Fandom Pulse

Kathleen Kennedy, in a Spielberg oral history published by Vulture this month, on why Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is the weakest entry in the franchise: "Steven and Harrison were not 100 percent on board with the story direction of Crystal Skull, which is why the movie, out of the four that Steven made, is the weakest. And that's why Harrison was so deeply committed to Dial of Destiny. He didn't want Crystal Skull to be the end." Dial of Destiny made $384 million on a massive budget and ended with Indiana Jones travelling back in time. Did Ford escape one bad ending only to get a worse one?

Film critic Roger Ebert, in a 2010 essay that is currently making the rounds again after Summer Game Fest 2026 showcased Final Fantasy VII Revelation, Alien: Isolation 2 and Resident Evil Veronica: "I remain convinced that in principle, video games cannot be art. Perhaps it is foolish of me to say 'never.' Let me just say that no video gamer now living will survive long enough to experience the medium as an art form." He later admitted he should never have said it. Final Fantasy VII Revelation, Alien: Isolation 2, and Resident Evil all announced at Summer Game Fest. Was Ebert wrong, or just early?

Sandy Petersen, designer of Doom, Quake, Call of Cthulhu, and Age of Empires, responding on social media when fans asked how to save Blizzard Entertainment: "We don't need to save Blizzard. We didn't need to save Microsoft or id Software or Ensemble Studios or Atari. We don't need to save ANY game company. If they die, they die. They will be replaced with new, likely superior game companies. Gaming continues." Microsoft spent $69 billion on Activision Blizzard. Sony spent $3.6 billion on Bungie. Both are now writing down billions in losses. Was Petersen right all along?

George R.R. Martin, in a January 2026 Hollywood Reporter interview, on why the most anticipated fantasy novel in history has now been delayed for 15 years: "I do think if I can just get some of these other things off my back, I could finish The Winds of Winter pretty soon. It's been made clear to me that Winds is the priority. But sometimes I'm not in the mood for that." Fans have been waiting since 2011. Brandon Sanderson would finish it in a year. Is this the most infuriating sentence in the history of fantasy publishing?

Sir Ian McKellen, 87, reprising Magneto in Avengers: Doomsday opening December 18, at the Cinema in Piazza festival in Rome this week on what he shouted when the Russo Brothers told him to look more furious during a scene where Magneto destroys New Jersey: "[They told me to] make it look as if you hate what you're destroying. So I stood there and I shouted: 'Mar-a-Lago!'" Magneto used Trump's estate as fuel for his villain rage. Is the most anticipated Marvel film in years also its most political?

James Gunn, DC Studios co-CEO, on the Zack Snyder fanbase still campaigning against his Superman reboot even after it grossed $618 million at the box office: "I don't mind it. I think it's good. I think you don't want everybody to root for you." He changed Superman's motto, recast Henry Cavill, and made $618 million. Is Gunn the most confident man in Hollywood or the luckiest?

Film critic Roger Ebert, in a quote currently making the rounds on social media this week, on what fan devotion to a franchise actually reveals about the fan: "A movie is not about what it is about. It is about how it is about it. A fandom, on the other hand, is often about what fans wish it were about, rather than what it is." The week Avengers: Doomsday dropped its Mar-a-Lago story, The Boys ended its run, and Stargate was cancelled before filming — is Ebert's quote about fandoms more accurate in 2026 than when he wrote it?

Four-time Hugo Award winner Lois McMaster Bujold, author of the Vorkosigan Saga, on how to tell the difference between a worthy sacrifice and a pointless one: "A false destiny may be spotted by the fact that it consumes without transforming, without giving back the enlarged self." Hollywood has spent the last decade consuming beloved franchises — Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Doctor Who, The Wheel of Time. Which ones transformed their audiences and which ones just consumed them?

San Diego Comic-Con has banned AI-generated art from its 2026 Artist Alley and art show floor. DC Comics president Jim Lee says the company is taking the same stance: "Not now, not ever, as long as Anne DePies and I are in charge." Is this the industry finally drawing a line, or just delaying the inevitable?

Mark Hamill posted an AI-generated image targeting President Trump on social media. The White House fired back, calling the Luke Skywalker actor "one sick individual." Should actors be using their platform to incite violence against sitting presidents?

A Smithsonian exhibit description said Mickey Mouse represents "vestiges of longstanding traditions of blackface minstrelsy." The White House blasted the museum's "Entertainment Nation" exhibit as radical activism in a new report. Has the culture war finally come for Mickey Mouse?

Lizzo's new album failed to chart despite years of anticipation. She blamed the flop on "racist" and "fatphobic" algorithms rather than her music. Is it ever really the algorithm's fault?

HBO's Harry Potter reboot keeps sparking casting battles, from death threats over Paapa Essiedu's Snape to people trying to cancel the show over JK Rowling. Asked if Rowling's views on trans issues made him hesitate to join the show, John Lithgow said: "Oh, heavens no." Should an author's personal politics change how fans feel about the adaptation?

Avengers: Doomsday's cast keeps growing, but original X-Men star Famke Janssen isn't part of it. She says Marvel "made a mistake" by not bringing her back as Jean Grey. Did Marvel drop the ball leaving her out?

The BBC has canceled Doctor Who's 2026 Christmas special and is putting the entire show out to tender after Russell T Davies' exit. Davies broke the news himself: "And so GOODBYE from me to Doctor Who but HELLO to a big new future for the show." Is this a fresh start for the Doctor, or the end of an era?

Patrick Stewart originally didn't want a TNG reunion for Picard, but he's glad he changed his mind: "I’m so glad I listened to the writers and producers of Picard. Having the whole cast involved in that final season made for an absolutely joyous and satisfying experience. They’re all such dear friends, but also exceptionally talented artists." Was this the best decision ever made for the show?

Gay Klingon actor Karim Diane says he and the writers talked about inserting more gay into the show: “…they had a screening for us. We’re like, ‘We love this. We love this, we love this. Sandro and Zoe have a lot of… there’s like a lot of straight sex here, they’re like…(mimes making out) .. 0h my god this is great. Love this, can we have gay things too?’ We wanted more, and we were kind of joking. We were like — with [showrunner] Noga [Laundau], like, ‘Let’s be more gay. Like, are you guys homophobic, what’s going on?’ Me and Kerrice [Brooks] were joking with them, but they took me seriously. When I came to work the next day, I remember a producer came to me. He was like, ‘I just want you to know we’re obviously not homophobic.’ (crowd laughs) ‘As you know, We were totally kidding.’ But, like, while we’re here… let’s do more gay things.’ And so season 2, there’s gay things, guys.” Is this why the show failed?

A new Reddit leak claims that Lanterns kills off Hal Jordan in the first episode. Showrunner Chris Mundy already said, “Our show is in a lot of ways about replacement—when should someone step aside and when is it time for the next person to take the reins? That push and pull between those two characters is really important.” Is killing off the white guy for a black replacement intentional?

Star Trek II's director on what he was expected to do for Wrath of Khan: "They said, 'Can you make a movie better than the first movie for half the money? And [Bennett] said, 'I can make five movies for it.' And by the way, our budget was like $11.2 [million]. And then they went looking for a writer and they had script after script after they had five drafts of script. I had seen 'Star Trek' on TV, and I didn’t get it at all." How is it they made such an amazing film for only $11.2 million and modern Hollywood can't do anything comparable on twenty times the budget today?

Will you be watching Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 4 or has the show lost you?