Meghan Markle has often shared glimpses of family life on social media, but one detail consistently stands out.

The mother of two rarely shows her children’s faces in photos and videos, despite freely appearing alongside her husband, Prince Harry.

Now, one royal observer believes the reason could be linked to a legal “loophole” that may allow the Duchess to feature her children online without triggering certain California child-protection requirements.

In recent months, attentive fans have noticed Meghan occasionally featuring her children in social media posts and even promotional content for her lifestyle brand.

However, their faces have remained largely hidden. Princess Lilibet’s face has never been publicly shown, while it has been years since Prince Archie’s face was prominently seen, most notably in the Sussexes’ Netflix documentary.

Amid continued speculation, one royal observer suggested that Meghan may be seeking to avoid running afoul of a little-known California law designed to protect the children of content creators and public figures.

“It turns out that California has a law, the ‘Child Vlogger Bill of Rights,’ that requires parents to put money into a trust fund for kids shown on social media for monetization purposes,” the commenter claimed, per Sky News.

“However, there is a loophole that if you don’t show the kids’ faces, you are exempt from this law,” the individual added.

Meghan Markle Shares More Glimpses Of Her Children

Last month, Meghan made several posts involving her children, beginning with a personal tribute to Archie on his seventh birthday.

She shared a carousel of images on Instagram that included throwback baby photos and a picture of Archie walking along a beach with Lilibet.

Days later, Meghan posted a rare mirror selfie showing Lilibet in a red dress with a matching scrunchie as the youngster helped her prepare for an appearance at a World Health Organization event.

In April, the Duchess also shared footage of her children taking part in an Easter egg hunt, though only their backs were visible. The video additionally featured clips of the children decorating the eggs they had collected.

Duchess Offers Rare Peek Into Family Life

Meghan recently offered another glimpse into family life by revealing the nicknames she uses for her children at home.

The former actress shared the details in a Memorial Day weekend video that appeared to double as a promotion for her lifestyle brand.

“My husband loves the raspberry, Lil loves the strawberry, and Arch likes both. And I like the marmalade,” Meghan said in the clip, which was filmed in a white kitchen.

In the accompanying caption, she promoted her fruit spread trio as being “inspired by the jams [she] has created in her own kitchen and shared over the years.”

“These spreads are crafted to highlight each fruit’s natural essence without overpowering it,” the caption further read.

Meghan Calls For Stronger Child Safety Protections

Meghan’s decision to occasionally feature her children on social media has drawn criticism from some quarters, with detractors accusing her of using them for commercial purposes.

Despite those complaints, the Duchess recently addressed children’s online safety during a speech at the Lost Screen Memorial in Geneva, Switzerland.

During her remarks, Meghan urged audiences to “speak up” against harmful online behavior and to “demand better from the platforms shaping our children’s lives.”

“Be an example in your own social media use of how to be intentional in every like, comment, post, and share. Hold your community to the same standard,” she added.

Meghan further encouraged listeners to “support laws and leaders committed to child safety by design, transparency, and accountability online.”

Meghan Markle’s Remarks Draw Mixed Reactions

While many supporters praised Meghan’s speech, it also drew criticism from political commentator Megyn Kelly.

“Would you take a look at the crowd that showed up… or didn’t? Literally nobody is on the side,” Kelly said during an episode of “The Megyn Kelly Show” on YouTube.

The commentator also referenced footage from the event, claiming that one attendee behind Meghan appeared disengaged.

“No one is listening to her. We have video of a woman behind her who basically is like putting the jacket on… yawning, stretching,” Kelly added.

The former Fox News broadcaster went on to argue that Meghan should stop bothering the public with her “fake profundities and fake title” and instead focus on living her life.

Amid his many musical honors and long-standing reputation as an LGBTQ+ advocate, Sir Elton John has opened up about what he truly wants his legacy to be, and it is not centered on music.

The “Rocket Man” singer also urged queer people to keep standing against political hostility, lamenting the setbacks the community has faced in recent years.

Elsewhere, John recently shared that he has finished another album at 79, and explained why the project feels different from anything he has made before.

Sir Elton John has built a career filled with global hits, sold-out shows, major honors, and film work, including “The Lion King.” But as he reflects on his legacy and mortality, the music icon says he does not want his greatest mark to be his entertainment career.

In a new interview with Out, John and his husband, David Furnish, discussed legacy and the importance of family.

Asked how he wants to be remembered, John said, “If my children are happy and know I gave everything I had to support and love them, that is enough for me.”

He added that while he has been honored for his music and tries to support rising artists, “being a father and building a family with David” will always matter most.

John Launches Impact Awards

John and Furnish are also marking Pride Month with a new initiative celebrating LGBTQ+ figures who have made a visible impact.

The couple partnered with iHeartMedia and Procter & Gamble for the Elton John Impact Awards, which will recognize names including Jonathan Bailey, Laverne Cox, Orville Peck, and Chappell Roan.

Explaining the reason behind the awards, John said he has watched people get punished simply for wanting to live openly. He said the initiative is meant to honor those who have remained courageous while also making clear that the work is not over.

“The awards exist because that courage deserves to be named and celebrated, not just assumed,” he said.

Elton John Speaks Out Against Political Hostility

Elsewhere in the interview, John addressed the political hostility facing the LGBTQ+ community in recent years.

The “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart” singer urged queer people to keep standing together and speaking up, noting that visibility has long been central to the community’s survival.

“The hostility is real, and it is growing,” he said. “We are seeing rights rolled back, funding cuts, and communities that were already vulnerable being made more so. This is not a moment for silence or looking away.”

He added that the Elton John Impact Awards are one way of declaring that the community is “here,” “proud,” and “not going away.”

John Says Vision Loss Shifted His Songwriting

Although John has stopped touring, he has not stopped creating music.

While receiving the prestigious Glenn Gould Prize in Toronto last month, the “Tiny Dancer” singer revealed that he had completed a new album. He also explained how losing vision in his right eye forced him to rethink his songwriting process.

“I’ve had eye trouble recently, and I always make records by looking at lyrics and writing to lyrics, and so I’m kind of f-cked at the moment,” he said, per fan-captured footage.

John explained that the setback pushed him into a new method, which involves writing melodies first and letting the lyrics come afterward.

“I’ve never done that. And I’ve just done it,” he said.

Elton John Says His New Album Feels ‘Different’

John said the new album feels unlike anything else he has made, especially because of its joyful tone.

“It’s so happy,” he said. “I’m so thrilled with it because it’s given me another chance to make music.”

During a 2024 interview on “Good Morning America,” John revealed that he had lost vision in his right eye after getting an infection while spending the summer in France.

“It kind of floored me, and I can’t see anything. I can’t read anything, I can’t watch anything,” he said at the time.

Blockbuster anticipation is not just about size. Size is easy. A release date, a logo, a giant cast photo, a CinemaCon sizzle reel, none of that automatically means a movie has real heat in it. The blockbusters people go feral for usually promise something more specific. A return. A collision. A risk. A long-awaited payoff. A director getting too much money and enough trust to do something gloriously overcommitted. That is the difference between big movie and “I need opening night.”

And 2026 is packed with exactly that kind of argument. Legacy animation coming back for one more emotional swing, MCU stepping back in for a take over, Christopher Nolan probably at his post-production magic right now, there’s a lot at play. Here’s my take on these upcoming blockbuster movies by anticipation.

8

‘Supergirl’ (2026)

Image via Warner Bros. Pictures

Supergirl is exciting, but it lands eighth for me because the anticipation is still a little more curious than feverish. Kara Zor-El (Milly Alcock) is strong casting, Craig Gillespie is a very smart pick if DC wants this thing to feel rougher and stranger than standard cosmic-hero polish, and the early footage sounded pleasingly dirty, less pristine cape iconography, more interplanetary bus grime, pirates, spider droids, and bruised momentum. That is a good sign. It means the film might actually understand that Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow should feel harsher and sadder than people casually expect from the character. Warner Bros. has it set for June 26, 2026.

What keeps it here is simple: I still need the emotional lock. The best superhero anticipation has one image or one dramatic line that suddenly makes the whole film feel inevitable. Supergirl sounds promising, and the rougher space-western texture is exactly the right instinct, but I am not yet in that irrational clear zone for it. I can see it becoming one of the year’s nicest surprises but there’s also a chance for it to swivel toward that Madame Web zone.

7

‘Moana’ (2026)

Image via Disney

Moana sits here because the commercial confidence is obvious, though the emotional anticipation is a little more cautious. Moana (Catherine Laga’aia) plays the title role, and Maui (Dwayne Johnson) is back, which gives the project instant familiarity and star power. The trailer and CinemaCon material have leaned hard into the ocean, the songs, the broad family-adventure warmth, and the “we know this world already works” comfort play. From a pure blockbuster standpoint, that is smart. It is probably going to hit big.

But anticipation is not the same as confidence. With live-action Disney remakes, the question is always whether the film is uncovering something newly cinematic or just restaging inherited feeling at a larger budget level. Moana at least has a story strong enough to survive translation, identity, oceanic calling, cultural rootedness, self-doubt becoming purpose, but right now the pitch still feels more like a polished re-entry into familiar waters than a genuine leap. I am interested. I am not electrified.

6

‘Toy Story 5’ (2026)

Image via Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

Toy Story 5 is where anticipation starts becoming emotional risk. Pixar has the film dated for June 19, 2026, and the early material has already teased a “toys versus tech” angle, with Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen), Woody (Tom Hanks), Jessie (Joan Cusack), and the gang confronting the fact that kids now have glowing screens competing with old imaginative play. That is a very smart hook, maybe almost too smart, since it gives the film an automatic generational ache before the plot has even properly started. Pixar has also previewed that Jessie will matter heavily, which is another reason fans are leaning in rather than just dutifully showing up.

Toy Story 3 already felt like the most emotionally complete ending imaginable, and even Toy Story 4 had to fight its way into legitimacy through pure execution. So every new installment carries suspicion alongside excitement. And that’s why I’m not too stoked for Toy Story 5. Still, the premise here has real juice. If the movie uses technology not as a boomer joke but as a way of asking what happens to old forms of companionship when attention itself has changed shape, this could really land.

5

4

‘Dune: Part Three’ (2026)

Image via Warner Bros. Pictures

Dune: Part Three is where anticipation starts feeling almost religious. Denis Villeneuve has the film set for December 18, 2026, and the reporting around it has made clear that the film is adapting Dune Messiah territory while bringing back Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet), Chani (Zendaya), Princess Irulan (Florence Pugh), Stilgar (Javier Bardem), Lady Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson), and others, with Anya Taylor-Joy moving from tease to major presence and additional casting widening the next phase of the saga. Even before release, Warner Bros. was reporting major IMAX demand, which tells you how much faith audiences already have in Villeneuve’s control over this world.

And the reason the anticipation is so high is that Messiah material is where the triumph starts turning poisonous. The first two films built awe. The third one, if Villeneuve really goes for it, gets to build consequence. Paul as messiah-emperor is not simple blockbuster victory architecture. It is political dread, religious corrosion, intimacy damaged by destiny, charisma curdling into catastrophe. That makes this more exciting to me than a standard Part Three gets bigger situation. It has a chance to become the chapter where the franchise stops being merely majestic and becomes haunting.

3

‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ (2026)

Image via Sony Pictures Releasing

Spider-Man: Brand New Day is one of the easiest top-three placements on the list since the emotional setup is so clean. No Way Home ended with Peter Parker (Tom Holland) stripped down to almost nothing, no public identity, no Avengers-status cushioning, no MJ (Zendaya), no Ned (Jacob Batalon), no social safety net, just the character in his loneliest and most stripped-back form in years. Sony announced the title Spider-Man: Brand New Day and has it set for July 31, 2026, and the early trade messaging has already leaned into the idea that this is a more grown-up Peter story. That is exactly the right pitch.

What makes me so excited is that Spider-Man is often best when his world gets smaller before it gets larger again. Not smaller in stakes, smaller in belonging. He is more vulnerable when he has something to lose and nobody to call. Holland coming back after that ending gives this movie immediate emotional leverage. You can feel the possibility of reset without erasure, of a bruised, more adult Peter trying to rebuild identity from scratch while the larger Marvel machine circles in the background. If they keep it street-level enough to hurt and expansive enough to feel cinematic, this could absolutely be one of the year’s most crowd-pleasing blockbusters.

2

‘Avengers: Doomsday’ (2026)

Image via Marvel Studios

Avengers: Doomsday is one of the year’s major pressure points. Marvel and Disney pushed the film to December 18, 2026, Joe Russo and Anthony Russo are back, and Doctor Doom (Robert Downey Jr.) gives the whole project an enormous amount of theatrical voltage even before you get into the sprawling cast configuration. The official cast rollout and the subsequent trade coverage made it crystal clear that Marvel is treating this as one of its major re-consolidation plays, not just another phase installment.

The pressure itself is exciting. Marvel is at its most interesting when the project feels slightly too big to control. That is when the anticipation turns nervous in the best way. Can they make the MCU feel like a true event machine again? Can they turn Doom into something more than stunt casting? Can the Russos recapture the disciplined escalation that made earlier Avengers finales feel like mass-viewing rituals rather than noisy obligations? I am not calm about this movie, and that is part of why it ranks so high.

1

‘The Odyssey’ (2026)

Image via Universal Pictures

The Odyssey had to be number one. Christopher Nolan adapting The Odyssey with Odysseus (Matt Damon) and one of the most intimidatingly stacked blockbuster casts in years, including Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Zendaya, Robert Pattinson, Lupita Nyong’o, Charlize Theron, Jon Bernthal, Benny Safdie, and others, already sounds like a studio flex from a healthier era. Universal has it opening July 17, 2026, and the trade coverage plus trailer rollout have only reinforced the scale of the thing. This is not being sold as a modest literary prestige adaptation. It is being sold as an event epic, a giant myth-machine in the hands of a director who already treats time, ordeal, and masculine obsession like sacred cinematic fuel.

And emotionally, this is the easiest number one on the page. The Odyssey is one of the foundational adventure stories for a reason: monsters, gods, shipwrecks, seductions, war aftershock, homecoming as trauma, identity proved through endurance. In Nolan’s hands, that material could become overwhelming in the best possible way, stern, huge, mournful, ecstatic, physically punishing. More than any other title here, this is the one that feels like it could give blockbuster cinema something it has been missing: grandeur without plasticity. Not just scale, but scale with blood in it. That is the dream. That is why it sits at the top.

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The Odyssey

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July 17, 2026

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172 Minutes

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Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers for Episode 4 of Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed

Tatiana Maslany‘s Paula in Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed is really going through, well, a lot. Created by David Rosen, Apple TV’s comedic thriller sees the newly-divorced soccer mom doing her best to keep her perpetually chaotic and messy life in check as much as she possibly can — only to have a completely unexpected blackmail-murder scandal upend everything. Could her once-trusted Cam Boy Trevor (Brandon Flynn) really be behind all of this? And will her nosey, judgy co-workers (Charlie Hall and Kiarra Hamagami Goldberg) actually prove to be… helpful?

Those are just two of the many questions in desperate need of answers in the addictive Apple TV show, with Episode 4 of the freshman series peeling back some key layers to Karl (Jake Johnson) and his wife Mallory (Jessy Hodges) that provide some much-needed context to Paula’s previous marriage, while also raising even more questions about what happened years ago in Portland with the police and Paula.

Episode 4 feels a lot like a bottle episode, as the main narrative is briefly paused in order for us to see the exact moment things started to really shift in Paula and Karl’s marriage. But if there’s anyone up for the challenge of pulling off such a complex, charming, and engaging performance needed to anchor such a twisted series, it’s the endlessly impressive Tatiana Maslany. During this interview with Collider, the Orphan Black and She-Hulk star dissects what makes Paula such a magnetic character, why Paula decides to trust Rudy and Geri, and how Episode 4 challenges the narrative we’ve seen so far.

Tatiana Maslany Was Drawn to ‘Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed’s Unpredictability

“Paula was a question mark for me.”

Image via Apple TV

COLLIDER: You’re fantastic in this show and such a great anchor and lead. I want to start with a little bit of a fun question. Obviously, Paula has an outlet for pleasure, as we see. Is there something that you watch or that you do that immediately will turn your mood around?

TATIANA MASLANY: Yes. Going dancing, even if it’s by myself. But dancing is for sure. I don’t think there’s anything that I… Oh, you know what? I just watched Love on the Spectrum, and that did it for me for sure.

Good choices. What’s so great about Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed is that you’re able to be so funny and have such great line deliveries, and then you can immediately just be an emotional mess and really intense. What was your first impression when you were pitched the series and read the first script?

MASLANY: That, for me, was the delight in it. I couldn’t put my finger on the genre or the tone, and I consistently was asking David Rosen and David Gordon Green, “Is there anything that you kind of compare it to?” And they were like, “Kind of this, kind of that.” But it felt like it was its own creation in a lot of ways. The thing that I loved — I felt it in reading it, but I really felt it in doing it — was that each scene had so much potential. The writers are so fantastic. Within all the scenes, there is humor, there’s a kind of brutality, there’s pain, there’s lightness, there’s all these possibilities. And that, just as an actor, is a real exciting thing to get to try to do, and with all these actors who are so spontaneous and open and have comedic timing and also dramatic chops, it was really fun. I felt like Paula was a question mark for me. I didn’t know her, and I couldn’t place her. I felt like she was at a place where she didn’t know who she was, so it was just an incredibly powerful, visceral read when I read it.

Do you have a process for any project when you start to get into a character? Did it differ at all for this one?

MASLANY: Yeah, it differs for every project. I used to have quite a studious thing, but now I sort of try to follow what my instinct is. Sometimes it’s doing a lot of research, it’s reading books, it’s fiction, it’s whatever, it’s movement, it’s study of some kind. But for Paula, it was really like being present with everything that I was feeling when I was reading the script. Just like with the moment in my life — I was about to turn 40 — there was a sense of, “What is it to be at this age, and you don’t know who you are?” The heartbreak of the grief of that and the feeling of being a kid still when you’re thrust into this really adult world of divorces and of exes and of all that stuff like it. The process was a little nebulous and hard to place.

Creating Paula and Hazel’s Bond in ‘Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed’ Was Easy for Maslany

“Both of us have that sense of play.”

Image via Apple TV

Paula is hard to play, so that makes sense. Probably my favorite part of the show are your scenes with Hazel. Paula and Hazel’s relationship is so beautiful. I really felt like I was spying on a real mother-daughter duo. It was so authentic. What was that energy like on set?

MASLANY: [Nola Wallace] is so great. And from the start, she was so great. I think the first thing we shot was just me sending her off to school, and she was listening in every moment. I like to do everything different every single time, and when you’re working with an actor, they’ll respond differently, or they’ll give you something different. She’s no exception. She would improvise lines, she would try different things. If I changed something, she would totally respond to how I was doing it differently. Both of us have a sense of play. We could really find that thing in Paula and Hazel that is like their united thing, which is goofiness and ease with each other. That kind of thing felt very natural for Nola and I.

It seemed so natural, and it was really fun to watch. And heartbreaking at times, of course.

‘Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed’ Episode 4 Reveals Different Sides to Our Core Characters

“We see this other thing in Paula that’s reckless.”

I want to talk about Episode 4 a little bit. I like when shows take a step back and zoom out. We get different POVs of characters that we thought we knew. It was a really hard episode for Paula, because we start to see why her marriage started to crumble, and I now view Mallory differently and Karl differently. What stood out to you about that episode in particular? Did you feel like Paula was a different character?

MASLANY: Yeah. I think a lot of Paula at that point in her life is sleepwalking, in a way. She’s sort of become very comfortable with just everything as-is. She doesn’t really see what’s happening, even though she does see what’s happening. I think she also has a lot of rage. I think that rage is easy to dance on top of when you’re sort of laughing and joking, and you’re not really present in your own life. As soon as this sort of stuff is happening with Mallory, and we see this other thing in Paula that’s reckless. I think what’s cool about Episode 4. It has all of these twists and turns, but they’re just interpersonal and they’re just sort of inside of Paula’s experience. We can side with her and sort of feel empathy for her and sort of horror that her husband is clearly cheating on her or maybe cheating on her. By the end, I think that there’s a real question around Paula’s culpability and her volitional actions and whether she is operating with a lot of awareness or not. I think what it does really beautifully is add this other layer to Paula. We’ve sort of been following her story for the whole series, and now we’re given this extra thing that sort of challenges what we know about her and what we feel about her.

New York City is kind of its own character in the show. I know that David Rosen grew up there and lived there a while and put a lot of thought into New York City itself. What was it like approaching New York City as its own character?

MASLANY: I feel like New York City is like the most working city on the planet in terms of its ability to be a separate piece of a movie that is so vital to everything about that movie and the story and the history and everything. For me as a Canadian [Laughs] it’s like such a city. It’s the city, you know what I mean? It was very fun to be in areas that aren’t what you would see glamorized or romanticized about the city. More just neighborhoods and day-to-day stuff. We shot in every area, we were all over the place. Sometimes, two or three times a day, we’d be shifting whole locations with the unit move and everything. It was a very “alive” feeling. I’d only shot two separate films there and one day on each of those films, so this was the longest I’d been filming there. It’s totally its own beast.

It felt like that. I can feel the show being chaotic. It really felt like New York City is a perfect chaotic setting.

MASLANY: Yeah. Yeah, totally.

I also really loved your scenes with Charlie Hall and Kiarra Hamagami Goldberg. It was so interesting because, at the beginning, you feel like they’re just going to be these antagonists for her that just get in her way and provide laughs, but then they really become a huge part of the plot. What was it like filming those scenes with them in the office? It felt like there was a lot of improv.

MASLANY: Yeah, there’s improv. There’s also a lot that is tightly scripted, but just feels playful because Rosen and all the writers are such incredible writers. Charlie and Kiarra have such a specific dynamic, and for Paula, she does see them as sort of this nuisance for most of the beginning of the series, and then she has nowhere else to turn, she turns to these two people who, by all accounts, are, again, the incorrect people to go to with any of these problems that she’s having. But they’re sort of unbiased, and they’re neutral, in a way. They’re not wrapped up, they don’t know anything about her. She can kind of start from scratch with them and introduce them to who she is in this very intimate way that sometimes we can only do with strangers. It makes sense to me that they would be the kind of people she would approach because she had such an intimate relationship with a Cam Boy, who is being paid to be intimate with her, but who she totally feels real intimacy with. Paula doesn’t necessarily have the soundest of radars, but she always makes an interesting choice.

Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed airs Wednesdays on Apple TV.

By Chris Snellgrove
| Updated 35 seconds ago

When you think about it, Rambo is one of the craziest franchises ever made. The first film was adapted from a novel and served as a poignant commentary on America’s treatment of soldiers returning from the Vietnam War. After it became a box office success, though, subsequent films were all about how John Rambo was the coolest, most unstoppable soldier in the entire world. In this way, the anti-war hero became the most recognizable military mascot of the 20th century. His exploits as a one-man army are basically the polar opposite of Star Trek: The Next Generation, the 1987 sci-fi show, which was all about peace, exploration, and communication.

Against all the odds, Star Trek almost had its own Rambo homage. It happened in the Season 3 episode “The Hunted,” which introduced a very Rambo-like character: Roga Danar, a man transformed into the ultimate weapon by a government that later discarded him. Because of this, this Trek tale already had some shared storytelling DNA with everyone’s favorite ‘80s action hero. However, the episode director later revealed that budget cuts kept him from including a Rambo-like final fight between a bunch of super-soldiers and the government officials who had betrayed them!

One Rambo To Beam Onboard

“The Hunted” begins with the Enterprise making a routine visit to Angosia III, a planet hoping to become part of the Federation. When Picard is asked to help capture one of the planet’s fugitives, he discovers something remarkable: a super-smart, super-strong soldier who inexplicably manages to outwit and outfight almost everyone he encounters. After finally being captured, he reveals himself to be Roga Danar, a soldier genetically enhanced by Angosia III and then forcibly resettled after the war was over. He escapes and returns to the planet to demand justice of the planetary leader who betrayed him. Incredibly, Picard doesn’t stop him, citing this as a clear case of internal planetary politics. 

Aside from Roga Danar’s early cat-and-mouse adventures with the Enterprise, the most exciting part of “The Hunted” is when Danar returns to Angosia III to confront Prime Minister Nayrok. Along with some fellow super-soldiers, he issues a fairly basic demand: he and his wartime compatriots want to come home rather than being forcibly exiled to another planet. Nayrok, however, is worried that, between their psychological conditioning and PTSD, the soldiers will never be able to re-integrate into society. In this way, the episode’s climax is a bit like First Blood. But according to the director, “The Hunted” was originally going to have an action-packed ending more akin to Rambo: First Blood Part II!

An Insanely Violent Ending

Episode director Cliff Bole told The Official Star Trek: The Next Generation Magazine that “The end was again affected by a budget situation. We were going to do a big battle, but couldn’t.” What would this have looked like, exactly? “Originally, Danar was going to come back, and there would be a big confrontation–almost a Rambo-like situation. I thought the loss of that [scene] took away a little from the episode, making it slightly anti-climactic.”

Just how Rambo-like was it going to be? As recorded in Captain’s Logs: The Unauthorized Complete Star Trek Voyages, showrunner Michael Piller claimed that “At first, we were going to have a huge shoot out and have everyone wiped out in the end.” While the budget kept this from happening, Piller thought that was for the best because the original ending “didn’t really make anybody a hero.” He preferred the ending that we saw onscreen because it helped set up Picard’s crowd-pleasing decision to beam up and leave the traitorous prime minister’s fate in the hands of the men he betrayed.

To Seek Out Strange New Rambos

There you have it, fellow Redshirts: the closest that Star Trek ever came to turning into a Rambo movie. This was especially novel in The Next Generation, which showcased the Federation during a time of relative galactic peace. The big-budget action sequence cut from “The Hunted” might have been a better fit for the later spinoff Deep Space Nine, which bucked franchise tradition and spent its last couple of years telling stories about a brutal war with the Dominion. Sadly, that show never got its own proper Rambo homage, though I would have paid good money to see Sylvester Stallone get recruited by Section 31 to go rescue Starfleet POWs on the other side of the wormhole.

First Contact? More like First Blood Part II, y’all!

Part 2 of the Summer House reunion appeared to be too much for Amanda Batula after she walked off stage in tears amid her controversial romance with West Wilson — and was questioned about how much she knew about his ex-girlfriend Meija Moreno.

“He’s definitely going to do it to you, Amanda,” Lindsay Hubbard said on the Tuesday, June 2, episode, referring to West, 31, allegedly using Amanda for “clout” only to eventually “drop” her when he doesn’t need her anymore.

Amanda, 34, wiped away her tears as West held her hand on the couch.

“I feel bamboozled in so many ways,” Lindsay said. “But I also still feel really protective and he’s going to f***ing do it to you.”

Elsewhere in the episode, Amanda admitted to Ciara Miller, West’s ex-girlfriend and her former BFF, that she felt “embarrassed” that their romance began while he was still seeing Meija.

The revelation caused Amanda to walk off stage in tears and stay backstage for a prolonged period of time.

While Amanda and West didn’t discuss his ex Meija any futher, Ciara, 30, called her backstage and to obtain her version of events — including Meija and West’s alleged relationship timeline.

Scroll down for the biggest revelations from part 2 of the Summer House reunion:

Ciara Gives Meija a Call

During a break in the episode, Ciara called West’s ex Meija backstage. Kyle Cooke — who announced his split from Amanda in January after four years of marriage — joined Ciara to debrief with Meija, asking her whether it was “clearly defined” that she and West were exclusive when he started seeing Amanda in March.

“We were literally dating last summer [in 2025]. While you guys were filming, he referred to me as his girlfriend all the time,” Meija claimed. “We just weren’t in a public relationship. Literally [I] was at his house every weekend he was filming. We knew we were in an exclusive relationship.”

She recalled that the “night before” West appeared on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen in March “everything was so fine.” (One week after the WWHL appearance, when West denied he was anything more than friends with Amanda, the pair confirmed their romance.)

Meija alleged that West thought “he’ll get fired” when the pair went public with their romance, claiming he was worried about dating someone “not in the Bravoserve.”

Kyle, 43, revealed, “That’s bulls***,” confirming Bravo doesn’t have rules about who anyone can date in or outside of the cast.

“The other reason he would use too, was, ‘If I bring you into this, obviously that’s putting you in a situation where now people have eyes on you,’” Meija claimed.

Ciara was pissed, calling West “manipulating.”

Meija recalled feeling “left on my own” after West dumped her and went public with Amanda “the next day.” She confessed, “It’s so f***ing hurtful.”

KJ Compares West to His Lying Father

At the top of the episode, KJ Dillard, a longtime friend of West’s, called him out for his wandering eye.

“My dad was a very womanizing player and my mom had to deal with so much s***. That’s why I am hurting, West. I don’t like that s***,” KJ explained. “I grew up watching that firsthand and it destroyed my family. My dad’s a habitual liar. … I’m seeing a correlation.”

KJ also took issue with how open Ciara was with everyone in the house about struggling to be the only Black woman in the cast for some time and how being a Black woman dating a white man — during her and West’s 2023 romance — opened her up to even more scrutiny.

“That was a very serious thing,” KJ pointed out. “I don’t like to see Ciara being treated the way that she’s being treated.”

West took a beat, responding, “Yeah, I’ll apologize to you again. … If there’s conversations to be had, I would have them with you.”

KJ nodded, replying, “It would take time but I’m open to having conversations with you again.”

Ciara Thinks Amanda and West Were Using ‘Buzzwords’ About Her Racial Struggles

Andy Cohen asked Ciara whether she believed West during summer 2025 when he said he could “see you way more” after her openness to the group about race, to which she replied, “Then, perhaps.”

Andy, 58, then asked, “What about now?”

“No. I think that after watching the season back I think it’s very clear that Amanda and West were using buzz words like, ‘I see you. I hear you,’ to satiate maybe what I needed to hear,” she confessed. “But they didn’t really see or hear me.”

Amanda was taken aback, claiming, “Everything that I’ve said to you over the summer, everything that I’ve felt, everything that we’ve talked about was truly how I felt in those moments.”

She pivoted to her choice to date West and hurt Ciara in the process, admitting, “I got caught up in my feelings. Doesn’t matter. This has hurt me a lot.”

Ciara clapped back, “It really hasn’t. … I think that’s insane. You’ve literally been in the bed with me for six f***ing years and this is where we’re at?”

Amanda Was ‘Embarrassed’ at the Start of West Romance

“We’ve talked about that privately. What this would look like and what this meant, which is the only reason I feel like I’m sitting here next to him now,” Amanda said as to why she thinks West’s relationship with her is “different” than either Ciara or Meija’s time with him.

She confessed, “I wanted to get to a point selflessly, where maybe I felt I understood what was going on, because I was going to have to be honest with Ciara no matter what. I felt embarrassed to have to say, I have feelings and have kissed West and he’s seeing someone else.

Mia Calabrese bluntly responded, “Yeah, it’s embarrassing,” which led to Amanda excusing herself from the set.

Amanda Takes a Prolonged Break

“Why isn’t her boyfriend going after her?” Lindsay said under her breath after Amanda walked off stage.

Ciara looked at West and added, “You should go after your girl.”

West looked like a deer in the headlights, telling the group, “I didn’t know if the questions were going to come back to me.”

After Kyle instructed West to go after her, he finally complied. “Her comments are just like cut f***ing deep,” Amanda told West backstage.

Ciara, for her part, expressed frustration over Amanda leaving while on the hotseat. “You f*** my ex but then I scoff and you can’t sit there?” Ciara questioned.

Amid Amanda’s absence, Andy called for a group break, during which time Kyle told his pals, “The thing that I’m most focused on is West’s ease of lying. We know that he had a full-blown exclusive relationship since February 2025. We actually have receipts.”

Dara Calls Out West’s Shady Ways

Dara Levitan, who dated West before meeting KJ on season 10 of the series, joined the cast for part of the tapping and didn’t skip a beat before calling out West for his actions.

“I don’t see you suddenly waking up one day and, like, this, this is going to be the relationship you stand up for and man up for?” Dara said. “You like people to think of you as a good guy but you treat the women that give themselves to you like they’re expendable.”

West didn’t deny it, saying. “Yeah, I agree.”

When Amanda eventually did come back out, Dara reiterated West’s flaws while warning her to be wary of their future.

“The biggest pattern in his life is it is the West Show. And It will always be the West Show. And the biggest concern of his consistently is being well liked and well received,” Dara alleged. “He doesn’t prioritize treating the women he is linked to romantically with the same respect as he does anybody else in his life.”

She continued, “I just foresee him for a very long time wanting someone who will mold and fold and fit into his life without excuse or complaint. It’s up to you to decide what’s worth breaking, sacrificing and losing for that kind of person.”

Andy then noted that it would be “ironic” if Amanda willingly went from “The Kyle Show to the West Show.”

The Freedom Dinner Disaster

During season 10 of Summer House, Kyle yelled, “F*** you” at Amanda from across the dinner table after he felt the cast was teaming up against him amid their marital issues. West, for his part, noticeably picked up his chair and moved it next to Amanda to support her — a move fans quickly called into question.

“I wanted Amanda to know that I had her back when I thought Kyle was being a dickhead,” West explained at the reunion.

Kyle then took “full accountability” for his actions, saying, “I’m embarrassed by my poor reaction and letting myself spiral. I was hurt. And hurt people, hurt people.”

He recalled, “Amanda was silent and I kinda felt like she was just letting everybody do her dirty work and nobody actually knows the truth.”

Amanda, for her part, was grateful for how West came to her aid.

“I felt like our friendship was outside of just castmates. It felt like someone actually cared and saw me and saw this,” she shared. “It was nice to have a guy stand up to Kyle.”

Kyle quipped, “A guy that’s never been in a relationship his entire adult life,” referring to West’s dating history.

Related: Where Ciara Miller Stands With Amanda Batula After West Wilson Scandal

Ciara Miller is still sorting through her feelings after longtime friend Amanda Batula started seeing her ex-boyfriend, and their Summer House costar, West Wilson, earlier this spring. “Ciara has told friends that if they really are in love, she will accept it,” a source exclusively tells Us Weekly, noting that if West, 31, and Amanda, […]

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Amanda Takes a Jab at Kyle’s Partying Ways

“Most nights where I go out and have a bender, it’s when you were supposed to be with me and you bow out,” Kyle claimed, referring to Amanda leaving him alone throughout their marriage.

He then noted, “Everything you want or told me you wanted now is a lie. … Amanda, you’ve been going out til 4 in the morning, twice a week.”

Amanda argued that she’s “single” so it’s a “different” situation.

When the cast confronted Amanda about her willingness to go out with West, she confessed, “I hated going out with Kyle. I’ve made that very clear.”

Kyle grew visibly upset, responding, “Give me a break. This kid parties twice as hard as I do. I say kid because you’re the most immature, fraudulent, phoney I’ve ever met. So shut the f*** up.”

Kyle continued to slam West, adding, “I thought I knew you man. I’ve been going back and forth between feeling concerned and feeling betrayed.

Kyle Is Adamant He Didn’t Cheat on Amanda During Their Marriage

“There have been times when I have been out that I have been inappropriate. I will own it,” Kyle said of his past, acknowledging that he did cheat on Amanda in 2018 before they got married.

However, after they tied the knot in 2021, Kyle claimed he’d been faithful. “Did I ever have an affair? No. Did I sleep with someone?” he said. “No. Have I been, like, completely starved and deprived of anything and everything from you? Yes, and I’ve acted out.”

Amanda fired back, claiming, “He has stepped out of the marriage while we were together. After we were married there was a time you were at a party asking a girl if you could kiss her, make out with her. She DM’d me on a personal level.”

Kyle insisted he did not “make out” with anyone. “You did. With a girl in the club,” Amanda clapped back.

Related: Summer House’s Amanda Berates West for Kissing Girl Near Ciara Pre-Romance

Amanda Batula went off on West Wilson for kissing another woman in front of his ex-girlfriend, her friend, Ciara Miller on Summer House — months before she started dating him, seemingly behind her BFF’s back. “You just got too comfortable on probation,” Amanda, 34, told West, 31, on the Tuesday, April 14, episode of the […]

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Carl and Lindsay Are Rooting for Each Other

Outside of the Amanda and West Scandal, fans got an update on exes Lindsay and Carl Radke’s dynamic since she supported his opening of Soft Bar in New York City.

“Lindsay was always a champion of me wanting to do well. Her walking in the door that day meant the world to me,” Carl, 41, said, revealing he keeps her teddy bear gift in his office. “I care about you and I always will. Having her showing up for something like that given everything that’s gone on — it just shows who Lindsay is and her character.”

Lindsay, for her part, said that after watching season 10 back she noticed that Carl seemed to be “more in your skin.”

“You seem more confident. That is such a beautiful thing to see,” Lindsay, who was engaged to Carl for one year before their August 2023, split, said. “I do think that you are finally the person you are supposed to be and always wanted to be. So, yes, that’s what I’m proud of.”

‘Carl’s a Mess’

After Kyle revealed in April that “Carl’s a mess” after the West and Amanda bombshell, he and Lindsay, 39, teamed up to do an Uber Eats ad that poked fun at the now-iconic quote.

“I would have never done that to them during their breakup and it did hurt a little bit,” Amanda confessed when asked about how she felt about Carl and Lindsay monetizing her heartbreak.

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Ciara was not amused, responding, “Please. Please. Please. You would never monetize something but you would f*** your friends ex? We don’t know where your bar is.”

Kyle added, “I thought it was epic to be honest,” so he was also OK with the ad.

Part 3 of the Summer House reunion airs on Bravo Tuesday, June 9, at 8 p.m. ET.

Ciara Miller seemed to imply that “bad karma” was coming for her “Summer House” co-stars, West Wilson and Amanda Batula, in a new interview. The TV personality’s comments come months after the aforementioned stars announced their romance after weeks of intense speculation.

Speaking with Interview Magazine, Miller, 30, shared her thoughts on a range of topics, including karma.

“I believe in it, and I know a few people who’ve got some bad karma coming in their future,” Miller told the publication.

While she didn’t mention names, Miller seemed to be referring to Wilson and Batula. The pair confirmed that they were in a relationship in March 2026.

“We’ve seen the growing online speculation, so while this is still very new, we wanted to provide some clarity,” their joint post read, according to The Blast. “It was never our intention to purposely hide anything. Given the complicated relationship dynamics involved and the scrutiny that comes with being on a reality show, we need a little space to process things privately before speaking on it.”

Ciara Miller And Wilson Dated In 2023

The confirmation of their romance shocked the Bravoverse, considering Wilson and Miller (Batula’s ex-best friend) were dating in 2023. Their relationship was also shown on “Summer House,” according to Bravo’s Daily Dish.

In season 8, episode 4, Wilson opened up about his time with Miller, revealing that the pair “made out.” In the following episode, Wilson said that his connection with Miller was growing stronger.

“I’ve been making an effort to not come on too strong this whole time so far, but I think she’s giving back what I’m giving to her,” Wilson said in the confessional. “So more makeouts to come, probably.”

Ciara Miller And Wilson Ended Their Relationship In December 2023

Miller and Wilson ended their relationship in December 2023. Wilson spoke with Andy Cohen about the details of their romance on an episode of “Watch What Happens Live.”

“So, September, October, November, it sounds like you were dating? … Would you say you were dating for real during that time?” Cohen asked the Missouri native.

“Basically, yeah. I don’t think we walked around saying boyfriend/girlfriend, but I mean, basically, we hung out every day,” Wilson replied.

During part 1 of the “Summer House” season 8 reunion, Wilson told the rest of the cast, “We had a talk, and I thought we were on the same page as we were going through that dinner,” to which Miller replied, “He was ready to go to the next bar, and I went home crying.”

Miller Called Wilson ‘My Person’ In The Summer Of 2025

Wilson and Miller’s relationship remained icy following their breakup. However, things started to thaw between the pair in 2025. In season 10 of “Summer House,” cameras captured the pair working towards a friendship, and in the finale, the two shared a passionate kiss.

Before that, Miller told her co-star, Mia Calabrese, that she felt like Wilson was her “person.”

“As weird as it is, I do feel like he is my person,” she confessed, per The Blast. “We have this really weird friendship, and it’s hard to ignore that, you know?”

Miller Takes On West And Batula At The Season 10 Reunion

By Chris Snellgrove
| Published 1 hour ago

While he’s captivating in dramas like Jerry Maguire, Eyes Wide Shut, and Vanilla Sky (a personal favorite), Tom Cruise is always at his best in action movies. That’s partially because of his personal charm. The same quirks that make him one of the weirdest celebrities also help him convincingly play cocky, gun-toting leading men. Additionally, Cruise has such a mania for doing his own stunts that he’s constantly risking his life for movies like Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning. He’s one of the richest people in the world, and he’s willing to possibly die to keep the movie business alive. In that sense, it’s hard to find a more compelling actor in all of Hollywood.

With that being said, some of Cruise’s best movies now feel almost painfully dated. Top Gun isn’t quite as thrilling with the collapse of the USSR, and Eyes Wide Shut feels downright tame after learning about the crimes of people like Jeffrey Epstein. Even the Mission: Impossible movies seem tame once you realize how much actual spycraft is less running around on top of trains and more hacking into computers half a world away. However, Cruise’s best movie was oddly prescient, and over two decades later, it’s scarier now than ever before. I’m talking about Minority Report (2002), a movie that accidentally predicted the technological panopticon of our modern world.

Can You Get Pregnant From Precrime?

The plot of Minority Report is that the police of the future are now using “precogs,” which are enhanced humans who can receive psychic visions of the future. Thanks to them, the cops can now predict future transgressions and arrest people before they have even committed the crime. The chief of this Precrime division believes in the system, hoping it can prevent crimes like the tragic abduction of his six-year-old son. However, when the precogs predict the chief will kill a man he has ever known, he must go on the run to prove his innocence. Along the way, he discovers secrets that rock his foundations to their very core.

Minority Report is filled to the brim with great character actors, including early performances from icons Jessica Capshaw and Peter Stormare. Additionally, we get a stunning performance from screen legend Max von Sydow, whose Precrime director holds all the cards in a game that only he truly understands. Arguably, the film’s best revelation is Colin Farrell, who plays a DOJ agent investigating Precrime. Thanks to Farrell’s relentless and charismatic performance, Minority Report became his breakout film, catapulting the talented actor into superstar status. He has a particularly magnetic chemistry with Tom Cruise, and their onscreen feud encapsulates the movie’s crunchy theme of balancing community safety with personal liberty. 

Feral Colin

Speaking of Cruise, he is at his best in this film. He spends most of Minority Report on the run, and Cruise is predictably great in bringing this film’s frenetic action scenes to life. But what really makes this performance special is that Cruise fully animates the pathos of his character, someone whose professional success hides personal tragedy: he’s a divorcee who lost his only child, and he secretly uses drugs to mask his personal pain. Cruise presents his action hero as a man whose righteous cause is actually the ultimate coping mechanism. To prove his innocence, he must prove the fallibility of Precrime, effectively destroying the only thing that gives his life meaning.

While these actors deserve full credit for making Minority Report the most provocative sci-fi film of the early aughts, it’s also important to lavish praise on director Steven Spielberg. This film is the perfect mixture of beloved tropes from his other movies: Minority Report has a charismatic leading man as charismatic as Raiders of the Lost Ark, a dangers-of-technology plot as compelling as Jurassic Park, and the relentless, ongoing chase sequences of Catch Me If You Can. In another director’s hands, this might have felt like a lazy homage to his own work. However, Spielberg is skilled enough to effortlessly weave what worked in his other movies into something that feels startlingly fresh. 

You Hate To See It

Over two decades after its release, it’s clear that Minority Report was also startlingly prescient. Obviously, the concept of humans with psychic powers snitching for the comics remains a far-off and (God willing) impossible reality. But in the decades since this film was first released, America has led the way in developing groundbreaking technology and then using it to transform the country into a bleak panopticon. This began immediately after 9/11, of course, when the government used the Patriot Act to justify spying on just about anyone while circumventing existing laws. This kick-started a national debate about the chief theme of Minority Report: whether it’s worth sacrificing our freedom in the name of security.

Obviously, we lost that debate, and the country has started to look more and more like the dystopian setting of Minority Report. The police use algorithms to predict where crimes are likeliest to occur, and they scour social media for clues that someone is likely to commit future transgressions. This works hand-in-hand with automated surveillance technology that records your face and activities in almost every public space. On paper, these collective technologies are a great way to establish law and order throughout the community. But it’s an open secret that corrupt police officers use this tech to strike fear in our hearts while providing convenient narratives for anyone they want to arrest.

The Future Is Now, Old Man

In Minority Report, Tom Cruise’s character is framed for murder by someone with intimate knowledge of how to abuse cutting-edge police technology. In the modern world, though, things are much more streamlined. Your online sh*tposting can be used to establish you as a dangerous threat, and you can end up on government watchlists without ever knowing it. Unknowingly walking through a high-crime area can make you a suspect when the cops simply need a convenient fall guy. Wherever you walk, drive, or fly, automated surveillance captures footage that can be used against you without even a shred of evidence. The future is now, and the entire justice system is one huge Precrime division.

Unfortunately, there’s no way to escape the modern police state. However, you can still escape the old-fashioned way: by watching an awesome movie in the comfort of your own home. Minority Report is streaming on Hulu, giving you a chance to watch what is arguably Tom Cruise’s best film. You also have a chance to compare Spielberg’s worst nightmares about abusive technology to the myriad real ways that bleeding-edge tech is used to make our lives worse. It’s the ultimate irony, really: in making a film about psychics, Spielberg accurately and effectively predicted the future. Here’s hoping he gets to keep making movies; otherwise, he might be drafted into becoming America’s first precog!

By Chris Snellgrove
| Published 4 seconds ago

The rise and fall of Marvel is something that scholars and fans alike will be debating for years. The success of Iron Man in 2008 kicked off the most ambitious cinematic universe Hollywood had ever known. The interconnected nature of these films encouraged fans to watch each film, all of which built anticipation for big team-ups like The Avengers. For a while, it seemed like every major Marvel movie was destined to earn at least a billion dollars at the box office. After Avengers: Endgame, though, everything fell apart: box office dwindled, some projects lost money, and the former hype dissolved into effervescent malaise, all due to so-called superhero fatigue.

All of this is well known. What is less known is where it all started. What movie was actually the beginning of the end for Marvel’s nonstop success? It’s easy to place the blame on high-profile failures like Eternals and The Marvels, but the decline secretly began with one of the most beloved MCU movies ever made. The 2016 movie Captain America: Civil War (currently streaming on Hulu) is a comic nerd’s wet dream because it pits all our favorite action figures against each other in one cool action setpiece after another. Unfortunately, this film’s success convinced the studio that audiences mostly want fun cameos and CGI fights, and this soon transformed Marvel into a multiversal mess.

Hero On Hero Violence

The premise of Captain America: Civil War is that after the Scarlet Witch accidentally kills some bystanders while stopping a bad guy, the UN prepares the Sokovia Accords, which will effectively transform superheroes into government agents. Iron Man supports this idea, feeling that great power should come with great oversight and accountability. Captain America opposes the plan because he is wary of letting the government draft superheroes into being the World Police. Meanwhile, a new villain has figured out how to turn Bucky back into the Winter Soldier, and the secrets he exposes threaten to tear the Avengers apart, putting the entire world at risk.

Honestly, there’s a lot to love about Captain America: Civil War, which is why it’s currently sitting pretty on Rotten Tomatoes with a 90 percent critical score. It’s a movie that introduces some fan-favorite characters to the MCU, including Spider-Man and Black Panther. It’s also a fairly solid adaptation of one of the better Marvel comics storylines. The film is also filled with plenty of action, from the early fight against Crossbones to the jaw-dropping battle between different superheroes at the airport. All of this culminates in an awesome fight between Captain America and Iron Man, serving as an emotional climax to the movie’s complicated themes of superhero accountability vs. superhero autonomy.

A Sticky Situation

The performances in Captain America: Civil War are solid across the board. Newcomers Chadwick Boseman and Tom Holland are captivating and charismatic from the jump, giving their cameos some much-needed weight. Daniel Brühl effortlessly turns Helmut Zemo into the most sympathetic villain in Marvel movie history. William Hurt is all confidence and bluster, playing the kind of good guy that feels more like a villain. Elizabeth Olsen, meanwhile, is particularly good at playing a character haunted by her own mistakes, and these early traumas help to set the stage for her eventual mental break that we see in WandaVision and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.

However, nobody brings Captain America: Civil War to life like the holy trinity of Chris Evans, Sebastian Stan, and Robert Downey Jr. Evans is perfect at giving us a different side of Captain America’s patriotism, as he believes individual freedom is sacrosanct. Downey, meanwhile, gives Tony Stark a kind of haunted vulnerability that we haven’t seen since Iron Man 3, and we see how deeply personal the subject of superhero accountability has become to him. Stan plays Bucky as a wild card. He’s a character who can’t help being transformed into a weapon and isn’t technically responsible for his brainwashed crimes as the Winter Soldier, but Tony can’t forgive the blood on this hero’s hands.

The Beginning Of The End

With so much to love about Captain America: Civil War, why do I believe it’s effectively the beginning of the end for Marvel? For one thing, it ushered in the era of almost every MCU film feeling like Avengers lite. We stopped getting cool, solo character studies like Captain America: The Winter Soldier and started getting endless distracting cameos. The first Spider-Man movie had to also be an Iron Man film, and the third Thor movie had to also be a Hulk movie. Later films like Spider-Man: No Way Home and Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness eventually buried what might have been interesting plots beneath one distracting cameo after another.

Those last two films were all about the Multiverse, and fans eventually found Marvel’s mania for this concept downright exhausting. Why did the studio go all-in on this idea, though? Simple: they thought they were simply giving fans what they wanted. Audiences loved seeing multiple superheroes in the same film, so Marvel embraced the Multiverse, allowing them to give us endless different versions of fan-favorite characters like Loki. What the studio didn’t realize was that simply having cameos for the sake of having cameos gets in the way of telling a good story. This was an inevitable turn-off for anyone wanting to see something more than action figures getting smashed together for two hours.

Everything Falls Apart

All of this, of course, began with Captain America: Civil War. If we hadn’t clapped so loudly for that airport fight, Multiverse of Madness wouldn’t have bogged down its plot with cameos from characters like Professor X and Mr. Fantastic. If we hadn’t all cheered to see different Spider-Men show up in No Way Home, then Loki wouldn’t have had a first season whose plot was “stop hitting yourself.” Now, Marvel is gambling everything on Avengers: Doomsday, a movie that assumes we’ll care about this brand-new villain simply because he’s wearing Tony Stark’s face. Why bother doing anything original anymore if your audience just wants more loss-effort, fan service slop?

Unfortunately, Marvel has been finding out the hard way that audiences really do want more than dumb cameos and CGI fights. We need, quite frankly, more than Captain America: Civil War has to offer. It’s a film that replaced the subversive brilliance of Captain America: The Winter Soldier with a story that has almost nothing more to offer than tights, flights, and fights. Is it fun to watch? Absolutely, and when you stream it on Hulu, this movie still goes down as smoothly as your favorite candy. But what if you’re in the mood for something other than an empty sugar bomb? 

CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR SCORE

Sorry, kid: because of Captain America: Civil War, saccharine slop is the best thing Marvel has to offer.

Superhero movies may dominate the box office, but some of the most exciting storytelling in the genre is happening right on television. Let’s be real. Long-form formats give characters more room to breathe, relationships time to develop, and storylines the space to build towards satisfying payoffs. We’ve seen this time and time again. Just look at the recent release of Spider-Noir and Invincible. None of that development could have happened in a 2-hour window.

Luckily for us, several superhero shows are returning after critically acclaimed seasons, while others are finally bringing beloved characters and storylines to the screen after years of anticipation. Some promise universe-altering stakes, others are focused on deeply personal character arcs. Regardless, all of these superhero shows have given fans plenty of reasons to start counting down the days til they appear on our screens.

8

‘Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man’ (2025–Present)

Season 2 Expected Release: Late 2026

Image via Disney+

As one of the best surprises in recent Marvel animation, Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man avoids the trap of simply retelling familiar stories beat-for-beat. The first season established a completely new version of Peter Parker’s (Hudson Thames) origins, with his powers not seemingly coming from a lab-created radioactive spider, but a random spider infected by a monster in battle. However, the finale expands this lore, revealing how the spider was actually connected to a larger time-loop paradox involving Doctor Strange (Robin Atkin Downes) and Norman Osborn (Colman Domingo).

That’s why anticipation for season 2 keeps building—the show has already established that literally anything can happen. Between the Venom-like creature, the continued set up of Lonnie Lincoln’s (Eugene Byrd) transformation, the expansion of Nico Minoru’s (Grace Song) magical origins, and Oscorp’s mysterious experiments, there are so many questions left to answer. The time-loop twist alone suggests the writers are thinking much bigger than audiences initially expected.

7

‘Invincible’ (2021–Present)

Season 5 Expected Release: TBC

Image via Prime Video

At this point, Invincible has evolved far beyond its original coming-of-age superhero premise. Recent seasons have pushed Mark Grayson (Steven Yeun) deeper into the Viltrumite conflict, forcing him to confront impossible choices about family, loyalty, and what kind of person he wants to become. Every season somehow leaves him more powerful and more emotionally damaged than before, which is honestly becoming one of the show’s defining traits.

The anticipation surrounding Season 5 comes largely from comic readers knowing just how much chaos still lies ahead. Some of the biggest wars, character transformations, and emotional payoffs still haven’t happened yet. Just look at how Season 4 ended: Mark is keeping the Viltrumites’ Earthly presence a secret and an impending viral wipe out may just loom ahead. This is easily one of Prime Video’s best shows—and one that will continue to be, so long as they keep to the trajectory they’re on.

6

‘VisionQuest’

Expected Release: October 2026

Image via Marvel Studios

When White Vision flew away at the end of WandaVision after recovering the memories of the original, the MCU essentially left a major dangling storyline unresolved for years. Thankfully, after a long limbo phase, VisionQuest is finally expected to pick up that thread later this year, following a version of Vision (Paul Bettany) who remembers an entire life he never actually lived. It’s a wonderfully intriguing arc for a character we all grew to love (at least the original version).

What makes the project exciting is that it has the potential to continue the most thoughtful and poignant elements of WandaVision. As a character, Vision has always been one of the MCU’s most philosophical, and this premise naturally raises questions about memory, identity, and whether someone can truly become the person they are meant to be. Plus, fans are eager to see how this will connect to the emotional fallout of Wanda’s (Elizabeth Olsen) story, especially given the lingering uncertainty surrounding her future. VisionQuest could become something the MCU arguably needs more of: a character-focused story with genuine emotional weight.

5

‘Wonder Man’ (2026–Present)

Season 2 Expected Release: TBC

Image via Disney+

Breaking through the post-Endgame fatigue, Wonder Man managed to win audiences over precisely because it wasn’t trying to be another massive MCU event. It was a simple tale of Simon Williams (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II), a struggling actor navigating Hollywood while secretly grappling with unstable powers and an increasingly complicated friendship with Trevor Slattery (Sir Ben Kingsley). By the finale, not only did Simon embrace his powers, but Trevor himself took steps to write the wrongs of his past—even if this resulted in them both becoming wanted fugitives.

This is what makes the second season so exciting. For the first time, the show doesn’t need to hold back. Critics and audiences responded strongly to the smaller-scale approach, particularly the chemistry between Abdul-Mateen and Kingsley. Now, the show can expand on that while also showcasing the true magnitude of Simon’s ionic abilities, all while they run from the Department of Damage Control. The first season proved Wonder Man wasn’t interested in following the typical MCU formula. It was artsy, creative, and extremely character-driven, leaving fans wondering just how much stranger (and better) it might get now that it has the confidence to fully be itself.

4

‘Vought Rising’

Expected Release: 2027

Image via Prime Video

While The Boys may have spent the last five seasons exposing Vought International as a corporate nightmare, Vought Rising intends to go back to the very beginning. The prequel is set to focus on Soldier Boy (Jensen Ackles) and Clara Vought (Aya Cash)—more famously known as Stormfront—during Vaught’s early years in the 1950s. Here, the show will explore how the corporation built its influence and how its most dangerous figures helped shape the world audiences now know.

Sure, reactions to The Boys’ final season may be a little mixed at the moment, but there’s no doubt this new spin-off has raised some eyebrows. For one, the show isn’t centered on the “heroes” at all. Viewers already know Stormfront to be one of the franchise’s most horrifying villains (with an extremely horrific past) and Soldier Boy is far from the patriotic icon Vought markets him to be. As such, this show has the potential to reveal just how deep the corruptions and atrocities run, continuing the creation of stellar satires.

3

‘Lanterns’

Expected Release: August 2026

Image via HBO

After years of failed attempts to crack Green Lantern in live action, Lanterns is finally taking a different approach. Rather than immediately focusing on galaxy-spinning battles, the series will follow intergalactic cop Hal Jordan (Kyle Chandler) and new recruit John Stewart (Aaron Pierre) as they investigate a mystery on Earth, using a more grounded detective-story structure to introduce audiences to DC’s cosmic mythology.

This approach is a huge part of why anticipation remains so high. Green Lantern lore can be vast and overwhelming. Choosing to anchor it through John and Hal’s partnership at least gives the show a stronger level of intrigue than another generic origin story. Better still, if Lanterns successfully balances noir-style mystery with the larger universe in the background, this could become one of the most important building blocks in DC’s new era.

2

‘X-Men ’97’ (2024–Present)

Season 2 Expected Release: July 2026

Image via Disney+

The first season of X-Men ’97 somehow managed to exceed nearly impossible expectations. What began as a nostalgia revival quickly became one of Marvel’s most emotionally ambitious projects, ending with the team fractured, key characters separated across time, and the future of mutant-kind hanging in the balance. Several storylines—including the Summers’ family arc, Apocalypse-related teases, and the fallout from Genosha—remain unresolved heading into Season 2.

And that’s exactly why fans are so invested in what’s to come. Season 1 wasn’t afraid to make painful decisions that fundamentally altered character dynamics. Season 2 is likely to follow suit—which is great given that this is what the show does best: highlight how the X-Men shine when the emotional stakes are just as important as the action. Season 2 now carries the rare advantage of having completely earned audiences trust, which makes every new development of this great modern animation feel even more exciting.

1

‘Daredevil: Born Again’ (2025–Present)

Season 3 Expected Release: March 2027

Image via Disney+

Having spent its first two seasons rebuilding Matt Murdock’s (Charlie Cox) world and escalating Wilson Fisk’s (Vincent D’Onofrio) grip over New York, Daredevil: Born Again appears to be approaching a major turning point. After all, Matt is now imprisoned after publicly revealing himself as Daredevil, while Fisk ultimately accepted an exile from his own city. Come season 3, the power dynamics would have completely flipped.

To make matters more exciting for fans, the new season appears to be diving directly into one of the most beloved Daredevil comic arcs of all time: The Devil in Cell Block D. Set photos, leaks, and official teasers have already revealed the reunion of The Defenders, with a larger street-level story looming in development—including the rise of new villains. There are also constant rumors connecting the show’s prison storyline to Spider-Man: Brand New Day, especially given Frank Castle’s (Jon Bernthal) involvement. More importantly though, Season 3 is likely to be where Born Again fully becomes its own saga. Matt is no longer protecting Hell’s Kitchen from the shadows. And that’s an incredibly dangerous ordeal.

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Daredevil: Born Again

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Release Date

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March 4, 2025

Network

Disney+

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Showrunner

Dario Scardapane

Directors

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Aaron Moorhead, Justin Benson, David Boyd, Jeffrey Nachmanoff

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