Tag Archives: Superman

Dec 6 2025

The Impact Of Netflix Buying Warner Bros.

In the biggest cinematic and media earthquake since the Walt Disney Company acquired 21st Century Fox and many of its assets, Netflix announced that it will purchase Warner Bros. for $82.7 billion. This is one of the most important events to happen with film, TV, videos, comics, and other media and it will have long-lasting repercussions throughout the media industry.

Up for Sale

Warner Bros. had been up for sale for some time and several major companies expressed interest in buying it, especially Paramount Skydance. Many expected Paramount to purchase Warner Bros. given their public and aggressive efforts to purchase the company but in the end the streaming giant Netflix beat out Paramount and will acquire the film and HBO segments of Warner Bros. as it chose not to purchase the cable TV channels that were part of Warner Bros. Discovery. This acquisition will give Netflix access and ownership to an impressive film and television library and major IPs, including DC, Looney Tunes, Hanna-Barbera, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, The Matrix, Game of Thrones, Mad Max and more.

Many have watched the bidding war with caution and were concerned with a possible ownership by Paramount, mostly because its CEO, David Ellison, has openly expressed fealty to the Trump Administration to the point that a Rush Hour 4 has been greenlit simply because Trump expressed interest in such a film. This meant that the government has influence on what media entertainment gets released, which leads to First Amendment questions. Imagine if Paramount bought Netflix and the government had a hand in deciding the direction of DC films, TV or comics. A film like Superman, which openly criticized America’s current immigration policies, would never be allowed by Ellison. On the other hand, the purchase by Netflix has opened up another can of worms that has the film industry reeling because of the implications.

Streaming Influence

One possibility of the purchase is that it could lead to the death of cinemas since the majority, if not all, Warner Bros. films could be released straight to streaming. This would create a domino effect with other film studios copying the release model, which would hasten the demise of the theater-going experience.

This has been a growing problem in recent years that was accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic which caused many film and TV studios to lean heavily on streaming to provide content to consumers. Netflix has upended the conventional model of film releases where films normally had theatrical lives of a few months before being available on digital or for streaming. This has conditioned viewers to skip going to theaters and just wait for a film to appear on a streaming app a short while after its release. Now it is becoming the norm that films would be released on streaming weeks after a theatrical release and even the same day the film premieres in theaters. Many have speculated that Superman might have had a larger box office haul if it was not announced roughly a month after its initial film release that it would be available for home viewing. While short theatrical runs is convenient and deceptively cheaper for consumers (the idea that they will see the film for free on streaming is silly since they still have to pay for the service), this practice is a major issue with theaters with lost revenue and content.

Another supposed plus for Netflix subscribers is that the service will have an even more exhaustive library of content, but now with prestige content. One problem for the streaming company was that recently it did not have easy access to popular content as film and TV companies created their own streaming services. Netflix has been criticized for having a glut of inferior films and TV shows that are just placed on the streaming app with little promotion. It’s true that Netflix has many quality and popular TV and films like Stranger Things, Wednesday, Squid Game, The Witcher, Black Mirror, and KPop Demon Hunters, with the glut of content dumped on the platform a lot of quality product has gotten lost in the overwhelming mixture. How will prestige films and TV shows from HBO and Warner Bros. stand out from the low-budget dreck flooding Netflix’s landing page?

One possibility is that Warner Bros. and HBO could have their own pages or remain as separate streaming services as we see now with Hulu, which is owned by Disney but is its own streaming service that subscribers of Disney+ could access by purchasing a bundle service. This would allow Netflix to have its own prestige platform to stream high-end quality products that stand out in the crowded streaming service.

But do not be surprised when the monthly subscription rate for Netflix increases dramatically to help pay for the $82 billion purchase. Expect to pay up to $50 and more monthly in a few years.

Impact on DC & Other Popular IP

Now the big question genre fans have is what impact will the purchase have on DC Studios and the DC Universe (DCU) and other popular genre IP? For now nothing. There are contracts that have to be honored so projects in production should be safe, so no worries about Man of Tomorrow, Clayface, or Supergirl. However, the head of DC Studios, James Gunn, might get pressured to favor some popular characters like Batman over obscure ones that he favors such as Booster Gold. Let’s hope that Netflix executives learned a lesson from Disney and Marvel Studios, where in the early 2020s the Disney executives forced the film studio to quickly churn out a lot of TV shows and films to fill out content on Disney+ and to announce projects before they were ready. What happened was that a lot of mediocre films and TV shows were released which damaged the reputation of Marvel Studios’ films and TV shows and led to the recent reduced box office haul for some of their films. Sure, Marvel Studios is taking steps to course correct, but they’re still recovering from this misstep.

Getting back to DCU and all things DC, it’s possible Netflix may force Gunn to step up the output of DC films and TV shows since again Netflix wants a return for their investment. Thankfully, The Batman, Part II is about to enter production, which may keep the streaming company off Gunn’s back. On the other, the company might pressure him to make a decision on the DCU version of Batman soon, and casting some of the more popular DC characters in order to greenlight productions already. Despite rumors about Gunn leaving DC Studios, which were rampant when Paramount was actively looking to purchase Warner Bros., it has been reported that Gunn will stay put. Even though there hasn’t been a lot of DCU projects released to date, Superman, Peacemaker and Creature Commandos have been well received and Netflix is not foolish enough to scrap the DCU and go through the trouble to launch another reboot at this time.

One thing to consider is that while the more obscure DC characters may not get the big-screen treatment, they could wind up as straight-to-streaming projects that could be a proving ground for the characters. The main thing is to just let Gunn alone to produce quality product and all should be fine. In fact, this should be the case for all of the film and TV projects.

While it’s very possible that Netflix will greenlight a lot of DC animated films there won’t be a revival of the Snyderverse. After the dismal failure of the Rebel Moon films, Netflix has been moving away from filmmaker Zack Snyder and it is doubtful that the company will approve a revival of his brand of DC films. The slimmest of hope for diehard Snyderverse bros is that some kind of Elseworlds animated film will be made.

Oh yes, expect Stranger Things and DC to have a crossover in the comics, along with comic books featuring Harry Potter and other popular Warner Bros. IP.

As for other IPs like Mad Max, It and related Stephen King works, and Harry Potter, there has not been any word yet about them. But it’s expected that Netflix will take full advantage of their newly acquired IP. Announced projects like the reboot of Harry Potter, more TV shows based on Game of Thrones, and the second season of It: Welcome to Derry will proceed as scheduled and if HBO is kept as a separate streaming platform those prestige projects will stream there first before migrating to Netflix years later. Will we ever see shelved projects like Batgirl or genre TV shows that were removed from HBO Max such as Westworld or Raised By Wolves? It’s anyone’s guess, but consider this: these projects were removed to save on paying residuals or for tax write offs by Warner Bros. Without these burdens and with the need to put out recognizable content, it is possible that these projects may have a second life on Netflix.

Of course, there are a lot of hurdles for Netflix such as government approval so it will be at least two years before we see any impact. For now, the company indicated they will leave things alone, and supposedly commit to theatrical releases for Warner Bros. films, which would be to their and everyone’s benefit.

Aug 11 2025

We Are The Winners Of The Summer 2025 Superhero Film War

It sounds like a cliche by now to make a statement that we fans are the true winners of summer 2025’s superhero film wars between Marvel and DC, but it’s true. It does not matter which of the two films, Superman and The Fantastic Four: First Steps, is better, although fans have made arguments that Superman was better than The Fantastic Four: First Steps and vice versa. It’s all subjective and open to interpretation. What matters is that we finally got a summer where the two superhero-based film studios, Marvel Studios and DC Studios, went head to head with top-tier film releases that were well made and successful (more on that soon).

The result was that we were treated to two great superhero films in a relatively short amount of time. It would have been better if they performed better at the box office but they are not flops. Who knows what would have happened if both films pulled in a billion dollars? Would this have triggered some kind of race between the two studios to outdo each other at every turn? This would not be realistic or viable and probably lead to a huge crash after some of their films failed. Perhaps the films would have made a lot more money if their releases were not so close to each other since the films came out in a two-week period. Both studios should adjust their release schedules to consider this.

One thing to dispel is that there isn’t superhero fatigue. That is something that trolls and others want to create a narrative in order to drive clicks and views. Sure, we are past the heyday of the superhero craze and the new normal is that they are not guaranteed box office gold. But that is because too many inferior films came out which turned off many to superhero films. The two studios should share some blame for that but other studios, especially Sony Pictures, dumped out garbage like Madame Web and Morbius, which diluted the Marvel name and superhero films in general. It does not matter that the Sony Spider-Man-less films were not part of the Marvel Studios films; the average moviegoer does not know or pay attention to such subtleties. Even though Sony announced they won’t produce any more of these films, the damage has been done.

Right now both Marvel Studios and DC Studios are in a rebuilding phase. Both of this summer’s superhero films launched new phases for their shared cinematic universes and past history has shown that the early films of the studios started off relatively small but they built interest for the characters who later on headlined blockbuster films. For example, Man of Steel earned $670 million dollars, while that is great for most films, Warner Bros., the parent company of DC Studios, would have preferred it earned more. The following film after Man of Steel, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice was more successful in part because it featured Superman. The problem for Warner Bros. is that they got greedy and impatient and jumped into the big tentpole epics like Justice League, which did not allow for the characters and events to grow naturally. In the end, these films failed to make the money Warner Bros. wanted and eventually the first DC shared universe collapsed.

James Gunn took over the DC films and is now carefully launching a new cinematic universe. For the most part, he is keeping things close as to what direction the films will take. As far as we know the only followup film in the new DC universe that is coming out will be Supergirl, while on TV Lanterns and Peacemaker will be streaming soon. Gunn has made it clear, that future films will only go into production once a complete script satisfies everyone, which is how it should be. Right now, Superman will have earned $600 very soon and maybe will finish out its run earning a bit more, which means it is profitable. This is a promising start for the new DC films but it’s important that Superman appear soon in future films in order to keep the character fresh with audiences.

Meanwhile, the early Marvel Studios films did not even come close to making a billion dollars until The Avengers. The Marvel films released this year were not outright flops nor were they were humongous successes, although the final numbers for The Fantastic Four: First Steps is not known at this time. The films earned from as low as $382 million (for Thunderbolts*) to $434 million and counting for The Fantastic Four: First Steps. In the end, the latter film will probably finish its run with over $500 million, which is respectable.

Marvel Studios tried to repeat this pattern with Phase Four of their films after the Infinity Saga ended. But circumstances prevented followups to the Phase Four films TV shows and characters. Sure, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings was a hit back in 2021 and all, but where is the sequel? Where is Shang-Chi for that matter? Yes, he will appear in Avengers: Doomsday but that will be a time gap of five years between appearances, which is too long. This lack of followup was a huge error on Marvel’s part. They had to keep to momentum going with Shang-Chi, especially since he was an unknown character. In the past, after minor and unknown characters made their debuts, Marvel Studios quickly featured them in other films to keep up interest. Examples of this include the Guardians of the Galaxy and Doctor Strange, who rocketed in popularity after they made appearances in Avengers films and their future films earned much more than their debut films. This even happened with the Marvel Studios version of Spider-Man. His debut film, Spider-Man: Homecoming, did not make a billion dollars but his second and third films did so, easily. This formula will work with the Fantastic Four and other new characters. Thankfully, Marvel Studios will repeat this formula in the upcoming Avengers: Doomsday as that film will feature the Fantastic Four, the Sam Wilson Captain America, and the Thunderbolts.

Both film studios are focusing on quality and long-term strategies, which is great because this will help word of mouth for these superhero films. Marvel Studios now has genuine competition when it comes to producing quality superhero films. Again this is great for us fans. Even the head of Marvel Studios, Kevin Feige, has said in the past that he wanted DC films to succeed because the competition would be good for Marvel Studios. Competition generates innovation and creativity and encourages competitors to do their best work. In fact, the lack of competition from DC could be seen as one of the reasons why Marvel Studios floundered for a few years.

It is great that there is genuine competition between the two superhero film studios. Whether or not Superman or The Fantastic Four: First Steps is more successful is irrelevant at this point, although Superman is the clear winner when it comes to box office result. Both films can be enjoyed by fans for what they bring to the table. What matters is that two great superhero films came out in one summer, which is something we have not had in a while. This is why we are the winners in this competition.

Jul 13 2025

Superman Flies Off To A Promising Start For the DCU

The new DC Universe (DCU) is off to a very promising start with Superman, written and directed by James Gunn, and who is also the guru spearheading the DCU.

Unlike other introductory Superman films, this latest reboot does away with the origin story of Clark Kent/Superman (David Corenswet) arriving to Earth as a child from the doomed planet Krypton and growing up to become the world’s greatest superhero. Instead, the film takes place three years into his debut. As the film starts, Superman has for the first time lost a battle against a foe called the Hammer of Baravia. In the film’s opening text, Superman stopped the country of Baravia from invading its neighbor and this action has proven to be controversial. While Superman sees this as simply preventing needless deaths and protecting a weak country against one ruled by a dictator, many people saw this as him acting recklessly without authority.

As this fallout happens, Superman’s arch nemesis, the evil tech bro Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult) manages to break into Superman’s Antarctic lair, the Fortress of Solitude, abduct Superman’s dog, Krypto, and steal video files of Superman’s Kryptonian parents. Luthor uses this footage to smear Superman on social media by revealing that Superman was supposed to conquer the people of Earth. This revelation quickly turns the public against Superman, who is then forced to turn himself into the U.S. authorities for his actions against Baravia. After he is imprisoned in a pocket dimension, it is up to his lover and fellow reporter Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan), and allies Mr. Terrific (Edi Gathegi), Guy Gardner (Nathan Fillion), Jimmy Olsen (Skyler Gisondo), and Hawkgirl (Isabela Merced) to find a way to free him, discover Luthor’s true motives and expose him.

Superman works for so many reasons. The film immediately does away with the dour and gritty look of the recent Superman films that divided many fans. This version of Superman is bright, cheerful but not without conflict. However, unlike the last big-screen incarnation of Superman, this one is more human and is not brooding or trying to find his place in the world. In many ways, this version of Superman better reflects the more human and relatable version we last saw in the recent TV show Superman & Lois.

Yes, Superman has its flaws such as some colorful supporting characters did not get much screen time compared to others and the plot moves a bit too quickly, which tamped down some emotional points. But the breakneck pace of the film for the most part works in the film’s favor as it keeps everything moving at a lively pace that rarely lets up. It is refreshing that James Gunn was not afraid to embrace the characters’ goofy and sci-fi fantasy comic book roots and present them in an endearing and fun way that celebrates the DC Comics, especially during its late Silver and Bronze Ages.

It goes without saying that Superman is probably the most comic book-oriented film in recent history. It is not afraid of its comic book roots; it actually celebrates them. In our very cynical time that is full of strife and misery the bright, optimistic nature of Superman is a much-needed escape into a more hopeful world where good triumphs over evil in the end, and decency is commended as represented by Superman himself. This brightness also stands out in contrast to many recent superhero/comic book movies.

James Gunn must be applauded for having the vision and skill to pull off this exuberant debut for the DCU. He exhibits a lot of the quirky humor and pulse-pounding action beats that he demonstrated with his Guardians of the Galaxy films and The Suicide Squad. The camera work is simply breathtaking in many of the fight and flying scenes. The special effects are nearly perfect as is the production design. At the same time, the film is injected with so much emotion and character. This would not be possible with an inferior cast, but thankfully, Gunn recruited some of the best actors for this film.

Corenswet does a fine job as a more relatable Superman, although there was not enough time given to his dual identity of Clark Kent, but that can be remedied in the next film.  The other acting stand outs include Brosnahan, who probably portrays the best big-screen version of Lois Lane, Hoult as Luthor, who eerily evokes current D-Bag tech bros who are becoming the ruination of our society, and Gathegi, who steals many scenes with his dry one liners and goofily stoic nature. But the true star of the show, aside from Superman himself, was Krypto the Superdog. As he did with Rocket Raccoon, Gunn presents us with an endearing animal character that steals many scenes with great humor and genuine affection. And he’s a good dog!

Superman could not come at a better time, not just for DC Studios or even superhero films, but for everyone in general. Just as the original Superman in 1978 was a beacon of hope and light in a troubled time in our history, this 2025 version of Superman also serves as reminder that we can be better, and we will be. With such a great start to the DCU, it’s exciting to see what comes next for this new cinematic universe.

José Soto

Jul 1 2025

The Eve OF The DCU’s Chapter One: Gods & Monsters

After the downfall of the DC Extended Universe (DCEU), the new DC Universe (DCU) cinematic universe has risen from the ashes and kicks off with Superman on July 11, 2025.

Fans of DC have both eagerly anticipated this meant and dreaded it ever since filmmaker James Gunn announced DC Studios’ planned DCU line up in early 2023 with a slate of films and TV shows. The first TV show which actually started the DCU last year was the animated Creature Commandos which streamed on Max. The show received positive reactions although it seemed similar to James Gunn’s DCEU film The Suicide Squad, but with monsters as the main characters forced to work for the government instead of supervillains. One thing that Gunn made clear was that Creature Commandos was canon to the DCU and even one of the featured characters from that show, Rick Flagg, Sr., will appear in Superman.

Right now, fandom and the public at large are focused on Superman, which inaugurates the DCU in live action. The marketing push for the film is very intense and pervasive with the usual deluge of merchandise and trailers (but gotta admit any merch about Krypto the Super Dog is so damn cute; Gunn has a way with animals) and publicity. There is a good reason for the push by DC Studios’ parent company Warner Bros.

RIP DCEU

As everyone knows, the DCEU was supposed to be film studio’s answer to Disney’s Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), which has been wildly successful ever since it debuted in 2008. The DCEU had everything going for it: popular superheroes that enjoyed success in the box office and TV with projects like Christopher Nolan’s Batman films, the Arrowverse on TV and Smallville. Even Nolan helped launch the DCEU by helping to create Man of Steel. But for many reasons the DCEU was plagued by many problems, mostly due to studio interference, impatience and greed. Warner Bros. was in a rush to compete with the MCU and didn’t allow the DCEU to grow organically and build up a fanbase like with the MCU. Instead of carefully introducing characters, they were clumsily mashed together just to premiere Justice League, the DCEU answer to The Avengers, just a few short years after Man of Steel. Many of the films were not well received and it seemed as if the DCEU was playing catch up with the MCU. But what really killed the DCEU was interference by studio executives who were chasing the almighty dollar and did not seem to care about the quality of the films.

Despite attempts to salvage the DCEU by the early 2020s it was clear that the cinematic universe was without direction and falling apart. To the studio’s credit, they recognized James Gunn’s talent and vision with The Suicide Squad and offered him the opportunity to revamp its cinematic universe. He essentially started over with the DC properties and has launched the DCU with its initial projects being labeled as Chapter One: Gods & Monsters. Of course, this entailed huge changes including the recasting of the DC characters. Actors, like Henry Cavill, were removed from playing iconic characters and in the case of Jason Momoa, he was recast to play a different role in the DCU. This development was controversial and incense some fans of the DCEU who automatically hated anything to do with the DCU and have taken to the Internet to troll Gunn and the DCU. Unfortunately, that is par for the course with social media these days.

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Jan 5 2025

Top Ten Most Anticipated Films & TV Shows

Aside from the fact that the year 2025 means that this century is now 25 percent complete, this year promises many great genre films and TV shows for our enjoyment. Here is the list of the most anticipated films and TV shows for 2025. But note that as always, some of the projects listed will either be delayed to another year or turn out to be hot garbage and/or won’t necessarily be among the best films or TV shows when the year is complete. With that, let’s check out what 2025 has in store for us.

Films

10. Predator: Badlands

The film Prey turned out to be a great surprise as it jumpstarted the Predator franchise. The director of Prey, Daniel Tracthenberg, returns with a fresh new premise as the new film is told from the point of view of the Predator.

9. Jurassic World: Rebirth

The Jurassic Park/World franchise starts off with a new premise and cast as dinosaurs have become an endangered species. Calamity ensues (as always) when humans try to gather genetic material from the last remaining dinosaurs on an island.

8. Sinners

Black Panther Director Ryan Coogler teams up again with actor Michael B. Jordan in a horror yarn featuring vampires. Jordan plays a dual role as troubled twin brothers who return to their hometown only to discover a deadly evil waiting for them.

7. How to Train Your Dragon

While the idea of adapting beloved animated classics into live-action films has run its course, looking at you Disney, the trailer for this film looks great. It captured the look and tone of the original film from DreamWorks Animation, so let’s hope the film will turn out to be as great as the animated classic.

6. Captain America: Brave New World

The first film of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) for 2025 would have been more anticipated if not for the unsettling and continuous reports about constant reshoots and poor reactions from screenings. The trailers look great, especially with Harrison Ford playing the Red Hulk and Anthony Mackie’s Sam Wilson fully embracing the legacy role of Captain America. In any event, we’ll see in a few weeks.

5. Thunderbolts*

At first, this loose adaptation of the Marvel Comics anti-superhero team seemed like a poor MCU knockoff of the Suicide Squad. What gave this impression was the lineup of the team of supervillains forced into servitude by the U.S. government. Unlike the comic books, the team is made up of the MCU’s lesser-powered characters. But the interplay among them as seen in the trailers was amusing and could be the highlight of the film.

4. 28 Years Later

The creative people behind the first film, 28 Days Later, return for the third film in the British “zombie” apocalypse film franchise which is set…28 years after the first film. Being that the original director, Danny Boyle, is back, this film should be as tense and horrifying as the original classic. There are many questions about what has happened to the world after the Rage Virus has decimated it or what happened to the main protagonist from the first film since Cillian Murphy will return, but it’s not clear in what capacity.

3. The Fantastic Four: First Steps

After so many flawed live-action versions of Marvel Comics’ First Family, Marvel Studios finally has creative control over the property. The new version of the famed superhero team/dysfunctional family promises to be more faithful to the spirit of the comic books that launched Marvel Comics. A lot is riding on the success of this new Fantastic Four film for the MCU and Marvel Studios because the team will be pivotal players in the MCU’s Multiverse Saga and due to the involvement of the studio’s president, Kevin Feige, to ensure the film’s success.

2. Superman

Filmmaker James Gunn formally launches the rebooted DC cinematic universe with his version of the Man of Steel. Superman promises to veer away from the dark and maligned version of Superman seen in the failed DC Extended Universe. This version of Superman will go back to its optimistic comic book roots and once again serve as a beacon of hope and justice in our world, and lord knows we need someone like Superman now. Superman must be well received, and its chances are high thanks to the talented Gunn fresh from the success of his Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy.

1. Avatar: Fire and Ash

Never underestimate filmmaker James Cameron. He is a truly gifted and imaginary film auteur who has immersed audiences with his past films, including the first two Avatar films. Despite the complaints about the simplistic nature of the Avatar films, they are very immersive thanks to groundbreaking special effects and 3D technology. These aspects helped elevated Avatar and Avatar: The Way of Water into event films that were very popular. Cameron will continue this immersion into an alien world with the third film, Avatar: Fire and Ash, as it further explores the verdant moon of Pandora, the continuing fight against human invaders and has the main characters encountering an evil tribe of Na’vi.

Notable Mentions:

Ash; The Black Phone 2; Companion; Elio; The Electric State; Five Nights at Freddy’s 2; Frankenstein; The Gorge; The Last Battleship; The Legend of Ochi; Lilo & Stitch; Love Me; M3GAN 2.0; Mickey 17; The Monkey; Planet Gliese; Presence; The Running Man; Star Trek: Section 31; Tron: Ares; Wolf Man; Zootopia 2

TV Shows

10. A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms

This third series set in the world of A Game of Thrones looks very engaging with its rich production as seen in clips and its premise about a wandering knight and his squire in the land of Westeros.

9. Peacemaker

The super violent super soldier from DC Comics was portrayed to great comic effect by John Cena, He will reprise his role for the second season with episodes written by James Gunn, who will also direct at least one episode.

8. It: Welcome to Derry

The infamous fictional Maine town of Derry featured in many of Stephen King’s literary works is the setting of this Max series that zeroes in on the evil influence of the malicious entity Pennywise.

7. The Last of Us

The second season of the acclaimed adaptation of the video game continues its story of Joel and young Ellie, survivors of the apocalyptic fungal pandemic that devastated the world. What is not known is if the series will continue to be as faithful to the game as it progresses.

6. Alien: Earth

Noah Haley writes and directs the first TV series based on the Alien franchise. Little is known about this prequel to the original film, other than it involves a ragtag group of soldiers dealing with a deadly threat to our planet after the alien xenomorphs arrive on our planet.

5. Severance

The horrors of the modern office workplace take an even more macabre turn in the second season of Severance. Adam Scott returns as Mark the employee of the mysterious Lumon corporation that erases the memories of its employees each time they go to and from work. The second season should answer many burning questions about Lumon and deepen its mystery.

4. Stranger Things 5

The Stranger Things saga comes to an epic conclusion with its fifth and final season. It has been a couple of years since the last season of Stranger Things, but the talented cast and crew of the popular ode to ‘80s sci-fi/teenage films will be able to pick up where they left off and conclude the show’s storylines. Fingers crossed that it can defy trends and be able to stick the landing with its final episodes.

3. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds

Captain Pike, Spock and the rest of the first crew of the starship Enterprise return in the third season. Thankfully the first episode of the season will conclude the cliffhanger thread that left us screaming at our TV screens when the second season concluded. The rest of the episodes should be able to continue to evoke the adventurous spirit of the original Star Trek with fresh, modern stories as the characters explore strange new worlds.

2. Andor

What set Andor apart from the typical Star Wars fare was its more mature and grounded tone with ambiguous characters and complex situations that fully fleshed out the Star Wars universe. The second and final season of the acclaimed Star Wars TV show about the conflicted Rebel spy Andor (Diego Luna) will lead directly to the classic film, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. Andor’s second season should be just as complex and mature as the first and continue to set the bar not just for Star Wars but sci-fi TV shows in general.

1. Daredevil: Born Again

The best Netflix Marvel TV series is revived for Disney + and returns many of the beloved actors from the original series starting with Charlie Cox as the blind lawyer/superhero, Matt Murdock/Daredevil, and Vincent D’Onofrio as the evil crimelord Wilson Fisk, who is now the Mayor of New York City. Initially there was some trepidation about the direction of the series as it supposedly strayed from the gritty tone of the Netflix TV show, but Kevin Feige corrected course and had the series reshot nearly from scratch. The result should be a superhero TV show that matches or exceeds the standards of the original Daredevil, which is still considered one of the best superhero TV shows.  

Notable Mentions:

Batman: Caped Crusader; Black Mirror; Doctor Who; Eyes of Wakanda; For All Mankind; Gen V; The Handmaid’s Tale; Invincible; Ironheart; Marvel Zombies; The Sandman; Wednesday; Win or Lose; Wonder Man; Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man; Zero Day