Now is the time to retire that pedal-powered bike of yours and upgrade to electric. The price of electric assisted bikes has plummeted over the past year. Nowadays you can find a decent bike for well under $500. To kickstart the new year, AliExpress is offering the 5th Wheel AB17 500W 375Wh Electric Bike for a rock bottom price of $231.02 after you apply $30 off coupon code "30USAFF". This bike ships locally from a warehouse in the United States, with most orders being delivered within a week. That means you don't have to worry about tariffs, import fees, or egregiously long shipping times.
The 5th Wheel AB17 bike is an adult electric bike featuring a 500W (700W peak) motor that can get up to speeds of 23mph. The 36V 375Wh lithium battery provides up to 25 miles on electric only mode and up to 45 miles on pedal-assist mode. The actual distance is dependent on other factors like your speed, terrain, elevation, and so forth. The frame is made of carbon steel so it's on the heavier side at about 50 pounds, but it also has a generous weight capacity of 265 pounds. The bike comes 85% preassembled and includes a 1 year warranty. It's also UL 2849 certified for safety.
There are plenty of bikes out there that offer high-quality components, a more powerful motor, better upgradeability, and/or domestic customer support, but only if you're willing to shell out hundreds of dollars more. The 5th Wheel AB17 bike will stay within anybody's budget. It offers a perfectly respectable assisted ride that will satisfy most casual bikers.
Eric Song is the IGN commerce manager in charge of finding the best gaming and tech deals every day. When Eric isn't hunting for deals for other people at work, he's hunting for deals for himself during his free time.
2026 has already seen recent surges in the cost of DDR5 RAM and higher end Nvidia GPUs. Unfortunately this also affects the price of prebuilt gaming PCs, which is also expected to rise through this year. Obviously this isn't an ideal time to be buying new computer parts, but if that's not stopping you from upgrading, I would suggest jumping on a deal you find now rather than waiting a little longer. There are still good deals to be found.
Dell is currently offering an Alienware Aurora R16 RTX 5080 gaming PC for $2,279.99 with free delivery after a $550 instant discount. This isn't the lowest price it has ever been, but it's a significant drop from the beginning of the year when it was priced closer to $2,800. If you're looking for a future-proof system, this PC should be powerful enough to set you up for 4K gaming for many years to come.
This customizable system is equipped with an Intel Core Ultra 7 265F CPU, GeForce RTX 5080 GPU, 16GB of DDR5 RAM, and a 1TB SSD. The Intel Core Ultra 7 265F is a 20-core processor with a max turbo frequency of 5.3GHz. It's cooled by a 240mm all-in-one liquid cooling system. The 1,000W power supply gives you headroom for upgrades down the road.
Performance-wise, the RTX 5080 is no slouch. It's one of the fastest cards on the market, bested only by the $2,000 RTX 5090 and the discontinued $1,600 RTX 4090. This is a phenomenal card for playing the latest, most demanding games in 4K resolution at high settings and ray tracing enabled. The RTX 5080 supports DLSS 4 with multi-frame generation, which means you can push even more frames out of games that support the technology with minimal visual compromise. Recent games that support it include Doom: The Dark Ages, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, Borderlands 4, Stellar Blade, and Battlefield 6. Check out our Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080 FE review for our hands-on impressions.
Eric Song is the IGN commerce manager in charge of finding the best gaming and tech deals every day. When Eric isn't hunting for deals for other people at work, he's hunting for deals for himself during his free time.
Switch 2 owners, if there's one upgrade you'll absolutely need, it's additional storage. The Switch 2 only has 256GB of onboard storage, and chances are you'll run out of space down the road. Fortunately, Amazon just lowered the price of the 256GB Samsung P9 MicroSD Express card, which will double your available storage, to just $34.99. This matches the best deal that I saw during Black Friday and Cyber Monday. You don't have to worry about performance, either. We recently reviewed this exact card and strongly recommend it.
Nintendo Switch 2 compatible
As you should already know, the Switch 2 console will only accept MicroSD Express cards. If you have a standard MicroSD card from your previous Switch, you sadly won't be able to use it to store games in the Switch 2. Although the two might look similar, MicroSD Express cards are much, much faster than their precedessors, with speeds of up to 800MB/s. MicroSD cards, on the other hand, cap out at well under 200MB/s.
This Samsung P9 Express is guaranteed to be compatible with your Switch 2 console. In fact, Samsung is the company that manufactures Nintendo's official Switch 2 memory card. It's very likely these two cards are identical.
Eric Song is the IGN commerce manager in charge of finding the best gaming and tech deals every day. When Eric isn't hunting for deals for other people at work, he's hunting for deals for himself during his free time.
Buydig - via its official eBay store - just dropped the price of the 65" LG Evo C5 4K OLED TV to $1,197.59 with free delivery after applying a 20% off coupon code "FAVEFINDS20". This price is actually lower than last year's Black Friday deal at Amazon, Best Buy, and Walmart and so I expect this deal to expire quickly. LG is the best selling OLED TV brand globally and the C-series is the most popular model. Buydig is an authorized LG reseller with over 600,000 positive feedback.
The C5 is LG's most popular OLED TV, sitting right in between the super pricey Gallery Series (G5) and the budget B5. The C5 boasts the near-infinite black levels, near-infinite contrast ratio, and near-instantaneous response times you'd expect from any OLED TV. It's also equipped with LG's proprietary Evo panel, which is significantly brighter and offers a wider color gamut than traditional W-OLED TVs. This is the best TV for streaming 4K HDR content in its intended glory.
LG's OLED TVs have also been our favorite TVs for console gaming for three years running thanks to their outstanding image quality, low input lag, and high refresh rate. The C5 is equipped with modern gaming features, including a native 120Hz panel that can be pushed to as high as 144Hz, HDMI 2.1 inputs for running PS5 games in 4K at up to 120fps, variable refresh rate (VRR) and auto low latency mode (ALLM).
If you order the TV early enough, you'll probably get it in time to watch Super Bowl LX on February 8.
Eric Song is the IGN commerce manager in charge of finding the best gaming and tech deals every day. When Eric isn't hunting for deals for other people at work, he's hunting for deals for himself during his free time.
Spoilers follow for the Star Trek: Starfleet Academy series premiere, “Kids These Days,” and Episode 2, “Beta Test,” both of which are available on Paramount Plus now.
It’s crazy to think that, with Starfleet Academy, we are now on our sixth modern Star Trek television series in less than 10 years. This new age of Alex Kurtzman-led Trek started in 2017 with Star Trek: Discovery, and while there have of course been highs and lows during that period, the one thing we can all hopefully agree on is that Kurtzman has tried to do different things with each show. From the “rebel with a cause” antics of Michael Burnham to the aged Admiral Picard flying around with a band of space pirates to the self-referential animation of the Lower Decks gang, these series have approached Gene Roddenberry’s world from new and varied angles.
And that trend continues with Starfleet Academy, which based on the first two episodes, both of which were directed by Kurtzman, not only gives us exactly what the title promises – a story about a school for prospective Starfleeters – but also what feels like a fresh and fun take on Star Trek itself.
Holly Hunter leads a wide and varied cast as Chancellor Nahla Ake, a once and future Starfleet captain who has been tasked with rebooting the Academy after a century of darkness for the United Federation of Planets in the aftermath of that galactic catastrophe known as The Burn. (Long story.) Reluctant to return to the Command Red uniform, it’s the chance to redeem herself – and the Starfleet of her past – for a misguided decision from years earlier that finally brings her back into the fold. That incident saw her sentencing a woman named Anisha Mir (a guest-starring Tatiana Maslany) to a “rehabilitation camp” as punishment for crimes committed, but with the consequence of the woman being separated from her child, Caleb.
So right off the bat you’ve got Star Trek touching on real-world issues, but the script by series creator Gaia Violo doesn’t actually have all that much to say about this topic beyond “family separation = bad.” Regardless, this is the plot tissue that will no doubt be driving the Ake character throughout the season, as well as the now Academy-age Caleb (Sandro Rosta), who Ake is reunited with in the “present” time – and thus given the chance to redeem the mistake she made all those years earlier.
The first 20 minutes of the hour-and-15-minute pilot are overly concerned with this business, plus some loud, CGI-y action scenes that aren’t terribly interesting. Modern Star Trek often goes big with the visuals and has the money to do so, which can be great under the right circumstances, but if the characters and story aren’t there, it’s in service of nothing. So it’s a great relief when Caleb arrives at Starfleet Academy – or rather, the USS Athena, which is a starship and also part of the Academy facilities – and meets his fellow cadets. For once he gets a shave and a haircut (and perhaps most importantly, one of those spiffy Starfleet-issue uniforms), the character and actor seem to lighten up, as does the show.
The core group of cadets, i.e. our main cast, includes Karim Diané’s Jay-Den Kraag, a young Klingon who – gasp – wants to be a doctor, Kerrice Brooks’ Sam, a hologram who doesn’t quite know how to fit in with organic beings, Bella Shepard’s Genesis Lythe, the daughter of an admiral who seemingly has it all figured out, and George Hawkins’ Darem Reymi, a member of a shape-shifting(-ish) species who’s kind of a dick… except totally isn’t, as it turns out by episode’s end.
There’s a moment early in the episode, when this group all run into each other in a corridor, that made me start to fall for the lot of them. Darem tries to pick a fight with Jay-Den over a pair of space-binoculars the Klingon has dropped, and Caleb gets in the middle of the altercation. It’s fairly standard “first day of school” stuff, but after the situation is resolved and everyone else leaves, Jay-Den tells Caleb, in a very un-Klingon moment, that his mother gave him the binoculars. “She taught me to see the… beauty in things,” he says. You can see him struggling to even say the words, while simultaneously reaching out to this stranger who showed him compassion. And immediately the potential for one of those great, classic Star Trek friendships is born.
And by the way, the resolution to that almost-fight? It comes from Robert Picardo’s The Doctor, who is back from Star Trek: Voyager even though this show is set about 800 years after that beloved 1990s series. (The Doctor’s a hologram, after all.) We don’t get too much yet on what he’s been up to in the intervening eight centuries, but Picardo is fun as ever in his dual job of ship’s medical officer and Academy instructor/babystitter.
Indeed, the cast is chock-full of what appear will be recurring and supporting players, like Gina Yashere’s Lura Thok, the half-Klingon/half-Jem’Hadar/all-hilarious first officer of the Athena, various cadets who are already familiar by the end of Episode 2, and Discovery holdovers like Tig Notaro’s Jett Reno and Oded Fehr’s Admiral Vance. It’s giving off vibes of Deep Space Nine’s deep bench of players beyond the main cast, so here’s hoping the show’s writers can pull off that juggling act, particularly in the shorter seasons of the modern era (Starfleet Academy Season 1 has 10 episodes).
And then there’s Paul Giamatti’s Nus Braka, the villain of the first episode whose past is tied to that of Chancellor Ake and Caleb. The actor plays the half-Klingon/half-Tellarite for hoots, and he is a funny and disruptive presence, but I wonder how many episodes he’ll actually get this season. He’s been billed as a recurring character, but I could see too much of Nus becoming a bad thing. Plus, space pirates have never felt big enough to be long-term Star Trek baddies.
As for Hunter, she doesn’t seem terribly comfortable in the role in these first two episodes. Obviously they’re trying for something different here, with the no-shoes, curl up with a good book in the captain’s chair vibe, and I’m here for it. But some of her line readings are a bit rough, and you know what Harrison Ford used to say to George Lucas, master of that other spacefaring epic – “You can type this shit, but you sure can't say it.” Hopefully Hunter, who after all is an Oscar-winning actress, is still just getting used to the role and the whole outer space scene.
As for Episode 2, “Beta Test,” I was glad to see that right off the bat we were given a more grounded (literally) episode that is set entirely in San Francisco at the Academy and delves into the day-to-day lives of our cadets. Sure, there’s a major, galaxy-affecting summit meeting with the representatives of Betazed also taking place, but that’s pretty classic Next Generation-style A/B/C-plot storytelling.
Zoë Steiner, the other core member of our young cast, arrives here as Tarima Sadal, a Betazoid who apparently has great telepathic powers. (Counselor Troi from TNG of course was half-Betazoid.) That said, her greatest power at the moment seems to be the effect that she has on Caleb. Indeed, they make for a fun pairing, and “Beta Test” also seems to indicate that Starfleet Academy is going to be dealing with some of the threads regarding The Burn, and the resolution of The Burn, that Discovery either didn’t want to deal with or didn’t have time to get to. Betazed as the new home of the Federation? Sure, why not!
Questions and Notes from the Q Continuum:
If you're in need of at-home printing but you don't want to deal with the upfront cost of buying a printer or the hassle of purchasing ink cartridges when they run out, then HP is offering a plan that might be perfect for you.
HP's All-in-One Plan is a convenient service that leases you a printer for a low monthly fee. Along with the printer, you get an unlimited supply of ink, continuous warranty coverage, and a monthy allotment of prints. There are several plans to choose from, with each offering a different printer and print allotment depending on your needs.
The four recommended plan tiers are as follows:
The "High Volume" plan is marketed as the best value. It includes the HP Smart Tank 7602 all-in-one printer (retails for $470) and up to 100 pages of monthly printing. At $12.99 per month, it's not much more expensive than the "Basic" and "Versatile" plans, which come with a lower-end printer (with no all-in-one capabilities) and significantly less pages of printing per month. The one caveat is that it requires a three year commitment compared to two years for the other plans. Fortunately, HP offers a 30-day trial period during which you can test out the service with the freedom to opt out.
The big question is whether or not HP's All-in-One Plan is worth it in the first place. We can first break this out monetarily. The "High Volume" plan will run you $12.99 per month for 3 years, or a grand total of $467.64. As mentioned above, the printer you get retails for $469.99. That's about the same cost, but there are other factors to consider.
By buying the printer outright, you could probably find a discount. For example, it's currently on sale at Amazon for $349.99, saving you $120 right off the bat. Also, after 3 years, you'll still own the printer so that you can use it for many years after. If you subscribe to the plan, then you're out of a printer after 3 years unless you re-enroll.
However, by signing up for the plan, you avoid having to pay $400+ instantly, which is replaced by a more manageable monthly fee. You also essentially get three years of warranty service, as opposed to just one year if you bought the printer outright. You don't need to pay for ink during the life of the subscription. This is important because ink refills can get pricey very quickly to the point where it's often cheaper to just buy a new printer.
All things considered, it really depends on your situation. If you can justify the upfront cost, you plan to keep the same printer for more than three years, and you feel comfortable enough sourcing cheaper third-party ink, then just buy your own printer. If you'd rather stick with the convenience of letting HP worry about the printer along with its refills and maintenance, and you know that you can stay within tothe monthly printing allotment, then it's worth checking it out.
Eric Song is the IGN commerce manager in charge of finding the best gaming and tech deals every day. When Eric isn't hunting for deals for other people at work, he's hunting for deals for himself during his free time.
Bowflex isn't the only option when it comes to adjustable dumbbell sets. PowerBlock is another trusted brand at a much lower price point. For a limited time, Woot is offering a pair of PowerBlock EXP Stage 1 Adjustable Dumbbells (5-50lbs) for just $239.99, or 50% cheaper than the Bowflex SelectTech 552. There's a $5 shipping fee, which is reasonable when you consider the fact that the package is going to weigh over 100 pounds. Amazon Prime members get free shipping.
For those who need more than 50 pounds of weight per dumbbell, Woot is also selling PowerBlock expansion kits (50-70 pounds and 70-90 pounds) for just $119.99 each. The Bowflex SelectTech 552, on the other hand, is not expandable and you would have to pay $800 for the upgraded 1090 model.
Each dumbbell in the PowerBlock EXP Stage 1 starter set is adjustable from 5 pounds all the way to 50 pounds. You can adjust the weight in 2.5 to 5-pound increments with just a turn of a dial, and the plates are all neatly contained and take up significantly less floor space than an entire rack of individual dumbbells.
One great feature of these PowerBlocks is that once you're ready to move beyond 50 pounds, you don't have to go out and buy an entirely new set of adjustable dumbbells. The expansion kits allow you to seamlessly add even more weight to your existing PowerBlocks - all the way up to 90 pounds - at a very reasonable cost.
The quality of these PowerBlock dumbbells are great. I've tried them myself and they are every bit as solid and well built as the Bowflex SelectTech. Just about every piece that matters - like the plates and frame - is made out of metal. The handles are rubber coated so your grip won't slip, and the weight adjustment dial is smooth and intuitive. PowerBlock backs these dumbbells with a five-year warranty.
Free weights are a great choice for anyone who wants to work out at home but is limited on space. A pair of dumbbells is all the equipment you need to get access to a wide range of exercises that can target just about every muscle in your upper and lower body. Supplement your free weight exercises with cardio and other workouts that use your own body weight as resistance (like pushups, burpees, or squats) and you may never need to purchase more equipment.
Eric Song is the IGN commerce manager in charge of finding the best gaming and tech deals every day. When Eric isn't hunting for deals for other people at work, he's hunting for deals for himself during his free time.
Kathleen Kennedy may officially be stepping down as President of Lucasfilm, but has given one parting gift to Star Wars fans eager to see the cancelled The Hunt for Ben Solo movie: Hope.
When asked in an interview with Deadline about the progress on films currently in development in the Star Wars universe, Kennedy confirms that the script for the standalone Ben Solo film was very promising, despite it seemingly no longer being in active production.
“And as you have read, Steve Soderbergh and Adam Driver turned in a script written by Scott Burns”, says Kennedy. “It was just great. Anything’s a possibility if somebody’s willing to take a risk”.
That risk may well now be in the hands of the incoming leadership at Lucasfilm. Replacing Kennedy will be Dave Filoni and Lynwen Brennan. Filoni will be the creative lead as Lucasfilm’s President and Chief Creative Officer, while Brennan will be Co-President of Lucasfilm. Both have long histories with Star Wars, so it will be exciting to see how they see the future for the almost 50-year-old series.
The revelation that a Ben Solo movie starring Adam Driver was once in production first took place in October 2025, when the Kylo Ren actor stated that the project had been in the works for over two years. Ocean’s Eleven and Magic Mike director Steven Soderbergh, who would be helming the film, then stated that he had handed in a version of the plot to Kathleen Kennedy, but was then told that it was the only completed script to date that Disney has turned down for a Lucasfilm project.
Ever since the movie’s death has come to light, superfans of the Star Wars sequels have come out in full force, desperate to see the story of Han and Leia’s son come to life, even going as far as to fly “Save The Hunt for Ben Solo” banners over Walt Disney Studios in California.
Soderbergh’s movie is not the only script to have been submitted to Lucasfilm of late, though, with Kennedy going on to confirm that many other Star Wars projects are on hold. “I’ve got to tread a bit carefully here”, the former Lucasfilm President prefaces. “Jim Mangold and Beau Willimon wrote an incredible script, but it is definitely breaking the mold and it’s on hold. Taika has turned in a script that I think is hilarious and great. It’s not just my decision, especially when I’ve got a foot out the door. Donald Glover has turned in a script.”
“Everything I just reeled off to you is taking a bit of a chance because none of those filmmakers are just walking in trying to do same old, same old”, she continues. “I’m excited by that, but the studio’s nervous about that, and that’s kind of where it sits at the moment.”
The waiting game looks set to continue as Lucasfilm, and in turn, Star Wars, enters a new era. Which dormant Star Wars project would you want to watch the most? Let us know in the comments!
Simon Cardy is a Senior Editor at IGN who can mainly be found skulking around open world games, indulging in Korean cinema, or despairing at the state of Tottenham Hotspur and the New York Jets. Follow him on Bluesky at @cardy.bsky.social.
The Rip debuts on Netflix on January 16.
Netflix’s The Rip is a deceptively good film, but its compelling premise about cartel stash houses and corrupt law enforcement is nearly undone by an impractical script. And in terms of action, the mostly by-the-numbers approach to gunfights doesn't win it any favors. That said, solid performances from the cast, especially that of Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, and a last-minute twist save The Rip from mediocrity.
The Rip starts well enough. Hours after the violent death of their captain, Lieutenant Dane Dumars (Matt Damon) and Detective Sergeant JD Byrne (Ben Affleck) are grilled regarding their potential involvement in the incident. Questions about their whereabouts during the crime, personal relationship with the deceased, and notions of stolen drug money are met with aggressive body language and hesitant responses. Subtle shifts in lighting color the interrogations, where a darker room hints at someone being dishonest. Essentially, director Joe Carnahan (Narc, Smokin' Aces, The Grey) does a great job of sowing seeds of doubt early on.
The Rip’s uneasy vibe slowly develops over time. As new information is revealed, it becomes increasingly difficult to pin down who might’ve done what and why. The tension truly ramps up, however, after an “anonymous” tip comes in about a stash house holding a sizable amount of cash. When Dane and his fellow detectives head over to investigate, they end up finding more than they bargained for. The result: a nerve-wracking yet entertaining stand-off between the cops, a drug cartel, and everyone in between.
What makes The Rip work as an action thriller, at least initially, is the interactions between these morally ambiguous characters. The idea that longtime friends/co-workers could be swayed to murder one another over large sums of money is compelling. And that’s before witnessing any secret text messages or ominous phone calls threatening violence. Unfortunately, the film’s uneven script often betrays the tension-filled premise. While there are a few good verbal exchanges, some of the dialogue fails to convey the seriousness of the situation. When a person is confronted over their questionable actions and their response is basically a shrug, it makes it seem like they don't care about the potential consequences. Worst of all are the film's transparent attempts at misdirection which only wind up leading to an outcome we've been expecting all along. Of course this guy who seems absurdly guilty isn't the real villain.
That’s not to say that The Rip’s ending is predictable. Key moments still play out in interesting ways, despite how inevitable they may feel. The issue is in how unrealistic some of its characters can be. When a seemingly pragmatic person says something unreasonable, damning even, it’s hard not to see their incriminating banter as anything other than a red herring. This sort of thing sucks all of the tension out of the film as the real culprits become readily apparent; at that point, all of the suspense that has been built up completely vanishes. And so The Rip begins to lose some of its spark. This feeling doesn't change when the bullets start flying either; even if the shootouts were exciting, they don’t last long enough to be impactful.
Thankfully, The Rip is saved by its talented cast and exciting final moments. Steven Yeun is convincing as the apprehensive and seemingly straight-laced Detective Mike Ro. The same can be said of Catalina Moreno and Teyana Taylor, who play Detectives Lolo Salazar and Numa Baptiste respectively. Matt Damon and Ben Affleck are the standouts though. Damon’s calm yet commanding demeanor reflects Lieutenant Dumars’ desire to safeguard his team while Affleck’s Byrne is more aggressive by nature. Eager to figure out what side of the law everyone stands on, he’s less likely to mince words – as evidenced by Affleck’s sharp line delivery.
Damon and Affleck are great whenever they're on screen. But they excel when playing opposite one another. Their clashing personalities keep things interesting whether they’re fighting or sharing a heartfelt moment. This is true even to the point of making The Rip’s last-minute twist, which does a good job of addressing the film’s ongoing mystery, feel exhilarating. Being so thoroughly invested in Dumars and Byrne’s plight, I was on the edge of my seat by the time the smoke actually cleared.
After months of rumors, Kathleen Kennedy is officially stepping down as the President of Lucasfilm after 14 years and will be replaced by Dave Filoni and Lynwen Brennan, Walt Disney Studios announced Thursday. Filoni will be the creative lead as Lucasfilm’s President and Chief Creative Officer, Lucasfilm, while Brennan will be Co-President, Lucasfilm. Both execs are longtime Lucasfilm veterans. Lucasfilm’s new leadership split seems reminiscent of how DC Studios is co-led by James Gunn overseeing creative decisions and Peter Safran in charge of the studio’s business side.
“When George Lucas asked me to take over Lucasfilm upon his retirement, I couldn’t have imagined what lay ahead,” said Kennedy in a statement. “It has been a true privilege to spend more than a decade working alongside the extraordinary talent at Lucasfilm. Their creativity and dedication have been an inspiration, and I’m deeply proud of what we’ve accomplished together. I’m excited to continue developing films and television with both longtime collaborators and fresh voices who represent the future of storytelling.”
“My love of storytelling was shaped by the films of Kathleen Kennedy and George Lucas,” said Filoni. “I never dreamed I would be privileged to learn the craft of filmmaking from both of them. From Rey to Grogu, Kathy has overseen the greatest expansion in Star Wars storytelling onscreen that we have ever seen. I am incredibly grateful to Kathy, George, Bob Iger, and Alan Bergman for their trust and the opportunity to lead Lucasfilm in this new role, doing a job I truly love. May the Force be with you.”
“Lucasfilm has played such a meaningful part in my life,” said Brennan. “It’s a community of inspiring storytellers with a rebel spirit like no other, and I am honored to join Dave Filoni in leading us forward. I have been so fortunate to learn from George Lucas, Kathy Kennedy, and Alan Bergman and have unwavering faith in Dave’s creative vision for the next chapter in this storied studio’s legacy.”
Kennedy will transition back into producing. She’s currently producing the movies The Mandalorian and Grogu and Star Wars: Starfighter. She co-founded Amblin Entertainment with Steven Spielberg and Frank Marshall.
In a statement, Walt Disney Company CEO Bob Iger praised Kennedy for her “leadership, her vision, and her stewardship of such an iconic studio and brand.”
“When we acquired Lucasfilm more than a decade ago, we knew we were bringing into the Disney family not only one of the most beloved and enduring storytelling universes ever created, but also a team of extraordinary talent led by a visionary filmmaker – someone who had been handpicked by George Lucas himself, no less,” said Iger. “We’re deeply grateful for Kathleen Kennedy’s leadership, her vision, and her stewardship of such an iconic studio and brand.”
“Kathleen Kennedy has been a tremendous force in the industry for 50 years, and it’s been our privilege to have her here at Disney leading Lucasfilm for nearly 14 of them,” said Disney Entertainment Co-Chairman Alan Bergman. “She has steered Star Wars to incredible box office heights and brought a new generation of fans into the fold. We appreciate having her on board to produce our next couple of films, and the studio remains in extraordinarily capable hands with Dave Filoni, who’s a brilliant storyteller, and Lynwen Brennan, an avid innovator and business leader. They are deeply passionate and experienced executives who will continue to drive the studio and Star Wars forward in exciting new directions.”
This May’s The Mandalorian and Grogu will be Lucasfilm’s first theatrical film release since 2019’s Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, with the studio spending those intervening years developing streaming series of varying quality for Disney+.
Kennedy’s tenure as head of Lucasfilm has not been without its fair share of behind-the-scenes drama – all those director drop-outs, including Phil Lord and Chris Miller getting fired from Solo – and vocal displeasure from segments of fandom, particularly over the handling of the Star Wars sequel trilogy and some of the franchise’s Disney+ series.
In the past, Kennedy criticized fan scrutiny of Star Wars projects in development as “troubling and frustrating” and said that women in front of and behind the camera in Star Wars projects struggle with toxicity due to a “male dominated fanbase.”
Most recently, fan campaigns have been launched to resurrect The Hunt for Ben Solo, Steven Soderbergh’s shelved project with Adam Driver.
With so many exciting sporting events happening year-round, it can be tough to know where to stream each one. Thankfully, Fubo should have all your bases covered, no pun intended. Fubo is a live TV streaming service that features over 200 live channels, including 35 regional sports channels and ESPN Unlimited—more than any other streaming service. So, you can bet that Fubo will probably have the game you're looking for.
Not ready to dive in just yet? No problem! Like many other streaming services, Fubo offers a free trial so you can test it out. Check out our full rundown below, including how to activate the free trial, what channels are included in the service, where to watch Fubo, and more.
Yes, Fubo is currently offering a 30-day free trial period that provides access to over 200 live channels, ESPN Unlimited, and potentially more, depending on your area. It's one of the overall best streaming service free trials out there for live sports.
Click the link below to sign up for the free trial. After your trial period ends, you'll be automatically charged for your subscription if it's not canceled. You can check out the pricing details below or take a look at the Hulu + Live TV free trial for our favorite Fubo alternative.
Fubo is a live TV subscription service offering over 200 channels and unlimited Cloud DVR storage for recording your favorite content. It has the most complete catalog among live TV streaming options, though it comes at a slightly higher price. Most Fubo plans allow you to stream on up to 10 devices simultaneously and watch on up to three devices while on the go. If you're looking to replace your cable subscription, Fubo is an excellent choice. Plus, unlike cable, there are no hidden fees, no cable box charges, and you can cancel anytime.
If you're a sports fan, Fubo stands out as one of the best sports streaming services for live sports and one of the best ways to watch live NFL games this year. With access to over 55,000 sporting events each year, it covers the NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, major soccer leagues, college sports, F1, NASCAR, MMA, boxing, golf, tennis, and much more. You'll catch all of the biggest events like the Super Bowl, World Series, NBA Finals, and the Stanley Cup Playoffs, just to name a few.
Although it's not yet a done deal, Fubo is looking to merge it's service with Disney. The sale is currently expected to be finalized sometime in the first three months of 2026. As of right now the agreement would mean that Fubo would be able to broadcast live events from Disney networks such as ESPN and ABC. Though ahead of that merger, Fubo has already added access to ESPN Unlimited to its service. Hulu + Live TV would still exist as a separate subscription.
Fubo offers two main plans: Pro and Elite, each with a $25 or $30 discount off your first month after the free trial. The Pro plan costs $73.99 per month and includes 236 channels, unlimited Cloud DVR storage, and the ability to watch on up to 10 screens at home and up to three on the go. For an additional $10 per month, Fubo's Elite plan includes everything the Pro plan has to offer, but boosts the channel count to 303 and adds 4K content, bringing the total to $84.99 per month.
If you'd like to expand your plan, Fubo offers a variety of add-ons, including Paramount+ with Showtime, Starz, MGM+, NFL RedZone, NBA League Pass, entertainment and news channels, Latino channels, and more.
Fubo also offers a Latino plan for $14.99 per month (with a $5 savings for the first month after the free trial) that features 50 Spanish language live channels and sporting events, unlimited Cloud DVR storage, and the option to watch on two devices simultaneously.
Fubo is available to stream on a variety of connected devices, including Apple TV (4th generation and newer), most Roku devices, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast, Xbox, and select Samsung, LG, Vizio, and Hisense smart TVs. You can also watch on mobile devices like iPhone, iPad, Android phones and tablets, or stream online through your web browser.
Matthew Adler is a Commerce, Features, Guides, News, Previews, and Reviews writer for IGN. You can follow him on the site formerly known as Twitter @MatthewAdler and watch him stream on Twitch.
The ripple effects from the RAM shortage have already been resonating throughout the PC industry, but the situation just got even worse for PC gamers. The GeForce RTX 5070 Ti has apparently reached end-of-life status, only one year after its release. Nvidia wants to scale back on its lower priced video cards that are equipped with a large amount of VRAM (the 5070 Ti has 16GB). There's pretty much zero chance you'll find a standalone RTX 5070 Ti GPU at even close to MSRP now, but fortunately there's still time to find a reasonable price on a prebuilt gaming PC equipped with one.
At least for the time being, Best Buy is still offering the Acer Nitro 60 gaming PC, which comes equipped with a GeForce RTX 5070 Ti GPU, for $1,799.99 with free delivery after a $500 instant discount. This is currently the best price I've seen for an RTX 5070 Ti prebuilt that also includes a capable CPU and a generous amount of DDR5 RAM and SSD storage.
The complete specs include an Intel Core i7-14700F processor, GeForce RTX 5070 Ti graphics card, 32GB of DDR5 RAM, and a 2TB PCIe Gen 4 M.2 SSD. The Intel Core i7-14700F is a 20-core processor with a max turbo frequency of 5.4GHz. Despite being a generation old, this CPU is still a great option for a gaming rig and upgrading to an Intel Core i9 processor will not give you any noticeable gains. It's cooled by a 120mm tower heatsink fan combo plus four additional 120mm chassis fans providing a ton of airflow to keep your components cool.
It excels at 4K gaming performance at a reasonable price point
Of all the Blackwell cards released thus far, the RTX 5070 Ti offers the best value for high-fps 4K gaming. It performs neck-and-neck with the RTX 4080 Super but with the added bonus of newer GDDR7 VRAM and DLSS 4 with multi-frame generation. If you plan on using this card for AI, the RTX 5070 Ti is a better value than the RTX 5080 since both have same amount of RAM (16GB). Compared to AMD, the RTX 5070 Ti is roughly comparable in raw performance to the AMD RX 9070 XT, but the 5070 Ti has considerably better upscaling technology and ray tracing performance. Check out our Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 Ti GPU review by Jacqueline Thomas for our hands-on impressions.
Eric Song is the IGN commerce manager in charge of finding the best gaming and tech deals every day. When Eric isn't hunting for deals for other people at work, he's hunting for deals for himself during his free time.
Today, Capcom is holding a Resident Evil Showcase event set to feature "brand new gameplay and news" for Resident Evil Requiem, among other things.
The showcase is taking place at 2pm PT, 5pm ET, and 10pm UK, with a post-show discussion stream to follow, though it's unclear exactly what that will be about.
Resident Evil: Reqiuem is just a few weeks away, and we've already seen quite a bit of it, including the long-awaited reveal of Leon S. Kennedy, who is apparently going to be playable as well, and what seems to be a tease of an open world...or at least a pretty big shift in how the series has historically treated its settings.
Now that the showcase itself is over, it turns out it was actually...pretty thin as far as new information. It was entirely related to Resident Evil: Requiem, and almost fully focused on stuff you can buy in connection with the game. Here's a quick rundown of the five big takeaways from the showcase today:
Resident Evil: Requiem will have at least three different difficulty settings, and one in particular seems pretty cool. There's a Casual mode for those who just want to focus on the story, and it comes with an aim assist. And there's a Standard mode, which is just what it sounds like.
But the really neat one is Standard (Classic) difficulty, which is the Standard difficulty but with an added challenge, where Grace will need to collect ink ribbons for typewriters in order to save her game.
A new game mechanic was revealed today related to the crafting system. In RE: Requiem, a number of items are only craftable using infected blood, which is obtained by killing zombies. Though Grace isn't much of a fighter, she does have a gun on her (appropriately called Requiem) that she uses to get out of tight jams, and she'll need to use it to take down zombies so she can get their blood and craft more useful survival tools.
A surprising amount of today's showcase was dedicated to stuff you can buy in real-life that ties in with the game. There's a watch collaboration with Hamilton for two different watches, one for Grace and one for Leon, that they'll wear in-game, and only 2,000 of each watch are being made for sale. There's the amiibo, which we already knew about, and a special Nintendo Switch 2 Pro Controller themed around Requiem. There are special Resident Evil orchestra concerts coming, and obviously, the Deluxe Edition of the game and all its bonus content. And Capcom is releasing figurines of both Grace and Leon. If you're interested in buying any of that stuff, it's all easy enough to find, but this section of the video really did feel a bit shopping channel given the circumstances.
There's something different about the zombies in Resident Evil: Requiem. Rather than just violent and lurching, some of them seem to have other personality traits, and have carried over characteristics from their lives before. For instance, one custodian zombie continues to clean the building even after being turned. There's another man frantically pushing elevator buttons. And at the end of the trailer, there's one that straight up talks to Grace. Like, seems to be holding a normal, smooth, human conversation. What's going on here? Is this a different virus than the usual one? Mysteries!
What? Pipis? No, you said Elpis? Okay, sure. At the end of the showcase, there was a mention of some sort of "secret" Leon is carrying, referencing something called "elpis." We have...no idea what that is! We know now that it's potentially related to the murder of Grace's mother, Alyssa, and we can maybe guess that it's connected in some way to that zombie bite mark fans keep seeing on Leon in trailers. But this is another mystery that will need further investigation. Or, as Leon S. Kennedy put it in the trailer, a second opinion.
Resident Evil: Requiem is coming to Xbox, PC, PlayStation, and Nintendo Switch 2 on February 27, 2026.
Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. Got a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.
Major Game of Thrones reunion alert: Lionsgate just released the first trailer of the upcoming gothic horror film The Dreadful, which stars Sophie Turner and Kit Harington.
The trailer, below, gives fans a glimpse of a woman (Turner, fresh from her first look photo reveal as Lara Croft in Amazon's Tomb Raider TV series) and her superstitious mother-in-law (Marcia Gay Harden) doing their best to survive in medieval England when a man she knows (Harington) returns from war without her husband, whom he fought alongside. The woman and her mother-in-law then take in another soldier who has returned home, only to murder him. As their relationship grows fraught, the woman’s desire to move on with the soldier her husband knew threatens everything.
Lionsgate also revealed an official synopsis alongside the trailer: “Set in medieval England, Anne and her domineering mother-in-law Morwen struggle to survive on the outskirts of society. But when a man from Anne’s past returns from war, a curse begins to take shape through a mysterious knight and threatens to destroy them all.”
If the plot seems a bit familiar, you’re not going crazy. In fact, The Dreadful is based on the iconic 1964 Japanese horror film Onibaba. It’ll be interesting to see if this film even holds a candle to that one, which is part of the Criterion Collection and widely regarded as one of the best Japanese horror films out there.
It’s such a beloved film that none other than Willem Dafoe, who counts the picture as one of his favorites, previously held the rights to remake the it — but he revealed during his Criterion Closet visit video that he couldn’t figure out a way to do it because “it’s so specific to its time.” He went on to say that every time he tried to “put a spin on it” he “ruined the source material.”
Turner previously revealed the inspiration for the film in an interview with Collider back in August 2025. “It's based on the Onibaba, which is an amazing film from… I don’t even know what year it’s from, but it is loosely based around that. I would say it’s a bit like The Green Knight. It’s kind of supernatural and weird and really scary.”
The Dreadful was written and directed by Natasha Kermani, who made horror films Lucky and Abraham’s Boys as well as a segment for V/H/S/85. The film is set to arrive in theaters on February 20.
Lex Briscuso is a film and television critic and a freelance entertainment writer for IGN. You can follow her on Twitter at @nikonamerica.
One of the best OLED monitor deals ever is back. Dell recently lowered the price of the 34" Alienware AW3423DWF QD-OLED gaming monitor from $900 to just $499.99 shipped. But today there's a way to get it for even less, $449.99 to be exact. It does require a bit of legwork to get the extra discount, but everyone should be eligible. The AW3423DWF is one of Alienware's highest end gaming monitors, with a gorgeous QD OLED panel, WQHD resolution, and a respectable 165Hz refresh rate. Alienware OLED monitors also include a 3 year warranty with OLED burn-in protection.
Follow these instructions for the extra $50 off:
The Alienware AW3423DWF is a 34" monitor featuring a 3440x1440 WQHD resolution with 1800R curve, 0.03ms response time, and 165Hz refresh rate. This monitor is equipped with a Samsung quantum dot OLED panel. This is the best type of panel for gaming thanks to its near instantaneous response time, true black levels, and near-infinite contrast ratio. The AW3423DWF features a 99.3% DCI-P3 color range and is factory calibrated with a Delta E less than 2. It is HDR True Black 400 certified and boasts up to 1,000nits of peak brightness.
In our Alienware AW3423DWF review, Chris Coke compared it to its more expensive predecessor, the AW3423DW. He wrote that "Though $1,099 (its MSRP) is far from cheap, the Alienware AW3423DWF feels like a great value compared to the original. It offers the same stunning picture, and dropping G-Sync Ultimate really makes no noticeable difference in actual gameplay. What’s left is a monitor that is extremely similar for $200 less than it was earlier this year. That’s a win and an easy recommendation to make if you’re in the market for a high-end display with a spectacular picture."
Check out more of the best Alienware deals going on right now
Eric Song is the IGN commerce manager in charge of finding the best gaming and tech deals every day. When Eric isn't hunting for deals for other people at work, he's hunting for deals for himself during his free time.
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