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PRACTICAL MAGIC 2 Trailer Is Full of Moonlight Mischief and Love
- Practical Magic 2 released a new trailer that introduces another generation of Owens women.
- The family curse is still alive and well, and it’s affecting Kylie.
- The film will come to theaters on September 11.
Practical Magic is one of our favorite chaotic yet cozy fall flicks. There’s something about witchy sisters, spinster aunts, bad relationships, and love that makes us wanna tune in every single year. Decades later, the story of the Owens women will continue with Practical Magic 2, which just dropped a trailer that brings a new generation into the fold. It is full of ancestral magic and takes us back to that incredibly comforting house that we all wish we could live in.
Gillian and Sally have some sister talk in the kitchen about dating woes and possibilities. The chemistry between Nicole Kidman and Sandra Bullock is absolutely still there, as though they never left each other’s side. Of course, things go awry when the famed family curse rears its head once again. This time, it is young Kylie’s boyfriend who is set to die, so she wants to try to go and fix this curse once and for all. This could lead her into a dark path, which means Gillian and Sally have to find her and work together to keep tragedy from happening.
Warner Bros.
The trailer evokes the exact kind of vibes that we hoped it would. And, having “Season of the Witch” playing in the background is perfect. Thankfully, we won’t have to wait very long to see what magical delights await us in this sequel. Practical Magic 2 will hit theaters on September 11 and, if the trailer is any indication, it will delight so many fans.
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SUPERGIRL Doesn’t Quite Fly High Enough (Review)
- Nerdist gives Supergirl starring Milly Alcock and Jason Momoa a 3 out of 5.
- The movie directly adapts Tom King and Bilquis Evely’s fantastic graphic novel Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow.
- Supergirl is the second movie in James Gunn’s DCU.
Sophomore albums are hard. Just ask Weezer (or whatever other example you want). The DCU only kicked off with Superman last year and its success was both a blessing and a curse. A blessing because it proved James Gunn could run a whole cinematic universe. A curse because it means anyone not named James Gunn making movies in that space would be unfairly compared to him. (We’ll see what happens with Lanterns on the TV side.) Craig Gillespie is the director in that first post-Superman slot with Supergirl. While the movie is perfectly enjoyable enough, it could have (and probably should have) been much more.
Warner Bros.
The movie directly adapts Tom King and Bilquis Evely’s fantastic graphic novel Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, which gives it a strong narrative to work from. That it doesn’t have many aspirations beyond adapting that book leaves the movie feeling smaller than its intergalactic setting would lead you to believe. Ultimately, Supergirl hits highs of its own, even if it feels like a bit of a lesser outing.
When we first met Milly Alcock as Kara Zor-El, alias Supergirl, in last year’s Superman, she came across as a drunk party girl who didn’t train her dog. That vibe largely carries over to the beginning of her own movie. Despite her cousin Clark (David Corenswet) trying to make her feel at home on Earth, Kara spends a lot of her time in space, heading to systems with red suns so she can get drunk. She and Krypto bounce around the galaxy, basically doing nothing else.
Warner Bros.
Coincidentally, a young girl named Ruthye (Eve Ridley) happens into the same bar Kara’s in. She announces that she’s looking for a warrior to help her kill the vicious raider Krem of the Yellow Hills (Matthias Schoenaerts) who murdered her whole family. Though Kara really wants nothing to do with any of it, she ends up stepping in when a nasty alien guy attempts to steal from Ruthye. Badda bing, badda boom, Ruthye decides Kara is the warrior she’s looking for. While Kara wants nothing to do with her at first, a particular act of violence leads her to change her tune.
Kara becomes a reluctant protector figure for the girl but continually tells her not to kill Krem, but instead to bring him to justice. The trouble is, Krem and his band of baddies are also kidnapping the galaxy’s young girls for…nefarious purposes. This plot puts Kara and Ruthye in the path of boorish intergalactic bounty hunter Lobo (Jason Momoa). Lobo can only make things more chaotic, as is his way.
Warner Bros.
Amid this narrative, we get flashbacks to Kara’s origin. Her father Zor-El (David Krumholtz) attempted to save a portion of Krypton from destruction and that is where Kara was born. But fate would make it so she, too, would have to leave the same way her cousin Kal-El did. She has the memory of her dying culture when she lands on Earth, making it much more difficult to assimilate into Earth society.
Supergirl, unlike Superman, has no intention of introducing six billion new DC characters or furthering a cinematic universe. It’s refreshing to have a comic book movie defiantly against Easter eggs. It’s not a cameo fest. The movie is just a movie, telling a story about these characters. I think that’s both Supergirl‘s biggest strength and potentially its biggest downfall. It means the movie has nowhere to hide when the story and characters aren’t hitting a chord with viewers, it’s likely they’ll tune out.
Woman of Tomorrow is one of my favorite comics of the past 10 years, so my hopes and expectations for this were very high. The story is so compelling and having Supergirl as the main character works in a very specific way. The comic is entirely from Ruthye’s point of view, where she sees Kara as this mythic figure while we, the reader, know she’s definitely not her cousin. The movie, conversely, is told from Kara’s point of view. So rather than have Kara as this often quiet, almost Spaghetti Western-style laconic heroine, whose actions speak louder than her words, she’s a quippy pseudo-Star Lord.
Warner Bros.
This is my biggest issue with the film. Absent is the colorful space opera setting for a nigh-mythological adventure story. Instead we have loads of one-liners and exceedingly dreary space taverns while Kara, for some reason, listens to Earth music on a Walkman. It’s hard not to see Supergirl trying very hard to achieve that Guardians of the Galaxy tone without the vibrancy or, frankly, the level of character charisma. It should have felt like its own thing so much more than it does.
What we do get is perfectly fine. It’s enjoyable enough. The action is decent, the performances are all serviceable with Ridley as a bright spot. It follows the basic throughline of the comic very faithfully. But it’s not a great sign when the far and away best scenes in the movie are the few we have with Corenswet’s Superman. He’s just the most likeable person in the entire world and he really stands out opposite Alcock’s mix of mope and snark.
While I enjoyed the movie well enough and the third act was really well done, I can’t help but question why adapt such a singular and memorable comic if it was just going to end up watered down and homogenized. It’s nowhere near a bad movie, but I wanted Supergirl to bowl me over and it simply did not.
DC Studios
⭐ (3 of 5)
Kyle Anderson is the Senior Editor for Nerdist. He hosts the weekly pop culture deep-dive podcast Laser Focus. You can find his film and TV reviews here. Follow him on Letterboxd.
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SHAUN THE SHEEP New Movie Trailer Is Incredibly Charming
- Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom has a new trailer, and its as charming as you’d expect.
Shaun the Sheep is one of the most hilarious and frankly adorable stop-motion animated characters to ever exist. We love his facial expressions, fear of many things, and general vibe for real. Now, it’s time for him and his flock to get their time to shine in a new film. We learned during Studio Canal’s panel at CinemaCon 2026 that the new film, Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom, is on target for its upcoming September 18, 2026, release date, and early footage shows a scary monster. Enjoy the film’s adorable latest trailer:
While the clip that we saw from it at CinemaCon is not online yet, we can tell you exactly what happened. In our sneak peek at Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom, the residents of Mossy Bottom Farm contend with a big old beast coming over the horizon. They go inside of a house in a panic and barricade themselves in, only for the beast to somehow get in.
Aardman/Studiocanal
There are a few funny moments, like a cuckoo clock scaring everyone and the beast standing outside of the shower where they are hiding in a very Psycho-like manner. He reaches in, but thankfully everyone stays safe… for now. You can check out the Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom teaser trailer below, and maybe that clip will appear before its release.
It’s lovely to see classic characters continue to get new stories for generations to enjoy.
Originally published on April 13, 2026.
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Netflix’s GHOSTBUSTERS: SHIFT Series First Look and Synopsis
- Netflix announced Dan Aykroyd has joined the streamer’s upcoming 3D-animated Ghostbusters series, debuting in 2027, as an executive producer.
In the summer of 2024, Netflix announced it was officially developing a new 3D-animated Ghostbusters series. Since then we haven’t learned much more about the show, including when we would see it. But now we at least know what year it will debut. More importantly, we know the most important member of pop culture’s most famous specter hunters will be prominently involved. Netflix has revealed that Ghostbusters creator, Ray Stantz himself, Dan Aykroyd has joined the show, titled Ghostbusters: Night Shift, as an executive producer.
Netflix provided a rundown of what fans can expect from the streaming site at this summer’s Annecy International Animation Film Festival. We not only got a first look at Ghostbusters: Night Shift but also a logline to give us a synopsis about what will happen.
Netflix
The streamer will debut footage from the show at the Théâtre Bonlieu on Wednesday, June 24. Jason Reitman and Gil Kenan, who have led the two recent sequels, will be in attendance. They are both executive producers on the series, which also comes from Sony Pictures Animation. Here’s the logline for this show:
New York City, 1994 — Five years after the Ghostbusters took the Statue of Liberty for a walk, a new wave of supernatural terror hits the Big Apple, forcing a group of scrappy, young New Yorkers — untrained, underappreciated, and kinda sorta responsible for the problem — to put on proton packs, face their fears, and bust some ghosts.
Now Netflix has shared that Aykroyd is also taking on an official positions. He will also fill an EP role on the show. Ben Hibon, Elliott Kalan, and Amie Karp also serve as executive producers. And that’s as much as we know beyond the small description Ntflix provided. It says the show is a “high end animated series based on the beloved Ghostbusters IP” that will arrive in 2027.
That’s still a long time to wait for a show that’s been in development for years. But maybe that’s a good thing. It gives Ghostbusters‘ creator more time to work on it.
Originally published on May 7, 2026.
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BATMAN: KNIGHTFALL Animated Trailer Features a Brooding Bane
- A new trailer from DC Studios reveals KNIGHTFALL will follow the 1990s comic run.
- Bane serves as the primary villain.
Today, Warner Brothers revealed the trailer for Batman: Knightfall, a new addition to the DC Animated Universe. Knightfall will follow a comic run from the early 1990s, featuring a massive breakout from Arkham Asylum and numerous classic villains. Bane serves as the series’ main antagonist.
The most recent DC animated movies, or additions to the DCAU, have been a part of the Tomorrowverse. Since 2020, ten films have come out within this cinematic universe. This includes Superman: Man of Tomorrow (2020) and Batman: The Long Halloween parts one and two. Knightfall marks the beginning of a new era.
In Batman: Knightfall Part 1: Knightfall, when the mysterious behemoth known only as Bane frees Batman’s entire Rogue’s Gallery from Arkham Asylum, the Caped Crusader is pushed to his mental and physical breaking point.
The movie is based on a three-part comic series. Knightfall comes first, with Knightquest and Knights End following. The trailer declared it a trilogy, so we can expect the movies to follow the titles of the comic series. The animation looks incredibly detailed, especially in comparison to what DC has been animating of late. The DC Animated Movie Universe has not been bad by any means, but this is a noticeable step up.
What to Expect in Batman: KnightfallIf this movie follows its namesake comic run faithfully, there are a lot of cool cameos to expect during the trilogy. Spoilers ahead if you haven’t read the Knightfall comics.
Knightfall serves as Bane’s introduction. We meet a villain born in Peña Duro, a Santa Prisca prison, who watched his mother wither away and endured years of solitude and torture before he escaped to Gotham. He was experimented on by doctors there, which is how he got his steroid-enhanced abilities and skull implants. The comic oscillates between following his perspective and Batman’s as they meet for the first time.
Warner Brothers, DC Studios
A final frame of the trailer shows a costume with an aggressive cape resembling horns and a suit with armored, gold and silver elements. This fits in well with the comic runs, where the costume aesthetic draws inspiration from the Knights Templar, but it also makes it clear that this is a different iteration of the caped crusader.
I’m definitely hoping they use lines directly from (or are heavily inspired by) the comic in the scriptwriting. And I hope they give good screen time to building Bane’s backstory. The authors spent an entire issue on it in Vengeance of Bane #1, which served as Knightfall’s intro.
By the looks of the Batman: Knightfall trailer, the movie is shaping up to showcase incredible animation alongside an interesting story that somehow cameos a lot of major Batman villains. The movie is not yet rated, though fans speculate it may be R-rated. There is no set release date, but the trailer says the movie is “coming soon.”
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New MONARCH Spinoff Series Adds New Cast, Director
- Actors Millie Brady and Pilou Asbaek will join the Lee Shaw Monsterverse spinoff.
- Director J.D. Dillard will direct the pilot.
- The Apple TV Monarch prequel will star Wyatt Russell and take place in the 1980s
We’ve said it before, but Thunderbolts star Wyatt Russell is one of the best things in Monarch: Legacy of Monsters. Although in Monarch, he has to share screen time with an older version of his character, played by his real-life dad, Kurt Russell. Well, very soon, Wyatt Russell will get to lead a Monsterverse series all his own, with an upcoming spin-off for Apple TV+, set during the 1980s. And according to a report in Deadline, Millie Brady (The Last Kingdom) and Pilou Asbaek (Foundation) have joined the as-yet untitled series. Also announced as directing the pilot episode is J.D. Dillard, director of the sci-fi film Sleight.
Alex Cameron/Christian Staehr
According to series showrunner Joby Harold, the new addition to the Monsterverse franchise will follow the story of Colonel Lee Shaw (Russell), during his time as an American operative in 1984. During this era, he went on a secret mission behind enemy lines. This is an attempt to stop the Soviets from unleashing a new Titan big enough to destroy the U.S. One that can even turn the tide of the Cold War. Based on what we know from the existing Monsterverse projects, the big American vs. Russian kaiju battle didn’t happen. Or at least, didn’t happen in a way the public at large ever found out about. Maybe it was like Rocky IV, only with giant monsters, and no cameras.
Legendary/Apple TV
According to the original report, showrunner Joby Harold is developing several different series set within the existing Monsterverse. These new projects will showcase old Titans, presumably Kong and Godzilla. But it will showcase several new monsters created just for this series as well. So what will this series be called? We’re not sure, but we imagine the word “Monarch” will be in the title somewhere. We expect production to get underway for this new Monsterverse series sometime within the next year.
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THE VAMPIRE LESTAT’s Damien Atkins on ‘Love-Sick’ Magnus and Being Seen By Lestat
- The Vampire Lestat’s Damien Atkins spoke to Nerdist about Magnus, his ‘love sick’ feelings, and why he turned Lestat into a vampire.
- Atkins thinks Magnus was imagining a vampire revolution when he turned Lestat.
- He also teases that Magnus might be a real-life ghost, like he is in the Anne Rice books.
In The Vampire Lestat episode three, we got to meet the vampire who made Lestat. Some parts campy, some parts monstrous, all parts incredibly acted by Damien Atkins, Magnus brought a new level of intensity to the story. And Lestat’s song about his maker, “Your Biggest Fans,” is widely regarded as one of the best The Vampire Lestat songs of all. In the wake of Magnus’ harrowing appearance on The Vampire Lestat, Nerdist spoke to Damien Atkins about bringing the love-sick vampire to life, his designs for Lestat, and whether or not he has any agency as a ghost. You can check out our full interview with Magnus below.
AMC
Nerdist: In The Vampire Lestat song,”Your Biggest Fan,” we get Lestat’s interpretation of what he believes Magnus felt when he turned him into a vampire. How much of that do you think is accurate to Magnus himself?
That’s such a great question because I actually think it’s very accurate. I think for Lestat to have written this song, it’s like an act of rebellion, but it’s also actually it made me feel seen. I think it’s actually kind of a weirdly compassionate thing for Lestat to have done.
And even though Magnus is a monster, particularly to Lestat, it’s just another excellent example of how the show is just a very mature show that can have both those things at the same time, right? You are a monster to me, and I also have some insight into your heart, right?
AMC Networks
Yeah, that’s beautiful. So Magnus is quite antagonistic to Lestat when he appears to haunt him in the present day. Lestat tells him, “You’ve got your song, go away,” and he kind of just laughs. What do you think kind of Magnus’s apparition wants from his fledgling or vice versa?
Damien Atkins: That’s fascinating. I mean, because the question is, does Lestat summon him or does he have his own free will, right? I mean, I have to sort of play it like I’m doing it, but it’s a show about perspectives. So the question was, what does he want?
Well, Sam [Reid] would know best why he thinks he summons me, but it feels like it has something to do with exorcising me. I saw an interview that Sam did where he was talking about Lestat as an optimist, someone who is a fighter who wants to push through things, and get over things, and improve things. And so yeah, maybe you summon the original abuser to kind of punish or forgive or get past them. I think Magnus has his own reasons for haunting Lestat, and, for me, I chose him for a reason. It’s a pretty dark ethos and philosophy, and I think there is some impatience, some disapproval that he hasn’t lived up to what I know he can live up to. I think the story kind of proves me right. I think he’s the chosen one, and I keep saying, “Why aren’t you doing what you know you can do?
I think that’s probably where I’m coming from a little bit, where Magnus is coming from. Whether it’s fair, no. Is it healthy? Absolutely not.
AMC
Why do you feel is the reason that you mentioned? Why did Magnus choose Lestat?
Damien Atkins: There is something about, in the book, that he’s been through dozens of blonde men. It’s… like this weird… don’t know if Rice is consciously referencing a sort of Aryan philosophy or something. I don’t know. But there seems to be a combination of what Magnus would consider beautiful, but also brave. I mean, I say “Brave Little Wolf Killer.” So I think it has to be something about that bravery and charisma.
I think this is the guy we need. This is the guy who’s going to kick off the revolution. But this is Damien’s interpretation.
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What Is the Great Conversion in THE VAMPIRE LESTAT?You think Magnus is thinking about a revolution when he turns Lestat?
Damien Atkins: Yeah. I mean, in the end, that was what was in my head. I wasn’t in Anne Rice’s head, and I don’t know if Rolin and Hannah would… I don’t know if that’s their intention. And in the end, that’s more important. Their intention is key, they are the drivers, but that was something I could play. That was a reason to be demanding of this of him, to go, “It’s not just about you.”
Like a vampire revolution?
Damien Atkins: Yeah, that was what was in my head.
AMC
In Anne Rice’s books, Magnus actually comes back as a real ghost down the line. Do you think that this Magnus in The Vampire Lestat series was just a figment of Lestat’s imagination or could he be a real ghost?
Damien Atkins: I think he could be a real ghost. We’ll have to wait. Yeah. Yeah. It’s that kind of universe, right? Both things are potent, right? Yeah. Because it’s so real inside his head, but yeah, it’s a crazy universe.
It definitely is. Magnus notoriously throws himself into the fire after making Lestat his air. Why do you think he just made him and then decided to die?
Damien Atkins: Oh yeah, that’s such a great question. It’s because it’s a bit of a mystery in the book, right? I mean, what I get from the book is that he’s tired, that he entered this life late, and he wants to leave a legacy, but he wants to do it right. Like he’s done years of work to find the right person. Maybe he wants to find that pure love moment, which does happen in the book. Lestat talks very tenderly about sort of holding him after he sort of sucked all of his blood out, that he feels real love for this ugly, sick old man.
So maybe what Magnus wants is to feel that, and then peace out before it gets ruined.
AMC
The fans are quite interested in knowing where Magnus got his fan art portrait of Lestat. What do you think?
Damien Atkins: Oh, that’s so great. I think I drew it myself. I think there’s a lot of discarded, terrible versions of it.
One perfect drawing.
Damien Atkins: Yeah. I took my time.
AMC Networks
Magnus is what I might call campy, but also terrifying all at once. How did you kind of find that balance between being really scary and dark but also somewhat comedic?
Damien Atkins: For me, it’s all in the same kind of tapestry of behaviors. Magnus is love-sick for Lestat, right? And human beings, when they are love-sick, can be pathetic, can be very sweet, can be ridiculous, can be scary. And a lot of people are campy in the privacy of their room or in front of the mirror with a brush, doing a lip sync. I think it is actually just a part of the spectrum of human experience. I don’t know. When you put a big love in your heart, you will act out in lots of different ways. That’s what I was thinking. So it all felt quite natural.
Like, “Of course, now I do a video.” You know what I mean? “Of course. Now I’m standing here with a thing of flowers crying, of course.” And you love somebody or you’re infatuated, let’s say, you are insane. That’s why they call it love-sick. We take that word for granted, but it’s sickening. It’s not necessarily a good feeling. It’s sickening. Your body has a reaction.
The Vampire Lestat airs on AMC and AMC+, Sundays at 9 pm ET/PT and midnight, respectively. You can snag The Vampire Lestat by Anne Rice to read, if you’d like to know a little bit more about what’s going on.
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