Entertainment
Snubbed King Arthur Series Finds New Life on Prime
By Jennifer Asencio
| Updated
The Pendragon Cycle: Rise of the Merlin premiered back in January on Daily Wire+, but it’s finally getting the wider exposure it deserves after arriving on Prime Video internationally. Between the fact that the streamer is mostly news and podcasts aimed at a target audience, and the fact that it is full of controversial personalities, critics ignored the show, and as of this writing, it still has no critic score on Rotten Tomatoes. Many people who dislike both Daily Wire and the show’s creator, Jeremy Boreing, used this as an excuse to claim the show was a failure.
The fact is, The Pendragon Cycle is actually a very good show. I reviewed the entire series, and the series averaged a 4.5 based on strong performances, an incredible script that balanced action, intrigue, drama, and humor, and high production values that included beautiful sets and practical special effects. I’ve also gotten to talk to some of the cast, including Steve Varnom (King Custennin in episodes 5 and 7) and Tom Sharp (who played Merlin himself).
I’ve also made it very clear that I went into the show skeptical of its merits and expecting a bomb. Given that Boreing himself described the show as “probably the most Christian piece of entertainment since Braveheart,” I expected the show to be laden with patriarchal messaging and heavy-handed preaching.
So it was with pleasant surprise that I wound up viewing a show that had realistic, feminine women who were also strong and powerful in their own ways, and that treated religion with only as much bias as the story required. In other words, I expected to see everything that made other critics snub the show but was rewarded with a series that could easily compete with shows like A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms or Rings of Power for fantasy dominance, if it were given a chance.
Overlooked, Award-Winning Performances
Now, the show is finally getting its due. First, episode 3 actor Colin Cunningham, who played King Vortigern, won a British Columbia Leo Award, similar to a Golden Globe, for Best Actor in a Dramatic Series. Then The Pendragon Cycle was released on Amazon Prime Video in the United Kingdom and Europe.
Given that much of the original legend, which Stephen R. Lawhead relied on to write the books the series is based on, has a lot of European roots and deals directly with the “Once and Future King” of England, the audiences there have a stake in the story the show portrays. The show premiered fourth in the UK, and top 10 in several European countries, including Spain and Portugal.
Potential Fans Can See For Themselves
This is exciting news for this great show, because it means it has been opened up to a wider audience. To top it off, Steve Varnom made this post on July 11, 2026:
With The Pendragon Cycle: Rise of the Merlin finally coming to a major streaming service, it will be interesting to see if critics finally bother to review it, and whether they judge it based on its merits or its makers. However, they can no longer tell audiences what to think of it anymore, because viewers will be able to see for themselves how great this show really turned out to be. One claim that was made about the show was that there was no way to measure viewership, but that it wasn’t very high. Now that it has been widely viewed all over Europe, real metrics will begin to surface and reflect the show’s true audience interest.
This is also good news for fans who are clamoring for a second season. If the show gets enough viewers to justify a second season, it is almost certain that Jeremy Boreing will find a way to continue his passion project. The show was always meant to be a huge success for Boreing, but his status as founder of Daily Wire seemed to outweigh the work he and the rest of the crew put into the show. Now that the show is out there for all to see, the possibility of more fans and a more accurate reception could set the stage for his work to continue.
It is good that The Pendragon Cycle: Rise of the Merlin is finally getting the exposure it deserves. Hopefully it will see the same success in the United States as it did in Merlin’s homeland.
Stay tuned for release details.
Entertainment
Another Major Delay Spells Doom For James Gunn’s DCU
By Chris Snellgrove
| Updated
When James Gunn’s DCU began with a Superman movie, many superhero fans had the same question: when are we going to see a team-up with Batman? Unfortunately, an onscreen collaboration between the World’s Finest seems increasingly farther away. Nobody has been officially cast as the DCU’s Batman, and his first movie doesn’t have a premiere date yet. Weirdly enough, that hasn’t kept Warner Bros. from greenlighting numerous projects focused on the Caped Crusader’s foes, including Clayface (releasing October 23) and a Deathstroke/Bane team-up film. Now, it seems like our odds of seeing Batman in the DCU have gotten worse with the surprise delay of a completely separate project.
Separate from James Gunn’s cinematic universe, Matt Reeves has continued working on the sequel to his 2022 hit film The Batman. The sequel was previously scheduled to be released on October 1, 2027, and fans were counting down the days until they’d see Robert Pattinson kicking butt and taking names once more. Unfortunately, the countdown just got longer: The Batman II has been officially delayed to February 18, 2028. This is actually the second delay for the movie, and one that may effectively endanger the DCU by forcing two different Dark Knights to compete against each other.
Dancing With The Delay In The Pale Moonlight
Fans of Matt Reeves’ The Batman are getting all too used to the sequel getting pushed back. Originally, the movie had a release date of October 2, 2026, but the studio delayed it until October 1, 2027, to give Reeves more time for postproduction. Now, it has been delayed until February 18, 2028, which gives the director even more time to polish the sequel. Nonetheless, the repeated delays have concerned some fans who worry that the film is a Supergirl-style stinker Reeves is trying to fix in post. Others worry that even if the film is great, making us wait over half a decade between sequels will kill any momentum the movie could have had.
DC Studios co-CEO James Gunn disagrees, of course. On Threads, he mentioned how several sequels achieved critical and commercial success despite a long wait between films. “7 years between Alien and Aliens. 14 years between Incredibles. 7 years between the first two Terminators. 13 years between Avatars. 36 years between Top Guns. And, of course, six years between Guardians Vol 2 and Vol 3.” While he has a point, it’s worth noting that several of his examples (including Aliens, Terminator 2, and The Incredibles 2) succeeded back before audiences were collectively hooked on the never-ending stream of new content from platforms like TikTok.
Will Audiences Respond To The Next Bat-Signal?
In other words, a huge wait between The Batman and The Batman II might be a turn-off for younger audiences more attuned to movies like Obsession and Backrooms, both of which were created by filmmakers who first achieved success on YouTube. The real elephant in the room, though, is that delaying Matt Reeves’ latest film may end up hurting the eventual Batman DCU film. Rumors have been swirling that Warner Bros. is trying to find the right actor for the role, and the failure of Supergirl may encourage the studio to focus on a new Dark Knight movie sooner rather than focusing on another relatively minor character.
If that happens, the DCU Dark Knight movie (Batman: The Brave and the Bold) could come out very soon after The Batman II; possibly less than a year later. Should this occur, one or both of the films are likely to suffer at the box office. For example, if mainstream audiences know that The Brave and the Bold is coming, they may avoid The Batman II, like audiences avoided Blue Beetle and The Flash when they knew the DCEU was coming to an end. Conversely, if Reeves’ sequel is really great, The Brave and the Bold may suffer from comparison, with fans wondering why the latest DCU film can’t be as good as what came before.
Batman is my absolutely favorite superhero, so I’d love to be wrong about this. In my perfect world, The Batman II will be even better than the original, and Batman: The Brave and the Bold will be the best film in the DCU. But the failure of Supergirl (which had very little to compete with) has underscored how fickle audiences can be when it comes to superhero cinema. Delaying The Batman II for over half a decade may very well sink that movie’s chances at the box office even as it sabotages the next film featuring the Caped Crusader. Forget the Joker: as it turns out, Batman’s greatest enemy may be studio interference!
Entertainment
NYT Strands hints, answers for July 21, 2026
Today’s NYT Strands hints are easy if you’re a good writer.
Strands, the New York Times‘ elevated word-search game, requires the player to perform a twist on the classic word search. Words can be made from linked letters — up, down, left, right, or diagonal, but words can also change direction, resulting in quirky shapes and patterns. Every single letter in the grid will be part of an answer. There’s always a theme linking every solution, along with the “spangram,” a special, word or phrase that sums up that day’s theme, and spans the entire grid horizontally or vertically.
By providing an opaque hint and not providing the word list, Strands creates a brain-teasing game that takes a little longer to play than its other games, like Wordle and Connections.
If you’re feeling stuck or just don’t have 10 or more minutes to figure out today’s puzzle, we’ve got all the NYT Strands hints for today’s puzzle you need to progress at your preferred pace.
NYT Strands hint for today’s theme: Write there
The words are related to paper.
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Today’s NYT Strands theme plainly explained
These words describe writing utensils.
NYT Strands spangram hint: Is it vertical or horizontal?
Today’s NYT Strands spangram is horizontal.
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NYT Strands spangram answer today
Today’s spangram is Stationery.
NYT Strands word list for July 21
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Envelope
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Letterhead
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Stationery
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Notepad
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File
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Card
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Sheet
Looking for other daily online games? Mashable’s Games page has more hints, and if you’re looking for more puzzles, Mashable’s got games now!
Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.
Not the day you’re after? Here’s the solution to yesterday’s Strands.
Entertainment
The Most Successful Movie Of The Year Is Dominating Peacock
By Jonathan Klotz
| Updated
Avengers: Doomsday could break $1.5 billion, The Odyssey and Spider-Man: Brand New Day could each set records, and yet, all three of them would still not be as profitable as Obsession. The little horror movie that could has legged out its theatrical run for so long that it’s still playing in theaters while available to stream on Peacock. That it debuted as the number one movie on Peacock isn’t a surprise; by now, everyone expected it to be a smash hit on streaming.
Obsession Breaks One Of The Genie’s Rules
Online discourse around Obsession has become focused on, sit down for a moment because this will surprise you, the actual plot and characters in the movie itself. Curry Barker’s horror about a wish gone wrong kicked off a raging discussion over who’s the villain of the movie? Is it the Bear-obsessed Nikki (Inde Navarette)? Is it Bear (Michael Johnston), who naively wished for Nikki to love him? Or is it Ian (Cooper Tomlinson), Bear’s best friend, who decided to keep a secret from his bestie?
There’s a clear answer to that, but it’s how Obsession gets there that’s turned out to be the truly unsettling part of the story. Bear’s use of the One Wish Willow to have Nikki love him more than anyone else in the world is why, in Aladdin, the Genie says he won’t make anyone fall in love. What begins as a Monkey’s Paw fable takes a turn, and the result is the single most profitable film in decades.
Obsession Is Only The Beginning
Obsession famously cost $750,000 to make, but it’s earned $430 million and counting. Percentage-wise, no one can beat it this year. In a world of ballooning Hollywood budgets, it broke the mold and proved, yet again, that horror can be cheap to make, but if it hits the right audience at the right time, there’s nothing else like it.
Every choice made in the production and marketing of Obsession worked out. From the framing of that shot from inside the car, you’ll know it the moment you see it, to the old-school trailer that explained the plot without giving away the entire movie (what a novel concept). Inde Navarette’s “no no no no” line reading became a meme, and alongside Johnston, both leads gave career-making performances.
The next step for Curry Barker is Anything But Ghosts, already in post-production, and bringing back Cooper Tomlinson as a fake paranormal investigator who stumbles across real ghosts. That and he’ll be helming the next entry in a small horror franchise, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Maybe you’ve heard of it?
Obsession is the biggest streaming hit on Peacock so far this year. To give you an idea of how weak the Peacock lineup has been lately, it’s sharing the top ten with Ocean’s 11, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, and Fast Five. Not bad movies, but also, not new ones either. Now that it’s available for streaming, prepare for Obsession to stay in your social media feed for the next few months. People are obsessed with this movie.
Injury-riddled Wings, Liberty tip off in rescheduled game
Another Major Delay Spells Doom For James Gunn’s DCU
