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Marvel Studios has officially introduced the next generation of the X-Men.
During the studio’s massive D23 2026 presentation, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige revealed the principal cast of the upcoming X-Men movie, confirming several long-rumored names while also delivering a few major surprises.
The new lineup will feature Sadie Sink as Jean Grey, Kit Connor as Scott Summers/Cyclops, Christopher Abbott as Charles Xavier/Professor X, Samara Weaving as Emma Frost, Inde Navarrette as Rogue, Maya Boyd as Ororo Munroe/Storm and Adam Driver as Nathaniel Essex/Mister Sinister.
The cast officially announced by Marvel Studios includes:
The announcement confirms Sink and Connor as two of the central members of Marvel’s new mutant generation. Sink’s Jean Grey has already begun making her way into the larger MCU through Spider-Man: Brand New Day, while Connor will take over the role of Cyclops, the longtime field leader of the X-Men.
Abbott will become the MCU’s new Professor Charles Xavier, following the character’s previous live-action portrayals by Patrick Stewart and James McAvoy.
Weaving joins the franchise as Emma Frost, one of the most complicated characters in X-Men history. Also known as the White Queen, Frost has operated as both an adversary and ally of the X-Men throughout Marvel Comics and eventually became one of the team’s most prominent members.
Navarrette will take on Rogue, the powerful mutant capable of absorbing the memories, abilities and powers of others through physical contact. Boyd, meanwhile, will portray Storm, the weather-controlling mutant who has long been one of the most recognizable and important members of the X-Men.
Perhaps the biggest announcement is Driver, who will portray Mister Sinister.
The longtime X-Men villain, whose real name is Nathaniel Essex, is a brilliant geneticist obsessed with mutant evolution and experimentation. Mister Sinister has repeatedly manipulated the lives and genetics of the X-Men in Marvel Comics, with Cyclops and Jean Grey playing particularly important roles in many of his stories.
Driver’s casting also finally brings Mister Sinister properly to the big screen after years of teases during Fox’s X-Men era that never resulted in a full live-action appearance.
The new X-Men will be directed by Jake Schreier, who previously directed Marvel Studios’ Thunderbolts*. The film represents a major step in Marvel’s plans for mutants following the conclusion of the Multiverse Saga.
Marvel has spent the last several years gradually introducing mutants while simultaneously bringing back actors from Fox’s original X-Men movies. Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, James Marsden, Rebecca Romijn, Alan Cumming and Kelsey Grammer are among the legacy X-Men stars appearing in Avengers: Doomsday.
Those returning characters could help close the door on the previous generation of X-Men before Marvel Studios fully moves forward with its newly assembled team.
With Jean Grey, Cyclops, Professor X, Emma Frost, Rogue and Storm now confirmed, Marvel has revealed a significant portion of its core X-Men roster. However, several major characters, including Wolverine, Beast, Nightcrawler and Magneto, have yet to be announced for the reboot.
Marvel Studios’ X-Men is scheduled to hit theaters on May 5, 2028.
Jon Bernthal is lighting the world on fire in 2026, with several new roles in some of the biggest movies and TV shows of the year. While the first two that immediately come to mind are his role as Menelaus in The Odyssey and The Punisher in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, Bernthal also kicked off the year by starring in one of the biggest Netflix shows of the year, His & Hers. He even teamed up with Ebon Moss-Bachrach for a surprise prequel episode of The Bear, “Gary,” which was shadow-dropped on Hulu before the premiere of the fifth and final season. Bernthal also headlined his first ever solo MCU Punisher project, The Punisher: One Last Kill, and after the success of Spider-Man: Brand New Day, it’s safe to say Marvel is going to utilize the character plenty going forward.
Bernthal was also busy in 2025, reprising his role as Frank Castle for the first time under the MCU banner opposite Charlie Cox in the first season of Daredevil: Born Again. Not long after his return as Punisher, Bernthal reunited with Ben Affleck for the long-awaited sequel, The Accountant 2, which is now streaming on Prime Video. The Accountant 2 was widely loved by both fans and critics, but the film’s $80 million budget made it difficult for it to break-even at the box office — it grossed only $100 million during its worldwide run. The Accountant 2 is the perfect mash-up of both John Wick and The Equalizer, as it delivers some all-time great action scenes with Bernthal and Affleck, but Affleck’s Christian Wolff is every bit as methodical, if not more so, than Denzel Washington’s Robert McCall.
The official synopsis for The Accountant 2, which holds scores of 75% from critics and 92% from audiences on Rotten Tomatoes, reads as follows: “Christian Wolff (Affleck) is back — and this time, family business gets personal. When a former ally is murdered, the brilliant, socially unconventional accountant teams up with Treasury agent Marybeth Medina (Cynthia Addai-Robinson) and his estranged, dangerously unpredictable brother Braxton (Bernthal) to crack the case. As the trail leads into a web of deadly conspiracy, the trio must stay one step ahead of a ruthless network of killers—bullets, spreadsheets, and sibling rivalry included—before the truth catches up with them.” A third Accountant movie is already confirmed, but it’s unclear at this time when it will be released.
Check out The Accountant 2 on Prime Video and stay tuned to Collider for more streaming updates and coverage of Bernthal’s future projects.
April 25, 2025
132 Minutes
Gavin O’Connor
Bill Dubuque
Ben Affleck, Kevin Halloran, Matt Damon, Jamie Patricof, Lynette Howell Taylor, Scott LaStaiti, Michael Joe, Mark Williams, Alison Winter
A childhood dream turned into an adult reality for magician and Las Vegas influencer Keelan Leyser, also known as Vegas Navigator on social media. After years of chasing a magical dream, he was able to manifest his vision and bring it to the world-famous Las Vegas Strip.
“HACKED,” a futuristic magic experience that blends illusion, mentalism, artificial intelligence, robotics, and some fun Vegas nostalgia, recently began at Mandalay Bay, bringing a one-of-a-kind show to Sin City for fans to enjoy.

Keelan’s fascination with magic began at just 4 years old when he saw Lance Burton portray a Las Vegas magician on the hit TV show “Knight Rider.” Captivated by the performance, he asked his parents for a magic set and quickly became hooked on learning all he could. A few years later, watching the world’s reigning champion magician perform a dove act on TV took that childhood fascination to another level and solidified his passion for the craft.
“And little did I know, that was also Lance Burton,” Keelan told The Blast exclusively. “I modeled myself on this guy.”
Decades later after he met his now wife, they decided to take a last-minute trip to Vegas from their home in the UK and ended up catching every single magic show Sin City had to offer. Not long after, Keelan wrote to Burton, who he never met at this point, stating, “I would love to live in Las Vegas,” and he wrote back after watching Keelan’s videos.
“He wrote back an amazing letter of recommendation that we used as one of the case studies to get a green card,” he shared. “And it was him, Teller from Penn and Teller, Mr. Uri Geller, who’s kind of well known for bending spoons, and the president of Magic Circle. And then the awards that I’d won in the UK and the TV shows I’ve been on the UK and end up getting a green card and off we trot to Las Vegas.”

Keelan lived just outside London, “kind of where Harry Potter is known to have lived,” so saying as a child that he wanted to have a show in Las Vegas made him think it could just be a dream.
“Saying when you’re a child I’d love to live and work and have a show in Las Vegas and it actually happening are two wildly different things. Even though it was a dream, the other half of my mind is saying, ‘No, that’s not going to happen. You can’t make that happen,’” he said. “You need to either be a billionaire like David Copperfield or be on ‘America’s Got Talent,’ which I refuse to do, and I’m not affiliated with MGM or Lionsgate, or a big movie franchise.”
He added, “It’s literally just me, So the chances of someone like me having a show in Mandalay Bay is infinitely small.” But that’s exactly what he accomplished.

“HACKED,” Keelan’s newly opened show in Vegas, was an idea that began a decade ago. With a background in technology, he has always managed to embrace it in his shows. He’s incorporated pulling stuff out of iPads, drones, holograms, and VR in his shows, and now with “HACKED,” he’s bringing a new level of technology to the stage – AI.
“The natural progression is humanoid robots, because you know it’s all this new tech generating discussions for good or for bad,” he told The Blast. “I wanted a show that basically was the most relevant show in this moment in time and I feel I’ve achieved that, but with a sense of nostalgia knowing where we’ve come from. So there’s a retro ’80s aesthetic to it because that’s kind of when I was born and raised.”
Keelan brought a Max Headroom-like character to his show called Lila. She is a “genuine, real AI” who has a hatred for magicians and is “forced to work with me.”
“She roasts the audience when she comes in and is scanning the room constantly and ends up putting photos of people up on this kind of security, surveillance wall, and then roasts them,” he shared. “But I also wanted to touch on the issues of AI today, the AI slop that everyone says, so we talk about that and deep fakes. We have deep fakes in the show. But also it kind of culminates with talking about things that AI cannot take away, the human connection, the human touch, empathy, the ability to dream, and stuff like that.”

“HACKED” can be found in the same venue in Mandalay Bay where Ivan Kane’s Forty Deuce performs. While Keelan said it’s a “tough venue for a magician,” he makes it work.
“For a magician, because there are angles, I definitely had to adapt and embrace the room,” he said. “I put things out into the ether in August 2023 and decided I want to do this show, so I created an interview with myself and put it on a hidden YouTube link, which is now on the ‘HACKED’ website. And it’s basically me talking to the camera about what I want from a Vegas venue, that it’s small, intimate, I wanted laser lights and a dimly neon lit room. It’s bizarre because Forty Deuce wasn’t built when I created the video, but it was absolutely, like 90 percent spot on to what I kind of manifested in that video.”
Because of the intimate space, Keelan said everyone feels like they are part of the show, and he enjoys working the room so everyone gets to see a piece of the show close up.
“It’s a very interactive show, as well. So many people come up on stage,” he said. “There is audience involvement in one way or another.”
He added a message for anyone thinking about attending an upcoming show.
“If you have seen every magic show in Vegas, I feel you won’t have seen the first humanoid robot perform a magic trick on the Las Vegas Strip, because there isn’t one,” he said. “You will not have seen a robot dog perform a magic trick, because this is the first on the Strip. If you are still interested in the classic sleight of hand, you get that. If you are interested in mentalism, mind reading, we have that as well. If you are a sucker for nostalgia, you get that.”
Not long after Keelan and his wife moved to Las Vegas, his Vegas Navigator journey began online.
Many people know Keelan as Vegas Navigator on social media, where he shares all the fun Vegas spots and events.
“It’s so fascinating that most people in Vegas know me as a content creator, and all the content creators didn’t know I was a magician, because I never really pushed that on Vegas Navigator at all,” he said. “When we came to Vegas, we don’t have family here, we had no friends except other magicians that we knew from the Magic Fraternity.”
So the question on his mind was how to get his own magic show in Vegas without having the right connections. That’s when he decided to be his “own marketing machine.” A few months after he posted the YouTube video about his vision, he went on Instagram and became Vegas Navigator. He then started posting videos about Vegas; not about himself.
“I needed to create a network of people about Vegas,” he shared. “I had my own following from the magic side of things, but I thought if I was going to sell tickets, I needed a Vegas following.”
He then began creating and posting videos about everything Las Vegas and people started to notice and began following him. Then PR companies started to contact him which helped him to continue to grow his page.
“Then I started meeting other content creators, which I did not expect and ended up being the best thing I ever did,” he said.
You can find Vegas Navigator and “HACKED” on Instagram. Visit the show’s website for more information.
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Errands may lead you to a tee and jeans, but Eva Mendes proved that the right dress can be just as easy. In fact, her flowy maxi style is even easier. It’s no wonder rich moms are rocking the look nonstop. At only $20, so are we!
A few days ago, Mendes strolled around Santa Monica wearing a loose brown dress, cushiony flip-flops and a sweater tied around her waist. She finished the outfit with a bucket hat and two roomy totes (for all of her goodies, we assume). Casual, yes, but this dress style made her relaxed getup appear polished and intentional.
Get the Anrabess Maxi Tank Dress for $20 (was $24) at Amazon! Please note, prices are accurate at the date of publication but are subject to change.
This Anrabess Maxi Tank Dress looks eerily similar to Mendes’, so it has the same effect. Laid-back, sleeveless and flowy in all the right places, it’s the definition of a throw-on-and-go dress. The coffee shade gives it that expensive-neutral appeal that pairs well with everything, from white sneakers to leather loafers.
Better yet, this wear-everywhere dress is buttery-soft and stretchy, thanks to the elastane-blend fabric. As such, it drapes in all the right places. One happy shopper said it “flows well over your body and does not show lumps and bumps,” which is exactly what you want in a piece you’ll wear 25/7.
Another five-star reviewer called this chic dress “flattering in all the right places” and added, “I was able to pair it with a short-sleeve cardigan for work, and at home, I loved lounging in it with summer sandals or canvas sneakers.”
With stretchy fabric, zero structure and maximum ease, this chic maxi number is an outfit you’ll look forward to wearing. We love it with flip-flops for the warm months, then with a denim jacket and sneakers once the weather turns. No matter how you style it, you’re bound to look like a Santa Monica rich mom.
At only $20, we’re grabbing two!
Get the Anrabess Maxi Tank Dress for $20 (was $24) at Amazon! Please note, prices are accurate at the date of publication but are subject to change.
Looking for something else? Explore more chic dresses, and don’t forget to check out all of Amazon’s Daily Deals for more great finds!
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No other show is quite as crude, controversial, and consistently comedic as It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Premiering during an era when sitcoms were often built around wholesome friendships and polished sets, IASIP emerged as television’s DIY bad boy, following the rude and reckless Gang—Dennis (Glenn Howerton), Dee (Kaitlin Olson), Charlie (Charlie Day), Mac (Rob Mac), and Frank (Danny DeVito)—as they attempt to run and sustain their questionable establishment, Paddy’s Pub.
Taking inspiration from Seinfeld‘s classic “show about nothing” format, It’s Always Sunny takes the concept to outrageous extremes, creating absurd situations that expose the dysfunction of five hilariously flawed people who often seem incapable of functioning as respectable members of society. Yet, for all its politically incorrect humor—some of which understandably hasn’t aged well—there is a surprising level of comedic craft behind the chaos. From a musical built around personal trauma to elaborate fake suicides that spiral spectacularly out of control, here are It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia episodes that are perfect from start to finish.
The day has come for Charlie to shine. With an episode title so fittingly on point for this often-underestimated character, “Charlie Work” is an intense, anxiety-inducing, and, dare we say, purely cinematic work of art by IASIP standards. A cross between the styles of Whiplash and Birdman, “Charlie Work” starts with a panicked Charlie after learning that Paddy’s Pub is due for a surprise health inspection. With the bar clearly unfit to operate, let alone earn a passing grade, the typically soft-spoken Charlie whips The Gang into mission mode. If they can’t fix Paddy’s Pub in time, the least they can do is make it look like it’s fixed.
Complete with an impressive 10-minute one-take sequence (which literally makes up half of the episode), “Charlie Work” is the character’s most notable redemption episode. He’s often portrayed as the clueless member of the bunch, literally on the verge of bursting into tears at the thought of having to make a decision. But “Charlie Work” proves that he’s always been the most reliable employee, as he orchestrates the gang’s charade for the inspector while tending to the filthy floors, killing rats, and managing the plumbing—all without the inspector noticing. Of course, said charade relies on Dennis, Dee, Mac, and Frank’s limitless imaginations, which, bafflingly, work.
For one night only (or repeated plays on streaming), “The Nightman Cometh” is Charlie’s most inglorious directorial debut. It’s about a “Little Boy” who is loved by a princess and a sinister villain called the Nightman who steals his innocence. But there’s also a troll involved, along with a supposedly coming-of-age transformation in which Little Boy transforms into the Dayman. If none of that makes sense, that’s the point, because Charlie wrote this musical by himself, allegedly based on a traumatic incident involving his highly inappropriate uncle. It’s up to the Paddy’s gang to bring his vision to life, with all of them taking creative liberties to spice up the show a bit.
It wouldn’t be a musical without show tunes. “The Nightman Cometh” has not only one, but a whopping five main musical numbers. Fan favorites include “I’ve Got a Troll in My Hole,” which Frank enthusiastically sings, complete with the tongue-twisting lyric, “You gotta pay the troll toll if you want to get into this boy’s hole!” And not to mention the standout hit “Nightman,” which features the borderline-incestuous line, “It’s just two men like lovin’ brothers.” The best part about the episode is just how seriously everyone takes the play. Nobody is ill-intentioned enough to deliberately screw up the show, and if it does go haywire, it’s only because The Gang feels like they have better ideas than Charlie (Charlie would strongly disagree, though).
IASIP can be outrageously fictional at times, but “The Gang Dines Out” is arguably the most relatable episode ever, if only because it brings up the good old-fashioned, painfully awkward experience of the “running into friends in public spaces” conundrum. At Guigino’s, Dennis and Mac enjoy their monthly dinner while Charlie and Frank celebrate their anniversary at another table, unaware that Dee is dining alone nearby. Refusing to acknowledge each other, the two pairs launch an increasingly petty battle of upstaging, using drinks, speeches, and eventually the entire restaurant to trade insults.
“The Gang Dines Out” is just pettiness on top of pettiness, primarily stemming from Dennis’ narcissistic need for attention. He becomes increasingly fidgety over minor inconveniences, like a wobbly chair and a seat right in front of the kitchen door, but these are really just excuses because Dennis isn’t getting the attention he wants from Frank and Charlie, which ultimately makes Mac annoyed. Surprisingly, it’s Mac who pushes Dennis to start thinking about someone other than himself, encouraging him to compliment Mac. Dennis eventually does, leading to a surprisingly heartfelt tribute featuring a quick riff on “Wind Beneath My Wings” by Bette Midler.
This classic IASIP two-parter is the epitome of Mac and Charlie’s friendship. When Mac’s newly released, treacherous father gets parole from jail, Mac proposes that they fake their deaths. But planning their fake suicide is a lot more complicated than they realize, and every attempt to erase their traces ends with them literally getting hurt. While all that’s happening, the rest of the gang discover a glory hole in the pub’s bathroom, Frank copes with his grief by getting a mannequin that looks like Charlie, and Dee realizes that Mac and Charlie are very much alive and living on the rooftop.
“Mac & Charlie Die” is a staple IASIP episode that goes completely haywire and literally off the rails. From Mac slamming the door on Dee and Charlie throwing not one but two chairs through the windows, to stealing Dee’s car and blowing it up, The Gang takes their increasingly ridiculous plan to absurd extremes. Mac even crashes the car into a brick wall, leaving himself bloodied, before they resort to buying a grenade from a pawn shop. Ironically, all these elaborate attempts to fake their deaths ultimately fail, making the payoff even funnier.
Nobody despises doing household chores more than the Paddy’s gang—so much so that they take their little dilemma to Dee’s therapist in “The Gang Gets Analyzed.” On her therapist’s advice, Dee holds a “cooperative” dinner with The Gang to talk things over in a more civil manner. Of course, things quickly go to shambles when it comes to who’s doing the dishes. Everyone has their own reason for not having to do said chore, most notably Charlie, who goes to all the trouble of getting a “fowl” for dinner, which, in actuality, is just a grocery trip to get pheasant. But because they believe in the therapist’s objectivity, they decide to let her choose who does the dishes—not without first taking a deep dive into their respective psyches.
If you’re new to the It’s Always Sunny lore, “The Gang Gets Analyzed” is the perfect episode for a hyper-specific, individual character study. Throughout the series, we constantly watch The Gang bounce off each other’s chaotic energy, but it’s a completely different story when they’re by themselves. It’s rare to see each member of the Paddy’s gang separated from the others in the same situation, let alone holed up in a room with a professional therapist, and it’s in this episode that everyone gets to show their true, ugly colors. Whether it’s Mac doing aggressive martial arts in the room to protect his fragile masculinity, Charlie smashing his head against the wall under all the pressure, Frank completely rejecting therapy because of childhood trauma, Dennis challenging the therapist’s intelligence, or Dee compulsively lying about her psoriasis, there’s really no predicting where each session will go.
August 4, 2005
Matt Shakman, Fred Savage, Todd Biermann, Daniel Attias, Richie Keen, Randall Einhorn, Heath Cullens, Pete Chatmon, Jerry Levine, Kat Coiro, Megan Ganz, Jamie Babbit, John Fortenberry, Maurice Marable, Kimberly McCullough, Imani Hakim, LP, Tim Roche
The creative split between brothers Joel Coen and Ethan Coen remains one of the biggest setbacks to cinema in the last decade. Their last film together was the Netflix anthology The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, which was initially announced as a series. Over the years, the Coens have delivered some of the most enduring hits of their generation; including movies such as The Big Lebowski, Blood Simple, and the Oscar-winning masterpiece No Country for Old Men. Their work has blended genres, and sometimes defied them. One of their most commercially successful movies combined dark humor with espionage thrills and screwball comedy; it’s currently streaming in the United States on Netflix, but not for much longer.
The Coens never had any difficulty attracting A-listers to their projects, especially in the second half of their career. Their 2008 film was no different; if anything, it featured perhaps the most star-studded ensemble they’d ever assembled on screen. The film was headlined by George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Frances McDormand, John Malkovich, Tilda Swinton, and others. So magnificent was the cast that the future Oscar-winner J.K. Simmons’ appearance was limited to essentially an extended cameo.
We’re talking, of course, about Burn After Reading. The movie follows two inept gym instructors who come upon the unfinished memoirs of a disgraced CIA agent. Assuming they’ve struck gold, they concoct a harebrained scheme to blackmail the agent, whose wife, meanwhile, is having an affair under his nose. The movie was a major hit, grossing nearly $165 million worldwide against a reported budget of $37 million. It’s now sitting at a “Certified Fresh” 78% score on the aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, where the consensus reads, “With Burn After Reading, the Coen Brothers have crafted another clever comedy/thriller with an outlandish plot and memorable characters.” You can watch Burn After Reading on Netflix until August 31, and stay tuned to Collider for more updates.
September 12, 2008
96 minutes
Ethan Coen, Joel Coen
Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
Ethan Coen, Joel Coen
Y’all! Ray J may have gotten the result he wanted, but his latest boxing match has fans wondering what exactly went down in that ring. After stepping up against Orlando Brown on Saturday night, the singer walked away with a unanimous-decision victory—but the chaotic three-round showdown quickly became a social media spectacle for reasons that had little to do with the scorecards.
In case you missed it, Ray J and Orlando Brown went three rounds at Atlanta’s State Farm Arena, with Ray ultimately taking the unanimous-decision win. The matchup was part of Zeus Network’s card for the Claressa Shields and Kaye Scott’s fight, giving Ray some redemption after his knockout loss to Supa Hot Fire earlier this year. But judging by the clips making the rounds, fans weren’t exactly calling either man the next boxing great. Brown caught plenty of jokes for his wild swings, while Floyd Mayweather and Terence Crawford appeared just as puzzled by the action. Mayweather, Crawford, and Shakur Stevenson later congratulated Ray on the win.
Of course, this wasn’t exactly a random matchup. Ray J and Brown have had their share of back-and-forths over the years, with Brown previously making claims about Ray and repeatedly calling him “Brandy’s brother.” After three chaotic rounds, Ray had he official W—but whether fans are ready to give him his flowers is a whole different story.
Fans ran straight to TSR’s Instagram comment section after watching Ray J and Orlando Brown’s chaotic matchup, and many admitted they didn’t know what to make of the whole thing. Some called the fight “a whole circus,” while others joked that Ray J was acting like he had just won the heavyweight championship. Meanwhile, plenty of folks questioned Zeus Network’s decision-making, with some wondering what made them think putting this matchup together was a good idea.
One Instagram user @the.shandawg said, “This man acting like he beat Sugar Ray Leonard”
This Instagram user @omoakin joked, “This is Pure Comedy,Ray J now thinks he’s the world greatest Boxer 😂😂😂😂”
And, Instagram user @beauty_court commented, “Who told Orlando that hunch fighting position was it 😂”
Meanwhile, Instagram user @richoffaifilms shared, “Doesn’t he have a heart…nevermind.”
While Instagram user @rowdyhiphop claimed, “A whole circus 😂”
Finally, Instagram user @benny_pitts added, “This something only Zues network would produce lol 😂”
Brandy was right by her brother Ray J’s side as he stepped into the ring against Orlando Brown, and she made it clear she was proud of him. In an interview with FightHype following the bout, Brandy said, “So proud. I mean, he did really good,” but when asked if she wanted to see Ray J fight again, she quickly shut it down with a simple, “no.” Ray J, however, apparently has other plans because just seconds later, he brought up Jake Paul. Sir, Brandy just said NO! Still, it was sweet to see Brandy show up and support her brother for the big moment.
What Do You Think Roomies?
Zara Larsson is pushing back against the assumption that artists are pocketing enormous profits from expensive concert tickets. The Swedish pop star addressed the cost of attending her ongoing “Midnight Sun Tour” after a fan accused wealthy performers of flourishing financially while ordinary people struggle to afford live shows. Although Larsson agreed that concert tickets should be more accessible, she claimed she is currently making little money from touring because her revenue goes directly toward keeping the production on the road.

The discussion began after Larsson shared a video on Friday showing her performing choreography while promoting the final stop of her world tour. The 28-year-old singer is scheduled to perform in Bangkok, Thailand, on November 1 and said she hopes to sell out the remaining concert. However, one follower used the comments section to raise concerns about the cost of attending live performances.
“I wish singers would advocate for cheaper ticket prices. The whole damn world would go to y’all shows, but sh-t is too expensive in this economy,” the user wrote. “While you guys flourish in money, you get to happily leave after singing and dancing on a stage. We have 9-5s that barely pay enough.”
Rather than dismissing the criticism, Larsson said she understood where the commenter was coming from and promised to investigate whether anything could be done. “I don’t want my tickets to be too pricey, and I will definitely see what I can do about that!” the “Lush Life” singer replied.

Larsson then challenged the idea that her current tour has become a major personal payday. “But right now in my career I’m definitely not making big bucks on touring,” she claimed.
The singer explained that money generated by the tour must cover the extensive costs associated with bringing a large-scale production to cities around the world. Larsson’s show includes backup dancers, elaborate costumes, colorful sets and other production elements.
Touring also requires her to pay crew members while covering transportation and domestic and international travel expenses. “It’s basically a non-profit at this point everything that I make goes to paying people, transportation, production, etc.” Larsson wrote.
Her response explains the difference between gross ticket revenue and an artist’s actual profit. Even when a concert generates a substantial amount at the box office, that money does not go directly into the performer’s pocket. Venue costs, salaries, insurance, equipment, rehearsal expenses and transportation can all reduce what remains after a tour concludes.

Another TikTok user argued that wealthy artists should recognize how financially strained their audiences have become. “Ya see everyone is broke and barely making it by… if rich people could see that and lower the concert prices for people to still go while you still make your bag,” the person commented. “But until they see that, they will overprice their tickets and continue to not have sold-out shows.”
Larsson once again insisted that the perception did not match her “Midnight Sun Tour” experience. “I’m not making a bag on this tour truustt,” she replied, before clarifying that the tour has performed strongly despite tickets remaining available for its final date. “And everything is sold out except for Thailand! Which will be sold out! I’m manifesting and posting.”
The Bangkok performance will conclude the tour, which began in October of last year.

Larsson’s comments come as resale tickets for the Bangkok show appeared online at significantly elevated prices. Listings on StubHub reportedly included tickets priced at $340 and $419.
However, those figures reflect resale listings rather than necessarily representing the prices originally established by Larsson or the concert promoter. Third-party sellers can list tickets above their original face value, meaning an expensive resale seat does not automatically translate into additional income for the performing artist.
Larsson did not provide the face value of the tickets being discussed or disclose how much revenue she personally expects to earn from the Bangkok concert. She also did not detail what changes, if any, she could make to lower prices before the November 1 performance.

The candid exchange comes months after Larsson made headlines for her blunt response to Chris Brown. As The Blast previously reported, Brown unexpectedly mentioned Larsson while responding to Pitchfork’s highly critical review of his album, “Brown,” which received a 1.3-out-of-10 score.
“If you not my fan, I don’t want you to listen to my sh-t. Go listen to motherf-ckin’ Zara Larsson or somebody,” Brown said during his social media rant.
Larsson responded to the unexpected name-drop with a pointed question: “Who the f-ck are you?”
The tension did not emerge from nowhere. Larsson had already made her position on Brown clear during a February interview with Cosmopolitan, when she discussed artists she prevents from appearing in her Spotify playlists. “There are so many artists I have blocked on Spotify, and all of them are, like, abusers,” she explained. “You certainly wouldn’t find, like, a Chris Brown song.”
But for now, she remains focused on filling the remaining seats in Bangkok, even if selling out the show does not result in the enormous payday some followers assume.
Season 17 of “The Real Housewives of Atlanta” is nearly over, with two more parts of the reunion set to air on Bravo. Now, ahead of the second, Porsha Williams is opening up about her prenup and defending herself against both “RHOA” cast members and fans who criticized what she received in her divorce from Simon Guobadia.

Entertainment Tonight’s Brice Sander interviewed Williams in August 2026 to promote both “The Real Housewives of Atlanta” and “Ultimate Girls Trip: Roaring 20th.” During the conversation, the reporter congratulated Williams on finalizing the divorce and the more recent resolution of the remaining marital property.
He then asked how she felt about her “RHOA” castmates saying her home was Guobadia’s after she received it in the divorce, and even the production team poking fun. The “RHOA” star responded, “I felt like if one person has a crummy prenup, you know, then they’re going to speak from a crummy prenup point of view.”
After that, she noted that the ladies from the show who have “never even had a prenup” are also ignorant, as they’ve never been in the same situation as she has. Regarding the producers inserting what has been called “the ghost of Simon Giubadia” in the background of the home, she said, “I thought it was entertaining on production’s part.”

Williams continued discussing her prenup by admitting that had the comments from her co-stars happened “back in the day,” she would have “rode even harder about the whole ‘Simon’s house, Simon this, Simon that.’” She then said, “In real life, the prenup withstood the test of time and the courts prevailed, and it worked out in my favor.”
From there, Sander mentioned the most recent update: Williams received the home as well as a settlement, and asked how she felt about all of this being public knowledge. The “RHOA” star responded, “I feel like it’s par for the course. I feel like my ex-husband wanted a lot of things to be public throughout the entire divorce.”
Williams added, “Why not publicize what actually happened in the end?” Still, despite the drama between them following their divorce and public disagreements, Williams says she wishes Guobadia well. She added, “He says that he won; congratulations to him. I’m just going on with my real life. I’m gonna continue to flourish; I’m gonna continue to secure my future with my daughter.”

Williams and Guobadia tied the knot in November 2022 with two ceremonies, one in Nigeria and another in Atlanta the following day. This followed their May 2021 engagement after the couple dated for only one month. Sadly, according to PEOPLE, Williams filed for divorce in February 2024, just days after announcing her return to “The Real Housewives of Atlanta.” They were married for roughly 15 months.
After the two battled it out on social media, they finalized the divorce in June 2025. However, disputes over the prenup details lasted until August 2026, when TMZ reported that the “RHOA” star received a seven-figure settlement and the marital home.
Per the agreement, Williams is entitled to a $1,568,181.63 reimbursement for his interest in the home. She also has the right to either refinance or sell the home with Guobadia’s involvement. Additionally, he agreed to give her the title to a 2021 Rolls-Royce.

According to Bravo, during the first part of the “Real Housewives of Atlanta” season 17 reunion, cast member Kelli Ferrell was confronted for referring to Williams’ home as “Simon’s house,” with her being asked if she was jealous that she didn’t have as solid a prenuptial agreement as Williams.
Williams chimed in, stating that Ferrell shouldn’t be concerned with “Simon’s house” when she was forced to live with another of their co-stars due to her dispute with a neighbor. According to Williams, “She can’t worry about Simon’s house when she’s living in Shamea’s house.”
She went on, “By the way, the house that you’re calling Simon’s house, I have maintained and paid it very well,” before Ferrell clapped back, “I’m so glad that you are paying Simon’s bills.”
Toward the end, Williams told her castmate that she shouldn’t “discredit women” while also seeking support.
Unconfirmed reports say that production on “The Real Housewives of Atlanta” will begin in September. While promoting “Ultimate Girls Trip: Roaring 20th,” Williams confirmed to Page Six’s Virtual Reali-Tea that she will be returning for the upcoming season.
She said, “I’m just not privy to anybody else’s contract, you know.” Williams then said, “I’ll be back.” Notably, this came after Andy Cohen took to “Radio Andy” to say he and the network were happy with the current cast, hinting that everyone could return in some capacity. Additionally, friend of the show Cynthia Bailey confirmed recently that she will return for season 18.
2025 was a relatively quiet year for Denzel Washington, the two-time Oscar-winner who is best known for his roles in Training Day, The Equalizer, and Glory. Washington reunited with director Spike Lee for Highest 2 Lowest, which is based on the famous Akira Kurosawa crime thriller, High and Low. The film spent weeks at the top of streaming charts before finally being dethroned by newer releases. In 2024, Washington worked under director Ridley Scott for his return to the colosseum for Gladiator II, the legacy sequel to the 2000 Oscar-winning film starring Russell Crowe. Washington will return to the big screen soon for his new crime thriller, Here Comes the Flood, which co-stars Robert Pattinson. While it was previously thought that Here Comes the Flood would premiere in 2026, the film has seemingly been delayed to 2027.
Denzel Washington has been starring in iconic movies since the 1980s, and it’s now been over 25 years since one of his most underrated movies, The Hurricane, hit theaters. The boxing epic is the perfect mash-up of Rocky and The Shawshank Redemption, with elements of visceral fighting paired with heartfelt scenes set in a prison. The Hurricane has found a home streaming on Netflix this year, but that unfortunately won’t be the case for much longer. Netflix announced not long ago that the film is leaving streaming at the end of the month, meaning the last day to watch The Hurricane will be on August 31. A new streaming home for the film has not yet been announced, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see it show up on a rival platform like HBO Max or Paramount Plus in September.
The official synopsis for The Hurricane, which also stars Liev Schreiber and Clancy Brown, reads as follows: “Rubin ‘Hurricane’ Carter (Denzel Washington) is a middleweight boxing contender wrongfully convicted of a triple murder, sentenced to life behind bars for a crime he didn’t commit. As decades pass, a determined teenager and his devoted Canadian mentors uncover the truth buried in the case. Together, they fight to free an innocent man and expose a justice system gone wrong.” The Hurricane earned 82% from critics and 87% from audiences on the aggregate site Rotten Tomatoes. The film is inspired by two books, The 16th Round by Rubin ‘Hurricane’ Carter and Lazarus and the Hurricane by Sam Chaiton and Terry Swinton. Armyan Bernstein and Dan Gordon wrote the script for the film with Norman Jewison directing.
Check out The Hurricane before it leaves Netflix at the end of this month and stay tuned to Collider for more updates and coverage of Denzel Washington’s future projects.
September 17, 1999
146 Minutes
Norman Jewison
Netflix couldn’t have picked a better year to keep Stranger Things alive. The original series is finished, but Hawkins isn’t going anywhere just yet. Stranger Things: Tales From ’85 will return for Season 2 later this year, and its timing is almost suspiciously good as Netflix has spent 2026 turning science fiction into one of its most reliable draws.
This is a useful position for a spinoff that had plenty working against it when it arrived. Tales From ’85 was animated, it recast the characters fans had spent years watching, and it jumped backward in the timeline to a period viewers already knew. The first season had to convince people that this was more than a side project, but Season 2 doesn’t have that problem anymore.
If there is one thing Netflix’s 2026 slate has made clear, it’s that the streamer hasn’t lost interest in science fiction. War Machine, starring Alan Ritchson, became one of Netflix’s biggest movies ever after pulling in more than 140 million views. After its performance, Netflix has already announced War Machine 2 and given Ritchson a first-look movie deal.
The genre has also found traction in less familiar territory. The Last House emerged as a major global hit, reaching No. 1 on Netflix’s global movie chart and trending in dozens of countries. Meanwhile, Stranger Things Season 5 remained one of the platform’s biggest television draws, collecting 55.6 million views during the first half of 2026.
Not every sci-fi gamble has worked. The Boroughs, another series produced by Matt and Ross Duffer, was canceled after one season despite positive reception and solid viewership. Netflix reportedly decided that its audience wasn’t large enough to justify the show’s considerable cost, but even that cancellation says something about where the streamer has been placing its bets.
Netflix introduced Tales From ’85 on April 23 as the first television spinoff from one of its biggest franchises. Rather than continuing after the original series, the show went back to the winter of 1985, between the second and third seasons. Eleven, Mike, Dustin, Lucas, Will, and Max were back, but they sounded different because none of the original live-action actors returned to voice them.
For a franchise whose identity is so closely tied to its young cast, moving Stranger Things into an animated format could have been a tough sell. The Duffers and showrunner Eric Robles instead leaned into the idea, taking inspiration from the Saturday-morning cartoons of the 1980s and giving Hawkins a brighter, more exaggerated look. It worked well enough for Netflix to order another season just five days after the premiere.
The first season also gave Tales From ’85 its own identity. The Hawkins kids formed the Hawkins Investigators Club, met Nikki Baxter, fought a new collection of creatures, and uncovered another mystery connected to the Upside Down. It was finding out what Stranger Things looks like when it gets to play by the rules of an animated adventure.
Tales From ’85 managed to spend two weeks on Netflix’s global Top 10 TV chart after its debut, which is respectable, especially for a spinoff that arrived with a very different format from its predecessor, but it didn’t come close to the cultural earthquake created by the live-action series. Season 2 has an opportunity to close some of that gap.
Netflix has spent the year reminding subscribers that science fiction isn’t something they need to wait for Stranger Things to watch. New movies have pulled huge numbers, original series have continued to experiment with the genre, and the franchise itself remains one of the most recognizable pieces of Netflix IP. Tales From ’85 doesn’t need to become the next Stranger Things; it doesn’t even need to replicate the original show’s numbers, but it should give people who already like science fiction a reason to press play, and it has a much easier pitch than most new shows: it’s Stranger Things, but animated, set in 1985, with the Hawkins kids facing another supernatural mess.
There’s also no shortage of curiosity surrounding the wider Stranger Things universe. The original series ended its five-season run in December 2025, but Netflix moved almost immediately into the next phase with Tales From ’85. The franchise has already demonstrated that it can survive outside the main story, and Season 2 gives Netflix another chance to keep that audience engaged. Considering how much sci-fi has delivered for the streamer this year, Tales From ’85 could hardly ask for a better time to come back.
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