After being forced to sit out 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Marvel Studios returned in a big way in 2021 by not only kicking off its run of Disney+ subscription-exclusive MCU TV shows, but also releasing four movies. The second of those movies was Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, starring Simu Liu as the titular character. I certainly found Shang-Chi’s origin story to be an enjoyable watch, but four years after its release, an internet user made a comment about him that I’ve also been wondering about.
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings was both a critical and commercial success for Marvel, so there’s no question that this was one of the stronger debuts for an MCU character, especially post-Phase 3. And yet, as X user @brookstweetz so astutely put it:
It’s actually insane Shang Chi has been in NOTHING besides his movie
2025 TV schedule this October. But as far as the main MCU reality goes, i.e. the Sacred Timeline, yeah, I agree it is weird that the skilled martial artist and inheritor of the mystical ten rings previously wielded by his father has not popped up since then. That’s not to say the still-in-development Shang-Chi 2 needed to be released by now, but given Marvel’s habit of having leading superheroes from one project make supporting appearances or cameos in other projects, I can’t be faulted for thinking that Shang-Chi could have gotten the same treatment.
Simu Liu is part of the massive ensemble cast for next year’s Avengers: Doomsday, which has been filming in London since late April. Although Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings’ mid-credits scene teased that the rings are acting as a beacon for something, it’s unclear if that will be addressed in Doomsday. It also remains to be seen if Liu will also be present in Avengers: Secret Wars, as so far Robert Downey Jr.’s Doctor Doom and the Fantastic Four are only confirmed characters for that movie.
Still, it’ll be nice to Shang-Chi back in action come December 18, 2026. It’s been far too long since we spent time with him in a live-action setting, and I look forward to seeing him fight alongside the Fantastic Four, Avengers, New Avengers and X-Men, among others. Meanwhile, Simu Liu’s next movie, the animated In Your Dreams, will become available to stream with a Netflix subscription starting on November 14.
If you love all the best fantasy movies that are out there, then I’m sure you’re probably a fan of Harry Potter. The franchise has been expanding throughout the years, ever since the end of the Harry Potter movies. Now, it feels like it’s bigger than ever.
From a new theme park opening up to plans for more stores in the future to a whole new television show, here is what is new – and upcoming – in the Wizarding World that youhave to look forward to, my Potterheads.
(Image credit: Harry Potter Shop YouTube Channel)
A New Harry Potter Store Opened In Chicago (April 2025)
With the opening of Epic Universe, a new land for the Wizarding World was unveiled to the public in May 2025, with its theme centered on the Ministry of Magic.
If you aren’t aware, the Wizarding World has two sections in two of the existing Universal parks. The first, located in Islands of Adventure, is themed around Hogwarts and Hogsmeade. The second, which is in Universal Orlando, is themed around Diagon Alley.
Now, the new section lies between different Ministries of Magic, focusing on aspects related to 1920s Paris, where the Forbidden Beasts films were set, and, of course, the British Ministry of Magic, which we are all well aware of. The section of Epic Universe is now open to the public.
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official Harry Potter website, a new shop for the franchise will be opening in Harajuku, Japan, in August 2025.
This does make sense, as there isa section of the Wizarding World at Universal Studios Japan, so I could see why they would be opening one there. While the Harajuku store will be a large one, there will also be another Harry Potter store reopening, which will be labeled as Harry Potter Akasaka.
What a time to be a Harry Potter fan across the globe.
Tom Felton is actually going to be back as Draco Malfoy, this time in the Broadway stage production of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, for a several-month run, November 2025 – May 2026. The news was confirmed by the Harry Potter official website.
Honestly, out of the entire Harry Potter cast, Tom Felton has shared his love of the franchise so much, and it makes perfect sense for him to return in the role that really made him big. Tickets are already on sale, and fans are eager to see.
the Harry Potter website. The following two books are scheduled for release in February 2026.
Harry Potter is getting a TV adaptation this time around, and it’s been making some serious headway. The series will premiere on HBO and is set to be a faithful adaptation of the Harry Potter books that we all know and love. Production has begun, and we know that it will be released at some point in 2027, according to the Harry Potter official website.
The cast has been set. There’s a new trio of kids that are all adorable, and several stars are set to play memorable characters. Some standout casting already is Nick Frost as Hagrid, and the incomparable John Lithgow as Dumbledore. We still don’t know who will be playing Voldemort yet, so we have that to anticipate.
Deadline in January 2025.
The show’s first season was hosted by the Phelps twins (Oliver and James, who played Fred and George) and featured several contestants trying to make Harry Potter-themed baking dishes in order to win a significant prize. The series was a success, and it’s no surprise that it’s coming back for a second season. We don’t have an exact date yet, but we’ll be sure to update this as soon as we do.
What a time to be a Harry Potter lover, huh? I think it’s time to have a Harry Potter movie marathon once again.
Some films scare me, and then some movies horrify me, and one of those just happens to be Hereditary. For years, I’ve praised this film as one of the best horror movies out there, and I still fully believe that. I think when it comes to both of Ari Aster’s horror films – Hereditary and Midsommar – you really can’t get much scarier than that.
However, for some reason, I decided to torture myself one day and rewatch Hereditary. It had been some time since I last saw the film, and since Aster has announced he’s working on another horror movie (according to The Big Picture podcast), revisiting the one I enjoyed so much would be a fun experience. Surprisingly, the scene I thought would gross me out and scare me this time around didn’t – it was a completely different scene.
(Image credit: A24)
The Ending Scene Used To Be What Did Me In, But Now, Peter’s Seizure At The School Is What Made Me Turn Away
Hereditary ending is honestly the part that scared me the most. Ironically, Charlie’s beheading didn’t really get me this time around. I think mainly because that scene has become so prominent within the horror community that I’m desensitized to it.
by gross Walking Dead deaths or maybe gruesome deaths on Game of Thrones, but this one – it was so violent, and wicked, and terrifying that it stuck with me for a couple of days. Each time I sat at a table, there it was.
upcoming horror movies to look forward to, as well as some new upcoming horror TV shows. But I think Hereditary is always going to have a place in my horror-loving heart – and it now has a new king of terror when it comes to its movie scenes.
In addition to its strong opening weekend performance, The Fantastic Four: First Steps has been met with a lot of positive critical reception, so it’s fair to call it one of Marvel Studios’ successes. However, not everyone’s a fan of the latest adaptation of Marvel’s First Family. Rob Liefeld, who co-created Deadpool with Fabian Nicieza, didn’t mince words while sharing his thoughts about the 2025 movie starring Pedro Pascal’s Mister Fantastic, Vanessa Kirby’s Invisible Woman, Ebon Moss-Bachrach’s Thing and Joseph Quinn’s Human Torch.
Following five months after he took aim at Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige over Captain America: Brave New World’s box office drop, Liefeld went on X to share a picture he took of an empty IMAX theater screening First Steps to accompany his negative reaction to the movie. Check it out:
This was the 5pm Fantastic Four screening at my IMAX. I can tell you why there is very little repeat biz on this film. It’s impossibly dull & boring. pic.twitter.com/AdiHfOmbMSJuly 30, 2025
Deadpool & Wolverine not including Josh Brolin’s Cable. Then the following month, Liefeld shared that he’d severed ties with Marvel over issues that began in 2023, but reached a tipping point over alleged slights at the Deadpool & Wolverine New York premiere. Also, in February 2024, he announced that he was retiring from working on Deadpool comics, though he cited his age as the main reason for this.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps may not have Rob Liefeld’s cup of tea, but with its 86% Tomatometer and 92% Popcornmeter scores on Rotten Tomatoes, it certainly was for many others. A Fantastic Four sequel is reportedly already in development, and as theorized by Variety last month, it could fit into one of the four theatrical slot’s Marvel’s blocked off for 2028. Other possibilities include the long-awaited Blade reboot, Black Panther 3 and the X-Men reboot.
But we don’t have to wait until then to reunite with the MCU’s Fantastic Four, as they’ll return for Avengers: Doomsday in December 2026, followed by Avengers: Secret Wars in December 2027. Finger crossed that Rob Liefeld is more entertained by their appearances in those gigantic ensembles.
There’s no question about it, Chuck Lorre is an incredibly successful and well-renowned writer, producer and creator. He’s the mastermind behind megahits like Two and a Half Men, The Big Bang Theory and Mom, and now he has a new show on the 2025 TV schedule. So, when CinemaBlend got the chance to chat with the creative team behind this new Netflix series, Leanne, we asked what they’ve taken away from their time working with the super producer.
Ahead of Leanne’s premiere (you can stream it with a Netflix subscription now), CinemaBlend’s Nick Venable sat down to chat with Lorre as well as his fellow executive producers, Nick Bakay and Susan McMartin. He asked them what they’ve learned from working with The Big Bang Theory’s co–creator that they wouldn’t have learned otherwise, and after some joking around – which you can see above – and Lorre humously saying “careful,” Bakay sincerely said:
I used to despise breaking story. I found my value elsewhere in the forest until I came into Chuck’s influence and started to learn that the more you make it about what would actually happen, and something that’s real and emotional, you can trust the funny will follow. And that changed me as a writer, profoundly.
Two and a Half Men in 2013. After that, he became a frequent collaborator of his as he wrote and produced on Mom, The Kominsky Method, Young Sheldon and more before Leanne, which just premiered on Netflix’s 2025 schedule.
great sitcoms, they all have a fair dose of heart to go along with the humor, and as the EP explained, knowing how to write something real and emotional is vital, because the funny will always follow.
While he took a writing approach, Susan McMartin’s takeaway was significantly more personal. She’s also a long-time collaborator of Lorre’s, as she’s worked on Two and a Half Men and Mom as a writer and consulting producer. Both those were very long-running shows, and that sustained success gave McMartin, who co-created Leanne with Lorre, a security she’s eternally grateful for, as she explained:
I will take away the fact that I was able to put my daughter through college because of Chuck. I often tell Chuck [thank you]. Because I was a single mom, and before I got on Two and a Half Men, the phone had stopped ringing, and I was dragging used clothing to like, Crossroads Trading Company to put gas in the car and food on the table, and it was bleak. Then I got on Two and a Half Men and started saving, and my daughter was little, so when she went to college, I’m like, ‘Thank you. Chuck Lorre.’
The success of Lorre’s shows cannot be underestimated. Just think about the fact that along with 279 episodes of The Big Bang Theory, he created another wickedly successful show by spinning it off with Young Sheldon, which then inspired another successful spinoff, Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage, which will continue on CBS’s fall lineup this season. And that’s just one example. Mom also had over 100 episodes. Meanwhile, as those were running, he also worked on series like The Kominsky Method, Bob Hearts Abishola and more.
That kind of success was able to provide job security and opportunities for many people, McMartin included. So, I see why she told us this when we asked about working with Lorre.
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Now, let’s hope that Leanne can see the kind of success these other series have found over the years.
The sitcom stars Leanne Morgan and Kristen Johnston, and it follows Morgan’s titular Leanne after her husband of 33 years left her. Like the other comedies these three have worked on, Leanne seems like it’s hilarious and full of heart, which speaks right to the points both of these producers and writers made.
If you’re somebody who enjoys seeing celebrities in person, there are few places more reliable than Disneyland. Famous people love going to the iconic park as much as anybody, and its proximity to Hollywood means that famous people are there quite often.
And so when Jon Favreau was seen by @DisneyScoopGuy in the Disneyland Resort esplanade yesterday, it wasn’t necessarily a newsworthy occurrence. Except that he had an entire crew with him, which meant he wasn’t just there for fun and to get lunch at Disneyland’s exclusive Club 33 that celebrities always get to visit and I can only dream of. He was working.
future of Disney Parks, and the Iron Man director might have been planning to give fans a peek at the upcoming Mandalorian update to Millennium Falcon: Smuggler’s Run or even the Stark Flight Lab at Avengers Campus, given his connection to both franchises.
Walt Disney’s original hit character, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, and that’s seemingly what’s shooting at Disneyland right now.
Disney+’s Oswald The Lucky Rabbit Series Is Seemingly Filming At Disneyland, And Kathryn Hahn Is On Board
Earlier this year, it was announced that Jon Favreau would produce a Disney+ series about Oswald the Lucky Rabbit that would blend animation and live-action. Beyond that, we had no real details, but based on other images snapped by guests visiting Disneyland yesterday and today, it seems that at least part of the series is taking place at Disneyland Resort, and also that Agatha All Along’s Kathryn Hahn is co-starring in the series.
Kathryn Hann, Jon Favreau, and Oswald are all filming at Disneyland for something code named Ink and Paint for Disney Plus pic.twitter.com/0ngTB94scWJuly 30, 2025
As a lover of all things Disneyland, a student of Disney history, and a fan of Kathryn Hahn and Jon Favreau, I am absolutely loving this. Considering its popularity and existence for 70 years, surprisingly few movies or TV series have ever actually filmed inside the park, outside of the nearly required “ABC sitcom family visits Disneyland” episode that nearly every show has. It will be quite cool to see it on screen when the series finally debuts.
(Image credit: WDAS)
The fact that the “real” Oswald will seemingly visit Disneyland would seem to indicate the show could be going for some sort of Who Framed Roger Rabbit-style story that sees Oswald as a cartoon actor in the real world. Oswald himself is a character who can often be seen across the esplanade at Disney California Adventure. It will be interesting to see if that’s actually referenced in the show.
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Considering that a previous attempt at a Disney+ Oswald series was cancelled, the fact that filming is seemingly happening is great news, as it means this project will almost certainly see the light of day. The production crew is back at Disneyland today, as production appears to be continuing. I’m now very excited to learn where in the park filming is happening and what other stars might be involved in the new show.
