Saber Interactive has released the first official gameplay trailer for Clive Barker’s Hellraiser: Revival. Set to launch in 2026, Hellraiser: Revival will throw players in to a new single-player story in the iconic horror franchise. In Clive Barker’s Hellraiser: Revival, you play as Aidan. Your goal is to help your girlfriend, Sunny, escape from a … Continue reading First gameplay trailer for Clive Barker’s Hellraiser: Revival →
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Marvel Comics has finally wrapped up One World Under Doom, its major crossover event series for 2025. This series has seen Doctor Doom, now wielding the power of the Sorcerer Supreme, proclaim himself emperor of the entire world. And much to the chagrin of the Avengers and Fantastic Four, it turns out a whole lot of people are perfectly happy living under Doom's iron-fisted rule.
But how does this epic crossover end? Is Doom victorious, or have Earth's Mightiest Heroes finally found a way to topple their new emperor? Who lives, and who dies? And who holds the mantle of the Sorcerer Supreme now? Let's break down everything you need to know about One World Under Doom's final chapter.
Warning: Full spoilers ahead for One World Under Doom #9!
The entire series has seen Earth's heroes wage a losing battle against Emperor Doom as they face a new world order where superheroes are no longer really necessary. Doom may be an all-powerful fascist, but he's also ended crime and poverty, erased political borders, and ushered in universal health care. A lot of people are perfectly happy making that tradeoff, even after the discovery that Doom has enslaved the people of Latveria to make his new utopia possible.
In order to cement his rule, Doom launched one final attack in issue #8 - a spell designed to turn his rise to power into a fixed moment in time that can't be undone. Unfortunately, that attack resulted in one major piece of collateral damage. His goddaughter Valeria was killed.
For those not familiar with the two children of Mister Fantastic and Invisible Woman, Valeria is the one living person Doom genuinely cares for. He loves her as much as he despises her father. Naturally, Doom can't abide the thought that Valeria has died by his hand.
Doom uses his immense magical powers to travel to other planes and seek out gods who can resurrect Valeria. The Vishanti prove indifferent to his plight, so Doom then seeks out the most powerful cosmic god of them all - the Living Tribunal. Doom's offer is simple. He'll give anything in exchange for restoring Valeria's body and soul.
Initially, the Tribunal is unimpressed, thinking Doom has nothing of value to offer. But when Doom offers to open up his soul to the Tribunal's omniscient sight for the first time ever, the god detects something he never expected. Selfish and narcissistic though he may be, Doom is genuinely motivated by love above all else. Valeria is restored to life, and Doom is left to pay the price.
With Doom missing, the world abruptly reverts back to the status quo. The old leaders are once again in charge, and the old borders are in place, though not without millions of relocated people suddenly finding themselves without homes. Tensions are high, with many still yearning for the peace and prosperity that Doom created. And many of them directly blame Earth's heroes for ruining a good thing.
Issue #9 ends with Reed tinkering in his lab and being paid a visit by Doom. Doom reveals that he's dying, part of the price he gladly paid for Valeria's resurrection. He makes one final request of his old enemy. Not a plea for help, but merely for Reed to "protect my world." With that, Doom's body disintegrates, leaving only his mask behind. And inside the mask, Reed finds a shocking parting gift - the last will and testament of Victor von Doom.
Doom becoming the new Sorcerer Supreme was arguably the biggest development to come out of 2024's Blood Hunt crossover, a twist that directly set the stage for One World Under Doom. But with Doom having traded his life for Valeria's, that mantle must once again pass to another.
Logic would dictate that Stephen Strange would reclaim his own title. But just as the MCU is exploring a new status quo where Doctor Strange is no longer Sorcerer Supreme, his demotion in Marvel's comic book universe also seems to be an ongoing plot point. Instead, the final epilogue page in One World Under Doom #9 reveals a brand new Sorcerer Supreme.
Scarlet Witch, already one of the most powerful magicians in the universe, can now lay claim to the tools and powers of the Sorcerer Supreme. Marvel will be launching a new series called Sorcerer Supreme in December, written by Scarlet Witch veteran Steve Orlando and drawn by Bernard Chang. That series will be accompanied by a relaunched Doctor Srange comic and the brand-new series Wiccan: Witches' Road.
Marvel's annual crossover events have a habit of leaving loose ends that set the stage for the next year's big storyline. 2006's Civil War led to 2007's World War Hulk, which led to 2008's Secret Invasion, which led to 2009's Dark Reign. Similarly, One World Under Doom establishes a foundation on which Marvel is clearly intending to build heading into 2026.
It looks as though Captain America writer Chip Zdarsky will be the most heavily involved in building something new in the aftermath of One World Under Doom. The first seeds of that will be seen in the epilogue one-shot The Will of Doom, by Zdarsky and artist CAFU.
From there, Marvel has already announced that Zdarsky is penning Armageddon, a crossover that looks to be similar in tone and scope to 2004's Avengers Disassembled. That event kicks off in June 2026, but it'll be preceded by a prelude miniseries called Wolverine: Weapons of Armageddon in February.
While we don't know much about the plot of Armageddon yet, it looks to be building on the fallout of the recent Ultimate Spider-Man: Incursion storyline, which saw Miles Morales return to his universe with several superpower-bestowing Origin Boxes in tow. We also know that Zdarsky and Valerio Schiti's Captain America series is about to reintroduce S.H.I.E.L.D. to the Marvel Universe, likely as a response to the political turmoil created by Doom's disappearance.
Apart from Doom's death, the most important development in this series is the idea that the world's population is experiencing a greater mistrust of superheroes. Again, many ordinary people blame the Avengers and others for ruining a good thing, seeing them as jealous hypocrites who couldn't save the world in the way Doom singlehandedly did. That climate of mistrust may play directly into whatever tragedy is awaiting Earth's Mightiest Heroes in Armageddon. If they lack the support of the very people they're fighting to protect, the Avengers may be doomed to fail.
What do you think about the finale to One World Under Doom? Did this crossover live up to your expectations? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
In other Marvel news, superstar writer Brian Michael Bendis is making his return to the company as part of The Avengers #800.
Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on BlueSky.
Gearbox has released a significant patch for Borderlands 4 that makes some quality-of-life improvements such as smarter loot drops and a new Legendary Loot Indicator for your radar. These arrive alongside visual polish and stability updates for a “smoother” experience on Kairos, Gearbox said.
Digging into the detail, Class Mods have been adjusted to drop more for your current character, which is a welcome change for those on the hunt for ever-improving builds. The loot feed is now updated to display total current currency after spending or receiving money, and the likelihood of unintended movements or knockbacks while reviving a teammate is reduced. And it's worth noting that the patch adds a new Legendary Loot Indicator to the combat radar for easier identification of high-rarity drops. given how busy with loot Borderlands 4 can get, this is also welcome.
In the patch notes, below, Gearbox said it was wrapping up work on Photo Mode, while other updates like support for multiple active Big Encore Machines and more options for scaling difficulty are coming.
Further into the future, Gearbox said it’s looking at ways to improve shared character progression, add additional endgame-focused activities (Takedown), launch cross-save support, and more. Major Updates, which deliver larger-scale changes, are planned to deploy about a month apart.
Today’s update launches alongside Bounty Pack 1: How Rush Saved Mercenary Day, which is now free for all players. How Rush Saved Mercenary Day is the first of five post-launch DLC Bounty Packs coming to Borderlands 4. While How Rush Saved Mercenary Day is free for all players, Bounty Packs 2, 3, 4, and 5 are included with Borderlands 4 Deluxe Edition, Borderlands 4 Super Deluxe Edition, the Borderlands 4 Bounty Pack Bundle, and will be available for separate purchase.
We're stoked for you to team up with Rush and teach Minister Screw the true meaning of Mercenary Day! This being a holiday-themed Bounty Pack, we knew we had to deliver it to you by the end of the year. However, the team realized that there was more mayhem than time when it came to getting as much into Bounty Pack 1 as originally planned while never slowing down in their mission to improve the Borderlands 4 player experience.
So in the spirit of the season, we're giving a gift to all Borderlands 4 players by making Bounty Pack 1 free! Thank you for all the passion and support you've given us as a community. We're hard at work making sure future Bounty Packs are more fully loaded with the compelling content players have been asking for. In addition, we're now adding a new Bounty Pack 5 (more on that in a bit); there's a lot of amazing stuff coming to Borderlands 4, so stay tuned!
We wanted to pull these out specifically as they have been heavily mentioned in the community.
Amon, the Forgeknight
Rafa, the Exo-Soldier
Vex, the Siren
Harlowe, the Gravitar
All Vault Hunters
Darkbeast
Prince Harming
Onslaught:
Ruby's Grasp:
Lucky Clover:
Vamoose:
Asher's Rise
Get Throwin':
Daed-dy O':
Rubberband Man:
Jacked:
Atlas Ex:
Atlas Infinium:
Reel Big Fist:
Airstrike:
Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
Everyone who is making The Odyssey with Christopher Nolan seems to be taking their job exactly as seriously as they should — especially Tom Holland, who called the head of Sony during filming for Nolan’s epic so he and the cast could screen a 70mm print of the classic film Lawrence of Arabia during production.
Matt Damon revealed the behind-the-scenes tidbit in the latest issue of Empire magazine. “We were at Sony, and Tom Rothman has one of the pristine 70-mil prints of that movie,” he explained in an interview with the outlet. “And Tom Holland, because he’s Spider-Man and he’s everybody’s favourite at that studio, called Rothman and he arranged for us to screen it on a Sunday, the full four hours.”
Damon stars in Nolan’s upcoming film as Odysseus, while Holland plays his son, Telemachus. The film also stars Anne Hathaway, Zendaya, Lupita N’yongo, Robert Pattinson, Charlize Theron, Jon Bernthal, Benny Safdie, John Leguizamo, Elliot Page, Mia Goth, and many more.
In the Empire special, Nolan also spoke to the outlet about making something as timeless as an adaptation of Homer’s epic poem.
“Emma [Thomas, producer and Nolan’s wife] said it best when we first announced the project: it’s foundational,” the filmmaker explained. “There’s a bit of everything in it. I mean, it truly contains all stories.”
He added: “As a filmmaker, you’re looking for gaps in cinematic culture, things that haven’t been done before. And what I saw is that all of this great mythological cinematic work that I had grown up with – Ray Harryhausen movies and other things – I’d never seen that done with the sort of weight and credibility that an A-budget and a big Hollywood, IMAX production could do.”
The Odyssey is set to be released in theaters on July 17, 2026.
Lex Briscuso is a film and television critic and a freelance entertainment writer for IGN. You can follow her on Twitter at @nikonamerica.
We’ve been seeing occasional early Black Friday deals pop up at various retailers all month, but they've finally began in earnest. Both Amazon and Best Buy kicked off their official Black Friday sales on Thursday, November 20. Among the killer deals available at this early date are LEGO Black Friday deals at Best Buy. You can check out the full sale here, or read on for our recommendations.
The two biggest ones to consider for any LEGO aficionados out there are the Bumblebee Transformers set and the Fortnite Peely Bones set. The Bumblebee set is great because you can actually transform it from robot to car form without having to take it apart and rebuild it. It's also the lowest price we’ve seen yet. And it’s a killer set – just check out our experience building it.
As for the Fortnite Peely Bone set, it’s one of the many sets LEGO is retiring soon (you'll notice the “Retiring Soon” tag on the official LEGO Store listing). That means LEGO will stop making this set, likely within the next couple of months. After that, once retailers sell through their existing stock, it will only be available on the second-hand market, which is when prices skyrocket.
I have the Peely Bone set and can attest that it’s super impressive in person. It’s both taller and thicker than it appears in the pictures. It stands over 14 inches tall, and is super stocky and sturdy on its buildable base. It comes equipped with a Peely Pick Pickaxe, paint launcher, and Banana Bag back bling.
As for the rest of the sets on sale, some of the deals are better than others. As a general rule, you can save around 20% off LEGO sets in any old sale throughout the year, so a 20% discount isn't special on most sets. The real Black Friday-level deals are 30%, 40%, or even 50% off LEGO sets. You can use that as a guideline for whether a sale price is really worth picking up as Black Friday approaches. If you’re wondering whether a deal is worth picking up, you can also check on Camelcamelcamel, which tracks prices on Amazon and provides a good barometer of how often it drops to any given price.
If the sets you’re after aren’t on sale at Best Buy right now, you only need to wait a little longer. LEGO’s official Black Friday sale doesn’t go live until Black Friday proper, November 28. If you’re looking for deals sooner, this weekend the LEGO Store will host an Insiders Weekend promotion, exclusively for LEGO Insiders (you can sign up here for free). Black Friday is also the day LEGO will release the highly anticipated LEGO Star Trek U.S.S. Enterprise, which looks incredible if you ask me. You can see that and more in our look at the LEGO sets for November 2025.
For more sale info, take a look at the timelines for every major retailer’s Black Friday plans.
Chris Reed is a commerce editor and deals expert for IGN. He also runs IGN's board game and LEGO coverage. You can follow him on Bluesky.
Corsair's Platform:6 Elevate gaming desk is robustly constructed and comes with powerful features, including an integrated rail system ideal for streamers and other content creators that need plenty of kit. Add on electric sit/stand motors, multiple cable storage areas and a streamlined assembly process, and the Platform:6 can be incredible for the right person. However, its top-tier pricing ($1399) and an all-or-nothing approach to modularity make it more of a specialist tool than an instant upgrade for the everyman.
I've been using the Platform:6 Elevate as my main work and gaming desk for the past two years, and I've found it at times maddening and at times marvellous. It offers perhaps the most potential in terms of mounting multiple accessories, with a huge amount of flexibility in terms of where and how items like monitors, cameras, lights and microphones are mounted, though it doesn't include an underslung PC mount like the Secretlab Magnus Evo I reviewed last month. Still, there's plenty here to appreciate, alongside a few design decisions that I've ultimately come to disagree with – even though I have no plans to trade the Platform:6 for another gaming desk in the near future.
There are three variants of the Platform:6: the $999 base model, which is a fixed height; the $1399 Elevate model I tested, which adds electric sit/stand functionality; and the $1899 Creator Edition, which adds on a convenient and eye-catching peg board that floats above your monitors. Every variant is well built, with large t–shaped steel legs that provide a good degree of stability even when knocked, and a choice of 1in-thick black laminate (included) or 1.25in-thick dark walnut stain rubberwood ($100 extra) surfaces on the Elevate and Creator Edition models.
Like public transport in the UK, the key to each Platform:6 variant is its rail network. You get one large top crossbar that runs above and along the back of the desk, plus an extra smaller rail built into the left and right sides. The top rail works with the included dual monitor mount, which can handle screens up to 8kg each. That's sufficient for the average 32-inch or smaller screen – my 32-inch Alienware QD–OLED gaming monitor weighs 6kg, for context – but I tend to prefer separate monitor mounts for ultra-wide monitors or putting two 32-inch 16:9 displays next to each other, as it allows for more separation than the single central mount point of the included dual monitor mount can provide.
It's also possible to screw in additional items with the provided t-nuts and a choice of multi-mount or ball-mount adapters, which can be fixed in position or left to slide back and forth along the extruded aluminium tracks. The left and right corners of the top rail also include their own dedicated screw mounts, which are designed for the Creator Edition pegboard attachment (which can be purchased separately) but can also accommodate the previously mentioned adapters. Finally, the monitor arm also has its own central post, which is an ideal placement for a camera. That means there's plenty of scope to add on accessories from within Elgato's ecosystem, though at $50 a pop for an Elgato multi-mount, getting fully set up could be expensive.
The one issue with this arrangement is that many third-party friction-fit desk mounts don't work with the rail, especially for larger items like monitors where the mount overhangs the relatively narrow crossbar. Unfortunately, it's difficult or impossible to mount directly to the desk surface instead, as that top bar blocks the back side of the desk, while the rails on the sides mean that the edges there are often too thick to accommodate a mount. That locks you in to only a small proportion of the options available on a standard desk, and I ultimately removed the top bar so that I could mount my preferred separate monitor arms, mic arms and webcam stands where I wanted to. (The top bar was also starting to tilt forwards, which has been reported by other users online and requires a bit of faffing around to solve, so I went with the simpler option of not dealing with it.)
Cable management is also a focus, which is a relief given how much scope there is to add powered accessories like lights, cameras, microphones and so on. The small cable tidy in the centre of the desk is a little awkward to access, with a removable wooden cover that ended up directly underneath my third–party monitor mount, but it does provide a place to plug in USB-A and USB-C devices like keyboards or mice. This makes it easier to keep things looking relatively tidy without having to resort to fully wireless peripherals, though its small size and position towards the back of the desk made it difficult for me to make quick changes and eventually I only used it for my keyboard cable.
The cable organiser below the desk is a more generous size, and I found it easier to access. There's no integrated power point here, as there is on the Secretlab Magnus Evo, so you will have to route at least one power cable down one of the legs on your own, but there is a good amount of space in all directions to place my (comically oversized) UK power strips and the usual collection of USB, monitor and speaker cables. Being a tech reviewer means that I have a lot of powered accessories plugged into my PC at any one time, so having plenty of cable storage space is very important to me. The only downside is that the high back of the organiser means that sometimes cables can be difficult to push in from the top without getting snagged, but that's a relatiely minor concern.
Corsair also makes matching matte black three-way or six-way power outlets, which each include two USB ports (weirdly, one USB–C and one USB-A on the three-way option, and two USB-A on the six-way). One wasn't included in the parcels I received, so I bought my own to test out. It's perfectly serviceable, as you'd expect, though I found that the friction-fit mounting tended to loosen over time, especially as I was pushing it away from me when plugging cables in. Again, third-party options may be the most cost-effective route forward here, but the chunky matte black aesthetic does match the desk nicely.
As well as its more gaming-focused features, the Platform:6 is also just a massive desk. In fact, it's the largest gaming desk I've ever tested (of five in total), measuring a substantial 72 inches in width and 30 inches in depth, providing more than enough real estate for two desktop PCs and two monitors, plus speakers and other small peripherals.
If 72 inches of width isn't enough for your expansive gaming lair, you can also buy a pair of extensions for $200 that add an extra 24 inches or so, easily providing room for two or even three gaming setups on what is technically a single piece of furniture. However, you can't install these with a peg board on the same side; it's one or the other. On the other hand, if you want a smaller footprint, Corsair also sells the Platform:4, a shrunk-down, less-expensive version that measures 47 inches across but is otherwise nearly identical to the Platform:6.
Finally, the electric motors built into the Elevate and Creator Edition models work well, with your choice of left or right–mounted controls that include a height readout, dedicated up/down buttons, a save button and two numbered presets. As usual, if the desk detects resistance while moving, it will stop and quickly reverse course to avoid injury or damage, and this worked reliably in my testing. There's no dedicated switch to lock out the controls, and I did occasionally lean over in such a way that I accidentally pressed one of the buttons – which is always a bit shocking when it happens unexpectedly. However, in writing this review I did discover that it's possible to lock the controls by pressing and holding the save button, then pressing the down arrow, which does work as advertised.
Check out our roundup of the best gaming chairs!
I first assembled the Platform:6 back in October 2023, so I'll start this section by saying that I don't have any proper professional–grade photos of the process. However, what I noted down at the time – and you can see from my colleague’s assembly photos of the smaller Platform:4 – is that the process was surprisingly straightforward, given its scope and the fact that it took the best part of a day to accomplish.
The trickiest part of the whole adventure came right at the start, when I needed to take everything out of the three large boxes and lug them upstairs without leaving big holes in the masonry. Most of the bits were quite transportable when taken in small batches, but the broad tabletop and the heavy electric motors were more of a mission. Unlike the Magnus Evo, which reaches its full width by screwing three pieces together, the Platform:6 is a single piece, so enlisting the help of a friend/family member/enemy at least at the beginning and end of assembly is sensible.
Once I had everything out of a box and in position, it was the usual story of laying the tabletop upside down onto something soft, slotting in the leg motors, bolting everything into position and then flipping the desk right-side up. Even if you're not a seasoned electric desk assembler, Corsair's user manuals are normally well-illustrated and logically arranged, with clear diagrams and consistent labelling where needed, and thankfully the Platform:6 doesn't buck the trend. If I needed bolts, nuts or new tools for a step, I was sure to find everything in a neatly labelled and separate bag. A decent amount of the packaging was also recyclable or compostable, save for the obligatory large pieces of foam surrounding the heavier components.
After the desk itself is complete, adding the final touches is easy enough. This is largely down to screwing in a crossbar on each back corner, sliding on the dual monitor mount and sorting out the cable situation in the cubby. The cable organiser below the desk is more substantial – and therefore more fiddly – than that of the Magnus Evo, but being able to raise the desk all the way does make it easier to get everything screwed in.
As a gaming platform, the Platform:6 has performed admirably, especially when I've been streaming, appearing on podcasts, or recording videos and therefore benefit from having easy mounting points for various electronic accessories. The expansive span of the desk provides plenty of keyboard and mousing space, even after plunking down monitors, speakers, computers, networking equipment and assorted knick–knacks, and the sit/stand motors have enticed me to stand while working more than I otherwise would.
The desk is extremely stable too, and has gracefully handled even heavy dual-chamber PCs over the years. The cable management cubby remains under-utilised – and I don't much like how dust accumulates in its crevices and how little power it can provide – but the larger cable management well below has proven just about sufficient for the parade of peripherals my work requires, even if its complex shape sometimes snags cables that I'm trying to tuck inside.
The rail system that defines the desk – and is presumably responsible for its high price – is a bit more of a mixed bag. I love the concept of a fit-all accessory system, but I don't think that the metal top rail is an improvement over simply clamping mounts onto the back of the desk. Sure, it looks cool to have an elevated rail, and it allows for monitors to slide along its length, but a fiddly mounting system that can twist over time, limited third-party compatibility and a relatively involved install process are significant downsides. The Magnus Evo, with its metal back edge section that's designed to be a stronger alternative to a standard MDF panel, is for me a more open and successful solution to the same problem. I suspect I'd feel differently if I were testing the Creator Edition, which does something more meaningful with the concept with its handy pegboard, but that is even more expensive than the already premium base and Elevate models.
Dark Horse Comics is betting big on the He-Man franchise in 2026. IGN can exclusively reveal that the publisher is expanding its new miniseries Masters of the Universe: The Sword of Flaws into a monthly ongoing series called He-Man and the Masters of the Universe.
The title change takes effect with issue #5 of the series, after "The Sword of Flaws" story arc wraps up. Issue #5 kicks off a new storyline called "The Battle of Snake Mountain."
Writer Tim Seeley will remain on the series going forward, though current artist Freddie E. Williams II will be hopping over to IDW's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series. The art team on "The Battle of Snake Mountain" will include artist Reilly Brown (Masters of the Universe: Phantoms of Despair), colorist Jim Charalampadis (The Amazing Spider-Man), and letterer AndWorld Design. Issue #5 features covers by Brown and Ciro Nieli.
For those not following the current Masters of the Universe comic, the series has been making waves by introducing the titular Sword of Flaws. Originally forged by Eternian sorcerer He-Ro as a complement to the legendary Sword of Power, the blade became corrupted and was hidden away. Now Skeletor has claimed this purple sword and gained newfound levels of power, making him an even greater threat to Eternia.
He-Man and the Masters of the Universe #5 will be released on March 25, 2026. You can preorder a copy at your local comic shop.
This expansion comes as Mattel gears up for a very big year on the He-Man front. Sony is releasing the live-action Masters of the Universe reboot in theaters on June 6, 2025, with Nicholas Galitzine starring as Prince Adam/He-Man and Jared Leto as Skeletor. While no trailer has been released yet, early footage was shown at CinemaCon in April 2025.
Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on BlueSky.
Microsoft will soon dive into the November 2025 Xbox Partner Preview as Xbox Series X | S closes out the year with a brand-new showcase.
As promised earlier this week, today’s third-party-focused presentation will soon unveil a slew of announcements for some of Microsoft’s gaming partners. Fans have been told to expect showings for 007 First Light, Tides of Annihilation, and Reanimal, with the rest of the show’s contents keeping fans guessing.
Today’s Xbox Partner Preview has a lot to live up to after the last equivalent showcase, which arrived October 2024 and featured highlights like Phasmophobia, Animal Well, and Alan Wake 2. We’ll know more when the show begins at 10am PT / 1pm ET, so be sure to keep checking in with this story for every new game and game update for Xbox players.
Developing...
Michael Cripe is a freelance writer with IGN. He's best known for his work at sites like The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be sure to give him a follow on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).
Disney's decision to make a fifth Toy Story film has been defended by its director, who has said that fans of Pixar's original trilogy can simply "have that and never watch another if they don't want to."
Due out next year, Toy Story 5 will see its beloved gang of toys brought out of retirement to face what director Andrew Stanton has described as their greatest "existential problem" so far: an iPad-like tablet.
Speaking to Empire, Stanton said that the idea of traditional toys dealing with the modern world was simply too good to pass up. That said, he also acknowleged those who believe 2010's Toy Story 3 wrapped up the franchise perfectly, at the end of the characters' "Andy years."
"So '3' was the end... of the Andy years," Stanton stated. "Nobody's being robbed of their trilogy. They can have that and never watch another if they don't want to. But I've always loved how this world allows us to embrace time and change. There's no promise that it stays in amber."
Toy Story 3's hugely emotional finale saw Woody, Buzz and friends passed down from their original owner, Andy, to the younger Bonnie. It was the end of an era, with Andy's age designed to match the number of years that had passed since the launch of Pixar's classic first film back in 1995.
But, nine years later, Disney launched Toy Story 4, a fresh chapter largely set in a kids day care center. The end of that film was also designed to tug on viewers' heartstrings, with Woody parting from his best pal Buzz (something the first Toy Story 5 trailer, above, shows has now been reversed.)
"Nobody's really playing with toys anymore," Stanton continued, discussing the plot for Toy Story 5. "Technology has changed everybody's lives, but we're asking what that means for us — and to our kids. We can't just get away with making tech the villain."
It's a story idea that some fans feel Disney has already touched on, in movies such as Wreck-It Ralph sequel Ralph Breaks the Internet, and something that others have said they just aren't interested seeing the fan-favorite Toy Story cast have to struggle again to deal with. The elephant in the room here, of course, is the money Disney clearly hopes to make by going back to the Toy Story well once more. Toy Story 4 made $1 billion back in 2019 — a total that Pixar has only beaten once since, with Inside Out 2, amid a series of original movies such as Elemental and this year's flop Elio that have performed markedly less well.
It's a topic that Pixar veteran Pete Docter addressed earlier this year, while acknowledging Elio's box office performance. Stressing that Pixar needed to "find out what people want before they know it," Docter said that the alternative was just feeding audiences "more of what they know" — leading to endless sequels and more of the same. "We'd be making Toy Story 27," Docter admitted. Well, we're not quite there yet.
Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
Today marks the beginning of Black Friday sales for a few different retailers, including Amazon and Best Buy. The latter has dropped quite a few exciting deals already, including sneaking in AirPods Pro 3 as part of its Deal of the Day with a $30 discount. And while they're not specifically part of Best Buy's Black Friday sale right now, Amazon and Walmart have matched the discounted price, which certainly feels like a seasonal savings miracle worth celebrating.
While the AirPods Pro 3 are usually listed for $249, you can scoop them up for $219.99 at Amazon, Best Buy, and Walmart. According to price tracker camelcamelcamel, this is their lowest price yet, so grab them while they're still at this price.
It's worth keeping in mind that the deal from Best Buy will only last through the rest of the day today, November 20. So, if you've been hoping to grab these earbuds as a gift for someone over the holidays, or as a nice little treat for yourself, you'll want to act fast.
These earbuds boast a major boost in noise-canceling compared to their predecessors. Apple says they offer "ANC that’s up to 2x more effective than AirPods Pro 2, with 4x more noise removed compared to the original AirPods Pro." They've also got quite the battery life that can last up to eight hours on a single charge with the ANC on or up to 10 hours if you're using Transparency mode.
If you're in the shopping mood, there's plenty more to check out from various retailers right now alongside these earbuds. As mentioned before, both Best Buy and Amazon have kicked off their Black Friday sales today with plenty of discounts to look through. For more information on what deals we're expecting to see this year and other retailers that will be joining in on the sale event, check out our full breakdown of Black Friday 2025.
Hannah Hoolihan is a freelancer who writes with the guides and commerce teams here at IGN.
Friends fans, this is major news for you. Listen up. Matt LeBlanc’s classic spinoff series Joey has just released a whopping eight unaired episodes — over 20 years after the show was cancelled.
The official Friends Instagram account recently announced the episode drop. “East or west coast, Joey is still, well, Joey. Did you know that the final eight episodes of Joey Season 2 never aired in the U.S.?” the account wrote alongside a video with clips from the series. “Now, 21 years later, catch the remaining episodes exclusively on the #FRIENDS YouTube channel!”
Friends aired for ten seasons that spanned 1994 to 2004. Alongside LeBlanc, Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, David Schwimmer, Lisa Kudrow, and Matthew Perry starred. The year the show went off the air, Joey premiered on NBC.
Joey specifically followed LeBlanc’s Joey Tribbiani as he tried his hand at an acting career in Los Angeles. The show starred Paulo Costanzo, Drea de Matteo, Andrea Anders, and Jennifer Coolidge alongside LeBlanc. They made only two seasons of the show, which was cancelled in 2006.
In a 2012 interview with The Guardian, LeBlanc opened up about the complicated feelings he had about the show and where his character went. “I thought that it was a good show. I just think that we were telling stories that emasculated the character,” he explained to the outlet. “They wrote a guy who became very doubtful of himself in this new place, in Hollywood, no friends, can't meet girls – and that's not who Joey was. He was always, always, always, the consummate optimist. Always. And that's not who they wrote. That was very frustrating for me."
That said, his work on Friends set him up for success beyond Joey. “Friends was an education in intelligent comedic banter; in intelligent vernacular. It was an education in scene study,” he told The Guardian. “It was an education in group dynamic. I came out of there with a masters degree in comedy."
The eight unseen episodes of Joey are available to watch on the Friends YouTube Channel but the show is not currently available on streaming.
Lex Briscuso is a film and television critic and a freelance entertainment writer for IGN. You can follow her on Twitter at @nikonamerica.
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