It looks as though beloved literary character Stanley Yelnats will finally make his television debut, following news that Disney Plus has greenlit a TV adaptation of the 1998 novel, Holes. 

Before you start excitedly grabbing your shovels, it’s been reported that at this stage, the potential show has only been ordered to pilot, which is nonetheless still welcome news for fans of the beloved children’s book. According to Variety, the Holes series is based on the original novel with the pilot episode penned by The Mindy Project writer Alina Mankin. She is on board for the project alongside producers Liz Phang and Drew Goddard, whose credits include Yellowjackets and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, respectively. 

For those not across the lore of Camp Green Lake (perhaps you read Diary of a Wimpy Kid instead), Holes was written by author Louis Sachar, and was first adapted for the big screen by Disney for the 2003 movie of the same name. It starred a young Shia LaBeouf in his breakout role, as well as Hollywood legends like Sigourney Weaver, Jon Voight, and Patricia Arquette. However, if you’re looking for a replica of that in the TV adaptation, the official logline reveals at least one key change.

“In this reimagining of the beloved 1998 book from Louis Sachar, a teenage girl is sent to a detention camp where the ruthless Warden forces the campers to dig holes for a mysterious purpose,” the logline reads. With that gender-swap reveal, it seems Stanley will be replaced on digging duties by a young girl in the TV series, but Goddard assured fans that the show will maintain the integrity of the source material. “The team has done a wonderful job capturing Louis Sachar’s unique spirit,” Goddard said (per Variety). 

“To say much more about what they have in store would spoil all the fun.” Any lingering concerns among fans about the series’ gender swap might be quelled by the involvement of Mike Medavoy, who produced the original film and is on board again for the upcoming adaptation. At the time of writing, there has been no word on who will feature in the cast of the Holes series, with an official release date also yet to be announced — so let’s leave our shovels in the shed until further notice, shall we?

News of the Holes adaptation adds to a slew of other child-friendly titles also receiving the reboot treatment. In October, we learned that Paramount is developing a live-action movie remake of beloved Nickelodeon series Rugrats, marking the toddler foursome’s first foray into CGI and live-action hybrid territory. Elsewhere, we also know that despite the recent death of Donkey’s real-life inspiration, we’re still getting a fifth installment in the Shrek franchise, scheduled for release in 2026. It’s almost enough to fulfill all my childhood fantasies (well, minus Perry the donkey’s tragic passing). 

The Holes series is also far from the only Disney reboot project in the works. Coming in hot is the live-action remake of Snow White starring Rachel Zegler, but that’s just one of many titles set to be pumped out by a studio that some (me) say is suffering from reboot fatigue. We’re also getting a Lilo & Stitch film (probably the only one I can get behind), on top of the enduring rumors about a movie retelling of both Prince Charming and Tangled, which have been bubbling for about as long as Rapunzel’s hair. In the meantime, however, I’m going to return to my re-read of Holes, which has been dog-eared on chapter three since high school.

Agatha All Along might’ve come away empty-handed from this weekend’s Golden Globes ceremony, but that doesn’t mean Marvel fans should feel despondent. The fact that the critically acclaimed Disney Plus series earned the nomination that it did offers a big ol’ hint that there’s more on the way from Agatha Harkness and her chaotic coven, and Kathryn Hahn teased the possibility of some exciting news to come on the night itself.

Hahn earned her first ever Golden Globes nomination for her turn as the ambiguously wicked witch, but it’s actually the specific category she was nominated for that fans should pay attention to. The WandaVision spinoff’s star faced stiff competition in the race for Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy Series, and although she lost to Hacks‘ Jean Smart, the fact that Marvel chose to categorize Agatha this way rather than as a Limited Series may be an even bigger win.

One clip of Hahn teasing what this could mean on the event’s red carpet went viral, as Westview warriors suggested the actress knows more than she’s saying. “That is a great question, none of us have any idea,” Hahn said when asked about the chances of more Agatha. “But it certainly is… Our ears are perked up, for sure.” Fans weren’t buying the Parks & Recreation alum pleading the fifth. “OH SHE KNOWS SOMETHING,” read @wandasattorney’s caption.

Does Kathryn Hahn really know something about the future of Agatha?

On the one hand, Hahn may well be speaking the truth when claiming that none of the show’s cast, and probably also crew, know anything about an Agatha All Along season 2. We’re aware all too well that Marvel takes its sweet, sweet time in greenlighting more episodes of its TV series — see the mystery surrounding the fate of Moon Knight, She-Hulk, and others years after they premiered. That said, it’s highly likely that she knows at least something about where Agatha the characters goes next.

AAA ended with a huge status quo change for Ms. Harkness by going so far as to kill her off and then resurrect her as a ghost. It’s clear that the next leg of Agatha’s MCU journey will see her act as a spirit guide to Joe Locke’s Wiccan as he sets about finding his lost twin brother, Tommy/Speed. We’re expecting this to occur in the upcoming Vision Quest show, although it should be noted this hails from a different creative team than WV and AAA.

This was such a specific set-up for Agatha that it stands to reason Marvel has some particular plan in place for her, so Hahn has surely been given some heads-up over where she’ll appear next. No doubt she’ll have a cameo in Vision Quest, at the very least, with a role in the much-rumored Scarlet Witch movie also a possibility. In true Agatha style, Hahn may well be telling us the truth while simultaneously holding back the full facts.

Whatever happens, we’re unlikely to see Agatha again this calendar year, as Vision Quest isn’t scheduled to hit streaming until 2026. But, hang on in there, witches and warlocks — just remember there’s glory at the end.

Warning: This article contains spoilers for What If…? season 3.

Marvel‘s 2024 was full of crazy moments — from Deadpool & Wolverine‘s dozen delirious cameos to Agatha All Along‘s musical numbers — but it turns out the studio saved its most bonkers bit of content of the year until the end. While many weren’t looking, because they were too busy enjoying the holidays, the MCU just introduced its most powerful super team to date. But, don’t worry, we’ll probably never, ever see them again.

For those who have yet to catch up with What If…? season 3, just know that this was the wildest season of the animated anthology series yet. We got Agatha Harkness making an old-timey Hollywood movie with Kingo from Eternals, Shang-Chi and Kate Bishop shooting up the Wild West, and *checks notes* Howard the Duck and Darcy having a baby… Wait, what? *puts glasses on and checks notes again*

With this being the final run of the imaginative series, it seems the show’s creators decided to go for broke — and that includes breaking the power rankings for the whole MCU, by introducing easily the most powerful heroes in the franchise so far.

What If…? season 3 just made four iconic heroes into actual gods

The stakes are appropriately raised for What If…?‘s two-part finale when the Watcher (Jeffrey Wright) is sentenced to death by his boss, the Eminence (Harry Potter‘s Jason Isaacs), for the many times he has interfered in the multiverse across the series, transgressing the sacred rule of the Watchers. Luckily for him, he’s rescued by a couple of old friends, and two new ones.

Captain Carter (Hayley Atwell) returns to save the Watcher, along with season 2 breakout Kahhori (Devery Jacobs) and two unexpected new allies. Namely, Byrdie the Duck — the aforementioned unlikely offspring of Howard and Darcy, as voiced by upcoming Fantastic Four: First Steps star Natasha Lyonne — and the one and only Storm of the X-Men! Except this variant, voiced by X-Men ’97‘s Alison Sealy-Smith, is also the Goddess of Thunder and wields Mjolnir.

Despite the foursome’s combined might, they are still not enough to defeat the Eminence and his lackeys, so the Watcher takes drastic measures to ensure their victory. Thanks to flashbacks, we find out that the Watcher himself was once a mortal being until he swore an oath and became an all-powerful multiversal observer. In the heat of battle in the action-packed eighth episode, the Watcher makes his friends repeat that same vow and they themselves become Watchers.

Tragically, Captain Carter dies in the episode’s epic final battle, but the Watcher, Kahhori, Storm, and Byrdie survive — now calling themselves the Exiles, a comic book team known for traversing the timelines, righting wrongs. With their truly godlike powers — including omniscient awareness of the multiverse and reality-altering abilities — there’s no question that the Exiles are vastly more powerful than the Avengers, the Guardians, the X-Men, the Eternals, and any other MCU team you’d care to mention.

So it’s probably for the best that these four are unlikely to appear ever again in the franchise now that What If…? has concluded. Lyonne will be back this summer for The Fantastic Four, but there’s little chance she’ll be playing Howard the Duck’s deity of a daughter in live-action. That’s too bad as it looks like it’s going to take the Avengers two whole movies to defeat Downey’s Doctor Doom, but the Exiles got the better of actual gods in about 30 minutes. All episodes of What If…? season 3 can be streamed on Disney Plus now.

One of our greatest failures as audiences is not regarding superhero movies as the genre chameleons that they are. Would it help if more recent superhero movies were actually good? Yes, maybe, but even then, we’ve called the Guardians of the Galaxy films superhero movies instead of the more appropriate label of sci-fi.

With that in mind, it’s probably no coincidence that Gunn’s trilogy has been one of the most rightly beloved corners of the MCU since it first started making waves over a decade ago, and the adventure that started it all is now making a new kind of wave on the streaming charts.

Per FlixPatrol, Guardians of the Galaxy has entered the Disney Plus atmosphere as the 10th most-watched title on the platform’s United States charts at the time of writing, coming up on a ninth-place O C’mon All Ye Faithful, the latest Christmas special to come out of The Simpsons‘ brain trust.

Guardians of the Galaxy stars Chris Pratt as Star-Lord, a half-human, intergalactic thief who finds himself falling in with the likes of deadly assassin Gamora (Zoe Saldaña), vengeful warrior Drax (Dave Bautista), tree-like alien Groot (Vin Diesel), and raccoon bounty hunter Rocket (Bradley Cooper). Together, these five misfits go on a rollicking adventure while trying to prevent Ronan the Accuser (Lee Pace) from destroying the galaxy.

What makes the Guardians function so well as a group of characters — and this is most prominently realized in Vol. 2 — is Gunn’s understanding of how to present family dynamics that are flawed and raw, and simultaneously loving and honest. Quill and the gang bicker and fight amongst themselves to no end; if somebody pisses somebody off, they won’t waste any time in making it known.

But the reason they’re able to do that is precisely because they trust and love one another. They would rather clumsily navigate their interpersonal imperfections than hold back and inadvertently resent one another, and they can show those imperfections because they all know that they’re all going to be there for each other when it counts.

Then there’s the matter of the trilogy’s potent musical identity, which feeds into Guardians‘ thesis of opening one’s heart to those who love you. Indeed, there’s a parallel between the characters’ diegetic acknowledgment/enjoyment of the soundtrack through singing and dancing, and the freedom with which they love each other and allow themselves to be loved, even if some take longer to do so than others (looking at you, Rocket).

It’s true that these films suffer a bit from having had to play by Marvel’s rules (there’s no way that CGI army fight in Vol. 3 wasn’t a studio note), but then, it’s all the more exciting to think about what Gunn will be able to do now that he’s steering the ship with much fewer restrictions at DC. And if that Superman trailer is any indication, we’re getting exactly as hyped as we need to be.

The novelty of Marvel Studios’ What If…? Animated series has worn off, though that shouldn’t come as a great surprise. The series’ third season is here and the reviews say it’s the worst batch of episodes yet.

Marvel Studios first launched its animated anthology series What If…? on Disney Plus in 2021. The show adapted the comics anthology of the same name, providing a playground for “imaginary” stories based on Marvel Comics with no impact on the live-action MCU. At first, that was everything fans could have wanted — but over the years things have changed.

According to the reviews lodged by critics and fans on Rotten Tomatoes so far, this is the worst season of What If…? to date.

At the time of publishing 12 critics have lodged reviews for the new season collectively giving it a score of just 75 percent, while fans feel much worse with the Popcornmeter currently sitting at 47 percent with over 250 reviews lodged.

What If…? season 3 is the final outing for the animated season and many had high hopes that it would produce some of the best moments that fans had seen so far. However, as it currently stands the show is sitting noticeably lower than the previous two seasons of the show on Rotten Tomatoes. Though, to be fair it doesn’t appear to be a disaster either.

Season 1 of the animated show became certified fresh with a solid 89 percent critic rating paired with a 92 percent score from fans. This momentum was carried into season 2 where the show landed a 90 percent critic score, however, this might have been where the cracks began to show as fans only managed to get the Popcornmeter to 65 percent. Of course, the new season has failed to reach these levels on either metric.

From the lodged reviews for season 3 of the series the contentious seems to be that the show continues to deliver impressive visuals, but its story falls short and fizzles out in an unsatisfactory fashion. ComicBookMovie.com’s Josh Wilding put it clearly saying “Season 3 has its moments but fails to take full advantage of its premise, resulting in a silly, superfluous, and shallow final batch of episodes.”

Fans are treating the new episodes more harshly, with many taking to the review platform slamming the season for having little creativity, a rushed production, and poor storytelling. If there’s any silver lining, most people seem to agree that the season’s first episode which sees the Avengers go head-to-head with Kaiju is a blast to watch, so there are redeeming qualities here.

If you’re a fan of the series so far then check out What If…? season 3 and form your own judgment of the season’s conclusion, but temper expectations if you were hoping for a special finale this time around. You can stream all of season 3 alongside the first two seasons of Marvel Studios’ What If…? on Disney Plus right now.

Episode four of Skeleton Crew has come and gone, and the Jon Watts-helmed coming-of-age miniseries seems destined to be one of the quieter entries in the Star Wars mythos. This likely has to do with an absence of tired fanbase uproar that has become so common in this era of the franchise, but I digress.

Those who do have Skeleton Crew on their radar have likely become familiar with one of the greatest Star Wars tales we’ve gotten in a hot minute. It may not have the genre charm of the original trilogy, the thematic/dramatic depth of Andor, nor the lucrative mix of the two that Revenge of the Sith had, but it has something even better; a creative heft that’s entirely its own.

Indeed, Skeleton Crew‘s Amblin-esque stylings and child ensemble are blossoming in a big way here, with the storyline exhibiting a tight grip on the adolescent capacity for intense wonder and terror, as well as the humanist wisdom that so many children play host to. And of our four plucky protagonists starring opposite Jude Law’s Jod Na Nawood, none stand out quite like Neel.

Let’s not kid ourselves; the Skeleton Crew brain trust knew exactly what they were doing when they stuck that thoroughly adorable, elephant-esque alien head on the most innocent, kind-hearted member of the Onyx Cinder‘s unlikely new crew. This show absolutely, positively intends for you to fall in love with Neel (voiced by Robert Timothy Smith) specifically, but those big eyes and floppy ears are just one small part of that equation.

All four of the kids are out of their depth here, but Neel especially so. Fern has an aptitude for leadership, Wim has a gung-ho enthusiasm and an adventurous itch to scratch, and KB has an eye for observation and is intellectually gifted. Neel has none of these traits; he’s anxious, passive, and a bit clumsy. You’d be as likely to pick Neel for a space expedition as you would for dodgeball in gym class.

And Neel knows that. He never hides how afraid or insecure he is, and that, importantly, extends to all of his emotions and natural ways of being. He’s the first to show fear, but he’s also the first to show love. He may not be brave or articulate or handy, but he won’t hesitate to give up his daily ration for two starving children, or advocate for no fighting in a world that seems pathologically obsessed with it.

This speaks to the rarely-discussed nuances of Neel’s sheltered upbringing. We learn early on that he comes from a fairly well-to-do family in a household full of love that he shares with his mom, dad, and little siblings. By all observations, Neel’s life experience has been one of very little conflict and about as much need for adjustment, and Skeleton Crew has been playing with that background in a multi-pronged way that’s also central to the show’s emotional thesis.

For one thing, the peace and kindness that Neel embodies and advocates for is one that we would all do well to adopt, but his lack of confidence is entirely a product of the fact that he’s never had to worry about being heard at home. He’s not used to using his voice or standing up for himself because of how safe he usually feels, and so when a situation inevitably comes along that requires that of him, he winds up retreating out of fear.

In this way, Skeleton Crew calls attention to the universality of human pain, regardless of your background, while simultaneously advocating for meeting that pain with an equally rich love and vulnerability.

All of this, without downplaying the importance of feeling that pain and insecurity in the first place. In Neel, we come to understand that pain doesn’t make you strong because it toughens you up, but because it deepens your empathy and subsequent depth of your love. This latest episode has seen him overcome his fear in a big way, drawing the attention of a malfunctioning SM-33 when it threatens his friends. He ends up passing out after the encounter, sure, but we’re reminded that the best kindness is one that’s active rather than passive; this lesson is Neel’s arc, and a fantastic one for viewers of all ages to learn from.

Indeed, it’s true that anything can happen over the course of these next four episodes (the finale is due on Disney Plus on Jan. 14), but at this point, it’s hard to imagine a world where someone eclipses Neel as the greatest, most important component of Skeleton Crew.

Believe it or not, Marvel Studios looks to be finally moving forward with a project fans have been waiting for since *checks watch* well, just about over 10 years now.

As per Deadline, Nova is at long last on his way to the MCU. Cosmic hero Richard Rider has been waiting in the wings ever since the Nova Corps space police were introduced into the franchise way back in 2014’s Guardians of the Galaxy. His imminent arrival was later teased by the destruction of the Corps in Avengers: Infinity War, leaving him to inherit their legacy — Rider even made a cameo in the movie’s first draft script.

Back in 2022, we first heard that a Nova project was being developed in the background, but at the time Marvel had yet to decide whether it would be a movie or a TV show, although it seemed to be leaning more towards the latter. Sure enough, the studio is officially making it a Disney Plus series, with the choice of new showrunner offering fans a big hint at what could be a unique tone. Well, unique for the MCU…

Nova‘s new showrunner proves it’s the MCU’s answer to a highly-anticipated DC project

Deadline reports that former Criminal Minds exec producer Ed Bernero has been hired to helm Nova. He’s replacing Moon Knight writer Sabir Pirzada, who was announced to be penning the show when it was announced in 2022. That’s all we know about the series at this point, but Bernero’s hiring and his history with the police procedural genre offers us a clue at what DC project might’ve inspired Marvel to finally get going with this one.

One show from James Gunn’s upcoming DCU slate that seems to going well is Lanterns, the reboot of the Green Lantern Corps that is being pitched as a True Detective-like spin on the Emerald Knights. It’ll basically be a buddy cop crime drama, only with a cosmic spin, starring Kyle Chandler as Hal Jordan and Aaron Pierre as John Stewart. Lost‘s Damon Lindelof is even one of its head writers.

Seeing as Nova is often called the Green Lantern of Marvel — like the Lanterns, he’s an outer space police officer deemed worthy enough to wield a cosmic power source, in his case the Nova Force — it was always going to have some crossover with Lanterns. By appointing Bernero, however, it seems Marvel wants to approach it in a very similar way to DC’s rival production, by combining the superhero with a detective show vibe.

Procedural shows are among the longest-lasting on TV, so given Marvel’s newfound interest in making ongoing series rather than standalone miniseries, it’s likely they intend Nova to run and run. Speaking of, hopefully Pirzada will be kept around to work on Moon Knight season 2, which we’ve been waiting on almost as long as we’ve been waiting for some concrete Nova updates.

Criminal Minds fans, now is your time to start pestering Marvel to cast Matthew Gray Gubler as Richard Rider.

Good news! She’s not dead! Agatha Harkness — everyone’s favorite not-so-wicked witch of 2024 before Elphaba came along — is definitely returning to Disney Plus just as her fans hoped. Agatha All Along was originally envisioned as a one-off miniseries, but the popularity of Kathryn Hahn’s character has led to much speculation that Marvel Studios might be considering stretching out the story into a second season.

Well, the thing is… We still don’t actually have any news on that front, but the next best option has happened instead. Agatha has been confirmed to make an MCU comeback much sooner than we anticipated, and it looks like this unexpected additional project will make use of Agatha’s scene-stealing showmanship better than ever before. Especially as she’ll have one of the franchise’s other biggest egos alongside her as she forms an unlikely double act.

It was the Eternals all along! Agatha Harkness is responsible for helping resurrect a forgotten Marvel franchise

Just when you thought you would have to wait years to see her again, Marvel has confirmed Agatha will be back on our screens before the year is out. The full episode list has been unveiled for What If…? season 3, ahead of its premiere over Christmas, and now we have a peek at what presents are in store for us. Some we already knew to expect — like episode 1, “What if… The Hulk Fought the Mech Avengers?” and episode 3, “What if… The Red Guardian Stopped The Winter Soldier?” — but others are coming as a big surprise.

Episode 6, “What If… 1872?” teases a 19th-century take on the Marvel universe, while the tautologically titled “What if… What if…?” teases an enigmatic series finale. Then there’s episode 4, “What if… Howard the Duck Got Hitched?” but we’re going to need some time to process that one. The one that immediately grabs the attention, however, is episode 2, “What if… Agatha Went To Hollywood?”

This episode appears to explore a timeline where Agatha actually did something constructive with her immortality and became a movie star. Who does that remind you of? Yup, Kumail Nanjiani’s Kingo did the same thing in Eternals, so it only makes (a kind of warped, What If…?-style) sense that these two characters will apparently unite in this ep. As a screenshot from a recent promo proves…

By the looks of it, then, episode 2 will mark the first appearance of any Eternal in the MCU since their 2021 film failed to kickstart a franchise. For the eternal Eternals fans out there, the good news is What If…? season 3 also includes a proper Eternals-theme episode. Namely, episode 5: “What If… The Emergence Destroyed The Earth?” We also don’t have to worry about soundalikes filling in for these roles as both Hahn and Nanjiani are 100% confirmed to be in this season’s voice cast.

A random team-up between Agatha and Kingo is exactly what makes What If…? such a blast, and why it’s a shame Marvel is bringing a show with such unlimited potential to a close so soon. At least we have half an hour more Agatha content than we thought to keep us going along the long walk down the Witches Road until she returns to live-action.

We may not think about it too much given how engrained they are with so many of our lives, but the social organism of a family is actually pretty insane. These are the people who have likely seen the absolute worst you have to offer, and have watched as old worsts give way to new worsts. And yet, the love persists.

This means you can get away with being a casually conniving, unnecessarily cruel prankster to your siblings, and it will just be another Wednesday. It certainly was for TikTok‘s @xoxot0ri, in any case.

At a glance, the video appears to be nothing more than a glance at a family’s shared Disney Plus account, complete with ostensibly compulsory Bluey avatars and a rebellious child who prefers being represented by Winnie the Pooh‘s Eeyore. The video’s description, however, paints a far more insidious tale.

Allegedly, Tori’s sister has a habit of going into the Disney Plus profile settings and messing around with Tori’s account, often changing her username from “tori” to “tori #ugly,” and completing the job by changing her profile picture to an uglier one (five bucks says Roz from Monsters, Inc. was up there at some point).

Many were quick to chalk this up as thoroughly normal sibling behavior (“Y’all don’t have pfp wars with your siblings?” The real comment section fire, however, broke out at the implication that Tori believes Eeyore to be ugly, but she would later clarify that Eeyore was chosen by her to replace whatever character her sister thrust upon her. Others, having apparently neglected to read the description at the behest of their instant-gratification impulses, wondered what the big deal was.

The kicker? This six-second video is hiding much more than Tori’s grievances. This video was posted back in November, and yet you can see a clear image of a Christmas tree in the television’s reflection; how utterly blasphemous! If you look closer, however, you’ll also see that their mother’s account is the only one with a password on it. What scandalous mysteries must lay beyond those four obscure digits? The contents of the bookshelf down below are too blurry to read, but there’s probably another spicy element there as well.

One thing is for sure, though; Bluey doesn’t seem to be doing its job here. Writing for her blog Techno Sapiens, psychologist Jacqueline Nesi notes that Bluey models several important behaviors for children to adopt, including self-regulation, resolving conflict, being kind to others, and building family relationships. Tori’s sister — clearly obsessed with making Tori’s Disney Plus experience unnecessarily grating — seems to be harboring none of these traits.

It’s clear, of course, why Tori’s sister is doing this; she’s punishing Tori for not assimilating into their family’s Bluey vibe on Disney Plus, at once exposing the beloved Australian children’s show as a psyop for unreasonable adherence to so-called “traditional family values,” probably. Time is of the essence, folks; The X-Files is right there in the Disney Plus library, the truth is out there, you know what to do.

From 2000 through 2006, one gloriously unhinged sitcom stood above all others: Malcolm in the Middle. It was goofy, irreverent, and had one of the most realistic portrayals of an American family ever filmed. Gone were the polished sitcom families of the past. The Wilkersons were a family with parents who were just as wild as the kids. If you loved it, here’s a reason to rejoice: it’s coming back with all new episodes on Disney Plus. However, there is a catch.

Disney Plus just released a series of teasers with Malcolm (Frankie Muniz), his father Hal (Bryan Cranston), and his mom Lois (Jane Kaczmarek). They are all going to reprise their roles just in time for the 25th anniversary of the show’s official debut on the FOX network.

The show’s creator, Linwood Boomer, is returning to help write the new episodes, per Deadline, and so is producer/director Ken Kwapis, who will direct the new episodes. Regency Television is producing the show for Disney Branded Entertainment.

The original show centered around young genius Malcolm and his three brothers and parents. There were a number of wacky side characters, and the show had one of the most distinctive styles of anything up to that point.

It’s hard to describe just how popular and influential the show was in its heyday. Malcolm was one of the first shows to be filmed with a single camera, and it paved the way for other cultural milestones like Modern Family, The Office, and Arrested Development. When it debuted in 2000, it pulled in an eye-popping 23 million viewers. It was up to 26 million just one week later.

The new show’s premise is that Hal and Lois want Malcolm at their 40th wedding anniversary. The new episodes will reportedly center around that trio, along with Malcolm’s daughter, who has yet to be cast. There’s a good chance we’ll also see brothers Francis (Christopher Kennedy Masterson) and Reese (Justin Berfield). It’s less likely we’ll see the youngest son Dewey (Erik Per Sullivan), because he quit acting in 2010.

So what’s the catch? Unfortunately, we’re only going to get four episodes. At least that’s what we’re hearing so far.

Ayo Davis, the president of Disney Branded Television, said the sitcom “captured the essence of family life with humor, heart and relatability.”

“Its hilarious and heartfelt portrayal of a lovably chaotic family resonated with audiences of all ages, and we’re so excited to welcome the original cast back to bring that magic to life again,” Davis said. “With Linwood Boomer and the creative team at the helm, these new episodes will have all the laughs, pranks, and mayhem fans loved — along with a few surprises that remind us why this show is so timeless.”

Not only a commercial hit, the show was a critical darling as well. It won Emmys for comedy writing and directing two years in a row. Over the course of the show, it pulled in seven Emmys, a Grammy, and a Peabody Award. All of the past episodes of the show are available to stream on Hulu.

There’s an argument to be made that the best Christmas movies are those that aren’t considered as such by everybody. Whether it’s Die Hard, Christmas with the Kranks (that is a horror movie and only a horror movie), or Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (don’t ask), sometimes the most fun you can have with Christmas movies is making a case for their existence as Christmas movies.

But The Nightmare Before Christmas is in a class all its own, because everyone can agree that it’s a Christmas movie, but no one can agree on whether it’s more of a Halloween movie than a Christmas movie. There is, of course, only one correct answer, but we’re not here for answers; we’re here for gladiatorial takes on great movies that happen to be rising up the Disney Plus charts.

Per FlixPatrol, The Nightmare Before Christmas is currently shoring up the Disney Plus film rankings in the United States in 10th place, staring straight at the behinds of the original Lion King and its ostensibly live-action 2019 remake (seventh and eighth place, respectively). All the while, Macaulay Culkin’s double-pronged claim to fame — Home Alone and Home Alone 2: Lost in New York — dominates the charts in first and third place.

The Nightmare Before Christmas stars Chris Sarandon and Danny Elfman as Jack Skellington (respectively providing his speaking voice and singing voice), the skeletal king of the delightfully spooky Halloween Town who gets the impulsive urge to hijack Christmas from Santa Claus and be the new King of Christmas Town. Of course, the overtly cheery and wholesome Christmas doesn’t gel particularly well with Jack’s macabre persuasion, and disaster follows soon after.

Perhaps the biggest reason that The Nightmare Before Christmas — and the debate surrounding it — has persisted as long as it has is because it’s one of the most intelligently-written animated films ever made. Its timeless stop-motion aesthetic (one that’s evocative of both the Christmas television specials of yore and the uncanny vibes that populate Halloween) calls attention to the collision of these two holidays just on its own, but the film’s proceedings carry a dual thematic and cultural weight whose profundity is world-class.

Indeed, Jack’s journey from Santa Claus wannabe to hopeless Yuletide imitator to the most staunch ally that Christmas could ever hope to have, is absolutely littered with plot beats that honor the similarities and differences between the historical, spiritual cores of both Halloween and Christmas. It all culminates in these two ways of being uniting on the grounds of love and cooperation; a union that, realistically, would welcome everyone’s opinion on where The Nightmare Before Christmas falls on the Halloween-to-Christmas scale.

And that emotional pulse continues to reverberate over 30 years later. Back in 2023, The Nightmare Before Christmas was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry, and that same November (i.e. the month smack-dab in the middle between Halloween and Christmas), Tim Burton himself said he would not have a hand in any other films set in Nightmare‘s world. Indeed, why throw another dart when you’ve already hit the bullseye to end all bullseyes?

We’ve heard it all before, and will probably continue to hear it until society collapses; if you so much as think about telling stories based on a pre-existing IP or building upon popular stories of the past, you have basically admitted to the world that you despise the concept of creativity, and that you specifically are eager to see the world of cinema polluted beyond redemption.

Except, you haven’t, and you especially haven’t if your name is Fede Álvarez, director and co-writer of beefy summer blockbuster Alien: Romulus. Álvarez, you see, harbors a well-kept secret about filmmaking — it’s okay to make franchise films, legacy sequels, and even franchise legacy sequels so long as they don’t suck. And now, the denizens of Disney Plus can take full advantage of that lack of suck.

Per FlixPatrol, Alien: Romulus has found itself swimming in ninth place on the Disney Plus worldwide film charts, squaring up against the likes of fellow summertime theatrical juggernaut Deadpool & Wolverine in third place, Top 10 favorite Moana in first place, and quintessential Disney classic The Lion King in eighth place, the latter two of which likely have Moana 2 and Mufasa: The Lion King to thank for their success.

Alien: Romulus stars Cailee Spaeny and David Jonsson as Rain and Andy, a human and an android who share a sibling bond and live out their days on the Jackson Star mining colony in the year 2142. They’re recruited by a ragtag group of young adults to join them on an expedition to an abandoned Weyland-Yutani station, where they hope to use the base’s resources to explore the galaxy and find a new home. The only problem? A pack of hyperviolent aliens have been living on this base for some time now, and they’re not especially keen on visitors.

Alien: Romulus‘ technical competence, just on its own, makes for one of the better watches in the Alien pantheon, and Jonsson’s mind-bogglingly elite performance as Andy is the asset of every director’s dreams. And while some may be quick to turn their noses down at the number of references to past Alien media, it’s easy to forgive Romulus precisely because it doesn’t try to play this nostalgic tic as a substitute for a good story.

The film’s narrative is thematic in nature, using its band of luckless youth to unfurl such ideas as freedom, responsibility, and the ever-crucial task of balancing these things with compassion. Character deaths are largely correlated with traits and decisions that indicate an inability to be truly free, which is the literal goal of the group, while the film’s protagonists are defined by their ability to take control and enable their allies. The aforementioned Andy plays host to an especially remarkable arc in this vein, and it’s his capacity for love that ends up being the driving force of Romulus‘ emotional and cerebral core.

Indeed, it’s not quite up there with Ridley Scott’s legendary tension masterclass and James Cameron’s mythological actioner, but Romulus is nevertheless a decidedly mighty pillar of the Alien franchise, and one can only hope that Alien: Earth, Noah Hawley’s FX series due sometime in 2025, can follow it up the way it deserves.