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He is coming. Synopses and first looks had long hinted that The Fantastic Four: First Steps would introduce an incredibly powerful character to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, someone whose mere existence would have reverberations across realities. The latest trailer for First Steps doesn’t completely reveal this character, but we do see a harbinger announce his […]

The post Fantastic Four Trailer Teases Arrival of Marvel’s Most Powerful Character… and It Isn’t Galactus appeared first on Den of Geek.

He is coming. Synopses and first looks had long hinted that The Fantastic Four: First Steps would introduce an incredibly powerful character to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, someone whose mere existence would have reverberations across realities. The latest trailer for First Steps doesn’t completely reveal this character, but we do see a harbinger announce his arrival and its effects on team leader Reed Richards a.k.a Mister Fantastic.

What? No, the name isn’t Galan, better known as Galactus. Yes, the world-devourer does appear in the form of a shadow and a foot (not a cloud!), but the most powerful character teased in the trailer is Franklin, the oldest son of Reed and Sue Richards, a boy who can change reality with his imagination.

The Arrival of Franklin

Right from their first appearance in 1961, the Fantastic Four were a family first, scientists and superheroes second. So it was just a matter of time before creators Stan Lee and Jack Kirby had central couple Reed Richards and Sue Storm get married and welcome their first child Franklin Benjamin Richards, born in 1968’s Fantastic Four Annual #6. A mind-bending, psychedelic journey into the Negative Zone, Fantastic Four Annual #6 follows Reed and teammates Johnny Storm and Ben Grimm as they seek the one thing that can save Sue, whose delivery is threatened by her exposure to cosmic rays.

Lee and Kirby’s larger-than-life approach to family details mark Franklin’s odd life, as seen by Reed and Sue’s decision to hire the witch Agatha Harkness (originally a sage elderly woman in the comics, not snarky Kathryn Hahn) as a nanny. But Franklin’s life gets even weirder when he begins manifesting powers, even as a toddler. Initially, it seemed as if Franklin had psychic abilities that allowed him to disrupt the minds of others or even see the future, which led to him taking the name “Tattletale” and joining a team of kid superheroes called the Power Pack.

However, upon closer inspection, Reed discovered that Franklin wasn’t seeing the future — he was creating it. Franklin had the ability to make and remake reality, powers so great that the occurred on a subconscious level. Moreover, Reed and Sue learned that Franklin’s powers came from what is known in the Marvel Universe as the X-Gene, making him officially a mutant in the manner of the X-Men.

And so, Franklin Richards quickly changed from the baby child of two superheroes to someone with connections to the Fantastic Four and the X-Men and who could remake the world according to his desires. This, obviously, let to some outrageous stories.

Fantastic Franklin

Late in the 2012 story “Forever,” the Fantastic Four stand at the edge of oblivion. Despite their remarkable powers, neither the Four nor their super-powered friends in the Avengers or the X-Men could stand up to the Mad Celestials, literal gods who have lost their minds and plan to undo reality.

Amidst the chaos, Reed and Sue hear a familiar, if changed, voice shout, “Rise!” The voice belongs to the adult Franklin, who has come from the future to help his family face the Mad Celestials. “Rise! Rise!” Franklin repeats, until a gigantic figure arrives in the skyline, ready to face the Celestials. Upon seeing him, Franklin commands, “To me, my Galactus!”

This scene from Fantastic Four #604, written by Jonathan Hickman and penciled by Steve Epting, stands as perhaps the best moment involving Franklin showing off his powers, but it is far from the only instance. Franklin regularly recreates reality, sometimes in small ways, by helping his godfather the Thing win a match against Yancey Street rivals, and sometimes on a galactic scale.

Adult Franklin often shows up in time travel stories, including the beloved X-Men two-parter Days of Future Past (and more so in the less-effective sequel Days of Future Present) or as a new Galactus in the Earth X series by Alex Ross. Writers have also used Franklin as a tool to reboot continuity, most famously in the Heroes Reborn/Heroes Return debacle that followed Marvel’s company-wide Onslaught story.

After the Fantastic Four and Avengers were killed by a new villain called Onslaught, Franklin remakes them in a new reality, one that just so happened to be written and drawn by flashy ’90s artists like Jim Lee and Rob Liefeld (yes, that’s where this image of Captain America comes from). When fans rejected the edgy reboots, Marvel published a story where Franklin reintegrates the FF and the Avengers into mainline reality and promptly lost his powers.

Of course, Franklin got his powers back again only to lose them later, something that would be annoying if the stories weren’t so good. Case in point, 2024’s Fantastic Four #14, written by Ryan North and penciled by Carlos Gómez, in which a formerly depowered Franklin wakes up with his abilities intact and explains that he’s stripped them away himself. His powers return once a year, in which he explores realities to end threats that his family and other Marvel heroes cannot stop, and then goes back to being a normal human kid.

Just a Boy

The decision to return himself to being a normal kid is central to Franklin’s appeal, and that of the entire Fantastic Four. No matter how amazing the adventures, the Fantastic Four must be a family first, regular people who love one another.

Given the alternate 1960s where First Steps takes place, it’s hard not to believe that Franklin’s reality-warping powers might have something to do with integrating the team into the MCU’s Earth-616 — after all, the aforementioned Fantastic Four #604 comes in the lead-up to Secret Wars, the story that will become 2027’s Avengers: Secret Wars.

However, the trailer’s focus on Johnny and Ben celebrating their uncle status and Reed and Sue fretting about being parents shows that First Steps is putting the family first, the most important part of any Franklin Richards story.

The Fantastic Four: First Steps arrives in theaters on July 24, 2025.

The post Fantastic Four Trailer Teases Arrival of Marvel’s Most Powerful Character… and It Isn’t Galactus appeared first on Den of Geek.

WrestleMania 41 is officially upon us. WWE is taking over Las Vegas — the city of sin, risk, and reinvention. Fitting, isn’t it? Because this year’s Mania isn’t just another page in WWE history—it’s a full-blown rewrite of the future. You’ve got legends clashing, factions crumbling, and betrayals turning friends into enemies. In Vegas the […]

The post WrestleMania 41 Predictions: How Will John Cena’s Story Finish? appeared first on Den of Geek.

He is coming. Synopses and first looks had long hinted that The Fantastic Four: First Steps would introduce an incredibly powerful character to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, someone whose mere existence would have reverberations across realities. The latest trailer for First Steps doesn’t completely reveal this character, but we do see a harbinger announce his arrival and its effects on team leader Reed Richards a.k.a Mister Fantastic.

What? No, the name isn’t Galan, better known as Galactus. Yes, the world-devourer does appear in the form of a shadow and a foot (not a cloud!), but the most powerful character teased in the trailer is Franklin, the oldest son of Reed and Sue Richards, a boy who can change reality with his imagination.

The Arrival of Franklin

Right from their first appearance in 1961, the Fantastic Four were a family first, scientists and superheroes second. So it was just a matter of time before creators Stan Lee and Jack Kirby had central couple Reed Richards and Sue Storm get married and welcome their first child Franklin Benjamin Richards, born in 1968’s Fantastic Four Annual #6. A mind-bending, psychedelic journey into the Negative Zone, Fantastic Four Annual #6 follows Reed and teammates Johnny Storm and Ben Grimm as they seek the one thing that can save Sue, whose delivery is threatened by her exposure to cosmic rays.

Lee and Kirby’s larger-than-life approach to family details mark Franklin’s odd life, as seen by Reed and Sue’s decision to hire the witch Agatha Harkness (originally a sage elderly woman in the comics, not snarky Kathryn Hahn) as a nanny. But Franklin’s life gets even weirder when he begins manifesting powers, even as a toddler. Initially, it seemed as if Franklin had psychic abilities that allowed him to disrupt the minds of others or even see the future, which led to him taking the name “Tattletale” and joining a team of kid superheroes called the Power Pack.

However, upon closer inspection, Reed discovered that Franklin wasn’t seeing the future — he was creating it. Franklin had the ability to make and remake reality, powers so great that the occurred on a subconscious level. Moreover, Reed and Sue learned that Franklin’s powers came from what is known in the Marvel Universe as the X-Gene, making him officially a mutant in the manner of the X-Men.

And so, Franklin Richards quickly changed from the baby child of two superheroes to someone with connections to the Fantastic Four and the X-Men and who could remake the world according to his desires. This, obviously, let to some outrageous stories.

Fantastic Franklin

Late in the 2012 story “Forever,” the Fantastic Four stand at the edge of oblivion. Despite their remarkable powers, neither the Four nor their super-powered friends in the Avengers or the X-Men could stand up to the Mad Celestials, literal gods who have lost their minds and plan to undo reality.

Amidst the chaos, Reed and Sue hear a familiar, if changed, voice shout, “Rise!” The voice belongs to the adult Franklin, who has come from the future to help his family face the Mad Celestials. “Rise! Rise!” Franklin repeats, until a gigantic figure arrives in the skyline, ready to face the Celestials. Upon seeing him, Franklin commands, “To me, my Galactus!”

This scene from Fantastic Four #604, written by Jonathan Hickman and penciled by Steve Epting, stands as perhaps the best moment involving Franklin showing off his powers, but it is far from the only instance. Franklin regularly recreates reality, sometimes in small ways, by helping his godfather the Thing win a match against Yancey Street rivals, and sometimes on a galactic scale.

Adult Franklin often shows up in time travel stories, including the beloved X-Men two-parter Days of Future Past (and more so in the less-effective sequel Days of Future Present) or as a new Galactus in the Earth X series by Alex Ross. Writers have also used Franklin as a tool to reboot continuity, most famously in the Heroes Reborn/Heroes Return debacle that followed Marvel’s company-wide Onslaught story.

After the Fantastic Four and Avengers were killed by a new villain called Onslaught, Franklin remakes them in a new reality, one that just so happened to be written and drawn by flashy ’90s artists like Jim Lee and Rob Liefeld (yes, that’s where this image of Captain America comes from). When fans rejected the edgy reboots, Marvel published a story where Franklin reintegrates the FF and the Avengers into mainline reality and promptly lost his powers.

Of course, Franklin got his powers back again only to lose them later, something that would be annoying if the stories weren’t so good. Case in point, 2024’s Fantastic Four #14, written by Ryan North and penciled by Carlos Gómez, in which a formerly depowered Franklin wakes up with his abilities intact and explains that he’s stripped them away himself. His powers return once a year, in which he explores realities to end threats that his family and other Marvel heroes cannot stop, and then goes back to being a normal human kid.

Just a Boy

The decision to return himself to being a normal kid is central to Franklin’s appeal, and that of the entire Fantastic Four. No matter how amazing the adventures, the Fantastic Four must be a family first, regular people who love one another.

Given the alternate 1960s where First Steps takes place, it’s hard not to believe that Franklin’s reality-warping powers might have something to do with integrating the team into the MCU’s Earth-616 — after all, the aforementioned Fantastic Four #604 comes in the lead-up to Secret Wars, the story that will become 2027’s Avengers: Secret Wars.

However, the trailer’s focus on Johnny and Ben celebrating their uncle status and Reed and Sue fretting about being parents shows that First Steps is putting the family first, the most important part of any Franklin Richards story.

The Fantastic Four: First Steps arrives in theaters on July 24, 2025.

The post Fantastic Four Trailer Teases Arrival of Marvel’s Most Powerful Character… and It Isn’t Galactus appeared first on Den of Geek.

The women of WWE are at the forefront of sports entertainment like never before. And one of the newest history makers, Chelsea Green, is embracing that responsibility. The longtime heel recently broke new ground as the first-ever WWE Women’s United States Champion (and “longest-running” as she often jokes), stepping into a different kind of role […]

The post Chelsea Green is Ready for Her Starring Role appeared first on Den of Geek.

He is coming. Synopses and first looks had long hinted that The Fantastic Four: First Steps would introduce an incredibly powerful character to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, someone whose mere existence would have reverberations across realities. The latest trailer for First Steps doesn’t completely reveal this character, but we do see a harbinger announce his arrival and its effects on team leader Reed Richards a.k.a Mister Fantastic.

What? No, the name isn’t Galan, better known as Galactus. Yes, the world-devourer does appear in the form of a shadow and a foot (not a cloud!), but the most powerful character teased in the trailer is Franklin, the oldest son of Reed and Sue Richards, a boy who can change reality with his imagination.

The Arrival of Franklin

Right from their first appearance in 1961, the Fantastic Four were a family first, scientists and superheroes second. So it was just a matter of time before creators Stan Lee and Jack Kirby had central couple Reed Richards and Sue Storm get married and welcome their first child Franklin Benjamin Richards, born in 1968’s Fantastic Four Annual #6. A mind-bending, psychedelic journey into the Negative Zone, Fantastic Four Annual #6 follows Reed and teammates Johnny Storm and Ben Grimm as they seek the one thing that can save Sue, whose delivery is threatened by her exposure to cosmic rays.

Lee and Kirby’s larger-than-life approach to family details mark Franklin’s odd life, as seen by Reed and Sue’s decision to hire the witch Agatha Harkness (originally a sage elderly woman in the comics, not snarky Kathryn Hahn) as a nanny. But Franklin’s life gets even weirder when he begins manifesting powers, even as a toddler. Initially, it seemed as if Franklin had psychic abilities that allowed him to disrupt the minds of others or even see the future, which led to him taking the name “Tattletale” and joining a team of kid superheroes called the Power Pack.

However, upon closer inspection, Reed discovered that Franklin wasn’t seeing the future — he was creating it. Franklin had the ability to make and remake reality, powers so great that the occurred on a subconscious level. Moreover, Reed and Sue learned that Franklin’s powers came from what is known in the Marvel Universe as the X-Gene, making him officially a mutant in the manner of the X-Men.

And so, Franklin Richards quickly changed from the baby child of two superheroes to someone with connections to the Fantastic Four and the X-Men and who could remake the world according to his desires. This, obviously, let to some outrageous stories.

Fantastic Franklin

Late in the 2012 story “Forever,” the Fantastic Four stand at the edge of oblivion. Despite their remarkable powers, neither the Four nor their super-powered friends in the Avengers or the X-Men could stand up to the Mad Celestials, literal gods who have lost their minds and plan to undo reality.

Amidst the chaos, Reed and Sue hear a familiar, if changed, voice shout, “Rise!” The voice belongs to the adult Franklin, who has come from the future to help his family face the Mad Celestials. “Rise! Rise!” Franklin repeats, until a gigantic figure arrives in the skyline, ready to face the Celestials. Upon seeing him, Franklin commands, “To me, my Galactus!”

This scene from Fantastic Four #604, written by Jonathan Hickman and penciled by Steve Epting, stands as perhaps the best moment involving Franklin showing off his powers, but it is far from the only instance. Franklin regularly recreates reality, sometimes in small ways, by helping his godfather the Thing win a match against Yancey Street rivals, and sometimes on a galactic scale.

Adult Franklin often shows up in time travel stories, including the beloved X-Men two-parter Days of Future Past (and more so in the less-effective sequel Days of Future Present) or as a new Galactus in the Earth X series by Alex Ross. Writers have also used Franklin as a tool to reboot continuity, most famously in the Heroes Reborn/Heroes Return debacle that followed Marvel’s company-wide Onslaught story.

After the Fantastic Four and Avengers were killed by a new villain called Onslaught, Franklin remakes them in a new reality, one that just so happened to be written and drawn by flashy ’90s artists like Jim Lee and Rob Liefeld (yes, that’s where this image of Captain America comes from). When fans rejected the edgy reboots, Marvel published a story where Franklin reintegrates the FF and the Avengers into mainline reality and promptly lost his powers.

Of course, Franklin got his powers back again only to lose them later, something that would be annoying if the stories weren’t so good. Case in point, 2024’s Fantastic Four #14, written by Ryan North and penciled by Carlos Gómez, in which a formerly depowered Franklin wakes up with his abilities intact and explains that he’s stripped them away himself. His powers return once a year, in which he explores realities to end threats that his family and other Marvel heroes cannot stop, and then goes back to being a normal human kid.

Just a Boy

The decision to return himself to being a normal kid is central to Franklin’s appeal, and that of the entire Fantastic Four. No matter how amazing the adventures, the Fantastic Four must be a family first, regular people who love one another.

Given the alternate 1960s where First Steps takes place, it’s hard not to believe that Franklin’s reality-warping powers might have something to do with integrating the team into the MCU’s Earth-616 — after all, the aforementioned Fantastic Four #604 comes in the lead-up to Secret Wars, the story that will become 2027’s Avengers: Secret Wars.

However, the trailer’s focus on Johnny and Ben celebrating their uncle status and Reed and Sue fretting about being parents shows that First Steps is putting the family first, the most important part of any Franklin Richards story.

The Fantastic Four: First Steps arrives in theaters on July 24, 2025.

The post Fantastic Four Trailer Teases Arrival of Marvel’s Most Powerful Character… and It Isn’t Galactus appeared first on Den of Geek.

This post contains spoilers for Daredevil: Born Again season 1. The devil is in the details. That’s what Marvel realized in October of 2023, when the writer’s strike forced them to pause their long-in-development revival series Daredevil: Born Again. Although six of the planned 18 episodes had been completed, Marvel let go of writers Chris […]

The post Daredevil: Born Again’s Successful First Season Is a Good Sign for the MCU appeared first on Den of Geek.

This article contains spoilers for the Black Mirror episode “Hotel Reverie.”

Black Mirror is about technology but it isn’t about technology, you know what I mean?

*puts bong down* Sorry about that, maybe an example from “Hotel Reverie” can better explain. In this season 7 installment, Issa Rae stars as Brandy Friday, a modern day movie star who takes a job as the male lead in a remake of her favorite black-and-white classic film Hotel Reverie. Like many other Black Mirror characters, Brandy is guilty of Not Reading The Instructions and doesn’t realize that “remaking the film” means digitally stepping in to the existing version of it where she must play her part convincingly enough to get to the end.

Hotel Reverie isn’t exclusively about technology. The Redream program is merely what sets events into motion where the episode, written by Charlie Brooker and directed by Haolu Wang, can delve into complex questions surrounding digital personhood, copyright law, and love itself. Still, without that tech as a starting point, the story wouldn’t get to explore those questions in the first place. That interplay between sci-fi commentary and the human condition is what drew Issa Rae to the role.

“I remember being super excited to get a Black Mirror script and to even be considered for it, and then just immediately being immersed in all the different levels of it. I was gonna say yes anyway, but I was definitely in then,” Rae tells Den of Geek and other outlets at a roundtable junket.

A longtime fan of Black Mirror, Rae knew that that the technology Brandy uses to enter into Hotel Reverie looked mighty familiar. A small disk that is placed on one’s temple to engage a virtual reality interface has recurred several times throughout the show’s canon. It first popped up in season 3’s “San Junipero,” then made appearances in season 4’s “USS Callister,” and season 5’s “Striking Vipers” (where it was referred to as an “Experiencer Disk”). A variant of it also turns up in season 7’s “Eulogy.” Manufactured by TCKR Systems, the device has never had an official name until now…sort of.

“Charlie [Brooker] calls it a ‘Nubbin,’ but Awkwafina’s character calls it a ‘Mesmerizer.’ I don’t know if that’s the slang version of it,” Rae says. “I didn’t have the ‘real’ version on screen. I don’t know if I’m supposed to reveal this but I had like a fake, smaller version with double-sided tape. So I was very excited to hold a real one more recently.”

The “real” Nubbin that Rae got to hold recently was undoubtedly the one used to film this meta advertisement for season 7.

@blackmirror issa rae taking a quick trip to another reality #nubbin #blackmirror ♬ original sound – BlackMirror

That same ad campaign was accompanied by a Netflix-hosted activation where visitors could experience the device that is definitely called a Nubbin with a brand trademark and everything. Looks like Charlie Brooker got his way on this one. Sorry, Awkwafina’s character!

Given that the doohickey we now know as a Nubbin first premiered in San Junipero, its use here has an added bit of resonance. Like that all-time classic episode of the show, Hotel Reverie ends up being a touching love story where two women make a connection outside the bonds of time and space. The story even concludes with a San Junipero easter egg as Brandy Friday’s address is revealed to be “3049 Junipero Drive.”

“Charlie said that this is the first episode he wrote for this season. [San Junpiero] is big shoes to fill, so I just hope that people can look at them both separately, but also appreciate them as complements to one another,” Rae says.

All six episodes of Black Mirror season 7 are available to stream on Netflix now.

The post How Hotel Reverie Expands Upon the Black Mirror Canon appeared first on Den of Geek.

Warning: contains spoilers for Doctor Who episode “The Robot Revolution”. Oh, the infinite promise of the TARDIS. That little blue box can take you through all of time and space, everything that ever happened or ever will, every star that ever was… except when it doesn’t. That is what Belinda Chandra (no Miss) learned in […]

The post Doctor Who: What’s Stopping the TARDIS From Returning to Earth? appeared first on Den of Geek.

This article contains spoilers for the Black Mirror episode “Hotel Reverie.”

Black Mirror is about technology but it isn’t about technology, you know what I mean?

*puts bong down* Sorry about that, maybe an example from “Hotel Reverie” can better explain. In this season 7 installment, Issa Rae stars as Brandy Friday, a modern day movie star who takes a job as the male lead in a remake of her favorite black-and-white classic film Hotel Reverie. Like many other Black Mirror characters, Brandy is guilty of Not Reading The Instructions and doesn’t realize that “remaking the film” means digitally stepping in to the existing version of it where she must play her part convincingly enough to get to the end.

Hotel Reverie isn’t exclusively about technology. The Redream program is merely what sets events into motion where the episode, written by Charlie Brooker and directed by Haolu Wang, can delve into complex questions surrounding digital personhood, copyright law, and love itself. Still, without that tech as a starting point, the story wouldn’t get to explore those questions in the first place. That interplay between sci-fi commentary and the human condition is what drew Issa Rae to the role.

“I remember being super excited to get a Black Mirror script and to even be considered for it, and then just immediately being immersed in all the different levels of it. I was gonna say yes anyway, but I was definitely in then,” Rae tells Den of Geek and other outlets at a roundtable junket.

A longtime fan of Black Mirror, Rae knew that that the technology Brandy uses to enter into Hotel Reverie looked mighty familiar. A small disk that is placed on one’s temple to engage a virtual reality interface has recurred several times throughout the show’s canon. It first popped up in season 3’s “San Junipero,” then made appearances in season 4’s “USS Callister,” and season 5’s “Striking Vipers” (where it was referred to as an “Experiencer Disk”). A variant of it also turns up in season 7’s “Eulogy.” Manufactured by TCKR Systems, the device has never had an official name until now…sort of.

“Charlie [Brooker] calls it a ‘Nubbin,’ but Awkwafina’s character calls it a ‘Mesmerizer.’ I don’t know if that’s the slang version of it,” Rae says. “I didn’t have the ‘real’ version on screen. I don’t know if I’m supposed to reveal this but I had like a fake, smaller version with double-sided tape. So I was very excited to hold a real one more recently.”

The “real” Nubbin that Rae got to hold recently was undoubtedly the one used to film this meta advertisement for season 7.

@blackmirror issa rae taking a quick trip to another reality #nubbin #blackmirror ♬ original sound – BlackMirror

That same ad campaign was accompanied by a Netflix-hosted activation where visitors could experience the device that is definitely called a Nubbin with a brand trademark and everything. Looks like Charlie Brooker got his way on this one. Sorry, Awkwafina’s character!

Given that the doohickey we now know as a Nubbin first premiered in San Junipero, its use here has an added bit of resonance. Like that all-time classic episode of the show, Hotel Reverie ends up being a touching love story where two women make a connection outside the bonds of time and space. The story even concludes with a San Junipero easter egg as Brandy Friday’s address is revealed to be “3049 Junipero Drive.”

“Charlie said that this is the first episode he wrote for this season. [San Junpiero] is big shoes to fill, so I just hope that people can look at them both separately, but also appreciate them as complements to one another,” Rae says.

All six episodes of Black Mirror season 7 are available to stream on Netflix now.

The post How Hotel Reverie Expands Upon the Black Mirror Canon appeared first on Den of Geek.

The legend of Robert Johnson, blues musician, juke joint prodigy, and Mississippi trailblazer, is a mythic one. A guitarist who plucked his strings so well that strangers whispered he played like a man possessed, Johnson died before the age of 30 of unknown causes. Still, he lived long enough to see the rumor grow of […]

The post Sinners Review: Ryan Coogler and Michael B. Jordan Throw Tasty Vampire Party appeared first on Den of Geek.

This article contains spoilers for the Black Mirror episode “Hotel Reverie.”

Black Mirror is about technology but it isn’t about technology, you know what I mean?

*puts bong down* Sorry about that, maybe an example from “Hotel Reverie” can better explain. In this season 7 installment, Issa Rae stars as Brandy Friday, a modern day movie star who takes a job as the male lead in a remake of her favorite black-and-white classic film Hotel Reverie. Like many other Black Mirror characters, Brandy is guilty of Not Reading The Instructions and doesn’t realize that “remaking the film” means digitally stepping in to the existing version of it where she must play her part convincingly enough to get to the end.

Hotel Reverie isn’t exclusively about technology. The Redream program is merely what sets events into motion where the episode, written by Charlie Brooker and directed by Haolu Wang, can delve into complex questions surrounding digital personhood, copyright law, and love itself. Still, without that tech as a starting point, the story wouldn’t get to explore those questions in the first place. That interplay between sci-fi commentary and the human condition is what drew Issa Rae to the role.

“I remember being super excited to get a Black Mirror script and to even be considered for it, and then just immediately being immersed in all the different levels of it. I was gonna say yes anyway, but I was definitely in then,” Rae tells Den of Geek and other outlets at a roundtable junket.

A longtime fan of Black Mirror, Rae knew that that the technology Brandy uses to enter into Hotel Reverie looked mighty familiar. A small disk that is placed on one’s temple to engage a virtual reality interface has recurred several times throughout the show’s canon. It first popped up in season 3’s “San Junipero,” then made appearances in season 4’s “USS Callister,” and season 5’s “Striking Vipers” (where it was referred to as an “Experiencer Disk”). A variant of it also turns up in season 7’s “Eulogy.” Manufactured by TCKR Systems, the device has never had an official name until now…sort of.

“Charlie [Brooker] calls it a ‘Nubbin,’ but Awkwafina’s character calls it a ‘Mesmerizer.’ I don’t know if that’s the slang version of it,” Rae says. “I didn’t have the ‘real’ version on screen. I don’t know if I’m supposed to reveal this but I had like a fake, smaller version with double-sided tape. So I was very excited to hold a real one more recently.”

The “real” Nubbin that Rae got to hold recently was undoubtedly the one used to film this meta advertisement for season 7.

@blackmirror issa rae taking a quick trip to another reality #nubbin #blackmirror ♬ original sound – BlackMirror

That same ad campaign was accompanied by a Netflix-hosted activation where visitors could experience the device that is definitely called a Nubbin with a brand trademark and everything. Looks like Charlie Brooker got his way on this one. Sorry, Awkwafina’s character!

Given that the doohickey we now know as a Nubbin first premiered in San Junipero, its use here has an added bit of resonance. Like that all-time classic episode of the show, Hotel Reverie ends up being a touching love story where two women make a connection outside the bonds of time and space. The story even concludes with a San Junipero easter egg as Brandy Friday’s address is revealed to be “3049 Junipero Drive.”

“Charlie said that this is the first episode he wrote for this season. [San Junpiero] is big shoes to fill, so I just hope that people can look at them both separately, but also appreciate them as complements to one another,” Rae says.

All six episodes of Black Mirror season 7 are available to stream on Netflix now.

The post How Hotel Reverie Expands Upon the Black Mirror Canon appeared first on Den of Geek.

This article contains spoilers for the Black Mirror episode “USS Callister: Into Infinity.” A lot has happened since the classic Black Mirror episode “USS Callister” first premiered on Netflix in late 2017. Charlie Brooker’s beloved sci-fi anthology has churned out three fresh seasons of technodystopia (plus a choose-your-own-adventure movie). The Star Trek franchise has debuted […]

The post Black Mirror: Cristin Milioti Learned to Code for USS Callister Sequel appeared first on Den of Geek.

This article contains spoilers for the Black Mirror episode “Hotel Reverie.”

Black Mirror is about technology but it isn’t about technology, you know what I mean?

*puts bong down* Sorry about that, maybe an example from “Hotel Reverie” can better explain. In this season 7 installment, Issa Rae stars as Brandy Friday, a modern day movie star who takes a job as the male lead in a remake of her favorite black-and-white classic film Hotel Reverie. Like many other Black Mirror characters, Brandy is guilty of Not Reading The Instructions and doesn’t realize that “remaking the film” means digitally stepping in to the existing version of it where she must play her part convincingly enough to get to the end.

Hotel Reverie isn’t exclusively about technology. The Redream program is merely what sets events into motion where the episode, written by Charlie Brooker and directed by Haolu Wang, can delve into complex questions surrounding digital personhood, copyright law, and love itself. Still, without that tech as a starting point, the story wouldn’t get to explore those questions in the first place. That interplay between sci-fi commentary and the human condition is what drew Issa Rae to the role.

“I remember being super excited to get a Black Mirror script and to even be considered for it, and then just immediately being immersed in all the different levels of it. I was gonna say yes anyway, but I was definitely in then,” Rae tells Den of Geek and other outlets at a roundtable junket.

A longtime fan of Black Mirror, Rae knew that that the technology Brandy uses to enter into Hotel Reverie looked mighty familiar. A small disk that is placed on one’s temple to engage a virtual reality interface has recurred several times throughout the show’s canon. It first popped up in season 3’s “San Junipero,” then made appearances in season 4’s “USS Callister,” and season 5’s “Striking Vipers” (where it was referred to as an “Experiencer Disk”). A variant of it also turns up in season 7’s “Eulogy.” Manufactured by TCKR Systems, the device has never had an official name until now…sort of.

“Charlie [Brooker] calls it a ‘Nubbin,’ but Awkwafina’s character calls it a ‘Mesmerizer.’ I don’t know if that’s the slang version of it,” Rae says. “I didn’t have the ‘real’ version on screen. I don’t know if I’m supposed to reveal this but I had like a fake, smaller version with double-sided tape. So I was very excited to hold a real one more recently.”

The “real” Nubbin that Rae got to hold recently was undoubtedly the one used to film this meta advertisement for season 7.

@blackmirror issa rae taking a quick trip to another reality #nubbin #blackmirror ♬ original sound – BlackMirror

That same ad campaign was accompanied by a Netflix-hosted activation where visitors could experience the device that is definitely called a Nubbin with a brand trademark and everything. Looks like Charlie Brooker got his way on this one. Sorry, Awkwafina’s character!

Given that the doohickey we now know as a Nubbin first premiered in San Junipero, its use here has an added bit of resonance. Like that all-time classic episode of the show, Hotel Reverie ends up being a touching love story where two women make a connection outside the bonds of time and space. The story even concludes with a San Junipero easter egg as Brandy Friday’s address is revealed to be “3049 Junipero Drive.”

“Charlie said that this is the first episode he wrote for this season. [San Junpiero] is big shoes to fill, so I just hope that people can look at them both separately, but also appreciate them as complements to one another,” Rae says.

All six episodes of Black Mirror season 7 are available to stream on Netflix now.

The post How Hotel Reverie Expands Upon the Black Mirror Canon appeared first on Den of Geek.

This article contains spoilers for Daredevil: Born Again season 1 episode 9. While some feared the day would never come, Netflix’s Daredevil has been ‘born again’ in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Although it took nearly seven years and a massive creative overhaul, Daredevil: Born Again finally brings the Man Without Fear into the MCU full-time. […]

The post Daredevil: Born Again Finale Sets Up A Major Comic Arc for Season 2 appeared first on Den of Geek.

This article contains spoilers for the Black Mirror episode “Hotel Reverie.”

Black Mirror is about technology but it isn’t about technology, you know what I mean?

*puts bong down* Sorry about that, maybe an example from “Hotel Reverie” can better explain. In this season 7 installment, Issa Rae stars as Brandy Friday, a modern day movie star who takes a job as the male lead in a remake of her favorite black-and-white classic film Hotel Reverie. Like many other Black Mirror characters, Brandy is guilty of Not Reading The Instructions and doesn’t realize that “remaking the film” means digitally stepping in to the existing version of it where she must play her part convincingly enough to get to the end.

Hotel Reverie isn’t exclusively about technology. The Redream program is merely what sets events into motion where the episode, written by Charlie Brooker and directed by Haolu Wang, can delve into complex questions surrounding digital personhood, copyright law, and love itself. Still, without that tech as a starting point, the story wouldn’t get to explore those questions in the first place. That interplay between sci-fi commentary and the human condition is what drew Issa Rae to the role.

“I remember being super excited to get a Black Mirror script and to even be considered for it, and then just immediately being immersed in all the different levels of it. I was gonna say yes anyway, but I was definitely in then,” Rae tells Den of Geek and other outlets at a roundtable junket.

A longtime fan of Black Mirror, Rae knew that that the technology Brandy uses to enter into Hotel Reverie looked mighty familiar. A small disk that is placed on one’s temple to engage a virtual reality interface has recurred several times throughout the show’s canon. It first popped up in season 3’s “San Junipero,” then made appearances in season 4’s “USS Callister,” and season 5’s “Striking Vipers” (where it was referred to as an “Experiencer Disk”). A variant of it also turns up in season 7’s “Eulogy.” Manufactured by TCKR Systems, the device has never had an official name until now…sort of.

“Charlie [Brooker] calls it a ‘Nubbin,’ but Awkwafina’s character calls it a ‘Mesmerizer.’ I don’t know if that’s the slang version of it,” Rae says. “I didn’t have the ‘real’ version on screen. I don’t know if I’m supposed to reveal this but I had like a fake, smaller version with double-sided tape. So I was very excited to hold a real one more recently.”

The “real” Nubbin that Rae got to hold recently was undoubtedly the one used to film this meta advertisement for season 7.

@blackmirror issa rae taking a quick trip to another reality #nubbin #blackmirror ♬ original sound – BlackMirror

That same ad campaign was accompanied by a Netflix-hosted activation where visitors could experience the device that is definitely called a Nubbin with a brand trademark and everything. Looks like Charlie Brooker got his way on this one. Sorry, Awkwafina’s character!

Given that the doohickey we now know as a Nubbin first premiered in San Junipero, its use here has an added bit of resonance. Like that all-time classic episode of the show, Hotel Reverie ends up being a touching love story where two women make a connection outside the bonds of time and space. The story even concludes with a San Junipero easter egg as Brandy Friday’s address is revealed to be “3049 Junipero Drive.”

“Charlie said that this is the first episode he wrote for this season. [San Junpiero] is big shoes to fill, so I just hope that people can look at them both separately, but also appreciate them as complements to one another,” Rae says.

All six episodes of Black Mirror season 7 are available to stream on Netflix now.

The post How Hotel Reverie Expands Upon the Black Mirror Canon appeared first on Den of Geek.

Warning: contains spoilers for Doctor Who episode “The Robot Revolution” and previews upcoming episodes “lux” and “the well”. Doctor Who kicked off its new season by scaring fans into thinking naming a star after your significant other is a terrible idea. “The Robot Revolution” also set up a new TARDIS dynamic as Ncuti Gatwa’s Fifteenth […]

The post Doctor Who’s Ncuti Gatwa & Varada Sethu Interview: “Lux”, “The Well” & the Doctor’s Biggest Fear appeared first on Den of Geek.

This article contains spoilers for the Black Mirror episode “Hotel Reverie.”

Black Mirror is about technology but it isn’t about technology, you know what I mean?

*puts bong down* Sorry about that, maybe an example from “Hotel Reverie” can better explain. In this season 7 installment, Issa Rae stars as Brandy Friday, a modern day movie star who takes a job as the male lead in a remake of her favorite black-and-white classic film Hotel Reverie. Like many other Black Mirror characters, Brandy is guilty of Not Reading The Instructions and doesn’t realize that “remaking the film” means digitally stepping in to the existing version of it where she must play her part convincingly enough to get to the end.

Hotel Reverie isn’t exclusively about technology. The Redream program is merely what sets events into motion where the episode, written by Charlie Brooker and directed by Haolu Wang, can delve into complex questions surrounding digital personhood, copyright law, and love itself. Still, without that tech as a starting point, the story wouldn’t get to explore those questions in the first place. That interplay between sci-fi commentary and the human condition is what drew Issa Rae to the role.

“I remember being super excited to get a Black Mirror script and to even be considered for it, and then just immediately being immersed in all the different levels of it. I was gonna say yes anyway, but I was definitely in then,” Rae tells Den of Geek and other outlets at a roundtable junket.

A longtime fan of Black Mirror, Rae knew that that the technology Brandy uses to enter into Hotel Reverie looked mighty familiar. A small disk that is placed on one’s temple to engage a virtual reality interface has recurred several times throughout the show’s canon. It first popped up in season 3’s “San Junipero,” then made appearances in season 4’s “USS Callister,” and season 5’s “Striking Vipers” (where it was referred to as an “Experiencer Disk”). A variant of it also turns up in season 7’s “Eulogy.” Manufactured by TCKR Systems, the device has never had an official name until now…sort of.

“Charlie [Brooker] calls it a ‘Nubbin,’ but Awkwafina’s character calls it a ‘Mesmerizer.’ I don’t know if that’s the slang version of it,” Rae says. “I didn’t have the ‘real’ version on screen. I don’t know if I’m supposed to reveal this but I had like a fake, smaller version with double-sided tape. So I was very excited to hold a real one more recently.”

The “real” Nubbin that Rae got to hold recently was undoubtedly the one used to film this meta advertisement for season 7.

@blackmirror issa rae taking a quick trip to another reality #nubbin #blackmirror ♬ original sound – BlackMirror

That same ad campaign was accompanied by a Netflix-hosted activation where visitors could experience the device that is definitely called a Nubbin with a brand trademark and everything. Looks like Charlie Brooker got his way on this one. Sorry, Awkwafina’s character!

Given that the doohickey we now know as a Nubbin first premiered in San Junipero, its use here has an added bit of resonance. Like that all-time classic episode of the show, Hotel Reverie ends up being a touching love story where two women make a connection outside the bonds of time and space. The story even concludes with a San Junipero easter egg as Brandy Friday’s address is revealed to be “3049 Junipero Drive.”

“Charlie said that this is the first episode he wrote for this season. [San Junpiero] is big shoes to fill, so I just hope that people can look at them both separately, but also appreciate them as complements to one another,” Rae says.

All six episodes of Black Mirror season 7 are available to stream on Netflix now.

The post How Hotel Reverie Expands Upon the Black Mirror Canon appeared first on Den of Geek.

Warning: contains spoilers for The Handmaid’s Tale season six episode three “Promotion”.  Thank heavens for final seasons; they come in like Oprah handing out gifts. Moira, Luke, Rita, look under your seats. YOU get a plot, YOU get a plot. Everybody gets a plot!  Not just a plot, but in Moira’s case also some righteous dialogue that […]

The post The Handmaid’s Tale Season 6 Episode 4 Review: Promotion appeared first on Den of Geek.

This article contains spoilers for the Black Mirror episode “Hotel Reverie.”

Black Mirror is about technology but it isn’t about technology, you know what I mean?

*puts bong down* Sorry about that, maybe an example from “Hotel Reverie” can better explain. In this season 7 installment, Issa Rae stars as Brandy Friday, a modern day movie star who takes a job as the male lead in a remake of her favorite black-and-white classic film Hotel Reverie. Like many other Black Mirror characters, Brandy is guilty of Not Reading The Instructions and doesn’t realize that “remaking the film” means digitally stepping in to the existing version of it where she must play her part convincingly enough to get to the end.

Hotel Reverie isn’t exclusively about technology. The Redream program is merely what sets events into motion where the episode, written by Charlie Brooker and directed by Haolu Wang, can delve into complex questions surrounding digital personhood, copyright law, and love itself. Still, without that tech as a starting point, the story wouldn’t get to explore those questions in the first place. That interplay between sci-fi commentary and the human condition is what drew Issa Rae to the role.

“I remember being super excited to get a Black Mirror script and to even be considered for it, and then just immediately being immersed in all the different levels of it. I was gonna say yes anyway, but I was definitely in then,” Rae tells Den of Geek and other outlets at a roundtable junket.

A longtime fan of Black Mirror, Rae knew that that the technology Brandy uses to enter into Hotel Reverie looked mighty familiar. A small disk that is placed on one’s temple to engage a virtual reality interface has recurred several times throughout the show’s canon. It first popped up in season 3’s “San Junipero,” then made appearances in season 4’s “USS Callister,” and season 5’s “Striking Vipers” (where it was referred to as an “Experiencer Disk”). A variant of it also turns up in season 7’s “Eulogy.” Manufactured by TCKR Systems, the device has never had an official name until now…sort of.

“Charlie [Brooker] calls it a ‘Nubbin,’ but Awkwafina’s character calls it a ‘Mesmerizer.’ I don’t know if that’s the slang version of it,” Rae says. “I didn’t have the ‘real’ version on screen. I don’t know if I’m supposed to reveal this but I had like a fake, smaller version with double-sided tape. So I was very excited to hold a real one more recently.”

The “real” Nubbin that Rae got to hold recently was undoubtedly the one used to film this meta advertisement for season 7.

@blackmirror issa rae taking a quick trip to another reality #nubbin #blackmirror ♬ original sound – BlackMirror

That same ad campaign was accompanied by a Netflix-hosted activation where visitors could experience the device that is definitely called a Nubbin with a brand trademark and everything. Looks like Charlie Brooker got his way on this one. Sorry, Awkwafina’s character!

Given that the doohickey we now know as a Nubbin first premiered in San Junipero, its use here has an added bit of resonance. Like that all-time classic episode of the show, Hotel Reverie ends up being a touching love story where two women make a connection outside the bonds of time and space. The story even concludes with a San Junipero easter egg as Brandy Friday’s address is revealed to be “3049 Junipero Drive.”

“Charlie said that this is the first episode he wrote for this season. [San Junpiero] is big shoes to fill, so I just hope that people can look at them both separately, but also appreciate them as complements to one another,” Rae says.

All six episodes of Black Mirror season 7 are available to stream on Netflix now.

The post How Hotel Reverie Expands Upon the Black Mirror Canon appeared first on Den of Geek.