In an exclusive Collider Signature for the HBO Max series, Movsesian admits she came home with what she estimates were “gallons” of the stuff, enough to constitute a flight hazard. But naturally, she’s already considering another trip. “I feel like I have to go to Conan and say, ‘I think I need to go to Morocco again,’” she says with a laugh. “Just for more oil.”

Of course, the oil is really just an excuse to put O’Brien and Movsesian back into their natural habitat: annoying each other like kids on vacation. After 12 years as his assistant — and trips together to Cuba, Armenia, South Korea, and Mexico City — Morocco marks the first time Movsesian has joined O’Brien on this kind of adventure without technically being responsible for him — technically being the important word here. “There were so many times where I still kind of wanted to take care of him, make sure he was being fed, make sure he was comfortable,” she says, but it didn’t last. Put the two back on the road and, as Movsesian frames it, they “revert right back” to their old dynamic. “We’re incredibly childish,” she admits. “He brings out the immaturity in me, which says a lot because I’m already very immature.”

That is also likely the secret to why their comedy is so magnetic. Movsesian is not interested in matching O’Brien joke for joke because, as she puts it, “I will never be as funny as Conan and… I don’t ever want to be.” Instead, she relies on what she likes to call her “Conan net” — a fairly luxurious knowledge where she can say something ridiculous and one of our generation’s greatest comedic minds will somehow make it a thousand times funnier.

In Collider’s in-depth conversation with Movsesian about Episode 3: “Morocco,” the podcast host and New York Times bestselling author gets into that authentic chemistry, what didn’t make it into their Moroccan adventure, how traveling with her boss has changed since the Conan Without Borders days, and what it was like leaving her children for the longest stretch since becoming a mother. She also opens up about her new book, The World’s Worst Mom, the follow-up to her smash hit The World’s Worst Assistant, and navigating a level of recognition she never expected.

For Movsesian, It Felt Like No Time Had Passed Since Her Last Trip With O’Brien

“He brings out the immaturity in me.”

Image via Team Coco/HBO

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COLLIDER: Sona, I am so humbled and honored to chat with you — I’m a huge fan, and loved seeing you on Conan O’Brien Must Go this season, so congrats on Season 3! I have to know, after an entire trip to Morocco basically culminating in you getting argan oil, how much of your haul is actually left, and are you rationing it now?

SONA MOVSESIAN: You know what? I gave a lot of it away because so many people were like, “You’re going to go for actual argan oil from Morocco?” I want to say I got gallons of it. I mean. I think I got one suitcase that was just oil, so if it exploded in the plane, it would have been the worst thing. But I got so much of it, and then I just gave it away to a lot of people. But I still have a lot. I use so much of it, so I’m actually moving through it pretty quickly. I feel like I have to go to Conan and say, “I think I need to go to Morocco again,” just for more oil. [Laughs]

You’ve traveled with Conan before. It’s funny because that Armenia episode is a great travelogue. But with Morocco, all these years later, it really feels like watching you two as siblings. What happens when you are taken out of that normal environment, and then suddenly you’re each other’s travel companions? Because I feel like, blend the jet lag and schedules, and the two of you are a different combination.

MOVSESIAN: Well, I was his assistant for 12 years, so I traveled with him a lot. Plus, it wasn’t just the Armenia episode; I had traveled with him to Cuba, to South Korea, to Mexico City. We went to a lot of places together. This is the first time I’ve traveled with him as not his assistant on a trip like this, so there were so many times where I still kind of wanted to take care of him, make sure he was being fed, make sure he was comfortable.

But as soon as Conan and I go back into a place where we’re doing something that we used to do before I had kids, and when I was still his assistant, we revert right back to the same dynamic that we had before. It really is just like two pals traveling. We’re incredibly childish. He brings out the immaturity in me, which says a lot because I’m already very immature, but he heightens that immaturity. [Laughs] It’s honestly just really fun to travel with him. I miss that part of my job a lot. I miss a lot of things about being Conan’s assistant, but I think getting to travel with him and getting to experience all these cool things is probably what I miss the most.

I love that dynamic between you two, and when you’re in Morocco, and you’re talking about Heated Rivalry and Off Campus — oh, I hope you’re watching Sterling Point.

MOVSESIAN: Oh, I finished it yesterday! I’m sorry, we’re gonna have to take a sidebar. Like, clearly they’re mirroring their parents. I think that’s a very obvious thing. But I’m like, “What is this girl going to do? Just live on this island for the rest of her life?” Why are we already making these massive decisions? Anyway, OK.

These young adult TV shows are so good, and they’re so delicious in that way where I just want to sit and watch it for the sake of being in delulu land; being young again and caring about things like that over other things, so it’s so good that way.

MOVSESIAN: I’m obsessed. And I love that Amazon Prime has shifted into giving me everything I ever wanted.

I love how they went from The Boys to basically all of this. It’s so funny to see that transition. [Laughs]

Movsesian Knows the Secret to Making O’Brien Funnier

Her secret? Just don’t think about it.

Image via Team Coco/HBO

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You have become incredibly good at shutting Conan down without actually killing the comedy. When you’re filming together, are you ever consciously thinking about what will make a moment funnier, or are the reactions we see completely instinctive?

MOVSESIAN: No, I don’t. I go into it knowing A) I will never be as funny as Conan, and B) I don’t ever want to be as funny as Conan. It’s an impossibility. It’s not like I’m going in there thinking, “Oh, I’m going to try to match him and try to do some bits that we can create.” You can say “houseplant” to Conan, and he’ll go on a riff about houseplants. [But] it’s kind of cheating; every time people talk to me about doing live podcast shows and stuff, and how I don’t really get that nervous when we do them, I go, “Well, I have a Conan net.” And a Conan net is very different from any other kind of net because in comedy, when we are out there, I know I can say something, and it could be stupid, but he’ll make it funny. I think that our audience, too, is really smart. If they ever see me trying to be funny and trying to kind of improv with him and trying to really work with him on that kind of level, they’ll notice, and that’s not something that they like.

So it’s not just that I can’t; it’s that I never want to lose that authenticity that he and I have. It’s beautiful because that means I just don’t think before I do anything with him — which is my favorite way to do anything, is just to not think about it and just do it, and so it helps a lot.

That’s how we should go through life. Just don’t think about things and just do them. [Laughs] I will say, being buried alive in the desert, I feel like that’s supposed to be a therapeutic experience, but it ended up with the two of you being like, “I want to kill each other,” basically. What was that experience like? Did you actually think at one time, “Why did I sign up for this? This is a lot.”

MOVSESIAN: Yeah! Oh, yeah. [Laughs] And they don’t tell you a lot of the stuff because they also work out a lot of the comedy as they go. There are a lot of things that they already have figured out, but a lot of things… If it were anybody else, I think they would ask, “Hey, what are the different things we’re going to do while we’re in Morocco?” But I never did that. I was just sort of like, “Oh, we’re gonna go shopping for Argan oil, and that’s it.” But then I get to the Sahara Desert, and they’re burying me. [Laughs] I’m riding a camel in the middle of the desert. It’s better for me to be unsuspecting of a lot of the things that we do just because it’s more fun for me and I don’t get in my head about it.

But they did tell me we were going to get buried, and it is my legitimate fear. You’re talking about all these shows I brought up — I had just finished Euphoria, and there was that episode where [Nate] gets buried alive, and that’s my legitimate fear, so I was so terrified, because I thought they were going to bury me and I wasn’t going to be able to move.

But there are a lot of moments where I think to myself, “This is exhausting. I am tired. I can’t believe that these people are doing this.” And then I look over at Conan, who’s 20 years older than me, and he’s powering through it. He’s a sport about everything. He’s doing 10 times more than I am. I’m just confused. I don’t know how someone gets that sort of will to do these things, and it’s worrisome, but it’s also something I admire about him.

He’s got so much energy. I don’t know where he gets it from. I feel like the more orange his hair, the more power he wields. His hair got very bright in the sun!

MOVSESIAN: [Laughs]

I will say, side note, that I have a fear similar to yours of being buried alive, except mine is falling off a cliff. I’ve never gone camping or hiking, but I need to know how to hold my body up, so I’ve been starting to do partial chin-ups because I’m just so nervous about it. I know The Rock’s never going to come and save me, so I need to do it for myself.

MOVSESIAN: [Laughs] It had to specifically be The Rock. You know what I love about what you just said? I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen people dangle from buildings or cliffs and they pull themselves up, and I think to myself, “Oh, I’m just gonna die if this ever happens to me.” I can’t physically pull my body up for anything, so I would just die. I think there’s a certain kind of person who’s like, “I’m going to do whatever I need to do to survive in this situation,” and then I think there are people like me where we’re like, “I think I’m just gonna die.”

“I’m just gonna let go. It’s fine.” [Laughs] But I get it; I’ve been in F45, so I’ve been trying to do all the exercise, but the chin-up is so hard. I’ve only done this much of a pull [gestures small amount with fingers], so I haven’t hit my chin on the bar, but I’m getting there. But it’s very hard to hold that bar. Sometimes I’m like, “I don’t have the grip.”

MOVSESIAN: I get it. I’m very sweaty. I’m 44, and everyone’s been telling me that I need to start working on my strength because it’s important or whatever… But I can’t do a chin-up just because I’m a very sweaty person, and I’m gonna slip. I need towels with me all the time. Like, I’m sweating now, and I’m in an air-conditioned townhouse.

We need to travel with The Rock everywhere we go and just have him save us.

MOVSESIAN: [Laughs]

What ‘Conan O’Brien Must Go’ Left Out of Its Morocco Episode

Movsesian says the cameras miss just how much attention Conan gets — and the quieter moments the crew gets once filming ends.

Image via Team Coco/HBO

There’s footage in the trailer that I really loved seeing. Conan was wearing that brown leather tuxedo, and he was partying and vibing in the streets of Marrakesh. Yet we don’t get to see that in the episode. I’m wondering what exactly happened that night, and what else didn’t we get to see that you guys went on adventures for in this episode?

MOVSESIAN: On the last day, we went to the souk in Marrakesh, and by the way, it’s like 90-something degrees in Marrakesh, and he’s wearing a full-on leather tuxedo. We’re just walking around, and what they usually have to cut out is how much attention he gets when he’s out. There were a lot of tourists who started noticing him and seeing him and following him around en masse. So, I think they cut out a lot of that.

But in terms of what content they shot that they cut, they’re so good about using most of what we shoot and being efficient about it. When we go to the store to buy the Argan oil, for instance, I remember we were there for a couple hours, but then they edit it down to a six-minute segment. So the things that they don’t show are how, after we shoot, everyone just goes shopping for Argan oil and all the beauty products and stuff.

One thing, and this is not even something we shot, so it’s not on the editing floor, is this was the longest I was away from my kids, and it was really hard. The whole week, I was just like, “This is tough. This is tough.” And one of our writers has a little kid, as well, and she and I were both commiserating over how hard it was. Then, we got everything early, and Conan left a day early, and there was one seat on the plane to leave a day early, and so our producer came back to us, and he said, “Does anybody want this ticket?” And we were like, “Okay, this is going to be the only day we have in Marrakesh where Conan’s not here, and the cameras are not shooting us. We’re just hanging out.” So she and I both decided to stay an extra day just to enjoy it. After a week of commiserating because we were like, “Oh, we miss our kids. We miss our kids,” we were like, “We’ll stay an extra day!” [Laughs] “I think we’re okay.” We both just wanted that time to really enjoy it.

The thing about traveling with Conan and shooting these shows is there’s a purpose to why you’re there, so you don’t have that much time to enjoy it for yourself and to really take it in. So, that’s what we did when Conan left: we just kind of enjoyed the day without him.

Was there a part of the Moroccan culture that you connected with more than you expected to? Between the food and the market, the hospitality, everybody is just so nice, and the family traditions, too. I feel like those are things that, when you go traveling, especially with a friend and a crew and all that, it’s a different experience altogether.

MOVSESIAN: Yes, it’s completely different. When we went to Armenia, I was having this moment where I just wanted to take everything in. Same with Morocco, but with Armenia it was different because it was kind of a pilgrimage for me. But when you’re there, the whole time you’re there, you’re shooting things, so you’re going from location to location to location shooting. It’s different than the kind of trip where you really sit down with certain locals by yourself without a camera involved, and you really get to know the culture and things. You learn about the culture on camera, so you’re aware of that, and that adds a completely different layer to it.

I grew up with a lot of people who spoke Arabic. There are a lot of Armenians from places like Lebanon and Syria and stuff, and so I knew a lot of people who spoke Arabic throughout my whole life, and I’ve eaten a lot of Arabic-inspired food, whether it’s Lebanese food, Syrian food, or whatever. But when I went to Morocco, it was like I was hearing a familiar language, but it was different. There was this African influence in it. The food was different than what I was used to, so it was a really interesting experience. It was my first time in Africa, and so it was a very different perspective that I was coming from.

O’Brien’s Travel Show Has Evolved in Every Way Except the One That Matters

The series may be more cinematic now, but Movsesian says O’Brien’s approach remains “exactly the same.”

Image via Team Coco/HBO

Speaking of perspective, you can tell the production value has changed so much from Conan Without Borders to now. What was that feeling like when you guys got to go on a bigger set and a bigger crew and take these adventures together? Because I feel like that also informs the episode in a way. I guess it’s been 10 years since you went to Armenia.

MOVSESIAN: What’s funny is when we were shooting those other shows, it was in between us shooting another show. We were shooting Conan on TBS, and then we would take some of the crew from Conan’s show and go to different countries with them. So, they were familiar faces. They were people that we knew. This is its own sort of entity, and it’s something that’s with HBO. They’re doing things to the show like color correcting and drone shots and more cinematic cinematography than they had before. For the first time, personally, I had met them, but I didn’t really know anybody in the crew. Our crew is our two camerawomen and then our soundwoman, and they’re hired just for this show.

It’s a really interesting thing for me to go into a situation that feels a lot more… I don’t want to say it’s a lot more professional, because there was always some professionalism to it. Our crew is Brenda [Zuniga] and Emily [Topper], who are our camerawomen, and then Emily [Strong], who does the sound. They’re on a whole new level of professionalism. They do documentaries. They come from a background of shooting film and documentary and other shows that are not talk shows. They have such perspective when they come to it [and] it was just a really fascinating thing to see. I’m gonna just say it: It’s a little bit more professional than it was before. [Laughs]

We were traveling with our editor, Matt Shaw, who then edits and uploads the footage as we go through. I remember when we first went to Cuba in 2015, and we had all of the footage, and our field producer, Jason Chillemi, was walking through security, and he was so precious about this footage because if we lost the tapes, I think we would have lost the whole episode, whereas now we can upload everything to some cloud. There’s a completely different approach to it, and it’s a really fascinating thing to see that it’s being shot in a way that is a lot more cinematic, and I think that makes it more fun.

But the way Conan shoots it and approaches it is exactly the same. It did feel like we did it 10, 11 years ago. On a technical side, it’s different, but on the side with Conan, it’s the same. He’s the same guy. He does the same stuff. His approach is the same as it’s always been.

You’ve been with him for so long. From your side of things, what do you think makes somebody such a good scene partner with him? Every time he has this dynamic with you or Jordan or even Andy, it’s a very different vibe each time, and I love that combination of the humor we get from everyone in those situations.

MOVSESIAN: I think that what Conan instantly gets turned off by is when he notices people are trying too hard, and he really loves talking to people who are genuine and who are being themselves. It’s what he responds to. I’ve noticed that in just everything that he’s shot, whether it’s a remote or an interview or a travel show. When he’s interacting with someone who’s truly just being their authentic self, it allows him to be more himself and allows him to bounce off somebody more.

But if he’s talking to someone who’s just constantly trying to throw in jokes and who’s putting up some sort of a facade of the person that they are, he notices that and is instantly sort of turned off by it. It’s not something most people can see, but having worked with him so long, I can tell when he’s not vibing with someone in a certain way, and it becomes very noticeable. I really think that’s the key: he just loves authenticity.

Movsesian Already Has a ‘Conan O’Brien Must Go’ Season 4 Plan

Movsesian has a simple Season 4 strategy: pick the destination first, then figure out what she “needs.”

Image via Team Coco/HBO

If Season 4 is determined by something that you need to buy, where are you going to make Conan go next? I feel like there’s so much you can do there, and have a nice haul.

MOVSESIAN: [Laughs] I think I would go off of where I want to go. I think I really need a lei from Hawaii. I think I really need a perfume from Paris. I think I need to buy a car in Italy. Knowing now that if I just need something from a specific place, I’m just going to think — where do I want to go? — and then figure out something from that place that I need. So, I need some chocolate from Switzerland. I need some more cognac from Armenia. I’m totally down to go back to Armenia.

Come to Toronto and get some BeaverTails. Everybody needs a good BeaverTail.

MOVSESIAN: Did you say “beaver tails”? What do you mean?

Do you guys have BeaverTails in California?

MOVSESIAN: I don’t even know if we have beavers in California.

They’re fried-dough pastries that look like a beaver’s tail. They’re pretty wide, and then they’re filled in with chocolate and cream — it’s very good. Look up BeaverTails after this, and you’ll see what I mean.

MOVSESIAN: Okay, good. All right! So, I think next time, instead of what I need dictating where we go, I’m going to just let where I go dictate what I need.

Like a grocery store list. Just do that. [Laughs]

‘The World’s Worst Mom’ Lets Movsesian Say the Quiet Part About Parenthood Out Loud

Movsesian opens up about guilt, IVF, vulnerability and why admitting parenthood is hard doesn’t make the love any less real.

Image via Penguin Random House, Plume

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Your first book, The World’s Worst Assistant, is very funny. I read it the first time when it came out, and then years later, I was like, “I’m going to buy the audiobook because I want to hear you talking about it.” Now you’re following that with The World’s Worst Mom. I’m wondering what it was about becoming a mother that made you realize there was another version of that idea worth exploring. What did you want to say about motherhood that you weren’t hearing enough people actually admit? I feel like that’s a big thing that we still have with motherhood; the stigmas are still there.

MOVSESIAN: My book isn’t just about raising my kids and how I feel like I’m in over my head about raising my kids. Just getting pregnant for me was a struggle — I had to go through IVF; delivering, I thought I was going to have a normal delivery, and I ended up having to have a scheduled C-section. From the get-go, I just felt like I was failing at everything. And it’s how I felt, also, being Conan’s assistant at times; I felt like there were times when I just wasn’t doing anything right, and I think that I write these books as a way of coping with that.

But what I love hearing and what I love seeing is when people come up to me and talk to me about how they relate to a lot of the things that I feel. And you’re right, there is a stigma. There still kind of is a stigma to admitting how hard parenthood is, how hard it is to get pregnant, what happens to our minds, what happens to our bodies. And I’m not saying this to be like, “Oh, poor me,” but I’m saying it in a very self-aware way: I don’t have a lot of strengths, but one strength I do have is I’m comfortable being vulnerable in front of people and being vulnerable and showing how difficult certain things are. I’m fine with that. So, that’s what this book is.

I’m sure a lot of moms are going to be like, “I can’t believe you’re complaining about being a parent,” or “You’re saying all these things about being a parent” — but one thing I say in my book, which I really believe, is you can talk about how hard parenthood is and still love it so much. You can talk about all the issues that your kids have and still look at them as these perfect human beings. Admitting something is not saying something doesn’t exist. I’m a very flawed person. I admit that. I’m putting that out there. It’s just I enjoy getting the response from people that they relate to me. Anybody else who might come along and look at it and be like, “I can’t believe you’re saying these things. I can’t believe you’re admitting these things,” I don’t really listen to that stuff.

You really shouldn’t. There’s that conversation about men having this epidemic of loneliness; with women, we don’t talk about the things we need to enough, whether it’s our health, experiencing endometriosis, or having perimenopause, which is a very huge conversation. As a society, we’re not used to having that conversation because, growing up, we were not used to talking about it. It’s the same thing with death. We learn about birth in school, but we never learn how to deal with grief. So, I think you are owning yourself, and I love that you are talking about it because I have friends who have kids, and it’s not easy to raise them and have a full-time job, too.

MOVSESIAN: Oh no, it’s not. I remember how my mom did it, and I don’t think my mom ever talked about how hard it was to raise us, but she was a stay-at-home mom, and that, to me, is the toughest job. She’s devoting all her time to making sure the house is spotless. I have an excuse for my house being a disaster, and the excuse is I have a job, so I can’t spend all day cleaning. And I have an excuse for why, if I come home after a day of recording and I don’t have dinner ready for my boys, I have an excuse for giving them nuggets or making something frozen and thawing it and feeding it to them. But my mom never had that excuse, and I think the guilt really ate at her if she just one day didn’t feel like doing something. So, it made me look at my mom differently.

What I love is I do think our generation is being a lot more honest about a lot of stuff. Like when I went to Morocco, I was guilty about leaving my kids, and then I felt guilty that I didn’t want to go home to my kids immediately when I could. There’s just this double standard, and it’s really, really hard.

Movsesian Has One Rule for Surviving Life in O’Brien’s Spotlight

The mom of two explains why she refuses to let public opinion define her.

Image via TBS

It’s good for you to own your own truth, and being able to do that in this industry, I think, is even better because it’s so hard. There are so many different voices, and there’s so much noise, and for you to be able just to filter it out, you know who you are.

MOVSESIAN: You have to, or else you’re going to just die. I really don’t know how people survive listening to and reading the things people say about them. Once Conan asked me to be on his podcast, I knew that that was sort of opening me up to a level of scrutiny that I never would have faced before. That’s because he’s so beloved, and anybody who enters that space — even though I had been on the show a bunch of times — when I’m entering that space on a regular basis, I’m facing a lot of scrutiny, and I knew that from the beginning. I told myself I can’t read the comments about any of the videos we post, anything I post, anything we put online, on social media, on YouTube. I can’t read that stuff because it would just drive me crazy, and I can’t let these opinions affect me in a certain way.

If there’s ever a time when Conan doesn’t think, or the people behind the podcast don’t think, that I’m pulling my weight and most people dislike me, they can just take me off the podcast, and I’ll be fine. So, approaching it with that level of “this can go away at any minute, and that’s okay” is really kind of liberating for me. I’m used to it. I’m trying to cope with the fact that I’m in this place that I didn’t anticipate being in, which is kind of becoming somewhat of a known figure, and it’s not anything I ever sought out or anticipated for myself, so I’m just figuring out how to cope with that.

You’re doing a great job. I know you’re on tour right now, but will that extend to Canada as well? Thinking specifically of Toronto. [Laughs]

MOVSESIAN: I would love to. We have, so far, just my West Coast tour. There’s some stuff that I’m working on to get to the East Coast, but I’d love to go to Canada. I love Toronto!

Conan O’Brien Must Go streams on HBO Max Wednesdays, and The World’s Worst Mom is out in bookstores now.

This article covers a developing story. Continue to check back with us as we will be adding more information as it becomes available.

This year, the horror genre has belonged to the YouTubers. While there have been plenty of critical darlings, like 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, and box office successes, like Scream 7, from established filmmakers and franchises, online creators have delivered the next generation of great scares that have thrived on both fronts. It began with Mark Fischbach‘s, aka Markiplier, video game adaptation Iron Lung surprising in January and challenging Sam Raimi‘s Send Help with $51 million during its brief stint in theaters, before two blockbusters took over in the spring. Curry Barker‘s Obsession particularly dominated the conversation after word of mouth powered the wildly acclaimed film to $505.7 million worldwide and launched its key stars and director into superstardom, with Inde Navarrette recently being cast as Rogue in Jake Schreier‘s X-Men movie.

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The second of those two breakout hits, however, wasn’t far behind. Backrooms, directed by Kane Parsons based on his viral YouTube horror series, leveraged its online audience and a Certified Fresh 87% score on Rotten Tomatoes to land an impressive haul of over $394 million itself. It’s now the highest-grossing film ever released by A24, surpassing the Oscar-nominated Marty Supreme with a reported budget south of $10 million. After a similarly record-breaking run that defied all expectations, the liminal space horror is finally heading to streaming this month and headlining an impressive slate of new titles coming to HBO Max.

As announced at the end of August, Backrooms will make its streaming debut on September 25, nearly exactly four months after it first no-clipped into theaters. The film tells a separate but related story to the complicated world of Parsons’ series, following a troubled furniture store owner named Clark (Chiwetel Ejiofor) and his therapist, Mary (Renate Reinsve). Clark finds an entrance to another dimension full of seemingly endless liminal spaces in the basement of his failing business and soon becomes lost exploring its twisted corridors. Concerned about his disappearance, Mary follows his trail and winds up in the Backrooms herself, navigating the strange misrememberings of reality to save him before it’s too late. Mark Duplass, Finn Bennett, and Lukita Maxwell also accompany the stars into the psychological horror darling penned by Will Soodik.

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Collider Exclusive · Marvel Personality Quiz
Which MCU Hero Are You?
Spider-Man · Daredevil · Iron Man · Punisher · Thor · Cap

Six heroes. One destiny. Answer 10 questions to discover which Marvel Cinematic Universe hero shares your personality, values, and fighting spirit. Will you swing, fly, or thunder your way to glory?

🕷️Spider-Man

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😈Daredevil

🤖Iron Man

💀Punisher

⚡Thor

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🛡️Cap

FIND YOUR HERO →

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01

What drives you to do what’s right?
Choose the answer that feels most like you.

AWith great power comes great responsibility — I protect those who can’t protect themselves.
BMy faith and my conscience — I believe justice must be served, even in the dark.
CLegacy and ego, honestly — but I’ve learned that others depend on me now.
DThe system failed. Someone has to make sure the guilty actually pay.
EDuty to the innocent and honour to my name — I was born to protect realms.
FThe values I was raised with — freedom, decency, and never backing down from a bully.

NEXT QUESTION →

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02

It’s 2 AM. Where are you?
Your answer says more about you than you’d think.

ASwinging between skyscrapers, keeping an eye on the neighbourhood.
BRunning rooftops in Hell’s Kitchen, listening for trouble.
CIn my lab, upgrading my suit with a cold cup of coffee nearby.
DStaking out a target I’ve been tracking for three weeks.
ESomewhere between the stars, or at a feast that got out of hand.
FOn a morning run — I was up at 4, actually. Couldn’t sleep.

NEXT QUESTION →

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03

How do you handle a villain who keeps escaping justice?
Every hero has a method. What’s yours?

AWeb them up and leave them for the police — again.
BBuild an airtight case and dismantle their entire operation from the inside.
CDeploy a containment system I designed specifically for them. Tech wins.
DMake sure they don’t escape a third time. Permanently.
EChallenge them to single combat. Honour demands a decisive end.
FRally allies, adapt the plan, and bring them in — by the book, even if it’s hard.

NEXT QUESTION →

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04

How do you feel about keeping a secret identity?
The mask — or the lack of one — says everything.

AEssential — my loved ones would be in danger if anyone found out who I am.
BCritical — the mask protects my mission as much as my face.
COverrated — I announced myself to the world and I’d do it again.
DI’m a ghost. The less people know about me, the better.
EMy name is known across the Nine Realms. There’s no hiding it.
FI don’t hide — but I understand why some need to. Transparency builds trust.

NEXT QUESTION →

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05

You’ve lost someone important because of your heroism. How do you carry that?
Every hero pays a price. The question is how they pay it.

AWith guilt that never fully goes away — it pushes me to do better, every single day.
BI channel it into purpose — their memory is the reason I keep fighting.
CI buried myself in work for years. I’m only recently learning to face it.
DIt transformed me completely. I’m not the same person I was before.
EWith warrior’s grief — I honour them by fighting with everything I have.
FI keep moving forward. Stopping means letting the loss win.

NEXT QUESTION →

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06

What’s your role when working with a team?
Who you are under pressure is who you actually are.

AThe enthusiastic wildcard who somehow makes it work — and keeps the mood up.
BThe strategist who works best alone but shows up when it matters most.
CThe one who funds it, equips it, and occasionally takes over the whole operation.
DI don’t do teams. I’m more effective operating solo, on my terms.
EThe heavy hitter — I crash in, draw fire, and turn the tide of battle.
FThe leader — I earn trust, build the plan, and make sure no one gets left behind.

NEXT QUESTION →

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07

Where do you draw the line between justice and revenge?
The answer defines what kind of hero you really are.

AClearly — I don’t kill, and I wrestle with that line constantly.
BI try to hold the line, but I’ve come terrifyingly close to crossing it.
CPractically — I do what’s necessary to protect people, including hard calls.
DI crossed that line long ago. What I do is justice — the system just won’t admit it.
EIn battle, victory is justice. Mercy is earned — not automatic.
FFirmly. The moment we abandon our principles, we become what we fight against.

NEXT QUESTION →

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08

When you’re not saving the world, what does life look like?
The person behind the mask is always the more interesting story.

ATrying to juggle school, a part-time job, and not failing my friends.
BWorking as a lawyer by day, fighting for justice in court and on the streets.
CRunning a global company, attending galas, and pretending I’m sleeping enough.
DQuiet. Isolated. Surviving with a clear mission and no distractions.
ENavigating a bizarre and fascinating mortal world — coffee is extraordinary.
FAdapting to a world decades ahead of everything I knew. Quietly, stubbornly.

NEXT QUESTION →

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09

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

AThe people I couldn’t save — and the ones I might not reach in time tomorrow.
BWhether the monster I fight every night is starting to live inside me too.
CThe threats I can see coming and whether my tech is actually good enough.
DNothing. Silence is the only peace I get. I’ve made my choices.
EWhether I’m truly worthy — of the hammer, of the throne, of the people I protect.
FA world where no one stands up anymore. Where good people do nothing.

NEXT QUESTION →

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10

The battle is lost. You’re outnumbered, outgunned, and exhausted. What do you do?
This is your tiebreaker — choose carefully.

ACrack a joke to buy a second, then find the one web shot that changes everything.
BBlock out everything except the sound of the next threat — and keep going.
CActivate the emergency protocol I built for exactly this scenario. Always have a plan.
DI don’t accept that it’s lost. I keep fighting until I physically cannot anymore.
ECall the lightning. All of it. The storm answers to me.
FPick up the shield. Stand up. Because as long as I can stand, it’s not over.

REVEAL MY HERO →

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Your Hero Has Been Identified
Your MCU Hero Is…

Based on your answers, the Marvel hero who matches your spirit, values, and instincts has been revealed.

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Queens, New York

🕷️ Spider-Man

You carry the weight of the world on shoulders that are younger than they should have to be — funny, loyal, and endlessly self-sacrificing.

• You do the right thing not because it’s easy, but because no one else will.
• You understand that responsibility isn’t a burden you choose — it’s one that finds you.
• Whether it’s a neighbourhood mugging or a multiverse crisis, you show up.
• Peter Parker’s lesson — that great power demands great responsibility — isn’t a slogan to you. It’s the code you live by, even when it costs you everything.

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Hell’s Kitchen, New York

😈 Daredevil

You fight in the shadows between law and chaos, guided by a fierce moral compass that refuses to let the guilty walk free.

• You use every tool available — your mind, your body, your faith — to protect those the system overlooks.
• You’ve looked into the darkness and chosen not to become it, though the line has never been easy.
• Matt Murdock’s duality — champion in the courtroom, devil in the alley — mirrors your own.
• Relentless, conflicted, and unwilling to stop. That is exactly you.

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Stark Industries, Malibu

🤖 Iron Man

Brilliant, driven, and occasionally insufferable — but always the person who solves the unsolvable problem.

• You lead with your mind and back it up with resources, innovation, and a stubbornness that borders on heroic.
• You started out looking out for yourself, but somewhere along the way the world became your responsibility.
• Tony Stark’s arc — from ego to sacrifice — is your arc too.
• You build, you plan, and when the moment comes, you’re willing to give everything. Because in the end, you’re Iron Man.

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New York City

💀 The Punisher

You’ve been through fire that would break most people — and it did change you, completely. What’s left is unyielding, relentless, and operating by a code forged in grief.

• You don’t ask for forgiveness, and you don’t expect gratitude.
• You see a corrupt, broken world and you’ve decided to do something about it, consequences be damned.
• Frank Castle’s war is born from love twisted by loss — and so is yours.
• Uncompromising and unflinching — the world may not agree with your methods, but your conviction is absolute.

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Asgard · Protector of the Nine Realms

⚡ Thor

Powerful, proud, and on a lifelong journey to become worthy of the legend you carry.

• You lead with strength but have learned — sometimes painfully — that true greatness comes from humility and growth.
• You’re larger than life, yet more vulnerable than you let on.
• Thor’s story is one of transformation: from arrogant prince to worthy king, from isolated warrior to beloved protector.
• You bring the storm when it’s needed — and the warmth when it matters just as much.

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Brooklyn, New York · The Avengers

🛡️ Captain America

You believe in something bigger than yourself — and you fight for it even when the world has moved on and nobody else will.

• You don’t bully the small guy, and you never stop when it gets hard.
• Steve Rogers didn’t become a hero when he got the serum — he was always one. So were you.
• Your strength isn’t in your fists; it’s in your refusal to compromise what’s right, no matter the cost.
• In a world full of people taking the easy road, you’re the one who picks up the shield and stands up — every single time.

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↻ RETAKE THE QUIZ

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Release Date

May 27, 2026

Runtime

110 minutes

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Director

Kane Parsons

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This article covers a developing story. Continue to check back with us as we will be adding more information as it becomes available.

Since the conclusion of the iconic sci-fi series, Lost, fans have been waiting for something that could measure up to Damon Lindelof’s magnum opus. The island mystery was one of the most talked-about shows of the golden age of television. With a massive ensemble cast, Lost was incredibly character-driven, focusing on a flashback structure that became a calling card for the series. Two decades later, Lindelof has returned with perhaps an unintentional successor.

HBO Max’s Lanterns is James Gunn’s Green Lantern series that fans have been waiting for. Following the trials of John Stewart (Aaron Pierre) as he trains to be Hal Jordan’s (Kyle Chandler) replacement, the official DC translation of these comic book characters goes the extra mile as most Lindelof productions do. Though it is somewhat creative when it comes to the set-up of the series, Lanterns marries the flashback and mythological-heavy structure with the gritty detective story of True Detective.

‘Lanterns’ Is the Character-Driven Mystery That Green Lantern Deserves

Typical of any comic book interpretation, the arrival of Lanterns was considered controversial by many. Because Earth can only have one ring-bearer, it was clear that something nefarious was going to happen to one of the titular Lanterns. Hal Jordan’s story comes to a screeching halt at the end of the first episode, but also typical of any Damon Lindelof series, the writer may have some tricks up his sleeve.

Lanterns continues to defy all expectations with its twists and turns while also having touchstones familiar to fans of television. These twists are all housed in a compelling mystery that HBO is known for. True Detective made a name for itself as one of the best detective stories on television. Lanterns has followed suit with the intriguing Southern mystery set in Rushville, Nebraska.

Like in True Detective, two opposites must team up to look into a local concern full of colorful characters – some who would rather not have this mystery solved at all. Lanterns has all the makings of a classic detective story that also honors the characters at the center of it. John and Hal’s rocky relationship is full of jealousy and confrontation, but the two must come together when a suspected alien attack occurs in Nebraska.

The two Lanterns arrive on the scene to discover that several aliens have been killed at a local football game. As it turns out, there is much more to the story, including a local militia intent on getting rid of any alien life and the presence of an infamous Manhunter, which could mean Earth’s greatest threat.

Though still early in its tenure, Lanterns may prove to be the best comic book series on television. It perfectly balances honoring the origins of the characters while delivering a unique story that speaks to what culture is talking about right now. The narrative doesn’t go for obvious comic plot points and instead delivers something new. Tailor-made for an HBO audience, the story of Hal and John is moving, gripping, and at times, humorous. This is what happens when fans of comics come to the television side of things. It creates a modern classic.

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Release Date

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August 16, 2026

Network

HBO

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The Young and the Restless exciting new spoilers for next week, including crazy Patty Williams (Stacy Haiduk) escaping, Jack Abbott (Peter Bergman) offering Billy Abbott (Jason Thompson) a big old bribe, and a possible murder in rehab that we have to cope with next week. Good thing Michael Baldwin (Christian Leblanc) will be on that case.

We’ve got the latest Young and the Restless spoilers for the week of September 7th, including big trouble for Victoria Newman (Amelia Heinle) when it comes to Audra Charles (Zuleyka Silver).

Young and the Restless: What Did Nick See?

All right, first let’s discuss Nick Newman and whether he witnessed a murder in rehab. So, at the end of this week, he is having a hard time fighting the urge to use opioids. And he’s sitting there fighting these urges, telling himself he doesn’t need to do drugs. And then Marie Kirkland (Jade Harlow) comes in and finds him. And initially, she’s joking about Nick not having a line of admirers today because she saw Phyllis Summers (Courtney Hope) and Sharon both come to visit him.

Nick tells Marie he’s having a really hard day and he needs to get to a meeting. And Nick wants Marie to go with him, but she doesn’t want to. And Nick figures out something else is going on with her. And finally, Marie admits that her husband Logan is coming to see her to talk about the divorce. Marie just wanted their lawyers to handle it because her husband Logan makes her feel really small.

Y&R Spoilers: Nick Protective of Marie

But Marie says Logan insisted they do this face to face. So, Nick offers to stick around, but Marie says it’s not a good idea. And she tells Nick that she’s scared she’s going to wind up with nothing when all this is over. But Nick won’t let her give up on herself. And he urges her to go to that meeting with him and tells Marie they can beat their addiction together. But before they can go, then her husband Logan is there and he introduces himself to Nick.

Then Logan actually recognizes Nick as one of Victor Newman’s (Eric Braeden) son. So, Logan asks to talk to Marie alone and Nick walks out, but he lurks nearby so he can eavesdrop. And then Logan gets really nasty. He asks Marie if she’s going to fail this time like she did six times before. And Logan wants to know if she’s bad mouthing him at rehab, but Marie says no.

And his secret is safe with her. Whatever that secret is. Logan calls Marie the biggest mistake of his life. Says he’s going to cut her loose. And then Logan grabs Marie’s face and he’s kind of crushing it in his hand and he wants to know if she’s sleeping with rich boy Nick. And then Marie shoves Logan off of her, but he falls and hits his head.

Young and Restless: Nick & Marie Panic

So, Nick rushes back in and Marie wants to leave before Logan wakes up, but Nick’s nudging the guy with his foot and Logan doesn’t wake up. He doesn’t move. Nick checks Logan’s pulse and tells Marie, “You need to get out of here.” She’s horrified and asks Nick if she killed him.

If you remember, this is how Ashland Locke (Robert Newman) died. The guy who was hassling Victoria and Nick punched him and then he fell and hit his head on the fireplace at her house. And then Victor had his henchman stage a car crash in a ravine. So, I wonder if Nick is going to call on the powerful Newman family to help clean up Marie’s mess because official Young and the Restless spoilers for next week have Michael Baldwin talking to Nick up at the rehab clinic and we’re going to see Michael asking Nick if he’s doing okay and he tells Michael, “Yeah.”

And then thanks him for making sure that something finally went right and Nick hugs Michael. So, we’ll see if Logan is dead or alive and maybe Nick has brought in Michael to help Marie deal with that or help her with her divorce. Either way, Nick is clearly playing hero again for Marie.

Y&R Spoilers: Jack Makes a Move to Help Billy

Also, at the end of this week, Jack and Diane are having a romantic time in Tahiti and they come across a message in a bottle and Diane ends up with her finger stuck in the bottle and then her wedding ring gets stuck inside. They finally get all of that out along with a note that asks, “Is all love lost?”

So Diane decides to write a note back and toss the bottle back in the ocean. And she writes, “Never give up on finding love.” Despite some hiccups on their trip, Jack and Diane had fun and they’re back in Genoa City the week of September 7th.

And we’ll see Jack talking to Billy. I’m sure by then Jack has heard that Billy backed off of Chancellor because of Sally Spectra (Courtney Hope). So, Jack makes Billy a generous offer. Jack says he will give Billy a small fortune to prove how much he believes in him.

Jack says he will fund a whole new company that’s all Billy’s. But if you recall, Jack already did this once. He was funding Billy and Abbott Communications. But if you remember, Jack got really frustrated and after Billy told him, “Fine, just take the money back.” Jack did. He pulled the funding because Billy was so obsessed with Chancellor and revenge on Cane Ashby (Billy Flynn) that Jack didn’t trust him with the investment.

Will Jack’s Plan Work on Young and the Restless?

And then of course we had Jill Abbott (Jess Walton) stepping up to fund the new company that Sally is now running. So, it looks like Jack’s taking another leap of financial faith with Billy. But no matter how much Jack offers, I cannot imagine that Billy’s going to give up on Chancellor because he thinks the Abbotts rightly own it. My money is on the second that Sally gives birth to their baby.

Billy’s going to be right back at it going after Chancellor, going after Cane and Lily. And of course, when Sally hears about the offer that Jack makes, I expect that she will press on Billy to put Chancellor behind him and just accept Jack’s generous offer. The problem is Chancellor is all tied up in Billy’s mommy issues that he has with Jill. So, I don’t think Billy can stop.

Young and Restless: Victoria Faces Off with Audra

Also next week in spoilers, Victoria is asking Audra how much she wants for the Vibrante patents. And if you recall, Victoria was annoyed that the patents were not in the Newman name or Vibrante‘s name and were in Audra’s name personally, which Victoria said was inappropriate. And Audra’s telling Victoria next week that she has to give her something much more interesting than just money.

There is absolutely no telling what Audra is going to demand, but I’m guessing it’s something Victoria is probably not going to want to give her. And in the biggest news in all of these spoilers, next week on The Young and the Restless, there’s something really scary happening.

Crazy Patty has been held in a high-security psychiatric prison because she tried to kill Jack and Diane. If you remember, Matt Clark (Roger Howarth) went to see her this past week and now he’s staying at that motel and kind of flying under the radar.

Young and the Restless: Patty Shocks Matt

So, next week, out of the blue, Patty shows up at Matt’s ratty motel room and Patty’s in disguise. She’s in a hat and sunglasses and Matt is shocked to see Patty. And Matt demands to know what is Patty doing there and how did she get out?

And she tells Matt, “If I told you, I’d have to kill you.” So, Patty is on the loose again. And since she was just telling Matt that he’ll always be dark and that he should embrace that dark side of him. You know, Patty might have escaped to join him and wants them both to embrace their dark sides together. I’m guessing Phyllis Summers (Michelle Stafford) might be in danger from Patty.

And honestly, Patty might be in danger from Phyllis because she’s at her man’s motel room. This is bad news for everybody with Patty being loose, especially Jack and Diane. Be sure to check out our full weekly spoilers video tomorrow for the week of September 7th through the 11th. Come back for our weekly prediction edition and also our two spoilers and lots more.

Lucky Lincoln Gaming recently announced a revenue milestone in Illinois. The company is moving toward $200 million in gaming revenue across the state, a marker that reflects how much its footprint has expanded since its founding in 2013 and how firmly it has established itself within Illinois’ terminal-operator market. 

Growth stories in this part of the gaming business usually get told through raw scale, though that only carries meaning when it’s tied to steady operations and long-term relationships. Lucky Lincoln Gaming, LLC has built a presence through that combination. It’s grown into one of the larger terminal operators in Illinois while keeping the focus on the establishments that host its equipment and the day-to-day support those businesses need. 

That approach has helped shape the company’s current position. Under CEO Jeff Rehberger Jr., Lucky Lincoln Gaming has grown to over 250 locations, with over 1,500 slot machines and a team of more than 75 employees. The company’s latest revenue milestone puts that growth into sharper focus, showing how its reach across Illinois has translated into meaningful business results over time.

A Bigger Presence Across Illinois

3

The Illinois gaming market has become increasingly competitive as operators work to secure locations, maintain service, and build trust with venue owners. Growth depends on responsiveness, consistency, and a clear understanding of what makes an establishment function well over the long run.

Lucky Lincoln Gaming has set itself apart by taking a more involved role in that process. In addition to operating terminals, the company is one of the few Illinois terminal operators that assist in building out an establishment. That detail is important because it places the company closer to the full life of a venue, from early planning through ongoing operation, and gives business owners a partner with a wider stake in the success of the location itself.

The result is a company identity that feels grounded in execution. Revenue is important, but so is the path that leads there. In this case, the path has been shaped by years of growth across Illinois, a larger employee base, and a business model built around close involvement with the establishments Lucky Lincoln serves.

A Milestone With Broader Meaning

3

Approaching $200 million in Illinois gaming revenue gives Lucky Lincoln Gaming more than a headline figure. 

It also marks a point in the company’s development where early-morning momentum has become a sustained record of growth. For a business founded just over a decade ago, that kind of threshold signals staying power as much as speed. 

Rehberger’s leadership has played a visible role in that trajectory. His background spans government, consulting, and economics. His time at the helm of Lucky Lincoln Gaming has been defined by rapid expansion across Illinois. The milestone belongs to the larger operation it’s built and the network of locations, employees, and partnerships that continue to support its growth. 

As Lucky Lincoln Gaming moves closer to that revenue mark, the company appears focused on carrying its model further across Illinois while strengthening the operational support that helped it reach this stage. 

About Lucky Lincoln Gaming, LLC

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Lucky Lincoln Gaming, LLC is an Illinois-based terminal operator founded in 2013. The company operates in more than 250 locations across the state and employs over 75 people. Lucky Lincoln Gaming is also one of the only Illinois terminal operators that assist in building out establishments, giving venue owners a more hands-on operating partner.

Beyond the Gates has Kat Richardson (Colby Muhammad) and Eva Thomas Richardson (Ambyr Michelle), both with really hunky men in their lives that love them. But we might be heading for a huge couple swap because Kat’s spending a lot of time with Eva’s man Izaiah Hawthorne (David Lami Friebe) and Tomas Navarro (Alex Alegria) keeps turning to Eva.

Kat & Ava’s Issues on Beyond the Gates

Let’s get into the possibility of a man swap between these two half-sisters. So this latest twist could take their sister rivalry to a whole new level. This could be Kat getting revenge on Eva or there may be something more to it.

The underlying problem here is daddy issues because Ted Richardson (Keith D. Robinson) never knew he had a second daughter, Eva. And that’s because Dana ‘Leslie’ Thomas (Trisha Mann-Grant) hid this from Ted because Bill Hamilton (Timon Kyle Durrett) threatened to hurt Leslie and her child if she didn’t have an abortion.

Leslie’s Chaos on Beyond the Gates

So, as far as Ted knew, Leslie had terminated the pregnancy. But in defense of Ted, he also didn’t know that Bill had made scary threats to Leslie. So, she basically went on to raise Eva on a diet of lies. Leslie told her that Ted knew about her this whole time and just rejected Eva. And then once Leslie’s husband died, she decided to go and get disruptive. She told Eva a whole bunch more lies to get her to participate in the scheme to ruin Ted and Nicole Dupree Richardson (Daphnee Duplaix)’s high society anniversary party and their marriage and their lives.

So, Leslie wanted revenge, but she also wanted to steal Ted back from Nicole. And of course, Eva was horrified when she learned that Leslie had been lying to her for years. And at that point, Ted and Nicole had welcomed Eva into their home, let her into their inner circle while she was working as Nicole’s assistant.

Kat Suspicious of Ava on BTG

Of course, Kat was on to Eva from the start. She was certain the interloper was up to something. But Kat had no idea just how bad it was going to get. And Ted, Nicole, and the others pushed back on Kat and told her, “Leave Eva alone. Give her a chance.”

And then when the big party crash happened, of course, Kat was totally vindicated, and she expected everybody to side with her and reject Eva. But instead, Ted wanted to make things right with his other daughter. He saw that it wasn’t her fault, it was Leslie’s fault. And their brother, Martin, opened up his heart and accepted Eva into his life, as did his kids.

And even Nicole forgave Eva because she knew Leslie had manipulated her whole life. But none of that mattered to Kat, who remained locked in on hating her sister, which is completely understandable, right?

Beyond the Gates: Eva & Tomas Cross Lines

Daddy drama aside, let’s talk about the romantic rivalry between Eva and Kat because it looks like things are about to pivot in a really big way. And it all kicked off when Tomas and Eva bonded over shared love of that sci-fi book series that Kat wasn’t interested in at all. And let’s be clear, Eva was flirting and making moves on Tomas back then. She was jealous of Kat and was being totally inappropriate.

But also, Tomas was crossing lines because he shouldn’t have been getting that close to Eva when he knew his girlfriend Kat did not like her sister at all. And then when Tomas had that big blow up with Kat about their lackluster love making, you know, Tomas felt like he and Kat were done. Without wasting a second, Tomas ran over and crawled into Eva’s bed.

And she reassured Tomas the problem wasn’t him because he rocked Eva’s world even though he hadn’t managed at that point to give Kat a big O yet. What was even worse was when Tomas was in bed with Eva. That was the moment Kat decided to extend an olive branch and stopped by her sister’s apartment with a gift and instead of doing sister bonding, she found out her boyfriend had slept with her sister Eva. It was so messy.

Kat Flips Out on BTG

And Kat was understandably furious. And she made sure everybody knew that Eva slept with Tomas. Plus, as soon as Kat showed up and found them together and caught them red-handed, Tomas ditched Eva and followed Kat right out the door. Whatever Eva thought they might have had, he betrayed and she felt less than when it was compared to her sister.

Again, at the time, I was actually wondering if Kat forgave Tomas because she loved him or because she just wanted to keep him away from Eva because she was so mad that once again, her terrible sister had done something really bad. And even after all that, Tomas is still friends with Eva. But to her credit, since then, she’s respected Tomas and Kat’s relationship, and she has established very firm and careful boundaries. Eva has kept Tomas in the friend zone.

Beyond the Gates: Eva Turns Things Around

We haven’t seen Eva flirting with Tomas again and also Kat and Tomas worked out their bedroom issues and for quite a while they seemed to be in a good place up until Tomas proposed in front of the entire Dupree family and Kat said no. And then again Tomas ran to Eva but she did keep him in the friend zone and said he needed to find a guy to talk to and not her. But Tomas keeps showing up.

He even brought a book over when Eva was recovering from transplant surgery. And Tomas seemed a little low-key envious that Eva has moved on with Izaiah. So, right now, Kat and Tomas are kind of at a lackluster point in their relationship.

Even though they’ve moved in together, both of them are hyper focused on work and they’re not really making time for each other or romance. Meanwhile, Eva’s fallen head over heels for Izaiah. He was right there the whole time during her medical crisis, took care of her while she recovered from liver transplant surgery.

Kat’s Surprising Behavior on BTG

But then all of a sudden, Kat starts hanging around with Izaiah and there is a flirty vibe there. And Eva wasn’t happy to see Izaiah laughing and having fun with Kat at Orphe Jeans. And I actually don’t think that this is something that Kat has staged to torment Eva because Kat didn’t know Eva would walk up and see them together. So, I don’t think it was performative.

And to make matters worse, after Kat left, then Izaiah started gushing about what a business genius Kat is. So, it feels like Beyond the Gates is gearing up for a couple swap. Tomas isn’t happy that Kat turned down his proposal and Eva’s not happy about Izaiah vibing with Kat.

And there seems to be genuine chemistry between Izaiah and Kat. And there’s been chemistry for a while between Tomas and Eva. Of course, couple swaps are always exciting on soaps, and Beyond the Gates hasn’t really done one yet, but I feel like this time they’re headed there. In a way, Izaiah and Kat are a much better match because of their family backgrounds.

Beyond the Gates: A Swap Makes Perfect Sense

And the same goes for Tomas and Eva, who are both scrappy outsiders. So, we’ll see how it goes. But Izaiah doesn’t seem like a cheater. But if Kat picks up on the vibe that Eva is jealous of her hanging out with Izaiah, then Kat might keep doing it sort of as a revenge clapback because Eva slept with Tomas.

And if Eva gets mad, she might cross lines with Tomas. I tend to think that Eva and Tomas are more likely to do something and cross lines, maybe cheat, maybe get spotted making out something, and then Izaiah and Kat cross lines because they’re upset at what their partners have done to betray them. But we’ll see how it goes.

One upside to Izaiah couple swapping and changing sisters from Eva over to Kat is that he won’t have to deal with Leslie anymore. Tomas has already dealt with Leslie. He knows the drill. Eva’s mom is definitely unwanted baggage in any relationship.

And I’m sure Izaiah would have a lot easier time dealing with Nicole than with Leslie. And I bet his parents, Darlene and Elon Hawthorne (Malachi Malik), would much prefer that he’s dating a Richardson than somebody tied to Leslie Thomas. So, I definitely am vibing with a couple swap ahead on Beyond the Gates, but we’ll see how it goes.

Three days doesn’t sound like a long time, but you can watch so many movies in a 72-hour timeframe.

Maybe that’s why Disney+, HBO Max, Paramount+ and Apple TV decided to release some of their biggest late summer/early fall releases this Labor Day weekend.

The Watch With Us crew are big nerds, which is why we’re over the Forest Moon of Endor with the streaming release of Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu.

We also love a good thriller, and HBO Max is now streaming one with Fuze, starring Theo James, Aaron Taylor-Johnson and a ticking time bomb in the heart of London.

We also recommend streaming the Scary Movie reboot with Anna Faris and the Apple TV spy thriller Mayday starring Ryan Reynolds.

‘Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu’ (2026) — Disney+

The knives were out last May when Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu debuted in theaters and pleased almost no one. Critics complained it seemed like a shortened season of The Mandalorian (they’re not wrong!), while fans thought the story lacked the epic scope that’s typical of Star Wars films. But the film plays better on streaming, and it’s an enjoyable side quest that isn’t as offensively bad as, say, The Rise of Skywalker.

New Republic Colonel Ward (Sigourney Weaver) needs to bring in notorious crime lord Janu Coin (Jonny Coyne), but she doesn’t know where he is. That’s why she tasks Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) and his pint-sized partner, Grogu (Grogu), to find him. But the duo first has to do a favor that involves tracking down another elusive criminal, Rotta the Hutt (voiced by Jeremy Allen White). Jabba’s surviving son has a bad rep, so even if they find him, they might not survive long enough to gain crucial intel concerning Coine’s whereabouts.

‘Fuze’ (2026) — HBO Max

When an unexploded World War II bomb is found in the heart of London, the police call in Major Will Tranter (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and his crew to defuse it. Nearby, Giorgos Karalis (Theo James) and a team of robbers drill their way into a bank, looking for valuable jewels to steal. These incidents appear to be isolated, but they’re both happening at the same time for a reason and soon all of London is embroiled in a daring criminal escapade that threatens to go off the rails — and might kill lots of innocents.

Related: 3 Great New Prime Video Movies to Watch This Labor Day Weekend

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Labor Day weekend shouldn’t be laborious, which is why it’s the perfect time to kick back, relax and watch a good movie or two. You don’t even have to bother deciding which films to watch — that’s What to Watch’s job. We’ve selected three great new Prime Video movies to stream over the long Labor […]

Fuze is a deceptively tricky crime thriller that starts simple and ends up needing a flashback to fill in the blanks of its complex story. It all makes sense, though, and credit director David Mackenzie for making sure you know who the important players are and why they’re teaming up or backstabbing each other. At a brisk 96 minutes, the film is the perfect length to generate maximum tension without any unnecessary padding.

‘Scary Movie’ (2026) — Paramount+

26 years after they survive a brutal massacre that left most of their friends dead, Cindy (Anna Faris), Brenda (Regina Hall), Shorty (Marlon Wayans) and Ray (Shawn Wayans) find themselves once again menaced by Ghostface. Now middle-aged and with teens of their own, the “core four” must reunite to protect their loved ones from a killer who knows them all too well.

Whether or not Scary Movie is a good film is beside the point – they’re all kinda bad, with over-the-top acting, a script littered with holes and some lazy sight gags. But the Scary Movies that are entertaining, like the original and the third installment, work because they have enough jokes to make the other flaws seem irrelevant. This reboot barely passes that test, with a still-game Faris and Hall willing to do anything for a laugh. Yes, it’s stupid, but 2026’s Scary Movie is also funny when it needs to be, and that’s enough.

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‘Mayday’ (2026) — Apple TV+

It’s 1987, which means the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union is still on. That’s why U.S. Navy pilot Lieutenant Troy Kelly (Ryan Reynolds) is so on edge after his top-secret spy plane is shot down over the Soviet Union. He survives the crash, but he might not live long enough in a country that’s hostile to anything American. Fortunately for Troy, he’s found by Nikolai (Kenneth Branagh), a reclusive outdoorsman who loves American culture, especially Top Gun. Nikolai likes his foreign friend enough to help him leave the country in one piece, but their journey to sanctuary is complicated by a determined Red Army who wants to capture Troy, dead or alive.

Reynolds hasn’t made a lot of memorable movies lately, but Mayday is a surprisingly entertaining film that’s a welcome love letter to all those buddy cop action films of the 1980s. Like Red Heat and Spies Like Us, Mayday throws together two unlikely actors, in this case Reynolds and Branagh, and lets them cook. Branagh in particular is a hoot; the normally serious British actor clearly relishes using a thick Russian accent to play a lovable Ruskie whose KGB background is useful when avoiding Soviet authorities. Mayday is so engaging to watch that you wish you could see it in a proper movie theater with others around you.

Pop culture, by definition, consists of popular ideas and trends, fashion, entertainment, including music, movies and TV shows that are ingratiated and shared by the public at a certain period of time. Very few science fiction franchises have impacted pop culture as much as Star Trek and Star Wars. While Star Trek, upon its premiere in 1966, depicted a future where humanity set aside its petty differences to explore the stars. Star Wars, on the other hand, recounts a time period where humanity, well accustomed to space and its diverse stars “a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away,” is caught alongside other species in an epic cosmic struggle between good and evil as heroes fight against tyrannical galactic governments in a universe bound together by a mystical energy called the Force.

While both franchises are separated by over a decade, with Star Trek premiering in 1966 and Star Wars eleven years later in 1977, both have gone on to remain incredibly relevant in the modern age while still inspiring other sci-fi creators over the years. Among sci-fi fans, Gene Roddenberry‘s vision of humanity’s spacefaring has established Star Trek as arguably the greatest space opera of all time. Since its premiere in 1966, the franchise has gone on to feature multiple spin-off series and movies ​​​​​​that have further expanded its lore. Now, sixty years later, Star Trek is celebrating its anniversary with multiple events this September and Peacock has a special package coming for its subscribers.

Having just raised subscription prices for its customers, Peacock might be able to soften the blow for those who are sci-fi and Star Trek fans, as J.J. Abrams‘ 2009 Star Trek movie and its two sequels, 2013’s Star Trek Into Darkness, and 2016’s Star Trek Beyond, began streaming on the platform this past Tuesday, September 1. The release of the Star Trek reboot trilogy comes about a week before Star Trek celebrates its 60th anniversary on Star Trek Day, Sept. 8. At its release, the trilogy was billed a reboot of the franchise, it does not completely sever ties with the events of the franchise’s prime timeline with the destruction of the USS Kelvin, the federation starship James T. Kirk’s father, George Kirk (Chris Hemsworth), being the link between the prime Star Trek timeline and its splinter, the “Kelvin Timeline.” This, perhaps, is one of the great appeals of Star Trek as the franchise finds ways to constantly reinventing itself over the years​.

Who Is Behind the ‘Star Trek’ Kelvin Timeline Trilogy?

The aforementioned Abrams directed both Star Trek and Star Trek Into Darkness, bringing his signature heavy visual style to the fore in both titles. By the time Star Trek Beyond came around, Abrams had taken his talents across the sci-fi divide, crossing over to Star Wars and bringing that franchise back to theaters with 2015’s Star Wars: The Force Awakens. In his stead, Justin Lin took over directorial duties, though Abrams remained on as a producer. Despite succeeding in building connections with the first two movies, Star Trek Beyond disappointed at the box office, with its opening weekend lower than its two reboot predecessors. This has ultimately resulted in a decade-long delay for a fourth movie.

The main cast of the Kelvin Timeline trilogy include Chris Pine as Captain James T. Kirk, Zachary Quinto as Spock, Simon Pegg as Montgomery “Scotty” Scott, Karl Urban as Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy, Zoe Saldaña as Uhura, John Cho as Sulu, and Anton Yelchin as Chekov.

The landscape might be changing for the franchise, but Star Trek, Star Trek Into Darkness, and Star Trek Beyond are currently streaming on Peacock. Stay tuned to Collider for updates.

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Release Date

May 8, 2009

Runtime

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127 Minutes

Writers

Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman, Gene Roddenberry

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2026 has been a bit more of a low-key year for Jason Statham. While the action icon continues to pump out pulse-pounding features that stand as audience favorites, his two movies this year, Shelter and Mutiny, haven’t exactly lit the world on fire at the box office. The former may have since found streaming success, but the Ric Roman Waugh-directed film ended just shy of $54 million globally when it needed around $100 million to turn a profit. The book isn’t closed on his Die Hard-like boat-bound flick either, but it’s off to a rocky start as well, only grossing around $23 million since its release on August 21. Still, while the box office results aren’t promising, most of his battles are won instead on the VOD market, where his mid-budget thrillers have often thrived.

It’s been a minute since Statham has been the face of a proper blockbuster like The Meg, though. Released back in 2018 and loosely adapting Steve Alten‘s novel of the same name, the giant shark flick thrived as a co-production between the U.S. and China, earning $529 million globally with its explosive take on the sharksploitation genre. Everyone’s favorite modern British ass-kicker played Jonas Taylor, a search-and-rescue diver who was run out of the business for his unbelievable claims of a 70-foot-long behemoth lurking in the depths of the ocean. Years later, when another mission, including his ex-wife, is trapped by what appears to be that same creature, and he’s called upon to help, he must face his fears and dive once more to confront the megalodon, save the researchers, and find redemption.

Although critics didn’t love The Meg and it’s closing in on a decade since the movie hit theaters, it’s been one of Statham’s most enduring thrillers in recent memory, getting a sequel in 2023 and continually thriving on streaming. HBO Max most recently called the film home, but September began with the blockbuster dropping from the platform’s catalog. Fortunately, that absence won’t be long. The Meg will return before the month is up on September 23, giving HBO one more heart-pounding title in time for the spooky season. With it comes a starry cast of U.S. and international stars around Statham, including Li Bingbing, Rainn Wilson, Ruby Rose, Winston Chao, Cliff Curtis, and more.

The Meg swims back onto HBO Max on September 23. Stay tuned here at Collider for more on all the hottest films coming to and leaving streaming throughout the year.

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Release Date

August 10, 2018

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Runtime

113 minutes

Director

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Jon Turteltaub

Writers

Erich Hoeber, Jon Hoeber, Dean Georgaris, Steve Alten

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Producers

Belle Avery, Colin Wilson, Lorenzo di Bonaventura

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Every decade has its own unique brand of action movie. The 70s were gritty and cynical, the 80s were bombastic and musclebound. The 2000s started with martial arts and bullet time and ended with a more grounded realism that led directly into the brutal and bloody 2010s. Of course, there are plenty of action movie exceptions that prove the rule for each decade, but the trends are indisputable.

There are a lot of labels that could be applied to the action movies of the 90s. They continued some of the trends of the 80s and carried over influence from some major filmmakers. The concepts got higher and the budgets got bigger, with CGI paving the way for even more outrageous scenarios. Satirical, over-the-top, old fashioned, hard boiled, action-packed and out of this world are all terms that can be applied to some of the best action movies of the 90s, but a better descriptor would be fun. These are the eight most fun action movies of the 90s, ranked.

8

‘Last Action Hero’ (1993)

Image via Columbia Pictures

Arnold Schwarzenegger’s action star developed over time. He started with monosyllabic barbarians and cybernetic organisms that relied more on his physicality. Then he branched out with badasses who spoke mostly in one-liners. Finally, directors began to harness his natural charisma and his star reached nuclear fusion. In the 90s, he bid a bloody farewell to his ultraviolent past with Total Recall, brought a bit of his action persona to the family comedy Kindergarten Cop and upgraded his ultimate villain to the ultimate hero in Terminator 2: Judgment Day. Great action movies all of them, but he had the most fun as the Last Action Hero.

Reteaming with Predator director John McTiernan, Schwarzenegger took a swing at parody by poking fun at the action movie tropes he had helped establish in the 80s. Last Action Hero features the Austrian Oak playing himself as fictional movie cop Jack Slater, who gets teamed up with a kid sidekick when he’s magically transported into the movie world. Last Action Hero isn’t as sharp of a satire as it should be, and its PG-13 rating didn’t appeal to many viewers who had grown up with Schwarzenegger’s R-rated filmography. The movie bombed hard at the box office, and Schwarzenegger would return to strictly adult fare with his subsequent action movies. Over time, Last Action Hero has gained a cult following for its self-aware approach, and it still stands out in Schwarzenegger’s career.

7

‘Demolition Man’ (1993)

Image via Warner Bros Discovery

The same year Schwarzenegger was trying on satire, so was his biggest action movie rival, Sylvester Stallone. The Italian Stallion’s film, Demolition Man, was a much bigger success, likely because it kept the R-rating and instead of taking aim at action movies, it set its sights on political correctness. The film’s depiction of an overly sanitized “utopian” future, where all language is policed and the police themselves have all become non-violent, is certainly a mixed bag when it comes to its prescience. Some bits are very incisive, while others look downright comical in comparison to the reality of 2026. The movie isn’t meant to be taken seriously, though, and it’s really just a big, fun action comedy that’s got just a little bit more on its mind than the average Stallone movie.

Stallone plays 90s cop John Spartan, known for his destructive methods, who is blamed for the deaths of hostages while apprehending the violent criminal Simon Phoenix, played by Wesley Snipes, and sent to a cryogenic prison. After Phoenix is woken up in the future, where he shocks the overly polite society with his penchants for ultra-violence, Spartan is unfrozen to take him down. Demolition Man is filled with fun gags, from Taco Bell being the only remaining restaurant chain to the three seashells (if you know, you know), and Stallone and Snipes are having a ton of fun in their roles. Of all Stallone’s action movies, Demolition Man still ranks highly, and it’s a blast to the future.

6

‘Face/Off’ (1997)

Image via Paramount Pictures

John Woo made a major impact on Hollywood action movies in the 90s. The influence of his stylish gun-fu action was apparent in films throughout the decade, while Woo himself made his entrance into the studio system. After bidding farewell to his Heroic Bloodshed genre with Hard Boiled, he teamed up with Jean Claud Van Damme for his American debut Hard Target. That movie is a lot of slick, silly fun, moreso than Woo’s follow-up Broken Arrow, which saw him collaborate with John Travolta for the first time. Those two would team up once again for Woo’s best American action movie, Face/Off. In addition to Travolta, the film brought on Nicolas Cage, who himself was having a lot of fun with action in the 90s with movies like The Rock and Con Air.

The beauty of the convoluted set-up of Face/Off, where Travolta plays an FBI agent who swaps faces with Cage’s terrorist in order to impersonate him, is that it allows both actors to compete in a contest of who can go more over-the-top. There isn’t a piece of scenery that is unchewed by the end of it, and Woo complements the performances with his slow-motion action stylings, complete with white doves. Face/Off is an outrageous action movie in everything from its premise to its acting to its gunfights. Cage and Travolta are dialed in, and Woo’s sincere approach to the dramatic material makes it all the more ridiculous and fun.

5

‘The Mummy’ (1999)

Image via Universal Pictures

With a good dose of old-fashioned adventure, Stephen Sommers turned the Universal Monster horror classic The Mummy into an Indiana Jones-style supernatural action movie. The genre switch-up worked, and the movie was a massive blockbuster, spawning several sequels and spin-offs. The film’s success is due to its light tone, which is handled superbly by its perfect cast, and Sommers relative restraint in using CGI, which would swallow up all the action movies he would make after it. Of all the movies inspired by Indiana Jones, The Mummy is often ranked as the best, and it nails the vibes, humor and memorable set pieces.

Brendan Fraser is his own kind of action hero, distinct from Harrison Ford’s fedora-wearing archaeologist. Rick O’Connell is a bit of a himbo, but he’s got charm to spare, which he used on the equally disarming Evelyn, played by Rachel Weisz. Their chemistry is as hot as the Sahara Desert, where they unwittingly unleash the vengeful mummy Imhotep, played by Arnold Vosloo. The plot is as full of holes as Imhotep’s desiccated corpse, but this is not a movie designed for deep thoughts. It’s two-fisted pulp fun with a side of haunted house (or pyramid) frights. The Mummy is fun, funny, charming and the only time Hollywood successfully packed action into the classic movie monster template.

4

‘The Last Boy Scout’ (1991)

Image via Warner Bros.

Tango & Cash is often considered the last true 80s action movie, but it’s only representative of the roided-out muscle mass slaughter fests. There was another brand of action that was prevalent in the 80s, personified by bantering buddies and often featuring a heavy noir influence. 48 Hrs., Lethal Weapon, Running Scared, and Midnight Run were this brand’s best. The buddy action movie would continue well through the 90s, and the perfect pivot point between that decade and the 80s is hinged on The Last Boy Scout. Starring Bruce Willis, directed by Tony Scott, produced by Joel Silver and written by Shane Black, the movie is a murderer’s row of 80s and 90s action power players, and it lives up to that pedigree.

Willis plays a Shane Black special, a washed-up private detective. He teams up with a washed-up NFL player, played by Damon Wayans, to find out why a woman they both knew was killed and uncover a sports world conspiracy in the process. Willis was in the middle of his action run, and he’s never been more delightfully disheveled than in this role. Scott’s directorial style, which he honed in the 80s on Top Gun and Beverly Hills Cop II, basically defined the 90s action aesthetic, and Black’s script is his most arch of the era. The clashing egos of these action titans apparently made the film’s production a nightmare, but the result is a sleazy, indulgent, ridiculous action ride.

3

‘Police Story 3: Supercop’ (1992)

Image via Miramax

Jackie Chan finally broke into Hollywood in the 90s, after several false starts in the prior decade. He found success in North America with films like Rumble in the Bronx and Rush Hour, but his most fun film of the decade was the action comedy threequel Police Story 3: Supercop. Chan teamed up with Michelle Yeoh for the third installment, which only doubled the amount of incredible stunts and fight sequences. The film was an international success, and remains one of Chan’s best. Supercop is supersized entertainment that could only have come from a unique action star like Chan.

Returning to his role of Inspector Ka-Kui, Chan joins forces with Yeoh as an Interpol agent to take down a dangerous drug smuggler. That plot provides more than enoguh of a framework to build some spectacular action scenes around. Chan dangles from helicopter while Yeoh jumps a motorcycle on to a moving train. It’s the kind of action that puts Hollywood stars to shame, with martial artists putting their bodies on the line for the sake of entertainment. Thankfully, they both survived, and the movie is fast-paced fun.

2

‘Speed’ (1994)

Image via 20th Century Studios

Keanu Reeves would become a bona fide action star in the 90s thanks to three seminal films. He began the decade with Kathryn Bigelow’s wild surfer heist thriller Point Break, and he would end it with the kung fu cyberpunk sci-fi classic The Matrix. In between those two, he would make what is often the best movie to be inspired by Die Hard. Speed combines the propulsive thrills of Runaway Train with the hero-villain antagonism of the Bruce Willis classic. It’s Reeves’ most normal action hero he ever played, but he still has lots to play off of with an incredible supporting cast that includes Sandra Bullock, Dennis Hopper and Jeff Daniels.

Reeves plays bomb disposal expert Jack Traven, who outwits a mad bomber, played by Hopper, in the film’s intense opening sequence on an elevator. That causes the madman to take revenge by planting a bomb on a city bus that will explode if it drops below 50 mph. That perfect premise gives the movie a relentless pace that director Jan de Bont, who was the cinematographer on Die Hard, never lets wane. Speed was a massive success that solidified Reeves as an action star and led to a ridiculous sequel set on a cruise ship, but most of all it is perfect 90s action popcorn entertainment.

1

‘Men in Black’ (1997)

Image via Sony Pictures Releasing

Despite being a huge blockbuster that spawned an entire franchise, the action sci-fi comedy Men in Black still seems slightly underrated. It’s never given its full due in retrospectives covering any of the three genres it occupies, but it succeeds in all of them. The movie elevates the buddy cop formula to an intergalactic level, with director Barry Sonnenfeld adapting the Malibu Comics series with his energetic visual style. Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones make for an unexpectedly perfect duo, the supporting cast is stellar, and the film is filled with a solid mix of digital and practical effects. It’s everything you could possibly want out of a crowdpleasing action blockbuster.

Smith gets to play the wisecracking rookie to Jones’ salty veteran, as the newest recruit into the alien policing Men in Black. They’re faced with a big, bad buggy threat that wears the skin of a farmer, played by Vincent D’Onofrio, who gives an Oscar-worthy performance. Add in Linda Fiorentino and a talking pug, and it’s impossible not to watch Men in Black without cracking a wide smile. Its combination of genres makes it stand out against its action contemporaries; the script by Ed Solomon is far more clever than it has any right to be; and the alien designs by Rick Baker are fun and unique. Men in Black is the ideal blockbuster, but somehow it hasn’t become the standard for Hollywood to follow.

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Men in Black

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Release Date

July 2, 1997

Runtime

98 minutes

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Writers

Ed Solomon, Lowell Cunningham

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