Category: News

The cool thing about the Alien franchise is that there’s something for everyone. Want to see a truly horrifying thriller about a mysterious extraterrestrial? That’s what Alien is all about. Want an inspiring tale about a mother-figure stopping at nothing to protect her family with the help of James Cameron? Aliens is for you. Want to see a bunch of extraterrestrials duke it out with violence? Sure, you can catch some Alien Vs. Predator action if that’s what you’re into. A lot of people aren’t, though.

The upcoming installment, Alien: Romulus is not a sequel or a prequel, but sits smack-dab in the middle of the ever-growing Alien origin story. Romulus takes place between Alien and Aliens and follows a group of young space explorers who stumble upon the wreckage of a space station that has become a breeding ground for those infamous aliens. In theory, you only really need to see Alien before heading to the theater for Alien: Romulus, but if you want to immerse yourself in the lore of it all, you might need to do research beforehand.

Here is the chronological order (from earliest to latest) of Alien franchise, including the Predator flicks, but not including the upcoming series. Note that it is different from release order, since this franchise has been all over the place for over 40 years and always expanding.

AVP: Alien vs. Predator (2004)

This is up to you: many Alien fans like to ignore the existence of the Predator, mostly because it can get a little murky with the Alien origin story, but if you like monster battles, this one is for you! The 2004 matchup takes two iconic monsters: the Xenomorphs and the Predator and pit them against each other while a group of human researchers get caught in the crossfire and have to keep their destruction contained. The film stars Sanaa Lathan, Raoul Bova, and Lance Henriksen. You can stream Alien vs. Predator on Hulu.

Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem (2007)

Picking up immediately after AVP, the aliens and the predators are in full takeover mode as they crash-land in a small American town that is absolutely not prepared for an all-out alien war. Despite being an R-rated action flick, it’s often overlooked by Aliens fans, but you can stream Alien vs. Predator: Requiem on Hulu if you want to see what the lil’ Xenos are like when faced with small-town American life. The movie stars Steven Pasquale, Reiko Aylesworth, and John Ortiz

Prometheus (2012)

This is where the real lore begins! Prometheus takes place in the late 21st century, after the events of AVP, but before we meet our girl Ripley. Director Ridley Scott wanted to return to the series to expand on the mythology of the Aliens, so while Prometheus might not be a standard prequel, it does take place in the same universe and ties together many of the concepts from the franchise (by also wiping out any Predator references). The story follows a group of space explorers who are on the hunt to find the origins of humanity, though they stumble upon a very different type of species. The film stars Noomi Rapace, Michael Fassbender, Guy Pearce, Idris Elba, Logan Marshall-Green, and Charlize Theron. You can stream Prometheus on Hulu and Disney+.

Alien: Covenant (2017)

The next installment in the Alien universe brings us to Covenant, which takes place a decade after Prometheus. The film brings back Michael Fassbender as a new android Walter who brings a group of new researchers to colonize a new planet. It sounds too good to be true, because they are not alone on that planet! Soon the group is faced with alien encounters. You’d think they would know better by now, but they don’t! You can stream Alien: Covenant on Hulu and Disney+.

Alien (1979)

This is where is all began. After you’ve been brought up to speed on the Alien origins, the first film in the franchise is a classic horror that needs little to know introduction. Starring Sigourney Weaver, Veronica Cartwright, Harry Dean Stanton, John Hurt, and Tom Skerritt as the crew of the Nostromo who are awoken out of stasis to investigate a distress signal. The first installment introduces the scary chestbursters we have all come to know and fear. You can stream Alien on Hulu and Disney+.

Alien: Romulus (2024)

The latest movie in the franchise takes place some time after Alien, but before Aliens. Cailee Spaeny, David Jonsson, Archie Renaux, Isabela Merced star as the young crew who board a defunct space station only to discover that they are not alone on there. While we know the prequel takes place during Ripley’s lifetime, we don’t know if there will be any more references to the original series, but one can hope. The movie hits theaters on August 16th.

Aliens (1986)

The sequel to Alien brings Ripley back as she is determined to kill that Xenomorph queen once and for all. Often considered to be the favorite sequel thanks to James Cameron, Aliens expands on the universe by adding in even more creepy aliens and adds in an innocent child, so you can’t help but root for them. Aliens is now streaming on Max.

Alien 3 (1992)

Once again, Ripley has survived another round against the Xenomorphs, but how much more can she take?! The third flick brings back Sigourney Weaver as she lands on yet another deserted planet and must fight to survive. Alien 3 is now streaming on Hulu and Disney+.

Alien: Resurrection (1997)

Ripley is back! Though this time, it’s 200 years later and she’s been cloned. It happens. In Alien: Resurrection, the government gets involved and tried to breed the Xenomoprhs in order to study them, but before they can do that, the aliens all escape and roam the space station. You would think that they would have learned by now, but they haven’t. At least this time, Winona Ryder is involved. You can watch Alien: Resurrection on Hulu and Disney+.

Borderlands hit theaters last week, but by the cold reception it got, those involved might want people to forget about it entirely. The big screen adaptation of the game series took a group of award-winning actors and threw them into a dystopian playground, and the results were mixed, to say the least.

But maybe you have a video game loving preteen in your life, or maybe you just need to see Cate Blanchett’s TAR followup, so eventually, you might want to watch this movie. Whatever the reason is, good luck.

Since the film was released by Lionsgate, it will eventually have its streaming debut on Starz. Past Lionsgate movies have taken 4–5 months after theatrical release to land on streaming, or even longer. Thanks to the movie essentially flopping, we can safely assume that Borderlands won’t have a very long theatrical release, so the film could hit Starz as early as late November or early December.

After streaming on Starz, some Lionsgate movies then continue their journey over Roku city for a brief stint on the Roku Channel, which willy likely happen for Borderlands. Finally, Borderlands will find its resting place on Peacock, where all Lionsgate movies go when retired. An estimated guess would bring Borderlands to Peacock in early 2025, but again, that can all change. TARis now streaming on Peacock, though!

It’s been quite a year for Kendrick Lamar. “Not Like Us,” one of his many Drake diss tracks, went to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, and “The Pop Out — Ken & Friends” show was a one-of-a-kind California performance. He’s even working on a movie with South Park creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker.

Really, the only blemish on Lamar’s 2024 is the time he confused Haley Joel Osment for Joel Osteen. On “Euphoria,” he raps, “Am I battlin’ ghost or AI / N**** feelin’ like Joel Osteen / Funny, he was in a film called A.I. / And my sixth sense tellin’ me to off him.” One is an acclaimed actor and the voice of Sora in the Kingdom Hearts video games (Osment); the other is a shady televangelist (Osteen). But The Sixth Sense and A.I. Artificial Intelligence actor thinks the mix-up might have been on purpose.

“I think he’s too precise,” Osment told the Associated Press at the premiere of Zoë Kravitz’s directorial debut Blink Twice (via Billboard). “I don’t know for sure and I’m not gonna assume that he knows my exact name, but the way I’ve heard people talk about that and certain analysis that I’ve read about it, I think that it’s an intentional scrambling of my name and that other guy’s name. Because Kendrick’s too precise to just make a mistake like that.”

Or maybe the simplest explanation is the correct one: Kendrick really did confuse the two. Here’s another way to tell them apart so this doesn’t happen again: no one ever found bags of money in Haley Joel Osment’s church.

Diehard The Walking Dead viewers who worried that the new crop of spin offs wouldn’t deliver saw their fears largely put to rest by AMC’s newest zombie offerings. Those worries were, of course, made worse by Fear The Walking Dead sticking around for arguably much too long (as opposed to The World Beyond‘s two seasons). Yet franchise chief Scott Gimple is guiding these new spin offs in a more restrained manner by giving Rick Grimes an apparent solo season for a happy ending with Michonne. Daryl Dixon has been ruled to be the entry that will probably run for several seasons, and then there’s Dead City, which will come back for a second season with more to be determined.

Dead City obviously has a different feel than its spin off brethren and the original The Walking Dead. That long-running original series largely kept characters out of cities, but Maggie headed into Manhattan in search of the kidnapped Hershel Rhee, and she gave Negan no choice but to join her. The season finale saw Maggie leaving Negan high and dry after having traded the former Saviors leader for her son, who then gave his mom some hell for never being able to let her vengeance against Negan go. Few could blame Maggie for her stance, but Negan had attempted to make things right. That complicates matters, so let’s dig into where the second Dead City season could go.

Plot

For starters, we can infer that Negan will be feeling pretty desperate after what Maggie pulled on him, and Jeffrey Dean Morgan recently confirmed (according to Den Of Geek) that this hits Negan hard: “I feel like we find him in a spot that he’s never been in before. He’s a lot more vulnerable and he’s in a sticky situation, sort of needing Maggie to come save his ass, really.”

While he waits, how will Negan survive? Well, AMC revealed a surprising reunion. This will not, as some fans might prefer, involve Rick Grimes but Negan’s bat, Lucille. The reunion is unexpected for a few reasons, including Negan’s favorite old torture device previously becoming a splintery mess and then ashes. While burning what was left of Lucille, Negan also lamented what he had done in his late wife’s name. Yet in this new teaser for Dead City, Negan is strutting around with his old whistle and a new Lucille:

Will Negan use the new Lucille after having (possibly) accepted The Dama’s invitation? It sure seems like he made that call, and although it appeared that Maggie would regret leaving Negan behind and go rescue him, Negan doesn’t look like (at least in the teaser) he waited too long for that to happen before deciding to pick up his old persona. Either that, or Negan reasoned that the only way for him to survive was to feign being the formerly vicious Negan.

Whatever the case, Morgan recently told SDCC’s Hall H (via Variety) that he was “really excited” about the bat’s return because “[t]here’s something about that sweet girl that I love… It makes me turn into Negan.” Still, Morgan admitted that Negan “has a love-hate relationship with her.”

By the way, if you missed watching this spin off, the first season can be streamed on AMC+ and further down the line (in January 2025) on Netflix.

Cast

In addition to Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Lauren Cohan’s return as Negan and Maggie, we can also expect more of Željko Ivanek as the Croat. Kim Coates (Sons Of Anarchy) was previously announced to have joined the cast, and Deadline recently reported further additions including Dascha Polanco (Orange Is The New Black), Keir Gilchrist, Jake Weary, and Pooya Mohseni, who will appear alongside Gaius Charles, Jonathan Higginbotham, Mahina Napoleon, Trey Santiago-Hudson, and Charlie Solis.

Release Date

The Walking Dead: Dead City will return in 2025.

Trailer

Since we already included the show’s teaser trailer above, here’s a refresher on Negan’s most notorious The Walking Dead quotes:

A few months ago, it was announced that the 2024 MTV VMAs were set to take place on September 10. Well, last week, it was revealed that Donald Trump and Kamala Harris had finally agreed to a presidential debate… on September 10. The VMAs would have presumably gotten the short end of that viewership conflict stick, so MTV took action.

Today (August 12), it was revealed that the VMAs will not air live from UBS Arena on September 11 at 8 p.m. ET. As Billboard notes, MTV said in a press release, “Our fans are encouraged to tune in for the 9/10 debate ahead of music’s most iconic night.”

Additionally, MTV also announced the first round of performers: Sabrina Carpenter, Chappell Roan, Camila Cabello, GloRilla, and Rauw Alejandro.

Meanwhile, the list of nominees was unveiled last week, and leading the lineup is Taylor Swift with 10 nods. Other notable nominees include Post Malone (who has nine nominations), Carpenter, Eminem, Ariana Grande (six each), SZA, and Megan Thee Stallion (five each). Fan voting for some categories is currently open until August 30, so find more information about that here.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul previously said of this year’s show, “We are excited to welcome back the MTV Video Music Awards to New York State. From its origins at Radio City Music Hall in 1984 to this September’s event at the UBS Arena, the VMAs continue to captivate millions, showcasing the very best in music video artistry. As we prepare to host this 40th anniversary event, let’s embrace the spirit of creativity and innovation that defines our state’s cultural landscape.”

Post Malone has a lot going on right now, and the folks at CBS Sunday Morning figured it was interesting enough to give Malone a segment on yesterday’s (August 11) episode. During the conversation, Malone spoke about dealing with some labels placed on him early in his music career.

He was asked how it felt being called a “culture vulture” and “one-hit wonder” and he responded, “It sucked. I was a kid.” When asked how he dealt with it, Malone said with a laugh, “Drink a lot.” He added, “It’s hard not to [take it personally].”

He added of his music, “It’s not for the people who hate you. It’s for the people who love you and yourself.”

Elsewhere, the segment followed Malone as he and Luke Combs filmed a video for their collaboration “Guy For That.” Malone also spoke about how he has been received by the country music community as he prepares his new album F-1 Trillion, saying, “Everyone here was so accepting and kind.”

Malone was also asked what first inspired him to want to play the guitar, and he said, “Guitar Hero, it was, 100 percent. And I was like, ‘Alright, well, let me get a real guitar and see if it translates. And it did not!”

Check out the segment above.

Rolling Loud will return to its hometown, Miami, in December for its 10th anniversary festival. It’s jaw-dropping to think about the festival being ten years old, but time waits for no man. So, on the weekend of December 13-15, Rolling Loud returns to Hard Rock Stadium with a lineup headlined by festival mainstays Future, Playboi Carti, and Travis Scott. Future last headlined Rolling Loud in this year’s California edition after Lil Uzi Vert dropped out, while Travis and Carti both headlined last year’s Miami edition.

In addition to the headliners, returning Rolling Loud favorites include Babyface Ray, Bryson Tiller, Curren$y, BigXThaPlug, Denzel Curry, Destroy Lonely, Don Toliver, JT, Ken Carson, Kodak Black, Lil Baby, Lil Tjay, Lil Tecca, Lil Yachty, NLE Choppa, Polo G, Rich The Kid, Rick Ross, Sheck Wes, Ski Mask The Slump God, Trippie Redd, Tyga, Yeat, and Young Nudy. Some of hip-hop’s hottest rising names will also appear, including 4Batz, Anycia, Babytron, Bossman Dlow, Cash Cobain, Chow Lee, Concrete Boys, Flyana Boss, Fridayy, Karrahbooo, Lay Bankz, Maxo Kream, Rob49, Shaboozey, Sheff G & Sleepy Hallow, Tiacorine, Veeze, and YG Marley.

You can purchase tickets beginning this Friday, August 16, at noon eastern time, and find more information at RollingLoud.com. See below for the full lineup.

(WARNING: Spoilers for the most recent Love Is Blind: UK episode will be found below.)

Five months after the sixth and very dramatic season of Love Is Blind concluded, Netflix decided it was time to take the show across the pond for an inaugural season of Love Is Blind: UK. The new series premiered earlier this month with four new episodes that ended with the pairing of five couples: Bobby & Jasmine, Freddie & Catherine, Ollie & Demi, Tom & Maria, and Steven & Sabrina. The five couples successful made it out of the pods together after finding a connection with each other. Sam and Nicole seemed like they would join the cast of engaged couples, but, as the end of episode four revealed, they both confessed to not fully feeling the connection they had and decided to end their engagement.

The next four episodes of Love Is Blind: UK will reconnect viewers with the engaged couples as they enjoy a honeymoon in Corfu. This marks the first moment that the couples can spend time together and see if their physical connection is as good as they emotional one they formed in the pods. Here’s what to know about the upcoming Love Is Blind: UK episodes:

When Do Love Is Blind: UK Episodes 5-9 Come Out?

Episodes 5-9 of Love Is Blind: UK season one will be available to stream on Netflix on August 14 at 3am EST/12 am PST. This follows a weekly release schedule that began with episodes 1-4 premiering on Netflix back on August 7. Episodes 10-11 of Love Is Blind: UK will air on August 21, while episode 12 — the season finale — will be released just four days later on August 25.

‘Love Is Blind: UK’ season 1 is now streaming on Netflix. Episodes 1-4 are out now.

On the surface, It Ends With Us seems like just another tumultuous love story for the post-Nicholas Sparks generation. The novel was first released in 2016 only to generate a large fan base after going viral on TikTok in the early days of pandemic lockdowns in 2020. The book, written by Gen Z whisperer Colleen Hoover, follows Lily Bloom, an aspiring florist who embarks on a turbulent relationship with the aggressive Ryle. For the movie adaptation, Justin Baldoni signed on to direct and star as Ryle, while Blake Lively secured her spot as Lily. But the on-screen drama is only half of the story.

Fans noticed that while promoting the film, Lively and Baldoni had not taken any pictures together. This isn’t that unheard of, but fans took notice. Then, some internet sleuths also realized that Lively, Hoover and most of the cast had unfollowed Baldoni on Instagram, which is the 21st century equivalent of telling someone to “lose my phone number.”

After fans started to draw their own conclusions, suddenly the cast was under a microscope, not unlike the infamous Don’t Worry Darling drama of 2022. Not only was Baldoni absent from various press days, but Lively would barely even mention him. Instead, she praised her husband. “The iconic rooftop scene, my husband actually wrote it,” Lively told E! while on the red carpet. “He works on everything I do. I work on everything he does. So his wins, his celebrations are mine and mine are his.” The screenwriter had no idea about this, furthering suggestions that there might have been some tension during production.

Baldoni doesn’t seem to have any issue with Reynolds. When speaking with TODAY, Baldoni praised the actor. “Ryan was so generous…he’s a creative genius, that guy,” he said. But when asked by ET if he would return for a sequel, Baldoni said, “I think that there are better people for that one. I think Blake Lively’s ready to direct,” he said. “That’s what I think.” According to The Hollywood Reporter, the two might have disagreed about the final cut of the film. Lively reportedly commissioned a cut of the movie from editor Shane Reid, who was an editor on Deadpool & Wolverine, when she was unsatisfied with the direction, but it’s unclear if that contributed to the final cut.

Even Jenny Slate, who stars as Lily’s friend Allysa, dodged questions about Baldoni while at the premiere, as did Hoover. “I think he did a great job. They all did a great job,” she said, before moving into the next question.

Just when you thought the drama might be over, a source told Page Six that Baldoni created an “extremely difficult” set for the cast, and made Lively “uncomfortable.” The source added, “It’s not just Blake. None of the cast enjoyed working with Justin…They certainly didn’t talk to him at the premiere.” Meanwhile, Baldoni has been out and about doing his own promo…by himself.

The cast has been quiet since the movie hit theaters last week, and they likely won’t acknowledge the behind-the-scenes drama. Instead, Lively and Reynolds are probably heading to the bank with their buckets of money from both Deadpool and Wolverine and It Ends With Us. Perhaps this was all a long con to make up for their last film together.

As for the movie itself, the drama surrounding the cast is overshadowing the fact that this is a story touching on abuse that should not be taken lightly.

December 2023 brought some news that might have concerned Blackpink fans: The group’s members — Jennie, Lisa, Rosé, and Jisoo — all left Blackpink’s label YG Entertainment for matters related to their solo careers. A key bit of info about the situation, though, is that Blackpink has renewed its group contract. But, if there was any lingering doubt about the band’s future, Lisa just offered a reassuring update.

In a new Elle feature published today (August 12), Lisa said, “Of course we’re continuing, for sure. We’re so proud of Blackpink, and I love Blackpink. It is not just because of our fans, it’s for ourselves.” In Korean, she added, “There was no doubt. This is our life.”

Blackpink’s most recent album is 2022’s Born Pink, a chart-topper in the US and beyond. Since then, Lisa has released a pair of solo singles, both this year: “Rockstar” and “New Woman” with Rosalía.

She also landed an acting role in the upcoming third season of The White Lotus. In the same Elle interview, she said that while the acting experience is “pretty new” to her, she thinks having done a bunch of Blackpink music videos gives her a foundation to build on. She also said of getting the part, “I think I cried. I was with my friends, my mom’s friends, and my mom as well, but I didn’t tell them that I auditioned for it. I’m super excited and nervous, because it’s my first acting project. So I was happy for a second, and then I was like, ‘Oh, wait, wait, how am I going to deliver this?’”