2025 is definitely shaping up to be a huge year for DC's flagship Batman comic. Current writer Chip Zdarsky just ended his run with Batman #157, paving the way for Jeph Loeb and Jim Lee's Hush 2 storyline in March. And once Hush 2 is over, DC will be relaunching Batman with a new #1 issue, new writer, and new costume.

As revealed at the ComicsPro retailer event, the new volume of Batman will be written by Matt Fraction (Uncanny X-Men, The Invincible Iron Man). Current Batman artist Jorge Jimenez is remaining on board, though as mentioned, he and Fraction have designed a new costume and new Batmobile to ring in the new series. Batman is trading in the black and gray suit for a more vintage-inspired blue and gray costume. Check out the new Batsuit below:

If you’ve been waiting for an opportunity to plug your PlayStation VR2 headset into a proper gaming PC and dive face first into SteamVR’s rich back catalog of games, your options have been disappointingly limited. Previously console-bound PS VR2 owners are in luck, however, as Sony released a $60 adapter last fall that enables the PlayStation VR2 to be used with any modern gaming PC – that is, as long as your PC meets the headset’s minimum specs. But connecting the PS VR2 to a PC isn't as simple as just plugging in the adapter and calling it a day. Despite being marketed as a plug-and-play device, there are some tricky omissions in its built-in features that may make it require some additional setup, depending on your existing PC configuration.

How to Connect to Your PC With the Adapter

Before you dive into the step-by-step setup instructions, it’s important to make sure that you have everything you need. Via the adapter, the PS VR2 is fully compatible with most SteamVR games, but you’re going to want to make sure your PC has sufficient Bluetooth 4.0 connectivity, a spare DisplayPort 1.4 cable, a free AC power outlet nearby, and both the PlayStation VR2 and SteamVR apps installed on Steam. The two Sense controllers packed in with the PS VR2 are charged through USB-C, so you’ll need two USB-C charging ports and USB-C cables to keep both controllers charged between uses – though there is a Sense controller charging station available on Sony’s website for $50, which is much simpler to use.

What You'll Need

After over two dozen mainline games, I can only imagine how difficult it must be to innovate and stay relevant in an era where a great game is coming out every few weeks, but that’s exactly what KOEI TECMO aims to do with the next entry in its long-running Atelier JRPG series, Atelier Yumia: The Alchemist of Memories and the Envisioned Land. After spending over six hours gathering resources, doing Sailor Moon-esque magical dancing rituals, and riding around on a motorbike, I’m inclined to believe they’ll pull off just that, yet again. With more engaging combat, improved visuals, more convenient crafting, and an entirely new building system that lets you put your own personal touch on the world, there’s quite a bit to be optimistic about, even if what I saw of the story and characters was, at least so far in the opening hours, pretty boilerplate stuff for the genre.

If you’ve played any of the recent Atelier games, then you probably won’t be shocked by Atelier Yumia at first glance. All three of the pillars that have been around since its conception are still alive and well: exploration, where you run around collecting resources and solving puzzles; combat, where you fight baddens with a party chock-full of pretty anime friends, and synthesis, where you combine your hard-won resources into alchemical creations that make you stronger. But each has been given a substantial overhaul (not to mention a serious facelift) that breathes new life into a familiar formula.

Combat seems to be getting the biggest rework, with action-based systems that let you perfect parry, dodge out of the way, and switch to different range bands depending on whether you’d like to thwack enemies in melee or take them down from a distance. At lower levels, combat seemed fairly undemanding, as I was able to just unload every ability I had, swap to other characters to do the same, then repeat it all again, ending most encounters in a matter of seconds, but later on (and especially when I wasn’t properly leveled) I seriously got rinsed if I wasn’t paying attention to enemy attack patterns and working on my timing. It never got especially challenging so long as I was properly leveled, but it was nice to see a less passive combat system that I couldn’t just steamroll through while on autopilot.

Exploration also had some improvements, like having a gun to stun enemies and collect resources at a distance, ziplines that help you navigate the map more easily once you find and activate both sides of the line, and, crucially, a badass motorcycle for you to speed around on that makes getting around much easier. Finally, there’s Synthesis, which in typically Atelier fashion is so dang complicated, you could spend quite a bit of time customizing and min-maxing every aspect of your gear and crafting new items and attacks to use in battle. Or, if you don’t have the patience like me, you can just hit “auto mode” and it’ll automatically optimize all of it for you. Not that I don’t enjoy this aspect of the series, but it’s certainly nice to have the option of leaping back into the action quickly for times where I wasn’t in the mood to tinker.

Atelier Yumia also shakes things up by adding a fourth fairly significant activity to the list of things to do as you explore and level up: the ability to build and customize settlements throughout the world map. That’s right – Atelier Yumia seems to be leaning into the cozy craze, so now you can have a little bit of Animal Crossing or Sims with your JRPG by constructing your fantasy cottage on a patch of land and spending some quality downtime with your party members. I was only able to dabble in this a bit, given the constraint of the resources available to me in the early part of the story, but I could definitely see myself sinking quite a bit of time into taming the wilds with an elaborately decorated home.

With all Atelier has going for it, I will say that it did very little to make itself stand out in terms of story. The characters and foreshadowing of the undoubtedly epic and convoluted story that starts to develop in the opening hours aren’t bad by any means, but at least so far everything has been quite predictable and retreads a lot of ground we’ve seen from JRPGs of the past. This is especially true of the characters I met during my explorations, like the ditzy by wholesome Isla and the stoic and no-nonsense Viktor, both of whom I feel like I’ve seen half a hundred times already. But this is the beginning of a JRPG, so in all likelihood it’s just going to take a while for the story to start rolling or for characters to show their true colors to any level of satisfaction, leaving plenty of opportunity for my concerns to disappear given more time.

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that Atelier Yumia marks the first time the series will appear on the Xbox platform, and as a Westerner who would quite like more JRPGs to be readily available, that’s pretty awesome to see. Achievement unlocked!

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As our world has grown more interconnected, so too has our awareness of how fragile all of this is. Our money, our electricity, our water – they could be taken from us in the blink of an eye. Netflix’s Zero Day is ostensibly interested in how people would react to a devastating attack on that delicate web. What truths would we choose to believe? How do we keep ourselves and our people safe? Are we doomed to repeat our past mistakes in the name of justice? All of that sounds fascinating; unfortunately, it’s all surface-level themes layered on top of an incredibly dumb political thriller (with no genuine political convictions) that’s never exciting or crazy enough to justify turning off your brain enjoying the ride.

The problems present themselves early with the introduction of George Mullen, our main character and, according to the script, “the last president in modern memory who was able to consistently rally bipartisan support.” Mullen stepped down after one term to pass the torch to the current president, Evelyn Mitchell – and if that doesn’t have enough of a real-world ring to it, perhaps the fact that these characters are played by Robert De Niro and Angela Bassett will help you out. Given that De Niro has stayed away from American television his entire career, you’d assume the role that lured him to Zero Day must be pretty meaty. But even if he weren’t coming off the late-career high of Killers of the Flower Moon, his portrayal of George would be disappointing. For the majority of the six episodes, he’s phoning it in, occasionally getting the chance to turn on the charm or yell, but mostly stuck in a rote mode that gives us precious little insight into who the former president is as a person. Episode 1 has him joining a commission to investigate the titular attack, which disabled power grids, transportation and communication systems, and other critical infrastructure across the U.S. (you name it, it was hacked) and displayed the menacing message “THIS WILL HAPPEN AGAIN” on cell phones across the country.

After this initial opening blip of excitement, Zero Day slides into a default tedium. It opens up storylines that seem like they could be, if not exciting, then at least thematically engaging, but these always seem to wrap up quickly in order for something else to be thrown into the mix. There’s very little sense of discovery or even conspiracy and at their worst, the creators – Narcos showrunner Eric Newman, former NBC News head Noah Oppenheim, and national-security reporter Michael S. Schmidt – pull it directly out of their collective asses.

Perhaps the most eye-rolling thread is George’s frequent attacks of dementia and memory loss (again, with more exhaustion this time: sound familiar?), which Zero Day represents as staticky droning and the – admittedly neat – disappearing and reassembling of objects in his office. Real-world analogues aside, this actually attempts to grapple with the ideas at the show’s core: How much of George’s investigation – including the sighting of a woman killed in episode 1 – is just in his mind? Can he even admit to himself that he’s unwell, and could that affect the investigation? Unfortunately (and without going into spoilers), the show chooses the most insulting route to the answers.

Like a lot of other Netflix miniseries, Zero Day is hampered by too many characters and not enough time to devote to them. Making matters worse: They’re all played by actors who are overqualified for such a tepid potboiler. Jesse Plemons reunites with his Killers of The Flower Moon co-star De Niro as George’s right-hand man. Lizzy Caplan plays George’s daughter, a congresswoman who becomes a part of the oversight committee watching her dad – a conflict of interest that Zero Day tries to shove aside despite being almost unprecedented. Joan Allen is George’s (ex?) wife Sheila, looking into a government position on her own. Connie Britton, Matthew Modine, Bill Camp, McKinley Belcher III – none of these very talented actors turn in a bad performance, but you’ve definitely seen them do much better work elsewhere. The bigger problem is that characterization as a whole is scant, and the antagonists especially come off as confusingly drawn.

The height of that incoherence is Dan Stevens’ Evan Green: In dialogue and performance, Evan appears to be a riff on conspiracy-spouting fearmongers like Alex Jones. But he appears to be broadcasting a largely left-wing populist show on some sort of cable channel whose name positions it as an equivalent to the conservative outlet Newsmax – a conflict of worldviews that has not and will not ever exist anywhere in any reality. Without spoilers, both Evan’s storyline and that of Elon Musk stand-in Monica Kidder (Gaby Hoffmann) point to real-world issues, but that’s all they do: Get you to say “Oh, I see what you did there” without ever feeling satisfying narratively or making some actual statement in the ideological soup. (For example: The fact that power-grid sabotage is a distinctly right-wing cause seems to have entirely passed this writers’ room by.) This would all be less galling if Zero Day weren’t so baldly dedicated to a certain level of verisimilitude – news networks with their actual anchors are featured heavily, someone mentions Axios at one point – while also getting shockingly hand-wavey when it comes to the actual details of the zero-day attack.

It would take an entire review full of spoilers to really catch all the ways in which no one involved with Zero Day seemingly understands how computers and technology work. Suffice it to say, Mr. Robot this ain’t. That extends beyond the depiction of hacking though; that show had its ups and downs but it was always distinctively stylish, gripping, and well-acted, interested in the ramifications of technology on the world at large and what it meant for the people having to live under the weight of capitalism. For a show that’s constantly talking about how the attack was a huge wound to the nation’s psyche, Zero Day shows very few actual impacts. There’s a train crash, a couple of riots, some fires constantly in the background – but for as big as this attack supposedly is, everything looks pretty normal.

Zero Day’s fatal flaw is that it’s lazy, both in its worldbuilding and in the plot itself. It would rather remind you of one news item or another rather than actually building a story around it, and over the course of six hours it becomes exasperating. There’s an overbearing sense of the show being written mainly by D.C. and machine insiders (which certainly aligns with Schmidt’s and Oppenheim’s claims to journalistic infamy), and often leads to the most obnoxious moments when it spinelessly tries to spread the blame for the attack (and the paranoia it spawns) across the political spectrum.

Zero Day almost seems to rally back in its second half. It’s not that it suddenly becomes good, but rather it gains something of a pulse, to the point where I actually wanted to learn the truth behind all these grand plots and conspiracies. That is, until I did, and the answers were so offensively stupid that I had to hold my head and take a deep breath. It’s not so much that it comes out of nowhere – though it kind of does – but that the villains have the absolute barest of motivations, and their plan itself is so idiotic and full of holes that it’s a wonder it didn’t implode at the very first keystroke. On top of that, it drowns itself in so much self-satisfying “both sides are bad” speechifying and stance-taking that even Aaron Sorkin would tell them to tone it down. It would be laughable if it weren’t so intent on trying to sound smart.

The streaming service that retains the streaming rights to an abundance of multi-million dollar movie franchises, Disney+ came late to the game but towers over much of the competition. Home to Marvel, Lucasfilms, Pixar, National Geographic, Star Wars, and the multitudes of Disney classics and modern hits, Disney+ can be difficult to compare to other streaming services. What makes Disney+ truly special though, is that there is a large selection of content for the whole family to watch, including the kids. As Disney continues to push out more and more content, the youth section grows every day with kid-friendly spinoffs of Star Wars (Young Jedi Adventures) and Marvel (Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man) as well as unique, quality cartoons like Bluey or Disney Channel classics like Phineas & Ferb. Overall, Disney+ packs a punch and appeals to families in a big way, making it one of the most popular streaming services available.

Because of all that, looking for an alternative to Disney+ can be quite challenging. Below are some options of the best streaming service free trials that can offer at least a somewhat similar experience. If you're hoping to remove Disney+ from your monthly bill, you can test drive these services before making the switch. You can also take a look at our guide to cancelling Disney+ if you're ready to leave.

Amazon Prime (30-Day Free Trial)

Attracting more of an adult audience with their latest films and series (like Reacher, Fallout, and Invincible), Amazon Prime has been consistently releasing original content mostly not suited for a younger audience. The overall selection of original content is ever-expanding and available with a membership after a 30-day free trial. After the 30-day trial is concluded, users will be charged only $14.99 a month (or $139.00 a year) to continue viewing and enjoy free shipping on orders from Amazon’s shopping center. There is also a student discount of $7.49 a month (or $69 a year).

Read our review of Prime Video.

Hulu (30-Day Free Trial)

Now fully owned by Disney, Hulu is streaming service with a known reputation for streaming a vast library of popular shows and original movies. Relating to Disney+ and their National Geographic section, Hulu also has a quality selection of original documentaries to dive into. After exploring the vast library that Hulu has to offer in this generous 30-day trial, there are a wide range of subscription options to opt into from $7.99 a month up to just over $100 a month–if you want to include live TV or premium add-ons such as MAX, ESPN+, Disney+, Cinemax, Paramount+ with SHOWTIME, STARZ, and more. If you are interested in watching the first season of Shogun or the most recent season of What We Do in the Shadows, Hulu is the only place you can.

Read our review of Hulu or check out all of the Hulu bundles available.

Paramount+ (7-Day Free Trial)

The studio that already boasted a large portfolio even before the establishment of their streaming service, Paramount+ offers exclusive access to original content such as the Mission Impossible movies, the Halo series, and the entire Star Trek film/series universe. They also have the rights to classic Nickelodean shows like Spongebob Squarepants and Fairly Odd Parents. With new movies and shows being regularly released, Paramount+ is catching up to its original content competitors and is also the only place to watch Yellowjackets. After the 7-day free trial of their services, the recurring monthly amount to stay subscribed will be as low as $4.99 (or $59.99 a year) with limited ads, or $11.99 a month (or $119.99 a year) to add SHOWTIME’s full library and remove almost all ads.

Read our review of Paramount+.

Apple TV+ (7-Day Free Trial)

With a growing library of original, blockbuster-sized films and series, Apple TV+ doesn’t match the quantity of Disney+ but has much quality to offer. Featuring some highly appraised, original shows (Severance, Ted Lasso, Masters of the Air) and movies (Killers of the Flower Moon, Spirited, Napoleon), Apple TV+ blindsided the streaming competition with their impressive offers and final products from filmmakers. After the 7-day free trial has expired, the monthly subscription will cost $9.99 at base cost, depending on how many users are added to the account. If you recently bought any other Apple product, like the new iPhone 16E, you'll get access to a three-month free trial to Apple TV+. As a disclaimer for those without Apple products, you will have to create a verified Apple ID to access the premium Apple TV+ streaming library.

Read our review of Apple TV+.

Mubi (7-Day Free Trial)

While the genre and overall tone of the options on Mubi differ greatly from the selection on Disney+, Mubi has a good amount of quality, original content available to stream. Outside of the Mubi-produced content available (The Substance), there are plenty of arthouse films to watch on this unique streaming service. Presented as a movie theater in a subscription, users can pick from a limited selection of films–every day one is added and one is removed. After the 7-day free trial, subscribers will be charged $14.99 a month to retain their membership.

Read our review of Prime Video.

Disney+ FAQs

Can you Watch Disney+ Shows and Movies Without a Subscription?

Since the rights to many blockbuster film sagas/series and animation studios such as Lucasfilms, Marvel, Pixar, and more now belong to Disney, most of this content is available exclusively on Disney+. Unfortunately, Disney+ no longer offers the free trial option. As mentioned above: certain streaming services such as Hulu and Amazon will sometimes temporarily be given streaming rights to some high-demand films, making it possible to catch some Disney+ content without a subscription. However, if their wide array of animated classics and modern marvels is too great to ignore, Disney+ offers bundle deals that are worth looking into.

You can also purchase physical copies of some of the more popular shows, like The Mandalorian, allowing you to sidestep the need for a subscription.

Does Disney+ Have a Free Trial?

Although Disney+ did have a free trial when the service first launched, the service no longer offers this benefit to new subscribers. For more information about what Disney+ can offer, check out their help center page.

Connor Sheppard is an Oregon-grown culture writer for IGN with previous work on The Manual. Intrigued from a young age by pop culture and movies, he has developed into an experienced critic and consumer of all things media. From his time earning a bachelor's degree in digital communications at Oregon State University, he found a love for writing and appreciating specific actors and directors in the many films he watches. When he's not tapping away on his computer, you can find him watching new movies, practicing Muay Thai, or spending time with great friends and family.

Since its launch in the summer of 2020, Peacock has expanded its catalog of shows and movies (The Wild Robot, Nosferatu, Twisters) to compete with the big names in streaming. With their exclusive access to all things owned by NBC (including every season of The Office), Peacock is starting to gain some traction in the streaming wars.

As streaming has evolved and changed throughout the years, streaming services have also changed in layout, content rights, and pricing. Despite the increase in competition, Peacock does not offer any sort of free trial.

Can You Get Peacock for Free in Other Ways?

Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii releases today on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC, so it's time to get you savvy on the cheapest copies. This latest in a long line of Sega games about Japanese organised crime is centred on a beloved miscreant, Goro Majima, and got praised heartily by our reviewer to the tune of 8/10.

Not only is the game available to be yours now in a variety of storefronts, but we've also found some collectable side curios related to this title. Some of them reside in collector's editions, others can be bought as side promotions, and one is just a cool custom thing that Sega seems to have whipped up purely to raise pirate awareness in general. Read on to see what's out there on the high seas.

Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii - Standard Edition

Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii Collector’s Edition

The collector’s edition costs A$229.95 and comes with the game itself, plus the following extras:

• 15cm Acrylic Standee
• Eye Patch
• Treasure Coin Pin
• Digital Deluxe Content: Legendary Pirate Crew Pack, Legendary Outfit Pack, Ship Customization Pack, and Extra Karaoke & CD Pack

Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii Digital Deluxe Edition

• PS Store (digital) - A$122.95
• Xbox Store (digital) - A$122.95
• Steam - A$122.95

Those ready to embrace the all-digital lifestyle and want more than just the game can pick up the digital deluxe edition. It includes a digital copy of the game, plus the following digital extras:

• Legendary Pirate Crew Pack
• Legendary Outfit Pack
• Ship Customization Pack
• Extra Karaoke & CD Pack

Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii Preorder Bonus

Preorder any version of the game, and you’ll get the following digital items for free:

• Ichiban pirate crew set
• Ichiban special outfit set

What Is Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii?

Goro Majima is back in this installment, with a memory that’s been wiped as clean as the chalkboard in your granddaddy’s kindergarten classroom. He’s also in Hawaii, so he hops aboard a ship and sets out to do pirate things. As you can probably tell, the series’ goofy humor remains fully intact in this installment.

Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii Merch

Seadrift Distillery Limited Ed. Rum

Seadrift 0% Spiced Rum is a bold Aussie classic with deep molasses, caramel, and tropical fruit notes. You’ll catch hints of vanilla and oak, with a spicy kick and a warm, lingering finish. It’s rugged yet smooth, perfect over ice or splashed in cola.

Capacity: 700ml

Get it here

Aloha Beer - Captain's Mug

A wooden mug with protective sealant exterior, stainless steel inner lining. Chug in style!

Capacity: 650ml

A$125

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Shipwreck Tee

Live the Pirate's Life with the exclusive Aloha Beer collaboration Shipwreck Tee!

Sizes Small - 2XL available in White or Black

A$50

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Cosplay Costume

Includes coat, trousers, belt x 2, gloves, hat, and eyepatch

A$379

Get it here

Since HBO (now Max) joined the streaming service wars, it has been a force to be reckoned with due to the extensive Warner Bros. media library. Home to culture-forming shows (Games of Thrones, The Last of Us, The Sopranos, etc.) and movie sagas (The Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, Mad Max, the DC Universe, the Dune Saga, etc.), Max continues to be one of the best streaming services out there.

As streaming has evolved throughout the years, streaming services have also been changing in structure, content rights, and pricing. Despite the increase in competition, Max does not currently offer a free trial in 2025.

However, Max and Disney have joined forces to create a new affordable super-bundle that gives users access to Max, Disney+, and Hulu all under one convenient billing cycle.

Can You Get Max for Free in Other Ways?

I think this might be strictly a millennials and older trope but, by show of hands, how many people reading this article grew up with an emotionally distant parent in the military? You love ‘em, but boy do you wish that their generation believed in therapy or even a basic crumb of human emotion. It’s a stereotype, sure! But sometimes stereotypes are stereotypes for a reason, those tropes work out perfectly in the sitcom world, and I have found your next mindless watch if you related to a single word of the above (or if you’re looking for a passable distraction featuring Denis Leary).

Enter Going Dutch, Fox’s most recent “odd-couple” type sitcom centering on Denis Leary’s Colonel Patrick Quinn, Taylor Misiak as Captain Maggie Quinn, and Danny Pudi as Major Abraham Shaw. The shared last name of the first two protagonists isn’t a coincidence as Colonel and Captain Quinn are estranged father and daughter. If, of course, you can be estranged without realizing that your daughter hasn’t spoken to you in two years.

Do you want to know if The Monkey has any post-credits scenes? We’ll tell you right here: There are no extra scenes after the credits of the film, but there is a special surprise worth sticking around for.

Be sure to check back on Friday for full spoilers for The Monkey.

Riding off the high of last year’s horror hit Longlegs, writer-director Osgood Perkins is at it again with The Monkey, an adaptation of a Stephen King short story about a toy monkey that causes all kinds of horrific situations. Produced by horror maestro James Wan, and endorsed by King himself as “batshit insane,” Perkins’ The Monkey is full of hilarious, gory, memorable tragedy.

“The thing is, humor and horror are Siamese twins,” King recently told IGN’s Tom Jorgensen. “They're very close. I think that it stops being funny when it starts being you.”

King compares the film to more like a Creepshow or Tales From the Crypt rather than a straight horror movie. “Oz [Perkins] is right when he says that the deaths are like Wile E. Coyote,” he says of The Monkey’s often explosive murders. “Man, there are a couple of things in this movie that just made me howl. I mean, I just sort of hate myself for howling, but I howled nonetheless.”

Theo James stars in the dual role of twin brothers Hal and Bill Shelburn (with young actor Christian Convery doing a yeoman’s job playing the adolescent versions of the characters in flashback). After stumbling upon an old-fashioned toy monkey, the brothers quickly realize that every time the cursed thing is activated, someone, somewhere, dies. Despite their best efforts to get away from the monkey, or bend it to their will at least, a lot of people bite it… a lot of the time. Spectacularly.

Does The Monkey Have a Post-Credits Scene?

As noted above, The Monkey doesn’t have any scenes after or during the credits, but there is reportedly a special surprise awaiting fans of Perkins' work. While Neon didn't attach any bonus scenes to versions of the film that screened at festivals or for critics, Total Film reports that the wide release includes a teaser trailer for Perkins' next horror film, The Keeper. So it's worth sticking around after the credits, even if there's no post-credits scene for The Monkey itself.

We'll have more on The Monkey on Friday, including Tom’s full spoiler chat with King, Perkins, and Wan, so be sure to check back then!

For 100+ years through the evolution of animated entertainment, Disney has been providing some the most memorable, popular classics to be enjoyed for generations. Since November 2019, all of these films and projects that Disney now owns can be streamed to any device of your choosing via a Disney+ subscription.

As with most streaming services these days, it is normally an option to try out the service for a set amount of time. Disney+ does not currently offer any sort of free trial for new subscribers, however. The company was one of the first streaming subscription services to make this change, with the free trial being taken away back in 2020. The Disney+ help center now simply states that there are no free trials available.

Can You Get Disney+ for Free in Other Ways?

While Disney+ does not directly offer a free trial of their services, Verizon offers customers who have Unlimited Plus or Unlimited Ultimate service a free Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+ bundle as a myPlan perk for free for six months. After six months, subscribers will have to pay $10 monthly to maintain service. This is a great way for viewers who already have access to Verizon services to make the most of it, providing multiple streaming bundle options much like Hulu does.

Disney+ Bundles

Marvel Comics is set to relaunch its monthly Captain America series with a new creative team and a new story direction that sheds light on Steve Rogers' earliest days after waking up from suspended animation. The new series will even chronicle the very first encounter between Cap and Doctor Doom.

As revealed at the ComicsPro retailer convention, the new series will be written by Chip Zdarsky (Batman, Daredevil) and illustrated by Valerio Schiti (G.O.D.S., The Avengers), with colors by Frank D'Armata. Zdarsky, Schiti, and D'Armata previously collaborated on 2017's Marvel 2-in-One.

The new series will open shortly after Steve is discovered and defrosted in the modern Marvel era. Upon reenlisting in the US Army, Cap's first mission will be to team with the Howling Commandos and infiltrate Latveria, which has recently been taken over by a young, ambitious Doctor Doom. While the series will eventually shift to the present-day Marvel setting, the events of this opening story arc will continue to affect Zdarsky and Schiti's ongoing narrative.

“I’ve been a massive Captain America fan for decades. I loved writing the grizzled, older Cap in Avengers: Twilight, so getting to write the actual Captain America title feels like a dream!” Zdarsky said in a statement. “We’re exploring Cap’s early days in the modern era with a twist that I think is going to really surprise readers! I’m pretty excited to get this out there in the world, especially with Valerio and Frank’s amazing art!

Zdarsky continued, “I’ve been approaching this title the way I approached my run on Daredevil, really trying to get in Cap’s head with a grounded, human look at who he is in this new world. Steve Rogers is the best of us, and I want that to come through on every page.”

“Captain America is one of my all-time favorites,” Schiti said. “I'm reuniting with Chip Zdarsky and Frank D'Armata after the amazing experience of Marvel 2-In-One, and I'm working on a story that strikes the perfect balance between heart, action and entertainment! But the thing that is most exciting and unexpected is that I found myself thinking more and more about Steve Rogers, instead of just Captain America."

Schiti added, “Chip's script is so clever and compelling that I’m sure readers will be dragged with us inside Steve's heart and soul. He’s a man that became the living embodiment of truth, justice and freedom. He fought a war against Nazism, ‘died’ in that war, and came back to life to do his duty and fight again. That’s a lot of pressure, and if you do the math, he’s only in his late twenties in the era we’re exploring!”

Captain America #1 will be released on July 2, 2025.

For more on what's coming up in the world of comics, find out what to expect from Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe One Last Time and see IGN's most anticipated comics of 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.

Flexispot is offering a great deal on its workhorse Flexispot C7 ergonomic chair with built-in footrest. It's normally listed at $429.99, but there's a $200 off coupon code "C7PDSALE" that drops it to only $229.99. We generally like the Flexispot brand because it includes electric standing desks and ergonomic chairs with solid build quality and a plethora of practical features at a fraction of the price compared to other more well-known models. We rated the Flexispot C7 is the best budget-friendly ergonomic chair and the Flexispot E7 Pro as the best overall standing desk of 2024.

Flexispot C7 Ergonomic Chair with Footrest for $230

Make sure to select "with Footrest" option

Lenovo has dropped the price of its powerful Lenovo Legion Tower 7i Gen 8 RTX 4080 Super gaming PC to only $2,160.99 after coupon codes: "EXTRAFIVE" and "BUYMORELENOVO". In our recent Legion Tower 7 review (the sample we received wasn't as powerful as this one), Jacqueline Thomas wrote that "The Legion Tower 7i is an incredibly powerful gaming PC, especially for the money you’re likely going to be paying for it. If all you want is a powerful, upgradeable machine without having to go through the trouble of building it yourself, it’s hard to find many gaming PCs better than this one."

Lenovo Legion Tower 7i Gen 8 RTX 4080 Super Gaming PC

I've read all of the Harry Potter books multiple times over and they are always just as good as I remember, even after all these years. However, it is always fun to experience the story in a new way. The Harry Potter movies are one way to do that, but the illustrated editions of the books are arguably more enticing. Although the series has yet to receive a complete set of illustrated books, there is a new interactive edition of the Goblet of Fire arriving in October that you can preorder right now.

Not to be confused with the books illustrated by Jim Kay, the interactive editions of Harry Potter feature wonderful illustrations as well as paper-engineered elements that pop off the page. You can currently preorder the new book at Amazon and Barnes & Noble, but the biggest discount is at the latter.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire: Interactive Illustrated Edition Preorder

Alan Ritchson is back and literally bigger than ever for the newest season of Amazon's crime thriller Reacher. In his review for IGN, critic Luke Reiller describes how “Reacher Season 3 diverges more from the book upon which it’s based than previous seasons, but Reacher himself is more ruthless than ever, and it remains a righteous good time.” With a massive new threat played by "The Dutch Giant" Olivier Richters, Reacher will have to dig into the depths of his brain and brawn to get out of this one.

If you’re wondering how to watch Reacher online, check out the details below.

Where to Stream Reacher Season 3

How to Watch the Jack Reacher Movies

If you're a little confused, or maybe just craving even more Reacher, there are also the (separate) Jack Reacher movies starring Tom Cruise. You can find streaming links for those below:

Jack Reacher (2012)

• Stream: Paramount+
• Rent/Buy: Prime Video

Jack Reacher: Never Go Back (2016)

• Stream: Paramount+
• Rent/Buy: Prime Video

Reacher Season 3 Cast

Reacher was created by Nick Santora, based on Lee Child’s Jack Reacher book series. Here’s some of the cast that stars in both new and previous seasons of the show:

• Alan Ritchson as Jack Reacher
• Malcolm Goodwin as Oscar Finlay
• Willa Fitzgerald as Roscoe Conklin
• Chris Webster as KJ Kliner
• Bruce McGill as Mayor Grover Teale
• Maria Sten as Frances Neagley
• Serinda Swan as Karla Dixon
• Shaun Sipos as David O'Donnell
• Ferdinand Kingsley as A.M.
• Robert Patrick as Shane Langston
• Sonya Cassidy as Susan Duffy
• Johnny Berchtold as Richard Beck
• Roberto Montesinos as Guillermo Villanueva
• Olivier Richters as Paulie
• Brian Tee as Francis Xavier Quinn

You don't have to wait for the new 2025 LG TVs to drop to score a great deal on an older generation model. Right now, you can pick up a 2023 65" LG Evo C3 4K OLED TV for just $1,196.99 with free shipping on Amazon. This is a better deal than what I saw during Black Friday. The LG Evo C-series of TVs have consistently been our favorite high-end 4K TVs, especially for 4K HDR movies and gaming.

65" LG Evo C3 4K OLED Smart TV for $1197

Transformers One, the franchise's first-ever fully CG-animated movie, is an origin story with a star-studded voice cast led by Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, and Brian Tyree Henry. IGN's Transformers One review said it "is mostly content with half-hearted puns and barely legible Cybertronian battles that could have used some major transforming before rolling out."

If you're wondering how and where you can watch Transformers One online, take a look at the info below.

Where to Stream Transformers One Online

Those who want to watch or rewatch the previous Transformers movies can do so primarily on Paramount+. You can check out our full explainer on where to stream every Transformers movie for a full breakdown of where to watch each movie online in 2025.

Transformers One Cast

Transformers One was written by Eric Pearson, Andrew Barrer, and Gabriel Ferrari. It was directed by Josh Cooley and stars the following actors:

• Chris Hemsworth as Orion Pax
• Brian Tyree Henry as D-16
• Scarlett Johansson as Elita-1
• Keegan-Michael Key as B-127
• Jon Hamm as Sentinel Prime
• Laurence Fishburne as Alpha Trion
• Steve Buscemi as Starscream

Transformers One Rating and Runtime

Transformers One is Rated PG for sci-fi violence and animated action throughout, and language. The film runs for a total of 1 hour and 44 minutes including credits.

Jordan covers games, shows, and movies as a freelance writer for IGN.

Activision may finally be ready to start talking about its next Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater game, and it seems to be using a sneaky Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Easter Egg to get the conversation started.

Call of Duty outlet CharlieIntel spotted and shared references to the publisher’s legendary skateboarding video game franchise in a peculiar place after the Black Ops 6 Season 2 Reloaded update went live today. Included with an ammo chest of new features, weapons, and more content was the return of the fan-favorite skate-themed map, Grind. The skatepark arena has been brought back mostly as fans remember it, with one exception being a giant, in-game TV screen featuring a very Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater-looking logo and a date of March 4, 2025.

Looks like a teaser for something related to Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater has been found in Black Ops 6’s Grind MP map!

Announcement on March 4. 👀 pic.twitter.com/8efl6Qansl

— CharlieIntel (@charlieINTEL) February 20, 2025

It stops short of being in-your-face but is still undeniably an eyebrow-raising reference for fans who have been on the lookout for another entry in the Pro Skater series. Rumors that another installment could soon be announced began earlier this week when fellow skater Tyshawn Jones let it slip that he would soon be featured in an upcoming Tony Hawk video game (via VGC).

“I’m in a Tony Hawk coming out, so that’s cool,” Jones said during a conversation on The Breakfast Club podcast. “They got a new one they remastering so that’s about to come out. I was in the last one.”

It was a curious comment that had fans excited, with today’s newly revealed Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater Black Ops 6 Easter Egg letting them know when they can expect to learn more. Unfortunately, there’s no telling what exactly that March date has in store.

Activision tried to breathe life into the franchise with Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 5 back in 2015 but has yet to release another new numbered entry since. However, in 2020, fans received the Pro Skater 1 + 2 remakes from Vicarious Visions. That means it’s been five years since a Tony Hawk game hit store shelves. With so much evidence lining up for a big reveal next month, it seems the wait may soon be over.

While we wait to see what that March 4 reveal has lined up, you can read up on a few of the other skateboarding-themed inclusions in Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Season 2 Reloaded, including a pack of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle cosmetics that have some fans upset. You can also see Tony Hawk himself confirm that he was working with Actvision again as of last year.

Michael Cripe is a freelance contributor 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).

Hulu has been around for a while and, for our money, it's one of the absolute best streaming services available. From great movies like Anatomy of a Fall and Prey to excellent television series like the Golden Globe-winning Shogun, Abbott Elementary, and The Bear there is always something awesome to watch.

Below, we've detailed all of the best Hulu deals and bundles so you can get started on your streaming adventures with its library right away. This includes the brand-new Hulu, Disney+, and Max streaming bundle, which starts at just $16.99/month and is currently the best value available for the streaming services following the Disney Plus and Hulu price hikes. To see even more streaming and bundle deals, make sure to check out our roundups of the best Disney Plus deals and the best Max deals.

How to Get The Disney Plus, Hulu, and Max Streaming Bundle

It's official, Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery have launched the brand-new Disney+, Hulu, and Max streaming bundle. The bundle can be purchased on any of the three streaming services and starts at $16.99/month for the ad-supported tier or $29.99/month for ad-free access across all three platforms. If you're looking to cut down on streaming costs and currently own all three of these, this is an excellent bundle to invest in. It'll save you quite a bit compared to what you'd pay for the three of them separately - 43% on the ad-supported plan and 42% on the ad-free plan.

Hulu deal for students — Get Hulu (With Ads) for just $1.99/month

If you're a student enrolled in a university (a US Title IV accredited college or university, per Hulu's website), you can sign up for Hulu (With Ads) for $1.99 a month. That's an excellent deal if you're a student, saving you $8 on the usual monthly price.

Hulu subscription tiers

Hulu: Bundle to Best

If you want a more affordable option when it comes to a Hulu subscription, you can't go wrong with a bundle, and Hulu has several to choose from:

• Hulu + Live TV (With Ads) — Hulu + Live TV (With Ads) is $82.99/month and includes Disney+ and ESPN+. It also gives you access to more than 75 channels with live TV and unlimited DVR functionality.
• Hulu + Live TV (Ad-Free) — The ad-free version of Hulu+Live TV is $95.99/month and comes with ad-free versions of Hulu and Disney Plus, although ESPN still shows ads.
• Disney Bundle Duo Basic — This is the most economic bundle. It will set you back $10.99/month and comes with subscriptions to Disney+ and Hulu. Duo Basic lets you stream on multiple devices at once and comes with ad-supported versions of both Disney+ and Hulu.
• Disney Bundle Trio Basic — The Trio Basic bundle builds on the Duo Basic by adding ESPN+ into the mix, bumping up the price to $16.99/month. You can also download and watch select content on ESPN+ at this level.
• Disney Bundle Trio Premium — The Trio Premium bundle is $26.99/month and comes with ESPN+ (with ads) and ad-free versions of Disney+ and Hulu. You can also download select content across all three streaming services.

What can you watch on Hulu?

There is a bonkers amount of shows and movies you can watch on Hulu. Let's start at the top and simply talk about the verticals on offer with the base subscription, because if we also talk about what is available via Disney+, ESPN+, or live TV, we'll be here forever. (You can also sync up Hulu with HBO to gain access to things like Succession and House of the Dragon.)

Here's what you get:

• Network and Hulu Original television shows (AMC, Adult Swim, ABC, A&E, FX, etc.)
• Movies (HBO, Hulu Originals, anime films, etc.)
• Sports (NHL, Soccer, MLB, Auto Racing, NFL, College Football, PGA, Tennis, etc.)
• News (ABC News Live, Good Morning America, World News Tonight, 20/20, The View, etc.)

Hulu television

Hulu has some amazing shows, both those that are finished and many which are ongoing. For comedy, there are plenty of options to choose from, including New Girl, It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia, What We Do In The Shadows, Modern Family, Cougar Town, Broad City, Abbott Elementary, and so much more.

There are also some big Hulu originals to watch, including The Bear, The Old Man, The Handmaid's Tale, and Only Murders In The Building.

As far as animated fare, there are modern adult classics like Rick and Morty and Bob's Burgers, as well as Futurama, Family Guy, and King of the Hill. Anime staples like Cowboy Bebop are also available. And if you want to bring more youth-friendly fun, Gravity Falls, Steven Universe, Adventure Time, and Curious George are just a small sample of what Hulu has available.

The future of Hulu

Hulu isn't going anywhere. As a matter of fact, beyond it being awarded the best streaming service by us and receiving a 9/10 in our updated Hulu review, it was bought in full by Disney in November 2023 and the House of Mouse has created a one-app experience for those bundling Hulu and Disney+. With an FX partnership, Hulu is also home to those shows, including the latest drama miniseries, Shogun.

Hannah Hoolihan is a freelance writer who works with the Guides and Commerce teams here at IGN.

Original story from Brian Barnett.

Amazon MGM Studios has entered into an agreement with long-time producuers and co-owners of the James Bond franchise, Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli, for Amazon to take creative control of James Bond going forward.

In a press release, Amazon announced the joint venture, which will see Broccoli and Wilson retain co-ownership with Amazon, but put Amazon in the driver's seat going forward.

“With my 007 career spanning nearly 60 incredible years, I am stepping back from producing the James Bond films to focus on art and charitable projects," said Wilson in the release. "Therefore, Barbara and I agree, it is time for our trusted partner, Amazon MGM Studios, to lead James Bond into the future."

This news comes not long after a report from the Wall Street Journal alleged that a "stalemate" between Broccoli and Amazon had turned "ugly", claiming that Broccoli didn't trust Amazon with the character due to the company being "algorithm-centric".

Amazon has held distribution rights to the James Bond franchise since 2022, when it acquired MGM for $8.5 billion and its massive catalog of thousands of films and TV shows. Over the years, James Bond in film has traditionally been helmed by the late producers Albert Broccoli and Harry Saltzman, with Broccoli eventually taking over with his stepson Michael Wilson, and Broccoli's daughter Barbara Broccoli replacing her father in 1995.

The two have overseen the films ever since, with the most recent being No Time to Die in 2021 marking actor Daniel Craig's official exit from the role of Bond. Broccoli and Wilson kicked up a search for a new Bond in 2022, and actors such as Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Idris Elba have gained public interest as possibilities, but as of now a replacement has not been found.

The Wall Street Journal report suggests Broccoli was concerned Amazon wouldn't take a risk on a new Bond casting, preferring known stars, which ran counter to her casting of Craig in 2006 when he was still relatively unknown. As the WSJ said: “To friends, Broccoli has characterized her thoughts on Amazon this way: ‘These people are f***ing idiots.’" At present time, there is no known script nor plan for a new James Bond film, though this may change now that Amazon is in charge.

Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. You can find her posting on BlueSky @duckvalentine.bsky.social. Got a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.

Before you even play it, you can intuit a whole lot about the upcoming action-strategy game Chip ‘n Clawz vs. The Brainioids, just by its absolutely ridiculous name alone. Well, I’m pleased to report that after spending several hours with it, it’s exactly as goofy and over-the-top as the title suggests. This cartoonish co-op adventure gives off a distinct Saturday-morning cartoon vibe with its bright colors, absurd gags, and dorky aliens with wacky voices, and blends 3rd-person action with real-time strategy elements that have really piqued my interest. But don’t be fooled by its family friendly ornamentation! As one might expect from a strategy game with XCOM creator Julian Gollop at the helm, this thing already started to show just how deceptively challenging it can be during my short time with it, which has left me eager to see more.

Chip ‘n Clawz vs. The Brainioids threw me right into the middle of the action without much context behind its completely bonkers premise – and I was extremely okay with that. I mean, what’s not to get about a reckless human named Chip and a robot kitten named Clawz, fighting against an alien race of brains inside jars called the Brainioids? My co-op friend and I worked our way through increasingly tricky levels filled with relentless alien baddies sent to kill us by someone named General Blobbius (who is not a military general, but the general manager of the Brainioids corporation, because of course he is). If you couldn’t tell already, Chip ‘N Clawz doesn’t exactly take itself seriously, to its enormous benefit. From the brightly-colored levels, dopey looking enemies, and ongoing childish banter, it immediately oozes a kid-friendly charm that lured me into a false sense of security that maybe this would be a pretty easy ride, even though I’d selected hard mode.

Our objective was the same for most levels: battle our way through alien hordes and destroy the mothership at the far end of the map using a legion of robotic minions as our allies. To do so, we have to work together to collect Brainium (the resource used for building) and make decisions about what to spend it on, whether that be the construction of new factories or to power up individual units so they’re more effective in combat. But what started out as a fairly by-the-numbers action game with light RTS components became more complex with each level, until we found ourselves screaming at the screen and at each other in a panic, as we were overwhelmed by the enemy on multiple fronts. That’s because Chip ‘n Clawz definitely knows what it’s doing in the real-time strategy department, and in between the time I spent running around the map bonking aliens about with my melee weapon, I was toggling over to the build and command modes, which allowed me to construct new facilities or order my minions around, respectively.

There are loads of things to consider, as Chip ‘n Clawz slowly introduces new factories to build, units to control, and upgrades to apply to your character’s loadout that modify your abilities. You might, for example, want to take a perk that upgrades all your mining units that gather resources for building so that they’re faster and can withstand more damage from the enemy, or you might instead prefer to just deal more damage with your own melee weapons if you prefer to do more of your own dirty work. Then, during a certain level you might decide to spend your resources on a new artillery depot that supplies your character with a long-range gun, or alternatively you could use that Brainium to construct some stationary turrets to fend off enemies in the area automatically.

As you’re introduced to more and more things to consider, the enemy quickly levels up their tactics as well, which spirals into some surprisingly formidable encounters. One level had me defending our mobile base from enemy attack on three different fronts while controlling dozens of units, while another required me to construct vehicles and jetpacks to reach far away areas in search of resources I needed to win the day. The jokey tone combined with frantic levels overflowing with ruthless alien goons reminded me a lot of the Overcooked series, which uses its seemingly simple mechanics and cheery art to disguise the friendships it will surely ruin in the coming hours. Similarly, Chip ‘n Clawz cleverly disguises its difficulty by being one of the most immediately approachable RTS games I’ve played, luring you into a false sense of security with its third-person action mechanics, but then hilariously kicks you in the face with demanding levels that require you to lean more and more into its complicated RTS mechanics a short time later.

I feel like I’ve only seen the tip of the iceberg from this surprisingly deep strategy game, and am looking forward to seeing how crazy things can get in later levels.