How to disable auto-play and background videos on Disney+

Disney+, Disney’s new streaming service, is pretty great, but it has a few annoying features -- mainly, auto-play (which rushes you through the credits to the next episode) and background videos. Here’s how to disable both of those to make your Disney+ experience much more enjoyable.

Guides         February 3, 2020

Amazon Prime vs. Disney+: Which streaming service is right for you?

Disney+, the new streaming home for Marvel, Star Wars, and more, is grabbing all the headlines, but Amazon Prime Video has more movies than any other streaming service and many of TV's hottest shows. If you can only have one, which big streaming service should you choose?

Guides         February 3, 2020

The Mandalorian is pure uncut nostalgia, and that’s what makes it great

The Mandalorian, the live-action Star Wars show on Disney+, embraces both Star Wars' past and classic western and samurai movies, forging something new in the process. But it’s not just a fun mash-up of Star Wars canon and classic cinema. It’s the key to the future of the entire Star Wars franchise.

News         February 3, 2020

Simpsons fans, your jokes are safe: Disney+ will fix aspect ratio issue in 2020

Right now, you can only watch The Simpsons in 16:9, which cuts off some of the series’ best jokes. Well, help is on the way. A fix scheduled for “early 2020” will allow Disney+ subscribers to switch between 16:9 and 4:3 formats, making those early episodes available to watch as they were designed.

News         February 3, 2020

The Mandalorian trailer teases a grimy Western set in the Star Wars Universe

The first trailer for Disney+'s first live-action Star Wars series, The Mandalorian, dropped at Disney's D23 Expo, and it's full of weird aliens, wide-open plains, tense blaster battles, and other spaghetti-western tropes, all set among the familiar sights and sounds of the Star Wars Universe.

News         February 3, 2020

HBO Go and HBO Now vs. Disney+: Which one should you get?

Disney’s new streaming service, Disney+, has a lot to offer, but how does it stack up against WarnerMedia’s HBO Go and HBO Now services? It all depends on whether you’re shopping for kids or for adults -- at least until HBO Max, WarnerMedia’s upcoming streaming service, comes along next spring.

Products         February 3, 2020

The Irishman: Everything we know about Netflix’s effects-heavy mob drama

The Irishman reunites director Martin Scorsese with frequent collaborators Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci, as well as Al Pacino, for a story that tackles Jimmy Hoffa's disappearance, but the digital de-aging effects are another powerful draw for Netflix's latest Oscar hopeful.

News         December 2, 2019

Star Trek 4 might be back from the dead with Legion and Fargo director

Screenwriter, director, and novelist Noah Hawley is in final talks to direct Star Trek 4, the next installment of the big-screen Star Trek franchise J. J. Abrams launched in 2009. The project previously stalled after Paramount tried to cut star Chris Pine's salary after Star Trek Beyond underwhelmed.

News         November 19, 2019

Trailer for M. Night Shyamalan and Apple TV+’s Servant gives away the big twist

The first full trailer for M. Night Shyamalan's new Apple TV+ series, Servant, seems to give away the creepy secret behind Jericho, Toby Kebbell and Lauren Ambrose's baby, but hints that there are plenty more surprises in store, especially once Nell Tiger Free's young nanny gets involved.

News         November 6, 2019

Colin Farrell as Penguin? Andy Serkis as Alfred? The Batman cast poised to grow

The Batman's cast is about to get a little bit bigger with the news that Colin Ferrell is in talks to play Penguin while Andy Serkis is being eyed for the role of Batman's trusty butler, Alfred. They'll join Robert Pattinson as Batman, Zoe Kravitz as Catwoman, and Paul Dano as Riddler.

News         November 5, 2019

The Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse sequel will swing your way in April 2022

It's full steam ahead on Sony's Spider-Man-themed cinematic universe as a sequel to the Oscar-winning animated feature Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse joins projects like Venom 2, Morbius, Madame Web, future MCU collaborations, and Chris Miller and Phil Lord's Spidey-focused TV series.

News         November 3, 2019

It’s official. Avengers: Endgame is the biggest movie ever

Best opening weekend ever. Fastest movie to make over $2 billion at the global box office. Most ticket presales of all-time. Profitable in just five days. Avengers: Endgame has become the most successful movie in history, and not a single record seems to be out of its reach.

News         November 1, 2019

For $15 a month, HBO Max gives you South Park, Green Lantern, Joker, and more

HBO Max, WarnerMedia's entry in the ever-growing streaming wars, launches in May 2020 and comes with every DC Comics movie from the past 40 years, the entire run of South Park, Rick & Morty, The Lord of the Rings, two new DC shows, and a whole lot more -- all for the price of a regular HBO subscription.

News         October 29, 2019

Game of Thrones’ writers wrote fake death scenes to torment the show’s cast

According to Maisie (Arya Stark) Williams, who recently appeared on the YouTube series Hot Ones, Game of Thrones' writing staff used the hit HBO series' high body count to torment its main cast by handing out fake scripts that depicted main characters dying in the lamest ways imaginable.

News         October 24, 2019

Vin Diesel kicks off new superhero universe in Bloodshot’s twist-filled trailer

Vin Diesel's Bloodshot isn't just a high-concept, ultraviolent action thriller that mashes up Memento and X-Men. It's also the first entry in Sony's Valiant Comics cinematic universe, an Avengers-style franchise the studio hopes will give the Marvel Cinematic Universe a run for its money.

News         October 21, 2019

Marvel Phase 4: Mahershala Ali is Blade, Natalie Portman returns, and more

Well, now we know. At Comic-Con International 2019, Marvel Studios laid out what's coming to the MCU in phase four, confirming projects like Black Widow and Thor 4, introducing The Eternals and the actor who'll play Shang-Chi, and wowing the audience with some big, big surprises.

News         October 18, 2019

Why Marvel’s Kevin Feige is the perfect steward for Star Wars’ future

The head of Marvel Studios, Kevin Feige, is working on a film for Disney's other blockbuster franchise, Star Wars, and if you're not excited, you should be. Here's why Feige is the perfect person to guide Star Wars into its post-Skywalker era, and breathe new life into a galaxy far, far away.

News         October 18, 2019

Three more Star Wars films receive a release date, Avatar gets a delay

Disney revised its feature film release schedule following its acquisition of 21st Century Fox, revealing that three more Star Wars movies will hit theaters every other year from 2022 through 2026, alongside a whole slew of new Marvel, X-Men, Avatar, and Indiana Jones flicks.

News         October 18, 2019

All 21 of Studio Ghibli’s animated films will stream on HBO Max

In a major win for WarnerMedia, Studio Ghibli, the studio behind animated classics like My Neighbor Totoro, Princess Mononoke, Howl's Moving Castle, and the Oscar-winning Spirited Away, will stream its full feature film library exclusively on HBO Max, WarnerMedia's upcoming streaming service.

News         October 17, 2019

Can Hulu stream movies and TV shows in 4K? Yes, but it’s complicated

Roughly a year after 4K content disappeared from Hulu without an explanation, Ultra HD streams are back -- but there are plenty of catches. You'll need specific hardware, some features are missing, and your options for what to watch are limited to just a handful of TV shows.

News         October 17, 2019

Neil Patrick Harris has joined the cast of The Matrix 4

Neil Patrick Harris, star of Doogie Howser, M.D. and How I Met Your Mother, will join Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss, and Aquaman's Yahya Abdul-Mateen II in Lana Wachowski's upcoming Matrix sequel, which begins shooting in early 2020. Which character Harris will play is currently unknown.

News         October 15, 2019

Zoe Kravitz will play Catwoman opposite Robert Pattinson’s Batman

Batman's number one love interest is coming back to the big screen, and there'll be a new face behind the mask: Zoe Kravitz, who recently appeared in Big Little Lies and Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald. Kravitz will play Catwoman in Matthew Reeves' noir-driven superhero flick The Batman.

News         October 14, 2019

Ms. Marvel’s Disney+ series will introduce the MCU’s first Muslim hero

Kamala Kahn, the fan-favorite teen superhero better known as the shape-changing Ms. Marvel, will star in her very own Disney+ show, making her the first Muslim character to join the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Screenwriter and comedian Bisha K. Ali will oversee the series.

News         October 14, 2019

The MCU gets weirder as She-Hulk and Moon Knight spin-offs are set for Disney+

Superstar lawyer Jen Walters and troubled billionaire vigilante Marc Spector — better known to comic readers as She-Hulk and Moon Knight, respectively — will join the Marvel Cinematic Universe's Phase 4 via their own Disney+ series, before joining their fellow MCU stars on the big screen.

News         October 14, 2019

Why Disney+, HBO, and other streamers don’t want you to binge

Netflix has changed the way we enjoy TV by making binge-watching an American pastime. But Disney+ and HBO remain committed to the old-fashioned model of releasing one episode — and only one episode — of their most popular shows a week. Here's why that's unlikely to change anytime soon.

News         October 14, 2019

Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks to bring WWII drama Masters of the Air to Apple TV+

Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks, the men who brought you Band of Brothers and The Pacific, have another World War II miniseries in the works, but there's a twist: Masters of the Air, based on Donald L. Miller’s novel of the same name, will air on Apple's new streaming service, Apple TV+, not HBO.

News         October 11, 2019

Everything we know about His Dark Materials, HBO’s next big fantasy drama

Game of Thrones might be over, but HBO is staying in the epic fantasy business. His Dark Materials, based Philip Pullman's popular YA series, tells the story of a young girl who runs afoul of a big conspiracy while searching for her lost friend. Here's everything that we know so far.

News         October 11, 2019

Oscar-winning director Alfonso Cuaron inks exclusive deal with Apple TV+

Add multiple-time Oscar winner Alfonso Cuarón to the list: The Roma filmmaker has signed a multiyear deal with Apple to develop television shows for its new streaming service, Apple TV+, where Cuarón will join the likes of Steven Spielberg, Oprah Winfrey, M. Night Shyamalan, and many others.

News         October 10, 2019

El Camino: New trailers and everything to know about the Breaking Bad sequel

El Camino, a Breaking Bad sequel following the journey of Aaron Paul's Jesse Pinkman after the show's traumatic series finale, is on the way from series creator Vince Gilligan. The movie will arrive on Netflix this fall, and will feature a few familiar Breaking Bad characters.

News         October 4, 2019

New York Comic Con: All the TV and movie panels you won’t want to miss

From Star Trek to Stephen King to the Walking Dead, New York Comic Con has something for everyone. Here are the panels you'll want to pay attention to when NYCC takes over the Javits Center in New York City to close out the convention season from Thursday, October 3 through Sunday, October 6.

News         October 4, 2019

Everything we know about Jexi, The Hangover writers’ raunchy A.I. comedy

Is your digital assistant out to get you? According to Jexi, it might be. The latest comedy from the writers of The Hangover and Bad Moms, Jon Lucas and Scott Moore, stars Adam DeVine as a down-and-out writer who crosses his smart assistant and is forced to pay the ultimate price.

News         September 18, 2019

Will Smith vs. Will Smith: Everything we know about Ang Lee’s Gemini Man

Present-day Will Smith takes on Fresh Prince-era Will Smith with the aid of some groundbreaking digital de-aging effects in Gemini Man, the latest film from Oscar-winning director Ang Lee. Here's Gemini Man's release date, its trailers, its full cast, and everything else you need to know.

News         September 18, 2019

HBO’s Watchmen series arrives this October, just in time for Halloween

Police wearing masks? Terrorists dressed like Rorschach? A Watchmen show-within-a-show? HBO's Watchmen, created by Lost and The Leftovers mastermind Damon Lindelof, barely resembles Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' iconic graphic novel -- and it may be all the better for it. Watchmen debuts this October.

News         September 3, 2019

Robert Pattinson could’ve joined the MCU, but he wanted to be Batman

Former Twilight heartthrob Robert Pattinson opened up about his love for Batman and the challenges involved with taking over Bruce Wayne's iconic cape and cowl from Ben Affleck in a new interview, but not before revealing that he'd previously had a meeting with Marvel about joining the MCU.

News         September 3, 2019

TSA bans Disney’s bomb-shaped Star Wars Coca-Cola bottles from all flights

The TSA will not allow passengers to take home the Star Wars-themed Coke bottles sold at Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge, the Star Wars theme park that recently debuted at Disneyland and Walt Disney World, citing fears that the thermal detonator-shaped beverage containers could be mistaken for explosives.

News         September 3, 2019

Game of Thrones’ final season wasn’t as hated as you think, and we have proof

Did you hate the Game of Thrones finale? Do think everyone else did, too? Well, surprise: You might be in the minority. According to an exclusive poll by YouGov, not only were more than half of viewers were happy with Game of Thrones' controversial final season, but most agree that it deserves an Emmy.

News         September 1, 2019

Popular media server Plex will soon stream Warner Bros. movies for free

By adding the ability to watch a collection of Warner Bros. movies through a free, ad-based service on top of its existing capabilities, which include a robust home media server and live TV and DVR tools, Plex is one step closer to becoming the only streaming software you'll ever need.

News         August 29, 2019

Taika Waititi may join a team of fellow MCU alums in James Gunn’s Suicide Squad

The DC Extended Universe could get even more Marvel-ous. Taika Waititi, director of Marvel's Thor: Ragnarok and Thor: Love and Thunder, is in talks to join James Gunn's DC film The Suicide Squad alongside a number of fellow MCU veterans. The Suicide Squad hits theaters on August 6, 2021.

News         August 27, 2019