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  • PBS SoCal, KMEX Lead L.A. Local Emmy Wins; KVEA, KABC Land Top Newscast Prizes

    PBS SoCal, KMEX Lead L.A. Local Emmy Wins; KVEA, KABC Land Top Newscast Prizes

    PBS SoCal (KOCE and KCET) was the big winner Saturday night at the L.A. Area Emmy Awards, landing eight — including for live events-programming, entertainment, crime/social issues and arts. Univision’s KMEX was next, with seven, followed by Telemundo’s KVEA with six.

    KVEA once again won the newscast Emmys for daily daytime (11 a.m. to 7 p.m.) and daily evening (7 p.m. to 12 a.m.). Last year, KVEA won all three — also picking up daily morning (4 a.m. to 11 a.m.). But this year, KABC/ABC7 won that morning newscast Emmy.

    The 2026 Los Angeles Area Emmy Awards were held Saturday at the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles, hosted by KABC entertainment reporter George Pennacchio. KABC’s David Ono received the 2026 Los Angeles Area Emmy Governors Award, “recognizing his more than three decades of broadcasting and his passion for in-depth storytelling.” Ono’s KABC co-anchor, Jovana Lara, presented him the honor.

    Bob Bain and Bob Bain Productions produced the ceremony, while Greg Taylor and Brian DeCloux are the Los Angeles Area Governors. Categories included Live and Breaking News Coverage, Crime and Social Issues, Culture and History, the Arts, Health and Science, Human Interest, Music, Sports and the Environment.

    Beyond PBS SoCal, KMEX and KVEA, other outlet winners included KABC/ABC7 (four), KNBC/NBC4 (four), Spectrum News 1 (two), Spectrum SportsNet (two), LA36 (one), Spectrum SportsNet LA (one) and USC football (one).

    As for this year’s nominee totals, PBS SoCal landed 29 nominations; KABC/ABC7 received 21, Univision outlet KMEX received 20, Telemundo’s KVEA had 18, KNBC/NBC4 landed 15 and Spectrum News 1 had 10.

    For the station newscast awards, every TV station that submits is eligible. This year’s eligibility period was for the 2025 calendar year, which means many of the news categories winners focused on the devastating wildfires that ripped through the region last January.

    Here are this year’s winners (see all nominees here):

    STATION AWARDS

    Station awards do not have nominations; rather, all entrants are candidates for the Emmy statuette.

    Regularly Scheduled Daily Morning Newscast: 4:00am-11:00am

    “Eyewitness News at 6am” (ABC7)

    Regularly Scheduled Daily Daytime Newscast: 11:00am-4:00pm

    “Noticiero Telemundo 52 Al Mediodía” (KVEA)

    Regularly Scheduled Daily Evening Newscast: 4:00pm-12:00am

    “Noticiero Telemundo 52 A las 11pm” (KVEA)

    NEWS AND PROGRAMMING

    L.A. Local Color

    “Hispanic Heritage Month – Candelas Guitars” (Spectrum News 1)

    Independent Programming

    No nominations

    Education/Information

    “For Dear Life: Art, Medicine & Disability (PST ART)” (PBS SoCal)
    Angela Boisvert, Producer
    Nic Cha Kim, Executive Producer
    Tamara Gould, Executive Producer
    Matt Pappas, Director of Photography
    Suzanne Méjean Pinney, Editor
    Robert McDonnell, Supervising Producer

    Crime/Social Issues

    “Aging in America: Survive or Thrive” (PBS SoCal)
    Neil Steinberg, Director, Executive Producer
    Mark Jonathan Harris, Producer
    Steve Purcell, Co-Producer, Editor
    Karin Hayes, Co-Producer
    Martin Sheen, Host
    Michelle Merker, Producer

    Arts

    “Aretha! with Sheléa and the Pacific Symphony” (PBS SoCal)
    Maura Daly Phinney, Executive Producer
    Andy Trimlett, Producer
    Steve Purcell, Director
    Keena Levert, Associate Producer
    Sheléa Melody McDonald, On-Camera Talent

    Culture/History

    “Somos de Aquí” (KMEX-TV)
    William Negrón, Executive Producer
    Julio Octavio Valdez, Anchor
    Carlos Leonardo Gonzalez, Camera
    Juan Ramirez, Editor
    Marco A. Flores, Executive Producer

    Informational Series (more than 50% remote)

    “Tu Voz LA” (KMEX-TV)

    Informational Series (more than 50% studio)

    “Al Punto California” (KMEX-TV)

    Entertainment

    “Color in Motion: Chromatic Explorations of Cinema (PST ART)” (PBS SoCal)
    Jaime Morgan Muñoz, Producer
    Nic Cha Kim, Producer
    Angela Boisvert, Executive Producer
    Tamara Gould, Executive Producer
    Matt Bass, Director of Photography
    Ben Boyd, Editor
    Robert McDonnell, Supervising Producer

    Music Composition

    “Art & Science Collide” (PBS SoCal)
    Dan Deacon, Composer

    News Series

    “Black Heritage: Altadena Roots And Resilience” (NBC4)

    Sports Special

    “竜巻 – The Story of Nomomania” (Spectrum SportsNet LA)
    Aaron Minderhout, Producer
    Greg Taylor, Executive Producer
    Erick Vazquez, Producer
    Cary Osborne, Associate Producer
    Logan Montane, Camera
    Matthew Blum, Camera
    Joseph Forquer, Camera
    Brandon Cervantes, Camera
    Margie Carson, Camera

    Sports Series – Programming

    “Backstage: Lakers” (Spectrum SportsNet)

    Live Sports Coverage

    “Nuestra Copa, Nuestra Pasión” (KVEA)

    Sports Feature

    “After the Fire (Backstage Dodgers)” (Spectrum SportsNet)

    Sports Tease

    “Shohei Ohtani: Baseball’s Solar Eclipse” (Spectrum News 1)
    Taylor Schaub, Producer

    Live Special Events – Programming

    “66th Annual LA County Holiday Celebration” (PBS SoCal)
    Taylor Comen, Executive Producer
    Letitia Fernandez Ivins, Executive Producer
    Michelle Merker, Producer
    Jennifer Chang, Writer
    Cristina Lucio, Associate Producer
    Patrick Traylor, Associate Producer
    Madeleine Ciano, Associate Producer
    Aloe Blacc, Host
    Maya Jupiter, Host

    Live Special Events – News

    “ABC7 Presents the 40th Annual Kingdom Day Parade” (ABC7)

    Feature Segment

    “Indispensables, Pero Invisibles: Manos que Reconstruyen (Al Punto California)” (KMEX-TV)
    Arturo Quezada, Camera, Editor, Producer
    Dina Rodriguez, Producer

    Information Segment

    “Combating Climate Change with Trees (Earth Focus)” (PBS SoCal)
    Daniel H. Birman, Director of Photography, Executive Producer, Producer, Writer, Director
    Megan E. Chao, Editor, Executive Producer, Producer
    Angela Boisvert, Executive Producer
    Tamara Gould, Executive Producer
    Clarissa Guy, Producer
    Jaime Morgan Muñoz, Producer
    Susy Garciasalas Barkley, Producer
    Jason Janocko, Director of Photography
    Erik C. Andersen, Editor
    Robert McDonnell, Senior Supervising Producer

    Live Coverage of an Unscheduled News Event

    “Breaking News: SoCal Firestorms” (ABC7)

    Entertainment News Story

    “Bob’s Brush with Fame” (NBC4 News at 5) (NBC4)
    Michael Brownlee, Producer, Reporter, Writer

    Business/Consumer News Story

    “Ausentismo en los Campos de Cultivo” (Noticiero Telemundo 52 a las 6pm) (KVEA)
    Enrique Chiabra, Producer, Reporter
    Luis Enrique Rivera, Producer
    Manuel Pineda, Camera
    Yolimar Aquino, Editor
    Yansily Reyes, Editor

    Crime/Social Issues News Story

    “Infierno en Adelanto” (Noticias 34 6pm) (KMEX-TV)
    Candela Martinez, Reporter, Writer

    Art/Cultural/Historical News Story

    “L.A. Cumbia” (Noticias 34 6pm) (KMEX-TV)
    Arturo Quezada, Camera, Editor, Producer
    Dina Rodriguez, Producer
    Alvaro Corzo Virviescas, Co-Producer

    Environment News Story

    “Cryo-Rescue: Race to Preserve Life” (NBC4 News at 5pm) (NBC4)
    Enrique Roman, Camera
    Annette Arreola, Reporter

    Health/Science News Story

    “Inteligencia Artificial y la Ciencia Del Cambio Climático” (Noticias 34 6pm) (KMEX-TV)
    Gabriela Teissier, Producer, Reporter, Writer
    Andres Fernando Pruna, Camera, Editor, Producer

    Human Interest News Story

    “KVEA Repartidor de fresas detenido” (Noticias Telemundo 52 A las 6pm) (KVEA)
    Enrique Chiabra, Anchor

    Investigative News Story

    “SoCal Firestorms 6 months later: Palisades Fire Investigation” (Eyewitness News at 5pm) (ABC7)

    Sports News Story

    “La Huella Del Fútbol” (Noticiero Telemundo 52 A las 5:30pm) (KVEA)
    Alejandro Navarro, Anchor

    Short Promo – Sports

    “War Time” (USC Football)
    Eric Michael, Camera, Director, Executive Producer
    Sanay Saboo, Director, Editor, Producer
    Luke Cuellar, Graphic Designer
    Mic Ferrante, Editor
    Michael Malara, Editor
    Geo Robinson, Editor
    Ezekiel Wagner, Editor
    Zahir Martin, Editor
    Douson Yuan, Editor
    George Tyler He􀆯ley, Editor
    Radmen Niven, Associate Producer
    Cody Worsham, Associate Producer

    Short Promo – News

    “NBC4: Picking Up the Pieces” (NBC4)

    Short Promo – Programming

    “Climate & Environment (PBS SoCal)” (PBS SoCal)
    Olivia Cox, Editor, Producer

    Public Service Announcement

    “Emergency Lights? Pull to the Right” (LA36)
    Vance Kotrla, Director, Producer, Writer

  • US military disables tanker accused of breaking the Iran blockade

    US military disables tanker accused of breaking the Iran blockade

    NewsFeed

    The US military has released footage it says shows forces boarding one tanker and disabling another accused of attempting to breach its naval blockade of Iran. CENTCOM says 12 commercial vessels have been redirected and two disabled for failing to comply.

    Published On 26 Jul 2026

  • Europe’s high regulatory bar could spark new crypto industry M&A wave

    Europe’s high regulatory bar could spark new crypto industry M&A wave

    “As it uses existing rules, it’s going to be much less like a standalone framework,” Lightstone said. “A crypto firm will be treated like any normal traditional financial institution,” adding that “it will still be hard to get FCA authorization.”

    For established banks and investment firms already operating under those rules, adapting to crypto may be relatively straightforward. For newer crypto businesses, however, the cost of building governance, capital and custody systems from scratch could prove considerably more burdensome.

    That challenge is particularly evident in the FCA’s proposed client asset regime, applying the Clients Asset Sourcebook (CASS) framework, which would require firms to segregate customer crypto assets from company funds under trust arrangements while introducing crypto-specific operational safeguards around private keys and reconciliations.

    “The CASS requirements are very onerous,” Lightstone said. “That could encourage those newcomers to merge [with], be acquired by, a traditional firm that’s already subject to CASS and has those controls in place.”

    Banking adoption

    The prospect of consolidation comes as banks themselves appear more willing to enter digital assets now that regulatory uncertainty is beginning to lift.

    “As of today, there is less than 20% of all the banks in Europe [that] offer today any type of crypto services, so it’s heavily underserved,” said Simon Schneider, CEO of Sygnum Europe.

  • Israel debate boils over in the United States

    How far have US politics – and media – really shifted on the topic of Israel?

    For US politicians, travelling to Israel has become a rite of passage and almost always involves going on an Israeli government-led PR tour of the country.

    US Congressman Ro Khanna departed from that pattern this past week when he joined Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.

    What happened next – a confrontation with Israeli soldiers and the media reaction that followed – revealed a lot about the reality for Palestinians that Israel and its supporters are determined to conceal.

    Contributors:
    Maya Rosen – Assistant editor, Jewish Currents
    Yumna Patel – Editor-in-chief, Mondoweiss
    Dalia Hatuqa – Multimedia journalist
    Omar Baddar – Political and media analyst

    On our radar

    Despite experiencing the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, Sudan rarely receives the media coverage it deserves. Now, the United Nations is warning that another catastrophe is unfolding in the city of el-Obeid, which is on the verge of being cut off from the world and where there are barely any international journalists on the ground. Nicholas Muirhead speaks to Al Jazeera’s Hiba Morgan, one of the few reporters who have reported from the city.

    The Phenomenon of Kim Ou-joon

    Kim Ou-joon is part journalist, part activist, part political performer. An outspoken and sometimes controversial voice who leans to the left ideologically, Kim leads South Korea’s biggest YouTube-based news network.

    The Listening Post’s Meenakshi Ravi reports on what Kim Ou-joon – and others like him – reveal about the world of politics and media in South Korea.

    Featuring:
    Kim Ou-joon – Founder and host, News Factory
    Jane Yeahin Pyo – Assistant producer, Tulane University
    Shreyas Reddy – NK News

    Published On 26 Jul 2026

  • Roku Is Raising Its Hardware Prices By Up to 50%. Here’s How to Avoid the Increase

    Roku Is Raising Its Hardware Prices By Up to 50%. Here’s How to Avoid the Increase

    It’s getting a lot more expensive to be a streaming fan. Streaming service costs are up across the board, but so are prices for the devices that beam your favorite shows to the TV.

    Roku is raising prices on some of its flagship streaming hardware by 50%.

    • The high-end Roku Ultra sees one of the biggest price hikes, up $100 to $150.

    • The Roku Streaming Stick gets a 33% increase from $30 to $40.

    • The Roku Streaming Stick Plus now costs $60, up from $40.

    • The Roku Streaming Stick 4K goes from $50 to $80

    • The Roku Streambar SE jumped from $100 to $150.

    In an interview with The Desk, Roku chalked up the increase to RAM supply issues caused by the AI boom, which is currently driving up prices across consumer electronics, from consoles to smartphones to PCs.

    The good news is that Roku is currently running a sale in its official store, where consumers can pick up the devices at their original prices. However, you’ll be limited to just three sticks or set-top boxes per transaction.

    You can also buy Roku hardware from third-party retailers like Amazon and Best Buy, both of which are currently showing the lower, original pricing. Some devices are even cheaper.

    The news comes after Apple raised the price of its Apple TV streaming device from $129 to $199, despite not updating it in years. The 128GB version is also now $249, up from $149. The company also cited the RAM crunch as the reason for price increases, which hit almost all of Apple’s non-smartphone products.

    As 9to5Google reports, Walmart also doubled the price of its budget Onn 4K Google TV streaming stick last month from $15 to $30. It’s currently out of stock.

    Roku has said it tries to keep costs lower by “using less memory and also being more versatile in the types of memory we can use,” CEO Anthony Wood told The Desk in May. “In the TV business, every dollar matters. It’s a hugely price-competitive market.”

    Recommended by Our Editors

    That came before Fox Corporation announced in June that it would acquire Roku for $22 billion, combining Fox’s TV portfolio and Tubi streaming service with Roku’s streaming devices.

    Most new TVs these days are internet-connected and include an app interface from Amazon, Google, Roku, or other providers. Among our picks for the best budget TVs is Roku’s Plus Series. But maybe you have an older TV kicking around in the den or beach house, but you want to stream Netflix or HBO Max on the big screen. That’s where a media streamer like Roku or Amazon’s Fire TV lineup comes in. Plug it in, connect to Wi-Fi, and you’re ready to go.

    Our top picks include several Fire TVs, but the Roku Streaming Stick Plus is our choice for the most user-friendly streamer. As PCMag’s Will Greenwald notes, it’s a power-efficient device that can reliably run from your TV’s USB port without also being plugged into a wall adapter, offering a “capable device that offers a simple and accessible way to stream media.”

    PCMag-Recommended Media-Streaming Devices

    About Our Expert

  • ‘Black Panther 3’: David Jonsson to Star as T’Challa’s Son, Sequel Set for 2028

    ‘Black Panther 3’: David Jonsson to Star as T’Challa’s Son, Sequel Set for 2028

    Black Panther 3 is ready to claw its way into theaters.

    Kevin Feige and director Ryan Coogler announced during Marvel Studios‘ panel at San Diego Comic-Con on Saturday that the sequel feature will film on 70mm and hit theaters Dec. 15, 2028. The duo also revealed that David Jonsson is set to star as an adult version of the son of T’Challa, portrayed by the late Chadwick Boseman in the 2018 original.

    “Thank you to this amazing family that I have the honor and privilege and the blessing to join,” Jonsson said from the stage as the audience screamed and cheered, with some sections breaking out in Wakanda chants. He will don the mantle of the Black Panther for the film.

    The actor is a recent Hollywood breakout, with key roles in Alien: Romulus and The Long Walk. Jonsson was also part of the main cast for the first two seasons of Industry.

    Black Panther: Wakanda Forever ended with the revelation that Boseman’s T’Challa had a young son with Lupita Nyong’o’s Nakia. Given that this is Marvel, it’s possible that some sort of time jump or other factors are involved to age him up for the sequel. The film also will come after next year’s Avengers: Secret Wars and will likely affect the larger MCU.

    The Black Panther film franchise kicked off with the 2018 title, starring Boseman as T’Challa. With a cast that included Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong’o, Danai Gurira, Martin Freeman, Daniel Kaluuya, Letitia Wright, Winston Duke and Angela Bassett, the film was a smash hit, collecting $1.3 billion at the global box office and becoming the first superhero feature to land an Academy Award nomination for best picture.

    Boseman was set to reprise his lead role in a planned sequel before his death in 2020 after a private battle with colon cancer. The follow-up film’s focus shifted to Wright’s character, Shuri, taking up the mantle of Black Panther following the death of brother T’Challa. The sequel, Wakanda Forever, hit theaters in 2022 and surpassed $850 million at the worldwide box office. It won an Oscar from five nominations, with Bassett becoming the first performer nominated for an Academy Award for a performance in a Marvel movie.

    Among the highlights of this year’s Marvel panel at SDCC included Ryan Gosling taking the stage to reveal his role as Ghost Rider in a forthcoming feature from Shawn Levy, his director for next year’s Star Wars: Starfighter.

  • Claude Opus 5 Is Here, Tops Fable 5 on Agentic Search, Anthropic Says

    Claude Opus 5 Is Here, Tops Fable 5 on Agentic Search, Anthropic Says

    Anthropic’s newest model, Claude Opus 5, is now available to the public.

    Opus 5 comes close to or even exceeds the performance of its predecessor, Fable 5, in most areas, for roughly half as much per token, according to the AI giant’s benchmarking figures.

    The new model outperforms Fable 5 on tasks like knowledge work, novel problem solving, and agentic search. However, it falls somewhat short of Fable 5 in task categories such as answering legal questions and performing multidisciplinary reasoning without additional tools. It’s also “substantially behind” the more powerful Mythos 5 at exploiting cybersecurity vulnerabilities.

    opus 5 chart

    (Credit: Anthropic)

    During Anthropic’s pre-deployment testing, the company concluded that Opus 5 showed lower rates of “misaligned behavior” than its predecessors. The behavior suite found the newest model exhibited lower rates of deceptive behavior than previous models, and it proved harder to trick into misuse. Anthropic also showed that it was safer in terms of avoiding “reckless actions” that could create hard-to-reverse side effects.

    Claude Cropped

    (Credit: Anthropic)

    Opus 5 comes after a turbulent period for users of Anthropic’s models. Last month, Anthropic blocked access to Fable 5 for users worldwide after the US government expressed concerns about how its offensive cybersecurity capabilities could be used by foreign countries. Access was restored several weeks later with restrictions.

    Recommended by Our Editors

    Anthropic is also beta-testing several new features alongside the Opus 5 launch, including what it calls automatic fallbacks. This means users can now reroute requests flagged by Claude’s safety classifiers on Opus 5 or Fable 5 to another model, rather than being blocked outright.

    Claude continues to gain ground in the consumer AI market. According to Sensor Tower’s State of AI 2026 report, Claude’s global market share was at 10.3% in May 2026, up sharply from earlier in the year, while its US share has climbed toward 14%. Over the same period, ChatGPT’s global market share fell below 50% for the first time, dropping to 46.4%, as Gemini made gains, hitting 27.7%.

    About Our Expert

  • Warner Bros. Sues Amazon, Accusing Company of “Seeking to Pirate Away Employees” in Hiring of Former HBO Max Exec Pia Barlow

    Warner Bros. Sues Amazon, Accusing Company of “Seeking to Pirate Away Employees” in Hiring of Former HBO Max Exec Pia Barlow

    Warner Bros. Discovery has filed a lawsuit against Amazon for “hurriedly seeking to pirate away a number of contracted employees,” citing the recent hiring of Pia Barlow as a “better example of Amazon’s lawless employee shopping spree.”

    Warner Bros. alleges intentional interference with contractual relations, breach of contract, intentional interference with prospective economic advance and unfair competition against Amazon in the suit that was filed on Tuesday. In using Barlow, HBO Max’s former EVP originals marketing, as an example, they note that her contract was not set to expire until Oct. 31, 2027. Barlow was announced as Amazon MGM Studios‘ new head of original series marketing on Friday, when most outlets began reporting on the suit.

    “Though it was aware of Barlow’s ongoing contractual commitment to WMS, of which WBD is a beneficiary, Amazon has brazenly and deliberately induced Barlow to breach the employment agreement by packing up and decamping to Amazon more than 16 months before its expiration,” the suit reads.

    Warner Bros. also alleges in the filing that “Barlow is not the first (nor, apparently, the last) WBD employee that Amazon has targeted or will target in the future.” The suit alleges that “a few weeks before Amazon’s interference with Barlow’s term employment contract with WMS, Amazon similarly endeavored to tortiously induce another WBD employee to breach their term employment agreement, which was not set to expire until December 2027.”

    “Fortunately, in that instance, Amazon ultimately was unsuccessful in its efforts to raid WBD’s workforce as to that particular executive,” the suit continues.

    Warner Bros. is seeking compensatory damages, punitive damages and injunctive relief.

  • ‘Coyote vs. Acme’ Director and Star Lana Condor on Finally Showing Their Film to the Fans at Comic-Con: ‘The Fight Was For a Good Reason’

    ‘Coyote vs. Acme’ Director and Star Lana Condor on Finally Showing Their Film to the Fans at Comic-Con: ‘The Fight Was For a Good Reason’

    If you went back to November 2023 and told “Coyote vs. Acme” director Dave Green that his Looney Toons legal comedy would make its debut at San Diego Comic-Con, he probably wouldn’t believe it. Of course, that’s largely because that’s when Green learned the film had been shelved by Warner Bros. Discovery as a tax write off.

    “For three years, I was lucky enough to make a movie about Wile E. Coyote, the most persistent, passionate, and resilient character of all time,” Green posted on X at the time after receiving the “devastating” news. “But in the spirit of Wile E. Coyote, resilience and persistence win the day.”

    And win the day they did. Ketchup Entertainment ultimately rescued the film and set it for theatrical release on Aug. 28. “Coyote vs. Acme” — an animated/live-action hybrid about Wile E. Coyote taking on the Acme Corporation for intentionally releasing defective products — will get its first public screening on Saturday night at Comic-Con.

    “I’ve waited so long to see their reaction. I feel like the years, to me, have [all led] up to tonight,” said Lana Condor, who stars in the film alongside Will Forte, John Cena and a bunch of Looney Tunes like Roadrunner, Tweety and Bugs Bunny. “I want so badly for them to love it, and I think they will. I’m so confident in that.”

    The most enduring image of the campaign to save “Coyote vs. Acme” was a lone protester dressed as Wile E. Coyote, holding a picket sign that read “Release Me” outside Warner Bros. Studios in the pouring rain.

    “We did a call to action, ‘Where are you? Reveal yourselves, we would love to invite you!’” Condor said. But Green confirmed the lone wolf never stepped forward. Still, the anonymous whistleblower’s legacy lives on as the “Coyote vs. Acme” team built one of his masks for last year’s Comic-Con panel.

    “We figured out how his costume was built, and it was made out of paper!” Green said excitedly.

    “Coyote vs. Acme” is heading to theaters while Warner Bros. is enduring yet another change of direction — this time, the impending merger with Paramount Skydance, which has many people in the industry on edge.

    But while the wider implications of the Warner-Paramount merger remain to be seen (especially after the merger’s delay), for tonight, the entire “Coyote vs. Acme” cast and crew have much to celebrate.

    “So many people stood up for a film they didn’t even see … which is exactly Wile’s entire journey throughout our entire film!” Condor said. “The reason that it’s going to come out at all, I firmly believe, is because of the fans. That was really incredible to experience. That’s why tonight, we’re so excited to screen it for the first time because this is what you fought for. I’m so confident that the fight was for a good reason.”

    The film’s script was penned by “May December” scribe Samy Burch from a story by James Gunn and Jeremy Slater. It is based on a 1990 New Yorker article by Ian Frazier.

    Watch the full conversation with Variety‘s Angelique Jackson below.

  • Ryan Reynolds’ Deadpool Crashes Comic-Con to Beg for ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ Role

    Ryan Reynolds’ Deadpool Crashes Comic-Con to Beg for ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ Role

    Ryan Reynolds gave maximum effort while angling for a role in Avengers: Doomsday during San Diego Comic-Con.

    As the star-studded team for the forthcoming Marvel Studios film was onstage at SDCC on Saturday, Reynolds surprised fans when he appeared among the crowd while dressed in Deadpool‘s gray suit that has not yet appeared on the big screen but can be seen in X-Force comics. Doomsday directors Anthony Russo and Joe Russo were among those participating in the panel alongside Kevin Feige to promote the Disney film that hits theaters Dec. 18.

    Reynolds joked that his name was Ricky and that he was “cosplaying hard.” He went on to say, “First question is for Mr. Paul Rudd. Where is Thor, and why was he crying?” This referenced a moment in 2024’s Deadpool & Wolverine, during which Chris Hemsworth’s Norse God of Thunder appears to hold a dying Deadpool in a scene set in the future.

    Rudd quipped, “He’s a Wrexham fan?” in a dig at the soccer team that Reynolds and friend Rob Mac own. Reynolds fired back, “You know goddamn well why he was crying.”

    Reynolds’ Deadpool continued, “This seems like an awfully expensive way to announce a film. When do you start filming?” This spurred Robert Downey Jr., who stars as Doctor Doom after initially playing Iron Man in the MCU, to reply, “It’s in the can, bro. Look around you. Did you bump your head?”

    Ryan Reynolds appears from the crowd as Deadpool at Marvel’s San Diego Comic-Con panel.

    Joe Scarnici/Getty Images

    After a pause, a deflated Deadpool responded, “I see. So there’s no additional photography, no overages, hot costs — maybe last minute additions?” The star then said abruptly, “No further questions. Happy Hogan, fetch the Audi. We’re leaving.” Reynolds dropped the microphone and made his way out of Hall H.

    Although Reynolds has not been officially confirmed to appear in Avengers: Doomsday, media rumors have persisted about a possible role for Deadpool. The opinionated anti-hero was last seen on the big screen opposite Hugh Jackman in Deadpool vs. Wolverine, which surpassed $1.3 billion at the global box office.

    Earlier this month, Reynolds confirmed during an appearance at Fanatics Fest that a new Deadpool film would indeed come to fruition at some point.

    Other highlights from this year’s Marvel panel included Ryan Gosling teasing his starring role in a Ghost Rider movie that Shawn Levy will direct. Additionally, Black Panther 3 filmmaker Ryan Coogler took the stage to announce that David Jonsson will star as T’Challa’s adult son for the movie that will hit theaters in 2028.