Hathaway announced she is pregnant again.

Keep scrolling for a complete timeline of Hathaway and Shulman’s love story:

By Robert Scucci
| Updated 17 seconds ago

Low-budget sci-fi is the ultimate proving ground for filmmakers because if they don’t lean into their limitations, they’re dead in the water. When done right, we get films like Primer (2004), Coherence (2013), Empathy, Inc. (2018), and my new favorite comedy in this wheelhouse, 2014’s The Infinite Man. With a cast of three, no special effects to speak of, and what appears to be an abandoned motel serving as the film’s primary location, The Infinite Man is about as bare bones as it gets.

It’s a time travel story, but really about how a man’s insecurities catch up with him in the most unhinged way possible. He builds a device that he thinks will save his relationship and, through his own doing, makes everything infinitely worse for himself. It’s almost poetic how badly he screws everything up, and if you love a good comedy of errors that’s both low-budget and high-concept, The Infinite Man is exactly what you’re looking for.

You Can’t Control Everybody, Not Even Your Past Self

The plot of The Infinite Man is simple at first, but snowballs in complexity as it barrels through its second and third acts. Dean (Josh McConville) is on the verge of a nervous breakdown after his anniversary with Lana (Hanna Marshall) doesn’t exactly go as planned. The motel they stayed at the previous year is now abandoned, and all the activities Dean had in mind to woo his unenthusiastic partner never materialize.

Like clockwork, almost as if planned, Lana’s ex-boyfriend, Terry (Alex Dimitriades), shows up, shocks Dean with a cattle prod, and leaves with Lana. Dean is distressed about this for a number of reasons. Most importantly, his desire to control every minor detail is so intense that he doesn’t realize how unhappy Lana is. But what’s really grinding his gears is the fact that Lana only dated Terry, a self-proclaimed pole-vaulting legend, for two weeks several years earlier.

Broken by this turn of events, Dean locks himself in the motel for a year and builds a time machine that allows him to travel back to the day Lana left him, effectively giving himself a do-over. The machine works, and he’s able to interact with both his past self and the past version of Lana. His attempts to influence their behavior without being detected backfire immediately when he’s discovered, setting off a chain of events that results in multiple duplicates of himself, Lana, and even Terry, all of whom vaguely recall Dean’s meddling.

It gets to the point where present-day Dean forces one of the Lanas to wear an earpiece while speaking with another version of himself so he can tell her exactly what to say, convinced his influence will lead everybody toward the correct outcome. But every time Dean interferes, things continue to get worse, not only for him, but for everybody around him.

Sometimes It’s Just Best To Let It Go

Dean’s character in The Infinite Man is a fascinating study. He’s a brilliant inventor and clever as hell, but his personality is so grating that it’s hard to root for him. He makes too many assumptions about people, is far too insecure for his own good, and every motivation he has is fundamentally selfish. He got dumped for being a control freak, and his solution is to become an even bigger control freak.

As annoying as Dean is, that’s where all the humor comes from, so it’s a fair tradeoff. He constantly gets his ass handed to him by his own miscalculations, and when he finally has to interact with alternate versions of himself, he starts to realize that he’s the problem. His evolution across the film’s brief 85-minute runtime is beyond impressive because you start out hating the guy, but gradually grow to like him as he becomes more self-aware.

The Infinite Man is a brilliant example of what filmmakers like Hugh Sullivan can do with virtually no budget, a tight screenplay, and the right characters to bring a concept like this to life. If you’re a creator in any capacity, it should always be inspiring when somebody gets out there and makes something, limitations be damned.

As of this writing, you can stream The Infinite Man for free on Tubi.

Villains are some of the best parts of any given movie, and for good reason. A well-constructed villain acts as a foil to the heroes, either by showing them a dark reflection of what they could end up as, or by presenting a formidable obstacle that the hero must overcome to achieve their goals. The most iconic villains become staples of popular culture, representing the many faces of evil and standing as inspirations for storytellers to create their own brand of wickedness.

Animated films have had a great selection of villains, with the vast majority coming from Disney, which is unsurprising, since the studio has contributed to the vast majority of animated films over the years. However, other companies have created baddies that are just as good as the best from Disney, and it’s high time we start to celebrate them.

10

Jenner (Paul Shenar) – ‘The Secret of NIMH’ (1982)

Image via MGM

As one of several rats and mice experimented on by the National Institute of Mental Health, Jenner (Paul Shenar) obtained advanced intelligence, and escaped with the others to establish a colony underneath a farmer’s rosebush. As the rats made advancements in science that bordered on magical, they needed to steal more and more electricity from the farmers, so their leader, Nicodemus (Sir Derek Jacobi), began preparations for the rats to migrate to Thorn Valley and make a new home. However, Jenner saw no reason to leave and voiced his opposition to the plan, while also waiting for the right opportunity to kill Nicodemus and seize control.

Jenner only appears in under 10 minutes of The Secret of NIMH, but he leaves a very strong impression thanks to his design, Shenar’s fantastic delivery, and for what he represents. Initially, Jenner serves as the conservative voice of opposition who wants to keep to the old ways, and has more than enough charisma to mask his true intentions as deep passion for his beliefs. However, the fact that he is willing to resort to underhanded murder shows that, while their enhanced intelligence allows the rats to create many wonders, it also leaves them susceptible to vices like pride, ambition, and greed.

9

General Woundwort (Harry Andrews) – ‘Watership Down’ (1978)

Image via Cinema International Corporation

You might not think that rabbits could be scary, but General Woundwort (Harry Andrews) manages to make such a cute animal horrific. The tyrannical ruler of the Efrafa warren, Woundwort holds onto power with authoritarianism and fear, battling the leaders of other warrens to the death to add to his ranks, and rewarding loyalty by allowing his followers to rise higher in his hierarchy. However, his need for control results in his warren becoming too overcrowded, which leads several members to risk their lives and try and find a means of escape or a new warren to join.

Woundwort combines the darkest parts of nature and humanity to present Watership Down with an unforgettable antagonist. He’s not entirely heartless towards the rabbits under his rule, but his pride and need for control is so great that he perverts the animal’s natural instincts to survive into totalitarianism and brutality. In combat, Woundwort’s an absolute monster, killing his fellow rabbits with ease and even standing his ground against predators.

8

Thrax (Laurence Fishburne) – ‘Osmosis Jones’ (2001)

Image via Warner Bros.

When zookeeper Frank DeTorre (Bill Murrey) eats a hard-boiled egg spat out by a chimpanzee, he brings a large host of germs and viruses into his body, including Thrax (Laurence Fishburne). With his elongated talon on his left hand, Thrax can ignite any cell he touches, and quickly makes his way through Frank’s body in order to sabotage the hypothalamus and cause him to overheat. His ultimate plan is to kill Frank within 24 hours before moving on to a new human to get his own chapter in the medical books.

Osmosis Jones suffered due to the live-action segments, but the animated ones are well praised, and Thrax is a big reason for it. Not only does he have a slick design that oozes confidence and power, but he has the personality to boot, presenting himself as a suave and charismatic villain, helped by Fishburne’s deliciously wicked performance. However, beneath this debonair mask lies a cunning predator who delights in the process of building up to his next kill, and won’t hesitate to incinerate anyone in his way.

7

Grigori Rasputin (Christopher Lloyd) – ‘Anastasia’ (1997)

Image via 20th Century Studios

Once the advisor to Tsar Nicolas II (Rick Jones) of the Russian Empire, Grigori Rasputin (Christopher Lloyd) was exposed as a power-hungry charlatan and banished, leading to him selling his soul to dark powers in exchange for a magic reliquary. He used it to curse the Romanov family, who were toppled from power during the Russian Revolution, while Rasputin drowned trying to kill the youngest daughter, Anastasia (Meg Ryan). The reliquary kept his soul alive in limbo, and when his bat minion, Bartok (Hank Azaria), found Anastia as a young amnesiac woman, Rasputin swore to kill the last of the Romanovs personally.

Anastasia takes a lot of liberties in transforming Russian history into a fairy tale romance, and the changes to Rasputin are among the best. He’s basically a lich—a powerful undead sorcerer whose soul is tied to a magic artifact—allowing the movie to have fun playing around with his undead nature through physical comedy, and genuine moments of horror. Lloyd’s voice work is also impeccable, especially in the scenes where Rasputin unleashes his dark magic and truly lives up to the title of the Mad Monk.

6

King Haggard (Christopher Lee) – ‘The Last Unicorn’ (1982)

Image via ITV Studios Global Entertainment

In a crumbling castle by the sea lives King Haggard (Sir Christopher Lee). Despite ruling over a kingdom, he is cursed with a melancholy so deep that he practically lives alone in his castle aside from the most minimal of staff and his adopted son, Prince Lir (Jeff Bridges). The only thing that brought him any joy were unicorns, so he sent forth his demonic red bull to round them up and drive them into the waves beneath his castle so that he could look upon them whenever he wished.

Though The Last Unicorn is a modern fairy tale, author Peter S. Beagle, who wrote the film script, understands his genre well enough to write King Haggard with Shakespearean levels of tragedy. Haggard’s intense depression that sees him live in empty halls and rule over a barren wasteland would be pitiable, except that, by stealing the unicorns to bring himself joy, he deprives the world of something beautiful and pure and cares nothing for the consequences. Lee, as expected, gives a stellar performance full of power and gravitas, and even voiced Haggard in the German dub.

5

The Beldam (Teri Hatcher) – ‘Coraline’ (2009)

Image via Focus Features

Also known as the Other Mother, the Beldam (Teri Hatcher) is a spider-like monster who lives in a pocket dimension and spies on our world using animated puppets. Once she finds a miserable child, she lures them into her world, which is altered to cater to their every whim, and offers to let them stay if she can sew black buttons onto their eyes. Once the child accepts, they become trapped in her world, their lives sacrificed to sustain the Beldam, and their souls left as her eternal prisoners.

The Beldam is a horrific antagonist that helped Coraline earn its spot as one of the darkest animated films for kids. Though exaggerated for the fantastical setting, her methods are terrifying thanks to how close to home they are: she lures kids with false love, gifts, and attention, but once she gets what she wants, she disposes of them and moves on to the next victim. Fittingly, her true self is spider-like with needle-like fingers and a skeletal body, which represents everything from the webs she spins to trap her prey to the hollow promises she offers.

4

Fairy Godmother (Jennifer Saunders) – ‘Shrek 2’ (2004)

Image via DreamWorks Pictures

To wed the human princess, Lillian (Dame Julie Andrews), a fog named Harold (John Cleese) makes a deal with the Fairy Godmother (Jennifer Saunders) to become a prince in exchange for his future daughter marrying her son, Prince Charming (Rupert Everett). Thus, the Fairy Godmother is not happy to learn that Princess Fiona (Cameron Diaz) has instead been rescued from her dragon-guarded tower by an ogre named Shrek (Mike Myers), and that she is now permanently an ogre. She blackmails Harold into trying to have Shrek killed, but later realizes she can manipulate Shrek’s insecurities to get what she wants.

Shrek 2 is one of those rare sequels that surpasses the original movie, and Fairy Godmother is the perfect villain to continue a franchise known for satirizing fairy tale clichés. Rather than being a kind, matronly figure who rewards kindness and empathy, this Fairy Godmother is a cutthroat businesswoman who treats happily ever afters like a commodity that can be bought and sold, allowing her to dictate who or what gets their fairy tale endings and eliminate anything that doesn’t fit her idea. Then there is Saunders’ performance, which is just perfect; she nails the ruthless and manipulative side of the character, while still managing to get some comedy through moments like her fawning over her son or failing to maintain her diet due to stress.

3

Lord Shen (Gary Oldman) – ‘Kung Fu Panda 2’ (2011)

Image via Paramount Pictures

When Lord Shen (Gary Oldman) began experimenting with his family’s fireworks as weapons, his parents asked a Soothsayer (Michelle Yeoh) about his future, and she said Shen would meet his end at the hands of a warrior of black and white. Overhearing the prophecy, Shen decided to prove that he was the master of his fate by massacring a village of pandas, but his parents were horrified by his actions and banished him from Gongmen City. Heartbroken, Shen vowed to reclaim his home city and eventually all of China, and spent the next 20 years building an army of followers and an arsenal of cannons.

Lord Shen is a masterclass in villain writing, and his personal relationship with Po (Jack Black) is the central conflict of Kung Fu Panda 2. He truly is Po’s dark mirror: both of them suffered trauma from loss and battle insecurities, but while Po was able to make peace with his trauma and choses to help others, Shen became bitter and decided to fill the void by taking what he believed he was owed. Yet his interactions with the Soothsayer reveal that beneath his cold, calculated demeanor is a wounded soul who knows that what he is doing is wrong and may even show some remorse, but also believes that he’s too far gone to change and must instead stay the course. Lord Shen is one of the best villains in a martial arts movie, full stop.

2

Yubaba (Suzanne Pleshette) – ‘Spirited Away’ (2001)

Within an abandoned Japanese amusement park is a portal to a village in the spirit world centered around a bathhouse run by the witch Yubaba (Mari Natsuki/Suzanne Pleshette). Due to an ancient promise she made, she accepts anyone who comes to her asking for a job, but as part of the contract, she takes their true names, binding them to her unless they can somehow reclaim them. Yubaba spends most of her days counting her profits, doting on her son Boh (Ryūnosuke Kamiki/Tara Strong), and messing with her good-hearted twin sister, Zaneba (Mari Natsuki/Suzanne Pleshette).

Like most things in Spirited Away, every detail about Yubaba is meticulously chosen for its symbolism. She initially represents greed and decadence with her obsession with profit and the iron grip she has over her staff, but when paired up with her sister, she becomes a dichotomy of the human spirit, representing the negative aspects. Yet Yubaba is not entirely evil: she deeply loves her son to the point of flying into a fiery rage if he’s threatened, always keeps her word, and even shows begrudging respect to those who do a good job or even manage to beat her at her own game.

1

Rameses II (Ralph Fiennes) – ‘The Prince of Egypt’ (1998)

Image via DreamWorks Animation

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As the heir of Pharaoh Seti I (Sir Patrick Steward), Rameses (Ralph Fienns) has the incredible burden of one day taking over the Egyptian Empire and the legacy of upholding his family dynasty. He is supported in his youth by his adopted brother, Moses (Val Kilmer), until Moses learns the truth of his origins and runs off into the desert after killing an Egyptian taskmaster. Thus, when Rameses takes the throne after Seti’s death, he becomes committed to upholding his family legacy, even when Moses returns to ask Rameses to free the Hebrew slaves of Egypt.

The Prince of Egypt is one of the most epic animated movies of all time. Logically, Rameses is a fittingly epic villain because the writers emphasize his inner turmoil between his insecurities about breaking his dynastic chain and his love for Moses and the life they used to have. And, like any great villain, Rameses’ attempts to show strength and maintain his power doom him, all of which is captured through the phenomenal facial animation and Fiennes’ stellar performance.