This article contains spoilers for VisionQuest season 1 episodes 5 and 6. For its first four episodes, VisionQuest pit its heroes against a mysterious figure hidden under a cloak. We’ve watched her attack various members of an AI advancement research team led by scientist Katerina Wells (Mary McDonnell). But so far, we’ve only known her by a frightening name chosen by the press: the Butcherbird Killer. Now with its latest episodes, VisionQuest tells us what anyone who has been paying attention to the casting already knew. The Butcherbird Killer is in fact Jocasta, an android who bears more than a…

This article contains spoilers for VisionQuest season 1 episode 6. Let’s be 100% clear. I love Marvel. I love Marvel Comics, I love the MCU. I wouldn’t know things about Ravager 2099 or Eternals if I didn’t. But we should also be honest about the fact that, sometimes, Marvel tropes can be annoying, particularly when the MCU seems embarrassed about Marvel Comics. And few instances have been annoying as the moment where Thomas realizes that Paladin has sown a bomb into his arm that will explode if he goes to fast, and shouts, “You’ve made me into Speed.” The joke…

This article contains spoilers for VisionQuest season 1 episode 5. Throughout Avengers: Age of Ultron, the titular evil super robot sang a creepy version of a Pinocchio song, crooning, “I had strings, but now I’m free.” Ultron repeats that song at the end of VisionQuest‘s fifth episode, “Firewall,” when he convinces Vision to give over control of White Vision’s body. But even before he gets to take White Vision’s body for a drive, Ultron sure seems free of strings. The AI scenes have been the trickiest part throughout the first half of VisionQuest, as the broad humor and CGI Mindspace…

Ever since the final moments of Dune: Part Two, we’ve been worried. Not about Paul Atreides, the protagonist of the Dune series, who becomes more of a tyrant with each film. Anyone paying attention to the movie or has read the books knows that author Frank Herbert wrote them as a warning against charismatic leaders. No, we’ve been worried about Paul’s beloved Chani, who stormed away from Muad’Dib at the end of the last movie. We who have read Herbert’s 1969 novel Dune Messiah, the basis for Dune: Part Three, took comfort in knowing that Chani and Paul would stay…

I never participated in community theater, that peculiar intersection of (sometimes) professional-grade talent and a hobbyist’s after-hours work schedule. But I did get to join a couple of school plays back in my younger days, and it’s easy to remember the sense of kindness and togetherness that emanates from people gathering round in order to create—or in many cases simply to play. One suspects writer-director Jesse Eisenberg misses that kind of innocence in his craft as well. The longtime Hollywood veteran, and more recently indie director who guided Kieran Culkin to an Oscar win for A Real Pain, also cut…

Mister Chekov has left the bridge. Walter Koenig, who has played Security Officer Pavel Chekov of the USS Enterprise since Star Trek‘s second season in 1967, has died at the age of 90. He leaves behind a legacy that includes appearances in Babylon 5 and movies such as Moontrap, as well as work in comics. But he will forever be best known for his work on Star Trek, appearing in the Original Series and the movies about that crew, as well as various video games and spinoffs. Koenig even appeared in the final season of Star Trek: Picard as Pavel’s…

One of the biggest anime properties in the world is Jujutsu Kaisen, based on the best-selling manga series by Gege Akutami, which launched its third season at the start of the year. Among the fan-favorite actors who bring the English-language dub of the hit supernatural action series to life is Adam McArthur, who voices the show’s protagonist Yuji Itadori. Den of Geek sat down with McArthur for an exclusive interview at New York Comic Con 2026 where he reflected on his recent work with Jujutsu Kaisen season 3 and teased his upcoming starring role in the Netflix original anime series…

Throughout the Infinity Saga of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thanos had to work really, really hard to get his Infinity Gauntlet. He had to employ various minions, fight Earth’s mightiest heroes, and he had to sacrifice his own beloved daughter, Gamora. He even had to brutalize the elf Eitri of Nidavellir to forge his Gauntlet. In our world, things are a little more straightforward, thanks to Julien’s Auctions and East Continental Gems. The two have assembled to bring the Infinity Gauntlet off of the screen and into your hands, with a perfect 1-to-1 recreation of the item. The headline offering…

There are many reasons that superhero movies have dropped off from their position atop the cultural landscape in the 2010s. Lackluster projects, market saturation, and simple shifting audience interests have all led to what we call “superhero fatigue.” Undoubtedly, one of the biggest reasons is the feeling that each new superhero entry feels like homework, a phenomenon apparently at work with the upcoming Avengers: Doomsday. To properly enjoy the movie, you can’t just watch the film that hits theaters on December 18; you also have to watch all the Fox X-Men movies, Fantastic Four: First Steps, both seasons of Loki,…

A dog or a cat would have been the obvious choice, but some famous people had very different ideas about pets. Salvador Dalí took an ocelot to public appearances, Audrey Hepburn went shopping with a young deer, and Mike Tyson once kept tigers at home. There are plenty of photographs to prove these stories aren’t just celebrity gossip. Some animals became inseparable from their famous owners, while others were unusual gifts or temporary companions. Of course, keeping wild animals in a house wasn’t always safe or fair to the animals themselves. Still, the photos are remarkable. Here are 15 famous…

What brave new world is this where genetically engineered military work dogs are not the stuff of science fiction but, soon, the stuff of science fact? That is one of the upshots from news that Forbes first broke Thursday evening about American billionaires Ben Lamm and Palmer Luckey collaborating on a new startup titled Warhound, and already it has in stealth raised $200 million in seed funding. The stated goal is to use some of the same technology of Lamm’s Colossal Biosciences to clone military work dogs that can be genetically altered to serve the U.S. military, a client Luckey’s…

Matthew Lillard is deeply proud of his children. Obviously aware of the irony that he was once most famous for playing young people discovering their identities or beginning their lives in high school and college, and is now the “elder statesman” on sets like Mike Flanagan’s Carrie, Lillard remains acutely observant of the growing-up experience—especially in his own home with three children between the ages of 18 and 24. It’s why he suspects so many parents and adults are deluding themselves these days if they think the kids are as happy and as assured in the world around them as…

Too many of today’s filmgoers may not appreciate the breadth of work that Tom Skerritt left when he passed away this week at the age of 93. Skerritt got his start in war movies and TV shows like 12 O’Clock High and Gunsmoke in the early ’60s, but became a regular in the New Hollywood movement, appearing in M.A.S.H., Harold and Maude, and Fuzz. In the ’80s and ’90s, he started playing authority figures, police and military officers in The Dead Zone, Top Gun, and the Emmy-winning TV drama Picket Fences. Ironically, it may be one of Skerritt’s best-known roles…

This article contains spoilers for all of Peacock and A24’s Crystal Lake. There’s a bare bum but no boobs as far as the eye can see. For kids of the ‘70s and ‘80s, a slasher movie without tits is like a sky without stars. What’s going on? Crystal Lake, the Friday the 13th prequel series produced by A24 and streaming now on Peacock is horror that reflects its time, much in the same way that the 1980 original film did. The show is gory as all hell but fairly prudish when it comes to nudity. But that’s not necessarily a…

Imagine walking into a store and realizing that everything inside is purple. Not just the decorations, but the actual merchandise. Now imagine another shop selling pillows shaped like raw meat, or one with hundreds of rubber ducks staring back at you. These places really exist, and somehow, they’ve found enough customers to keep their very specific ideas alive. Some have been around for decades, while others are the kind of businesses you might stumble upon during a vacation and immediately tell your friends about. We’ve gathered 15 shops that have taken their love for one particular thing a little further…

This article contains spoilers for Carrie season 1. Carrie White does not, it turns out, burn in Hell. Whatever we were told by Sue Snell’s dream sequence at the end of the 1976 Brian De Palma movie, Amazon has different plans for its take on the poor bullied telekinetic. A second season of the Prime Video series has been greenlit, continuing creator Mike Flanagan‘s plans for a three-season series based on the 1974 Stephen King novel. “For 50 years, audiences have known and gravitated to Carrie White’s story. From the beginning, we imagined a story that goes far beyond the…

Robert Eggers is in the midst of transformation. When we catch up with the 21st-century maestro of the macabre, he is in a pitch-black room (of course) at his London studio, supervising the final mix of sound and effects for Werwulf. Like other Eggers films that are now staples of modern horror, from The Witch to Nosferatu, Werwulf is a meticulously researched, borderline fanatical period piece, this one set in a 1300s England so authentic every character speaks in Middle English. Stars Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Lily-Rose Depp even practiced each line with a phoneticist. Yet like Taylor-Johnson’s cursed hero, Eggers…

Nobody enjoys finding out what other people really think about their appearance, especially when the feedback arrives without anyone asking for it. Unfortunately, Reddit users have plenty of stories about awkward compliments, disastrous dates, and strangers who apparently never learned when to keep quiet. Some experiences are genuinely hurtful, while others are so ridiculous that laughing might be the only reasonable response. Of course, beauty is subjective, and one rude comment doesn’t determine how attractive someone is. Still, these encounters have clearly stuck with the people who experienced them. Here are 15 Reddit users sharing the moments that made them…

Halloween is fundamentally a kid’s holiday, a day for youngsters to dress up as their favorite characters and gather candy from their neighbors. But for those older kids and preteens, Halloween can be frustrating too. They’re edging out of the age for trick-or-treating, and want to indulge in some of the more grown-up stuff, even if they aren’t quite ready for the terror and disturbing content of a horror movie. Those kids may relate the plight of one Dipper Pines, a preteen who wants to spend Summerween—his town’s extra Halloween celebration, made to go trick-or-treating while on vacation—at a party…

The White House has hosted its share of formal dinners, diplomatic receptions, and carefully planned celebrations, but not every president stuck to the official program. Some enjoyed late-night poker games, while others preferred live music, crowded parties, or a good excuse to invite half of Washington over. Bill Clinton famously brought his saxophone into the spotlight, and Andrew Jackson’s inauguration attracted a crowd that practically took over the White House. Even presidents remembered for their serious public images occasionally knew how to entertain. History offers plenty of stories about what happened after the speeches ended. Here are 10 American presidents…