We’re back from the long weekend break in South Africa with a small serving of pop culture news.

Lifestyle

Now less than 50 days away, Comic Con Africa 2026 has revealed its biggest international guest announcement so far. Towering Stargate SG-1 star and God of War voice actor Christopher Judge is on his way to South African shores. Judge will be present on the final three of the show’s four days at the JHB Exhibition Centre, with stage appearances, plus paid photo and autograph opportunities. Don’t miss out! CCA 2026 runs 24 – 27 September.

Series

Speaking of God of War, Prime Video’s live-action adaptation of the video game continues to look for its new lead – after the originally cast Ryan Hurst, of Sons of Anarchy fame, tore his bicep. With that injury serious enough and recovery time substantial enough to remove Hurst from the project,  Dave Bautista is now reportedly in talks to assume the role of Spartan warrior and demigod Kratos.

Meanwhile, maybe to remind people that he really looked the part, Hurst dropped a selfie of himself in character on his Instagram account. Here’s what could have been.

One other notable piece of series news:

David Fincher’s English-language version of Squid Game, which was teased in the final moments of the Netflix hit via a Cate Blanchett cameo, is apparently dead.  

Film

Acclaimed documentary maker Lance Oppenheim makes the leap to feature films, with A24 crime thriller Primetime, based on real-life events.

Robert Pattinson plays media personality Chris Hansen, who jumpstarted reality series To Catch a Predator, a controversial segment in news magazine program Dateline NBC. Starting in 2004, Hansen, with the assistance of actors masquerading as underage persons, would lure sexual predators to sting houses and confront them, on camera, about their intentions. Also starring Merritt Wever and Skyler Gisondo.

Primetime comes to cinemas from 25 September.

The success of Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey means that every studio is now trying to jump on the legendary epic train. So Sony is making a big deal about Ramayana, based on the ancient Sanskrit epic by Valmiki. Ranbir Kapoor plays virtuous Prince Rama, heir to the kingdom of Ayodhya, in this chronicle of the hero’s early trials. This includes facing the malevolent Rakshasi, Tataka, and being forced into fourteen years of exile in the perilous Dandaka Forest as a result of his step-mother’s scheming.

Ramayana: Part 1 (of 2) has its worldwide theatrical debut on 6 November. It’s notably also coming to IMAX.

Gaming

Okay, so this is a marketing first. On 27 August, Netflix subscribers will be able to watch an exclusive, extended look at Grand Theft Auto VI – already lined up to be the biggest game of the year, if not the decade. The special goes live at 3pm ET (9pm South African time).

If you don’t have a Netflix sub, don’t worry. While the streamer’s members will be first to check out the “extended first look”, whatever that means, six hours later, the same content will hit Rockstar Games’ YouTube channel, and social media in general.

Open-world crime actioner GTA VI releases on 19 November for PS5 and Xbox Series consoles.