Big daddy pop culture event San Diego Comic-Con took place this past weekend, ensuring a busy period for pop culture news.

Before, that, though, three celebrity deaths made headlines. Black Sabbath frontman and reality TV star Ozzy Osbourne passed age 76, less than three weeks after his farewell concert. Osbourne had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease in 2019. While Osbourne became a loved figure (once he had a handle on his substance abuse), pro wrestler Hulk Hogan went the other direction, transforming from 80s hero to racist MAGA villain in recent years. Hogan died this week from cardia arrest, aged 71. Finally, aged just 54, Malcolm-Jamal Warner, who played teenage son Theo Huxtable in The Cosby Show, was killed in a drowning accident in Costa Rica.

Lifestyle

We’re now officially one month from Comic Con Africa 2025 (Sorry, crunching cosplayers). This past week included a handful of new guest additions to the event line-up, including a familiar face from some of the biggest science fiction franchises. On the final day of the four-day con, 31 August, look out for Julie Caitlin Brown, who has had key roles in Star Trek: The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine and Babylon 5.

Brown will be appearing on one day only, while South African One Piece actress Chioma Umeala will be around on the Thursday through Saturday (28 – 30 August).

Meanwhile, on the comic front, South Africa’s Sean Izaakse is joined by a trio of women artists out of Italy. Appearing on all four days are Elisabetta D’Amico, Eleonora Carlini and Carola Borelli. These creators have worked for the Big Two, DC and Marvel, as well as the likes of Image, Titan and even collaborated with games publishers like Epic.

Film

It’s a good time to be a Predator fan. Not only did we just get a new trailer for Predator: Badlands (in cinemas this November), which drives home the point that the Alien and Predator films are very much in the same universe, but also, at SDCC, a new director’s cut of animated film Predator: Killer of Killers was unveiled. Available to watch right now on Hulu and Disney+, this extended edition throws in cameo appearances of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s commando Dutch and Danny Glover’s cop Lt. Mike Harrigan, from the Predator and Predator 2 movies.

Both Killer of Killers and Badlands have been spearheaded by filmmaker Dan Trachtenberg, who breathed new life into the franchise with Prey.

Hypotheticals time. What if Batman didn’t live in Gotham City… but 16th Century Mexico, and his quest for revenge pitted him against the conquistadors who brutally crushed the Aztec Empire? Well, that’s exactly the reimagining at the heart of animated movie Aztec Batman: Clash of Empires, where young Aztec noble Yohualli Coatl dons the mantle of a bat, and trains himself to be the greatest warrior so that he can defeat two-faced Spaniard Hernán Cortés.

Look out for the film’s release on digital and physical disc this September.

Wrapping this section, here’s something for the comic nerds. Filmmaker and co-DC Studios head James Gunn has revealed a close-up look at the History of Metahumans mural seen recently in Superman’s Hall of Justice. In it, you’ll spot such classic characters as the original Sandman, Zatara, Atomic Knight and Wildcat. They’re all canon now.

Series

First up, some “business” news relating to TV in South Africa. For better or worse, the Competition Tribunal has approved Canal+’s 35 billion rand ($2 billion) takeover of local broadcaster MultiChoice. French company Canal+ already owns over a third of MultiChoice, and has pledged to continue investing in South African-made content.

Definitely on the “worse” side now. As a merging Paramount assesses its global strategy, and focuses more on streaming, it may be pulling out of Africa on the pay TV front. In addition to job losses in South Africa and Nigeria, that would mean the removal of channels like Comedy Central, Nickelodeon, MTV and VH1 from satellite service DStv.

It’s been a bumper week for Season 2 trailer drops.

Check out the official teaser for Percy Jackson and the Olympians S2 (releasing this December); the return of John Cena’s Peacemaker (out 21 August); and The Boys spin-off Gen V (back as of 17 September).

Finally, with its third season, Interview with a Vampire is getting retitled The Vampire Lestat as it moves on to adapting Anne Rice’s second vampire chronicle. In this instalment, Lestat (Sam Reid) breaks the code of his secretive species as he deliberately becomes a rock star, while reflecting on his long, rule-breaking life. The Vampire Lestat comes to streaming in 2026. As a side note, the series has yet to make it legally to South Africa via any streaming service.

San Diego Comic-Con delivered yet another exclusive in the form of an artwork reveal for the next Avatar: The Last Airbender series, to be set after The Legend of Korra. Avatar: Seven Havens will consist of 26 half-hour episodes over 2 seasons, starting in 2027. Mixing things up, the new Avatar Pavi, an Earthbender, is a twin, features a physical disability, and also assumes the mantle following a world-ending calamity blamed on her predecessor. To be the Avatar now is to be seen as humanity’s destroyer, which puts Pavi in danger from all sides, human and spirit. Franchise creators Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko are behind this one too.

Gaming

The biggest news in gaming this past week was the reveal trailer for EA’s military shooter Battlefield 6, the first in the beloved pew-pew franchise since 2021’s future-set Battlefield 2042. With a rumoured release date of 10 October this year, and platforms limited to PS5, Xbox Series consoles and PC, the game’s campaign will pit NATO forces against Pax Armata, a Private Military Corporation. The multiplayer gameplay reveal is happening this week, on Thursday, 31 July.

But while all eyes were on Battlefield, the title that caught our attention was the surprise reveal of Clive Barker’s Hellraiser: Revival from Saber Interactive. Set in the Hellraiser filmic (and book) universe, this first person horror survival game will unmistakeably release with a hard R-rating, especially if you go by the Redband Announce trailer. Again, no release date for this one, but expect a disturbing mix of pleasure and pain as you attempt to save your girlfriend from the hellish realm of the Cenobites, and their leader Pinhead.

Clive Barker’s Hellraiser: Revival is releasing for PS5, Xbox Series X|S and PC.

Finally, here’s what lies ahead for Japan-set Assassin’s Creed Shadows in the coming days and months. This includes two updates with long-requested features (like the ability to fast forward time of day), and a DLC expansion that adds a new region to the map and over 10 hours of new content.