Not only can Sadie Sink not talk about Spider-Man: Brand New Day, she can’t even say who she’s playing, something she has described as “torture.”

The Stranger Things star has been seen filming opposite Tom Holland, still with her natural red hair — something that has fuelled fan speculation that she's playing a familiar redheaded character from the Marvel comics.

Last month, an alleged look at Spider-Man: Brand New Day appeared online, offering a clue to Sadie Sink's mystery character. The leaked Spider-Man trailer was of extremely low quality, but appeared to show Sadie Sink's character threatening Peter Parker — and claiming to know his secret identity as Spider-Man.

As has become Avengers: Doomsday tradition, the latest teaser trailer has leaked online ahead of its release in theaters, revealing an unlikely teamup in the process.

Warning! Spoilers for the fourth Avengers: Doomsday teaser trailer follows:

The fourth teaser trailer for Avengers: Doomsday, which is doing the rounds on social media, shows off the returning Wakandans. We see Shuri as Black Panther, King M'Baku, Namora, and Namor, with Shuri talking seriously about what sounds like the coming battle with Doctor Doom.

The trailer begins with Shuri saying she’s lost everyone that mattered to her (see the events of Black Panther 2), then, as we switch to a look at Namor, adds: “a king has his duties to prepare our people for the afterlife. I have mine.”

We then get a moment of comedy with a surprise appearance from Ben Grimm / The Thing in full The Fantastic Four costume meeting M'Baku. M'Baku introduces himself as “King M'Baku, of Wakanda.” Grimm replies: “Ben, Yancy Street, between Broome and Grand.”

The trailer ends with the line, 'The Wakandans and The Fantastic Four will return in Avengers: Doomsday.'

The trailer poses a number of questions. Where does this meeting between the Wakandans and The Thing take place? Is Ben Grimm alone here, or with the other members of The Fantastic Four? How did The Thing come to be in the same universe as the Wakandans? And why are they teaming up in the first place? Surely Robert Downey Jr.’s Doctor Doom is at the heart of the answers.

It's worth remembering that last year's Thunderbolts movie teased the arrival of The Fantastic Four in the main MCU universe, when we see The New Avengers, as they're now called, spot an interdimensional spaceship donning the Fantastic Four’s logo head their way. The end of The Fantastic Four: First Steps, meanwhile, ended with Doctor Doom appearing to kidnap Franklin Richards, the son of Reed Richards and Sue Storm.

The leak follows hot on the heels of the official release of last week's Avengers: Doomsday trailer, which teases the arrival of the X-Men. The Avengers: Doomsday trailers have so far followed the same pattern: leak online, release in theaters ahead of Disney's Avatar: Fire and Ash for a week, then run officially online. This fourth trailer was thought to be showing off Doctor Doom. Perhaps Marvel has more teasers up its sleeve.

The X-Men trailer shows Professor X, Magneto, and Cyclops in what looks like a last stand against Sentinels at the X-Mansion. The Avengers: Doomsday hype train kicked off with the Steve Rogers / Captain America teaser, which shows Chris Evans’ character holding a baby, presumably his child with Peggy Carter. This was followed by the Thor trailer, which shows Chris Hemsworth's Asgardian caring for his adopted daughter, Love. The teaser shows Thor (this time with the short-haired look from the much-loved and hugely successful Thor Ragnarok) pray to his father, Odin (played by Anthony Hopkins in the MCU), calling for the “strength of the All-Fathers” so he may “fight once more… defeat one more enemy and return home to her.”

The Wakandans teaser follows a similar theme, with an ominous tone set out by Shuri that, alongside the meeting with The Fantastic Four, suggests a preparation for a significant battle that has our heroes really worried. We expect the trailer to be released officially this time next week. Avengers: Doomsday, meanwhile, is due out December 18, 2026.

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.

Microsoft has made its first Xbox Game Pass announcement of 2026, confirming a number of big hitters for January.

The headline additions are Ubisoft’s Star Wars Outlaws and Capcom’s Resident Evil Village, but there’s plenty more coming to subscribers this month, as confirmed on Xbox Wire. 11 titles in total were announced for this month, taking fans through to January 20.

Available today, January 6, is twin-stick shooter Brews & Bastards (Cloud, PC, and Xbox Series X|S) and Little Nightmares Enhanced Edition (Cloud, Handheld, PC, and Xbox Series X|S), both available across Game Pass Ultimate, Game Pass Premium, and PC Game Pass.

Tomorrow, January 7, Rebellion’s Atomfall (Cloud, Console, Handheld, and PC) hits Game Pass Premium, as does Lost in Random: The Eternal Die (Cloud, Xbox Series X|S, Handheld, and PC), Rematch (Cloud, PC, and Xbox Series X|S), and Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine – Master Crafted Edition (Cloud, PC, and Xbox Series X|S).

Moving on to January 8. Final Fantasy (Cloud, Xbox Series X|S, and PC), a remodeled 2D take on the first game in the series, launches on Game Pass Ultimate, Game Pass Premium, and PC Game Pass.

Then, on January 13, we have Star Wars Outlaws (Cloud, PC, and Xbox Series X|S) on Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass. Two days later, on January 15, My Little Pony: A Zephyr Heights Mystery (Cloud, Console, Handheld, and PC) hits Game Pass Ultimate, Game Pass Premium, and PC Game Pass.

January 20 sees Resident Evil Village (Cloud, Console, and PC) on Game Pass Ultimate, Game Pass Premium, and PC Game Pass, which is good timing given Resident Evil Requiem is out next month. And finally, also on January 20, we have the only day-one launch of the month: MIO: Memories in Orbit (Cloud, Handheld, PC, and Xbox Series X|S) across Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass.

Xbox Game Pass January 2026 lineup:

• Brews & Bastards (Cloud, PC, and Xbox Series X|S) Game Pass Ultimate, Game Pass Premium, PC Game Pass
• Little Nightmares Enhanced Edition (Cloud, Handheld, PC, and Xbox Series X|S) Game Pass Ultimate, Game Pass Premium, PC Game Pass
• Atomfall (Cloud, Console, Handheld, and PC) – January 7 Now with Game Pass Premium
• Lost in Random: The Eternal Die (Cloud, Xbox Series X|S, Handheld, and PC) – January 7 Now with Game Pass Premium
• Rematch (Cloud, PC, and Xbox Series X|S) – January 7 Now with Game Pass Premium
• Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine – Master Crafted Edition (Cloud, PC, and Xbox Series X|S) – January 7 Now with Game Pass Premium
• Final Fantasy – (Cloud, Xbox Series X|S, and PC) – January 8 Game Pass Ultimate, Game Pass Premium, PC Game Pass
• Star Wars Outlaws (Cloud, PC, and Xbox Series X|S) – January 13 Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass
• My Little Pony: A Zephyr Heights Mystery (Cloud, Console, Handheld, and PC) – January 15 Game Pass Ultimate, Game Pass Premium, PC Game Pass
• Resident Evil Village (Cloud, Console, and PC) – January 20 Game Pass Ultimate, Game Pass Premium, PC Game Pass
• MIO: Memories in Orbit (Cloud, Handheld, PC, and Xbox Series X|S) – January 20 Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass

Leaving Xbox Game Pass on January 15, 2026:

As always, a number of games leave Game Pass. You can save up to 20% if you buy them.

• Flintlock The Siege of Dawn (Cloud, Handheld, PC, and Xbox Series X|S)
• Neon White (Cloud, Console, Handheld, and PC)
• Road 96 (Cloud, Console, Handheld, and PC)
• The Ascent (Cloud, Console, Handheld, and PC)
• The Grinch Christmas Adventures (Cloud, Console, Handheld, and PC)

Microsoft described today's lineup as Wave 1 of January 2026, so expect more games to hit Game Pass later in January.

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.

Marvel has officially released the X-Men teaser trailer for Avengers: Doomsday, after a week spent in theaters ahead of Avatar: Fire and Ash.

The trailer, which had leaked last week, shows Professor X, Magneto, and Cyclops, with a fourth teaser thought to be headed to theaters now. It follows the Steve Rogers / Captain America teaser for Avengers: Doomsday, which shows Chris Evans’ character holding a baby, presumably his child with Peggy Carter, and the Thor trailer, which shows Chris Hemsworth's Asgardian caring for his adopted daughter, Love.

As we know, Avengers: Doomsday is confirmed to feature a number of X-Men characters played by their original actors, including Kelsey Grammer (Beast), Patrick Stewart (Professor X), Ian McKellen (Magneto), Alan Cumming (Nightcrawler), Rebecca Romijn (Mystique), and James Marsden (Cyclops).

In the trailer, we see Ian McKellen reprise his role as Magneto, although not in battle costume. Patrick Stewart’s Professor X wears a costume that bears a resemblance to the militaristic suit he wore in the comics, although his much-loved yellow chair is nowhere to be seen. Overall, it looks like Avengers: Doomsday is looking to the 90s for inspiration for the X-Men's design, which will no-doubt delight veteran fans of the mutant superhero team and align with the popular animated X-Men series.

The footage we see is set in the X-Mansion, also known as Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters. In one shot, we see Cyclops let rip with an optic blast, and near him is a giant boot, which we presume belongs to a mutant-hunting Sentinel. Like with the Thor trailer, the tone here is dead serious. Magneto talks about death coming for everyone eventually as he and his old friend Charles hold hands, perhaps awaiting their demise at the hands of Doctor Doom.

This ties into leaked set photos that appeared to tease a huge battle at the X-Mansion. At the time, fans speculated that this battle would feature Robert Downey Jr.'s Doctor Doom controlling Sentinels that attack the X-Men as part of an incursion, and that it would go very badly for the X-Men, potentially even wiping the mutants out. The theory is that this would establish the universe-ending potential of Doctor Doom, in a similar way Avengers: Infinity War kicked off with Thanos beating Hulk so badly Hulk basically went into hiding for the rest of the MCU phase.

But the highlight is a comic book accurate live-action version of Cyclops. This is something fans have been waiting 20 years for, after Fox’s X-Men movies made a point of distancing themselves from the comics by going with black suits. Cyclops tears off his visor and lets rip as the X-Mansion erupts in flame around him. It feels like a hail mary, and some fans are worried Cyclops is going to sacrifice himself to save some of his fellow mutants in the attack.

The question is, who makes it out of this battle alive? Will whoever’s left of the X-Men team up with the Avengers and other superheroes confirmed to appear in Doomsday to take on Doctor Doom, or do they spend most of their time fighting each other throughout Doomsday, only putting their differences aside for 2027’s Avengers: Secret Wars? Either way, the X-Mansion looks like it’s toast — again.

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.

Stranger Things star Sadie Sink has offered her interpretation of Eleven’s ending in the wake of the finale of Season 5.

The biggest talking point coming out of the Stranger Things finale relates to the fate of its central character, Eleven, played by Millie Bobby Brown. Stranger Things ends with a definitive wave goodbye to all the central characters except Eleven, who appears to sacrifice herself to ensure she cannot be used to create super weapons, another Vecna / Henry, or another bridge between our world and The Abyss.

18 months after that traumatic event, we see the central characters meet up for graduation and say their goodbyes. It’s at this point that Mike Wheeler, played by Finn Wolfhard, has a thought: what if Kali Prasad, also known as Eight (Linnea Berthelsen), used her dying breath to create the illusion of Eleven’s death, leaving her free to escape unseen?

Mike teases this revelation to the Dungeons & Dragons group as their final campaign comes to an end, suggesting Eleven cooked up a plan with Kali to fake her own death, then traveled to a far away small village — bordered by three waterfalls — to live out her days in peace. But this ending is unconfirmed. Mike and the others choose to believe it, and it’s left up to the audience to decide what they choose to believe as Stranger Things finally comes to an end.

In an interview with Josh Horowitz, the Duffer Brothers confirmed they wrote the story knowing the truth of Eleven's fate, which they’ve told to only one cast member: Millie Bobby Brown herself. So that means Sadie Sink, who played Maxine "Max" Mayfield, does not know the Duffer Brothers’ truth, leaving her to interpret the events of the ending just as fans are.

Appearing on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Sink was asked for her take. Replying, she said she does indeed think Eleven is dead, and Mike’s story and the Dungeons & Dragons crew choosing to believe in it is part of coping with her death.

“I think she's dead,” she said. “Is that like a hot take or something? I think Mike's story is like just one last story, and that's like — then they say goodbye to childhood. But that's just one final tale, and that's it.

“I think it's just like a coping thing. I think it's stronger, right? That's my interpretation.”

So there you have it: Sadie Sink thinks Eleven is dead, even if her character believes she’s alive.

Ever since Cyberpunk 2077 came out in 2020, fans have debated Act 1, which sees V befriend Jackie Welles and attempt to make it big in Night City before the infamous heist mission goes horribly wrong. Some feel the game would have been better had Act 1 been extended and given players more time with the much-loved — but short-lived — companion character. But what does the creative director of Cyberpunk 2 think?

Taking to social media, CD Projekt's Igor Sarzynski said extending Act 1 before the heist wouldn’t have made Cyberpunk 2077 a better game, and he used Star Wars to back up his point: “it's like saying we should spend more time on Tatooine with farmer Luke before he got involved with all this Jedi stuff.”

Then: “the motivation / goal in this section of the game is pretty vague — 'get to the top' — which, prolonged and without stakes or pressure would result in meandering, unfocused experience.”

Act 2 picks up after the shocking events of Act 1 and Jackie’s untimely death, with V desperate to find a cure for the Relic in their head. Part of the story involves V grieving for Jackie and helping other characters deal with his death in their own ways.

Some Cyberpunk 2077 players, determined to spend as much time as possible with Jackie before the inevitable happens, focus on Watson, the Act 1 playable area, and little else — something Sarzynski acknowledged in his posts. “It's an open world game, some manage to squeeze 20 hours out of Watson,” he said. “Pick your own pace.”

But Sarzynski acknowledged the ongoing debate around how much time players get to spend with Jackie. “Is it enough time to bond with Jackie?” he asked. “For some it is, for some it isn't. All things considered I think we struck a good balance.”

And finally, “No, half-year montage is not cut content. We always planned it like this. But more on 'cut content' notion in some other post.”

Sarzynski has moved on to Cyberpunk 2, and there’s no indication that anything he’s said here on Jackie has a bearing on what to expect from the hotly-anticipated sequel. Cyberpunk creator Mike Pondsmith has been chatty about it, however. In May last year, Pondsmith teased some previously unknown details when he was asked about the scope of his involvement with Cyberpunk 2 (then known as Project Orion) at the Digital Dragons 2025 conference.

Pondsmith admitted he wasn’t as involved this time around, but said he does review scripts and had been to CD Projekt to check out the ongoing work. “Last week I was wandering around talking to different departments, and seeing what they had, ‘Oh look, this is the new cyberware, what do you think?’ ‘Oh yeah, that’s pretty good, that works here,’” he said at the time.

And then, the morsel on the sequel: that it features a brand new city in addition to the Night City we know from Cyberpunk 2077. Pondsmith described this new city as “like Chicago gone wrong.”

“I spent a lot of time talking to one of the environment guys, and he was explaining how the new place in Orion, because there’s another city we visit — I’m not telling you any more than that but there’s another city we visit. And Night City is still there. But I remember looking at it and going, yeah I understand the feel you’re going for this, and this really does work. And it doesn’t feel like Blade Runner, it feels more like Chicago gone wrong. I said, ‘Yeah, I can see this working.'”

It’s worth pointing out that Pondsmith’s comments do not necessarily suggest the Cyberpunk sequel will feature a future Chicago, rather a city that has the feel of a dystopian version of the city. It may well be a take on future Chicago, but that isn’t confirmed based on these comments. There is also some debate about whether Cyberpunk 2 will expand upon the Night City that’s in Cyberpunk 2077 or feature a new version, and the extent to which it is playable.

It sounds like we'll have to wait some time to find out. CD Projekt is of course focusing on The Witcher 4, and CD Projekt co-CEO Michał Nowakowski has suggested Cyberpunk 2 won’t be out until at least 2030.

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.

Actor Mickey Rourke has distanced himself from the GoFundMe reportedly set up with his blessing to help him pay rent.

The Hollywood Reporter revealed the GoFundMe, which was being used to raise money to pay $59,100 in owed rent after the 73-year-old star of Sin City and Iron Man 2 had received an eviction notice from his Los Angeles rental home.

The fundraiser was set up by his longtime manager allegedly with Rourke's permission. But in a video posted to Instagram, below, Rourke said he wasn’t behind the GoFundMe, called on fans who have already donated to get their money back, and threatened legal action. At the time of this article's publication, $97,609 was raised of the GoFundMe's $100,000 target from 2,600 donations.

“Something’s come up that I’m really frustrated, confused and I don’t understand,” Rourke said. “Somebody set up some kind of foundation or fund for me to donate money, like charity. And that’s not me, OK? If I needed money I wouldn’t ask for no f***ing charity. I’d rather stick a gun up my ass and pull the trigger. So whoever did this... I don’t know why they did it. I don't understand it. I wouldn’t know what a GoFund foundation is in a million years. My life is very simple. I don't go to outside sources like that.”

He continued: “Yeah, it is embarassing, but I'm sure I'll get over it like anything else." Rourke went on to admit he’d done a “terrible job” managing his career, and confirmed a friend had lent him money. “Eventually, I’ll say who it was,” he said. “He helped me out of a jam. Covid and the writer’s strike killed my money.”

"Don’t give any money," he told his fans. "And if you gave money, get it back. I’m going to talk to my lawyer… and get to the bottom of this.”

He then described the situation he found himself in with a prior rental home (presumably the one he moved out of before renting the home at which he was threatened with eviction), making a number of accusations about the conditions he was living in.

“I was in a really bad situation with the place I was renting. Everything was good for five or six years and then two scumbags from New York bought the house and they wouldn’t fix anything," he said. "So I said, 'I’m not paying rent because there’s mice, there’s rats. The floor’s rotten. One bathtub, there’s no water. In two different sinks, there was no water.'

"But I would never ask strangers or fans or anybody for a nickel. That's not my style. It's humiliating and it's really f***ing embarassing. They said it's up to $100,000. I wouldn't take a f***ing nickel of charity from anybody. So we'll get to the bottom of this, and like all storms, it will pass. And I'll go to work and things will get back to whatever normal is."

He then said he was “very grateful” for what he currently has. “I got a roof over my head. I’ve got food to eat,” he said, before holding a banana skin up to the camera. "Everything's ok, just get your money back. Please. I don't need anybody's money, and I wouldn't do it this way. I got too much pride, man."

Stranger Things fans have concocted a theory that suggests a true, secret ending episode to the series is coming out this week — and now the community is having to issue a warning not to get upset when it turns out to be false.

Warning! Spoilers for Stranger Things Season 5 Episode 8, The Rightside Up, follow:

In the wake of Stranger Things Season 5’s divisive finale, the so-called ‘Conformity Gate’ theory has spread like wildfire across social media, especially TikTok. It posits that the lengthy epilogue we saw in the final episode was an illusion created by villain Vecna, who remains alive and well. So the theory goes anyway.

The ”clues” fueling this theory include students having their hands positioned in the same way Henry Creel does during the graduation scene at Hawkins High, the shorter hairstyles worn by the likes of Nancy, Mike, and Karen, and the appearance of the “WHATZIT?” board game (the kidnapped children knew Henry as Mr. Whatsit).

The Duffer Brothers could make Stranger Things the greatest series if the Conformity Gate theory is real. This could be the ultimate cinematic illusion, a dream sequence. What if Mike is inventing his own ending or Vecna is creating an illusion? Nothing in the finale feels right. pic.twitter.com/hsOItizWj9

— Fzy (@leofzy) January 5, 2026

If that sounds like a stretch to you, there’s more. Fans are fussing over a blank yellow poster spotted in the background of the graduation, and the final shot of the Dungeons & Dragons books, which appear to spell out “X A LIE.” The Abyss was once known as Dimension X, the world from which the Mind Flayer and all the demo monsters originate. Oh, and if you're wondering why all those characters (where is Vickie?) were mysteriously absent from the epilogue, Vecna doesn’t know they exist, so they’re not part of his illusion. The theory even includes a supposed release date for the true final episode of Stranger Things: January 7, 2026.

this conformity gate theory is INSANEEE, if it doesn’t happen we truly are better writers than the duffers #conformitygate #StrangerThings5 pic.twitter.com/xskLExHXIe

— Adnan (@AdnanLovesCats) January 4, 2026

The Conformity Gate theory sounds like a spot of harmless fun, but now some Stranger Things fans are warning each other not to get upset when it turns out to be absolute nonsense.

“Don’t be mad at the Duffer Brothers tomorrow,” one concerned fan told the Stranger Things fan in a thread posted to the show’s subreddit (Matt and Ross Duffer are the creators and showrunners of Stranger Things). “Nobody is at fault except for the fans themselves. Before the finale, people fell bait to theories and then were disappointed at the show for not delivering what they expected.

“What more could you want? They left El’s ending open to interpretation, and made a beautiful ending for all characters. We don’t need to know what happened to Erica, or Mr Clarke or a random military dude who had a screen time of four seconds. Just use common sense, everyone returned to their normal lives.

“Sure there were inconsistencies, but just be grateful we got an on par finale. Sure the Duffer Brothers said some stuff in interviews but I’m just ignoring it. All I have to say is that there is no final, final episode. None of your gates are real. The gate to the show is closed.”

A lot of this has to do with a dissatisfaction from some fans at the way Stranger Things ended. Some have taken issue with the final battle with Vecna and the Mind Flayer, wondering why the demo monsters weren’t around to help out. Others aren’t happy with the ambiguity of Eleven’s ending. Some have pointed out various “plot holes” that they believe diminish the fifth and final season in various ways (what happened to the military?). Some fans really want this Conformity Gate theory to be true because they just don’t like the way Stranger Things ended.

“Absolutely delusional,” said one fan. “There is no evidence,” said another. “Please think critically and stop buying into dumb conspiracies.” “This is some Mass Effect 3 ending levels of cope,” one fan of both Stranger Things and BioWare’s sci-fi role-playing series suggested. “I remember back in 2012, fans like myself were so fucking dissatisfied with Mass Effect that it resulted in many fans creating the Indoctrination theory as a way to cope. It entails the main character Shepard was being mind controlled by the Lovecraftian machines which meant that the shitty ending was nothing more than a trick. That’s how bad Mass Effect’s ending was.”

The Duffer Brothers have done the rounds in the wake of the finale’s release, explaining their thinking in multiple interviews. They’ve even confirmed a spinoff will answer one burning question from Season 5. Perhaps it’s time to let it go. And if you’re really desperate for more, there’s the Stranger Things documentary, One Last Adventure: The Making of Stranger Things 5, due out January 12.

Image credit: Netflix.

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.