After months of teasing the arrival of a certain human-reindeer hybrid in the next season of its live-action One Piece adaptation, Netflix has finally revealed its take on Tony Tony Chopper and the actress who will be bringing him to life. Today during this year’s Tudum event showcasing all of Netflix’s upcoming projects, the streamer announced that actress Mikaela Hooverhas been cast a Tony Tony Chopper, One Piece‘s anthropomorphic reindeer who joins the Staw Hat Pirates on their search for the Grand Line. In addition to Cooper’s voice, a digital capture of her facial performance is being used to create the show’s CGI character. Iñaki Godoy, Mackenyu, Emily Rudd, Jacob Romero, Taz Skylar, Ilia Isorelys Paulino, Jeff Ward, and Michael Dormanare all returning in One Piece‘s second season. But the show is also set to introduce a number of new characters from the comics like Charithra Chandran as Miss Wednesday, Joe Manganiello as Mr. 0, Katey Sagal as Dr. Kureha, and Lera Abova as Miss All Sunday. Though Netflix has committed to quite a bit more One Piece, the second season doesn’t have a solid release date just yet. But the streamer plans for new episodes to debut some time in 2026. #netflixs #one #piece #adaptation #has

Warning: contains finale spoilers for Dept. Q See it? Blink and you won’t have, but it was there for a good half second: a smile on the face of DCI Carl Morck. It’s a rare enough occurrence across nine episodes of this Netflix crime drama to make it worthy of note. Matthew Goode’s irascible detective frowned, scowled and spitted out sarcasm through his new department’s search for missing prosecutor Merritt Lingard, until the show’s very last moment, when he smiled. He’d earned it. Three months earlier, Morck’s cold case unit had rescued Lingard and used dirt dug up during the investigation to blackmail the Lord Advocateinto a funding hike, a new work car, and fast-tracked DI status for Syrian copper and calmly proficient muscle Akram Salim. And now, Morck’s partner Hardy, formerly thought to have permanently lost the use of his legs after they were both shot in the line of duty, was walking again. It was a happy ending, or at least as happy as things get in a dank Edinburgh basement filled with unsolved case files detailing terrible crimes. With major Dept. Q finale spoilers, let’s dig into the revelations about Merritt’s kidnappers, what we learned about the Leith Park shooting, and more. Who Kidnapped Merritt Lingard and Why? Merritt’s kidnappers were Lyle and Ailsa Jennings, respectively the younger brother and mother of Harry Jennings, Merritt’s boyfriend as a teenager. She was being held on their property on her childhood island home of Mhòr, in a pressurised hyperbaric chamber inside a condemned building that was formerly part of Ailsa’s husband’s oceanography business Shorebird Ocean Systems – the logo for which was the cormorant symbol identified by Merritt’s brother William as on the hat of her stalker and kidnapper. Ailsa was a twisted and abusive mother to Harry and Lyle, as well as a murderer who killed her husband by burning the house down by flicking lighted matches at him while he slept. As a result, Lyle grew up to be a violent psychopath whose teenage crimes were covered up by the family and by the island’s police officer John Cunningham. John knew that Lyle was responsible for Merritt’s disappearance, but didn’t know she was still alive, having believed Lyle when he lied that Merritt had died by falling off the ferry from the mainland, just like Lyle’s brother Harry had done years earlier. Lyle and Ailsa blamed Merritt for Harry’s death because he jumped from the ferry while being pursued by John, who was chasing him because he was suspected of having severely beaten Merritt’s brother William into a coma during an interrupted robbery of the Lingard home. The robbery plan had been seeded by Merritt to steal her mother’s jewellery from her alcoholic father in order to sell for money to run away from home. In fact, Lyle was the one who had attacked William, being unhinged and thinking that he was protecting his brother. Harry and Ailsa covered up Lyle’s guilt and before his death, Harry took the blame. Lyle Jennings, Godhaven, and Sam Haig Lyle, who had a history of stalking, breaking-and-entering, and animal murder, spent time in youth psychiatric facility Godhaven, where he stalked another patient named Sam Haig. The pair fought, and Sam injured Lyle’s eye so severely that it was left permanently discoloured. Years later as an adult who had become an investigative journalist with no online presence, Sam sought Lyle out to apologise for the injury and invite him to come climbing at his favourite spot. Lyle used the information he had on Sam to assume his identity and stalk Merritt Lingard, who didn’t recognise him as an adult. He pretended to be investigating corruption at Merritt’s workplace, and targeted her, eventually starting a sexual relationship still pretending to be Sam. When Merritt told Lyle-as-Sam that she was leaving to go to Mhòr on the 10am ferry the next day, Lyle used that information to kidnap her during the crossing. Merritt’s brother William, who had been unable to speak since his teenage coma, had spotted Lyle on the ferry and because of Lyle’s distinctive hat, recognised him as the man who’d been stalking their house. He tried to communicate this to Merritt by throwing his own hat, and then struck her when he became afraid. It was when Merritt went to retrieve William’s hat that she was taken. Join our mailing list Get the best of Den of Geek delivered right to your inbox! Two days after Lyle kidnapped Merritt, he returned to the mainland to tie up loose ends and kill the real Sam Haig. He lured Sam to a remote spot, beat him to death, staged his corpse to look as though he had been climbing, and threw it off a cliff. Eventually, Morck and co. worked out that somebody else was pretending to be Sam Haig when they had evidence that Merritt had been with “Sam” at a hotel at the same time that the real Sam was having an affair with his friend’s wife at a different hotel. What Happened to Lyle and Ailsa Jennings? Merritt’s kidnappers both died – Ailsa by her own hand as she shot herself in her car before being taken into custody by the police, and Lyle by Akram’s hand, or rather, his trigger finger. After Lyle shot buckshot into Morck’s shoulder, Akram threw a knife at him, disarmed and shot him. Previously, Lyle had brutally killed Constable John Cunningham with a hammer when he learned that Merritt was still alive. Mark Bonnar’s character Stephen Burns had disallowed the appearance of a key witness in the Graham Finch murder trial after Burns’ daughter was run off the road by one of Finch’s goons as an intimidation tactic. Prisoner Kirsty Atkins was willing to testify that she had previously met Finch’s now-dead wife at a shelter for survivors of domestic violence, and that Finch routinely hit her. Because Burns wouldn’t allow her testimony, Finch was acquitted of his wife’s murder despite clearly having been guilty of it. Perhaps he also passed on the information about Kirsty Atkins to Finch’s lawyer, which led to Kirsty being viciously attacked and partially blinded in prison on Finch’s orders to keep her quiet. Who Is the Leith Park Shooter? We still don’t know who shot PC Anderson dead, and attempted to shoot Morck and Hardy dead at the Leith Park flat. If we can take the contents of Morck’s dream as gospel, then the shooting was done on the orders of Leith Park criminal kingpin Eugene Errington, whom we’ve yet to meet. According to Morck’s dream, in which he shot Errington’s muscle Charlie Bell in the head, Errington has a baby with Caroline Kerr – the witness who was intimidated into withdrawing her statement about the shooting. We also know, or at least have a pretty good idea, that PC Anderson was a corrupt officer working for Errington, and that he may even have been the one to stab the victim – thought to have been a police informant – in the head. Anderson was a top recruit pretending to be a klutz, Morck realised, in order to cover up the fact that his fingerprints were all over the victim’s flat. He also lied about being at the flat for a routine welfare check after being alerted by the victim’s daughter – that was a quick-thinking ruse to explain his presence when Morck and Hardy showed up there unexpectedly. The last we saw of the Leith Park case, Moira looked to be taking it away from its lead investigator and possibly closing it, unsolved, which may point to her also having been compromised by Errington. As Hardy was one of the shooting’s victims, surely that can’t be the case file that she gave to Hardy to investigate without Morck in the season’s closing moments? Dept. Q is streaming now on Netflix. #netflixs #dept #ending #explained #merritt

In 2018 Korean animator and illustrator Han Ji-won created a commercial for jewelry brand Stonehenge that follows a girl who dreams of going to space, just like her astronaut grandmother. The brief, beautiful animation caught the attention of Korean production company Climax Studios, who saw potential for a much bigger story about the human connections astronauts carry with them into space.  Seven years later, the Netflix animated film Lost in Starlight expands that near-future world into a story of two star-crossed lovers who fall in love on the neon-lit rooftops of a futuristic Seoul only to be separated by 140 million miles when one of them embarks on an expedition to Mars.  “While I was developing the script, a lot of things changed,” writer-director Han says In fleshing out the story, she was inspired by the individuality of Miyazaki, the edgy sentimentality of Cowboy Bebop, and the near-future worldbuilding of Her. “But, still, there were the same keywords: space, female lead, music, childhood, and love.”  Lost in Starlight centers a slice-of-life love story between astro botanist Nan-youngand musician Jay. For Nan-young, who hopes to find life on the planet, Mars is personal. Her mother was part of a doomed, 2026 mission to the Red Planet. Twenty-five years later, Nan-young dreams of continuing in her mother’s footsteps, and helping the Adonis amurensis flower thrive on the alien planet.  “My character is kind of stubborn at times,” says Ramakrishnan, with a laugh. “She’s a girl boss, but she needs to take a breath.” That breath comes in the form of a return to Seoul from Houston, following low psychological exam scores that have Nan-young bumped from an upcoming Martian expedition. The driven scientist doesn’t give up on her goal, continuing her development of a Life Form Detector to try to earn a spot on the trip, but she also finds time to devote to fixing her late mother’s busted record player. When Nan-young literally bumps into Jay with the 2023 Crozby in her arms, he becomes determined to fix it for her.  “I would describe Jay as someone who doesn’t really believe in himself,” Min says of the character who is working in a vintage electronics repair shop after turning away from his passion for composing and performing music. “I think he is more concerned about the practicalities of life and just kind of getting by. I think he has a lot of dreams, but he doesn’t quite know how to act on them and fulfill them.” While Jay may be hesitant in his music, he is determined when it comes to pursuing the brilliant Nan-young. By the time he has fixed her record player, the two have fallen for one another… but can their budding relationship survive the distance between Earth and Mars? Like the short animation it stems from, Lost in Starlight is far more interested in the emotional dimensions of space travel than the logistical ones. The Martian, this is not—nor does it want to be, instead curious about the work of human connection in a sometimes unforgiving but never hopeless universe. The film’s space-scapes are vividly animated, and especially powerful in the abstract. In one climactic, hallucinatory moment, Nan-young’s vision explodes with the yellow blossoms of the flower that connects her work to her mother’s, across time and mortality. She imagines the galaxy as a spinning record, the vinyl representing connections to her mother and to Jay, as well as the natural forces that move us all along.  The story is strongest, however, in its most mundane, Earth-bound moments, and in the ways Han’s animation is able to connect the familiar with the fantastic so seamlessly. Like anime auteurs Hideko Miyazai and Makoto Shinkai before her, Han is incredibly detailed in her realization of interior spaces, bringing a sense of realism to the animated format that casts the same warm, human touch to the mise-en-scene of a Martian research facility as it does Jay’s sunlit, stickered Euljiro apartment. In 2051 Seoul, massive holographic jellyfish float through the twilight sky, but Nan-young’s aging father still sticks struggling plants in an old mug emblazoned with a heart-shaped photo of his family from decades previous. And when Nan-young takes a self-driving car home after a long day, Han focuses not on the technology but our weary protagonist toeing off her work heels. This balance between the futuristic and the familiar is further buoyed by the film’s soundtrack, which features work from Korean artists such as CIFIKA, Meego, and Wave to Earth’s Kim Daniel. “I am a little bit greedy about having really good soundtracks,” says Han. “I wanted it to be futuristic but not apocalyptic, a little bit edgy but soft at the same time.” Han chose synth-pop as the main sound, pairing the electronic sounds of the genre with subdued, dreamy beats. Korean voice actors Kim and Hong contributed some of the lyrics for the tender, lulling songs Jay writes and performs in the film. Korean media has become known internationally for its love stories, most famously depicted in the K-drama format. While Lost in Starlight borrows some of the same narrative DNA that makes those romances tick, it represents something startlingly original within a Korean animation industry that has more often been known internationally for its outsourcing work and preschool TV programs than feature films for adults. “While we still have those companies in Korea doing a lot of outsourcing work, we also have new aspiring companies that come into the picture,” says Han of the state of the Korean animation industry.  Join our mailing list Get the best of Den of Geek delivered right to your inbox! Han, who became the youngest Korean animator to direct a theatrically released feature film in 2015 with anthology Clearer Than You Think, comes from an indie background, but worked with a commercial production company to make Lost in Starlight. “We have these great artists who have a lot of potential in terms of their creativity and storytelling, and then we have these companies who are now willing to do both the pre and main production works,” says Han. “I think we need a lot of love and interest and support from a lot of different players, and I hope that it could be consistent, so that we can keep on working on our projects. If that happens, then I think we’re going to bloom like flowers.” Lost in Starlight is available to stream on Netflix starting May 30. #netflixs #lost #starlight #korea #makes

Fear Street is back with Prom Queen, but the film is way, way worse than the original trilogy with a new director and writers. #dont #netflixs #fear #street #prom

For James MacLachlan, working as overall VFX supervisor on Season 7 of Netflix’s sci-fi anthology series, Black Mirror, represented quite a jump from his previous work as VFX supervisor on Apple TV+’s Ted Lasso. “They’re very much the yin and the yang of my career so far,” he says. “I’ve always followed Black Mirror, and I enjoy a bit of a dark humor and love the technology side of things. I think I’m more aligned to Black Mirror in terms of personal ethos. But I’ve learned a lot from Ted Lasso. It’s softened my approach.” Black Mirror’s 7th season finale, “USS Callister: Into Infinity,” a sequel to the fan-favorite 2017 Season 4 opening episode, “USS Callister,” picks up years later where the ship’s crew, led by Captain Nanette Cole, is stranded in an infinite virtual universe, fighting for survival against 30 million players. MacLachlan spoke with AWN about how he and the visual effects team began with a fresh visual direction and an ambitious VFX brief, modernizing the original look while employing a collaborative pipeline to produce needed shots, and why family visits to set might help inspire a new generation of digital artists. The new episode returns to the USS Callister from Season 4, but in the future. It builds directly on the 2017 original. “We were a sequel,” MacLachlan says. “The original episode is much loved by fans. We were springboarding from a wealth of looks and ideas and themes that ran through it. We were standing on the shoulders of giants.” While the creative team worked from a familiar design language and characters, they updated the aesthetic. “The first episode leaned heavily into 60s design,” MacLachlan adds. “We were very much heading into the future. Some of the elements are similar, but the direction was new.” The production was anchored by director Toby Haynes and showrunner Charlie Brooker. “Together, the pair of them were able to directly point to where we were headed from that initial point in time,” MacLachlan notes. “Miranda Jones, our production designer, did a lot to establish the new visuals. The costume and props departments came in with fresh ideas. It was a really solid base.” He adds, “Some of the stuff we designed as we did the VFX, and some of the things Union VFX did were absolutely fantastic. You know, the teleportation, the defragging / fragging, the spaceship design, the space battles, they were all new elements this time around.” “There are north of 600 VFX shots in the episode, which is a significant shot count,” MacLachlan shares. “The largest body of work was obviously the space battle sequences in and around the Heart of Infinity,” he says. “There’s a lot of fully CG content — space battles, explosions, laser fire, dynamic camera moves.” Designing the action around a unique central structure was critical. “A key feature of the show was that everything is moving in and around this swirling, gyroscopic behemoth of a center of the Heart of Infinity,” MacLachlan says. “The team had to coordinate shots where the camera moves in and around a moving obstruction. I can’t think of another space battle where the object is shifting this way.” Describing other VFX highlights that included teleportation effects, defragging visuals, and transitions in and out of the game environment, he adds, “We were creating in-game effects within a real-world, immersive context. It wasn’t just stylized overlays — it had to feel like part of the world.” Planning began before the script was locked. “We read the scripts while they were still in development,” MacLachlan explains. “It was collaborative from the start. We’d meet with Toby, Charlie, the DOP Stefan Pearson, and just start bouncing ideas.” Early design sessions were hands-on. “We’d literally be using hand gestures to block things, filming each other, folding paper planes, moving them around,” he laughs. “We were doing sort of bad Tai Chi in the office. It started very organically.” The previs team at Bigtooth Studios helped refine the ideas. “They were fantastic,” MacLachlan says. “They generated shots and content we could slip into the edit. Union VFX then built on top of that. It was a really fluid process.” Because of the evolving nature of the edit, flexibility was essential. “We weren’t constrained to a single version of things,” he continues. “As the cut changed, the design could adapt. That was really lovely.” While there was no virtual production in the traditional sense, the team did employ a large LED wall for the bridge set. According to MacLachlan, “There’s a huge viewport in the USS Callister bridge. We figured it would be more cost-effective and give a better result if we used an LED wall. We pre-designed hyperspace, laser fire, different planets — then played them back live on set.” The benefits were both creative and technical. “The actors walked in and were blown away,” he shares. “Last time it was all greenscreen. This time it looked amazing.” From a cinematography standpoint, it also made sense. “The ship interior has reflective surfaces — shiny glassy chrome,” he adds. “The LED wall meant we had natural reflections, no need to fake them in post.” With real-time control, the team could fine-tune light and composition. “Stefan could move where a planet was to adjust lighting,” MacLachlan notes. “We did large matte paintings, animated them, and the crew could switch things on the fly. It gave us a lot of variation.” MacLachlan says the episode’s ambition pushed everyone to rethink traditional sci-fi staging. “We wanted to bring energy. The space battle had to feel dynamic, like the camera was part of the action. We had to consider how laser fire works. If a pulse leaves a fighter jet, it keeps going straight — even if the ship turns.” “It’s not something I’d really considered before,” he admits. “The Union team showed me tests, and we realized the physics mattered. It needed to be consistent.” Making it all work narratively meant threading effects into the story. “Teleportation, defragging — these had to look impressive, but also support what the characters were experiencing,” MacLachlan says. “We were building a game world that had its own logic.” He also emphasizes that collaboration across departments was key. “Everyone brought ideas. We’d be feeding off each other. Charlie, Toby, Stefan, the editor Tony Kearns — when everyone’s playing in the sandbox together, it elevates things.” MacLachlan adds that time was the only real limit. “We just wanted to keep putting more in. That’s always the challenge — knowing when to stop.” One moment that stood out during the production was the family set visit. MacLachlan shares, “Families were invited to come walk around the bridge. The cast and crew brought their kids. You could see them light up. It’s not something I’ve experienced before.” He believes those visits may spark something lasting, noting, “You hear a lot of people in VFX say, ‘It was Star Wars for me.’ Or ‘That day I visited set.’ Maybe some of those kids will remember this as their moment. That’s really special.” Ultimately, MacLachlan sees the episode as a mix of spectacle and thoughtful design. “Hopefully the energy of the space battle helps the story move forward. It’s not subtle. The VFX are right there. But it feels cohesive.” He adds, “We didn’t want to show off for the sake of it. The effects had to be part of the game logic, part of the narrative. It all had to feel photographic and believable in the context of the show.” For MacLachlan, the collaboration stood out most. “From script to screen, it was a wonderful experience. The humor, the dark areas, the tech — it all came together. I think that shows in the final product.” Dan Sarto is Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Animation World Network. #inside #vfx #netflixs #black #mirror

Netflix puts out tons of new content every week, and while some of it is critically beloved, other things get panned or don’t get much critical attention at all. One of the streamer’s new shows this May, though, has debuted with a perfect score on Rotten Tomatoes. American Manhunt: Osama bin Ladin is a documentary series that tells the story of the hunt for Osama bin Ladin the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attack. Although he was known in the years before 9/11, bin Ladin became U.S. intelligence’s top target in the aftermath of the attacks, and it took nearly 10 years to track him down. The miniseries is just three episodes and three hours, but chronicles the hunt from the days immediately following the attacks all the way through to 2011 when he was killed following a SEAL team operation. Recommended Videos The critical reception for this miniseries is roughly on par with other docuseries that have come under the American Manhunt mantle. The Trial of O.J. Simpson also had a perfect critics score on Rotten Tomatoes, and The Boston Marathon Bombing had an 89% score. Although these docuseries have often caught fire on the platform, they aren’t often being reviewed by every major television critic, so there might be some element of self-selection involved here. Even so, this story has undeniable intrigue for Netflix subscribers, and is quickly becoming a part of American history. 9/11 was almost 25 years ago, although the aftermath of those attacks is still reverberating through American society all these years later. #netflixs #new #documentary #series #now

Anyone asking how to get to Sesame Street will have a new answer as of this morning: Just log on to Netflix. The industry leader in streaming, which topped 300 million global subscribers last December and reported revenue of billion for the first quarter in 2025, just picked up Sesame Street ahead of its 56th season. That’s after HBO wound down its deal with the beloved children’s institution last December. Although financial details about Netflix’s new arrangement are not yet publicly available, HBO reportedly paid to million annually for rights to the edutainment lodestar. Whatever price Netflix is paying to add the series to its robust slate of children’s programs, which includes Cocomelon, it’s likely a bargain, considering the intangibles. With this deal, Netflix created a lot more than just a new home for Big Bird, Cookie Monster, and the rest of the gang; by allowing the embattled PBS network to freely air new episodes as they roll out, Netflix just elegantly orchestrated the feel-good corporate PR coup of the year.  We are excited to announce that all new Sesame Street episodes are coming to @netflix worldwide along with library episodes, and new episodes will also release the same day on @PBS Stations and @PBSKIDS platforms in the US, preserving a 50+ year relationship.The support of… pic.twitter.com/B76MxQzrpI— Sesame StreetMay 19, 2025 Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit that produces Sesame Street, has faced rough headwinds in recent months. After losing its lucrative contract with HBO last December, amid a pronounced reduction in children’s programming on the network, the fate of the show was uncertain. Making matters worse, Trump recently moved to cut federal funding to PBS, which has aired Sesame Street for over half a century—and only did so after his administration’s cuts to the U. S. Agency for International Development abruptly deprived Sesame Workshop of valuable grants. The venerable children’s show needed a champion, and into the void stepped the entertainment company whose branding is the color of Elmo.   “I strongly believe that our educational programming for children is one of the most important aspects of our service to the American people, and Sesame Street has been an integral part of that critical work for more than half a century,” said Paula Kerger, president and CEO of PBS, in a statement. “We’re proud to continue our partnership in the pursuit of having a profound impact on the lives of children for years to come.” The new deal will involve a mild cosmetic overhaul. According to The Washington Post, Sesame Street had intended to start a new format of two 11-minute stories, along with a new five-minute animated segment called “Tales From 123,” but the show will now instead feature a single 11-minute story, followed by “Tales From 123,” and then some revived fan favorites such as “Elmo’s World.” The most profound change in the new deal, though, will have nothing to do with the content, but in how it’s delivered. When HBO began airing episodes of Sesame Street in 2016, the show continued to run on PBS, but new episodes only reached the public channel nine months later. This arrangement continued after 2020, when the show transitioned to HBO Max, and remained in place until HBO announced its intention to drop the show last December. In contrast, Netflix’s deal ensures that new episodes will be available on PBS stations and PBS Kids digital platforms the day they’re released, honoring the creators’ commitment to free, fun educational material for children. “This unique public-private partnership will enable Sesame Workshop to bring our research-based curriculum to young children around the world with Netflix’s global reach, while ensuring children in communities across the U.S. continue to have free access on public television to the Sesame Street they love,” Sesame Workshop CEO Sherri Westin added in the announcement. What makes the deal such a savvy PR move is that it’s a win for the company on several levels. Not only does it provide a sharp contrast between Netflix and the once and future HBO Max, and what might be considered a subtle rebuke to this administration’s attack on publicly funded channels, it also offers a counterpoint to some recent perceptions of Netflix. Over the past couple years, Netflix has made some moves that helped foster an image of the company as more profit-focused and less consumer-friendly. Between the crackdown on password-sharing, multiple price hikes, and sunsetting of the popular Basic ad-free plan, pushing users toward either higher-priced tiers or an ad-based option, the company seemed driven by a shrewd quest to leave no money on the table, no matter who got left behind. By ensuring that American families will be able to access new episodes of Sesame Street for free for the first time in a decade, however, Netflix has demonstrated it has more on its mind than the bottom line. It’s the kind of message that resonates with would-be subscribers, and it should go a long way toward keeping the clouds away from Netflix’s reputation for some time. #netflixs #sesame #street #deal #coup

The director of The Fall Guy is in talks to take on Netflix’s Gears of War movie.The Hollywood Reporter said David Leitch, who also directed Atomic Blonde, Deadpool 2, Hobbs & Shaw, and Bullet Train, is in negotiations to direct Gears of War, the adaptation of Microsoft’s explosive third-person action game.Leitch and Kelly McCormick are said to be producing alongside Gears developer The Coalition. Jon Spaihtsis reportedly writing the script.PlayIt’s been two-and-a-half years since Netflix picked up the rights to Gears of War, but it sounds like the gears are finally in motion now. An adult animation series is reportedly also in the works and set to follow the movie. Pending the adaptations’ success, even more Gears would follow.The big question is of course who will play Gears protagonist Marcus Fenix? Wrestler turned actor Dave Bautista has made it extremely clear that he the seal of approval from Gears co-creator Cliff Bleszinski.It’s boom time for video game adaptations, withThe Super Mario Bros. Movie, A Minecraft Movie, and the Sonic movies all breaking records. Beyond that, there’s the Uncharted movie, the Mortal Kombat movie, Resident Evil movies, and plenty more.Upcoming New Video Game Movies and TV Shows: 2025 Release Dates and BeyondIn March, Microsoft gaming chief Phil Spencer said the failure of the TV adaptation of Halo hadn't put Microsoft off more adaptations of its video games. Microsoft had learned from Halo, Spencer said, and was gaining confidence in the space. And so, expect more to come. "We’re learning and growing through this process, which is giving us more confidence that we should do more,” Spencer said. “We learned from doing Halo. We learned from doing Fallout. So all of these build on themselves. And obviously we’ll have a couple that miss. But what I’d say to the Xbox community that likes this work is, ‘You’re going to see more, because we’re gaining confidence and we’re learning through this.’ ”Back in video game land, The Coalition is working on prequel Gears of War: E-Day. It does not have a release date.Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me. #sounds #like #netflixs #gears #war

Earlier in April, T-Mobile launched two new mobile family plans intended to replace the Go5G and Go5G Plus services, which included unlimited talk, text, and premium data. The new plans - "Experience Beyond" and "Experience More" - carry over the benefits of Go5G but also tack on new perks like a 5-year fixed price guarantee, a higher mobile hotspot data cap, T-Satellite with Starlink, and more, all at a lower monthly rate.T-Mobile Experience Plans: What They OfferT-Mobile's New Experience Family PlansSee it at T-MobileT-Mobile's Experience plans are currently available as two separate tiers. The "Experience More" plan offers 3 lines for per month with AutoPay, plus taxes and fees. The "Experience Beyond" plan offers 3 lines for per month with AutoPay. The benefits for each plan are as follows:1. T-Mobile Experience More5-year price guaranteeUpgrade-ready every two yearsUnlimited talk and textUnlimited 4G & 5G LTE premium dataNetflixsubscription includedApple TV+ subscription included60GB of high-speed mobile hotspot dataUnlimited text, 15GB of high-speed data in Canada & MexicoUnlimited text, 5GB of high-speed data in 215+ countries & destinationsFull-flight texting and Wi-Fi with streaming where available2. T-Mobile Experience Beyond5-Year price guaranteeUpgrade-ready every yearUnlimited talk and textUnlimited 4G & 5G LTE premium dataT-Satellite with Starlink serviceNetflixsubscription includedApple TV+ subscription includedHuluincludedUnlimited mobile hotspot includedUnlimited text, 30GB of high-speed data in Canada & MexicoUnlimited text, 15GB of high-speed data in 215+ countries & destinationsFull-flight texting and Wi-Fi with streaming where availableWatch & tablet lines just /monthThe "Experience More" plan is more than sufficient for most people, since you get unlimited talk, text, and premium 5G and 4G LTE data for per monthplus a 5 year guarantee and both Netflix and Apple TV+ subscriptions. The 2 year upgrade path is perfectly reasonable since most people don't replace their phone every year.If, however, you do like to be at the forefront of smartphone tech, or you plan to connect an additional device like your tablet or Apple Watch, and/or you travel often, then the "Experience Beyond" plan is an attractive option at per month.Did you know? T-Mobile offers incentives for switching carriersAs part of its Family Freedom initiative, T-Mobile will cover up to per line to help pay off your AT&T and Verizon phonesand a new smartphone when trading in that device. Families score with deals like four flagship smartphones on Us and four new voice lines for just /month on Essentials.These plans with no yearly contract - What does that mean?Not to be confused with your phone's financing planT-Mobile's "Experience" are postpaid plans that don't lock you into any sort of yearly contact, so you are free to cancel your service at anytime. Keep in mind, however, that if you finance a phone through T-Mobile, you are still required to make payments on the phone for however long the contract entails, usually for a length of 24 months. Although you can opt to pay your phone off early, T-Mobile often offers discounts on their phones in the form of bill credits that are applied every month. So, paying a phone off early could mean you forfeit the bill credits for the remainder of the term. As per the norm, common sense dictates that you read the fine print before committing to any form of contractual obligation.Why Should You Trust IGN's Deals Team?IGN's deals team has a combined 30+ years of experience finding the best discounts in gaming, tech, and just about every other category. We don't try to trick our readers into buying things they don't need at prices that aren't worth buying something at. Our ultimate goal is to surface the best possible deals from brands we trust and our editorial team has personal experience with. You can check out our deals standards here for more information on our process, or keep up with the latest deals we find on IGN's Deals account on Twitter.Eric Song is the IGN commerce manager in charge of finding the best gaming and tech deals every day. When Eric isn't hunting for deals for other people at work, he's hunting for deals for himself during his free time. #tmobile039s #new #experience #plans #offer