Here we are at the (potentially) second to last pop culture news recap of the year before we take a break for the holidays. It’s been a busy couple of weeks since our last collection of standout stories from the realms of gaming, film and series, so we’re going to leap straight in.
Before we do that, though, in this brand new, developing story, filmmaker Rob Reiner (78) and his wife Michele (70) have been found stabbed to death in their Los Angeles home. Their son Nick is the current prime suspect. Reiner was behind such classics as This is Spinal Tap, Stand By Me, The Princess Bride, When Harry Met Sally, Misery and A Few Good Men. With a focus on more serious, politically incisive fare in recent times, his last film was this year’s Spinal Tap II.
Earlier in December, Japanese American actor Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa died aged 75 from stroke complications. Tagawa is probably best known for playing sorcerer Shang Tsung in the original Mortal Kombat films, but his filmography also includes the likes of The Last Emperor, Licence to Kill, Pearl Harbor, Memoirs of a Geisha, and, on the TV front, Nash Bridges, The Man in the High Castle and, most recently, Blue Eye Samurai.
Gaming
Gaming news dominated this past week with the high-profile 2025 edition of The Game Awards, which took place in Los Angeles on 11 December. You can watch the full 3.5 hour stream here *gulp*, or read everything announced here.
Of course, The Game Awards are about dishing out accolades first and foremost. This year, AA RPG Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, from Sandfall Interactive, dominated, making history with the most wins of all time (9 out of 13 nominations), including Game of the Year. You can find a full list of nominees and winners here, but in summary:
- Best Family Game – Donkey Kong Bananza
- Innovation In Accessibility – Doom: The Dark Ages
- Best Esports Game – Counter-Strike 2
- Best Esports Athlete – Chovy
- Best Esports Team – Team Vitality – Counter-Strike 2
- Best Mobile Game – Umamusume: Pretty Derby
- Best Independent Game – Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
- Best Adaptation – The Last of Us: Season 2
- Best Action Game – Hades II
- Best Peformance – Jennifer English (Expedition 33)
- Games for Impact – South of Midnight
- Best Ongoing Game – No Man’s Sky
- Best Audio Design – Battlefield 6
- Content Creator of the Year – MoistCr1TiKaL
- Best Fighting Game – Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves
- Most Anticipated Game – Grand Theft Auto VI
- Game Changer – Girls Make Games
- Best Action Adventure Game – Hollow Knight: Silksong
- Best Art Direction – Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
- Best Sim/Strategy Game – FINAL FANTASY TACTICS – The Ivalice Chronicles
- Best Debut Indie Game – Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
- Best Score and Music – Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (Lorien Testard)
- Best Sports/Racing Game – Mario Kart World
- Best Community Support – Baldur’s Gate 3
- Best VR/AR Game – The Midnight Walk
- Best RPG – Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
- Player’s Voice – Wuthering Waves
- Best Narrative – Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
- Best Multiplayer – Arc Raiders
- Best Game Direction – Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
- Game of the Year – Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
The Game Awards also doubles up as one final big industry showcase for the year, and that meant some high-profile announcements – like Star Wars: Fate of the Old Republic, a spiritual successor to beloved RPG Knights of the Old Republic (KOTOR); the reveal that the weird statue in the desert was to promote Larian’s next dark fantasy RPG, Divinity; and rad adventure game The Free Shepherd, where you play as a border collie in the Scottish Highlands. Just don’t expect any of these before 2027 at the earliest.
If we had to shortlist three show announcements, though:
Out next year is the sequel to 2019 paranormal action adventure Control. Remedy Entertainment revealed Control: Resonant, which puts players into the shoes of Dylan Faden, the brother of protagonist Jesse from the original game. With cosmic threat the Hiss having escaped the Federal Bureau of Control, Dylan must venture out into a warped Manhattan and use his supernatural abilities to save both his humanity and our reality. Control: Resonant comes to PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.
The Tomb Raider franchise is back in a big way with two games set for release from developer Crystal Dynamics in the next two years. In 2026, Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis revisits Lara Croft’s original 1996 game, and its globe-trotting adventure that sees the British adventurer search for the scattered pieces of Atlantean artifact the Scion.
Then there’s Tomb Raider: Catalyst, the next all-new entry in the Tomb Raider series, coming in 2027. Catalyst is set in the unified timeline that brings together all previous Tomb Raider games, and features an older, established Lara Croft who journeys to Northern India in the wake of a mythical catalyst. There she faces rival treasure hunters and strange resurgent forces from the past. Like Legacy of Atlantis, the game is coming to PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and Steam, and now features Dragon Age’s Alix Wilton Regan as the voice of Lara.
Learn more about Tomb Raider: Catalyst here.
Finally, there’s intriguing meta platformer Bradley the Badger, from Davide Soliani, the lead creator of the Mario + Rabbids games. In this title(which has no release date as yet), you play as an enthusiastic game mascot who finds himself traversing wildly different worlds “inspired” by famous games, but they’re stuck in development hell, as they reflect the developer’s unfinished plans.
Finally, releasing just before The Game Awards was partner event, the 30-minute Wholesome Snack from Wholesome Games, with a fresh set of casual indie games to purchase and/or wishlist. The stream also announced a very good value Humble Bundle, at $13.80 for nine recent cosy titles, where donations go to ACLU and their rights protection goals. The deal ends on 30 December.
Film
Look, all anyone really has eyes for in terms of movie news is the Warner Bros sale. In short, Netflix’s bid has been accepted by Warner Bros., but Paramount has entered hostile takeover mode, trying to win over WB shareholders versus decision-makers using all manner of tactics – largely by bumping up its bid by turning to Saudi investors, making hard-sell all-in-caps pleas for a change in decision, and turning to ally Donald Trump – to get the deal going their way.
If you enjoy your credible conspiracy theories, this woman has a very interesting take on what is really going on.
In the midst of all the Warner Bros. buyout drama, James Gunn revealed a new poster, and the first trailer for Supergirl, which hits cinemas on 26 June 2026. Cruella and I, Tonya’s Craig Gillespie directs Milly Alcock as the title character – Superman’s cynical cousin Kara Zor-El, who saw her home world destroyed as a teenager. In Supergirl’s solo film, Kara finds herself roped into a cross-galaxy quest when all she wants to do is get drunk for her 23rd birthday.
Big screen reboot and video game adaptation Street Fighter received a sneak peek at The Game Awards 2025, showing off its massive ensemble of characters. Will this be better than the first Street Fighter film from 1994? The jury is out based on this cheesy trailer, but hey, does it have to be? Capcom’s beloved fighting game franchise makes the leap to movie theatres next October.
Horror comedy Ready or Not was a blast, and now the cult hit has spawned a sequel. Ready or Not 2: Here I Come is set directly after the events of the first film, with Grace (Samara Weaving) now being hunted by four families in a “double or nothing” extension of the original twisted game. A further difference is that this time she has her sister Faith (Kathryn Newton) at her side. Sarah Michelle Gellar and Elijah Wood are some of the new faces joining the franchise for Part 2.
One to keep on your radar is upcoming romance with a difference The Drama. Zendaya and Robert Pattinson star in this A24 film written and directed by Dream Scenario’s Kristoffer Borgli, so you can expect something uncomfortable and compelling. The film sees an engaged couple start to doubt their relationship in the days leading up to their wedding, when disturbing truths come out. The Drama makes its cinema debut on 3 April.
Finally, the nominees for the 83rd Annual Golden Globes have been announced.
We weren’t that wowed by it, but One Battle After Another is the leading nominee on the film side with nine appearances, followed by Sentimental Value (8), Sinners (7), Hamnet (6), Frankenstein (5) and Wicked: For Good (5).
Out of interest, cultural phenomenon KPop Demon Hunters is in the running for three awards – Animated Feature, Cinematic and Box Office Achievement, and Best Original Song (for Golden).
On the TV front, The White Lotus is the top nominee with six, followed by Adolescence (5), and Only Murders in the Building and Severance, which earned four nods each.
The winners will be announced at an awards ceremony on Sunday, January 11, 2026.
Series
We’ll start the series news section with some interesting, high-profile casting announcements.
Namely, that Eva Green will be appearing in Wednesday Season 3 as Wednesday’s psychic but unhinged Aunt Ophelia. Meanwhile, Sigourney Weaver will be joining the live-action Prime Video Tomb Raider series as a character called Wallace. Sophie Turner plays aristocratic adventurer Lara Croft in the series, which is being written by Fleabag’s Phoebe Waller-Bridge.
While we’re on matters of video game adaptations, FX wants a Far Cry series from Fargo and Alien: Earth showrunner Noah Hawley, and the God of War show is gathering momentum, with two seasons already ordered, at least one director locked down, and actors being courted for the key roles of Baldur and Thor.
Let’s end this section with three trailers. First up is Season 2 of Netflix’s live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender, which starts streaming next year. As in the animated Nickelodeon series, S2 brings no-nonsense Earth Bender Toph into the Gaang.
Subversive superhero drama The Boys returns to Prime Video on 8 April with its fifth and final season. In the tale’s climax, our heroes must dismantle Homelander’s despotic world.
And if this is all feeling a bit too high-stakes and serious for you, wacky medical comedy Scrubs is making a return at the end of February – coming to Hulu / Disney+. Sixteen years after cancellation, the main players are back, including J.D. (Zach Braff), Elliot (Sarah Chalke) and Turk (Donald Faison), with a fresh set of interns to oversee.