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Monica Coman is an experienced entertainment news reporter and editor at CBR, recognized for her expertise in pop culture, film, and television. Her work has been featured across leading entertainment outlets, including The A-List Hype, autoevolution.com, ScreenRant, We Got This Covered, and The Escapist. She brings nearly a decade of experience in digital media and a deep understanding of storytelling and editorial strategy. 

Stephen King's hit franchise It keeps thriving. Both the 2017 film and its prequel series It: Welcome to Derry returned to the charts.

In 2017, Andy Muschietti adapted King's 1876 novel of the same name, which was split into two separate films, with Chapter Two released two years later. In 2025, the franchise expanded with the prequel series It: Welcome to Derry. Following Halloween, which received a special episode, It: Welcome to Derry and 2017's It returned to the charts, per FlixPatrol.

The It Universe Keeps Floating

The 2017 film debuted in the charts in the U.S. in ninth place on HBO Max, just above Sinners. Meanwhile, the show returned in sixth place on the TV charts, both in the U.S. and globally. The special episode, A Story of Derry, also appeared in the Top 10 Overall charts from Amazon Channels in fifth place in the U.S., second in the UK, and topped the charts in 11 countries, including Ukraine, Iceland, and Estonia.

This isn't a surprise, considering how popular the It universe is. The 2017 film isn't just Stephen King's highest-grossing film adaptation ever, but it's the highest-grossing horror film of all time, with a total gross of $719.7 million. The 2019 sequel is also in the TOp 10 in eighth place with 473.1 million worldwide.

It: Welcome to Derry was also a success, serving as a prequel to the films and taking place 27 years before the events of the films. As fans remember, Pennywise the Dancing Clown wakes up every 27 years, so Season 1 was set in 1962. It started when a new couple moved to Derry, Maine, with their young son, just as a young boy disappeared. After that, strange things start to happen in the town.

Season 1 starred Taylour Paige, Jovan Adepo, James Remar, Stephen Rider, and Bill Skarsgård reprising his role as Pennywise from the films.

It: Welcome to Derry Returned With a Special Episode

The series was a huge hit for HBO, but It: Welcome to Derry scored the official Season 2 renewal in August, nine months after the show wrapped. The reason, as explained by Chairman and CEO of HBO and HBO Max Content Casey Bloys, was that the Muschiettis wanted to make sure they had the story locked down before confirming a new season.

Season 2 won't be a sequel to Season 1, but it will take viewers 27 years before the events. The logline notes, "Season 2 takes place in 1935 during the Great Depression and centers on the bloody massacre of the Bradley Gang, a group of bank robbers who stop in Derry to buy ammo and end up facing unimaginable horror."

Until more details about Season 2 drop, HBO Max surprised fans with a 30-minute Halloween special, which dropped on Oct. 31. The official logline for the 30-minute episode A Story of Derry reads, "Hundreds of years before Pennywise, three youngsters venture into the Western Wood... where they encounter a terrifying ancient spirit."

It: Welcome to Derry Season 1 and A Story of Derry are streaming on HBO Max.

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Monica Coman is an experienced entertainment news reporter and editor at CBR, recognized for her expertise in pop culture, film, and television. Her work has been featured across leading entertainment outlets, including The A-List Hype, autoevolution.com, ScreenRant, We Got This Covered, and The Escapist. She brings nearly a decade of experience in digital media and a deep understanding of storytelling and editorial strategy. 

Netflix has gotten its audience used to frequent releases, but not everything becomes a lasting hit. The recently released East of Eden is an exception.

The limited series premiered on Oct. 1 to a great reception from critics. However, unlike other releases, East of Eden had a modest debut in third place on the Nielsen charts. Per Deadline, Netflix's adaptation of John Steinbeck's classic American novel had a near-historic 4.4x growth from its debut week.

East of Eden Is a Massive Hit

Following its Oct. 1 release, East of Eden debuted in the charts with 782 million minutes viewed. It was in third place behind Netflix's Wonka: The Golden Ticket and HBO Max's The Big Bang Theory. The following week, it had a 39% increase, with 1.162 million minutes viewed even though it maintained the same position in the charts, behind Prime Video's Carrie with 1.264 million minutes viewed and Netflix's Below, with 1.187 million minutes viewed.

Deadline reports the series grew from 6.5 million views in Week 1 to a cumulative 28.9 million views in Week 4. According to the streaming platform, only Adolescence had a higher 4-week increase of 4.7x times its debut number. The hit limited series ended up in second place on Netflix's Most Popular Top 10 Shows in the English language with 142.6 million views and 546.5 million hours viewed, just behind Wednesday Season 1, which scored 252.1 million views and 1.718 billion minutes viewed in the first 91 days.

Its huge growth includes comparable limited series and adaptation titles such as His & Hers, Lord of the Flies, I Will Find You, Vladimir, and Death by Lightning.

Speaking about the historic growth, creator Zoe Kazan told the outlet, "I think we have this collective misconception that ‘great books’ are boring and dusty, like eating our spinach."

She added, "But most books that we consider to be classics have stood the test of time for a reason–because they are gripping, emotional, and full of the wild drama of being human. One of my aims in making this show was to lower the barrier to entry a little, to allow more people to feel that East of Eden could hold something powerful specifically for them."

Kazan, who is the granddaughter of Elia Kazan, who directed the 1955 adaptation starring James Dean, noted that, despite the care she had for the source material, "there’s no guarantee that people will actually watch."

Critics Loved East of Eden

While the 1955 adaptation was a success, cementing James Dean's place as a Hollywood heartthrob, the limited series allowed the source material to breathe. With episodes to adapt the series, it focuses on both the life of Cathy Ames, brothers Adam and Charles Trask, as well as Cathy's sons Caleb and Aron.

The cast included Florence Pugh as Cathy, Christopher Abbott as Adam Trask, Mike Faist as Charles, Joseph Zada as Caleb, and Joe Anders as Aron.

The series holds a fantastic 88% Certified Fresh score from the critics from 72 reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, and 85% from the audience.

Critics noted, "Zoe Kazan imbues her legacy adaptation with delicious moral quandaries and sumptuous landscapes, but it's the expanded character work from Pugh and Lee that brings justice and dignity to this new canon of East of Eden."

East of Eden is streaming on Netflix.

Monica Coman is an experienced entertainment news reporter and editor at CBR, recognized for her expertise in pop culture, film, and television. Her work has been featured across leading entertainment outlets, including The A-List Hype, autoevolution.com, ScreenRant, We Got This Covered, and The Escapist. She brings nearly a decade of experience in digital media and a deep understanding of storytelling and editorial strategy. 

Henry Cavill has been passionate about multiple iconic IPs, and has already starred in some of his favorites. Among his next projects is also Amazon's Warhammer 40,000 adaptation.

The live-action series was announced in 2022, but it has been hit with multiple delays. This summer, horror filmmaker Mike Flanagan joined the adaptation to pen the script in one of the biggest updates so far. In a new interview with Deadline, Flanagan confirmed what's been delaying the adaptation.

Warhammer 40,000 Found a Starting Point

The Carrie filmmaker refused to give away any details from the upcoming Prime Video series. The motto of the franchise is 'In the grim darkness of the far future, there is nothing but war,' but it has yet to unveil an official plot.

After numerous delays, Flanagan explained, "Henry Cavill would be furious if I divulged anything about what we’re working on. All I can say is that Warhammer is a fascinating world. The challenge, as anyone familiar with it knows, is finding a way in – it’s so big. There are 700 novels, discounting the [tabletop] game, the interactive elements and so much of the rest of the lore."

The filmmaker did give away an important update, clarifying that they did have a major breakthrough. Flanagan noted the show has found "a very cool and unexpected on-ramp into it, which I think is very exciting. I’m sworn to secrecy on all of it, but I’m having the time of my life working on it."

Mike Flanagan's Experience Is a Massive Perk for Warhammer 40k

Mike Flanagan made his debut with several indie horror films like Oculus, Absentia, and Hush, but it wasn't until his Stephen King adaptations Gerard's Game and Doctor Sleep, plus his Netflix limited series The Haunting of Hill House, that he became a household name. Flanagan continued to work with Netflix for several shows, including The Haunting of Bly Manor, The Fall of the House of Usher, Midnight Mass, and The Midnight Club, before his deal ended.

This year, Flanagan officially made his Prime Video debut with Carrie. Another Stephen King adaptation, it marked the first time the 1974 classic novel was adapted as a series. The show was an instant hit, debuting with more than 1 billion minutes viewed, and scored a Season 2 renewal. Among other projects are Stephen King's The Dark Tower series and Warhammer 40k.

Flanagan's distinct style in his psychological thriller includes deep monologue, layered villains, and touching, real stories rooted in some of the deepest fears. For Carrie, he explained, "In today’s climate, on planet Earth, we have normalised and encouraged cruelty to such a degree that I think it has honestly reshaped the face of the planet in a few short decades. It felt like that was a story worth considering. “I was thinking about the world he was stepping into, how different it was from the world I entered in the 1990s, and how different that was from the 1970s, when Stephen King was writing about it."

He also penned the first draft for DCU's Clayface, and wrote and directed the upcoming The Exorcist: Martyrs, which will be a decisively scarier release than his recent work. While Warhammer 40k is not considered a horror story, his experience in creating complex, layered characters will only elevate the material when it finally moves forward.

Deena ElGenaidi is a TV news writer for CBR. Her work has been featured in Vulture, People, Salon, Nylon, Insider, and more. Deena's debut novel, Dust Settles North, was published by Bindery Books in 2025. She received her MA in English from Villanova University and her MFA in Creative Writing from Rutgers University-Camden.

Dave Bautista is showing off his new body after stepping into the role of Kratos in Prime Video's upcoming God of War adaptation. Two months ago, Bautista revealed that he was back on his weight training regimen to prepare for his role in the video game adaptation, and now, he's showing off his gains.

In an Instagram story posted on Nov. 1, Bautista showed off his new muscles and revealed that he gained 20 pounds to prepare for the role. In the post, Bautista is flexing his muscles while wearing a God of War t-shirt. The story features the text, "Gained 20 lbs for 'GOW.'" And in the corner, there's a "250" sticker, referencing his current weight.

Bautista Replaced Ryan Hurst as Kratos

God of War began filming in February, with Ryan Hurst cast in the role of Kratos. However, while performing a stunt during filming, Hurst tore his bicep, which required surgery. Keeping Hurst in the role would have meant delaying production until 2027, which would have been extremely difficult and costly, given the cast and crew's production schedules. So ultimately, Prime Video decided to recast the role of Kratos.

In August, Bautista stepped in to replace Hurst, and because four episodes of the series had already been filmed, Hurst's scenes would have to be reshot with Bautista instead. Bautista is most well-known for playing Drax the Destroyer in Guardians of the Galaxy and other Marvel films, but he initially rose to fame as a WWE wrestler, making him well-suited to play the Spartan warrior in Prime Video's adaptation. The actor had slimmed down in recent years as he started pursuing more dramatic roles, but now, he's rebuilding his muscle.

After the recasting announcement, fans were not happy. Many of them were looking forward to seeing Hurst in the role, and when Prime Video replaced him, they took to social media to express their anger. On X, one user wrote, "Amazon made the biggest mistake by not waiting for him to heal or simply asking if he can still do it. There's no one that can be a better Kratos than Ryan Hurst.”

However, given Bautista's body transformation, it's clear that the actor is committed to giving his all as the new Kratos, so it remains to be seen how fans will feel once the series is out.

What Is God of War About?

Prime Video's upcoming God of War series is an adaptation of the popular PlayStation video game of the same name. Prime Video gave the series a two-season order, with both seasons filming back-to-back. The show will follow the story of the two most recent God of War video games. The games follow Kratos as he raises his ten-year-old son, Atreus (Callum Vinson), while battling the gods of the Norse pantheon.

According to the series logline, “Father and son Kratos and Atreus embark on a journey to spread the ashes of their wife and mother, Faye. Through their adventures, Kratos tries to teach his son to be a better god, while Atreus tries to teach his father how to be a better human.” In the 2018 game, which the new series will be based on, Kratos and Atreus' relationship becomes the emotional crux of the story.

God of War does not yet have a release date, but it is expected to premiere on Prime Video in late 2027.

Lee Freitag is a senior author at CBR, with more than four years of experience in entertainment and pop culture journalism. While CBR remains the go-to spot to find Lee's latest articles, his movie and TV news coverage has also been featured on SuperHeroHype and ComingSoon.

The stakes have never been higher for Walker Scobell's Percy Jackson in the new trailer for Percy Jackson and the Olympians Season 3. The upcoming third season marks the first screen adaptation of Rick Riordan's third Percy Jackson novel, The Titan's Curse.

The Titan's Curse Is Finally Adapted in Percy Jackson Season 3, and Fans Are Excited

Unlike the previous two novels in the Percy Jackson series — The Lightning Thief and The Sea of Monsters — The Titan's Curse was never adapted into a feature-length film. So Riordan's novel finally getting the adaptation it deserves has Percy Jackson fans bursting with excitement. Their reactions online to the new Season 3 trailer have been overwhelmingly positive. Many have expressed how happy they are to see The Titan's Curse adapted, considering it to be the best book in Riordan's series, while others mentioned the trailer getting them "emotionally invested again" in the Disney+ show.

The synopsis for Percy Jackson Season 3 reads: "If Percy Jackson learned anything after completing two epic quests with Annabeth Chase, it’s that he would be lost without her. So when Annabeth is captured by the forces of Kronos, Percy must embark on a perilous journey to rescue her."

"He must free a goddess in chains, confront the Titan’s curse, and avoid triggering the fall of Olympus. With Grover by his side, Percy must join some unlikely questmates to confront a prophecy with dire consequences," concludes the synopsis.

Scobell returns to lead Percy Jackson Season 3 as its titular demigod. Also back from the previous seasons are Leah Sava Jeffries as Annabeth Chase, Aryan Simhadri as Grover Underwood, Charlie Bushnell as Luke Castellan, and Tamara Smart as Thalia Grace, with Levi Chrisopulos joining the cast as Nico di Angelo. Other newcomers include Olive Abercrombie as Bianca di Angelo, Saara Chaudry as Zoë Nightshade, Holy McCallany as Atlas, David Costabile as Dr. Thorn, and Jesse L. Martin as Frederick Chase.

Percy Jackson Season 3 Is the Darkest Season Yet

The first two episodes of Percy Jackson Season 3 debut on Disney+ on Nov. 20. The remaining six episodes will be released weekly in two-episode batches through Dec. 11.

John Dodge is an MTV Writer for CBR who specializes in movies, television, comics, and pop culture. He has a deep knowledge of franchises like Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Marvel, and DC Comics, along with a passion for indie and horror titles. An expert on obscure productions from the ’80s and ’90s, John is known for his encyclopedic recall of cult classics like Beetleborgs.

Criminal Minds: Evolution is headed for an unexpected end after Season 20. In light of the cancellation news, several of the show's longtime stars shared their goodbyes on social media.

On Oct. 30, news broke that the hit procedural was being unceremoniously canceled. This comes four years after the CBS show was revived by Paramount+ under the "Evolution" subtitle. Fans have taken the news hard, but so has the cast, as evidenced by several widely circulated social posts.

The Cast of Criminal Minds: Evolution Mourns the Show Following Its Cancellation News

Paget Brewster, who portrays BAU Unit Chief Emily Prentiss, shared a simple black-and-white selfie with the words "Free Agent..." written across it. The actor did not include any accompanying caption.

Star A.J. Cook, who portrays FBI Supervisory Special Agent Jennifer "JJ" Jareau, shared a Halloween post. Notably, she was clutching a gravestone mourning JJ, with a caption that read, "Rest in peace JJ (for now)."

Criminal Minds: Evolution's cancellation after Season 20 is the first major axing since Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery completed a massive $110 billion merger on Oct. 6. The cancellation fell under the jurisdiction of Skydance Co-Chair and Chief Content Officer of Direct-To-Consumer Casey Bloys, who previously served as HBO and Max Chairman and CEO before the merger.

The series' cancellation shocked not just fans, but the stars and creatives behind Criminal Minds: Evolution. Considering the series has long maintained strong viewership and a spot on the Paramount+ Top 10 streaming series list, waning popularity was clearly not the issue.

However, Paramount+'s streaming strategy has reportedly been undergoing several shifts, which could mean fewer titles like Criminal Minds: Evolution in the near future, or at least fewer with as high a production budget.

The Criminal Minds Creatives Are Holding Onto Hope for a Continuation

Original star Kirsten Vangsness, who returned alongside Brewster, Cook, and Joe Mantegna for the Criminal Minds continuation series, also shared a video to Instagram discussing the series' cancellation. Specifically, she pointed to a Deadline article about the news while hinting that Evolution could potentially head to a new streaming or network home.

"My boss, (showrunner) Erica Messer, says there's so many more stories to tell," Vangsness said. "So if we get to tell them somewhere else, that would be amazing. So maybe this goes somewhere else."

In a statement released following the news of the show's cancellation, Messer herself said, "It's hard to put into words what Criminal Minds has meant to all of us who have been fortunate enough to be part of this extraordinary journey, first on CBS for 15 seasons and then on Paramount+ for five..."

"I'm filled with gratitude for our remarkable cast, writers, directors and crew who have poured their hearts into this show, and for the incredible fans around the world whose unwavering loyalty has kept Criminal Minds going for two decades," she continued. "We're looking forward to sharing Season 20 with everyone, and celebrating the legacy of this special show we’ve all built together."

Criminal Minds and Criminal Minds: Evolution are streaming on Paramount+.