Before we jump into the past week’s pop culture news (and yes, that includes this year’s ultra-fresh Academy Award results), two shocking celebrity deaths from the period need to be mentioned.
The first, is the passing of actress Michelle Trachtenberg at just 39. Having kickstarted her career in childhood with Harriet the Spy, Trachtenberg had key roles in the likes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Ice Princess and Gossip Girl. While there were rumours of the star dying from liver transplant complications, her official cause of death is “Undetermined,” with her family rejecting the idea of an autopsy.
Actor Gene Hackman also passed this week aged 95. Except the French Connection and Superman star’s death is expected to make headlines for some time due to its mystery shrouded nature. Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa were found on 26 February in different parts of their Santa Fe home. Using Hackman’s pacemaker as an indicator, it was determined that the couple, along with one of their dogs, had been dead since 17 February. With no evidence of carbon monoxide poisoning, the investigation continues. Toxicology reports may take up to a month.
Film
The 97th Academy Awards took place in Hollywood on Sunday evening, 2 March, and despite Emilia Pérez, The Brutalist and Wicked entering the ceremony with the most nominations (13, 10 and 10 respectively), it was romantic comedy drama Anora (which previous scooped up the Palme D’Or at Cannes last year) that was ultimately the big winner, taking home five awards, including Best Picture and Best Actress.
Below are how some of the major categories and nominated films fared at the 2025 Oscars, while you can find a complete list of results here:
- Anora: Best Picture, Best Director (Sean Baker), Best Actress (Mikey Madison), Best Original Screenplay, Best Editing
- The Brutalist: Best Actor (Adrien Brody), Best Cinematography, Best Score
- Emilia Pérez: Best Supporting Actress (Zoe Saldana), Best Original Song
- Conclave: Best Adapted Screenplay
- A Real Pain: Best Supporting Actor (Kieran Culkin)
- Flow: Best Animated Feature
- I’m Still Here: Best International Feature
- The Substance: Best Makeup and Hairstyling
- Wicked: Best Costume Design, Best Production Design
- Dune – Part Two: Best Sound, Best Visual Effects
As a flip side to the Oscars, you can check out the results of the 2025 Golden Raspberry Awards, AKA, The Razzies, which “honour” the worst films of the previous year. Madame Web was 2024’s big “winner,” taking home three Razzies, including Worst Picture. The film beat out the likes of Borderlands, Megalopolis and Joker: Folie à Deux.
Moving onto some trailer debuts from the past week, here’s the first teaser trailer, which doubles as a cast reveal, for 16-years-later animated sequel Shrek 5. Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy and Cameron Diaz are all back, but this time joined by Zendaya as Shrek and Fiona’s teenage daughter.
You’ve got a while to wait though for all those pop culture, and, now, apparently, social media and meme references. Shrek 5 is only in cinemas for Christmas 2026.
Turns out Netflix’s Fear Street franchise wasn’t capping with its trilogy of movies released in 2023. Out 23 May is a new film based on R.L. Stine’s teen horror series of novels. In fact, upcoming Fear Street: Prom Queen is an adaptation of one of the original Fear Street books, and sees a group of girls competing for the title of prom queen at Shadyside High back in 1988. Then people start disappearing one by one.
Wrapping this section, revealed is the first teaser image of Nicholas Galitzine as He-Man in Masters of the Universe. Currently filming, this live-action take on the Mattel toy line and media franchise is coming to cinemas on 5 June next year.
Series
Here’s your very first look at the upcoming Green Lantern series coming to HBO and Max presumably next year. Production has just started on Lanterns, which stars Kyle Chandler as Hal Jordan, and Aaron Pierre as John Stewart. These two very different Earth-born “space cops” will be plunged into a True Detective-style mystery, or at least that is how this DC Comics show is being marketed. If you need a reminder of the super powers in Green Lantern, heroes chosen to wear special power rings can use their will to generate any construct they need.
On matters of returning series, April is looking like a particularly stacked month as The Last of Us is joined by second seasons for both Andor and Doctor Who.
The sophomore and final season of Star Wars prequel series Andor premieres on Disney+ on 22 April. Diego Luna heads up the ensemble as thief turned revolutionary Cassian Andor, a key figure in the Rebellion’s battle against the fascist Empire pre Rogue One and A New Hope. The 12-episode S2 will release in weekly three-episode batches until 13 May.
Meanwhile, Ncuti Gatwa’s Doctor Who is back on Disney+ and the BBC from 12 April. With Russell T Davies as showrunner on the next batch of episodes, this time the Doctor is paired with new companion, nurse Belinda Chandra (Varada Sethu) and accepts the epic quest to return her home to Earth.
As a few other pieces of TV news, while Oscar Isaac’s Moon Knight may very well pop up in future MCU projects, he’s not getting another limited series. At the same time, though, rumours are mounting that Jon Bernthal’s ex-cop-turned-vigilante The Punisher, who returns this month in a supporting role for Daredevil: Born Again, will be getting a once-off TV Special at some point.
Gaming
The game industry has been especially brutal for retrenchments and studio closures over the past few years as companies prioritise consolidations and cost-cutting. We’re talking about literally thousands of jobs shed, along with projects scuppered.
This past week’s news is especially devastating. On the back of underperforming games like Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League and MultiVersus, Warner Bros. is shuttering three of its studios, Monolith Productions, Player First Games, and WB San Diego, in a bid to get the WB Games “business back to profitability.”
The killing of Monolith, the same game makers behind F.E.A.R., Condemned and Middle-earth: Shadow of War, means the cancellation of a Wonder Woman game that was already three years into development. Wonder Woman made use of Monoloth’s proprietary Nemesis system, where procedurally generated enemies remember encounters with the player and will develop attitudes in response. Reportedly, the Wonder Woman game was set on Diana’s home island of Themyscira and had her assume a leadership role as she rallied allies and faced iconic foes from her comic book history. Writer Gail Simone was even an adviser on the project and had this to say.
Warner Bros. has announced that moving forward, their game releases will focus solely on the Harry Potter, Mortal Kombat, DC (but not Wonder Woman clearly!) and Game of Thrones franchises. Yawn.
One last time, as we process this upsetting news, here’s the “what could have been” Wonder Woman game announcement trailer from 2021:
To end this recap on a somewhat more positive note, this past Monday, Annapurna Interactive streamed their first indie game showcase since 2023. You can watch the full 23-minute presentation here. Of the upcoming releases profiles, we’re probably most excited for narratively sharp cosy game Wanderstop, out this month and already profiled here; and Lushfoil Photography Sim, which releases on 1 April for PC, PlayStation and Xbox.
