Movies & TV Ready or Not Ready or Not: Here I Come Is Ready to Burn it All Down The sequel to the 2019 horror comedy has a much larger stage than the first. By Emmet Asher-Perrin | Published on March 20, 2026 Screenshot: Searchlight Pictures Comment 0 Share New Share Screenshot: Searchlight Pictures It’s been seven years since the first Ready or Not, which effectively feels like saying that the film was made on an entirely different planet to its successor. Despite this, Ready or Not 2 begins in the final moments of the first film, which feature Grace MacCaullay (Samara Weaving) smoking a cigarette on the steps of the flaming Le Domas manor, having just survived the worst night of her life. That night, for those unaware or unremembering, was her wedding night. She learned that her husband’s family—boardgame tycoons—required every joining member of the brood to pull a card from a special puzzle box and play the game written on it. These terms were dictated to the family by one “Mr. Le Bail,” a man who once made a deal with their ancestor to make them wealthy and powerful in exchange for certain traditions, including cute group activities like goat sacrifice, and the understanding that when someone pulls the card “Hide and Seek,” the whole family must hunt that person to the death, or they will all die by sunrise. Grace survived, in case you’re wondering how that played out. Now it looks like she’s about to be brought up on criminal charges—given the fact that the family is exploded, their house is on fire, and her ripped up wedding dress is covered in their blood—until a contingency is activated. Grace’s survival has dictated that all the “ruling families” who made a pact with Mr. Le Bail are now required to play a second game, this one dictating who gets to keep the center seat and, essentially, rule the world. The family with that seat used to be the Danforths, and their head of house (played by David Cronenberg, who is having something of an acting renaissance in old age that I cannot get enough of) has his children commit patricide so that they can both, being twins, be the ones to take his place in the game. Grace is determined to sit this one out, but there’s a teensy flaw in this plan: She still had her baby sister listed as her emergency contact. Faith MacCaulley (Kathryn Newton) is now involved in the game in order to force Grace’s participation, with the Danforth resort as the playing field. The rules are deliberately byzantine and laid out by “the Lawyer” (Elijah Wood), who also keeps each of the four ruling families in check while they watch their selected heads of houses go after the sisters on screens from a safe room. Grace winds up suiting up in her old gear—chucks and a torn up wedding dress becoming a sort of ceremonial garb, though you couldn’t pay me to tug something with lace and that much dried blood back onto my body—for the sake of movement. She’s gained a very different sort of toughness from the first ordeal, one that Faith never questions, even if she is angry with her sister for leaving her behind. There are a few gripes to be had here, and most of them come down to flagrant retooling of the original conceit. It doesn’t make much sense for Grace to have a sister; her whole purpose in joining the Le Domas family was down to growing up in the foster system and desperately wishing that she had a family of her own. An elaborate falling out between Grace and Faith is wedged into things, but it still does weaken one of the core aspects of the initial movie (and can’t cover up the fact that Faith was never so much as mentioned there). This is a full retcon on the creative team’s part, by the way: Directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett had planned an entirely different project where Weaving and Newton were sisters, but on being asked to create a Ready or Not sequel, they decided to smash those stories together. The duo make a great team and their relationship is sweet, but it’s hard not to feel aggravated when the previous film is set up so well. Another retcon is learning that Grace wasn’t Alex Le Domas’ first fiancée—that was Francesca (Maia Jae), a member of the El Caido ruling house, who is now determined to destroy Grace for “stealing her man.” While they wind up having the funniest fight of the film’s run, her entire character is framed around this rote catfighting trope. There was an opportunity in her introduction to give some context to the previous film, but no interest in using the character beyond catty one-liners and comical rage. It’s really too bad, because it might have helped alleviate some of the disconnect between the two films by bringing the Le Domas clan’s history to the fore. Why did Alex consider marrying Francesca? Was this part of a bid to consolidate house power that he decided against? Was he strong-armed into the match by his family, and is that part of the reason he ran away from them for a few years? What strange games do the other families have to play for the delight of Mr. Le Bail? What does running the world even mean in this context and how does it work? A great deal of the folk magic feel to the first film winds up obliterated by the larger stage in this sequel, which is a shame. There’s also the question of whether or not another sequel will be requested and where the films could possibly go from here. After all, ruling the world does seem like an endgame of sorts. (Perhaps part three will have to go intergalactic or ultra-dimensional? I’m not counting on it, but I would genuinely be interested in something like that.) There’s a lot of silliness between the various heads of houses and their cheering squads. While the film does go over-the-top in these dynamics a little too often, the places where it works provide the film’s best laughs; the similarities between Francesca and her father Ignacio (Néstor Carbonell) are a highlight. Also of particular note is the way the script balances who believes they are in charge of each family group with who is actually in charge, showcasing how power dynamics play out among powerful people. Elijah Wood is having the time of this life as the arbiter of the proceedings—being Satan’s lawyer has to come with some perks, right? Sarah Michelle Gellar and Shawn Hatosy, two veterans of the screen who are well-known and loved amongst ‘90s kids, play the Danforth twins, Ursula and Titus. We run into a bit of an issue in the arcs for both characters, as there are “rules” for scenarios such as these in horror films. This is particularly true for Gellar, who is one of the genre’s most beloved heroes, currently playing a villain. While the usual intrigue is deployed, the heel turns and revelations, the payoff for both of these characters never quite sits right. Hatosy’s brutality is difficult to watch, but it also doesn’t smolder enough at the beginning for the steady build it requires. Somehow, the film manages to pull it all together at the end. Like its predecessor, Ready or Not: Here I Come does not skimp on outrageousness in its finale, going so much harder on its second run that the emotional catharsis comes clear. The underpinnings of the first story do shine through in enough moments to remind its audience that this isn’t simply a story about the moral bankruptcy of our ruling classes—it is also ultimately a story about how much the institution of marriage demands (and takes) from women. While Faith may not have existed in the first film, her creation is a helpful reminder to women today that family does not require marriage to sustain itself… but it sure does need sisterhood. All day, every day.[end-mark] The post <i>Ready or Not: Here I Come</i> Is Ready to Burn it All Down appeared first on Reactor.

News What to Watch What to Watch and Read This Weekend: The Real Project Hail Mary Was That Time We Threw Gophers Into a Volcano Plus: Space operas and why we’re not joking about that gopher thing By Molly Templeton | Published on March 20, 2026 Screenshot: Amazon MGM Studios Comment 0 Share New Share Screenshot: Amazon MGM Studios This accidentally became a space-themed roundup, and the whole time I wrote it, I was thinking, “Yay, going to space! But not like that.” Not in the “abandoning our planet and everything on it in order to live in bubbles for the wealthy on otherwise uninhabitable planets” way that certain wealthy parties seem to find so interesting. Gah. More in the “telling stories about how we’re going to have to do some pretty drastic shit to save this planet, maybe?” way. Or the metaphorical and dizzying way. Or the really cool starfighter action sequences way. Here’s a bonus piece for the weekend: “Elon Musk Just Doesn’t Understand the Sci-Fi Visions of Iain M. Banks,” by Reactor contributor (and one of my oldest friends) Tobias Carroll. If you are somewhere with blooming cherry blossom trees, I hope you get to go admire them this weekend. Spring is sproinging, and literally every star magnolia I walk past gives me a little bit of hope. Get some fresh air, call your reps, and then maybe go to space? The good way, though. Project Hail Mary: Is Everybody Going to Space this Weekend? I am slightly reluctant to say anything about Project Hail Mary, because I wish I had known less about Project Hail Mary before I saw Project Hail Mary. This is my own fault; I didn’t think I was going to see it, so I made someone tell me a lot of what happens. But! Here’s the thing: even if you know what happens (to some degree or another), there is still a delightful alien by whom you may be extremely charmed. This is not a spoiler. This is the point. Even if you think “Ryland Grace” is a ridiculous name; even if you did not love The Martian (sorry, I did not love The Martian); even if you have stayed away from a lot of the movies in which The Men Seem Sad in Space, you may find something to adore in PHM. I have some nits to pick—composers, please let me have a feeling you’re not screaming at me about—but I still found it a very enjoyable two and a half hours in space. (Side note for sensitive sci-fi fans: There was a point in this movie where I was like, no thank you, this is too upsetting. Just, you know, FYI.) Gopher (Not Groundhog) Day at the Volcano There’s science fiction, and then there’s science, and when I say science, in this particular moment, I mean gophers. The most delightful thing I read this week was going to be this Smithsonian piece about the long history of typos (which is still worth a read). But then I discovered the gophers. The gophers, to be a bit more specific, that were let loose on Mount St. Helens three years after its 1980 eruption. As Popular Mechanics writer WHOMST writers, “Faced with a devastation that would take the local environment a substantial amount of time to recover from, scientists were open to unorthodox ideas that might speed the process along. So they did what any reasonable person would decide to do and tossed a couple of gophers at the issue. Seriously.” Said scientists were hoping said gophers would kick up good bacteria and fungi while they were digging. And they did! The very good gophers did their job for a single day, and 43 years later, the benefits are still apparent. The next time you see a gopher hole, I hope you think of these little guys. Actually, There’s Really Something About This Weekend and Space I’d like to wish a very happy 17th birthday to the series finale of Battlestar Galactica, which aired on March 20th, 2009, and which—okay, yeah, the series finale was … polarizing. I cried, I groaned, I stayed up too late watching it a second time to see if I liked it better when I knew what was happening. (Jury’s still out.) For years I have been trying to find a video I saw once in which someone had edited Starbuck’s disappearing act so that it just keeps happening, and Lee just keeps looking confused. I cannot explain how funny this video was. But I needed something pure after that finale.  Polarizing finale aside, I would sure like it if we had a new space opera on the small screen. We had The Expanse, which was excellent. We had Killjoys. We have Foundation, but I only made it through a season. And yes, I watch all the new Star Treks, but I want something new. I want a minimum of 10-episode seasons and I want compelling character development and sweet space action. I want an adaptation of something that hasn’t been adapted before. Is that so much to ask? (Maybe don’t answer that.) BSG doesn’t seem to be streaming anywhere, though I know some of you have neglected DVD box sets (if not, you can buy episodes on various streamers). As an alternative, if you would like another somewhat random anniversary to celebrate, Sliders premiered on March 22, 1995. Was anything ever more ’90s? (It’s presently on Prime.) Audition: Because, You Know What, We’re Sticking With the Space Theme (Except for the Gophers) There were two books published last year called Audition; one was a novel by Katie Kitamura that was shortlisted for the Booker, and the other was a small press novel by New Zealand author Pip Adam about giants in a spaceship that’s powered by their talking. I mean… it’s not about that, but that’s part of what happens. Three people are on a spaceship, and they’re unusually large, and if they stop talking, they get bigger. They try not talking, but then they start talking again. Some of what they talk about will sound familiar to the viewers of assorted romcom films. But this book is doing several things at once, and one of those things is talking overtly and un-shyly about prison and injustice. I do not really know how to explain to you exactly how this works, because I’m still trying to figure it out. But Audition seems likely to fly under the radar of many an SFF fan, which is why I’m telling you about it here. I’ll leave you with a quote from Adam, who said to Electric Literature, “I’d always thought that writing utopias was a soft thing to do, but in writing it, I realized it’s actually quite an activist thing to do.”[end-mark] The post What to Watch and Read This Weekend: The Real <i>Project Hail Mary</i> Was That Time We Threw Gophers Into a Volcano appeared first on Reactor.

Lists role playing games Four New Superhero RPGs to Watch Out For If you love dice-rolling and superheroes, you’re in for a treat… By James Davis Nicoll | Published on March 20, 2026 Photo by Timothy Dykes [via Unsplash] Comment 0 Share New Share Photo by Timothy Dykes [via Unsplash] Superhero fiction celebrates that most fundamental political principle, that there is a no social issue that cannot be satisfactorily resolved given only a sufficiently forceful punch in the face. Organized crime, greedy landlords, the Oxford comma: none can withstand a person in tights with a good right hook. Good news for the intersection of people who enjoy superhero stories and tabletop roleplaying: 2026 is shaping up to have a number of noteworthy Superhero TTRPGs (AKA SHRPGs1). Four in particular have caught my eye. The DC Heroes Role-Playing Game 40th Anniversary Edition — Greg Gorden, Sam Lewis, Brian Reid, Ray Winninger, Thomas Cook, and Bryan Nystul, et al. DC Heroes was a licensed tie-in RPG whose first edition was contemporary with DC’s Crisis on Infinite Earths. DC Heroes had three editions—a slender, overstuffed box set, a larger box set, and a slender trade paperback—all of which shared the same flexible game mechanics. There were parallels between the Mayfair Exponential Game System and the even more venerable Champions system, in particular point-based character design and embracing logarithmic scales2. However, DC Heroes’ chart-based combat system is much, much faster than Champions’, in addition to which publisher Mayfair Games provided a large assortment of setting-specific support materials. The DC Heroes line was cancelled in 1994. Since then, the DC Comics licence has been passed from company to company. Blood of Heroes reused the basic game mechanics without the setting details but was not, as I recall, well received. Generally speaking, nothing is deader than tie-in products without a license… so I was utterly gobsmacked to see the Kickstarter for the DC Heroes 40th Anniversary Edition. For those with the cash to splash around, this offers the chance to acquire the whole line, from the 1985 1st edition to 1993’s 3rd, plus all of the support material. Of course, the older works are tied to versions of the DC Universe that haven’t existed in decades… but if there’s one thing DC fans should be used to, it’s variable continuities. Mutants & Masterminds 4th Edition — Steven Kenson3 Green Ronin’s Mutants & Masterminds (M&M) offers most of the crunch of Champions4 while avoiding much of the math, as well as the nigh-theological discussions of how to apply the rules as written to characters as envisioned. Like pretty much every SHRPG on the market, M&M’s conflict resolution system is considerably less time consuming than Champions’. In addition, Kenson provides a game mechanic rule that discourages wildly unbalanced characters: you can be hard to hit or hard to damage, but not both. Technically speaking, Mutants & Masterminds’ D20-based game mechanics make the game a distant cousin of Dungeons and Dragons. However, in fitting d20 to the demands of superheroes, Kenson has modified the mechanics sufficiently that I think the connection isn’t obvious. Kenson has been tweaking the mechanics over the decades5. 1E was 2002, 2nd 2006, and 3rd 2011. I am very curious what effect 15 years of pondering will have on 4th edition. Invincible: Superhero Roleplaying — Adam Bradford & Tomas Härenstam As the title suggests, Invincible: Superhero Roleplaying is Free League’s tie-in RPG for Robert Kirkman’s gritty, ultraviolent superhero comic book and television series. The core mechanics are founded in Free League’s Year Zero Engine (YZE), as adapted to the needs of superhero gaming. To be honest, I have not read the comics nor seen the TV show. This would seem to be an unlikely product to catch my eye. However, what I am is a Free League fan. I am very curious how YZE works as a SHRPG core engine. My experience with Free League has been positive enough that I own most if not all of their core RPG rulebooks. Even if the narrative universe isn’t my thing, the rules look adaptable to a wide array of campaigns. In fact, Invincible would almost certainly be the next set of SHRPG rules I inflict on my long-suffering players, were it not for the fact 2026 is also the year of… Outgunned Superheroes — Riccardo “Rico” Sirignano and Simone Formicola with art by Daniela Giubellini 2023’s Outgunned (OG) is Italian game company Two Little Mice’s action movie6 RPG. While Outgunned Superheroes (OGS) can be used as an expansion for OG, OGS is designed to function as a stand-alone game. OGS differs from DC Heroes and M&M in that its inspiration isn’t comic books and graphic novels, but very specifically television and movies, with an emphasis on protagonists who are, well, the good guys7. As with OG, OGS characters are created by selecting a role and a trope: basically, the character’s job and how they approach it. The game uses Outgunned’s Director’s Cut game engine, a d6-based Yahtzee-like dice pool system, whose embellishments are very straightforward despite the inherent demands of the superhero genre (which can in theory feature any other genre). About once a year, a new game will eat my brain. In 2023, that was Dragonbane. In 2024, it was Fabula Ultima. In late 2025, it was Outgunned, which offered a beautiful, well-bound product, and an impressive selection of supporting material, not to mention creators whose livestreams are a delight of cheerful enthusiasm. I’ve had a lot of fun running OG. I expect OGS will be even more fun. No doubt there are other SHRPGs with new editions scheduled to hit the stands this year. What are in your opinion the most notable examples not mentioned above?[end-mark] The TT is silent here because I don’t care to type all of SHTTRPG over and over. Also, as someone who got into RPGs before video games took over, I bitterly resent having to specify that I mean what is to me real roleplaying games, rather than their narratively limited cousins over in Bits-and-Bytes Land. ︎I credit Champions for having hit on excellent solutions to the problem of mapping superheroes onto game systems. For example, logarithmic scales let you fit Jimmy Olsen and Superman into the same coordinate system without requiring absurdly large numbers for Superman. ︎Kenson also designed the more streamlined Icons SHRPG. ︎Champions casts a long, long shadow over superhero RPGs. It really deserves its own article. ︎How has it been twenty-four years since M&M was released? 2002 wasn’t that long ago, surely. I would like to talk to the bloke managing the linear passage of time. ︎Originally, I’d written “cinematic” instead of “action movie,” but “Italian” plus “cinematic” might lead people to think you could emulate 8 ½, The Working Class Goes to Heaven, or Perfect Strangers using Outgunned. Maybe you can, but that’s not the designer’s goal. ︎If you want to play villainous villains, those are covered in the Action Flicks 3 OG expansion. Shocker: bad guys have short lives, which are facilitated by supervillain-specific rules. ︎The post Four New Superhero RPGs to Watch Out For appeared first on Reactor.

News Spider-Man: Brand New Day Every Villain in the Spider-Man: Brand New Day Trailer And a few that weren’t in the trailer By Matthew Byrd | Published on March 19, 2026 Image: Marvel Studios Comment 0 Share New Share Image: Marvel Studios The first trailer for Spider-Man: Brand New Day felt like a throwback in many ways, but the trailer’s most endearing and significant retro quality may have been its parade of villains. Whereas the previous Spider-Man MCU films were content with largely focusing on one major antagonist, Brand New Day brings us a veritable buffet of baddies. In fact, some of the things we know and suspect about Brand New Day’s plot suggest that the film’s quantity of rogues will be a major plot point. It is, and will likely remain, a lot of characters to keep up with. But for now, here’s a better look at every villain featured in the Brand New Day trailer as well as some rumored and confirmed villains that were only hinted at. Confirmed Villains in the Spider-Man: Brand New Day Trailer Image: Marvel Studios Scorpion Scorpion ended up being the most prominently featured villain in the Brand New Day trailer, which makes sense given his MCU history. As you may recall, Scorpion’s appearance was teased way back in 2017’s Spider-Man: Homecoming. Michael Mando is even still playing the character all these years later. Was Marvel playing the long game or did they simply forget? The world may never know.  Despite his relative prominence, Scorpion is unlikely to be the primary antagonist in Brand New Day. For that matter, it’s unlikely that any one villain will function as the primary antagonist in the movie given the sheer number of adversaries and plotlines it will likely throw at us. Even Scorpion’s brief dialogue (“Stay out of my way”) suggests he is part of a bigger plan rather than simply looking for revenge. Image: Marvel Studios Boomerang Boomerang’s appearance in the Brand New Day trailer isn’t quite “blink and you’ll miss it” (he’s weirdly prominently featured in the trailer’s thumbnail), but it’s doubtful he’ll be much of a player in the final film. We don’t even know who is playing the former baseball player turned assassin (which is an admittedly awesome backstory).  At the moment, it’s suspected that Boomerang is either part of a mass villain event that occurs at some point in the movie or is even relegated to a flashback or similar scene that briefly shows Peter dealing with various foes. In any case, it seems likely that this is one boomerang that won’t be coming back (I’ll see myself out now).  Image: Marvel Studios Tarantula Tarantula seems to be in roughly the same boat as Boomerang (though on a different boat in the trailer itself). Given his street-level status in the comics, brief trailer appearance, and lack of a confirmed actor, it’s doubtful he will have much to do inBrand New Day. Still, he’s in the trailer, so here he is as well. For the curious, this version of Tarantula appears to be a former revolutionary turned assassin with a special suit outfitted with spiked shoes. Potentially fun fact: the Tarantula scene in the trailer is a callback to this Spider-Man cover, and that issue ends with a surprise appearance from The Punisher. Image: Marvel Studios The Punisher Speaking of The Punisher, it does feel a bit premature to refer to him as one of Brand New Day’s villains. It’s far more likely that he is operating in antihero/frenemy territory in the movie given what we know about Jon Bernthal’s version of the character, this film’s set-up, and the greater state of the MCU.  But because I’m a sucker for completionism, it must be noted that The Punisher and Spider-Man certainly have a less-than-friendly interaction in the Brand New Day trailer. Though the smart money is on these two finding a way to put aside their differences, there will seemingly be some differences at some point.  Image: Marvel Studios The Hand The Hand’s appearance in the Brand New Day trailer was both surprising and somewhat odd. We’ve seen The Hand in the MCU before (they last popped up in The Defenders), so it’s not entirely shocking to see that the faction is hanging around. But historically, Spider-Man hasn’t had many interactions with The Hand. So his encounter with them in what appears to be a prison (as well as later across rooftops) is a bit mystifying given that this picture isn’t exactly lacking in villains.  There are theories regarding their appearance, though. Given that Brand New Day is related to Daredevil: Born Again’s second season in some mysterious ways, it’s possible they are a carry-over from the events of that show. They could also be allied with whoever Brand New Day’s biggest bad ends up being. Otherwise, they too are likely a part of the mass villain incident that seemingly happens at some point in the movie. Image: Marvel Studios Tramell Tillman’s Mysterious Character The very good news is that Tramell Tillman will be in Brand New Day. However, we still have no idea who Tillman is actually playing, despite the actor making an appearance in the recent trailer.  But context and rumors point us in two likely directions. The first suggests Tillman will portray William Metzger: an activist who led a propaganda campaign against the X-Men and other mutants. He’s not the biggest character in the X-Men canon (to say the least), but Tillman playing somebody that helps set up the X-Men makes sense given what we know and suspect about this movie’s plot (more on that in a bit) as well as Marvel’s bigger plans for the X-Men moving forward. That character’s use of the phrase “we are faced with a danger we can’t control” (a seemingly spliced together line) has also led some to believe he could be part of Damage Control. One supposes both theorized roles could end up being the same character, though the most important takeaway here seems to be Tillman’s character speaking in the context of scenes that certainly seem to involve some kind of militaristic force and the possible presence of mutants.  Image: Marvel Studios Sadie Sink’s Brand New Day Character (Possibly) Much of the discussion about the Brand New Day trailer has revolved around someone we don’t see or perhaps only see a glimpse of. Yes, we still do not know who Sadie Sink will play in Brand New Day despite her casting being arguably one of the biggest headlines about the movie so far. We also do not clearly see Sink in the Brand New Day trailer.  But as you may have heard, many suspect that is indeed Sink playing the mysterious hooded figure we briefly catch a glimpse of (as seen above). Given that the character appears in the context of Tillman’s aforementioned scene as well as images of various soldiers being mentally manipulated, all signs continue to point to Sink playing Jean Grey. Sink playing Grey may end up being the worst kept secret in Hollywood, but the rumor has always made sense. Marvel is going to have to start introducing more X-Men characters, Sink has been at the top of nearly every Jean Grey fancasting list for quite some time, and the extreme secrecy surrounding her character hints at something so much bigger than a one-off appearance.  And while Jean Grey will almost certainly not be a villain for long, there is the possibility that she will be initially presented as one until she and Spider-Man find common ground. Of course, if that isn’t Jean Grey, all bets are off.  Rumored and Confirmed Villains Not Seen in the Spider-Man: Brand New Day Trailer Tombstone Here’s an odd one. Despite being one of the few Brand New Day villains Marvel confirmed will be in the movie ahead of the trailer’s recent release, Tombstone was seemingly not featured in that trailer. They’re obviously not trying to hide his presence, which leaves us to wonder how the character will actually fit into what appears to be a stuffed story.  The most popular theories at this time suggest that Tombstone is another relatively low-level villain in Brand New Day. The gangster is undoubtedly part of the onslaught of chaos we get a taste of in the trailer, though his history in the comics would sooner suggest he is one of the roadblocks in Peter’s way rather than one of his biggest threats in this particular adventure.  Man-Spider This is not a confirmed villain for Brand New Day, but a read between the lines reveals some interesting text. The Brand New Day trailer spends quite a bit of time talking about a mutation that is seemingly happening to Peter. From what we can gather, this mutation is causing Peter to exhibit more overtly spider-like traits. This seemingly leads to things like organic web-shooting abilities, though that hardly seems like the end of the story.  That leads us to Man-Spider. In Spider-Man: The Animated Series, there was also a plotline involving Peter struggling to contain an evolution of the powers he received as a result of that mutated spider bite. He is eventually turned into a creature that is more spider than man (think Jeff Goldblum at the end of The Fly). Given the dialogue in that trailer and Brand New Day’s proximity to several Animated Series storylines, it certainly seems likely we’ll see something similar occur in Brand New Day. For what it’s worth, though, Man-Spider was initially received as more of a villain than he actually was. But that too feeds into the idea that Peter Parker is sacrificing his personal life to act as Spider-Man more often.  Ramrod For quite some time, various rumors have suggested that the villainous Ramrod will appear in Brand New Day. At first, those rumors were rightfully seen as somewhat unlikely or simply uninteresting. After all, Ramrod is hardly one of Spider-Man’s most notable villains. You’d have to dive deep into Spider-Man’s rogues gallery to find meaningful appearances from the cyborg.  The funny thing is that Brand New Day’s trailer actually validates the Ramrod rumors because of his low-level status rather than in spite of it. Peter is obviously going to battle a variety of villains throughout the movie, even if those battles are limited to brief flashbacks and quick cuts. As such, Ramrod could very well be one of many lesser foes we eventually catch a glimpse of in the final film. [end-mark] The post Every Villain in the <i>Spider-Man: Brand New Day</i> Trailer appeared first on Reactor.

News The Wheel of Time Arcane Producer Partners With iwot Studios On Various New Wheel of Time Adaptations The Wheel of the Time really keeps on turnin’ By Molly Templeton | Published on March 19, 2026 Credit: Prime Video Comment 0 Share New Share Credit: Prime Video Variety brings word that more Wheel of Time adaptations are in the works. Arcane producer Thomas Vu and his company Initiate Entertainment are partnering with iwot Studios—who own the rights to Robert Jordan’s series—on a video game, animated feature films, and an animated TV series. According to Variety, “Vu’s new Wheel of Time PC/mobile video game is ‘aimed at broadening the franchise’s reach across platforms and engaging fans worldwide,’ while the film and TV series projects, which do not yet have attached streamers or distributors, will be ‘targeting a young audience and designed to grow the franchise’s global footprint.’” Rick Selvage and Larry Mondragon of iwot were both producers on Prime Video’s Wheel of Time series (pictured above), and will be involved in these new creations. These projects are in addition to iwot’s plentiful previously announced Wheel of Time projects, which include: • the animated film The White Tower, announced in 2023• the live-action prequel film Age of Legends, from director Kari Skogland• the open-world RPG game in development at iwot Games Montréal• and their AI platform, which will “enable studios to unify their production environments across film, television, video games, animation, advertising, immersive experiences, social platforms, and user-generated content.” Variety quotes Vu—formerly “head of creative and IP franchise” at Riot Games—as saying, “I see tremendous opportunity in expanding ‘The Wheel of Time’ into fully authentic, integrated, interactive, and animated storytelling experiences.” His Initiate Entertainment partner Anthony Borquez is the co-founder of Grab Labs, which Variety describes as “an AI development company focused on the video game and entertainment industry through interactive storytelling and immersive experiences.” Vu provided Variety with an exclusive proof-of-concept rendering of how Rand al’Thor would look in one or more of these upcoming projects; the details are not provided. He looks rather like KJ Apa as Archie Andrews as Rand al’Thor. It is not yet known when any of these projects will be made available to Wheel of Time fans.[end-mark] The post <i>Arcane</i> Producer Partners With iwot Studios On Various New Wheel of Time Adaptations appeared first on Reactor.