Directed by Robert Michael Ryan, Popeye the Slayer Man sees the spinach-loving sailor become a murderous hulk. The film hits Prime SVOD in late July, and a new promo clip has been released.
Ryan said: “We’re thrilled we can make the film available to UK audiences on Prime, as well as on Amazon and Apple. We went old-school with this movie, using practical effects reminiscent of the classic horror films of the ‘70s and ‘80s. Popeye The Slayer Man is camp, chaotic, and made with a lot of love for both grindhouse horror and the worldwide cultural icon that is Popeye. For those who like their horror intense, bloody, and a bit unhinged, we hope it hits like a can of contaminated spinach”.
The film’s synopsis is: A group of friends sneak into an abandoned spinach canning factory to film a documentary on the legend of ‘The Sailor Man,’ who is said to haunt the factory and local docks, only to find out that the legend is all-too true. Cue eye-popping, scalping, severed arm beating and twisted heads as the rampaging slaughter begins…
Popeye the Slayer Man stars Jason Robert Stephens in the title role, Sean Michael Conway, Elena Juliano, Mabel Thomas, Marie-Louise Boisnier, Jeff Thomas, and Steven McCormack, along with “scream queens” Angela Relucio and Sarah Nicklin.
Shot in New York State, it is directed by Robert Michael Ryan from a screenplay by John Doolan (Remains), and is a co-production between Salem House Films, Millman Productions, Ron Lee Productions, and Otsego Media. Jeff Miller, Cuyle Carvin, Robert Michael Ryan, Alexander Tucker, Nathan Todaro, and Alysa Blasetti are producers. Special makeup effects are supervised by R.J. Young with cinematography by Korey Rowe.
The guest list for the 2025 Festival of Fantastic Films has been unveiled with the announcement of the final two guests, husband-and-wife team Dominic Brunt and Joanne Mitchell.
Both famous faces from the TV show Emmerdale, they are beloved by genre fans for their films Before Dawn, Attack of the Adult Babies, and Wolf Manor. Joanne recently directed her feature debut, Broken Bird, which was the opening movie of last year’s FrightFest, with Dominic providing the screenplay.
The pair join the other previously announced guests at the festival, Graham Humphreys, Virginia Wetherall, James Swanton, and Norman Eshley.
The festival takes place in Manchester at the Pendulum Hotel from October 24th to the 26th.
Marvel Studios’ new Avengers need longer before they can assemble. Avengers: Doomsday is being pushed back from May 1st, 2026 to December 18th, 2026, while Avengers: Secret Wars will now release on December 17th, 2027 instead of May 7th, 2027.
Disney is instead filling their May 2026 release slot with 20th Century’s The Devil Wears Prada 2, which has Anne Hathaway, Meryl Streep, Emily Blunt and Stanley Tucci rumoured to return.
Though Kevin Feige & co. announced a large number of actors and characters would appear in Doomsday, sources report that Marvel isn’t done with revealing the entire cast. Notable absences include Brie Larson (Captain Marvel), Tom Holland (Spider-Man), Benedict Cumberbatch (Doctor Strange), Mark Ruffalo (The Hulk), Jeremy Renner (Hawkeye), Hailee Steinfeld (Kate Bishop), Chris Pratt (Star-Lord), and more. The Russo brothers, as previously announced, are directing the feature.
While little is yet known of Doomsday‘s plot, we expect to see the assembled heroes pitted against the formidable Doctor Doom (Robert Downey Jr.) as multiple realities are pulled into a multiverse-spanning conflict.
Prior to the Avengers films, upcoming MCU film releases include Fantastic Four: First Steps on July 7th, 2025, and Spider-Man: Brand New Dayon July 31st, 2026. There’s still a chance that Spider-Man might be delayed.
Critical Role’s 10-year anniversary live shows will be broadcast in 800 theatres across the United States and Canada. The live shows themselves will come from Australia and the USA.
Critical Role is an actual play D&D show that uses talented voice actors to make the game of Dungeons and Dragons a storytelling spectator sport. Led by Dungeon Master Matthew Mercer, the troupe of performers has wowed audiences with fantasy-themed performances for a decade. The core team of Ashley Johnson, Marisha Ray, Taliesin Jaffe, Travis Willingham, Sam Riegel, Laura Bailey, and Liam O’Brien are frequently joined by celebrity guests during these tours.
The tour will include Sydney & Melbourne in Australia (June 19th and 25th) as well Indianapolis and New York City in the USA ( August 5th and October 15th).
These shows will then be rebroadcast by Fathom Entertainment, a speciality distributor of content to theatrical partners worldwide, though at the time of writing, this only covers North America.
Ben Van Der Fluit, SVP of Business and Content Development at Critical Role, told the press, “We’re incredibly excited to partner with Fathom to bring the rest of Critical Role’s 2025 live shows to big screens across the US and Canada. These events are some of our most ambitious live productions to date, and now even more of our audience can experience the genuine energy, emotion, and camaraderie that plays out at the table.”
Ray Nutt, CEO of Fathom Entertainment, added, “Bringing loyal and passionate fanbases to theatres and providing a truly cinematic experience for premium entertainment live events has long been a hallmark of Fathom Entertainment. Fathom is thrilled to bring the live adventure, intrigue, and entertainment of Critical Role to the big screen for four great nights, to the benefit of its legions of fans and its largest theatrical footprint ever.”
HBO’s Harry Potter TV series has found its Harry, Hermione Granger, and Ron Weasley. The trio will be played by acting newcomers: Dominic McLaughlin as Harry, Arabella Stanton as Hermione, and Alastair Stout as Ron.
“After an extraordinary search led by casting directors Lucy Bevan and Emily Brockmann, we are delighted to announce we have found our Harry, Hermione, and Ron,” showrunner and executive producer Francesca Gardiner and executive producer and director Mark Mylod said in a joint statement. “The talent of these three unique actors is wonderful to behold, and we cannot wait for the world to witness their magic together onscreen. We would like to thank all the tens of thousands of children who auditioned. It’s been a real pleasure to discover the plethora of young talent out there.”
The young trio join John Lithgow as Albus Dumbledore, Paapa Essiedu as Severus Snape, Janet McTeer as Minerva McGonagall, and Nick Frost as Rubeus Hagrid. All four actors will be series regulars. Meanwhile, Luke Thallon was announced to play Quirinus Quirrell, and Paul Whitehouse to play Argus Filch, both in recurring roles.
It’s expected that each season of the series will adapt one of J.K. Rowling’s seven main entries in the Harry Potter series, which could mean a series franchise that spans many years.
The Harry Potter TV series will begin filming this summer for a 2026 debut. See the cast photo of the three young leads below:
Patton Oswalt amazed crowds at MCM Comic Con London on a special panel to honour this guest.
Oswalt was asked about video game movies. He said, “I’d love to be in aMinecraftmovie. I’ve also been friends with Jack Black forever, so getting to be on a project with him would be an absolute treat.”
He then went on to talk about one of his favourite acting roles. “There was a movie that I did, called Young Adult, with Charlize Theron – and getting to do scenes with her was one of my career highlights. I think she’s the best actor alive.”
“I’ve never been more on my toes working with someone of that calibre. She made me better at my game. Young Adult was like a fever dream because I’m not only doing scenes with Charlize Theron – but I have a love scene with her.”
Patton expressed that the fact the Grant Morrison TV series Happy! had not been renewed was an ‘ongoing tragedy’. He said “They had a whole third season mapped out and it was all going to be Halloween-themed.” The show was cancelled in 2019. Patton also expressed an interest in playing Jack Kirby in any future Marvel Comics biopic.
David Tennant wowed crowds at this weekend’s MCM Comic Con. At a special panel to honour the guest, the star of Marvel’s Jessica Joneswas asked about future roles in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He said, “I think in terms of supervillains, I got the best one with Kilgrave.” He went on to say, “I did slightly have my eye on Reed Richards, and unfortunately, it looks like they’ve gone in a different direction, although if it has to be someone, I’m very happy for it to be Pedro Pascal.”
The Doctor Who star was also asked about his past work as a Time Lord. He told the crowds, “Doctor Who is the kind of show that imprints on you as a child, and if it gets its hooks into you like it did to me, it doesn’t really let go.”
“There’s something about being caught up in the magic of those stories when it first grabs you, and when it takes you on that journey through time and space, it does live with you forever.”
In response to questions about where he’d visit using the TARDIS, he said, “Well, we got to go to Shakespeare’s Globe, which was very exciting; I always wanted to do that. The only one I wanted to go back to was the Cavern and see The Beatles when they were brand new, but they’ve sort of done that; that was the box that got ticked after I’d left. Listen, there’s loads of opportunities, aren’t there, and that’s one of the joys of this show is that it’s got of stories left to tell.”
Tennant left the crowd hanging with cryptic statements about future roles that would delight attendees of MCM Comic Con London.
Cult actual-play D&D show Legends of Avantaris have created The Crooked Moon, a 600+ page folk-horror setting for 5e Dungeons & Dragons 2024 (and 2014).
The game swaps out the usual setting for something more Summerisle-inspired, with 15 new subclasses, 13 lineages, and new spells, rituals, and items. There are also folklore-inspired story hooks to get your adventuring party together. They’ve crammed a load of monsters and the full Wickermoor Hollow campaign in as well.
Daggerheart, the new TTRPG produced by Critical Role’s publishing company Darrington Press, has gone on sale to the general public.
Built around Critical Role’s renowned creative storytelling style, the game has been play-tested by over 150,000 fans. Daggerheart invites players into heroic, emotionally charged adventures. Its key mechanic is the dual-d12 “Duality Dice”, which balances the potential for incredible success with dramatic tragedy. It’s also nice to see the humbler twelve-sided die get some use.
The 336-page lavishly illustrated hardcover book is crammed with everything you need to run the game, from character creation to worldbuilding. The game also comes with 279 cards, each illustrated and containing useful game information.
A playthrough of the game will be available online via Critical Role’s Age of Umbra mini-series, premiering May 22 with a Session Zero character and worldbuilding arranged by the legendary Matthew Mercer.
It can be ordered directly from Darrington Press Guild stores or digitally via DriveThruRPG and Demiplane. Fans looking for physical copies should expect some delay; initial stock sold almost instantly, so it may be June before you can get your hands on a copy.
Warhammer’s annual video game announcement event, Skulls, has just finished, and it looks like 2025 is a bumper year for fans of video game RPGs, sequels and remasters. The show also brought new free games and discount offers on existing games.
The big news is that Owlcat games have announced a new roleplaying computer game, Dark Heresy, inspired by the TTRPG of the same name. This will see gamers take on the role of Inquisitorial agents to root out mutants and heretics across the Imperium.
Skulls also announced the sequel to beloved Boomer shooter Boltgun, imaginatively entitled Boltgun Two, which can be wishlisted now. The game features a lone Sternguard Ultramarine take on the hordes of the warp in a manner that fans of classic games like Doom will love. Keeping with the nostalgia vibe, Boltgun publisher Auroch Digital has released Words of Vengeance, a typing shooter reminiscent of ’90s classic Typing of the Dead. Though the words are very Warhammer, so get used to typing out Nurgle. It’s completely free to download and play.
A remastered version of strategy classic Dawn of War called the Definitive Edition is now available to be wishlisted and will come out properly later this year. The highly regarded game is also getting its own miniatures wargame, similar to the one they did for the Space Marine video game.
Speaking of Space Marine, it’s getting its own digital remaster called the Master Craft edition. This is in-line with Games Workshop’s commitment to keeping old games available and usable – many classic old PC Warhammer games are available via GOG.
Darktide will be getting a new class (Arbites, basically Judge Dredd), and Space Marine Two will be getting a siege mode. A new skin, exclusive to the Skulls promotion, is available for Space Marine Two.
Eight Warhammer video games will be part of the Free Play Days over on Xbox from May 22nd to May 26th, including previous Warhammer Skulls world premiere Rogue Trader, as well as Darktide, Mechanicus, Chaos Gate: Daemon Hunters and Shootas, Blood & Teef!
Also announced during the showcase:
Total War: Warhammer III – The next DLC will be called Tides of Torment.
Talisman Digital 5th Edition – Talisman Alliances: Fate Beckons will be released. This will be similar to the expansion of the board game. (This also implies we should expect Talisman: Nemesis at some point in the distant future.)
Warhammer 40,000: Battlesector – A new major free update was revealed, which will include a Crusade game mode, Dominions and Orks Boyz with Choppa, alongside a new paid Deeds of the Fallen DLC.
Warhammer: Vermintide 2 – The game will be available on Game Pass as part of Skulls, whilst the third Level of the Verminous Dreams campaign has been released as a free update.
Blood Bowl 3 – A new season with a new faction will be launching June 10th. The Khorne Team, has been announced as part of the event, alongside a sale and a free item for players: the coach for the Khorne Team.
Warhammer 40,000: Tacticus – A new faction, the Adeptus Custodes, is released for the popular game.
Warhammer 40,000: Warpforge – The Emperor’s Children will be available as a new faction from Skulls.
Warhammer 40,000: Gladius – A new units DLC is released, Onslaught pack is available now – as well as the base game being available Free 2 Keep on Steam during the week of Skulls.
Supremacy: Warhammer 40,000 – Pre-registration opens for this brand-new grand strategy mobile game, launching in late 2025.
Warhammer Combat Cards – Daemon Primarch Angron is released as the next Supreme Commander card in the game.
Counter-Strike 2 – New Warhammer 40,000 inigame stickers based on tabletop decals will be available on Steam.
