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No franchise is going to hit 1.000. Whenever an entity like Star Trek has been around for as long as they've been, you're going to have some misses. No matter how good you are, you're going to struggle at some point. That's life. That's entertainment. Even the best creators stumble.

Not every Metallica album is the Black Album, not every book by J.R.R. Tolkien has the popularity of the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Even your favorite steak house or pizza place will deliver subpar products every now and then. That's just life. Entertainment at this level is no different. Especially with nearly 60 years of content to search through.

You're going to find films and shows that don't live up to the lofty expectations that come with the name brand. So yes, some Star Trek shows are going to be bad. Which ones are is entirely up to you. Yet, the arguments for every show differ.

Based on Tos, it has been 16 years since the theatrical release of the rebooted Star Trek trilogy, which ended with Star Trek Beyond in 2016. With fandom anticipation for Star Trek 4 at an all-time high, according to Trekmovie.com, J.J. Abrams and “Deadpool & Wolverine” producer Simon Kinberg are attached as co-producers with a possible start of production in 2025.

Star Trek 4’s former director, Simon Kinberg, is out and tapped to write and produce a new Star Wars trilogy. Various outlets have reported that Star Trek 4 will be an origin story of 2009’s Star Trek movie instead of a previous Kelvin timeline plot.

Star Trek 4 will be in capable directing and screenwriting hands with Toby Haynes (“Andor” and “Black Mirror” director) and Seth Grahame-Smith (“Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” and “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter” screenwriter). With the Grahame-Smith Star Trek 4 script completed with a possible 2026 release date. Although, there are some uncertainties.

Peter Jackson undeniably did an impressive job adapting J.R.R. Tolkien’s novel The Lord of the Rings. The film is hailed as one of the most faithful adaptations of the book. However, it’s also important to recognize that even the best adaptations can miss critical details.

Peter Jackson and the Lord of the Rings cast | Credit: New Line Cinema

Although it is pretty common for a movie to miss some chunks of details and scenes while adapting a book it is acceptable to deal with it as long as it is faithful. Jackson also missed a few important details while adapting the book.

For instance, in The Fellowship of the Ring, Sting is the only sword that glows blue when Orcs are near. While this trait is showcased in the first half of the movie, it inexplicably vanishes in later scenes. This inconsistency is a hot topic among sharp-eyed fans.

The polarizing albeit somehow industry favorite "Emilia Pérez" has nabbed 13 Oscar nominations, setting the record for most nominations by an international film. The Spanish-language French musical crime film, written and directed by Jacques Audiard, is also tied with "Gone With the Wind," "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring," "Forrest Gump," and "Oppenheimer" for the second-most Oscars nominations, ever. /Film's Jeremy Mathai called the film "a swing and a miss," and with a 32% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, he's certainly not alone in thinking the movie was a huge whiff.

Suppose you are someone who loved the film. In that case, I'm not here to tell anyone how to feel about a piece of art. But considering the legitimate criticisms that have been lobbied against the film regarding both its trans representation and its depiction of Mexican culture, it's wildly disappointing to realize just how many Academy...

For a race that seemed as unpredictable as any in recent history, the 2025 Oscar nominations came and went without many huge surprises. All the expected acting contenders — including frontrunners like Demi Moore, Adrien Brody, Timothée Chalamet, Zoe Saldaña, and Kieran Culkin — were bestowed with nominations on Thursday, as were several films long predicted to score Best Picture recognition. But while the 97th Oscars were perhaps shorter than usual on snubs and surprises, the list of nominees did clarify which films Academy voters truly loved and what might ultimately win Best Picture in March. Ahead are the key takeaways from the 2025 Oscar nominations.

Emilia Pérez is the front-runner to beat

With 13 Oscar nominations on Thursday, including Best Picture, Best International Feature, Best Director, and acting nominations for Karla Sofia Gascón and Zoe Saldaña, Emilia Pérez is not just the year’s top Oscar contender but one of the most decorated nominees in history.

In case anyone needed a reminder that “Film Twitter” and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences are not populated by the same people, Emilia Pérez, the polarizing French-directed, Spanish-language musical about a trans Mexican gangster, landed a field-leading 13 Oscar nominations on Thursday morning. That tally — encompassing noms for best picture, director, actress, supporting actress, adapted screenplay, international feature, cinematography, film editing, makeup/hairstyling, original score, sound and two for original song — smashed the record for a non-English-language film (previously held by Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Roma, which had 10 each) and is just one shy of the all-time record for any film (All About Eve, Titanic and La La Land each landed 14).

Is Jacques Audiard’s Netflix film unbeatable? Of course not. Plenty of people have issues with the film, including many members of the Mexican and trans communities, who find it offensive, and critics and general audiences,...

The 97th annual Oscar nominations were revealed Thursday morning in Los Angeles. And the newest lineup featured a number of historic milestones. Among them this year:

Best Picture With 13 nominations, “Emilia Perez” is the most nominated non-English-language film of all time, beating the record of 10 nominations held by “Roma” and “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.” “Emilia Pérez” and “I’m Still Here” are also the 18th and 19th films predominantly not in the English language to be nominated for Best Picture. Both are nominated for Best International Feature – the first time ever that two nominees from that category have also been nominated for Best Picture. At 3:35, “The Brutalist” is the sixth-longest Best Picture nominee, a few minutes longer than two recent Martin Scorsese movies, “The Irishman” (3:29) and “Killers of the Flower Moon” (3:26). “Cleopatra,” from 1963, is the all-time longest Best Picture nominee at 4:11. Acting categories Seven acting nominees are...

The Academy unveiled its full line-up of Oscar nods Thursday morning, with “Emilia Pérez” leading the field with 13 nominations, followed by “The Brutalist” and “Wicked” with 10 each. While guild nominations and other preliminary awards bodies can help provide a comprehensive forecast for Oscar nominations, there are always a few curveballs mixed into the proceedings. Big names like Angelina Jolie and Denzel Washington missed out on acting nominations this year — and there were many, many more surprises.

Snub: Angelina Jolie Misses for ‘Maria’

The star earned some of the best reviews of her career out of the Venice Film Festival for her portrayal of the opera icon Maria Callas. Director Pablo Larrain previously delivered Oscar nominations to two of his stars playing historical figures — Natalie Portman for “Jackie” in 2017 and Kristen Stewart for “Spencer” in 2022. But Jolie didn’t land a nod, falling behind in a highly competitive best actress field.

Brandon Sanderson is one of the most recognizable fantasy authors of our time; he's the man behind The Stormlight Archive, Mistborn, and the final three books in The Wheel of Time series, as well as dozens of other novels. But despite his far-reaching fame, Sanderson's work has never been adapted for either television or the movies. Why not?

Sanderson has a reputation for being exceptionally candid with fans; he recently revealed on his blog that a long-simmering Mistborn adaptation had fallen through and that he was basically "back to square one" on bringing his fictional universe, known as the Cosmere, to the screen. Now, he's opened up once again to Polygon in a new interview where he shares more of his opinions on how streaming services have treated fantasy adaptations — and why he doesn't trust them yet with his work.

"I’m not convinced that we have hit stability in the streaming market,...

Johnny Depp has done a slew of versatile roles in his long career, be it more mature films like Donnie Brasco, or children’s fantasy features like Pirates of the Caribbean and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. However, whenever it came to what he was filming, Johnny Depp was very aware of what he was getting into.

Johnny Depp || Credit: Disney

Mafia films have been a part of Hollywood prestige cinema ever since the days of The Goodfellas and The Godfather trilogy. Needless to say, Johnny Depp would also find himself in a Mafia film, but it would do one thing that films like The Godfather failed to do so horribly.

Johnny Depp did not want to romanticize the Mafia Johnny Depp || Credit: Disney

Johnny Depp, in an interview, revealed that he was pretty hell-bent on not wanting to do a Mafia film that glorifies that way of life. He...

Turns out, we’ve been cheering for the wrong heroes in The Lord of the Rings all along. Sure Frodo and Aragorn stole the ultimate limelight, J.R.R. Tolkien himself pointed to a less glam, but far more heroic, character.

Elijah Wood in Lord of the Rings | Credits: New Line Cinema

Tolkien’s revelation broke the mold on who truly deserved the very title. The quiet endurance of this unsung figure didn’t just support the Fellowship; it saved the day.

Samwise Gamgee: The unsung hero J.R.R. Tolkien always knew deserved the spotlight J.R.R. Tolkien | Credits: YouTube/@BBC Global

Folks, we’ve all been watching The Lord of the Rings with the wrong hero in mind. J.R.R. Tolkien had a different champ – Samwise Gamgee. Tolkien, who served in the British military during World War I, based Sam on a figure he deeply admired: his batmen.

Few works have left as indelible a mark on the high fantasy genre as Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Adapted from J.R.R. Tolkien’s seminal books, the adventures of the hobbit Frodo Baggins (Elijah Wood) not only redefined epic filmmaking but brought Tolkien's richly detailed world of Middle-earth to life. As Frodo and his loyal friend Sam (Sean Astin) embark on a perilous journey to destroy the One Ring with the help the Fellowship, the award-winning trilogy set the gold standard for adaptations of fantasy literature as one of the greatest film series ever made.

The Lord of the Rings series has since grown into a multimedia franchise which continues to revisit Tolkien's timeless world full of friendship, courage, and hope. Prime Video’s prequel series The Rings of Power takes viewers back to the Second Age of Middle-earth, exploring the forging of the Rings and the rise of their maker,...

Peter Jackson had always been a bit frustrated about something during the making of The Lord of the Rings trilogy, but that frustration wasn’t destined to last forever. His unfulfilled wish, one that lingered in the back of his mind for years, finally came true with The Hobbit films.

Peter Jackson. | Image by Mike Walen, licensed under Cca-by-sa-3.0 via Wikimedia Commons.

While the Rings trilogy changed the landscape of cinema, Jackson was still dreaming of a certain creative opportunity. And when the time came to revisit Middle-earth, he made sure to go all in.

Peter Jackson’s CGI dream: Bringing orcs to life in The Hobbit after The Lord of the Rings A still from The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012) | Credits: Warner Bros. Pictures

Peter Jackson’s biggest unfulfilled wish during The Lord of the Rings trilogy was something fans might not have noticed, until it came true in The Hobbit.

The Lord of the Rings franchise will be returning with new films in the near future, but Elrond star Hugo Weaving won't be partaking. 2024 was an exciting year for Tolkien fans, with a new season of Prime Video's The Rings of Power and an animated film, War of the Rohirrim. However, the biggest and most unexpected announcement was that members of the original cast would be returning for a feature film centered around Gollum. The Hunt for Gollum is set to be released in 2026, with Andy Serkis directing and starring and Peter Jackson producing.

The return of Andy Serkis as Gollum implies that, unlike The Rings of Power, these new movies will be directly connected to the previous Lord of the Rings movies, especially in the era of shared universes. Ian McKellen is set to reprise his role as Gandalf, and questions have begun swirling around Viggo Mortensen's Aragorn,...

Aragorn lives for many years after the events of The Lord of the Rings, and there are important lore reasons as to why. Viggo Mortensen delivered an iconic portrayal as Aragorn in the Lord of the Rings movies directed by Peter Jackson, and he'll hopefully be returning to the character for the upcoming movie, The Hunt for Gollum. He's introduced in The Fellowship of the Ring as the ranger, Strider, but the film delicately introduces new elements about his past before Legolas reveals that he's the lost heir to Gondor at the Council of Elrond.

Gondor is one of the notable human kingdoms in Middle-earth, which was founded toward the end of the Second Age. At the start of The Lord of the Rings, Gondor is ruled by a Steward who acts in the place of the king. This makes it all the more important to the narrative and for...

It's been many decades since J.R.R. Tolkien first published The Hobbit, creating one of the most beloved fantasy franchises. When Peter Jackson decided to adapt The Lord of the Rings novels into an epic trilogy, it was a significant risk, but it paid off in the end and resulted in another trilogy based on The Hobbit. However, the Lotr universe hasn't concluded yet, as The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum will bring one of the best secondary characters of the franchise to the forefront. Gollum, played by Andy Serkis, is a complex figure in Lotr.

Gollum is enthralled by the One Ring and at war with himself throughout the story. He lives for many years and impacts the lives of both Bilbo and Frodo when they embark on their adventures. As time has progressed, it's clear that there's a deeper interest in Gollum and his origin story,...

Those beginning to explore author J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings books are sure to come across or hear about The Silmarillion—but what exactly is this book, and how does it fit with Frodo's story? Tolkien's The Silmarillion has been an even more prominent topic of conversation in recent years since the on-screen Lord of the Rings franchise has begun to grow. Prime Video's The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is a prequel series set thousands of years before Frodo destroyed the One Ring, and part of this tale is found in The Silmarillion. Still, that's far from all this book describes.

Tolkien started his iconic fantasy series with the short novel The Hobbit, and the stories of Middle-earth exploded from there. The author expanded the tale into The Lord of the Rings series, which comprised six individual novels (often condensed into three...

Nobody likes being sick but it’s often an excuse to visit – or revisit – some comfort movies.

Movies are a special kind of medicine when people are struck horizontal by a cold. Whether it’s a long epic to distract you from the aches and chills, or a comedy that will have you laughing through the coughs, binging movies while you are unwell is the only perk of getting sick.

These are seven of the best movies to queue up the next time you are feeling less than stellar.

Paramount Pictures Ferris Bueller’s Day Off

“Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” is the quintessential sick day movie. What better way to distract yourself from feeling unwell than watching someone fake being sick so he can have one of the best days of his life. Whether it’s the constant out-foxing of Principal Rooney, destroying Cameron’s dad’s car, or stealing the show at a full-on parade,...

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power has an important lesson to learn from Sauron and Celebrimbor's arc in season 2. The Rings of Power season 2 centered on Charles Edwards' Celebrimbor, taking some of the attention off Morfydd Clark's Galadriel. As the showrunners confirmed, the show is an origin story for Sauron, and while Sauron was focused on deceiving Galadriel in season 1, he moved onto Celebrimbor in season 2. Sauron's lovers-to-enemies dynamic with Galadriel worked wonders but was unfaithful to the books, whereas his faithful manipulation of Celebrimbor actually didn't quite land to the same extent.

Sauron will have a new victim in Rings of Power season 3 or 4. In season 3, Sauron must hand out the Rings of Men and forge the One Ring, growing ever more powerful. In season 3 or 4, Númenor's new leader, Pharazôn, is set to hear of this power and come to challenge it in his reckless pursuit of colonial expansion.

There were a few reasons underlying Denethor's distaste for Faramir in The Lord of the Rings. J.R.R. Tolkien's seminal novel was released in three parts between 1954 and 1955, with each of Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings movies adapting a part. Faramir and Denethor II were two of the most unfaithful characters in the movies, but they were masterpieces unto themselves. The characters are high fantasy legends, and digging deeper into Tolkien's lore explains a lot about them and their motivations, which weren't always totally clear in the cinematic franchise.

Faramir is one of the best characters in Lord of the Rings, so it was difficult to see him get the villain treatment in The Two Towers. Faramir was a hero from the start in the book but presented in a villainous light in the movie at first, stopping Frodo on his mission. Denethor was a just leader and bad father in the books,...

Fans of the Lord of the Rings franchise get ready to celebrate as The War of the Rohirrim, an anime prequel to the iconic movie trilogy, is set to arrive on Max in February. This announcement comes just weeks after the film's theatrical debut on December 13, and excitement is mounting for those eager to dive into Middle-earth’s rich lore from the comfort of their own homes.

Set 183 years before the events of the original trilogy, The War of the Rohirrim focuses on the House of Helm Hammerhand, the legendary King of Rohan. With a gripping tale of vengeance, resilience, and leadership, the anime explores the origins of Helm’s Deep, the fortress central to one of the most memorable battles in The Two Towers, and the legend of Héra Hammerhand.

A New Chapter in Middle-Earth Exploring the Origins of Helm's Deep

Héra Hammerhand, voiced by Gaia Wise, is the...

The Lord of the Rings video imagines the Fellowship becoming addicted to social media as they over-share on their adventure to Mordor. The characters in The Lord of the Rings all share a common goal, that being getting the One Ring to Mount Doom so they can toss it in, making it so Sauron cannot take power in Middle-earth again. However, the series includes plenty of other stories and trials everyone goes through, such as Merry and Pippin meeting the Ents, and Aragorn accepting his role as heir to Gondor.

Now, Technical_Ideal9 on r/MidJourney has created a video imagining The Lord of the Rings Fellowship using Snapchat, oversharing their journey on social media. Highlights include Legolas referencing the "taking the Hobbits to Isengard" line, Bilbo finding the One Ring during his journey in The Hobbit, Galadriel bragging about giving Gimli a lock of her hair, and Gollum eating a fish.

‘Gremlins’ is one of the most iconic comedy-horror movies of all time. Directed by Joe Dante and written by Chris Columbus, the movie combined dark humor with a holiday setting.

It was a big hit when it was released in 1984, despite criticism for its violent scenes. This led to the creation of the PG-13 movie rating. The success of ‘Gremlins’ also inspired a sequel, ‘Gremlins 2: The New Batch,’ released in 1990.

Now the franchise is set to expand once again as Deadline reports that ‘Gremlins’ movie is in development. The project appears to be part of Warner Bros.’ push to revive beloved franchises, similar to their strategies with ‘Lord of the Rings,’ ‘The Matrix,’ and ‘The Goonies.’

Details about the new ‘Gremlins’ film—whether it’s a sequel, reboot, or prequel—remain sparse. However, its inclusion signals Warner Bros.’ intent to capitalize on nostalgia-driven franchises alongside their auteur-led slate.

Christopher Columbus...

The Lord of the Rings genius Peter Jackson wasn’t exactly itching to join the The Rings of Power bandwagon. You’d think he’d be all in for another Middle-earth adventure, right? Nah, not really. Jackson had one very specific condition before he’d even consider getting involved.

Peter Jackson. | Image by Mike Walen, licenced under Cca-by-sa-3.0 via Wikimedia Commons.

Spoiler alert: that condition wasn’t met, and Jackson gracefully bowed out. Turns out, even the king of Middle-earth has his limits.

Peter Jackson’s hypnotic wish: Watching The Rings of Power with fresh eyes The Orc family in The Rings of Power Season 2 | Credits: Amazon MGM

Peter Jackson had one condition for being part of The Rings of Power: he needed a clean slate to watch it as a fan. The legendary director, who brought J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings to life, once joked about...

Can you believe it’s been 35 years since a Gremlins movie rampaged up on the big screen? That movie was of course Joe Dante’s bonkers 1990 sequel to the 1984 classic, with the franchise more recently returning to life with two seasons of an animated prequel series: “Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai” in 2022 and follow-up “Gremlins: The Wild Batch” last year.

But is the animated series setting the stage for a return of the Gremlins to live action? According to a new article from Deadline today that takes an expansive look at Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group’s near future plans, a new Gremlins movie may indeed be coming soon.

Deadline’s report details, “Franchise hopes abound down the road in Lord of the Rings The Hunt for Gollum, Practical Magic 2, DC’s Clayface and Supergirl, Drew Goddard’s incoming script for a new Matrix, a new Gremlins from Christopher Columbus and a Goonies treatment.

Sauron, one of Morgoth's followers, is the greatest villain in the world; The Lord of the Rings saw him finally defeated, but not totally without hope of return. Written by the father of modern fantasy, this book was published in three parts between 1954 and 1955. J. R. R. Tolkien's masterwork was expertly adapted into Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings movies, which tackled one part of the book per movie. Sauron's reign of terror also came crashing to a halt at the end of Jackson's final Lord of the Rings movie, but one prophecy may have enabled a comeback.

The world of Lord of the Rings is far wider than just the book, and it contains a prophecy of a final battle that may have revived Sauron. The Silmarillion and many drafts written throughout Tolkien's career refer to the Dagor Dagorath, the battle that will destroy Middle-earth and its whole world,...

Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings movies are some of the most revered films ever made. Even now, over two decades after release, they remain culturally relevant, and the gold-standard by which all fantasy movies are compared. All these years later, director Peter Jackson has finally named which movie of the trilogy he's most proud of...and his choice will probably surprise you!

Speaking to Letterboxd, Jackson explained that he has a tough time watching his own films. "I can’t watch my own films. I mean, one day… I sort of enjoy it more as more time goes by, so one day I’ll watch them again," he said. As for what his favorite movie in the trilogy is, it's surprisingly The Two Towers, the middle movement of the trilogy, but his answer is far from set in stone. "The Two Towers, I think. But if I...

Lord of the Rings is one of the most beloved franchises in the world.

Originally conceived as a fantasy novel by J. R. R. Tolkien, the story began as a sequel to his 1937 children’s book The Hobbit.

The story follows a hobbit named Frodo who inherits the One Ring, which can destroy the entire world. As the reawakened evil Sauron goes after the Ring to secure his reign, Frodo teams up with eight others to destroy the Ring and defeat Sauron.

Originally intended to be a single volume, the work was published in three parts: The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King. It’s now one of best-selling books ever written, with over 150 million copies sold, leading to music, films, television, video games, and board games.

Over the years, the movies and TV shows have garnered significant acclaim among critics and fans alike.

A new The Lord of the Rings cosplay recreates one key moment from Fellowship of the Ring to stunning effect. Based on J.R.R. Tolkien's beloved novel series, Peter Jackson released the first of his Lord of the Rings movies in 2001, introducing audiences to Frodo (Elijah Wood) as he embarks on an epic quest to destroy the One Ring. Fellowship of the Ring, like the two sequels that followed, was a major hit and was widely celebrated, with Jackson earning praise for the ways in which he brought elements of Tolkien's world to life.

Now, photographer Christina Fischer shares a cosplay that recreates one intense scene from Jackson's first Lord of the Rings movie. The photograph features two Hobbits hiding beneath the roots of a large tree as a Nazgûl lurks ominously above, a slightly altered recreation of a scene in which Frodo, Sam (Sean Astin), Merry (Dominic Monaghan), and...

One of the more ambiguous elements of The Lord of the Rings movies was Legolas' murder of Gríma Wormtongue, but Legolas had his reasons. Peter Jackson's Hobbit and Lord of the Rings movies were full of puzzling decisions, but most of them made sense in the long run. Jackson made directorial decisions geared mostly at condensing his source material into three feature-length movies. Adapting The Lord of the Rings, the masterwork of fantasy's greatest writer, was no mean feat. J.R.R. Tolkien's novel was a vast, sprawling epic and Jackson had to change a lot, including Wormtongue's end.

But Wormtongue's death in the trilogy was oft-disputed among fans. In Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King movie, Legolas shot Gríma Wormtongue with an arrow,w and Wormtongue died at the top of Orthanc. This confused many fans as it seemed contrary to Legolas' normal kindness, and the...

The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim got a mixed reception on its December 13 launch, and Warner Bros.' Lord of the Rings romance problem could have something to do with it. The movie was perfectly inoffensive in many ways, and it was refreshing to get a theatrical release for a new anime movie, especially for the first-ever Lord of the Rings anime movie. Kenji Kamiyama's animated picture follows Peter Jackson's Hobbit and Lord of the Rings trilogies, which are undeniably tough acts to follow, but the romance difficulties loomed large.

As the only company that currently has the rights to adapt J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit novels into movies, Warner Bros. has a monopoly on Lord of the Rings films. Jackson launched a titan of a movie franchise with the first Lord of the Rings trilogy, debuting characters...

Stand-up comedian and actor Kumail Nanjiani is a well-known figure in the entertainment industry. Apart from his work in Hollywood, he has also explored the world of video games, voicing various characters in iconic video games. He has been a fan of video games for quite some time now, in fact, he even began hosting a video game-themed podcast, The Indoor Kids, in 2011.

Kumail Nanjiani’s favorite video game is The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (Image via Marvel Studios)

In one of his past interviews, Nanjiani talked about his favorite video game: The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. Skyrim is widely considered one of the greatest games of all time, but Nanjiani believes that there is one thing in the game that turned out to be a disappointment.

Kumail Nanjiani explained that there is one thing he doesn’t like about Skyrim

In September 2024, actor Kumail Nanjiani appeared on the TigerBelly...

The death of Ned Stark in both the novel and show proved to be a massive shocker for readers and viewers, as it set the unpredictable tone of Game of Thrones, in which plot armor for the leads wasn’t something set in stone. However, given Sean Bean’s filmography, fans of the actor weren’t as shocked, as he is notable for often falling to his demise on the silver screen.

Sean Bean As Ned Stark in Game of Thrones| Credit: HBO

Surprisingly, among the many notable deaths that he has experienced onscreen, it isn’t Ned Stark’s demise that Bean holds to the highest pedestal.

One onscreen death that Sean Bean liked better than Ned Stark’s The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring | Credit: New Line Cinema

Besides being shocking, Ned Stark’s death also served as the precursor of what fans could expect from Got.

There's so many networks, streamers, and television shows at our disposal! We're truly lucky as there's so many options out there. Though that can also get overwhelming at times and it can be difficult to keep track of the renewal status of all the productions. Well, that's what we're here for!

I personally believe 2025 is going to be a wonderful year for television, as we already have so many highly-anticipated shows confirmed to look forward to. Last year, and even before that in some cases, brought many greats to us as well. And some, not so great.

Whether you liked a series or not, there are some that are still stuck in that limbo phase of not being renewed or cancelled yet. There's more that aren't on this list, but these are the 16 streaming shows we'd like to get updates on soon to know whether they're canceled or renewed:

Based...

The Lord of the Rings trilogy is up there in popculture royalty, with many a nerd able to quote even the most obscure lines from the epically long films, and actor Hugo Weaving is a big part of that. Many know him as the face of The Matrix’s Agent Smith, as well as the stoic and stern elf Elrond, but even the biggest fan would have missed this little-known fact about the actor.

Hugo Weaving and His Surprising Role

Hugo Weaving’s Elrond appears in five of the six films in Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings/The Hobbit franchises, and the character is a huge part of the story we’ve all come to know and love over the years. That said, beyond Elrond, many won’t know that Hugo Weaving played another role in the franchise, and it’s a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment.

In The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring...

Ian McKellen's powerful wizard is a source of guidance, counsel, and knowledge for the Fellowship in The Lord of the Rings, making for a lot of wise Gandalf quotes. In many ways, Gandalf exemplifies the archetype of the wizard character, and he is great at dispensing wisdom. While Gandalf is also extremely powerful, as one of the few Istari in Middle-earth, his intelligence is one of his greatest strengths. Many of Gandalf's quotes are still enshrined in pop culture today, decades after the original movies were released, and his wisest are always worth remembering.

The best Gandalf quotes are often the ones that display his immense wisdom. Throughout both the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit movies, Gandalf is an invaluable source of information and guidance. However, many of the wisest things that he says are simple phrases that can be applied to everyday life. Ian McKellen gave such...

There are several theories about how Theo's character in The Rings of Power could tie into greater Lord of the Rings lore, and I hope the Amazon show confirms the one that connects him to the founding of Rohan; the other possibilities are just too depressing. Theo is introduced in The Rings of Power season 1, and his dubious interest in a broken blade with Sauron's symbol on it has led many to believe he'll turn to darkness before the series is through.

Although this doesn't jibe with Theo's portrayal at the end of The Rings of Power season 1 or throughout season 2, there are ways it could happen. Of course, it's just as possible that Theo could be a completely original character, with the series never connecting him to J.R.R. Tolkien's books. There is a third option as well, and that's the one I'm hoping is confirmed in The...

Gandalf is one of the most memorable names in The Lord of the Rings. Even those who aren't fans of Tolkien's works are likely to be familiar with the character. However, Gandalf isn't the wizard's only—or even first—name. He spent centuries of Middle-earth's history wandering the land and becoming acquainted with different kingdoms, regions, and people, many of which used a variety of other languages. As Gandalf did this, different titles and names began to stick. This is why names like Mithrandir, Olórin, Tharkûn, Incánus, and more are used to describe Gandalf throughout The Lord of the Rings.

Tolkien's Lord of the Rings books and Peter Jackson's movie adaptations are only the tip of the iceberg for Gandalf's character. He is seen to be an old wizard in Bilbo and Frodo's stories, but, in truth, he is a shapeshifting, angel-like being known as a Maia. Gandalf...

The Lord of the Rings star Elijah Wood recently shared an update about a health emergency he faced. In a podcast appearance, he opened out about his unbearably painful journey related to a serious stomach issue.

Wood mentioned the warning signs of the issues that he was typically unaware of. He highlighted the lack of symptoms surrounding the diagnosis. The actor went through unimaginable pain which was the most he felt in his life.

Elijah Wood in Lord of the Rings | Credit: New Line Cinema

Having gained fame as a child actor in films such as Avalon and The Good Son Wood became a household name playing hobbit Frodo Baggins in Lord of the Rings Trilogy. Wood last appeared in the 2024 adventure comedy Bookworm. He seized the opportunity to candidly discuss his journey with health struggles on the podcast.

Elijah Wood talked about health emergency surgery during the podcast

During...

The Rings of Power season 3 already has its perfect Adar replacement, and the Lord of the Rings show can give this new villain a story the Uruk never got. Although Sauron is The Rings of Power's Big Bad, Adar serves as a prominent antagonist in the first two seasons of the show. Adar's origin story gives him good reason to hate Sauron, but he also dislikes Galadriel and the other Elves. His goal of building a home for the Orcs leads to the destruction of the Southlands, and Adar seems content to trample anyone in the way of his plans.

Of course, The Rings of Power season 2's ending sees Adar realizing the error of his ways when he puts on Nenya — though this is tragically short-lived. As quickly as he agrees to pursue peace alongside Galadriel, he's betrayed by the Orcs and killed by Sauron. This eliminates any chance...

In a field of actors endowed with a dozen different skill sets, only Andy Serkis could have pulled off two of the most radically revolutionary roles that forever changed the face of cinema. Fortunately, the actor’s arrival in Hollywood perfectly coincided with Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy and the latest Planet of the Apes film series.

Andy Serkis as Smeagol in Lord of the Rings [Credit: New Line Cinema]

The eccentric and wildly gifted English actor has been an invaluable addition to the film industry, blessing Hollywood with such realistic roles as Gollum and Caesar. His creative and technical contributions to both franchises helped make them become critically and commercially successful. He did not let special effects, AI, and CGI render a lifeless version of the deeply layered, emotionally complex, and intricately written characters of Gollum and Caesar.

Andy Serkis’ invaluable contribution to Hollywood Andy Serkis portraying...

The Game of Thrones cast wasn’t just dodging swords and dragons — one star had a real-life brush with disaster that could’ve taken him out for good. Picture this: a career-threatening accident so brutal, it almost cost him his leg. And this was no CGI gone rogue; it was the kind of mishap that made Westeros look tame.

A still from Game of Throne | Credits: HBO Entertainment

It took nearly a year of recovery, with fans biting their nails, wondering if he’d ever make it back to the screen. But like a true warrior, he did come back swinging.

Sean Bean’s journey from near-tragedy to timeless icon: How a childhood accident and legendary roles shaped his story Sean Bean in Game of Throne | Credits: HBO Entertainment

Sean Bean, the legend behind Game of Thrones’ Ned Stark and Lord of the Rings’ Boromir, once faced a real-life plot twist.

If Game of Thrones season 9 were to happen, it would need to borrow an idea that George R.R. Martin himself once considered. Because Game of Thrones’ ending was so controversial, and the show so huge generally, then the idea of it being brought back and continuing some way remains a pertinent one, even years after the series finale.

Is it likely? No. But is it plausible? Yes. In a world where HBO has multiple Game of Thrones spinoffs planned, WB might make a movie set in Westeros too, a Lord of the Rings film set during Fellowship with Aragorn and Gandalf is in the works, and there’s a Harry Potter TV remake on the way, so it definitely could happen.

Nothing is sacred, just about everything is viable for a reboot, revival, remake, or re-imagining, and so if the powers-that-be decided to revisit Westeros with Game of Thrones season...

The Lord of the Rings movies made lots of changes to J.R.R. Tolkien's novel, and some of the most noticeable were during the Battle of Helm's Deep. This battle is one of Peter Jackson's most impressive set pieces, setting a standard for high fantasy battles in cinema worldwide. It comes toward the end of The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers movie, which followed on from The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, the first movie in the trilogy. Brutal and often hard to watch, Jackson's version of Helm's Deep was extraordinary but not always faithful.

Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings movies are renowned as some of the most faithful adaptations ever made, but diehard Lord of the Rings fans could point out the differences between the book and the movies for days on end. Some of the Warner Bros. movies'...

Though Alien: Romulus received a mostly positive response from critics and fans, one aspect of the movie that was met with almost universal backlash was the likeness of a deceased actor being used for a new character via VFX.

When Rain Carradine and her crew arrive on the derelict space station, they learn that the ship's android is still functional despite clearly being in very bad shape after a Xenomorph attack. They plug him in to discover what happened, and we see that the synthetic is the same model as Ash from Ridley Scott's original movie.

The late Ian Holm was "resurrected" (with permission from the actor's estate) to achieve this, but even setting aside the controversy surrounding the practice of "digital necromancy," the effects used to portray the character were... not the best.

Some shots looked okay, but for the majority of Rook's screen-time, his face basically...

Director Fede Alvarez recently shared with ‘Empire Magazine’ that the digital recreation of the late actor Ian Holm, who portrayed the android Rook, was improved after the film’s theatrical release.

In ‘Alien: Romulus,’ Rook is a disembodied head from the same model of android as Holm’s character, Ash, from the original 1979 ‘Alien’ film. Since Holm passed away in 2020, the filmmakers got permission from his estate to use his likeness for this new android character.

The movie received various criticisms, with one of the main complaints being about the Rook character, especially the use of CGI. Many viewers found the digital effects less than convincing. Alvarez explained that, due to time constraints during post-production, the team wasn’t able to perfect the CGI in time for the movie’s theatrical release.

“I wasn’t 100 percent happy with some of the shots, where you could feel a bit more the CG intervention,...

Adrien Brody recalls how one of his collaborations with acclaimed director Peter Jackson saw him earn praise for his driving skills in a tense, tightly-packed shoot for a stunt. The actor is recognizable from his roles in Predators, See How They Run, as well as his frequent collaborations with Wes Anderson for The Darjeeling Limited, Fantastic Mr. Fox, The Grand Budapest Hotel, The French Dispatch, and Asteroid City. Brody recently starred in The Brutalist, a period drama focused on a Jewish architect and Holocaust survivor trying to achieve the American Dream.

After starting his career working on dark and horrific comedies, Jackson's 1994 biographical drama Heavenly Creatures launched the director into wider recognition in Hollywood. In 1997, the director embarked on a once-thought-impossible journey to adapt The Lord of the Rings to the big screen, producing the acclaimed trilogy in the late '90s and early 2000s before returning to The Hobbit trilogy throughout the 2010s.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power significantly changed a particular character, making it unlikely that their proper prequel story will ever be adapted. Of course, it would have been difficult for the Prime Video series to entirely avoid making changes to canon. Tolkien's works set before Frodo's story are written more like textbooks than novels, making a literal adaptation impossible. If Middle-earth's Second Age events were to be brought to the screen, changes are a must. Still, it's a bit disappointing that Rings of Power's adjustments have now limited potential future movies.

In the case of Rings of Power season 2, one of the most significant changes revolved around the wizard Gandalf. The series officially confirmed that the Stranger truly is the Grey Wizard—quite a surprise since Gandalf isn't meant to arrive in Middle-earth until the Third Age. Of course, if Rings of Power hadn't made this change,...

Several fantasy books have excellent villains that are just as compelling as the heroes. Fantasy is a broad genre with many compelling stories and complex characters, and there are even fantasy books where the protagonist is the villain. There is no limit to utilizing characters in a fantasy story, which is one of the reasons why it is such a great genre. Sometimes, the best part about a fantasy book is the side characters that boost the protagonist. Other times, the protagonist shines on their own.

Fantasy TV shows are usually defined by their villains, an example of how the antagonist is a critical part of any successful fantasy narrative. There are even several fantasy projects where the villain shines just as brightly as the heroes. That does not mean the heroes are less exciting; however, the antagonists are often so fascinating that they rival the heroic characters. Whether it...

Last Updated on January 13, 2025

Director Fede Álvarez’s contribution to the Alien franchise, Alien: Romulus (you can read our review Here), had only been in theatres for a matter of hours before it stirred up a SPOILERy controversy on social media. That’s because one of the film’s cast members has been dead for several years, so Álvarez and his collaborators decided to resurrect them with CGI… and the CGI wasn’t exactly convincing. Alien: Romulus has since made its way to home video – and if you have watched it in the comfort of your own home, you may have noticed that an attempt was made to fix that unconvincing CGI.

Of course, what we’re talking about here is the fact that the android character Rook was given the face of the late, great Ian Holm (with his estate’s permission), who played the android Ash in the original Alien.