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The Most Underappreciated Marvel Movie Is Getting A Surprise Sequel

By Chris Snellgrove
| Published

Don’t call it a comeback; they’ve been here for years! Marvel Studios is on the cusp of a kind of renaissance. Spider-Man: Brand New Day is currently on track to earn at least $1.5 billion at the box office, a number that could go even higher with positive word-of-mouth. Meanwhile, Avengers: Doomsday is releasing near the end of the year, and that movie will be bringing in cameo characters like the X-Men while reuniting the MCU’s biggest actors: Chris Evans and Robert Downey Jr. That’s a recipe for another monster hit that may cause fans to forget how ho-hum last year was.

What happened last year? Marvel released two blockbuster summer movies: The Thunderbolts and The Fantastic Four: First Steps, each of which earned less than Superman (2025), the inaugural film of the DCU. That failure stung, and most fans assumed that we wouldn’t be getting more films in either of these Marvel franchises. However, it sounds like one of these films is going to get a sequel, and it’s not the one you suspect. According to industry scooper Alex Perez, Marvel Studios is currently working on a sequel to The Thunderbolts.

Look Who’s Back

Every month, insider Alex Perez catches fans up on the latest Marvel scoops via a Q&A session on The Cosmic Circus. One fan asked if there was any news about Doctor Strange 3, and the scooper claimed that Marvel had that film on the creative backburner. According to Perez, the studio is currently prioritizing the following projects instead: “Black Panther 3, Shang-Chi 2, Spider-Man 5, The X-Men, Thunderbolts* sequel, Blade, Midnight Sons, and the next Avengers title.” Some of these are no-brainers (like Shang-Chi 2, Spider-Man 5, and the X-Men), but others are surprising. In particular, fans were shocked to discover that a Thunderbolts sequel was in development.

Why is it so shocking that Marvel is reportedly working on a Thunderbolts sequel? It all comes down to money, of course. The first film earned $382.4 million against a budget of $180 million. That looks profitable on paper, but Variety previously reported that the movie would need to earn at least $425 million just to break even. The fact that it fell so far short of that goal means that Marvel might have actually lost over $43 million on this movie. Why, then, would the studio work on another film that is likely to lose money? 

The Gang’s All Here (For Now)

This could, effectively, be an investment in Disney+. While the first Thunderbolts was a dud at the box office, it became a massive streaming hit. In its first five days on Disney+, it got a whopping 702 million minutes viewed, making it the number one hit in 40 countries. If plenty of new fans checked out the first movie once it hit streaming, Disney may be gambling that a theatrical sequel will make more money. Alternatively, they might use the Thunderbolts sequel the way that Prime Video is reportedly using Masters of the Universe: as a way to recruit new streaming subscribers and retain old ones.

Alternatively, Marvel could (like the kids say) do it for the lore. The Thunderbolts sets up many of the big plot developments that will be unpacked by Avengers: Doomsday. One year after that film premieres, the MCU will get a reset via Avengers: Secret Wars. It’s possible that the Thunderbolts sequel will be used to set up other major events or to simply help audiences explore this brave new world. Finally, if Thunderbolts director Jake Schreier really wants to do the sequel, Marvel may just do him a favor; after all, they already have plenty of confidence in the man, having hired him to direct the MCU’s first X-Men movie. 

So far, we don’t know who will direct or even who will star in the Thunderbolts sequel, which is significant because some characters are likely to die in Doomsday and/or Secret Wars. However, it’s definitely good news that this beloved movie (it has an 88 percent critical rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a 93 percent audience rating) is getting a follow-up film. One of the most common complaints about superhero movies is that they typically follow a cookie-cutter formula. Love it or hate it, The Thunderbolts was fiercely original, and the studio could clearly use more of that pioneering spirit as they do the unthinkable and finally reboot the MCU.

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TV’s Hottest Fantasy Actor Saved Her Career By Botching Star Wars Audition

By Chris Snellgrove
| Published

If you’re a fan of HBO’s House of the Dragon, you sometimes have to defend yourself to your more skeptical friends. If yours are anything like mine, they’ll start asking you some hard questions, like, “After Game of Thrones got so bad, why the heck would you come back for another show?” I give them all kinds of answers, of course. Sometimes, I tell them that this show is like GoT before it fell off; other times, I tell them that I’m just invested in the mythology of Westeros. While these are both true to some extent, the main reason I watch is much simpler: hot ladies in fantasy clothing!

One great example of this is Olivia Cooke. In House of the Dragon, she plays an important character: Alicent Hightower, a queen whose crumbling relationship with Rhaenyra Targaryen leads to civil war. Cooke is absolutely mesmerizing in the role, imbuing charisma and pathos to a character who makes one bad decision after another. Beneath her character’s regal bearing, she wears the effervescent beauty of the girl next door. However, we came very close to never having Cooke appear in House of the Dragon at all. In a recent interview, she admitted how close she came to getting a very different role: Rey in The Force Awakens!

From Sci-Fi To Fantasy

Recently, Olivia Cooke offered an interview to Josh Horowitz on his Happy Sad Confused podcast. There, she spoke about a wide range of topics before her host brought up something very specific. Horowitz asked her if there was any truth to the rumor that she had auditioned for a role in The Last Jedi, the controversial Star Wars film. Cooke busted this “weird rumor” before dropping some truly shocking news. While she didn’t audition for TLJ, she did audition for The Force Awakens. And not just for any role: she auditioned for Rey, the main character of the entire Sequel trilogy!

The House of the Dragon star was very self-deprecating during the interview. She confirmed that “I did audition a few times for the other one, where Daisy Ridley got [it]” before downplaying the significance of her audition. “But you know, everyone and their dog auditioned for that,” she said. She then got very candid about how she did when auditioning for the most popular sci-fi franchise in the world. “I think I auditioned once in L.A., and then once with J.J. [Abrams]. And I was sh*t. I was really bad,” she said.

Everything’s Coming Up Olivia

Does Olivia Cooke have any sour grapes over not getting the highly coveted role? Not really. During the interview, she drove home both how bad her audition performance was and how good Ridley’s was. “You know when you go into an audition, and you’re just not bringing it, and you’ve let yourself down, you’ve let everyone down in the room?” she asked rhetorically. “Daisy did such an amazing job, I just wasn’t that kind of an actor at that time. It just wasn’t a fit.” Fortunately, things worked out: she landed parts in other high-profile films like Ready Player One, eventually getting the part of Alicent Hightower in House of the Dragon.

In retrospect, things really worked out for this talented actor. As it is, she’s a major player in one of the biggest and most popular shows ever made. Had she won the part of Rey in the Star Wars Sequel Trilogy, her career might very well have suffered the same way that Daisy Ridley’s has: starring in one forgettable film after another, just waiting for Lucasfilm to give her a call back. But Olivia Cooke is absolutely thriving in a career-defining role that gives “fantasy girl” a new meaning. Will of the Force or will of the Seven? Either way, Cooke was clearly destined for greatness!

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A new tool turns PDFs and videos into AI mind maps, and a lifetime subscription is $35 through July 5

TL;DR: GitMind turns PDFs, YouTube links, audio, and webpages into AI-generated mind maps, and a Basic Plan lifetime subscription is on sale for $34.99 through July 5.

Mind mapping apps usually assume you’ve already done the hard work of figuring out what the map should show. GitMind is a new AI workspace that ingests a PDF, YouTube link, audio file, or webpage and builds a finished visual map in seconds, and a Basic Plan lifetime subscription is on sale for $34.99 (reg. $169) for a few days longer.

Paste a YouTube URL into the app, and GitMind pulls the transcript, runs the words through its multimodal model, then arranges the key claims into a branching map you can drag and edit. Think of it like turning a college lecture into the professor’s handwritten chalkboard outline, without having to sit through the lecture twice. The same trick works for a 60-page PDF, where the thesis, methodology, and findings each get their own branch instead of leaving you to skim. Audio recordings get transcribed and visualized in the same pass. Screenshots and webpages feed into the same engine.

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Researchers can feed in a stack of papers and pull a comparison map across them without manually outlining each one. Project managers can drop meeting notes and watch decisions, action items, and open questions sort themselves into separate branches. Content planners can paste a long-form interview transcript and get a story map back, ready to script from.

Past the mind maps, GitMind includes a chat feature for asking questions of any uploaded file, OCR for scanned documents, and diagram generation for workflows. Real-time collaboration handles multi-person editing on the same canvas. Privacy posture sets the app apart from most AI tools on the market right now, with user content kept out of model training.

Until July 5 at 11:59 p.m. PT, it’s only $34.99 to get a GitMind Basic Lifetime Plan.

StackSocial prices subject to change.

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Best 4th of July sales 2026: Deals on Ninja appliances, TVs, pool inflatables, tools, cooling bedding, and more

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It doesn’t matter if Prime Day runs for a singular day or nearly 100 hours like the 2026 sale last week — it’s easy to get overwhelmed and forget to buy something. Luckily, Prime Day 2026’s unusual timing means we get to flow directly into 4th of July sales.

If there are any items still lingering on your summer shopping list, you have quite the host of July 4th sales to shop over the long weekend. As always, home gear like bedding and mattresses, countertop appliances, and tools are major 4th of July themes, as well as the outdoor items that come to mind when you think “fun in the sun”: inflatables, kayaks, fire pits, and more are on sale.

Below, we’re tracking the best 4th of July deals through the holiday weekend:

Home deals

  • AirDoctor: Save up to $709 on air purifier bundles

  • Caraway Home: Save up to 15% on cookware and bakeware

  • Cozy Earth: Save 20% when you buy three or more items

  • Crate & Barrel: Save up to 60% on dinnerware and drinkware, 35% on kitchen brands, and 30% on furniture

  • Cuisinart:

  • Ecobee: Save 25% on smart home thermostats

  • Home Depot: Save up to 30% on home appliances, living room and patio furniture, up to $165 on power tools, and up to $250 on grills

  • IKEA: Save up to 50% on furniture and storage, home textiles, pillows, and more

  • Joybird: Save up to 45% off on bestselling furniture and 35% sitewide

  • KitchenAid: Save up to 25% on select countertop appliances

  • Levoit: Save up to 40% on air purifiers, tower fans, and cordless vacuums

  • Lovesac: Save 40% sitewide

  • Lowe’s: Save up to 45% on select major appliances, up to 40% on lighting and ceiling fans, up to 30% on gardening products, and more

  • Mellow Sleep: Save up to 50% sitewide

  • Michael’s: Save 50% on all red, white, and blue party decor, up to 60% on summer party and craft supplies, BOGO frames and shadow boxes, plus save 30% on all regular price purchases

  • Nest New York: Save 25% sitewide on Limited Editions

  • Nutribullet: Save up to 44% on blenders and ice cream makers

  • PetSmart: Save 15% when you spend $50 on same-day delivery

  • Pluto Pillow: Save $25 on a custom pillow + pillow case set

  • Pottery Barn: Save up to 70% on select outdoor furniture, bathroom accessories, quilts, and more, plus an extra 20% on select styles

  • Revival Rugs: Save 20% sitewide

  • Rugs Direct: Save up to 80% sitewide on brands like Safavieh, Chris Loves Julia, Loloi, Rifle Paper Co., and Rugs USA

  • SharkNinja: Save up to 30% on Ninja kitchen appliances and Shark vacuums, hair tools, and fans

  • Target: Save up to 25% on sunscreen, up to 20% on inflatable pools and water toys, and more

  • Wayfair: Save up to 70% on indoor and outdoor rugs, umbrellas, gazebos, mattresses, pillows, and more

Mattress deals

  • Avocado: Save up to 15% on organic mattresses

  • Bear: Save 35% sitewide

  • Brooklyn Bedding: Save 30% sitewide

  • DreamCloud: Save up to 60% on mattresses and 66% on bundles

  • Eight Sleep: Save up to $500 on Pods and accessories

  • Helix: Save 20% sitewide with code JULY20, 25% on Luxe mattresses with code LUXE25, and 30% on Elite mattresses with code ELITE30

  • Nectar: Save up to 50% on mattresses + 66% on bundles

  • Purple: Save up to $800 on a mattress and base

  • Saatva: Save up to $650 on mattresses or up to $750 on bundles

  • Tuft & Needle: Save 25% on all bundles

  • Zinus: Save up to 60% off, plus get an additional 20% off

Bedding deals

  • Baloo: Save $30 on weighted throw blanket + cotton duvet cover bundle

  • Breescape: Save 30% sitewide

  • Brooklinen: Save 25% sitewide

  • Buffy: Save 20% sitewide

  • Coyuchi: Save up to 40% sitewide

  • Cozy Earth: Save 20% on bedding bundles and save 15% sitewide with code MASHABLE

  • Ettitude: Save up to 25% sitewide and up to 70% on final sale

  • Naturepedic: Save 20% on organic bedding + get a free muslin blanket

  • Rest: Save up to 40% on cooling comforters and sheets

  • Silk & Snow: Save 20% on all sheets

Beauty deals

  • Dyson: Save up to $130 on the Dyson Airwrap i.d., Airstrait, and Supersonic Nural

  • FabFitFun: Get a free Bonus Box worth $250 when you sign up for a membership

  • L’ange: Save up to 50% sitewide

  • Shark: Save up to $120 on the Shark FlexStyle, Glam, and SpeedStyle

Outdoor deals

  • Bote: Save up to 20% on Hangout inflatables, kayaks and paddle boards, and more

  • Diadem Sports: Save up to 50% sitewide on pickleball paddles, grips, and more

  • Dick’s Sporting Goods: Save up to 50% on bikes, running shoes, kayaks, swimsuits and swim trunks, and more

  • Funboy: Save 25% sitewide

  • HOVERAir: Save up to 50% sitewide

  • JisuLife: Save up to 45% on handheld portable fans

  • Oru Kayak: Save 20% sitewide

  • REI: Save up to 50% on REI Co-op, Vuori, Hoka, The North Face, and more

  • Solo Stove: Save 20% on select fire pits and pizza ovens

  • TGW: Save up to 50% on select golf cart bags, golf stands, clothing and shoes, and drivers

TV deals

For even more 4th of July TV deals, check out our story of the best Prime Day TV deals — almost every model is still at its Prime Day price as of July 2.

Tech deals

  • Garmin: Save $50 on the Venu 4, $100 on the Forerunner 70, $40 on the Vívofit Jr. 3, $100 on the Tread 2 Overland Edition, and more

  • Best Buy: Save up to 45% on select TVs, up to $400 on select MacBooks and iPads, up to $600 on select Windows devices, and more

  • HP: Save up to 72% on OmniBook laptops, Omen gaming PCs, All-in-One desktops, and more

  • LG: Save up $1,300 on wall ovens, washers and dryers, and more

  • Tile: Save up to 30% on trackers

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