Section 31 opens in the Mirror Universe, where we see a teenaged Phillipa Georgiou (portrayed here by Miku Martineau) give an arch, sub-Game of Thrones monologue before committing an atrocity, the final step in securing her role as Terran Emperor. The scenes of course lack any of the hope and optimism that define Trek, the belief in fundamental good of collaboration and understanding that the Mirror Universe (and Section 31 for that matter) was designed to underscore.

But when Section 31 shifts to the movie’s present, something unexpected happens. Section 31 becomes so boring and ugly that it no longer can be seen as bad Star Trek. Heck, it can’t even be called bad sci-fi or bad genre work. It seems to have no interest or understanding in doing any of them well.

Section 31 catches up with Georgiou after she left the 32nd century in the fourth season of Star Trek: Discovery. As those who watched Discovery will recall, Georgiou was an evil double of Michael Burnham’s beloved late Captain. Even though her vicious tendencies led to her joining Starfleet’s black ops division Section 31, she remained a regular visitor on the Discovery and even traveled with the ship into the far future, until she was forced to return to the past.

Section 31 reveals that Georgiou has been living on the edges of Federation space, operating a disreputable bar under a pseudonym. She’s pulled back into service when a Section 31 team under the command of augment Alok (Omari Hardwick) needs her help to find an incredibly destructive weapon. Rounding out the team is Vulcan (sort of, but I won’t give that away here) Fuzz (Sven Ruygrok), the shapeshifting Quasi (Sam Richardson), the Deltan Melle (Humberly Gonzalez), a mech-suited warrior called Zeph (Robert Kazinsky), and human and Starfleet true believer Rachel Garrett (Kacey Rohl).

As that cast list shows, Section 31 is fond of making references to Trek lore. Garrett, of course, will become the Captain of the Enterprise-C and a major character in the beloved Next Generation episode “Yesterday’s Enterprise.” Quasi is a Chameloid, a member of the alien race played by Iman in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. Alok’s augments tie him to the Eugenics War and Trek big bad Khan Noonien Singh.

But these references only serve as surface level easter eggs, which makes Section 31 more like a game of Fortnite with Star Trek skins than a feature-length continuation of the beloved franchise. In fact, Section 31 seems to pull most of its visual inspiration from video games, with shiny graphics and ostentatious camera movements. After the Mirror Universe prologue, we’re treated to a mission summary delivered directly to the audience, as if we’re players getting ready for the next level.

To those without much investment in Star Trek, the video game analogy may not sound so bad. After all, we’ve had some really great video game adaptations lately, with Fallout and The Last of Us. But Section 31 feels more like last year’s doomed Borderlands movie, done so much worse.

Yes, you read that right. All of the ugly visuals and self-satisfied humor that marred Borderlands appears in Section 31, except gaudier and louder. The characters speak in lingo that’s gone out of date in 2025, let alone the far future (“Chaos is my friend with benefits,” says Garrett as a way of expressing her growing acceptance of disorder). Section 31 presents its team as a band of outcasts who constantly squabble, a trope done best most recently by James Gunn in Guardians of the Galaxy and The Suicide Squad.

But instead of making the characters interesting or likable in any way, screenwriter Craig Sweeny writes them as jerks who insult one another to prove their toughness. That doesn’t prevent director Olatunde Osunsanmi (a Discovery veteran, like Sweeny) from treating each toothless one-liner as a Don Rickles-level burn, and cutting to a close-up of the roaster cackling at their own joke each and every time.

Worse yet are the action sequences. No one expects the 62-year-old Yeoh to pull off the same fight sequences she did in Super Cop or Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Yet, she still came up through the Hong Kong film industry and, as we saw in Everything Everywhere All at Once, knows how to fight on screen better than the average American performer.

Whatever her skills at this point, Osunsanmi has no confidence in them. Not only does he shoot the fights with the same excessive cuts and shakiness found in most Western movies, but his camera seems actively disinterested in what Yeoh’s doing on screen. When Georgiou faces off against an assailant in an early scene, the fighters begin at the center of the frame. But as soon as they get close to each other, the camera pans to a singer pulling a microphone off the stage and running away.

In fact, Osunsanmi shoots everything with that same level of distracting excess. He’s especially fond of snap zooms and sudden pullbacks, even when just showing two characters in conversation. Irritating as the tendency is, it’s also understandable, because neither the plot nor the character building in Section 31 deserves attention.

Although it’s officially a movie, Section 31 feels more like the type of TV movies that could be a pilot we saw in the pre-streaming era. But it’s impossible to think that anyone would want enough of this to launch a sequel or another series.

Instead, Section 31 is, at best, understood as proof that maybe “Spock’s Brain” or “Shades of Grey” or, heck, all of Discovery season five aren’t so bad after all. At worst, it will be forgotten, never to have any influence on the future of Star Trek at all.

Star Trek: Section 31 streams on Paramount+ on January 24.

The post Star Trek: Section 31 Review: Badly Goes Where Everyone Has Gone Before appeared first on Den of Geek.

Den of Geek has compiled a list of the most exciting LEGO sets set to release throughout the year! 

LEGO Ideas 21354: Twilight The Cullen House 

Release Date: February 1 

LEGO is headed to the Pacific Northwest for their first crack at a Twilight set, based on the beloved (or infamous) 2008 movie of the same name. The soapy teen romance with a fantastical twist has remained relevant in the pop culture zeitgeist nearly 20 years after its release, but we question whether or not the two respective audiences for each brand will overlap. That said, 21354 looks like a fantastic set. Made out of 2,001 pieces, the build captures the Cullen house from The Twilight Saga masterfully, with fabulous architecture. Additionally, seven minifigures are included, highlighted by Edward Cullen—sparkles and all—alongside Jacob and a build for his wolf form. The so-called “Twi-hards” should be ecstatic about this set’s impending release. 

LEGO Harry Potter 76446: Knight Bus Adventure

Release Date: March 1 

“It’s going be a bumpy ride!”

LEGO Harry Potter has been going strong for years now, with remakes of the most iconic scenes recirculating the markets every half-decade or so. This March, the latest rendition of The Knight Bus will hit store shelves, the first since 2019. 76446 is built from 499 pieces and includes four minifigures plus a specialized part for Padfoot, aka Sirius Black shape shifted into a dog. The three-story purple bus is ready to speed its way toward any destination, besides underwater, of course. 

LEGO Disney 43268: Lilo and Stitch Beach House

Release Date: March 1

A live-action remake of the classic 2002 Disney flick Lilo and Stitch is set to hit theaters this Memorial Day, so mass merchandising of the popular cartoon alien will ensue once again. That of course means a brand-new LEGO set.  The company has produced their fair share of Lilo and Stitch sets in the past, but nothing quite this elaborate. An 834-piece recreation of the pair’s beach house from the film is fabulously captured here, with a full interior thanks to a doll house-style construction. And don’t worry, Lilo and Stitch minifigures are included as well, although Stitch is a little out of scale with his human counterpart. 

LEGO Disney 43272: Heihei

Release Date: March 1

Moana 2 recently passed the $1 billion mark at the global box office, so it should come as no surprise that new LEGO sets inspired by the films are being released. A brick-built version of Moana’s trusty sidekick Heihei sounds like a silly idea at first, until you see the finished product. This LEGO chicken is fabulously detailed, transcending the plastic bricks it’s constructed out of. While targeted at ages 9+, adult Disney collectors should have a field day with this one as well. 

LEGO Technic 42204: Fast and Furious Toyota Supra MK4

Release Date: March 1 

Remember when the Fast and Furious movies were all about street racing? It’s hard sometimes to recall, as Vin Diesel and company prepare for their 11th outing after going to space in a recent feature, but there was a time when the franchise took a more grounded approach, with a focus on all the sweet cars. LEGO seems fond of that time, as evidenced by the upcoming release of an 810-piece Technic model of the Toyota Supra MK4. Fans can build a complex design of one of the saga’s most iconic automobiles, equipped with a 6-cylinder engine, opening hood, and of course, NOS. 

LEGO Architecture 21062: Trevi Fountain

Release Date: March 1

LEGO Architecture is a yearly release now, with last year’s model of Notre Dame impressing builders worldwide. What better way to follow up a French landmark than with an Italian one? The new Trevi Fountain set is nothing short of stunning. Made from 1880 pieces, this magnificent build captures the shape of the Palazzo Poli location wonderfully, complemented by the LEGO Minifigure versions of Oceanus in his shell chariot and Abundance and Health by his side. 

LEGO Speed Champions Ultimate Formula 1 Collector’s Pack

Release Date: March 1

If your favorite sport is Formula 1 and your favorite toy brand is LEGO, then 2025 is a  dream come true year for you. LEGO and Formula 1 have partnered for years, but not quite like this. Ten new Speed Champions sets, representing various F1 teams from Red Bull to Ferrari, are receiving their individual cars as sets sold separately. However, committed devotees can purchase the whole collection at once in an epic 10-pack exclusive to Amazon, with stunning packaging and a unique poster included. 

LEGO Horizon Adventures 77037: Aloy & Varl vs. Shell-Walker & Sawtooth

Release Date: March 1

In mid-2022, LEGO dipped its toes into the world of PlayStation’s Horizon with the release of 76989: Tallneck. The set was an instant success, selling out quickly and now demanding high resale prices from third-party sellers. In late 2024, the toymaker and the video game developers teamed up to create LEGO Horizon Adventures, a LEGO-ified version of the popular game series. Now in 2025, a second Horizon set is finally here, 77037: Aloy & Varl vs. Shell-Walker & Sawtooth. At an extremely affordable price of $44.99, this 768-piece set serves as a great expansion to those who purchased the Tallneck, or a fabulous alternative if you missed out. Either way, LEGO Horizon’s return is much appreciated, and we hope the collaboration yields more products in the future. 

LEGO Nintendo Game Boy

Release Date: October 2025

While the set itself hasn’t been officially revealed, Nintendo confirmed their next significant LEGO collaboration to be a brick-built version of the classic Game Boy handheld system. LEGO has made a handful of video game consoles into sets before, including 71374: Nintendo Entertainment System and 10306: Atari. You can expect the Game Boy set to be a 1:1 scale replica, like with some function to simulate play. It’ll likely be an affordable set, too, seeing as the Game Boy isn’t exactly a large system. No other details have been announced at this time, but look forward to this being a hot seller this fall.

The post The Most Exciting LEGO Sets Coming in 2025 appeared first on Den of Geek.

Now we already know that this version of Jackie is very likely a figment of Shauna’s imagination, her trauma manifesting as a visual representation of her friend. We all saw Jackie die at the end of season 1 and we all saw her body get barbecued and eaten by the stranded Yellowjackets in season 2. Talking to Jackie after her death is also already something we’ve seen Shauna do in the past, but what if this time, it’s present-day Shauna who is hallucinating Jackie’s presence?

Though the shot of Jackie is incredibly brief, it does look like she is indoors. And while there is definitely precedent for the plane crash survivors hallucinating parts of the real world out in the wilderness – Lottie’s (Courtney Eaton) vision of the mall, Coach Scott (Steven Krueger) imagining his apartment with his boyfriend – the wall behind Jackie looks an awful lot like an industrial kitchen. Just like the kitchen that we briefly see present day Shauna (Melanie Lynskey) and Misty (Christina Ricci) working and potentially fighting in in the trailer.

As we’ve seen in previous seasons, and especially in season 2, the past is not as easy to escape as the Yellowjackets want it to be. It’s not unlikely that present-day Shauna could start to see Jackie again as whoever, or whatever, is after them this season starts to get closer. Trauma is a fickle thing, it rears its head whether you want it to, or not – no matter how healed you feel like you may be.

Jackie’s return may be a bit of a surprise given how viscerally she met her end, but that doesn’t mean we aren’t excited to see her. She is clearly an important part of Shauna’s life, even in death, and it will be interesting to see what role she plays this season. Past and present Shauna seem to be struggling with the weight of what she and the others have gone through, and an appearance from Jackie in either timeline is further proof of that.

Regardless of which version of Shauna is seeing Jackie, it’ll be fun to have Ella Purnell back in season 3 and we can’t wait to see just how feral and unhinged (complimentary) this season gets.

Yellowjackets season 3 premieres Friday, February 14 on Paramount+ with Showtime.

The post Yellowjackets Season 3 Trailer Teases A Major Character Return appeared first on Den of Geek.

Bolstered by the December 26 premiere of Squid Game season 2, the livestream double whammy of two NFL Christmas Day games and the Jake Paul/Mike Tyson fight, and the impending arrival of WWE Raw in January 2025, the streamer was expected to add around 9 million new paid subscribers during the observed October-December timeframe. Still, even that ambitious estimate fell well short of the reality of Netflix’s success to close out the year.

In reporting its 2024 Q4 earnings results on January 21, Netflix revealed that it overshot that 9 million new subscriber number by juuuuust a tad. All in all, the streamer brought in a record 18.91 million fresh subscribers, pushing its total number of global members to over 300 million for the first time in the company’s nearly 20-year history. If my hasty, back-of-the-envelope calculation is correct, that means roughly four percent of all human beings on planet Earth currently have a Netflix account. (Funnily enough, “four percent” seems to be a pretty consistent metric when it comes to Netflix as a 2024 study found that four percent of U.S. adults have never heard of the world’s most popular streamer. Humankind truly contains multitudes).

While many earnings reports are perfunctory, legally-mandated affairs to keep investors apprised of market-moving numbers, some conference calls can take on the cadence of a celebration. That is very much the case with Netflix’s latest update, which points to an organization that has all but won the streaming war. There has, quite simply, never been a better time to be Netflix.

Even beyond the eye-catching 300 million subscriber benchmark, Netflix’s Q4 numbers are quite impressive under the hood. Netflix reported that, accounting for “extra member accounts,” its global audience could be as high as 700 million. Its net income for the period was $1.87 billion, up nearly a full billion dollars from the same period last year. One prominent analyst described the streamer’s latest earnings as “near flawless,” while the company’s stocks surged 100%.

Markets are perpetually in search of the financial unicorn that can unlock the “infinite growth” cheat code, and Netflix suddenly seems as good a candidate as any. As its technology and entertainment competitors flounder under the weight of poor management (Meta), questionable product gambits (also Meta), and close ties to an unpopular incoming administration promising tariffs (again: Meta), Netflix feels as though it’s built for the long haul more than ever. The whole world is a Blockbuster just waiting to get bankrupted.

Of course, what’s best for Wall Street isn’t always what’s best for the consumer. And tucked into Netflix’s good-time earnings bonanza was news of across-the-board price hikes. The streamer announced the following changes:

– The standard plan (with ads) moves from $6.99 to $7.99.
– The standard plan (without ads) moves from $15.49 to $17.99 per month, representing the first price increase at this level in three years.
– The premium plan, with four simultaneous streams, moves from $22.99 to $24.99 per month.
– The cost of adding an additional member to any plan moves from $7.99 to $8.99.

The price increase of the ad-supported plan is sure to be particularly disappointing for some, as it represents the first time Netflix has increased that model and suggests that a further blending of ad and subscription costs could be in the company’s long-term plans. To explain the changes, Netflix wrote to investors that: “As we continue to invest in programming and deliver more value for our members, we will occasionally ask our members to pay a little more so that we can re-invest to further improve Netflix.”

It’s not reasonable to expect a streamer’s prices to remain the same in perpetuity, especially as it adds additional content and, in theory, value. That’s not even to mention the global uptick in the inflation rate following the COVID-19 pandemic response. But Netflix’s latest price increases seem more closely associated with its ascendance as the streaming war winner than they do with the financial reality on the ground. One Redditor notes that the premium plan’s price increased by 108% over the span of 10 years while the global inflation rate over the same time frame was 33%.

Going forward, Netflix will face increased pressure on two fronts: from investors who want to see improvements upon record earnings and from subscribers who want their increased subscription price justified. Ironically, the likely resolution to both of these capitalistic quandaries lies in the 2025 arrival of the third and final season of the most successful anti-capitalist fable ever streamed.

The post Netflix Has Never Been More Successful (Or More Expensive) appeared first on Den of Geek.

The Studio, an ambitious comedy show from Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, will kick off the fun in the Texan capital when it opens the festival on Friday, March 7. The series is created by longtime comedy collaborators Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg (Superbad, This Is the End, Preacher), as well as Peter Huyck, Alex Gregory, and Frida Perez. With a starry cast which includes Rogen, Catherine O’Hara, Kathryn Hahn, Ike Barinholtz, and Chase Sui Wonders (plus a host of celebrity cameos), the series is an industry laugher aimed squarely at making light of Hollywood’s current sense of upheaval. The series stars Rogen as Matt Remick, a fictional head of a fictional movie studio, Continental Studios, which is forced to circumnavigate the surreal realities of the 21st century entertainment industry. 

“We are thrilled to welcome Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg back to SXSW with our Opening Night TV Premiere, The Studio,” said Claudette Godfrey, the VP of Film and TV. “This brilliantly conceived series is exquisitely cast and written, capturing the fanatical love, dedication, pressure, and, yes, the hubris that defines our industry.”

SXSW looks to be a buzzy event outside opening night, too, with other headliners including A24’s much memed new horror-comedy, Death of a Unicorn. That film from writer-director Alex Scharfman stars Paul Rudd and Jenna Ortega as a father and daughter who accidentally run over (you guessed it) a unicorn. Yet when they attempt to harness the little guy’s magical horn for pharmaceutical profit… things get pointed. Especially after mama shows up.

Gavin O’Connor and Ben Affleck’s surprise franchise about a U.S. Treasury agent who is secretly a cold-blooded assassin is also continuing its journey in Austin where The Accountant 2 will have its world premiere. There is also Holland, Mimi Cave’s Nicole Kidman-led thriller about a small town, American life being turned upside down by a secret. Other headliners include Ash—Flying Lotus’ high-concept sci-fi thriller film starring Eiza González, Aaron Paul, and Ike Uwais—and Universal Pictures and Blumhouse’s new original suspense chiller, Drop from director Christopher Landon (Happy Death Day, Freaky) and which stars Meghann Fahy (The White Lotus).

Beyond the headliners, new narrative features from the likes of Jay Duplass and Geremy Jasper, and stars that include Kate Mara, Laurence Fishburne, and Rosamund Pike, will be in town, plus new documentaries which run the gamut from the story of Amish and Mennonite women who turn into political activists (Arrest the Midwife) to the story of Florida folks who volunteer to competitively remove invasive python snakes slinking around the Everglades at night (The Python Hunt). We guess that’s good work if… you can survive it?

Below is a full run-down of the feature film and TV lineups.

HEADLINER Presented by Epidemic Sound

The Accountant 2

Director: Gavin O’Connor, Producers: Ben Affleck, Lynette Howell Taylor, Mark Williams, Screenwriter: Bill Dubuque
Christian Wolff is brought out of hiding by Treasury Agent Marybeth Medina after someone close to them is killed by unknown assassins. To solve the murder, Wolff must recruit the help of his estranged but highly lethal brother Brax. Cast: Ben Affleck, Jon Bernthal, Cynthia Addai-Robinson, Daniella Pineda, Allison Robertson, J.K. Simmons (World Premiere)

Ash

Director: Flying Lotus, Producers: Nate Bolotin, Matthew Metcalfe, Screenwriter: Jonni Remmler
A woman wakes up on a distant planet and finds the crew of her space station viciously killed. Her investigation into what happened sets in motion a terrifying chain of events. Cast: Eiza González, Aaron Paul, Flying Lotus, Iko Uwais, Kate Elliott, Beulah Koale (World Premiere)

Death of a Unicorn

Director/Screenwriter: Alex Scharfman, Producers: Drew Houpt, Lucas Joaquin, Alex Scharfman, Lars Knudsen, Tyler Campellone, Tim Headington, Theresa Steele Page
A father and daughter accidentally hit and kill a unicorn while en route to a weekend retreat, where his billionaire boss seeks to exploit the creature’s miraculous curative properties. Cast: Paul Rudd, Jenna Ortega, Will Poulter, Téa Leoni, Richard E. Grant, Anthony Carrigan, Sunita Mani, Jessica Hynes (World Premiere)

Drop

Director: Christopher Landon, Producers: Jason Blum, Michael Bay, Brad Fuller, Cameron Fuller, Screenwriters: Jillian Jacobs, Chris Roach
A widowed mother, on her first date in years, arrives at an upscale restaurant where she meets her handsome date. But their chemistry curdles as she begins being irritated and then terrorized by a series of anonymous drops to her phone. Cast: Meghann Fahy, Brandon Sklenar, Violett Beane, Jacob Robinson, Ed Weeks (World Premiere)

Holland

Director: Mimi Cave, Producer: Kate Churchill, Peter Dealbert, Nicole Kidman, Per Saari, Screenwriter: Andrew Sodroski
In this unpredictable thriller, Nancy is a teacher whose life with her husband in Holland, Michigan, tumbles into a twisted tale when she and her colleague become suspicious of a secret. Cast: Nicole Kidman, Matthew Macfadyen, Jude Hill, Gael García Bernal (World Premiere)

NARRATIVE FEATURE COMPETITION Presented by Kickstarter

Bunny

Director: Ben Jacobson, Producer: Sarah Sarandos, Screenwriters: Mo Stark, Ben Jacobson, Stefan Marolachakis
Two best friends rally the neighbors in their tenement building to help them hide a dead body over the best/worst night of their lives. Cast: Mo Stark, Ben Jacobson, Liza Colby, Tony Drazan, Lina Rong Mei Chen, Genevieve Hudson-Price, Liz Caribel Sierra, Ajay Naidu, Richard Price, Henry Czerny (World Premiere)

Fantasy Life

Director/Screenwriter: Matthew Shear, Producers: Charlie Alderman, Chris Dodds, Philip Keefe, Amanda Peet, Emily McCann Lesser, David Bernon, Sam Slater
After getting laid off, a thirty-something paralegal in New York starts babysitting his psychiatrist’s three granddaughters and falls for their mother, an actress in a rocky marriage. Cast: Amanda Peet, Matthew Shear, Alessandro Nivola, Judd Hirsch, Bob Balaban, Andrea Martin, Zosia Mamet, Jessica Harper, Holland Taylor, Sheng Wang (World Premiere)

Fucktoys

Director/Screenwriter: Annapurna Sriram, Producer: Timothy Petryni
Join AP on a bubblegum grindhouse adventure through sunny and romantic Trashtown, USA. In this raucous odyssey a wanton minx quests hard across a dreamy landscape of smut, filth and psychics, hustling to lift a curse that has been f*cking her sh*t up. Cast: Annapurna Sriram, Sadie Scott, Francois Arnaud, Damian Young, Big Freedia, Brandon Flynn, Lorrie Odom, Jowin Batoon, Tamika Lawrence, Arianna Ortiz (World Premiere)

It Ends

Director/Screenwriter: Alexander Ullom, Producers: Carrie Carusone, Evan Barber
Four friends’ post-college plans are derailed when a wrong turn traps them on a never-ending backroad. Cast: Phinehas Yoon, Akira Jackson, Noah Toth, Mitchell Cole (World Premiere)

My Uncle Jens (Norway)

Director/Screenwriter: Brwa Vahabpour, Producers: Renée Hansen Mlodyszewski, Anda Ionescu
A young literature teacher lives a peaceful life in Oslo until his estranged uncle from the Iranian part of Kurdistan unexpectedly arrives for a visit. Cast: Peiman Azizpour, Hamza Agoshi, Sarah Francesca Brænne, Magnus Lysbakken, Theresa Frostad Eggesbø, Emir Hakki, Marko Lazic, Mohamed Chakiri (World Premiere)

Outerlands

Director/Screenwriter: Elena Oxman, Producers: Marc Smolowitz, Elena Oxman, Asia Kate Dillon, Allison Estrin, Henry Russell Bergstein
When Cass (they/them) is asked by an alluring woman to watch her 11-year-old daughter while she goes out of town, Cass is forced to confront the truth of their own tumultuous childhood. Cast: Asia Kate Dillon, Louisa Krause, Ridley Asha Bateman, Lea DeLaria, Daniel K. Isaac, Melinda Meeng, Allie Heng, Winter Dewitt, Safia Fredericks, Sedrick Cabrera (World Premiere)

Reeling

Director: Yana Alliata, Producer: Jack Forbes, Screenwriters: Yana Alliata, Amy Miner
A psychological drama set against a backdrop of celebration at a family’s Hawaiian estate, three siblings confront heartbreaking, inescapable truths after an accident that changed their lives forever. Cast: Ryan Wuestewald, Hans Christopher, Nikki DeParis, Fabrizio Alliata, Makena Miller, Nyah Juliano, Michael Carter (World Premiere)

Slanted

Director/Screenwriter: Amy Wang, Producers: Amy Wang, Mark Ankner, Trevor Wall
Desperate to fit in, an insecure Chinese American teenager undergoes experimental trans-racial surgery to become White in order to secure her chances of winning Prom Queen and the acceptance of her peers. Cast: Shirley Chen, McKenna Grace, Vivian Wu, Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, Amelie Zilber, Fang Du, Elaine Hendrix, Keith Harris (World Premiere)
Thank you to our sponsor Kickstarter, the funding and launch platform for independent creators and innovators, for supporting the Narrative Feature Competition Film Screening section.

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE COMPETITION.

Arrest the Midwife

Director: Elaine Epstein, Producers: Elaine Epstein, Robin Hessman
The arrest of midwives in a rural healthcare desert ignites an unexpected rebellion: Amish and Mennonite women who break from tradition, and emerge as fierce political activists fighting for reproductive justice and birthing rights. (World Premiere)

Assembly

Directors/Producers/Screenwriters: Rashaad Newsome, Johnny Symons
Visionary artist Rashaad Newsome merges art, AI, and performance to transform a former military facility into a Black queer utopia. Through immersive storytelling and visuals, the film explores how creativity can heal, unite, and spark liberation. (World Premiere)

Baby Doe

Director: Jessica Earnshaw, Producers: Holly Meehl Chapman, Jessica Earnshaw 
At 22, Gail gave birth alone and left her newborn in the woods. Decades later, she’s arrested for murder, despite claiming the baby was stillborn. Baby Doe explores the fallout when young women cannot accept the reality of an unplanned pregnancy. (World Premiere)

The Python Hunt

Director: Xander Robin, Producers: Lance Oppenheim, Lauren Cioffi, Mel Oppenheim, Xander Robin
Every year, the Florida government asks the general public to compete in an invasive python removal contest in the Everglades. For ten nights, an eclectic group of hunters confront the dangerous terrain, nocturnal creatures and their own tiny demons. (World Premiere)

Remaining Native

Director: Paige Bethmann, Producers: Jessica Epstein, Paige Bethmann, Judd Ehrlich
Ku Stevens, a 17-year-old Native American runner, struggles to navigate his dream of becoming a collegiate athlete as the memory of his great grandfather’s escape from an Indian boarding school begins to connect past, present, and future. (World Premiere)

The Secret of Me (United Kingdom)

Director: Grace Hughes-Hallett
19-year-old Kristi discovers a secret her doctor and parents have kept from her all her life. Her search for truth uncovers a radical psychology experiment on a pair of identical twins that led to a global medical scandal. (World Premiere)

Shuffle

Director: Benjamin Flaherty, Producers: Carra Greenberg, Harris Fishman, Benjamin Flaherty, Scott Paskoff
Through the lens of his own recovery, a filmmaker offers an intimate look inside the billion dollar addiction treatment industry where young people are bought and sold for their insurance policies and ushered into a system designed to keep them sick. (World Premiere)

The Spies Among Us

Directors/Producers: Jamie Coughlin Silverman, Gabriel Silverman
Thirty years after the Cold War ends, a former political prisoner of the East German secret police searches for the truth after learning his brother spied on him for the regime, and discovers the lasting effects of living in a surveillance state. (World Premiere)

NARRATIVE SPOTLIGHT

American Sweatshop (Germany)

Director: Uta Briesewitz, Producers: Anita Elsani, Uta Briesewitz, Jason Sosnoff, Barry Levinson, Tom Fontana, Screenwriter: Matthew Nemeth
Daisy, a young woman who works what has been called “the worst job in the world” – purging overtly hateful, sexual, and violent content from social media – and ends up fundamentally changed by her encounters with the darkest corners of the internet. Cast: Lili Reinhart, Daniela Melchior, Jeremy Ang Jones, Josh Whitehouse, Tim Plester, Christiane Paul, Joel Fry (World Premiere)

The Astronaut

Director/Screenwriter: Jess Varley, Producers: Brad Fuller, Eric B. Fleischman, Chris Abernathy, Cameron Fuller
An astronaut believes something extraterrestrial has followed her back to Earth. Cast: Kate Mara, Laurence Fishburne, Gabriel Luna, Ivana Milicevic, Macy Gray (World Premiere)

The Baltimorons

Director: Jay Duplass, Producers: David Bonnett Jr., Michael Strassner, Drew Langer, Screenwriters: Jay Duplass, Michael Strassner
After cracking a tooth on Christmas Eve, newly sober Cliff embarks on an adventure through Baltimore with Didi, his emergency dentist. Cast: Michael Strassner, Liz Larson, Olivia Luccardi (World Premiere)

Caper

Director/Screenwriter: Dean Imperial, Producers: Tessa Borbridge, Dean Imperial, TJ Sansone, Andy Zolot
When a sext to the wrong number sends a group of clueless men into a panic, they recklessly dive into an all-night journey through NYC to save their friend, revealing their own misguided and toxic views on women along the way. Cast: Christopher Tramantana, Asa James, Celester Rich, Richard Cooper, Sam Gilroy, Ron Palais, Michael Panes, Anne Klaus, Kevin Kane, Caroline Angelica Winkler (World Premiere)

Clown in a Cornfield

Director: Eli Craig, Producers: Marty Bowen, John Fischer, Wyck Godfrey, Screenwriters: Carter Blanchard, Adam Cesare, Eli Craig
A fading midwestern town in which Frendo the clown, a symbol of bygone success, reemerges as a terrifying scourge. Cast: Katie Douglas, Will Sasso, Cassandra Potenza, Aaron Abrams, Carson MacCormac, Verity Marks, Dylan McEwan, Daina Leitold, Vincent Muller, Kaitlyn Bacon (World Premiere)

Cotton Candy Bubble Gum

Director/Screenwriter: J Pinder, Producer: Cole Dabney
After his mom gets engaged to a vindictive cop, Carter, a 21-year-old mama’s boy still living at home, must secure a paid promotion at his internship by the end of the day or find a new place to live in this modern coming-of-age comedy. Cast: Nick Darnell, Morgan Jay, R. Marcus Taylor, JadaPaige, Jack Stone, Ben Scattone, Mildred Marie Langford, Rodney J. Hobbs, Jecobi Swain, Sophia Renee Sherman (World Premiere)

The Dutchman

Director: Andre Gaines, Producers: Andre Gaines, Jonathan T. Baker, Screenwriters: Andre Gaines, Qasim Basir
A successful black businessman, haunted by his crumbling marriage and identity crisis, is drawn into a psychological game of cat and mouse with a mysterious white woman he encounters on a New York subway. Cast: André Holland, Kate Mara, Zazie Beetz, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Aldis Hodge, Lauren E. Banks (World Premiere)

For Worse

Director/Screenwriter: Amy Landecker, Producers: Amy Landecker, Bradley Whitford, Valerie Stadler, Jenica Bergere, James Portolese
Fresh off a messy divorce, a 50-year-old sober mom tries to rebuild her life and stumbles into a new beginning after finding herself at a Gen Z wedding behaving like a 25-year-old drunk bridesmaid. Cast: Amy Landecker, Bradley Whitford, Nico Hiraga, Gaby Hoffmann, Ken Marino, Missi Pyle, Kiersey Clemons, Claudia Sulewski, Simon Helberg, Liv Hewson (World Premiere)

Forge

Director/Screenwriter: Jing Ai Ng, Producers: Liz Daering-Glass, Gabrielle Cordero, Jing Ai Ng, Damian Bao
In Miami, siblings Raymond and Coco Zhang’s art forgery ring flourishes when they encounter a disgraced millionaire in need of their expertise. Meanwhile, FBI Art Crimes agent Emily Lee moves to Miami to investigate a series of mysterious paintings. Cast: Kelly Marie Tran, Andie Ju, Brandon Soo Hoo, Edmund Donovan, Eva De Dominici, T. R. Knight, Jack Falahee, Sonya Walger (World Premiere)

I Really Love My Husband

Director/Screenwriter: GG Hawkins, Producer: Elle Roth-Brunet
When a woman grows disillusioned with her golden-boy husband during their tropical honeymoon, she recruits an enigmatic expat to spice things up—for better or worse. Cast: Madison Lanesey, Travis Quentin Young, Arta Gee, Lisa Jacqueline Starrett, Elizabeth de Robbins, Armodio Sophia, Meggan Taylor, Mitch Bisschop, Amberlin Morse (World Premiere)

Lifehack (Cyprus)

Director: Ronan Corrigan, Producers: Joann Kushner, Timur Bekmambetov, Screenwriters: Ronan Corrigan, Hope Elliot Kemp
Four teenage slackers attempt to pull off a multi million dollar Bitcoin heist from the comfort of their bedrooms but when their chickens come home to roost they find there is no comfy bed to fall back on! Cast: Georgie Farmer, Yasmin Finney, Roman Hyack Green, James Scholz, Jessica Reynolds, Charlie Creed Miles (World Premiere)

Mermaid

Director/Screenwriter: Tyler Cornack, Producers: Daniel Brandt, Dane Eckerle, Cole Eckerle
A Percocet-addicted ‘Florida Man’ finds a wounded mermaid at his lowest point. Fascination becomes a drug infused, one sided relationship — sending him further into decline. When word spreads about his secret, he’ll stop at nothing to protect her. Cast: Johnny Pemberton, Avery Potemri, Kevin Nealon, Kirk Fox, Tom Arnold, Robert Patrick, Kevin Dunn, Devyn McDowell, Tyler Rice, Julia Valentine Larson (World Premiere)

O’Dessa

Director/Screenwriter: Geremy Jasper, Producers: Michael Gottwald, Noah Stahl, Rodrigo Teixeira
Set in a post-apocalyptic future, O’Dessa is a rock opera about a farm girl on a quest to recover a family heirloom. Her journey leads her to a dangerous city, where she must use the power of destiny and song to save her true love’s soul. Cast: Sadie Sink, Kelvin Harrison Jr., Murray Bartlett, Regina Hall, Kelly Macdonald, Pokey LaFarge (World Premiere)

$POSITIONS

Director/Screenwriter: Brandon Daley, Producers: Ben Gojer, Jake Bloom
Blue-collar Midwesterner Mike Alvarado attempts to save his family from the throes of poverty by investing their savings into speculative cryptocurrencies. A twitchy, hyper-contemporary comedy with equal doses of laughs and panic attacks. Cast: Mike Kunicki, Vinny Kress, Trevor Dawkins, Kaylyn Carter (World Premiere)

She’s The He

Director/Screenwriter: Siobhan McCarthy, Producers: Halley Albert, Vic Brandt
Just before graduation, Alex and Ethan pretend to be trans women to get into the girl’s lockers. It’s all a joke until Ethan realizes: she really is trans. Alex and Ethan must reckon with their changing friendship and the process of coming out. Cast: Misha Osherovich, Nico Carney, Suzanne Cryer, Mark Indelicato, Malia Pyles, Emmett Preciado, Tatiana Ringsby, Aparna Nancherla, Kyle Butenhoff, Emma Orr  (World Premiere)

Surviving Earth (United Kingdom)

Director/Screenwriter: Thea Gajić, Producers: Aleksandra Bilić, Sophie Reynolds
Having fled the Yugoslav war and settled in the UK, Vlad strives for success with his Balkan band, whilst trying to reconnect with his only daughter. Cast: Slavko Sobin, Olive Gray, Stuart Martin, Peter Coonan, Toni Gojanović, Ann Ogbomo (World Premiere)

The Threesome

Director: Chad Hartigan, Producers: Tim White, Trevor White, Vince Jolivette, Steve Shapiro, Screenwriter: Ethan Ogilby
A young man’s crush leads him into an unexpected threesome… What’s the worst that could happen? Cast: Zoey Deutch, Jonah Hauer-King, Ruby Cruz, Jaboukie Young-White, Josh Segarra, Robert Longstreet, Arden Myrin, Kristin Slaysman, Allan McLeod, Julia Sweeney (World Premiere)

The True Beauty of Being Bitten by a Tick

Director: Pete Ohs, Producers: Callie Hernandez, Pete Ohs, Jeremy O. Harris, Josh Godfrey, Screenwriters: Callie Hernandez, Zoë Chao, James Cusati-Moyer, Jeremy O. Harris, Pete Ohs
A woman in crisis seeks refuge in her friend’s idyllic countryside home only to suffer strange side effects from a mysterious tick bite. Cast: Zoë Chao, Callie Hernandez, James Cusati-Moyer, Jeremy O. Harris (World Premiere)

We Bury The Dead (Australia)

Director/Screenwriter: Zak Hilditch, Producers: Kelvin Munro, Grant Sputore, Ross Dinerstein, Joshua Harris, Mark Fasano
In the aftermath of a catastrophic military experiment, a desperate woman joins a “body retrieval unit” in the hope of finding her husband alive, but her search takes a chilling turn when the corpses start showing signs of life. Cast: Daisy Ridley, Brenton Thwaites, Mark Coles Smith (World Premiere)

DOCUMENTARY SPOTLIGHT

The Age of Disclosure

Director/Producer: Dan Farah

An unprecedented film –featuring 34 senior members of the U.S. Senate, House, military and intelligence community– revealing a cover-up of the existence of non-human intelligent life and a secret war to reverse engineer technology of non-human origin. (World Premiere) 

Are We Good?

Director: Steven Feinartz, Producers: Steven Feinartz, Julie Seabaugh, Ethan Goldman
An intimate portrait of comedian and podcast pioneer Marc Maron, following the sudden loss of his partner and filmmaker Lynn Shelton. Maron struggles with grief, disillusionment, and a shifting comedy landscape. (World Premiere)

ASCO: Without Permission

Director/Screenwriter: Travis Gutiérrez Senger, Producers: Andrew Renzi, Nick Boak, Kyzza Terrazas, Santiago Maza, Sabrina Coulston, Colin Cadarette, Travis Gutiérrez Senger
ASCO: Without Permission profiles the extraordinary, LA based, Chicano art group ASCO, and through a genre-defying approach, reimagines what is possible today in art and cinema while celebrating an iconoclastic group that was far ahead of its time. Featuring Zoe Saldaña, Michael Peña, Arturo Castro (World Premiere)

Creede U.S.A.

Director: Kahane Corn Cooperman, Producers: Innbo Shim, Kahane Corn Cooperman
In tiny Creede, CO, conservative mining families and progressive theater people have been trying to negotiate their differences for 60 years. When the same issues polarizing America ripple through the town, can it maintain its fragile coexistence? (World Premiere)

Dear Tomorrow (Denmark, Japan, Sweden)

Director/Screenwriter: Kaspar Astrup Schröder, Producers: Maria Helga Stürup, Katrine A. Sahlstrøm
In Japan, where loneliness has become a national crisis, the film follows three individuals battling isolation. Through a volunteer chat service, compassionate connections, and government initiatives, they find hope and paths to reclaim their lives. (World Premiere)

Deeper (Australia)

Director: Jennifer Peedom
In the deepest, darkest cold-water cave system in the world, a reluctant hero explores a dangerous obsession. (World Premiere)

Deepfaking Sam Altman

Director: Adam Bhala Lough, Producers: Kevin Hart, Luke Kelly-Clyne, Bryan Smiley, Harold Berón III, Adam Bhala Lough, Dana J. Olkkonen, Scoop Wasserstein, Elizabeth Weil, Mark W. Olsen
Hartbeat partners with Vox Media Studios and Telemarketers’ Adam Bhala Lough for a comedic documentary about AI. Follow Adam as he seeks answers about the buzzy new tech and explores what it means to be human in an increasingly AI generated world. (World Premiere)

Flight 149: Hostage Of War (United Kingdom)

Director: Jenny Ash, Producers: Andy Holland, Helen McClure, Mowaffaq Safadi, Lucy Towers
When Flight 149 landed in the middle of a warzone, the passengers and crew became human shields for Saddam Hussein. Thirty years later, the hostages are launching a legal case to discover the truth about why the plane landed in the first place. (World Premiere)

Make It Look Real (Australia)

Director/Screenwriter: Kate Blackmore, Producers: Bethany Bruce, Daniel Joyce
Intimacy coordinator Claire Warden guides actors through sex scenes for a new film Tightrope, negotiating the vision of a director, the physical and psychological needs of the actors, and a documentary crew filming her every move. (International Premiere)

Mola: A Tale of Tibetan Love and Loss (U.S., Switzerland)

Directors/Screenwriters: Yangzom Brauen, Martin Brauen, Producer: Katherine LeBlond
Mola, a 100-year-old nun, wants to return to her homeland, Tibet, to die. The fulfillment of her dream takes an unexpected turn. (North American Premiere)

Now! More! Yes!

Director: Max Hey, Producers: Chris James Thompson, Frankie Latina, Andrew Swant
A legally blind used car salesman wakes up to realize that he drunkenly purchased an ambulance without keys using his boss’s money. (World Premiere)

Other Side

Directors: Heather Hogan, Carter Oakley, Producer: Amy Brown
Activist Lynda Bluestein contemplates how to legally end her life – her landmark lawsuit made Medical Aid in Dying in Vermont accessible to anyone in the United States. This is an intimate portrait of finding a way to die peacefully in the U.S. (World Premiere)

Seen and Heard

Directors: Giselle Bailey, Phil Bertelsen, Producers: Giselle Bailey, Phil Bertelsen, Issa Rae, Montrel McKay, John Maggio, Rachel Dretzin, John Ealer, Jonathan Berry, Dave Becky, Nancy Abraham, Lisa Heller, Sara Rodriguez
From executive producer Issa Rae, Seen and Heard is a two-part documentary that travelsthrough time, creating a kaleidoscopic portrait of Black talent being “seen,” to Black creatives being “heard,” shaping today’s Golden Age of Black television. Featuring Issa Rae, Oprah Winfrey, Tyler Perry, Shonda Rhimes, Ava Duvernay, Lena Waithe, Cord Jefferson, Tracee Ellis Ross, Swizz Beatz, Norman Lear (World Premiere)

Snow Leopard Sisters (United Kingdom)

Directors: Ben Ayers, Sonam Choekyi Lama, Andrew Lynch, Producers: Ian Davies, Joanna Natasegara, Torquil Jones, Tshiring Lhamu Lama
In Nepal’s remote Dolpo region, two Indigenous women form an unlikely friendship to save one of the planet’s most mysterious and vulnerable wild cats: the snow leopard. (World Premiere)

Spreadsheet Champions (Australia)

Director: Kristina Kraskov, Producers: Anna Charalambous, Charlotte Wheaton, Nick Batzias
Students from around the world give it their all in the greatest competition you’ve never heard of, the Spreadsheet World Championships. (World Premiere) 

Starman

Director/Screenwriter: Robert Stone, Producers: Ray Rothrock, Keith Haviland, Robert Stone Legendary NASA robotics engineer and best-selling science fiction author, Gentry Lee, has spent a lifetime seeking an answer to the ultimate cosmic question: Are we alone in the universe? At age 82 he has come to a revelatory conclusion. (World Premiere)

Strange Journey: The Story of Rocky Horror

Director: Linus O’Brien, Producers: Adam Gibbs, Garret Price, Avner Shiloah, Linus O’Brien, Screenwriter: Avner Shiloah
A wild journey into the origins of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, the biggest cult film of all time, its impact on popular culture and socio-political resonance to this day. Featuring Richard O’Brien, Tim Curry, Lou Adler, Susan Sarandon, Barry Bostwick (World Premiere)

Take No Prisoners

Directors: Adam Ciralsky, Subrata De, Producers: Adam Ciralsky, Gene Klein, Subrata De
Take No Prisoners delves into the secretive, high-stakes world of hostage rescues, following America’s top envoy as he races to free a young attorney held as a political pawn by a rogue regime. (World Premiere)

The Tallest Dwarf 

Director: Julie Forrest Wyman, Producers: Lindsey Dryden, Shaleece Haas, Jonna McKone
When Julie embarks on a journey to understand her own body and the rumors of dwarfism in her family, her path collides with a new drug that promises to make little people taller, threatening the community’s existence. (World Premiere)

Uvalde Mom

Director: Anayansi Prado, Producers: Ina Fichman, David Goldblum, Screenwriters: Anayansi Prado, Pablo Proenza
When a school mass shooting rocks a small Texas town, a mom desperate to save her kids becomes an overnight hero. She speaks out against a faulty system. The community unites to challenge the powers that neglected its most vulnerable—its children. (World Premiere)

MIDNIGHTER

Descendent

Director/Screenwriter: Peter Cilella, Producers: David Lawson Jr, Justin Benson, Aaron Moorhead, Caleb Ward
After a traumatic brain injury triggers terrifying visions of extraterrestrials and a newfound talent for drawing, a father-to-be begins to question his reality and becomes obsessed with the need to protect his family from an unseen threat. Cast: Ross Marquand, Sarah Bolger, Susan Wilder, Charlene Amoia, Dan O’Brien, Brandon Scott, Alexandra Barreto, Alex Ruiz, Clare Cooney, Emily Pendergast (World Premiere)

Good Boy

Director: Ben Leonberg, Producers: Kari Fischer, Ben Leonberg, Screenwriters: Alex Cannon, Ben Leonberg
Do you ever wonder why your dog stares at empty corners, barks for no reason, or refuses to go into the basement? Good Boy is the story of a dog who sees everything that goes bump in the night. No talking pets, just terrifying scares. Cast: Indy, Shane Jensen, Larry Fessenden, Arielle Friedman, Stuart Rudin, Anya Krawcheck, Max (World Premiere)

Hallow Road (Czechia, Ireland, United Kingdom)

Director: Babak Anvari, Producers: Lucan Toh, Ian Henry, Richard Bolger, Screenwriter: William Gillies
Two parents enter a race against time when they receive a distressing late-night phone call from their daughter after she caused a tragic car accident. Cast: Rosamund Pike, Matthew Rhys, Megan McDonnell (World Premiere)

The Home (Estonia, Iceland, Sweden)

Director: Mattias J Skoglund, Producer: Siri Hjorton Wagner, Screenwriter: Mattias J Skoglund, Mats Strandberg
Joel reluctantly returns to his childhood town to help his mother Monika move into a home for people with dementia after she suffers a stroke. She is unrecognizable and Joel becomes convinced that something has followed her back from the other side. Cast: Philip Oros, Anki Lidén, Gizem Erdogan, Malin Levanon, Peter Jankert, Lottie Ejenbrant, Ayan Ahmed, Bengt CW Carlsson (World Premiere)

New Jack Fury

Director/Screenwriter: Lanfia Wal, Producers: Van White, Mariah Morgenstern, Denaun Porter, Lanfia Wal, Akino Childrey
After his girlfriend is kidnapped by a ruthless kingpin, a former cop must seek the help of two unlawful R&B eccentrics to help save her. Cast: Andre Hall, Page Kennedy, Dean “Michael Trapson” Morrow, Paul Wheeler, Ally Renee, Shawn Nathan, Wrekless Watson, Ace Vane, James Markham Hall, Jr., Vincent M. Ward (World Premiere)

Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie (Canada)

Director: Matt Johnson, Producers: Matthew Miller, Matt Greyson, Screenwriters: Matt Johnson, Jay McCarrol
Matt and Jay try to get a show at the Rivoli. Cast: Jay McCarrol, Matt Johnson (World Premiere)

Redux Redux

Directors/Screenwriters: Kevin McManus, Matthew McManus, Producers: Michael J. McGarry, Kevin McManus, Matthew McManus, Nate Cormier, PJ McCabe
In an attempt to avenge her daughter’s death, Irene Kelly travels through parallel universes, killing her daughter’s murderer over and over again. She grows addicted to the revenge streak, putting her own humanity in jeopardy. Cast: Michaela McManus, Stella Marcus, Jeremy Holm, Jim Cummings, Grace Van Dien, Taylor Misiak, Dendrie Taylor (World Premiere)

The Surrender

Director/Screenwriter: Julia Max, Producers: Mia Chang, Lovell Holder, Julia Max, Ian McDonald, Robert J. Ulrich
When the family patriarch dies, a grieving mother and daughter risk their lives to perform a brutal resurrection ritual that will bring him back from the dead. Cast: Colby Minifie, Kate Burton, Neil Sandilands, Vaughn Armstrong, Mia Ellis, Pete Ploszek, Chelsea Alden, Alaina Pollack, Riley Rose Critchlow, Lola Prince Kelly (World Premiere)

VISIONS

Dead Lover (Canada)

Director: Grace Glowicki, Producers: Yona Strauss, Ben Petrie, Grace Glowicki, Screenwriters: Grace Glowicki, Ben Petrie
A lonely Gravedigger who stinks of corpses finally meets her dream man, but their affair is cut short when he tragically drowns at sea. Grief-stricken, she goes to morbid lengths to resurrect him, resulting in grave consequences and unlikely love. Cast: Grace Glowicki, Ben Petrie, Leah Doz, Lowen Morrow (Texas Premiere)

Ghost Boy

Director: Rodney Ascher, Producers: Elika Portnoy, Ryan Bartecki, Gary Levinsohn, Billy Hines
Martin Pistorius slipped into a coma at the age of 12. Three years later he woke up but was unable to communicate and no-one realized he was fully aware. This is the true story of his remarkable journey back to life. (World Premiere)

The Infinite Husk

Director/Screenwriter: Aaron Silverstein, Producers: Aaron Silverstein, Mitchel McKenzie, Christine Sohail
An alien consciousness, sent to Earth to spy on one of its own kind, learns what it means to be human. Cast: Peace Ikediuba, Foreste Jean Feely, Circus-Szalewski, Michael Jon Murphy, Geena Alexandra, Gary Lee Reed, William Thomas Jones, Smaran Harihar, Jyl Haruye Kaneshiro (World Premiere)

Night Fight

Director: Khary Saeed Jones, Producers: Khary Saeed Jones, Kendra T. Field
It’s been seven years since I was followed by a vigilante down back roads in rural Canada.  Night Fight explores the secret life spawned by the encounter and the impossible task of sharing this experience with my young son. (World Premiere)

Odyssey (United Kingdom)

Director: Gerard Johnson, Producers: John Jencks, Isabel Freer, Matthew James Wilkinson, Patrick Tolan, Screenwriters: Gerard Johnson, Austin Collings
Natasha Flynn is an estate agent on a mission—and she’s going to make a killing. Cast: Polly Maberly, Mikael Persbrandt, Jasmine Blackborow, Guy Burnet, Ryan Hayes, Charley Palmer Rothwell, Kellie Shirley (World Premiere)

We Are Storror

Director: Michael Bay, Producers: Michael Bay, Angus Wall, Paris Kassidokostas-Latsis, Terry Dougas
A thrilling, emotional parkour odyssey chronicling the 7 childhood friends who escalated and came to define this extreme sport; The dizzying rise, tragic setbacks and inseparable brotherhood captured firsthand while in pursuit of the ultimate stunt. (World Premiere)

Your Higher Self (Canada)

Director/Screenwriter: Annie St-Pierre, Producer: Audrey-Ann Dupuis-Pierre
Part sympathetic portrait and part exposé of the absurd, Your Higher Self dives into the world of life coaching – a modern phenomenon in full swing – embodying the quest of our individualistic society: to be oneself, only better. (International Premiere)

24 BEATS PER SECOND

42nd Street (Dominican Republic)

Director/Producer: José María Cabral, Screenwriters: José María Cabral, Miguel Yarul
A sensory dive into the lives of dancers and artists hungry for fame, clashing with police tactics and unorthodox views. 42nd Street unveils a defiant counter-culture in the Dominican urban scene—all unfolding on a bold, unrelenting 600-meter 42nd street. Featuring Demetal, Natasha Dancer, Maco Boba, Ricardo La Música (World Premiere)

Boxcutter (Canada)

Director: Reza Dahya, Producers: Soko Negash, Reza Dahya, Screenwriter: Chris Cromie
After his laptop is stolen, an aspiring rapper goes on a quest across the gentrifying streets of Toronto to recover his music in time for the event that could change his life – a meeting with a Grammy Award winning producer. Cast: Ashton James, Zoe Lewis, Viphusan Vani (International Premiere)

Brother Verses Brother

Director: Ari Gold, Producers: Michelle Stratton, Starr Sutherland, Screenwriters: Ari Gold, Ethan Gold, Lara Louise, Brian Bell, Herbert Gold, Tongo Eisen-Martin, John Flanigan
A radically personal one-shot musical odyssey about combative twin musicians hunting the streets of San Francisco for their dying poet father. Cast: Ari Gold, Ethan Gold, Lara Louise, Brian Bell, Herbert Gold, Tongo Eisen-Martin, John Flanigan (World Premiere)

Butthole Surfers: The Hole Truth and Nothing Butt

Director/Screenwriter: Tom J Stern, Producers: Derrick Rossi, Neil Fellah
Five years in the making, this is the definitive documentary about Austin music legends The Butthole Surfers. Featuring Gibby Haynes, Paul Leary, King Coffee, Teresa Taylor, Richard Linklater, Flea, Dave Grohl, Henry Rollins, Ice T (World Premiere)

Forever We Are Young

Directors: Grace Lee, Patty Ahn, Producers: Eurie Chung, Nora Chute
Forever We Are Young delves into the heart, soul, and surprising evolution of one of the most passionate and complex global fandoms in pop music history: BTS ARMY. (World Premiere)

La Salsa Vive (Colombia)

Director/Screenwriter: Juan Carvajal, Producers: Diego Ramirez, Kevin Lopez, Juan Carvajal
La Salsa Vive is a vibrant cinematic exploration of Afro-Cuban music’s history, tracing its roots from New York’s lively streets to Cali, Colombia, now the global salsa capital. Featuring Rubén Blades, Henry Fiol, Willie Rosario, Angel Lebron, Johnny Rodriguez, Luis Eduardo Mulato, Samuel Formell, Francia Elena, Yuleissy Montano, Kevin Santiago Quiñones (World Premiere)

The Makings of Curtis Mayfield

Director: H.E.R., Producers: Peter Afterman, Mari Keiko Gonzalez, Sarah Haber
The Makings of Curtis Mayfield, directed by and featuring Grammy Award winning musical artist and actor, H.E.R., explores the legacy and deep musical and cultural influence of singer, songwriter, guitarist, producer, and entrepreneur Curtis Mayfield. Featuring Curtis Mayfield, H.E.R., Dr. Dre, Mary J Blige, John Legend, Lena Waithe, Stephen Marley, Maxwell, Tom Morello, Ernie Isley (World Premiere)

Selena y Los Dinos

Director: Isabel Castro, Producers: Julie Goldman, Christopher Clements, J. Daniel Torres, David Blackman, Simran A. Singh
Selena y Los Dinos explores the life and legacy of Selena Quintanilla, the Queen of Tejano music. Through archival footage and interviews, the film highlights her rise to stardom and her family’s commitment to preserving her enduring impact. (Texas Premiere)

GLOBAL Presented by MUBI

Corina (Mexico)

Director: Urzula Barba Hopfner, Producers: Carlos Hernández, Iván López- Barba, Urzula Barba, Screenwriters: Urzula Barba, Samuel Sosa
Corina suffers from agoraphobia due to a traumatic event from her childhood. Everything will have to change if she wants to save her job. Cast: Naian González Norvind, Cristo Fernández, Carolina Politi, Mariana Gimenez, Laura de Ita, Gerardo Trejoluna (North American Premiere)

Fury (Spain)

Director: Gemma Blasco, Producer: Mireia Graell Vivancos, Screenwriters: Gemma Blasco, Eva Pauné
After being raped on New Year’s Eve, Alex seeks refuge in her brother. But consumed by rage, he follows an increasingly dark path. His reaction pushes them apart, and she channels her pain through theater, embodying the vengeful character of Medea. Cast: Ángela Cervantes, Àlex Monner, Carla Linares, Eli Iranzo, Salim Daprincee, Pau Escobar, Victoria Rivero (World Premiere)

Glorious Summer (Poland)

Directors/Screenwriters: Helena Ganjalyan, Bartosz Szpak, Producers: Maria Gołoś, Monika Matuszewska
A sun-drenched renaissance palace. Three women remain in a carefree state of limbo, tended to by an unseen, all-providing system. But as cracks in the paradise begin to appear, they are faced with a choice: escape or remain in the perfect illusion? Cast: Magdalena Fejdasz, Helena Ganjalyan, Daniela Komędera, Weronika Humaj (World Premiere)

Real Faces (Belgium)

Director: Leni Huyghe, Producer: Elisa Heene, Screenwriters: Leni Huyghe, Vincent Vanneste
Julia, an ambitious casting agent, relocates to Brussels. Struggling to build a new life, she masks her insecurities behind a façade of success. She meets microbiologist Eliott and forms an authentic friendship that inspires her to break free. Cast: Leonie Buysse, Gorges Ocloo, Joely Mbundu, Yoann Blanc, Karlijn Sileghem (World Premiere)

Trans Memoria (Sweden)

Director/Screenwriter: Victoria Verseau, Producers: Malin Hüber, Mathilde Raczymow
In an exploration of self-discovery, Victoria, Athena and Aamina navigate womanhood through loss and introspection, weaving past regrets and future aspirations in a poetic documentation of embracing true selves. (U.S. Premiere)

FESTIVAL FAVORITE

The Ballad of Wallis Island  (United Kingdom) 

Director: James Griffiths, Producer: Rupert Majendie, Screenwriters: Tom Basden, Tim Key
An eccentric lottery winner lives alone on a remote island and dreams of getting his favorite musicians back together. Fantasy quickly turns into reality when the bandmates and former lovers accept his invitation to play a private show. Cast: Tom Basden, Tim Key, Sian Clifford, Akemnji Ndifornyen, Carey Mulligan (Texas Premiere)

Friendship

Director/Screenwriter: Andrew DeYoung, Producers: Raphael Margules, J.D. Lifshitz, Nick Weidenfeld, Johnny Holland
Suburban dad Craig has his life turned upside down by the arrival of a new neighbor. As Craig’s attempts to make a friend spiral out of control, their blossoming relationship threatens to ruin both of their lives. Cast: Tim Robinson, Paul Rudd, Kate Mara, Jack Dylan Grazer (U.S. Premiere)

The Perfect Neighbor

Director: Geeta Gandbhir, Producers: Geeta Gandbhir, Nikon Kwantu, Alisa Payne, Sam Bisbee
In June 2023, Ajike Owens, a vibrant, Black mother of four and a family friend, was killed by her neighbor, Susan Lorincz. The Perfect Neighbor unravels the chilling escalation from a minor dispute to a murder. (Texas Premiere)

The Surfer (Australia, Ireland)

Director: Lorcan Finnegan, Producers: Leonora Darby, James Harris, Robert Connolly, James Grandison, Brunella Cocchiglia, Nicolas Cage, Nathan Klingher, Screenwriter: Thomas Martin
A man returns to the idyllic beach of his childhood to surf with his son, but is humiliated by a group of powerful locals and drawn into a conflict that rises with the punishing heat of the summer and pushes him right to his breaking point. Cast: Nicolas Cage, Julian McMahon, Nic Cassim, Alexander Bertrand, Justin Rosniak, Finn Little (North American Premiere)

Touch Me

Director/Screenwriter: Addison Heimann, Producers: John Humber, David Lawson Jr., Addison Heimann
Touch Me is a story about two codependent best friends who become addicted to the heroin-like touch of an alien narcissist who may or may not be trying to take over the world. Cast: Olivia Taylor Dudley, Lou Taylor Pucci, Jordan Gavaris, Marlene Forte, Paget Brewster, JJ Philips, Yumarie Morales, Ashley Lauren Nedd, Eli Lucas (Texas Premiere)

Zodiac Killer Project (U.S., United Kingdom)

Director: Charlie Shackleton, Producers: Charlie Shackleton, Catherine Bray, Anthony Ing
Having tried and failed to make a true crime documentary, filmmaker Charlie Shackleton walks the viewer through what could have been. (Texas Premiere)

TV PROGRAM

TV PREMIERE

#1 Happy Family USA

Showrunners: Ramy Youssef, Pam Brady, Directors: Griffith Kimmins, Hannah Ayoubi, Maaike Maliwanag Scherff, Producers: Ramy Youssef, Pam Brady, Andy Campagna, Mona Chalabi, Josh Rabinowitz, Ravi Nandan, Hallie Sekoff, Alli Reich, Screenwriters: Ramy Youssef, Pam Brady, Josh Rabinowitz, Theresa Mulligan Rosenthal
#1 Happy Family USA follows the Husseins – the most patriotic, most peaceful, and most definitely-not-suspicious Muslim family in post-9/11 “Amreeka” as they navigate the early 2000s under the watchful eyes of their terrified neighbors. Cast: Ramy Youssef, Mandy Moore, Chris Redd, Alia Shawkat, Kieran Culkin, Akaash Singh, Salma Hindy, Whitmer Thomas, Randa Jarrar (World Premiere)

Government Cheese

Showrunners/Screenwriters: Paul Hunter, Aeysha Carr, Director: Paul Hunter,  Producers: Paul Hunter, Aeysha Carr, David Oyelowo, Charles D. King, Jelani Johnson, Ali Brown
Government Cheese is a seemingly surrealist family comedy set in 1969 San Fernando Valley that tells the story of the Chambers, a quirky family pursuing lofty and impossible dreams, beautifully unfettered by the realities of the world. Cast: David Oyelowo, Simone Missick, Jahi Di’Allo Winston, Evan Ellison, Bokeem Woodbine (World Premiere)

Happy Face

Showrunner/Screenwriter: Jennifer Cacicio, Director: Michael Showalter, Producers: Jennifer Cacicio, Robert King, Michelle King, Liz Glotzer, Melissa Moore, Conal Byrne, Will Pearson, Michael Showalter, Jordana Mollick 
Inspired by a true-life story, Happy Face tells the story of Melissa Reed, daughter of Keith Jesperson, aka the Happy Face Killer. Cast: Annaleigh Ashford, Dennis Quaid, James Wolk, Tamera Tomakili, Khiyla Aynne, Benjamin Mackey (World Premiere)

Spy High

Director: Jody McVeigh-Schultz, Producers: Mark Wahlberg, Stephen Levinson, Archie Gips, Aliza Rosen, Jody McVeigh-Schultz, David Wendell
When 15-year-old Blake Robbins was accused of selling drugs, he filed a lawsuit alleging that his prestigious high school was spying on him. This fed a wild scandal with revelations that echo in the war over digital privacy in schools today. (World Premiere)

The Studio

Showrunners/Directors/Screenwriters: Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, Producers: Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, James Weaver, Alex Gregory, Peter Heck, Alex McAtee, Josh Fagen
In The Studio, Seth Rogen stars as Matt Remick, the newly appointed head of embattled Continental Studios. As movies struggle to stay alive and relevant, Matt and his core team of infighting executives battle their insecurities as they wrangle narcissistic artists and craven corporate overlords in the ever-elusive pursuit of making great films. Cast: Seth Rogen, Catherine O’Hara, Ike Barinholtz, Chase Sui Wonders, Katheryn Hahn (World Premiere)

TV SPOTLIGHT

Dates in Real Life (Norway)

Showrunner/Director/Screenwriter: Jakob Rørvik, Producers: Petter Onstad Løkke, Synnøve Hørsdal
Ida spends most of her life online. When her boyfriend Marvin, whom she’s never met in person, announces he’s dating another woman in real life, her world collapses. Ida sets out on a quest to find her own physical partner. Cast: Gina Bernhoft Gørvell, Jacques Colimon, Mathias Luppichini, Heidi Goldmann, Amund Sigurdssønn, Ifeoma Anene, Alexandra Vuillot, Ken Yamamura, Nikis Theophilakis

Dui Shaw (Bangladesh)

Showrunner/Director: Nuhash Humayun, Producer: Redoan Rony, Screenwriters: Nuhash Humayun, Gultekin Khan
After desecrating a sacred temple, some hooligans must face the supernatural consequences of their hate crime. Dui Shaw takes the dark side of contemporary South Asia and gives it a supernatural spin. Cast: Allen Shubhro, Rizvi Rizu, Refat Hasan Saykat, Abdullah Sentu, Rafayatullah Sohan, Faiza Rahman Noon, Sahana Rahman Sumi, Mizanur Rahman, Mehmud Siddique, Yashrib Habib

Mix Tape (Canada, Australia, Finland, Ireland)

Showrunner/Screenwriter: Jo Spain, Director: Lucy Gaffy 
In Sheffield, 1989, teens Daniel and Alison meet at a house party, and bond over their love for music. The relationship they forge that night will follow them forever, and leave them wondering what could have been. Twenty years later, they reconnect. Cast: Jim Sturgess, Teresa Palmer, Florence Hunt, Rory Walton-Smith (World Premiere)

Push (Germany)

Showrunner: Luisa Hardenberg, Directors: Katja Benrath, Mia Maariel Meyer, Producer: Marie-Therese Dalke, Screenwriter: Luisa Hardenberg
Push revolves around the daily challenges of three midwives  working in a hospital in Berlin. They need to be nothing less than nurses, social workers and psychologists at the same time. Cast: Mariam Hage, Anna Schudt, Lydia Lehmann

INDEPENDENT TV PILOT COMPETITION

Bulldozer

Showrunner/Screenwriter: Joanna Leeds, Director: Andrew Leeds, Producers: Joanna Leeds, Andrew Leeds, Rhett Reese, Caleb Reese, Michael Day
Bulldozer is a comedy about a lovable, under-medicated, chronically impassioned young woman who lurches from crisis to crisis of her own making. Cast: Joanna Leeds, Mary Steenburgen, Nat Faxon, Harvey Guillen, Allen Leech, Kate Burton, Chris “CP” Powell, Tim Bagley, Adargiza De Los Santos, Andrew Friedman, Nick Armstrong (Texas Premiere)

Cigarettes

Director/Screenwriter: Sarah Mokh, Producers: Elaine Tunnat, Amanda Pinto
When Nora finds Ali bumming cigarettes outside a gas station, she skips school on her college decision day to help him settle a debt. Cast: Laith Nakli, Nada Shehata, Ramon Nunez, Patrick Boyle (US Premiere)

Denim

Showrunner/Director/Producer: Tedra Wilson
Denim is a fantastical doc series illuminating the brilliant minds of LGBTQIA+ creatives who showcase how they use their art as a form of self discovery. (World Premiere)

F*ckUps Anonymous

Showrunner/Screenwriter: Joe Tierney, Director: Kat Whalen, Producers: Joe Tierney, Nicole Kay Payson, Colin McCarthy
A rebellious teenager is sent to a therapeutic boarding school with controversial methods where the treatment of a fellow classmate on his first day makes the consequences of his actions frighteningly clear. Cast: Sarah Jeffery, Andrew Michael Fama, Debbie Campbell, Lexi Simonsen, Bob Gallagher, Marvin St-Jean, Stephen Gray, Timothy Griffin Allan (World Premiere)

Mr. Corruption

Showrunners/Screenwriters: Simeon Hu, Stephen Law, Director: Simeon Hu, Producers: Elliot Gong, Wendi Tang, Philip Ge
A corrupt Chinese businessman on the run teams up with his estranged son, in order to find his hidden money in Southern California to ensure their safety. Cast: Bruce “Kaze” Wang, Zhang Wang, Tiger Sheu, Scott Williams, Terrance Wentz, Ross Turner (World Premiere)

R&R

Director/Screenwriter/Producer: JJ Herz
Co-dependent twins Robbie (a responsible, hopeless romantic with Down syndrome) and Rachel (a raunchy, gay mess) tackle a chaotic, yet typical day in their lives. Cast: Kevin Iannucci, JJ Herz (World Premiere)

Stars Diner

Directors: Fidel Ruiz-Healy, Tyler Walker, Producers/Screenwriters: Mary Neely, Fidel Ruiz-Healy, Tyler Walker
Stars Diner isn’t the best choice for a quick steak & eggs. Run by ex-party girl Wendy, unhinged chef Milius, and odd busboy Willard, this Fresno greasy spoon must overcome unpaid bills and a once-in-a-lifetime volcanic eruption. Cast: Mary Neely, DeMorge Brown, Henri Cash, Cole Hersch, Chris Thayer, Natalie Palamides (World Premiere)

The post SXSW 2025 Film Lineup Led by A24’s Death of a Unicorn, Ben Affleck’s Accountant 2, Nicole Kidman’s Holland, Seth Rogen’s The Studio, and More! appeared first on Den of Geek.

To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before spinoff XO, Kitty has done an impeccable job so far of continuing the heartfelt rom-com legacy of the film series while giving Kitty (Anna Cathcart) plenty of room to grow as her own character outside of Lara Jean’s (Lana Condor) love story. But at the same time, the show doesn’t just throw Kitty out into the deep end without a few familiar faces making an appearance every now and then to remind us that she has a support system no matter where in the world she is.

Season 2 had some of the biggest cameos so far, with everyone’s favorite rom-com heartthrob Noah Centineo returning as Peter Kavinsky as well as Janel Parrish as Kitty’s oldest sister Margot Song-Covey. Here’s everything you need to know about when these important characters in Kitty’s life make an appearance this season and what role they play in her story.

When Does Peter Kavinsky Appear in XO, Kitty?

The return of Peter Kavinsky was not on my 2025 bingo card, but boy was this such an exciting surprise this season. Even though Netflix may have revealed this cameo ahead of season 2’s release, we still weren’t quite sure how big of a role Peter was going to play this season. 

Peter shows up in episode 6 of season 2, just when Kitty seems to need him the most. His college lacrosse team has come to Korea to play, and he luckily has enough free time to visit with Kitty and give her some much-needed advice. He also gives her a stack of letters that Lara Jean found back home between their mother Eve and her cousin Simon. It’s an important clue that leads Kitty back down the path of reconciliation between her grandmother and great-aunt.

According to Noah Centineo, Peter’s return this season was all thanks to some serendipitous timing. He was already in Seoul filming season 2 of The Recruit when he got a call from XO, Kitty producer Matt Kaplan to see if he would be interested in coming back as Peter for a quick cameo. To which his response was “absolutely.” Though he also said that coming back to this role five years later was “scary, to be completely honest.” He continues, “You reopen something that I did five years ago. It was very, very special, and you want to do it justice. You don’t want to let anyone down.”

And he definitely did not let us down. Not only do we learn some important information about Kitty’s family thanks to Peter’s appearance, we also learn that he and Lara Jean are still going strong as a couple all these years later. And if that isn’t a great reminder that these two are the epitome of “couple goals,” I don’t know what is.

When Does Kitty’s Sister Margot Appear in XO, Kitty?

In the To All the Boys world, Kitty and Lara Jean’s older sister Margot has been living abroad for the last several years, going to school and eventually working in Scotland. We don’t see her much in the movies aside from a few brief visits and FaceTime calls with the family, so her appearance this season, a season all about family and reconnection, is really important.

Margot appears in episode 8, the season 2 finale, visiting Seoul and helping Kitty reunite their extended family. Kitty has been trying all season to connect with her great-aunt and cousin without much success. After Peter gives her the letters between Simon and Eve, she learns that she and the rest of the family, including her grandmother, were supposed to visit Korea and reconcile their family’s past disagreements when she was a child, but that the trip never happened because of her mom’s death. With the help of Margot, the two sisters are able to help their grandmother reconnect with her sister after all this time. It’s a really touching moment that reminds us that this series may be a rom-com about finding true love, but that love and connection from family is also an important part of our lives.

All eight episodes of XO, Kitty season 2 are available to stream on Netflix now.

The post XO, Kitty Season 2’s To All The Boys Cameos Explained: How Does Noah Centineo Return? appeared first on Den of Geek.

To get ready for James Gunn’s much-anticipated film reboot of Superman, DC Comics is celebrating the Man of Steel with new offerings for a wide range of readers. A-list creators Mark Waid, Dan Slott, and Dan Jurgens offer new looks at Superman and his friends and foes, including villain Lex Luthor and members of the Justice League.

Let’s break down what’s coming up as part of the publisher’s Summer of Superman initiative kicking off in April:

Action Comics #1085 (April 9)

The ramp-up begins with Action Comics #1085 on April 9, written by G. Willow Wilson and illustrated by Gavin Guidry. The issue completes the “Superman Superstars” storyline that Wilson has been telling, in which Superman meets a scientist who claims to have solved the global warming crisis… at a terrible cost.

Summer of Superman Special – April 16

The Summer of Superman truly launches on Superman Day on April 18, marking the 87th anniversary of the first superhero’s debut in 1938’s Action Comics #1. Written by Waid, Slott, and Joshua Williamson, with art by Jorge Jiménez, the oversized one-shot Summer of Superman Special #1, which is out on April 16 just in time for Supes’ big day, features that most venerable of comic book traditions: a wedding. The wedding of John Henry Irons aka Steel and Clark Kent’s old Smallville squeeze Lana Lang drives a story that sees old friends gather and new threats arise.

Superman #25 – April 23

One week later, on April 23, Superman #25 brings back the Man of Steel’s greatest enemy: Lex Luthor himself. The criminal mastermind/former president returns to wrestle away control of Supercorp, the do-gooder organization at the center of Williamson’s run on Superman. The 48-page issue pairs Williamson with artists Dan Mora, Eddy Barrows, and Eber Ferreira, completing the series’ first major storyline and setting up the Man of Steel’s next challenge.

Superman Unlimited #1 – May 21

The adventure continues with the highly-anticipated new ongoing Superman Unlimited by Slott and artist Rafael Albuquerque beginning on May 21. Famous for his daring takes on Spider-Man and She-Hulk, Slott begins his Superman tenure with equally audacious ideas, including a world-wide infusion of green Kryptonite making the planet more dangerous for our hero and the Daily Planet getting a new employee transferred from the mythical Gorilla City.

According to group editor Paul Kaminski, Slott’s take harkens back to the widescreen action of the Jeph Loeb and Ed McGuinness Superman/Batman series of the early 2000s. “Superman Unlimited will capture the big, fun, high-flying adventures that Superman is known for, while also providing big moments for DC’s Superman-related comics with the introduction of a massive new Kryptonite deposit. Imagine a world where Superman is stopping a bank robbery, but every weapon is packed with Kryptonite ammunition and every petty criminal carries a Kryptonite shiv,” says Kaminski. “This is a world of unlimited danger on a level that Superman, and DC’s Superman family of characters, has never faced before.”

Superman: The World #1 – June 25

While most books focus on Superman’s beloved Metropolis, Superman: The World shows what the Man of Tomorrow means for people across the globe. Legends Dan Jurgens (The Death of Superman) and Lee Weeks (Daredevil) team up with a host of creators from everywhere from Brazil to Bosnia to India to take a cosmopolitan look at Man of Tomorrow. Superman: The World releases on June 24.

Superman’s Good Guy Gang – July 1

Of course, you can’t celebrate Superman without also including the littlest superhero fans. July 1 sees the release of Superman’s Good Guy Gang, the first in a kid-friendly series of graphic novels. Designed for young readers between the ages of 5-7, Superman’s Good Guy Gang stars Clark Kent as an eight-year-old getting used to his new powers. Writer and artist Rob Justus pairs young Clark with other new heroes Hawkgirl and the Green Lantern Guy Gardner, the latter of whom somehow makes perfect sense.

No matter what you want of the first superhero, this sounds like a very nice way to spend the lead up to the Man of Steel’s return to the big screen on July 11.

The post Summer of Superman: What to Expect From DC’s Huge 2025 Celebration of the Man of Steel appeared first on Den of Geek.

Despite huge success in the UK, Taskmaster has so far found America a tough nut to crack. The 2018 Comedy Central US version hosted by Reggie Watts and Alex Horne failed to catch on and was quickly cancelled. In 2020, the CW bought in episodes to fill the lockdown-based content vacuum but only showed a few before low numbers took it off air. Now, a well-known US comedy star, teased in advance as a “big-name” American, has been cast in series 19.

That star is comedian, actor and podcaster Jason Mantzoukas. As announced at the NYC series 19 launch event, he’ll be joined by actor-writer Mathew Baynton, sketch comedian Stevie Martin, stand-up Fatiha El-Ghorri, and presenter and podcaster Rosie Ramsey. Find out more about them all below.

Mathew Baynton

No stranger to Den of Geek readers, Mat Baynton is an actor and writer and of course, one sixth of the Them There production group behind Ghosts, Yonderland and Horrible Histories. He’s recently been giving his Bottom on stage in the Royal Shakespeare Company’s recent production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and before that is known for playing the role of lovelorn Romantic poet Thomas in Ghosts, and historical figures galore in CBBC’s OG Horrible Histories line-up. Add to that parts in Wonka, A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder, The Split, Quacks, the co-creation of The Wrong Mans with James Corden, with whom Baynton also appeared in the role of Deano in Gavin & Stacey.

Fatiha El-Ghorri

Stand-up, actor and writer Fatiha El-Ghorri has been broadening her fanbase of late thanks to stints in celebrity and panel shows from The Great British Sewing Bee to Dave’s David Mitchell-presented Taskmaster-style game Outsiders, to The Big Fat Quiz of Everything, to Big Zuu’s Big Eats, plus several comedy podcasts. She appeared in and wrote for Channel 4’s excellent Muslim punk band comedy We Are Lady Parts, and has delivered stand-up sets on screen and stage from The Comedy Store to Jonathan Ross’ Comedy Club and The Russell Howard Hour and more.

Jason Mantzoukas

Fans of Brooklyn Nine-Nine, The League, The Good Place and Parks and Recreation will have no trouble placing Jason Mantzoukas, a familiar face on TV and in the movies. He’s also one third of the presenting team on podcast How Did This Get Made?, alongside June Diane Raphael and Paul Scheer. A bit of an anglophile, Mantzoukas immersed himself in British pop culture during his time filming on Taskmaster, as explored on his Off Menu podcast episode with Taskmaster podcast host Ed Gamble. Mantzoukas is a rare overseas Taskmaster contestant who filmed his segments on a visit to the UK rather than being based in the United Kingdom like fellow non-Brit Taskmaster alumni Katherine Ryan, Desiree Burch, Rose Matafeo, Sarah Kendall, Mae Martin and Sam Campbell.

Rosie Ramsey

Six series after her husband Chris Ramsey appeared on Taskmaster, podcaster and TV presenter Rosie Ramsey will be donning the blue jumpsuit to muck in herself. Rosie is well-known for the Shagged Married Annoyed podcast she presents with her comedian husband, for BBC One’s The Chris and Rosie Ramsey Show, and for appearances on the Christmas special edition of Strictly Come Dancing, Would I Lie to You, The Wheel and more.

Stevie Martin

That’s sketch comedian Stevie Martin of course, not movie star Steve Martin (whose casting on Taskmaster would, with all respect to Stevie, obviously merit bigger billing). Get to know the stand-up through her satirical sketches, appearance with Taskmaster Champion of Champions Richard Herring on his RHLSTP, and read her Guardian interview here.

Taskmaster series 19 will air on Channel 4 at an unconfirmed date in 2025 in the UK.

The post Taskmaster Series 19 Cast Line-Up: “Big-Name” American Confirmed as Jason Mantzoukas appeared first on Den of Geek.

So, who’s he playing in the next one? Nobody.

Next up for Quay Street Productions’ Harlan Coben series for Netflix is Run Away, the story of a father’s search for his troubled missing daughter. A month ago, you’d have put any money on the lead character of Simon being played by Armitage, but instead the role had gone to fellow The Hobbit actor James Nesbitt.

Harlan Coben himself broke the news speaking to Sky earlier this month when asked about working with Armitage, who has become a friend of Coben and according to the novelist, joined his family for Thanksgiving 2024: “He won’t be in the next one by the way, so we’re breaking our cycle but it’s been great to work with him and I’d love to work with him again.”

“He calls himself our lucky underpants. I wouldn’t quite go that far, but it’s ‘can we find a role for Richard where you won’t think oh, it’s the guy from The Stranger’, it has to be something that he disappears into. Big, small, he doesn’t care.”

Armitage’s second novel The Cut, following on from his thriller debut Geneva, will be published by Faber in August 2025, so perhaps he’s been keeping busy at the keyboard instead of in front of the cameras. His name was also not among those announced for the second series of ITV action-thriller Red Eye.

Run Away, which is adapted from the 2019 novel of the same name, will mark James Nesbitt’s third role in a Quay Street’s Netflix Harlan Coben series. He first appeared in 2021’s Stay Close as a detective sergeant investigating the disappearance of multiple men over several years, and later popped up as an art-loving crime lord in 2025’s Missing You.

Nesbitt will be joined in Run Away by Gavin & Stacey’s Ruth Jones, Good Will Hunting’s Minnie Driver, Gangs of London’s Lucian Msamati, Big Boys’s Jon Pointing, Wolf Hall’s Ellie de Lange, Friday Night Dinner’s Tracy-Ann Oberman, Ted Lasso’s Annette Badland, Doctor Who’s Ingrid Oliver, The Couple Next Door’s Alfred Enoch, and more.

The new series is filming now in and around Manchester and the North West. In excellent news for fans of these twist-filled, ludicrous yet addictive thrillers, the episode count for Run Away has gone back up to the usual eight, instead of the mere five they had for Missing You, which resulted in a rushed series with underdeveloped supporting roles.

As usual, the action will be translated from the US to the UK, and though no official release date has been announced, we can expect this one to land on Netflix on January 1, 2026 in its traditional New Year’s Day binge slot.

Here’s Run Away’s official synopsis:

Simon had the perfect life: loving wife and kids, great job, beautiful home. But then his eldest daughter Paige ran away and everything fell apart. So now when he finds her, vulnerable and strung out on drugs in a city park, he finally has the chance to bring his little girl home. But it turns out she’s not alone, and an argument escalates into shocking violence. In the aftermath, Simon loses his daughter all over again, and his search to find her will take him into a dangerous underworld, revealing deep secrets that could tear his family apart forever.

The Stranger, Stay Close, Fool Me Once and Missing You are streaming now on Netflix.

The post Netflix’s New Harlan Coben Thriller Is Breaking With Tradition appeared first on Den of Geek.

So finished the party to end all parties in “The Masque of the Red Death,” one of Edgar Allan Poe’s greatest short stories, this about a cloistered group of elites who thought they could live free from consequence and the world outside their walls. Yet like nature, decay, and all other unwanted realities, the Red Death cannot be thwarted by prince and privilege, fiats and decadence. It’s a lesson humanity seems doomed to repeat, so why not do it all again in a big splashy A24 horror movie starring Sydney Sweeney?!

News of exactly that came Tuesday afternoon when Deadline broke that indie studio A24 is teaming with production company Picturestart on a new adaptation of Poe’s macabre tale—and with Sydney Sweeney reportedly in negotiations to star. While details are being kept under wraps, the film will mark the second feature-length picture from Charlie Polinger, whose upcoming first feature is the similarly titled The Plague. However, it is reported A24 wants the film to shoot later this year and that it will be “a wildly revisionist and darkly comedic take on the short story.”

The words “wildly” and “revisionist” leave a lot of leeway about what this film could be, however the union of A24 and current It Girl Sweeney certainly shows promise. It was after all A24’s partnership with HBO that made Sweeney a star on Euphoria, which is still expecting a third season. Since then Sweeney has gone on to do awards-nominated work in the likes of The White Lotus and Reality, and has produced her own hits, including another indie horror chiller from last year, Immaculate. It is on the last count that the material shows a lot of potential in 2025. After all, the Gothic horror aesthetic appears to be swinging back into popularity, and there is something incredibly Gothic about Poe’s original tale.

While Edgar Allan Poe lived in 19th century America, his sense of literature was defined by an older sensibility. Hence like so many of his tales, 1842’s “The Masque of the Red Death” is set in the Middle Ages where a proud and arrogant Prince Prospero invites a thousand “lighthearted” nobles of similar opulence and power into a walled abbey. It is there they intend to outlast the arrival of the Red Death (the bubonic plague in all but name) in style and grandeur. While the serfs are left to die outside, the nobles and their retinue will dine at an elaborate masquerade ball in ornately decorated rooms. Nonetheless, Death himself comes in human form to walk amongst them.

The story has been adapted multiple times before, most famously by Roger Corman in a kitschy but amusing Vincent Price movie from 1964. That film took the medieval setting of the short story but not much else. It also added a bit of Satan worship and an overt insinuation that Prospero’s shindig was devolving into an orgy.

We don’t know if the new film will get so lurid, or even if it will be a period piece, albeit the recent success of Robert Eggers’ pot-committed remake of Nosferatu suggests audiences are ready for Gothic horror again. Admittedly, calling the new Masque “revisionist” might tease it will be a modernization (similar to how the story was adapted as just one episode in Mike Flanagan’s Fall of the House of Usher on Netflix in 2023). However, we think it might mean something a bit more fun… such as Prospero now being a princess who invites the most debauched into her castle of frivolities.

The greater appeal to the story is how timely it feels nearly 200 years after it was written and about 700 years after it was set. The 21st century just lived through a global pandemic that left millions dead, and yet some of the leaders who fiddled while it worsened are newly rewarded with power as they, in turn, attempt to rewrite history.

Despite going through a plague, many still think money, power, and dishonesty can shield themselves from the horrors of the natural world or the suffering of others. They insist they’ll just build the wall higher.

It is in this vein, Sweeney makes a lot of sense considering she already starred in last year’s Immaculate, a film that was the first in what turned out to be a series of pro-choice horror movies about men trying to control women’s bodies in a post-Roe v. Wade America. Bringing that same pointed and scathing sensibility to Poe’s already incredibly sardonic tale about a royal who thinks he can buy his (or her) way out of meeting the Grim Reaper couldn’t arrive at a better moment.

The post Sydney Sweeney Doing Masque of the Red Death Is Perfect Timing appeared first on Den of Geek.