We always start every weekly pop culture news recap with notable deaths from the period. This week included the passing of highly influential filmmaker Roger Corman at age 98.

Having produced over 300 movies during his career, and directed 50, including the original 1960 Little Shop of Horrors, Corman was a pioneer in independent cinema. While his work is generally considered B-grade drive-in fare, he mentored and provided breaks for many iconic directors, like Francis Ford Coppola, Martin Scorsese, and James Cameron, early in their careers, and was instrumental in distributing many foreign-language films in the US from the 1970s, laying the foundation for Hollywood’s New Wave.

Film

On the heels of last week’s first look at Francis Ford Coppola’s long-time passion project, Megalopolis, we have our first teaser trailer after the film’s debut at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. A debut that has already seen critics divided, with some praising its lofty ambitions, and others denouncing it as bloated and boring. With no distributor partner secured, it will be a while still before general audiences will be able to make up their own minds.

Just around the corner, though, is Firebrand, which saw its debut at last year’s Cannes Film Festival and is set to release in US cinemas on 14 June. Taking place during the final years of Henry VIII’s (Jude Law) reign over Tudor England, Firebrand centres on his sixth and final wife, Katherine Parr, played by Alicia Vikander. Ambitious and cunning, Katherine becomes caught between Henry’s desire to purge those who challenge the teachings of his Church of England, and the radical Protestant preaching of Anne Askew (Erin Doherty), whom Katherine respects.

Slated for a November release is Wicked, an adaptation of the long running Broadway musical (which itself is an adaptation of a 1995 novel). Directed by Jon M. Chu of Crazy Rich Asians fame, Wicked tells the backstory and unlikely friendship of the witches of Oz, with Emmy, Grammy and Tony winning artist Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba, a misunderstood young woman destined to become the Wicked Witch of the West, and Grammy-winning Ariana Grande as Galinda, a popular young woman who will one day become Glinda the Good. Michelle Yeoh, Jeff Goldblum, Jonathan Bailey, Ethan Slater, Marissa Bode (in her film debut), Bowen Yang, Bronwyn James, Keala Settle, and Peter Dinklage star in supporting roles. Wicked Part Two is slated for November 2025.

Lastly, in the new trailers roundup is a second trailer for A Quiet Place: Day One. The spin-off prequel and third installment in the A Quiet Place film series, Day One follows a group of strangers (Lupita Nyong’o, Joseph Quinn, Alex Wolff and Djimon Hounsou) as they try to survive the initial alien invasion and escape New York City. A Quiet Place: Day One arrives in cinemas on 28 June.

A few more tidbits:

  • Russian Doll and Poker Face’s Natasha Lyonne has joined the cast of The Fantastic Four. It’s unknown who she’ll be playing in her MCU debut, but there’s a plausible theory.
  • While movie release dates are always subject to change, Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, starring House of the Dragon’s Milly Alcock, is currently set to fly into cinemas on 26 June 2026. Kara’s cousin Superman sees his film (under new DC Universe head James Gunn) come out in July next year.
  • Rumour of the week is that Shaun of the Dead, Baby Driver and Scott Pilgrim’s Edgar Wright is getting closer to directing a new Barbarella movie, starring Sydney Sweeney. The 1968 original, starring Jane Fonda, is a pulp (and cult) sci-fi favourite.

Series

If you thought sci-fi epic Dune had big Game of Thrones energy, wait for prequel series Dune: Prophesy. Set 10,000 years before the birth of Paul Atreides, Dune: Prophesy looks at the foundation of the Bene Gesserit order, an all-women sect with grand designs on shaping the future of the universe. And that means a lot of planning, politicking and intense mental and physical conditioning. Emily Watson and Olivia Williams lead the cast as the Harkonnen sisters driving it all.

Dune: Prophesy starts streaming in the third quarter of this year on Max.

On the returning series front, this week saw new trailers drop for fantasy epics House of the Dragon (back 16 June on Max) and The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (29 August on Prime Video).

And hey, while we’re talking shows making a comeback, the first official images have been unveiled of main characters Ellie (Bella Ramsey) and Joel (Pedro Pascal) as they appear in The Last of Us Season 2. The dystopian survival tale returns to the small screen next year.

Things that we had on our Bingo card: A Spider-Man Noir series happening. Things that we didn’t have: Nicolas Cage, who voiced the alternate universe Spider-Man in animated movie Enter the Spider-Verse, will be playing him in live-action form. The series, which mixes masked superheroics with retro hardboiled detective work is coming to Prime Video. (As a side note, Amazon has this week passed on another Spider-Man linked project, Silk).

Also confirmed as officially moving forward this week after being announced in January last year: Prime Video’s live-action Tomb Raider series. Fleabag and Killing Eve’s Phoebe Waller-Bridge will be spearheading (but not starring in) the globetrotting adventure show, centred on intrepid explorer, archaeologist and video game icon Lara Croft.

A quick dump of series renewal news: Disney/FX’s Shogun, Netflix’s 3 Body Problem, Prime Video’s Mr and Mrs Smith and The Boys all have new seasons confirmed. The last one there has been greenlit for a fifth season despite the fourth not even screening yet.

At the same time, Disney+ has set release dates for WandaVision spinoff Agatha – now titled Agatha All Along – as 18 September this year, as well as their in-house Daredevil: Born Again (premiering March 2025). Squid Game fans can also look forward to Season 2 this year, with series star Lee Jung-jae mentioning December as a likely drop date.

Gaming

The biggest gaming news of the week? The reveal of the next Assassin’s Creed, entitled Assassin’s Creed Shadows. A mix of traditional series gameplay and new generation sensibilities, open-world action adventure Assassin’s Creed Shadows offer players the duo experience of stepping into the shoes of Naoe, an adept shinobi from the Iga Province, and Yasuke, the powerful black samurai of historical legend – against the conflict-shaken backdrop of 16th Century Japan.

As Naoe and Yasuke, players can master two complementary playstyles, with each character featuring their own progression paths, skills, weapon options, and stats. Whether they embrace Naoe’s stealth skills or Yasuke’s combat prowess, players will have plenty of ways to approach objectives.

Assassin’s Creed Shadows is made by Assassin’s Creed Odyssey studio Ubisoft Quebec, and is out on 15 November for Ubisoft+, PlayStation5, Xbox Series X|S, Amazon Luna, Macs with Apple silicon via the Mac App Store, as well as Windows PC through the Ubisoft Store and the Epic Games Store.

You can check out the various editions (Standard, Gold, Ultimate, Collector’s) of the game here. Regardless of what version you pre-order, you’ll receive an additional quest.

As of today, 17 May, PS5 and Xbox Series X|S owners can join PC players in experiencing the wild uniqueness of INDIKIA, from Odd Meter and 11 bit studios. The trailer below gives you a very good idea of what to expect from this surreal, genre-blending adventure about a young nun who finds herself on a spiritual journey to uncover her life’s purpose, all while the Devil whispers in her ear. The highly cinematic game is currently sitting with a 80 score on Metacritic.

Look out for our review of INDIKA soon. Truly, you haven’t played anything like it.

Finally, Xbox has revealed all the titles coming to its Game Pass subscription service in the second half of May. It’s a stuffed line-up including sequel Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II, the underrated magic shooter Immortals of Aveum, and award-winning indie Chants of Sennaar. You can learn about them all, as well as what is making its departure (bye, Chicory!), here.

Meanwhile, PlayStation Plus’s most recent announcements and additions for May can be found here, and they include Red Dead Redemption 2, and Crime Boss: Rockay City