The Rise of Skywalker, which debuted big (but still behind both The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi), just set a new box office record for Christmas Day.
Episode IX is now the second-best Christmas Day earner ever, per Deadline, with an estimated $35 million.
This is behind The Force Awakens’ $49.3 million but ahead of The Last Jedi’s $27.4 million. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story earned $25.8 million on Christmas Day back in 2016.
Saga-capper Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker may have featured the final clash between the Jedi and Sith, but there’s still an important battle currently happening off-screen – the silent war between 2019 phenomenon Baby Yoda, from Star Wars: The Mandalorian, and porgs!
Porgs, the adorable (and tasty?) bird-like aliens who lived on the planet Ahch-To, became all the rage back in 2017 thanks to The Last Jedi. But now, despite them reappearing in The Rise of Skywalker, no one’s saying a peep about them.
Warning: Spoilers for The Witcher follow…
While Netflix’s The Witcher series is most certainly full of surprises, the biggest one has to be the twist of the three main characters existing, for most of the season, in separate timelines. It’s a concept that showrunner Lauren Schmidt Hissrich recently revealed was heavily influenced by an acclaimed Christopher Nolan movie.
Talking to Collider, Schmidt Hissrich spoke about the challenges of telling a story featuring three characters of different ages and lifespans. “I knew that there were stories from The Last Wish that I wanted to adapt,” she said. “But we’re missing
The Avengers might be the heroes making headlines as they smash box office records but it’s Noah Hawley’s Legion that should take top billing this year as the most creative and mind-bending storytelling in the Marvel universe. The third season of the ambitious FX series wrapped up David Haller’s (Dan Stevens) weird and uncanny tale beautifully. Unlike those Avengers, Legion actually got time travel right. And visually, you won’t find a more arresting show on TV. The production design and direction have pushed the series into a league of its own.
Legion’s final season introduced us to some new faces, like the mutant Switch, played by Lauren Tsai, pursuing a Matrix-like adventure through time. Of course David’s father, Professor X, also made his long-awaited debut on the series. Harry Lloyd, best known as that Targaryen who died by golden crown in Game of Thrones’ first season, was tasked with bringing the iconic X-Men character to life. His performance was beautiful and subtle, portraying a man haunted by his past decisions.
Legion’s creators, like the show itself, have been thinking outside the box. Or maybe there isn’t any box at all. Instead of a magical hammer or a photon blast, Legion used dance-offs and rap battles as the good and bad guys clashed. The final season didn’t erase David’s mistakes, or try to make you forget about them. It magnified his fall into darkness and gave us perspective on all those damaged in his orbit, particularly his Rachel Keller’s Syd Barrett. By the end of the series, we returned back to where we started. It’s both an ending and a beginning. Who knows if we’ll see Legion again, but what we saw was well worth the trip. – Ryan Peterson
Fire Emblem: Three Houses is filled with students to motivate, classes to master, and strategic battles to plan for. Whether you’re a seasoned veteran or a complete newcomer to the series, the number of activities you’ll juggle at any given time at Garreg Mach Monastery can be incredibly daunting. Our Fire Emblem: Three Houses beginner’s guide will cover everything you need to know to get started as a teacher, including essential tips for romance, cooking, choir, and more.
