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The Best Star Wars That Isn’t Star Wars

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The Best Star Wars That Isn't Star Wars

By Jonathan Klotz and Joshua Tyler | Updated

Star Wars used to be the end-all, be-all in space sci-fi, but in the years since the original trilogy, others have rushed in to fill the void left by its waning popularity. Whether you love new Star Wars or hate it, you’d probably still love more of that old-school Star Wars vibe. Luckily, there’s a way to get it.

We set out to determine which non-Star Wars movies and TV shows most capture the feel of Star Wars, while at the same time delivering the best possible spectacle and story. It’s not just a ranking of which entry is best. If it were, then Babylon 5 would be a lot closer to the top.

Watch the video version of this article.

These are the 18 best sci-fis that are most like Star Wars, without actually being Star Wars.

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18. Jupiter Ascending 

Jupiter Ascending is the only entry on this list that includes Channing Tatum playing a half-man/half-dog. There’s no hiding the fact that Jupiter Ascending is a strange movie. It was supposed to be the Wachowskis grand return to sci-fi cinema, but instead, it’s a glorious mess. 

Mila Kunis plays Jupiter, a housekeeper and secretly the Queen of Earth. The forces of House Abrasax, led by Balem, want to stop her from claiming her legacy. Eddie Redmayne’s performance as the villain may make you think he wandered in off a different, far more serious movie, but no, that’s just how uneven the tone is. 

For all of its faults, Jupiter Ascending was a throwback in 2015 to the 90s-style of sci-fi that tossed you into a strange, wonderful world, and dared you to try and keep up with it. The film doesn’t work; it’s barely coherent, visually confusing, and the acting is… questionable. And yet, Jupiter Ascending dared to be weird, it tried to do something different, and a decade of sanitized, by-the-numbers sci-fi later, it’s worth checking out for anyone sick and tired of movies developed by committee. 

17. Rebel Moon 

Zack Snyder wanted to make a Star Wars film, but Disney said no, so he went to Netflix and made Rebel Moon. Sometimes it really is that simple. George Lucas used Akira Kurosawa’s Hidden Fortress as inspiration for A New Hope, and Snyder used Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai as inspiration for Rebel Moon.

Adapting Seven Samurai is always a recipe for success. It’s a great story. A few holding out against all odds against the many? Rebel Moon is a handful against a battalion. 

It’s one of Netflix’s most expensive original movies. The streaming giant gave Snyder a blank check, and it looks like it. Rebel Moon is near the bottom of this list for a reason, but it’s worth checking out once, if for no other reason than to see Zach Snyder’s vision for Star Wars, but it’s a bit of a drag with uneven pacing and the patron saint of bad movies, Charlie Hunnam.

You can also experience the sequel, The Scargiver, which was so bad that Netflix yanked the black check out of Snyder’s hands before he could utter the words, “Trilogy.”

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16. Valerian And The City Of A Thousand Planets

Few people in Hollywood can match the visual style of French director Luc Besson. He brought to life The Fifth Element and Scarlett Johansson’s Lucy, but his most beautiful film is Valerian And The City Of A Thousand Planets. Based on a French comic series, the film is packed full of stunning visuals; each world on its own would be the highlight of any other movie, but here, it’s just scene 5. 

Dane DeHaan and Cara Delevingne lead the cast as Federation Soldiers sucked into a decades-old conspiracy around a missing planet. The massive space station Alpha is home to over 3,000 alien species, and maintaining peace among them is a dangerous balancing act. In Valerian, the focus isn’t on Babylon 5-style politics, but on exploring different worlds and coming across a new alien species every 10 minutes, making the film a visual masterpiece. 

If your favorite part of Star Wars is the constant parade of unique and strange background aliens, Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets is the perfect movie for you. 

15. Buck Rogers in the 25th Century

The success of Star Wars in 1977 took Hollywood by surprise and started a scramble for the next big sci-fi hit. Universal Pictures pulled the old Buck Rogers license out of mothballs and turned it into a television series, but then, six months after the series had debuted, the television pilot hit theaters as a standalone movie. 

That sounds convoluted, but then again, so does everything when it comes to Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, a film that put trade negotiations front and center decades before The Phantom Menace. NASA astronaut Buck Rogers emerges from suspended animation in the 25th century and immediately finds himself in the middle of trouble between the remaining humans on Earth, living in New Chicago, and the Draconians, an alien species secretly plotting to conquer the planet. 

The movie is again a pilot for the two-season television series, which started with Buck as a defender of New Chicago and, in season two, had him roaming the galaxy with his crew to find the lost tribes of humanity. If you were to mash the Star Wars prequels against Flash Gordon, you’d get Buck Rogers in the 25th Century.

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14. Babylon 5

If your favorite part of Star Wars was the Galactic Senate from the prequels, then there’s a 90s sci-fi series for you. Babylon 5 puts the focus on intergalactic politics in a way no show has before, or since. Set on a space station that houses countless alien species, all with their own goals, motivations, and ancient grudges, it’s sci-fi for the most hardcore of sci-fi fans. 

The show starts off with an attempted assassination on the Vorlon ambassador, Kosh, and Babylon 5’s commander, Jeffrey Sinclair, is the prime suspect. It’s a quaint beginning for a show that would eventually culminate in one of the best sci-fi wars ever shown on a television budget. Unlike every other show on this list, Babylon 5 was plotted from the very beginning to tell a single, cohesive story over 5 seasons. 

That right there puts it above The Last Jedi and Rise of Skywalker, two feature films that couldn’t agree on what story the sequel trilogy was trying to tell. 

13. Krull

It was one of the largest box office bombs in history. For decades, it was the butt of jokes. But Krull had the last laugh. Combining science fiction with fantasy, a simple rescue-the-princess plot alongside one of the coolest weapons in movie history, Krull became a cult classic. 

After The Beast interrupts Prince Colwyn’s wedding to Princess Lyssa, he sets off on a quest to win her back. The only thing in his way is the Beast’s mountainous Black Fortress and an army of Slayers. All Colwyn has is a band of magicians, thieves, including a young Liam Neeson, and a cyclops. 

The special effects don’t hold up today, the plot is as basic as it gets, but there’s no denying that Krull is a fun movie. Sometimes you don’t need 30 minutes of worldbuilding and exposition; all you need is a quest to slay an evil warlord and rescue a princess.

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12. Killjoys

Say “sci-fi western” and most people think of The Mandalorian, or Firefly, but there has to be someone, at least one person out there, who thinks of Killjoys. The Canadian Sci-Fi original series aired for 5 seasons, from 2014 to 2019, and you didn’t watch a single one.

Dutch, Johnny, and Da’vin work as bounty hunters, and these three are professionals, so they don’t disintegrate any of their targets. Looking at you, Boba Fett. Over the course of 50 episodes, the trio unravels the mysteries of the universe, upends the delicate political structure, and end up saving the universe. A few times. 

When Star Wars fans were excited over the video game Star Wars: Outlaws, or the canceled 1313, what they wanted was a game that plays like Killjoys. It’s a sci-fi western about characters who aren’t exactly heroes, but unlike that other show, this one was able to tell a complete story. That and you have to love a show that uses the name, Team Awesome Force. 

11. Stargate

It’s hard to remember now, but for most of the 80s and 90s, Star Wars wasn’t a pop culture juggernaut; it was something nerds loved. During that dark period, studios tried to create their own Star Wars-style sci-fi franchises, and of all of them, Stargate found the most success. It all began with the 1995 Roland Emmerich film that sent the U.S. military through a portal to battle an Egyptian God. Surprise. It’s an alien. 

Unlike other movies on this list that throw an endless string of nonsense names and deep, unfathomable lore at viewers within the first 30 seconds, Stargate takes its time to explain what’s going on (there’s a strange portal, they go through it), why it’s important (can Ra invade Earth from his side?), and teases at why the aliens all look like they came out of Ancient Egypt. 

Stargate introduced moviegoers to a universe of infinite possibilities, and for once, it paid off with the launch of the television franchise (does this sound familiar?). Between Stargate SG-1, Stargate Atlantis, and Stargate Universe, there are 17 seasons of amazing sci-fi adventure television waiting to be discovered. Best of all, there’s a new series coming to Amazon Prime. The Stargate is opening again and now’s the time to step through. 

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10. The Last Starfighter

It’s every kid’s dream. After countless hours playing a video game, it becomes real, and you get to save the universe. 1984’s The Last Starfighter is pure wish fulfillment, and it’s awesome. 

Like Star Wars: A New Hope, it follows the classic hero’s journey format. Only, instead of growing up in the desert, our future hero fighter pilot grows up in a trailer park.

Teenager Alex Rogan earns the high score in the arcade game Starfighter, not realizing it was developed by an undercover alien to locate warriors to save his planet. Alex goes from living in a trailer park to flying a real spaceship against real aliens in the span of 48 hours. 

The greatest tragedy about The Last Starfighter is that we never received a legacy sequel. 40 years later, video games are more popular than ever before. A modern-day remake would be a license to print money. Sci-fi can be wish fulfillment that exists for no other reason than to be fun and make you happy. To this day, nothing hits that mark quite like The Last Starfighter.

9. The Fifth Element

One of Bruce Willis’s best movies, The Fifth Element launched the career of Milla Jovovich, helped turn Chris Tucker into a star, and proved that well-written, visually-stunning sci-fi could become a blockbuster even in the jaded culture of the 90s. By 1997, caring about things and earnestness was considered uncool, which became a plot point in Luc Besson’s sci-fi magnum opus. How The Fifth Element earned over $290 million at the box office, and millions more through DVD sales, should be studied by upcoming filmmakers. 

The Fifth Element turned a futuristic cabbie into an unlikely savior when the reincarnation of a forgotten alien species lands on the hood of his cab. Together, the two have to stop The Great Evil from consuming Earth by overcoming Zorg, a greedy billionaire who might be the creepiest sci-fi villain of the 90s thanks to Gary Oldman’s scenery-chewing performance. 

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Few films to this day are as manic as The Fifth Element, which deserves to be right up there on every sci-fi fan’s Mt. Rushmore and, in the process, delivers some of the same kinds of space thrills as Star Wars. 

8. Flash Gordon

Besides the amazing soundtrack provided by Queen, Flash Gordon is the most American sci-fi movie you’ll ever come across. A quarterback saves the universe using his football skills to take down a unit of elite guards? How awesome is that? 

Star Wars was inspired by the serials of the 1930s, and Flash Gordon was one of those serials. But it started out as a comic strip, and you can tell. The villain’s name is Ming the Merciless, all the visual designs are old-school pre-Star Wars sci-fi, and again, the hero’s name is Flash Gordon. This is pure camp, and that’s before you get to the legendary overacting of Brian Blessed as Vultan! 

The tropes, designs, and plot beats of Flash Gordon make it required viewing for all sci-fi fans, and it has the same DNA as Star Wars. You can’t appreciate how far science fiction has come if you don’t know where it started. Flash Gordon is a love letter to the genre’s pulp roots, and honestly, you wish more films were made today in the retro-futuristic style. Ming the Merciless may be corny, but the man’s rizz is unmatched. 

7. John Carter 

In a just world, John Carter would have been the start of a retro-futuristic sci-fi franchise to rival Star Wars in scale and scope. Taylor Kitsch should have become a superstar. John Carter is a fantastic movie that bombed hard because Disney had no idea how to market it. 

Adapting the classic sci-fi pulp novel, A Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs, the same man who created Tarzan, John Carter looks fantastic, and the story of a  Civil War soldier sent to Mars is a straight-up crowd-pleaser. Unfortunately, the limited crowds that went to see it weren’t enough to make it a success. 

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John Carter’s Mars vistas stretch on forever, but that beauty came with a hefty price tag. The film needed to earn $600 million to break even. It earned $300 million. Disney lost hundreds of millions of dollars and decided instead of turning John Carter into a sci-fi franchise, they’d go out and buy one. 

Three years later, Disney bought Star Wars. 

Now do you wish you had seen Taylor Kitsch’s cult hit in theaters when you had the chance?

6. Farscape

Star Wars has shifted gears in the last few years, becoming a streaming franchise. It’s playing catch-up behind the 90s and early 2000’s series Farscape, which perfected the serialized formula of ragtag heroes going up against an oppressive government. Farscape is clearly influenced by the original trilogy, right down to having Jim Henson’s Creatureworks provide puppets, but that’s not a bad thing. 

Farscape starts off with human astronaut John Crichton surviving a trip through a wormhole and winding up on the far side of the galaxy. He quickly learns to get along with the escaped convicts Ka D’Argo, Zhaan, and Rygel on board a living spaceship, the Moya, as they try to stay one step ahead of the corrupt Peacekeepers. Later on, the leather-clad villain Scorpius comes after Crichton for his hidden knowledge of wormholes, and this all leads to Crichton being split into two separate versions: an imaginary Scorpius living in his head, the organic spaceship giving birth, and a constant struggle to survive when it feels the entire universe is out to get them. 

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If you liked the original trilogy, and even if you liked Guardians of the Galaxy, you need to fire up Farscape and start binging it right now. This is everything fans wanted out of a Star Wars streaming series.

Welcome To The Top 5

Congratulations, you’ve reached the top five, and things are about to get really fun. Keep in mind that this list is ranked by two criteria: how much something is like Star Wars and how good it is. 

It’s an average of the two factors, which can result in all kinds of ranking weirdness, especially in the lower levels of this list. These are the 5 best Star Wars sci-fis that aren’t Star Wars at all. 

5. Predator: Badlands

Remember when Chewbacca carried C3-PO on his back? How the mismatched characters played off of each other? Turn that into a survival story on an alien planet where everything is trying to kill them, and you get Predator: Badlands, the latest in the long-running franchise. 

Dek is a Predator who heads off to a planet in order to hunt down the apex predator. A Weyland-Yutani android is the only survivor of an encounter with the beast. Only the top half of her body survived. Dek straps her to his back, and together, they navigate a world where everything is trying to kill them. 

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It has the feel of a Star Wars novel in the best way possible. It’s easy to imagine a Wookie and a droid having to navigate a planet similar to Genna. Predator: Badlands lacks the size and scope of a Star Wars film, but it’s an absolute blast from start to finish. All it takes is one setting, two characters, and a horde of bizarre alien lifeforms that make the Rancor look like a puppy. 

4. Firefly

The Mandalorian was praised for taking Star Wars in a bold new direction: Space Western. Well, why not take some time and enjoy the series that put space westerns on the map? Firefly is still the greatest one-season sci-fi series of all time, and the sequel film, Serenity, is the perfect ending to the crew’s story. 

Out on the edge of the known galaxy, Captain Malcolm Reynolds and his crew pick up odd jobs, carrying cows, protecting a brothel, whatever they have to do to get enough gas to keep flying. Imagine the adventures of smuggler Han Solo under the watchful eye of the Empire, and that’s Firefly, only with no aliens, more cowboy hats, and more jokes. 

A new animated series is on the way, set between the end of Season 1 and Serenity, making this the best time to get caught up on the space western that paved the way for The Mandalorian

3. Dune

David Lynch’s Dune is an underrated masterpiece, but Denis Villeneuve’s modern adaptation turned the classic sci-fi novel into a blockbuster. 12 years before Star Wars, author Frank Herbert took sci-fi fans to the planet of Arakkis, the center of intergalactic politics and trade, thanks to the miracle mineral: Spice. Imagine if Tattooine was important for any reason other than its abundance of Skywalkers, and that’s Arakkis. 

It even has a chosen one, destined to reshape the galaxy. Paul Atreides is the hero that Anakin Skywalker wishes he could be. Paul liberates his planet, unites a people, has twins destined to be even greater than him, and doesn’t become a villain. In the first two movies. 

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Star Wars is more of a space fantasy than hard sci-fi, but Dune isn’t afraid to get weird. Later books include human/sandworm hybrid that lives for thousands of years and rules over the galaxy. Oddly, that’s not as strange as it gets. 

2. The Expanse

A grounded, hard sci-fi series might not seem like it would have much in common with Star Wars, but The Expanse centers around a ragtag group of misfits on a medium size ship flying around saving the Galaxy. 

It’s based on a series of books set in a not-too-distant future where humanity has colonized the solar system. Earth, Mars, and the asteroid belt are locked in political tension, and a crew of unlikely allies gets pulled into events that reshape civilization. 

Despite being a totally different type of space sci-fi from Star Wars, The Expanse pulls off the crew of the Millennium Falcon against the universe vibe better than anything has since The Empire Strikes Back. Ride shotgun with the crew of the Rocinante as they battle to save the solar system from threats not inside and out, on one of the best sci-fi shows ever produced. 

1. Guardians of the Galaxy

Guardians of the Galaxy is so much fun, it turned a dancing tree into the hottest Christmas toy. Comic fans knew how strange and bizarre the cosmic side of Marvel was, but in 2014, the general public took a trip to Knowhere and had their minds blown for the first time since they stepped foot inside a hive of scum and villainy. 

The colorful cast even brings to mind the original trilogy, except both Star-Lord and Rocket are Han Solo, Gamora is Leia’s intrusive thoughts given physical form, Drax is C-3PO, Groot is R2-D2, and Mantis is… there. 

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The Guardians trilogy is among the very best of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and any one of them could be someone’s favorite movie, and you know what, sure. It’s fun, and it’s awesome. Each one of them reveals another strange corner of the galaxy, and while yes, Adam Warlock was wasted, the thrill of what comes next is only comparable to the original trilogy. 


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R-Rated Netflix Comedy Proves Raunchy Humor Is Alive And Well

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R-Rated Netflix Comedy Proves Raunchy Humor Is Alive And Well

By Robert Scucci
| Published

Though I’m well past the age of regularly seeking out a raunchy coming-of-age comedy, I still like to know what’s out there. As a musician, I want to know what the kids are getting into because it’s the easiest way to follow trends and keep your finger on the pulse (grunge and shoegaze is back, baby!). As a movie fan, and also a parent, I want that same awareness because with so many media touch points these days, you need to know when to restrict content and when to provide guidance. Luckily, my kids are years off from high school, so I don’t have to worry about them watching 2024’s Incoming any time soon.

Why would I be worried about my kids watching Incoming, you ask? Remember the raunchy teen comedies we had in the early aughts? Some guy bangs a pie, another guy puts a rat in his mouth. It’s crude, but knows when to censor itself. As a 13-year-old, I thought that was the be-all, end-all of lowbrow comedy, but just like beer, whacko tobacco, and how much shame we’re willing to collectively process on a daily basis, the potency perpetually increases as time marches forward. Incoming is peak R-rated fodder and kind of a disgrace when you compare it to the raunchy comedies of yesteryear. But that’s also what makes it so fun.

Incoming 2024

Long story short, when my kids are old enough to watch R-rated movies on their own, I’m not going to read them the riot act if Incoming is one of them. But if they scroll through my recently watched list on Netflix, I’ll probably be sleeping on the couch for the foreseeable future.

Typical High School Party Plot Dialed To 11

Incoming centers on a group of high school freshmen, and it benefits from splitting them up during their first official house party. Benj (Mason Thames), Eddie (Ramon Reed), Connor (Raphael Alejandro), and Koosh (Bardia Seiri) all get their moments to shine, but their motivations are wildly different, which sends them on very different adventures.

Incoming 2024

Benj is in love with his older sister’s friend Bailey (Isabella Ferreira) and wants to make a move. Eddie and Connor are the wet blankets who just want to hang out like the good old days. Koosh’s older brother, Kayvon (Kayvan Shai), is throwing the rager, and Koosh wants to prove he’s more than just the rich kid with the cool older brother.

It’s time to party, and this is where Incoming starts to heat up. I had my reservations early on because it felt like it was building toward the usual teen movie beats of substance abuse and running from the cops. Like an updated version of Can’t Hardly Wait. Once the group gets split up, though, that’s when things click.

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Incoming 2024

When Koosh is told by Kayvon that he can only let one friend in, Benj jumps at the opportunity to get closer to Bailey. Benj sticking around gives us a look at the chaos of the party itself.

Koosh, whose parents are absurdly rich, has a hidden surveillance room where he spies on every guest. He uses it to figure out who to flirt with despite having zero game. He sets his sights on Gabrielle (Victoria Moroles) and tries to seduce her in his parents’ spa. Meanwhile, Benj takes a more sincere approach, though he’s still too afraid to be himself in that kind of setting, so he plays it cool.

The B Plot Outplots The A Plot

Incoming 2024

If everything above sounds like enough to keep you watching Incoming, you haven’t even gotten to the best part. The movie’s real MVP is the B story involving Eddie and Connor.

Bored because they didn’t get into the party, they steal Eddie’s mom’s boyfriend’s Tesla and go for a joyride. They swing by the party to check things out, and that’s when Katrina (Loren Gray), the most popular girl in school, mistakes their car for her Uber. She’s well past the point of being reasonably trashed.

Incoming 2024

After demolishing an ungodly amount of Taco Bell, she creates her own version of Cheesy Fiesta Potatoes all over the back seat (read: explosive diarrhea). What follows is one of the most traumatic experiences of their young lives. Do they ditch her at a fire station covered in her own filth, or do they step up and do the honorable thing by hosing her off in hazmat suits?

Back at the party, recurring bits with their chemistry teacher Mr. Studebaker (Bobby Cannavale) keeps things interesting. Going through a messy divorce and trying to reconnect with his youth, he drinks everyone under the table and becomes the legend of the night, one questionable decision at a time.

So Much Fun, But You Have To Be Primed For It

Incoming 2024

I’m 37 years old. I don’t seek out movies like Incoming because I’m not in high school or college. Watching it through that lens, it’s nothing special because I grew up on Freddy Got Fingered and Road Trip. That said, I’m genuinely glad movies like Incoming and 2018’s The Package are still being made. Sneaking movies like this when you’re a teenager is a rite of passage.

Have I ever been to a party or road trip like the ones in these movies? Not even close. But that’s the point. These films are harmless wish fulfillment for kids who love gross-out humor and watching a bunch of losers get in way over their heads trying to get laid. It’s good, dumb fun.

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Incoming 2024

I’m not going to shout from the rooftops that everyone needs to see this because I’m not the target audience. But I will recommend it to anyone convinced the raunchy teen comedy is dead. If you need proof, you can stream Incoming on Netflix.


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Mark Hamill Reflects On Lucasfilm Leadership Change

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Dave Filoni at the Los Angeles Premiere Of Disney+'s 'The Mandalorian'

Actor Mark Hamill, best known for his role as Luke Skywalker in the “Star Wars” franchise, has never been shy about voicing his opinion. Recently, both Lucasfilm and Disney experienced a leadership shakeup. In January 2026, Kathleen Kennedy stepped down as President of Lucasfilm and was replaced by both Dave Filoni and Lynwen Brennan. In March, Josh D’Amaro officially succeeded Bob Iger as Disney CEO. Many fans have been wondering how these changes might affect the franchise going forward, but Hamill doesn’t seem too concerned about its future.

Mark Hamill Shares His Thoughts On Dave Filoni

Dave Filoni at the Los Angeles Premiere Of Disney+'s 'The Mandalorian'
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While promoting his new role with The Lego Group, the 74-year-old actor praised Dave Filoni, who worked directly with George Lucas on the animated series “The Clone Wars,” while speaking to USA Today.

Hamill said that Filoni understands the franchise “so well” and “can’t think of better hands” to take over the galaxy far, far away. He also praised the “great stuff” Filoni has worked on, including “The Mandalorian” and “The Book of Boba Fett,” both of which featured a young Luke Skywalker.

“George was a mentor to Dave, so he knows George’s sensibility,” Hamill added.

Mark Hamill Celebrates 50 Years Of ‘Star Wars’

Mark Hamill and George Lucas at Hollywood Walk of Fame Ceremony
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March 22, 2026, marked the 50th anniversary of the day that filming on the first movie began. Disney will be celebrating the milestone by putting “A New Hope” back in theaters in February 2027.  

“It doesn’t feel like 50 years, and it makes you feel old,” Hamill said, revealing that he had recently been reminiscing about the path with a 1976 date book filled with notes about the film’s production.

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He recalled how it was “bringing back such memories,” adding, “time flies when you’re having fun!”

Mark Hamill Reveals Which Of His Children Are Interested In ‘Star Wars’

Mark Hamill at 2025 CinemaCon Big Screen Achievement Awards Arrivals
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Hamill revealed that each of his children has a different reaction to the franchise. He revealed that his oldest son, Nathan, who was born during the production of “The Empire Strikes Back,” visited him on the set of “Return of the Jedi,” which marked the final installment in the original trilogy.

“He was totally into it,” Hamill recalled. “He could sit in Yoda’s house because he was little. He was perfectly proportioned. He sat on the Emperor’s throne. He was in the creature shop, and they were letting him play with things.”

“When I did ‘The Muppet Show,’ same thing,” he continued. “I thought, ‘What a wonderful experience for him.’ … I was almost envious of him being able to have all these experiences.”

Not All Of His Children Are Interested In ‘Star Wars’

Mark Hamill at TIFF 2024 - ‘The Wild Robot’ Premiere
Photo credit: JPA/AFF-USA.com / MEGA

1983 was the year “Return of the Jedi” was released in theaters. It was also the year his son Griffin was born. However, he was less interested in the franchise than his older brother was.

“My second son, Griffin, is more analytical and serious, and he says: ‘You know, Star Wars movies just aren’t for me. They’re too commercial for my liking,’” Hamill said.

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However, he went on to say, “My daughter likes them. Kids are all different!”

Mark Hamill Was Fascinated By Tie-In Merchandising

Mark Hamill at the Child's Play Premiere World Premiere
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While working with LEGO to promote an upcoming line of SMART Play LEGO sets, Hamill revealed that he’s always loved toys, calling them “therapeutic.” One of the first things he bought with his “Star Wars” paycheck was all the toys he wanted as a kid that he couldn’t afford, like the game Lie Detector.

He also revealed that, out of the whole cast, he was the “most enamored” by all the “Star Wars” action figures and tie-in merchandise that the franchise has since become known for, such as games and comic books.

“I bought every comic, maybe 16 copies, (and) gave them out to friends,” he recalled. “I was thrilled about that. I loved the toy aspect of it. Harrison was sort of, ‘Eh, whatever.’ He didn’t really care. Carrie thought it was kind of fun. But I was the real enthusiast.”

He also loved running across boxes of cereal with “Star Wars” characters’ faces on them when he went grocery shopping. “To me, this was a peak achievement,” he said, adding, “Forget about the Oscars. I’m on a box of Kellogg’s Corn Pops!”

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Elon Musk’s Trans Daughter Doesn’t Want Him In Her ‘Future’

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Elon Musk at Charlie Kirk Memorial In Arizona

The public dynamic between Elon Musk and his estranged daughter, Vivian Jenna Wilson, has taken a dramatic new turn following a series of candid revelations. 

The Tesla founder’s daughter is stepping out of her father’s shadow to define her own identity on her own terms. 

Vivian was born to Musk and his ex-wife, Canadian author Justine Wilson. However, the transgender model and her father have been estranged for years. 

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Vivian Candidly Reflects On Her Future With Dad Elon Musk

Elon Musk at Charlie Kirk Memorial In Arizona
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In a recent interview with Cosmopolitan, Vivian, the 21-year-old daughter of 54-year-old Musk, provided a blunt assessment of her relationship with her father. 

She explained that she has essentially made peace with their estrangement, noting that since there is “not much” she can do to change the situation, she has chosen not to let it define her. While she acknowledges that being Musk’s daughter is part of her history, she firmly stated that it is not her story. 

“There’s not much I can do about it, so who cares? It’s part of my story, but it’s not the future of my story,” she said. 

Despite the internet’s tendency to constantly link her back to her father, Vivian joked that her recent media training has helped her navigate these recurring questions with a newfound level of detachment.

Reflecting on the extreme wealth of her upbringing, she described a “level of detachment from reality” where people feel they deserve their fortune while others suffer. 

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Now, choosing to reject that lifestyle, Vivian admitted that her biggest fear is how greed and the never-ending desire for power can corrupt people, turning them into someone completely different.

Vivian Addressed Her Financial Independence And New Modeling Career

Vivian Jenna Wilson
TikTok | Vivian Jenna Wilson

Despite her choice to step away from the fame and fortune associated with her father, Vivian is often forced to address public assumptions about her financial situation. According to The Blast, she clarified that, contrary to popular belief, she does not have vast sums of money at her disposal. 

While she acknowledged that her mother is wealthy and her father possesses “unimaginable” riches, the 21-year-old emphasized that she does not have hundreds of thousands of dollars and lives a much more modest life than many would expect.

Vivian made it clear that she has no desire to be “super rich” and is content living within her means. She also shared that she is grateful to be able to afford basic necessities like food and shelter, noting that she feels more fortunate than many others her age in Los Angeles. 

Notably, her commitment to financial independence from her father follows their public fallout, which was largely sparked by his negative reaction to her gender transition.

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The Model Constantly Critiques Her Father’s Politics And Business Ethics

Elon Musk meets with Senate Republicans
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Vivian’s journey toward self-definition involves both financial independence and a direct challenge to the public image her father cultivated for years. In April 2025, Vivian took part in an extensive interview with influencer Hasan Piker, where she offered a scathing critique of Elon’s true political leanings and professional reputation. 

She claimed that the tech mogul was never the “liberal darling” he once appeared to be, per The Blast.

During the candid conversation, Vivian stated that her father has actually been “right-wing since at least 2016” and pushed back against the idea that her gender transition caused his political shift. 

Vivian went even further by branding her estranged father an “insecure little buffoon.” She also targeted his automotive company, describing it as a “Ponzi scheme” designed to strip people of their money. 

Elon Musk’s Daughter Slammed Him For Sex-Selective Birth

President Trump Meets with Elon Musk in Oval Office
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The intensity of Vivian’s public rebukes against Musk often stems from what she describes as a fundamental betrayal of her own personhood by her father. In September, she launched a scathing social media thread addressing the circumstances of her birth, alleging that Elon Musk specifically used sex-selective IVF to ensure he had sons. 

In these posts, she expressed a deep sense of resentment, claiming that her assigned sex at birth was treated as a “commodity that was bought and paid for.”

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“That expectation of masculinity that I had to rebel against all my life was a monetary transaction,” she wrote, per The Blast

This perspective resonated with thousands of social media users who voiced their support as she questioned the ethics and legality of the practice.

Vivian Used Her Runway Debut To Advocate For Trans Rights

The symbolic weight of her birth history has only strengthened Vivian’s resolve to use her platform for advocacy within the fashion industry. 

The Blast reported that when she made a high-profile New York Fashion Week debut walking for designer Alexis Bittar, she turned her first appearance on the catwalk into a direct statement on human rights.

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Wearing a sparkling red gown with a “Miss South Carolina” sash, the 21-year-old stood as a centerpiece for a collection themed “MISS USA 1991.” Notably, the collection was designed to explore heavy themes such as misogyny, objectification, and the ongoing struggle for trans rights.

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“Price Is Right” announcer Rod Roddy once passed out on live radio after alleged altercation involving hot coffee with former Miss America

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In the 1970s, he hosted his own Dallas radio show, “Rod Roddy’s Hotline.”

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Mark Wahlberg Reveals Who ‘Didn’t Do Much’ In 4 AM Club

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Mark Wahlberg Reveals Who 'Didn’t Do Much' In 4 AM Club

Mark Wahlberg, long known as a dedicated fitness buff, is now sharing that passion with others through a new series centered on his intense daily workout routine. The new YouTube series offers a glimpse into his disciplined lifestyle, while also putting celebrity guests to the test.

Wahlberg has named one of the influencers who he said made minimal effort in the challenge, revealing that not everyone was able to keep up with the demanding regimen.

Mark Wahlberg Calls Out Influencer

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Mark Wahlberg’s new YouTube series, “4 AM Club Challenge,” was announced in late March, and two weeks later, TMZ caught up with the actor to talk about the new project.

In the middle of the conversation, Wahlberg mentioned influencer-turned-comedian Druski, real name Drew Desbordes, singling him out as the celebrity who made the least effort in the challenge. “Druski, he really didn’t do much,” Wahlberg revealed. “Every time I turn around, I hear ‘9, 10.’ I turn around, he’s just sitting there looking at his phone,” he added.

Druski’s “4 AM Club Challenge” has yet to be released, and it’s unclear whether the comedian did that for comedic relief. For past events, the influencer took training seriously, participating in the Nike Runski running event in 2024. A year later, Druski shared 6 a.m. basketball training sessions on social media as he prepared for an All-Star Charity Game.

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The Actor Said Some Of The Celebrities Thought His Routine Was Fake

Mark Wahlberg at Los Angeles premiere of 'Entourage'
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Wahlberg was asked how difficult his workout routine would be for the average person, and he said he doesn’t think it’s the “most difficult thing to do,” advising those who want to try the routine to “do what you’re capable of doing.”

The 54-year-old said personally, he just wants to get his routine done early to get it out of the way so he can focus on other things for the rest of the day. “All these different guys came in, and most of the guys thought it was either fake that I do it for Instagram or whatever. Or they just felt like they wanted to outdo me,” he said of the celebrities who took on his challenge.

Wahlberg said the participants weren’t used to the pace and intensity of the workout, which resulted in them getting tired early.

Mark Wahlberg’s ‘4 AM Club Challenge’

On March 26, Wahlberg dropped the trailer for “4 AM Club Challenge,” a 10-part series on YouTube created in conjunction with his production company, Unrealistic Ideas.

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“I’ve always believed that how you start your morning sets the tone for everything else,” said Wahlberg, adding that his 4 a.m. fitness challenge focuses on “discipline, accountability, and pushing yourself to be better.” The actor shared that working with the celebrity influencers was a fun experience.

Archie Gips, the production company’s president, said the series aims to show a “different side” to Wahlberg and the featured influencers. “It’s competitive, it’s funny, and it’s ultimately about the mindset it takes to succeed,” Gips added.

The first season of “4 AM Club Challenge” features Druski, Brent Rivera, Hannah Stocking, Ben Azelart, Dhar Mann, Pierson, Airrack, Adam W, The Stokes Twins, and Jesse James West.

Mark Wahlberg’s Daily Routine Went Viral

Mark Wahlberg at CATHEDRALE Grand Opening - Las Vegas
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In 2018, the “Ted” actor shared his daily routine on Instagram Stories. It quickly went viral after online users reacted to how intense the schedule was.

As Wahlberg noted, a typical day for him starts at 2:30 a.m. He does his daily prayers and eats breakfast before beginning his workout at 3:40 a.m. and finishing at 5:30 a.m. Before noon, the actor has already done plenty, including eating a post-workout meal, showering, playing a round of golf, eating a snack, spending time in the cryo chamber, having another snack, and spending time with family.

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The second half of his day is spent having meetings and doing work. At 4:00 p.m., he has another hour-long workout session before having dinner with his family. Wahlberg is in bed by 7:30 p.m., ensuring he gets eight hours of sleep.

The Fitness Buff Eats The Same Breakfast Daily

Mark Wahlberg at Los Angeles Premiere Of Netflix's Me Time
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Apart from regularly working out, Wahlberg keeps in shape by having healthy meals. In December 2025, the actor posted an Instagram video sharing what he eats for breakfast daily. The meal consists of hard-boiled eggs, scrambled eggs, turkey, salmon with lemon, and blueberries. “Same old, same old, every day,” Wahlberg said while eating his meal and enjoying the sunrise.

However, he also indulges from time to time, telling Men’s Health he sometimes has “cheat meals.” He likes having tequila, chocolate, pasta, and different types of desserts, but admits that he doesn’t feel good after ingesting them. Most of the time, however, he sticks to his “boring and repetitive” diet.

“4 AM Club Challenge” released its first episode on March 27, with new episodes released every two weeks.

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Young Thug Reacts To Shooting, Internet Users GAGGED

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Young Thug's Reaction To News That Offset Was Recently Shot Has Internet Users GAGGED (WATCH)

Young Thug‘s reaction to the news that Offset was recently shot has internet users GAGGED.

RELATED: Whew! Lil Tjay Shares STRONG Words About Offset After Being Released From Jail In Florida (VIDEO)

Young Thug Reacts To News That Offset Was Recently Shot

On Thursday, April 9, The Shade Room obtained footage of Young Thug heading to his car in a parking lot. Before getting in, Thug is asked about Offset getting shot at the Hard Rock Casino in Hollywood, Florida. In response, Thug appeared to be hearing the news for the first time and was visibly puzzled.

Ultimately, Thug shared that he had just gotten off a 26-hour flight from Asia.

Check out his reaction below.

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Internet Users Are GAGGED At Young Thug’s Reaction

Social media users entered TSR’s comment section, gagged at Young Thug’s reaction.

Instagram user @xiovalis wrote, He’s late, he the belated birthday”

While Instagram user @shonrollingg added, That man worrying about his food getting cold”

Instagram user @___knd wrote,He confused he the birthday bill😂😂😂😂”

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While Instagram user @taygramm_ added, ever since he got out he been funny ass hell 😂😂😂😂😂”

Instagram user @aziyana_thevibe wrote, I love a man who like to hear the tea”

While Instagram user @tinkaagiovanni_ added,He heard lil Tjay and shook his head like ‘sounds bout right ‘ 😂”

Instagram user @millyshakura wrote,thug so messy😂😂😂”

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While Instagram user @darealhollywood_ added, This how I act when someone try to come tell me teaaa but I already knew🫠🫠🫠🫠🫠🫠🫠”

Instagram user @mutrillaa wrote, ik he was in that jail messy as hell”

While Instagram user @prettiblaque33 added, Chile who is that giving the tea😂😂😂”

Instagram user @1500_shymoney wrote, Comment all like he can’t wait to call Mariah 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂🤦🏽‍♂️”

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More On Offset Recently Getting Shot

As The Shade Room previously reported, Offset was shot outside of the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino on Monday, April 6. At the time, it was reported that two people were detained while Offset was transported to a hospital in stable condition.

Subsequently, a lawyer for fellow rapper Lil Tjay shared a statement, asserting that he was not involved in the shooting despite rumors alleging otherwise. This, because, amid the shooting, Tjay had reportedly been arrested for disorderly conduct.

On Tuesday, April 7, Tjay was released from jail and shared strong words for Offset, per The Shade Room.

Subsequently, Offset shot back with his own words. This, as authorities reportedly asserted that an associate of Tjay’s shot the former Migos rapper.

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RELATED: Whew! Offset Responds To Lil Tjay’s STRONG Words As Authorities Report That Associate Of Bronx Rapper Shot Him

What Do You Think Roomies?

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Survivor Legend Humiliates Himself With Racism Accusations After Historic Merge Episode

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Survivor Legend Humiliates Himself With Racism Accusations After Historic Merge Episode

By Jennifer Asencio
| Updated

The Survivor 50 merge episode aired on April 2, 2026, and proved to be the most explosive episode to that point, only to be followed by an equally exciting episode that proves the game has returned to its cutthroat roots. As if Christian Hubicki arranging the ouster of fan favorite and The White Lotus creator Mike White wasn’t fireworks enough, we lost no fewer than four contestants through Tribal Councils in two episodes, and the epic aftermath of the merge brought out the competitor in even the contestants who’ve been hanging back.

The merge episode was so good that it nearly made up for the hated Zac Brown episode a few weeks ago, in which the country music star hogged 30 minutes of screen time fishing, singing, and having more confessionals than some of the contestants. As soon as the castaways got on the merge beach, strategizing started immediately. Allies, like Hubicki and Rick Devens, were reunited; hidden immunity idols (held by Aubry Bracco, Ozzy Lusth, and Rizo Velovic) were sussed out; and targets were placed, particularly on legends Benjamin “Coach” Wade and Colby Donaldson, injured in a previous challenge.

Emily Flippen, who is turning out to be one of the season’s movers, pointed out the tribe could get “two for the price of one” by voting out Coach and waiting for Colby to be medivaced from the show. That is how ruthless the merge got.

Survivor’s Blood Moon

However, at the Immunity Challenge, host Jeff Probst sprung the surprise on the castaways that there would be a twist that night called The Blood Moon. With Ozzy and Rizo oblivious to this because they were off on a fortuitous jaunt to Exile Island together, the other 15 castaways were divided into three groups. The challenge was an individual immunity endurance challenge, but whatever group won would also be treated to Applebee’s at Survivor’s famous Sanctuary, “where good things happen” to the winners of rewards.

The twist was that each group of five had one immunity winner and would be going separately to Tribal Council rather than as a full merge tribe. Three people would be voted off, and which group each castaway was sorted to was entirely luck of the draw. This resulted in three Tribal Councils.

Survivor Legend Penner Humiliates Himself With Racism Accusations

The first group shown were the reward winners, Chrissy Hofbeck, Jonathan Young, Stephenie LaGrossa-Kendrick, Tiffany Ervin, and Kamila Kathigetsu, the latter of whom was the unlucky victim in a controversial tribal council that had real-world effects.

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Chrissy Hofbeck, Jonathan Young, and Stephanie LaGrossa-Kendrick

Two former CBS contestants got angry at Chrissy for claiming she, Jonathan, and Stephenie were “cut from the same cloth” when they allied to vote out either Tiffany or Kamila; since the latter two are women of color, the voting bloc, Chrissy in particular, was targeted as racist by Survivor alum Jonathan Penner and Big Brother contestant Hannah Chadda. The backlash was so bad that Chrissy Hofbeck deleted her X account.

Penner’s racism accusation on X

In the aftermath of that outcome, Penner had this to say about his initial accusations: “Let’s just say I meant it as a joke, but as I say to my kids, there are no – jokes.”

The second group shown consisted of Genevieve Musaluk, Aubry, Hubicki, Devens, and Joe Hunter. Despite fireworks between the three men and a heated rivalry between the two women, the second group came together to vote out Genevieve in a move that was rather expected from this team.

The final tribal council of the merge episode was a tear-jerker for longtime fans of the show, including contestant Dee Valaderes, who had to choose between Emily, Colby, Coach, and their fellow legend, Cirie Fields. The only person in this group who actually wanted to vote was true gamer Emily, as the three legends and former winner Dee broke down in tears over how important these icons were to the history of Survivor. Before he was tragically voted out, Colby delivered a heartfelt speech about how much the show has been a part of his life for half of it, and the opportunities he was presented with thanks to his appearances.

Colby Speaks For The Fans

For many people, Survivor is a way to bond with family as they watch together and talk about it. Colby’s speech about what the show has done for him was felt by all of us, for whom the show has been meaningful as fans.

It was a bittersweet ending to an incredible episode, but fans were disappointed that the merge vote was split up the way it was because they wanted to see how the morass of everyone together in one tribal council would play out, rather than the New Era trick of splitting the vote. It was the one dark spot in an almost perfect episode.

Blood Moon’s Aftermath Episode

The next episode, aired April 9, 2026, saw the intertribal conflicts intensify as “trust clusters” (a term coined by former Survivor player Hannah Shapiro at tribal council during Millennials vs GenX) form. Ozzy and Rizo returned from their bonding trip to Exile Island to reunite with ally Cirie. Rizo wanted to enhance that alliance with Dee, except she blabbed his secret about having an idol to several people, and Emily told Rizo what she had done.

Emily is loosely allied with the super-nerd alliance of Devens and Hubicki, a duo that seems to be floating around together. Coach had formed an alliance he called The Four Horsemen; the loss of Colby prompted him to try to add Rizo alongside himself, Jonathan, and Joe. Further complicating alliances is Jonathan’s loyalty to Stephenie and Chrissy. Aubry and Tiffany don’t seem to have an alliance and are floating around the various webs of other alliances, just trying to survive.

Coach’s Plan Works To Perfection

Despite the attempts of the Cirie-Ozzy-Rizo voting block to save her, Dee landed herself in hot water when she betrayed Rizo’s secret about his immunity idol. This was further compounded when Jonathan took advantage of the buzz to rile her up enough to admit her role in the blindside of Charlie Davis a few episodes before. All this damning evidence against Dee prompted a haiku-spouting Coach to assemble what he called “7 and 4,” referring to the number of votes needed to vote Dee out and also to cover themselves with some votes for Tiffany in case Dee played her Shot in the Dark. Dee reacted by trying to put together votes against Coach, and it looked like tribal council was going to be a toss-up.

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Coach’s plan worked to perfection, despite the show giving the appearance that he was in danger for his bossy behavior in assembling the vote. A sorry Dee was voted out for the first time in her Survivor career, with the only stray vote going to Coach and a warning shot fired across Tiffany’s bow in the form of the four security votes. Dee did play her Shot in the Dark, but it failed, so she lost her vote.

Stephenie LaGrossa’s Survivor Journey

Aside from explosive scheming and plenty of fighting, another notable moment in the episode saw Stephenie LaGrossa-Kendrick on a Survivor journey, one of the individual challenges that castaways are occasionally sent on. She didn’t really want to go and miss out on all the social play on the beach, but the group picked her name out of a bag, and she handled it with grace, especially when she saw what her challenge was: the infamous bucket on a swivel, to which one arm was chained, pointing straight up. A win would give her an advantage, a loss would not only drench her but also cost her her vote at the next tribal council.

This was a remarkable event because of Stephenie’s history on the show. She was notably the only castaway whose team lost so much that she was eventually its last member, alone on the Ulong beach in Palau for three days until the tribes merged. She was runner-up the following season in Guatemala, her blunt honesty costing her the top spot by rubbing the jury the wrong way.

However, it is Heroes vs Villains that had an impact on this challenge, because there, she dislocated her shoulder, had it reset in the middle of a very physical challenge, and then had to have surgery on it after the show ended. Forced to use her good arm, she persevered through the entire endurance challenge and won a Steal-a-Vote, allowing her to replace another castaway’s vote with her own at a time of her choosing.

Stephenie spent all day April 9 celebrating this achievement with a video posted to social media teasing the episode, and it was well-earned and richly deserved. As soon as she said, “This is my happy face,” I knew from her posts that we were in for an epic ride.

Survivor 50’s Contestants Are Here To Play

Overall, the episodes that have followed the Zac Brown fiasco have brought a lot of excitement, backstabbing, gameplay both impressive and sloppy, and even controversy. Survivor 50 may be embracing some of the more annoying conventions of the recent seasons of the show, but one thing that is definitely not present is the Girl Scout camp atmosphere: these people are here to play and aren’t pulling any punches.

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This is the first season of Survivor in a long time where the contestants are willing to go to war for the million dollars, and it is refreshing to see. Viewers weren’t tuning in to watch the players have a sing-along; they tune in to watch exactly the drama that this season is delivering.

Catch Survivor 50 on CBS on Wednesday nights at 8pm EST and streaming on Paramount Plus the following day. You can also stream all the other seasons on Paramount Plus and get to know or reconnect with the contestants who were invited to return to play this fantastic season.


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