Sci-Fi

Breaking Bad‘s Aaron Paul Is Reportedly Joining Westworld Season 3

[Insert statement about Westworld here], bitch! Deadline is reporting that Aaron Paul—best known for his role in Breaking Bad as the put-upon Jesse Pinkman (and let’s not forget the lovable Todd from BoJack Horseman)—has joined the cast of Westworld’s third season. Whether Paul will appear as a host, park attendee, Delos employee, or something else…

io9 James Whitbrook

The Star Trek Universe Uses a Surprising Amount of Paper

In our real-world cyberpunk dystopia, paper already feels a bit outmoded in a lot of life. It’s all screens, all the time. So it’s interesting to examine how sci-fi handles the classic writing surface. And in Star Trek, as it turns out, there’s a surprising amount of it. YouTuber EC Henry has put together a…

io9 Julie Muncy

These Montages Capture the Disturbed, Beautiful Soul of Twin Peaks

You can tell a lot about filmmaking from small moments. Single frames, brief glances, singular fleeting shots. Many creators put so much into these that they can inform your understanding of an entire work. The Twin Peaks series is one of those. I write about Twin Peaks a lot, but that’s because it’s so captivating,…

io9 Julie Muncy

How VFX Artists Created One of Westworld’s Most Gruesome Deaths

It’s no easy task ranking the grisly deaths in Westworld; there’s a steady stream of characters who find themselves at the wrong end of a knife, sword, or six-shooter. But actor Masaru Shinozuka’s Shogun character surely had one of the most shocking exits during season two, requiring extensive practical and digital effects to bring his…

io9 Andrew Liszewski

Doctor Who Gets Cheeky With Jodie Whittaker’s New Teaser

You see it. You see what they did there. They know you saw. Now that we know just when Doctor Who is finally back on our screens—on Sundays, no less!—the BBC has launched a cute little trailer heralding Jodie Whittaker’s arrival as the first official female incarnation of the Doctor by…well, you know. Breaking a…

io9 James Whitbrook

Laura Dern and Steven Spielberg Think the ‘Best Popular Film’ Oscar Is a Dumb Idea Too

Earlier this week, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced its plans to backtrack on introducing the new “Best Popular Film” category after the internet, and a good chunk of Hollywood, exploded in a fit of bemused rage over the implications of the addition. The general consensus amongst the public is that the…

Movies Charles Pulliam-Moore

A Lonely Space Traveler Finds an Unexpected Lifeline in Sci-Fi Short Scavenger

In 1977, NASA launched its Voyager probes—famously carrying gold-plated records filled with earthly information, just in case they encountered any intelligent life among the stars. Raphael Rogers’ short film Scavenger asks: What if the records actually fell into some curious alien hands? Scavenger, which makes creative use of Vimeo Stock—the platform’s newly-launched, community-based stock-footage marketplace—gives us a very…

Movies Cheryl Eddy

The Academy’s Weird ‘Popular Film’ Oscar Is Being Postponed

Last month, the Academy announced it was introducing a new category to its esteemed Oscar awards for “achievement in popular film,” a nebulous attempt to seemingly honor big-ticket blockbuster films but, you know, keep them away from the real Oscars. Seems like a bad idea, right? Well, the Academy now agrees. In a freshly announced…

Movies James Whitbrook

The Predator Director Shane Black Defends Hiring a Registered Sex Offender After Fox Found Out [Updated]

In mid-August, The Predator actress Olivia Munn learned that Steven Wilder Striegel, an actor she shares a brief scene with in the upcoming 20th Century Fox thriller, was a registered sex offender. After bringing it to their attention, the studio says it was not aware, but director Shane Black is defending the choice of hiring…

Movies Charles Pulliam-Moore

Murderbot Struggles to Pass for Human in This Excerpt From Martha Wells’ Exit Strategy

Murderbot is back! The AI with a bad attitude (who isn’t necessarily a bad robot, despite that scary name) returns October 2 in Exit Strategy. It’s the final installment of Martha Wells’ Hugo and Nebula-winning novella series—ahead of the author’s next project, a full-length Murderbot novel. But first, as these exclusive glimpses of Exit Strategy’s…

Books & Comics Cheryl Eddy

The Hot Jock from Scream Queens Is Writing the New Captain Planet Movie, Apparently

Remember that Captain Planet movie that’s been stuck in development hell for all eternity? Well, guess which Scream Queens actor is currently writing the script? It’s not Nick Jonas. According to the Hollywood Reporter, Glen Powell is penning a new take on Captain Planet and the Planeteers which…is just quite the idea to contemplate. Powell—who’s…

Movies Charles Pulliam-Moore

Jodie Whittaker’s Doctor Who Will Premiere in October, on a New Night [UPDATED]

Put on your snazzy coats and get out the gadgets, because now we know exactly when the eleventh season of Doctor Who is coming to air. UPDATE 9/26 10:30AM: The BBC and BBC America have now confirmed that the first episode of Doctor Who season 11 will air at 18.45pm BST on October 7 on…

io9 Julie Muncy

Japan Testing Miniature Space Elevator Near the International Space Station

A Japanese team is testing a small prototype space elevator, according to news reports. It’s certainly not the fantastical, many-kilometer-long cable of science fiction, but it demonstrates that at least someone is serious about this tech. The Mainichi newspaper reports: In the experiment, two ultra-small cubic satellites, which were developed by Shizuoka University Faculty of…

Space & Spaceflight Ryan F. Mandelbaum

Doctor Who‘s New Doctor Is Being Transformed Into a Little Miss

Times change, and so does the Doctor—so now that Jodie Whittaker is the latest incarnation of Doctor Who’s Time Lord adventurer, Adam Hargreaves’ line of Doctor Who/Mr. Men mashup books is adding a Little Miss. io9 can exclusively reveal the first look at Dr. Thirteenth, the latest Doctor Who take on the endlessly charming world…

Books & Comics James Whitbrook

RIP Jacqueline Pearce, the Dazzling Villainess of Blake’s 7

Jacqueline Pearce, best known to sci-fi fans as the glamorous and calculating Servalan on the cult British space drama Blake’s 7, has died at the age of 74. As Doctor Who News notes, in her long running acting career she made several genre appearances—including guest roles in The Avengers, starring turns in the Hammer Horror…

io9 James Whitbrook

Kin Would Be Way More Interesting If It Knew What Kind of Movie It Wanted to Be

There are a handful of scenes scattered throughout Lionsgate’s sci-fi thriller from directors Jonathan and Josh Baker that are direct callbacks to Bag Man, the twin directors’ 2014 short about a young boy hiding a dangerous secret from the world. In those moments, you can see how the Bakers have grown as filmmakers in the…

Movies Charles Pulliam-Moore

David Cronenberg is the Latest Film Director Looking to Jump to TV

While film becomes increasingly monopolistic and expensive, TV is starting to become a really cushy place for the auteur. Now David Cronenberg, creepy cult creator extraordinaire, is interested in making the leap. Speaking during a panel at the Venice Film Festival, Cronenberg, who has very occasionally made the leap into TV direction in the past,…

io9 Julie Muncy

A Brief History of Tommy Oliver From Power Rangers Fighting Himself

In the recently aired 25th anniversary Power Rangers special aired as part of this season’s Super Ninja Steel version of the classic superhero show, Tommy, the former Green Ranger, found some time to fight himself. Weirdly, he does this a lot. Full disclosure: the Power Rangers franchise was created, and previously owned, by Haim Saban,…

io9 Julie Muncy

The Short That Inspired Kin Is a Complicated Exploration of Being Black and the Symbolic Power of Guns

Bag Man is the 2014 short film co-written and directed by brothers Jonathan and Josh Baker that’s the basis for their new feature film Kin. It stuck with me far longer than I thought, especially given its compact 15-minute runtime. Its dialogue is sparse, its visuals are familiar, and the larger story it hints at…

Movies Charles Pulliam-Moore

An Unlucky-in-Love Man Resorts to Time Travel in This Short Rom-Com, CTRL Z

James Kennedy’s CTRL Z introduces us to best friends Ed and Carrie, as well as Sarah, the object of Ed’s unrequited affections. Can his do-over device (“It’s not a time machine!”) help him win the girl of his dreams—and will Carrie ever forgive him for dragging her along on this weird-science mission? Set in a…

Movies Cheryl Eddy

Breaking Bad‘s Aaron Paul Is Reportedly Joining Westworld Season 3

The Star Trek Universe Uses a Surprising Amount of Paper

These Montages Capture the Disturbed, Beautiful Soul of Twin Peaks

How VFX Artists Created One of Westworld’s Most Gruesome Deaths

Doctor Who Gets Cheeky With Jodie Whittaker’s New Teaser

Laura Dern and Steven Spielberg Think the ‘Best Popular Film’ Oscar Is a Dumb Idea Too

A Lonely Space Traveler Finds an Unexpected Lifeline in Sci-Fi Short Scavenger

The Academy’s Weird ‘Popular Film’ Oscar Is Being Postponed

The Predator Director Shane Black Defends Hiring a Registered Sex Offender After Fox Found Out [Updated]

Murderbot Struggles to Pass for Human in This Excerpt From Martha Wells’ Exit Strategy

The Hot Jock from Scream Queens Is Writing the New Captain Planet Movie, Apparently

Jodie Whittaker’s Doctor Who Will Premiere in October, on a New Night [UPDATED]

Japan Testing Miniature Space Elevator Near the International Space Station

Doctor Who‘s New Doctor Is Being Transformed Into a Little Miss

RIP Jacqueline Pearce, the Dazzling Villainess of Blake’s 7

Kin Would Be Way More Interesting If It Knew What Kind of Movie It Wanted to Be

David Cronenberg is the Latest Film Director Looking to Jump to TV

A Brief History of Tommy Oliver From Power Rangers Fighting Himself

The Short That Inspired Kin Is a Complicated Exploration of Being Black and the Symbolic Power of Guns

An Unlucky-in-Love Man Resorts to Time Travel in This Short Rom-Com, CTRL Z

Some of the Most Hyped Gym Supplements Are Fake, Unregulated, or Both

The Head of HBO Explains What it Takes to Get a ‘Game of Thrones’ Spinoff Going

Elon Musk’s Lawyer Claims Jury’s 420 ‘Joke’ Proves He Didn’t Receive a Fair Trial

‘Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice’ Is a Genre Blending Delight

Leaked Anthropic Model Presents ‘Unprecedented Cybersecurity Risks,’ Much to Pentagon’s Pleasure

Don’t miss out: Bitdefender, One of the World’s Best Antiviruses, Is Now on Sale

The Secret to Better Sperm? It’s Probably Already on Your Schedule

Lego Is Leaning Into Your Marvel Memories With a New Helicarrier Set

Sonos Play Review: Call It a Comeback

Sonos Era 100 SL Review: The Cheapest Way Into Wired Sonos Sound

Asus ROG’s Massive Swift OLED Gaming Monitor Epitomizes Excess in the Best Way

The Ikea Varmblixt Smart Lamp Fills a Donut Hole in My Life

Nothing Headphone A vs. Headphone 1: Which Pair of ANC Wireless Headphones Wins?

Asus ROG’s Cetra Open Wireless Gaming Earbuds Might Be Better Than Wearing a Headset

Nintendo’s Talking Flower Is Annoying as Hell. I Love It

Level Lock Pro Review: As Good as a Secret Smart Lock Gets

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