By Chris Snellgrove
| Published 8 hours ago

Marvel has built a multi-billion-dollar industry out of making movies where colorful heroes fight mustache-twirling supervillains. In real-life, no such villains exist, but that hasn’t kept Kevin Feige from having an ongoing showdown with his own Big Bad: superhero fatigue. After the Marvel Cinematic Universe reached its apex with Avengers: Endgame, subsequent films stopped printing money as reliably as they once did. Audiences yawned at ambitious failures like Eternals, and even critically acclaimed blockbusters like The Thunderbolts and The Fantastic Four: First Steps couldn’t earn as much money as Superman, the breakout film of last summer. Historically, the main reason given for Marvel’s decline is that its fans are suffering from superhero fatigue.

The basic idea behind superhero fatigue is that audiences have gotten sick of seeing the same characters do the same thing onscreen. You can only watch Sam Wilson kick butt in so many Avengers movies before seeing him fight a palette-swapped Hulk in Captain America: Brave New World seems pretty boring, right? The exception to this seems to be Spider-Man, who is about to have his 12th film in 24 years. We’re averaging a new movie every other year, but this remains the most popular superhero in the world. Why is he seemingly immune to superhero fatigue? Simple: Spider-Man films keep changing characters, actors, and stories, making everything feel constantly fresh and new.

Spider-Man: Good Old Days

Since Sam Raimi kicked off his web-head trilogy in 2002, every Spider-Man film has been very successful. Even the ones that audiences generally hated ended up making some serious bank at the box office. For example, Spider-Man 3 was considered a major dud by critics and fans alike, but it still earned $895.9 million; by comparison, the critically acclaimed, fan-favorite film Spider-Man 2 only earned $795.9 million. Later, The Amazing Spider-Man 2, which is blamed for killing Sony’s own Spidey cinematic universe, earned $716.9 million, which was admittedly less than the previous movie’s $758.7 million, but it was still the seventh highest-grossing movie of 2012.

There’s a pretty simple lesson there: moviegoers really, really like Spider-Man. They like this superhero so much that even when we get a bad Spidey movie with terrible word-of-mouth, it still does gangbusters at the box office. Once Sony reluctantly partnered with Marvel, Spider-Man movies earned more than ever before, with No Way Home earning a jaw-dropping $1.921 billion. Clearly, this is one character that is immune to superhero fatigue because even his worst movies make bank for the studio. Why, though, is Spidey immune? By both accident and design, his movies have offered audiences the variety and diversity they just can’t get from other heroes.

Spider-Man Just Keeps Changing

Let’s start with the original Sam Raimi trilogy. The first Spider-Man was a fairly intimate origin story, one that kept the stakes appropriately low. Spider-Man 2, however, was a romance wrapped in spandex tights, and it upped the stakes so that Spidey was saving trains full of people and, eventually, the entire city. The much-maligned Spider-Man 3, meanwhile, served as a deconstruction of the relationship between power and responsibility, emphasizing Peter’s essential goodness even as it highlighted an internal struggle against selfish desire and an external struggle against more villains than ever before.

Later, The Amazing Spider-Man offered audiences some built-in novelty. This reboot sported entirely new actors, and its revised origin story felt fresh thanks to the natural chemistry between Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 was an ambitious film that balanced the cute growing relationship between Peter and Gwen Stacey with a story about complex family legacies (Harry and Norman Osborn), nice guy toxicity (Max Dillon going from geek to freak), and taking chances (Gwen’s potential Oxford scholarship). Admittedly, the movie is crowded by too many plots and too many villains, but credit where credit’s due, it’s very different and anything but boring.

A Spider By Any Other Name Would Smell Just As Sweet

The success of the MCU Spider-Man movies more or less speaks for itself, as does the failure of most of Sony’s solo Spidey villain franchises except for Venom. The failure of those Big Bad’s movies really underscores that audiences are in it to see their favorite superhero and not just his B-list enemies. Notably, Sony’s Spider-Verse movies were an unqualified smash hit thanks largely to awesome writing, jaw-dropping animation, and familiar characters. But it’s also worth pointing out how quickly audiences fell in love with a new Spider-Man: Miles Morales. Throw in Gwen Stacey and Peter Parker as we had never seen them before, and you had films that felt genuinely innovative.  

In short, the Spider-Man films have always been successful because each one is either reinventing the character or giving us a fresh storyline. None of Sam Raimi’s Spidey films are quite the same, and Marc Webb’s duology features two very different movies. The Spider-Verse movies deal with entirely different versions of familiar characters, while even the MCU changed things up: Homecoming was a coming-of-age film, Far From Home was a movie about processing grief, and No Way Home was a multiversal mashup. Now, Brand New Day is about to change things up with a small army of cameos and new characters, even as Spider-Noir completely changes everything we know about Spidey-style storytelling.

There you have it, web-heads: superhero fatigue doesn’t truly exist. Audiences are simply sick of watching the same actors playing the same characters doing the same things. For almost a quarter of a century, Spider-Man has remained the most popular superhero, and this is largely because his movies have constantly changed up actors, characters, and plots. The constant success of this character is effectively a challenge to Marvel Studios. Namely, adapt or die. If they can give other characters the variety and narrative versatility of Spidey, they’ll thrive. Otherwise, the MCU will die because fans will be busy watching movies like Obsession and Backrooms that offer what Kevin Feige no longer can: new ideas.

Tom Hardy‘s ousting from “MobLand” has seemingly taken a more complicated turn as reports suggest Paramount+ is now sizing up a possible replacement for him.

This comes amid reports that the actor has not been completely shut out from the hit series, and that there’s still a possibility for him to make a return despite tension with the producer.

Tom Hardy was reportedly booted off set after exhibiting some unbecoming attitude towards producers Jez Butterworth and David Glasser.

Hardy’s time on “MobLand” may soon be a thing of the past for sure amid reports he was shown the exit.

There have been so many speculations surrounding his fate as street-smart fixer Harry De Souza in the hit crime drama, especially because of reports that he had a falling out with the producers.

However, the latest development suggests he is choosing not to return to the series after enduring a turbulent second season.

According to Page Six, some A-List names have already been approached to replace him, including Idris Elba and Colin Farrell.

The move further complicates things as competing reports earlier suggested he “was not fired” and there were talks of a return to the set, per Variety.

Sources claimed that the “door was not closed,” and they were “creatively working through” a plan to keep him on board for season 3, which has not been granted the go-ahead.

Rumors Of On-Set Tension Continue To Surface

One thing seems to be recurring in the whole upheaval, and it is that there was some form of tension on set.

There were reports that the 48-year-old actor frequently engaged in a power play by refusing to leave his trailer for hours at a time and had a clash with the producers.

However, sources speaking to Page Six note that the blame doesn’t lie entirely with the British star.

Hardy’s frustration was reportedly heavily fueled by structural issues, including script pages from co-creator Jez Butterworth arriving very late before shooting, with the situation sometimes demanding that the cast learn their lines that day. This reportedly led to delays and panic over budgets from the studio.

“You have an A-plus writer who’s got a lot of power and who has a methodology of ‘I don’t know where this is going,’ and then an A-plus actor who is used to knowing the entire arc of a character in a story,” an insider told the news outlet.

“It was all very passive-aggressive and British. It wasn’t even a feud,” they added.

Helen Mirren Shared A Post About Tom Hardy Amid Rumors Of A Rift Between Them

Amid the confusion, Hardy received love from costar Helen Mirren,  who plays Maeve Harrigan, the cunning and formidable matriarch of the Harrigan crime dynasty, serving as the power behind the throne to her husband, Conrad Harrigan, played by Pierce Brosnan.

To seemingly quell the rumors surrounding the actor, she shared a picture of Hardy on her social media page and captioned it, “Love you now and always, Helen,” but that has done little to help.

Mirren was said to be another individual who Hardy had clashed with on the show, with multiple reports claiming she was frustrated with his on-set behavior and “arrogance.”

A source who spoke with The Hollywood Reporter also alleged that Hardy, at one point, refused to leave his trailer, leaving Brosnan and Mirren waiting for hours before filming could proceed.

Mirren’s latest post now seems to be her attempt to shut down the allegations of a feud between her and Hardy.

Guy Ritchie Reportedly Working Hard To Keep Tom Hardy On The Series

The show was co-created by Ronan Bennett and Jez Butterworth and is produced by David Glasser’s 101 Studios, along with MTV Entertainment Studios.

It also has Guy Ritchie as an executive producer who directed several episodes across season 1 and season.

However, it seems Paramount+ is desperate to find common ground with the actor, with Guy Ritchie set to be some form of mediator to ensure that things work out.

“I’m sure Guy is probably pushing David Glasser to make it work,” a production source told Variety. “Guy likes working with Tom.”

Another source told the news outlet that Hardy is “difficult,” but is also a movie star, while others pointed out that tensions could have been calmed earlier than now, but the leaks from insiders claiming he was fired complicated the whole situation.

Tom Hardy’s Exit Would Cost Paramount+ A Whole Lot

It remains to be seen how things turn out and if both parties are able to salvage their working relationship.

However, should Hardy remain insistent on not returning to the show, sources claim it could cost Paramount+ a large sum, as they’ll have to refilm season 2 to explain his absence, mainly because his character is a very essential part of the series.

This could prove a daunting task as filming for the season has since wrapped up, although a concrete premiere date is yet to be announced.

“The role is pivotal to the story, so he can’t just disappear in season three — there has to be some sort of explanation for his absence,” a source told a media outlet. “That means they will have to alter the end of the second series, which has only just been made, and that will cost millions in extra time spent developing, filming, and editing.”

“It’s not clear if Tom will even return to film any new scenes, or whether the producers are just going to have to be incredibly creative in tying up the second series,” they added, noting how, in any case, they’ve “got to start thinking about the overwhelming prospect of delivering series three.”

Bethenny Frankel has found love with Shane L. Campbell.

After Frankel, 55, moved to Florida in April 2025, she connected with Campbell, who works as a senior managing director at FTI Consulting in Miami. After initially meeting, they reconnected in a group setting with friends. He went on to plan many “intentional” and thoughtful dates, which Frankel teased via Instagram in April were extravagant enough to be featured on The Bachelor.

Frankel was previously married to Jason Hoppy, with whom she tied the knot in 2010. In 2013, she filed for divorce, sparking a 10-year custody battle over their daughter Bryn. The former couple finalized their divorce in January 2021.

Keep scrolling to learn everything to know about Frankel’s new beau:

Related: Bethenny Frankel’s Complete Dating History

Bethenny Frankel is known for being candid about her high-profile romances, from her rocky marriage to Jason Hoppy to engagement to Paul Bernon and more. Frankel finalized her divorce from Hoppy shortly before she got engaged to Bernon in 2021, even though the pair initially split in 2012. Their divorce proceedings lasted eight years in […]

Where Did Shane L. Campbell Go to College?

Campbell studied at Princeton University. He earned a bachelor’s degree in economics and played hockey.

He then got an MBA from the Darla Moore School of Business at the University of South Carolina in 2007.

What Is Shane L. Campbell’s Job?

According to his LinkedIn, Campbell is a senior managing director at FTI Consulting in Miami.

Campbell started his career as an investment banker at the Royal Bank of Scotland. He also worked as an analyst for Dove Consulting in 2002, an analyst at RBS Greenwich Capital for a year in 2007, and a managing director at Coronus Partners from 2008 through 2015.

Where Does Shane L. Campbell Live?

Campbell lives and works in Florida. Frankel is also a resident of the Sunshine State. She moved to Florida in April 2025 with her daughter, Bryn.

Thank You!

You have successfully subscribed.

Advertisement

Related: Bethenny Frankel Hasn’t ‘Committed to Anyone’ After Calling Off Engagement

Bethenny Frankel is easing herself back into the dating world more than a year after her split from ex-fiancé Paul Bernon. “I have been dating, and I haven’t fully committed to anyone,” Frankel, 55, said during her Wednesday, December 3, appearance on Alex Cooper’s “Call Her Daddy” podcast. “There have been individuals that I’ve met […]

Advertisement

How Did Bethenny Frankel Meet Shane L. Campbell?

Frankel explained via Instagram in April that when she met Campbell, they were “texting back and forth” for a bit but she “shut it down” because he was “breadcrumby.”

“Months later, we met briefly at a bar. Did not know if I would ever hear from him again,” she shared. “He called me to say, ‘I’d like to see you again. Drove an hour and a half to see me. Then we went on a five-hour date.”

“Do not settle. Do not accept breadcrumbs,” she told women who are navigating the dating scene. “A man has to have a plan [and] move the ball forward. A man has to show you exactly how they feel about you.”

By Jonathan Klotz
| Updated 48 minutes ago

Playboy was one of the most influential magazines of the last 60 years. The men’s magazine founded by Hugh Hefner rode the sexual revolution of the 60s on the back of its Playboy Bunnies, the Playboy Clubs, and choosing to add articles in a magazine that would have sold as well without them. “I read Playboy for the articles” was a long-running joke, but the truth is, some famous authors have contributed stories to the magazine, including multiple time contributor, the Master of Horror, Stephen King. 

Stephen King’s Playboy Articles

King has published six original works for Playboy over the years, starting in 1983, mostly short stories but a few poems as well, starting in 1983 with “Word Processor of the Gods” in the January 1983 issue. The story, the first King wrote on an electronic word processor, is about an electronic word processor that can alter reality, giving a disgruntled writer the opportunity to remove his ungrateful son and wife from existence. Collected in 1985’s Skeleton Crew, the original Playboy printing is a collector’s item for King fans to this day. 

It wasn’t until the December 2006 issue that Stephen King contributed another work of fiction to Playboy, “Willa”, his return to the format following his recovery from a nearly fatal accident. The haunting love story is one of his personal favorite works. Under a year later, “Mute” was published in November 2007, bringing a King crime story to the men’s magazine. In addition to the short stories, King had contributed articles over the last few decades, including an early one in 1982 about the importance of horror movies. When he finally submitted a poem, no one knew it would be overshadowed as badly as it was by the issue’s cover model. 

Sharing The Cover With Marge Simpson

In November 2009, Stephen King published the poem, “The Bone Church,” in Playboy. The poem follows a group lost in the jungle encountering a strange, cosmic horror. Yet the most horrifying part of the issue, which also included an interview with King, was the cover model: Marge Simpson. It’s one of the most infamous covers in Playboy history, and Marge has since been replaced on the cover by Victoria’s Secret model, Alina Puscau.

For obvious reasons, finding an original print of “The Bone Church” is very difficult, and very costly. King’s next two contributions were his last, coming in March 2010 with “Tommy” and December 2016 with “The Music Room,” which, perfectly in line with King’s prolific writing, he forgot he wrote. “The Music Room” was left out of a short story collection until the paperback version of You Like It Darker. Notably, both issues featured real women on the cover. 

Playboy may be known for the centerfolds,but over its long and storied history the magazine has  featured other famous authors including Roald Dahl, Ian Fleming, Arthur C. Clarke, and Margaret Atwood. The monthly print magazine may be no more, but it lives on, as of 2025, with quarterly issues. If Stephen King somehow finds the time, he can still keep the tradition going for a new generation. 

By Robert Scucci
| Published 2 hours ago

Have you ever heard of the 1973 alien invasion exploitation mystery sci-fi comedy thriller, The Hidan of Maukbeiangjow? Wow, what a sentence. I’ll bet you haven’t, but you may have heard of it after it was renamed Invasion of the Girl Snatchers when it was released in 1985. I’ll bet those chances are still pretty slim, though. If you want to seek the film out on Tubi, just know that it has the original release date but the updated title. My guess is whoever was in charge of marketing wanted audiences to know they were watching a 70s movie, but also knew nobody would click on it if it had the original title. I know I wouldn’t have.

Heck, at least they got me to click on this one because it’s pretty brutal, but not without its charm. Stylistically, it’s all over the place. There’s a kidnapping sting operation, hapless detectives, and, for some reason, an alien death cult with a plan to replace beautiful women with alien doppelgangers, though for reasons that are never quite made clear.

As for its genre, you can call it sci-fi, but this thing is mostly a comedy of errors. As a feature film, it stinks like a paper mill, but there are enough standalone moments to make it worth watching. Not because of the alien plot, but because of how the detectives handle themselves. It’s supremely stupid all around, which is probably why a movie with a title like The Hidan of Maukbeiangjow now resides in the darkest corners of Tubi.

The Bra That Got Away

Invasion of the Girl Snatchers starts in, and spends most of its time in, a seedy motel room. Detective Sam Trowel (Hugh Smith) is running a sting operation to take down a drug and human trafficking ring with the help of his right-hand man Kaspar (Ele Grigsby), safecracker Frederick (David Roster), and a bruiser of a bodyguard named Noname (Harlo Cayse). They’re staying in a room connected to the alleged kidnappers’ room, and they’re going to send an undercover woman named Ruthie (Carla Rueckert) wearing a tracking device hidden inside her bra.

The plan is simple. Ruthie wears the tracking bra, gets whisked away by the kidnappers, and Sam and his crew track her down to their headquarters in the hopes of finding more abducted women who need to be rescued. Bing, bang, boom. It couldn’t be a simpler operation. There’s just one problem: Ruthie gets abducted while topless, so the whole operation goes to hell.

To make matters worse, we learn that we’re not dealing with an ordinary human trafficking ring, but some sort of death cult led by an evil sorcerer named Aph (Charles Rubin), who is enslaved by and reports directly to an alien named Utaya (McCain Jeeves). In case you’re wondering where the movie got its original title, the evil lair where they run their racket is known as The Hidan of Maukbeiangjow.

As far as I can tell, Ruthie gets killed by Aph after a painfully long ritual involving ratchet straps, black paint, and chanting. She’s not actually dead, however, but instead replaced by an alien that now lives inside her. Dazed and disoriented while trying to operate its new human suit, the alien meets up with another alien using a woman’s body as its host. Together, they plot against Sam, Kaspar, and the rest of the gang, who are just as confused about everything as I was while watching Invasion of the Girl Snatchers.

It’s Really Funny Though

While the storytelling in Invasion of the Girl Snatchers leaves a lot to be desired, I quite enjoyed the motel scenes involving Detective Sam Trowel and his cohorts because it’s basically a stoner comedy. Freddie spends most of the movie smoking joints and messing up the investigation, while Sam, a by-the-books but not particularly bright detective, constantly gets in his own way.

For example, when he plays the tape containing his mission briefing, it says it’s going to self-destruct in three seconds. It doesn’t self-destruct in three seconds, so he shoves it in his back pocket to play it safe. During one of the chase sequences later in the film, the tape finally explodes, and his reaction basically boils down to, “Man, what a day I’m having!”

It’s not high-brow stuff, but there’s always a built-in charm to botched sting operation plots because as much as you want to root for the good guys, it’s infinitely more amusing to watch them fail over and over again on their way to eventually solving the case. These characters play off each other well in that campy B-movie kind of way, but the alien plot is too out there and too underutilized to make the movie feel complete.

I’m all for low-budget alien movies, but the budget here is virtually nonexistent. The most expensive prop was probably the cassette player. The scenes involving reanimated women possessed by aliens aren’t without humor, but I think everything would have landed stronger if the women were simply brainwashed by a cult and the movie leaned harder into being a straight-up hard-boiled detective comedy.

INVASION OF THE GIRL SNATCHERS SCORE

If you’re into the idea of watching something that’s not entirely great but certainly has its moments, you can stream Invasion of the Girl Snatchers for free on Tubi as of this writing.

The recent back-to-back box-office success of Obsession and Backrooms appears to have overshadowed a couple of other horror movies. The more recent of the two, Passenger, didn’t really stand a chance anyway. It had the misfortune of opening in the wake of Curry Baker‘s movie, which had already become a box-office sensation. However, a slightly older horror movie opened to excellent reviews and seemed to be doing just fine commercially when Obsession and Backrooms rewrote the rulebook. The movie in question recently debuted on digital platforms for rent and purchase, and immediately found a spot on the domestic top 10 chart.

The movie premiered at the South by Southwest Film Festival in March, and was released theatrically by Neon on May 1. It went on to gross a solid $23 million worldwide against a reported budget of $5 million. Directed by Damian McCarthy, the movie follows an American author on a trip to a creepy family-run hotel in rural Ireland. Once he arrives at the hotel, the author is explicitly warned not to go near the honeymoon suite, where, he is told, there lives a witch. He brushes the warnings off as “hokum,” but soon discovers that there may be some truth to the superstition after all. Combining the claustrophobic chills of The Shining with the haunted house goofiness of the best Scooby-Doo stories, the movie is now available on the PVOD market.

A Third Horror Movie Deserves to be in the Same Conversation as ‘Backrooms’ and ‘Obsession’

We’re talking, of course, about Hokum. Starring Adam Scott as the American writer, the movie holds a “Certified Fresh” 89% critics’ score on the aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, where the consensus reads, “A classic haunted house story enriched with atmospheric folklore and perfectly-timed shocks, Hokum further solidifies writer-director Damian McCarthy as a modern master of horror.” Collider’s review praised McCarthy’s direction and noted that the movie “doesn’t overcomplicate itself, but rather, it sticks to the classics: strange figures moving in the dark, claustrophobic scenarios, and the old trusty jump scare.”

According to FlixPatrol, Hokum emerged as one of the top five titles on the domestic Apple TV chart following its home video debut this week. It’s worthy of being in the same conversation as Backrooms and Obsession. Stay tuned to Collider for more updates.

Advertisement

Release Date

Advertisement

May 1, 2026

Runtime

101 Minutes

Advertisement

Director

Damian McCarthy

Writers

Advertisement

Damian McCarthy

Producers

Derek Dauchy, Mairtín de Barra, Roy Lee, Julianne Forde, Steven Schneider, Ruth Treacy

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

The decision to expand Taylor Sheridan‘s sprawling Yellowstone franchise to linear television appears to have paid off, even without the hit-maker’s direct creative involvement. The Yellowstone franchise began in 2018 with the titular series, which ended its five-season run rather abruptly in 2023 following reports of behind-the-scenes disputes between Sheridan and star Kevin Costner. Since then, Sheridan has delivered the hit prequels 1883 and 1923, in addition to continuing his success streak with a string of other, non-Yellowstone titles. However, with his Paramount contract partially expired, he isn’t creatively involved with the two latest installments of the franchise — at least not to the degree he’s accustomed to. This is a major change from the norm, given that Sheridan had earned notoriety for eschewing traditional TV writers’ rooms and commanding an atypical level of creative authority on his projects.

Dutton Ranch, which premiered on Paramount+ on May 15, has remained the streamer’s number one title for weeks despite Sheridan’s hands-off approach. Recently, several of the show’s cast members — James Eddie, Sterlin English, Marc Menchaca, and Juan Pablo Raba — made the rather surprising revelation that they never met Sheridan on set at all. The show was also marred by the firing of creator Chad Feehan, who reportedly clashed with leads Cole Hauser, Kelly Reilly, and Sheridan himself. Sheridan was reportedly even less involved on the Yellowstone franchise’s first linear series, Marshals, which premiered on CBS in March and has since emerged as one of the most popular shows on TV.

Was Taylor Sheridan Involved in the Day-to-Day Functioning of ‘Marshals’?

According to the latest Nielsen ratings, which track television viewership data for the week of May 18 to May 24, Marshals remained the second-most-watched narrative series on television. It drew 6.5 million viewers for the week, during which it delivered its season finale and trailed fellow CBS procedural Tracker. Marshals has achieved this feat despite mixed reactions from audiences. The show, starring Luke Grimes as Yellowstone‘s returning Kayce Dutton, holds a 45% critics’ score and a 27% audience score on the aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, where the consensus reads, “Marshals confines Kayce Dutton within a dim procedural that lacks the narrative spark and intrigue that Yellowstone managed instantly, making this one ham-fisted trek.” The show’s creator, Spencer Hudnut, told the Television Critics Association earlier this year that he tried not to mimic Sheridan’s writing. “I don’t think I’d be sitting here if he had to be involved in a day-to-day way,” he said. “That was never the setup. But he’s certainly there for us when we need him.”

Advertisement

Release Date

Advertisement

2026 – 2026-00-00

Showrunner

Spencer Hudnut

Advertisement

Writers

Spencer Hudnut, Tom Mularz, Dana Greenblatt

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

General Hospital delivers Nina Reeves (Cynthia Watros) protecting Jack Brennan (Chris McKenna). But director Ross Cullum (Andrew Hawkes) is still a threat. Because he wants Jack dead. So, Nina may take things further and go to greater lengths to save Jack.

And an important first step is getting Cullum banned from Turning Woods. We’re going to talk about how and why Nina and Jack may get into a marriage of convenience to keep him alive and to frustrate and thwart Cullum. Let’s get to it!

A Marriage of Convenience Coming to General Hospital

All right. So, recently we reported a leak and this is from our source that’s generally pretty reliable and they said there was a marriage of convenience coming soon to General Hospital. And the one clue they gave was that it was not going to be Carly Spencer (Laura Wright) and Valentin Cassadine (James Patrick Stuart), which is who you might think of first. And given what’s going on, I actually suspect it may be Nina and Jack who get hitched.

Jack’s Hidden Secret at Turning Woods

After Nina accidentally stabbed Jack with a syringe full of Drew Cain‘s (Cameron Mathison) paralytic, of course, he was rushed to General Hospital. But thanks to Nina refusing to inject him again, even though Willow Tait Cain (Katelyn MacMullen) wanted Nina to do it.

We know that Jack doesn’t have locked in syndrome. He is obviously just faking it. And because Cullum is scheming and plotting and wants to kill Jack, he’s continuing to fake it so that Cullum thinks he’s harmless. But Jack spoke to Nina and that’s why she started helping him. And if you remember, Willow wanted Nina to keep injecting Jack to keep him locked in just like she’s got Drew. But when Jack talked to Nina and revealed that he wasn’t really locked in, she just couldn’t do it.

So, now she’s lying to Willow who thinks she is continuing to inject Jack. But she isn’t. So the last time Nina went to see Jack at Turning Woods, you know, she was supposed to inject him again. But she squirted the syringe into a plant instead. And Nina recently told Jack that she is his only way out of this mess. And she could very well be right, even more than she even realizes herself.

Cullum’s Medical Control Over Jack on GH

So, Cullum told Jack that he saved himself by having a stroke. Because now he’s neutralized without Cullum lifting a finger. And if you remember, he told all the medical people that he is Jack’s medical proxy, which I’m guessing is probably a forgery. But Cullum knows that Jack can’t speak up to deny it. And at this point, Cullum’s decided to go ahead and kill Jack, get him off his plate as a future complication. But Cullum’s got to be careful.

So, after he threatened Jack, you know, he panicked over what Cullum said and asked Nina to go to Valentin for help. And now it looks like Carly and Valentin are actually considering it. But their help might not happen in time. And the most important thing is to block Cullum’s access to Jack right now.

Jack and Nina’s Marriage Strategy on General Hospital

As his medical proxy, Cullum can come and go just like he’s family. But if Jack pretends, “Oh, I just got my ability to speak back,” he could change his medical proxy over to Nina. And to add another layer of protection, Jack and Nina could get married while he is still at Turning Woods. And from there, as Jack’s devoted new wife, Nina could take over all the medical decisions. She can block Cullum from getting into Jack’s room. Period. And if she wanted, Nina could even take Jack out of Turning Woods. She could bring him home with her to continue his recovery. And of course, Cullum would be outraged if he lost his power over Jack. And I’m sure even at that point, Cullum would still be plotting to kill Jack, even if this happened.

However, it would be a lot harder for Cullum to murder Jack with Nina gatekeeping and her having a close and watchful eye on Jack. And I think Nina could be a real thorn in Cullum’s side. Jack and Nina being in a marriage of convenience would also come in handy if there were any sort of charges. You know, that way Jack and Nina can’t be questioned by any governmental agency about each other’s activities. Because of spousal privilege. And they can’t be forced to testify against each other for any past or future legal or criminal issues.

GH Shocker: How This Would Shake Up Port Charles

But of course, if Jack and Nina do get hitched, it would flip Port Charles upside down. So many people would be absolutely floored, especially Carly and Valentin. I think their heads would kind of explode if their exes got hitched. Not that Carly or Valentin wants their exes back. I don’t think they would be jealous. But I think they might be salty. Carly made it clear to Jack that she hates him for recruiting Josslyn Jacks (Eden McCoy) into the WSB and putting her daughter at risk. And Valentin hates Jack for turning on him after decades of friendship.

Plus, Carly hates Nina. Full stop. And that feeling is mutual. So, marrying Jack might put a smile on Nina’s face. Becauseshe knows how much it would irritate Carly and also Valentin because Nina freaked out a little and was snarking at Carly over her sloppy seconds. I don’t think Valentin or Carly would care that much if they got married because, you know, we can see they’re falling for each other. I don’t think Valentin though is going to want Nina in danger and her aligning with Jack would definitely put her right in the middle on Cullum’s radar as a complication to be dealt with.

And I’m sure lots of people would have strong opinions about a Jack and Nina marriage. Of course, Willow would be stunned. But Nina could play that off and tell her daughter she’s doing it to protect her. And I think Josslyn would be stunned. Because Jack’s her boss and he was dating her mom, Carly. And Sonny Corinthos (Maurice Benard) might feel some kind of way about Nina getting married to Brennan.

A Potential GH Love Story

Bottom line, Jack and Nina tying the knot would rattle the whole town, all of Port Charles.  And it would infuriate Cullum and would take away his power. And I think that would be the most dramatic outcome. I like the idea of Jack and Nina getting hitched for unromantic reasons and then wind up falling improbably in love. I like that.

And a huge red flag that it’s plausible is that Cynthia Watros mentioned in a recent interview that she sees a potential romantic future for Nina and Jack and Cynthia said she’s all for it. She made a joke about there not being a lot of eligible bachelors in Port Charles. That’s why they have to overlap. And she and Carly have several men in common. There’s been Franco Baldwin, (Roger Howarth) Sonny, Jasper Jacks (Ingo Rademacher), and Drew just for starters. And now, of course, there’s also Valentin. And that means Jack might be next, if it plays out the way I think it’s going to.

Enemies to Lovers on General Hospital

I love a good enemies to lovers trope. And if you remember, Nina and Jack used to hate each other after she went to him to get help for Willow and then he was wanting her to spy on Charlotte Cassadine (Bluesy Burke) to get Valentin and she didn’t deliver and he was getting very hateful with her. So Nina marrying Jack after putting him in the hospital and after all the stuff he has done and said to her is super soapy.

Even though it wasn’t intentional on Nina’s part that he wound up having that stroke, it still happened. And we all know that she’s known for her impulsiveness. So, I could see Jack and Nina talking and her suggesting this marriage out of left field as a Hail Mary scheme to protect Jack. So, we’ll see.