• Disney and Pixar have released the final trailer for Toy Story 5 alongside the launch of ticket sales; the film opens exclusively in theaters June 19, directed by Andrew Stanton (who helmed Finding Nemo and WALL-E) and co-directed by Kenna Harris
• Two new cast members have been officially confirmed: Bad Bunny (Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio) and Alan Cumming join a returning ensemble that includes Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, and Joan Cusack as Woody, Buzz, and Jessie
• Andrew Stanton has confirmed that the story changed completely during development — the film went through a major reimagining from an earlier concept tied to an idea called “Lilypad” before landing on what’s now in theaters
• Stanton also officially confirmed an 84-year-old Disney Easter egg woven into the film: a reference to Bambi (1942), the studio’s earliest touchstone for emotional animated storytelling
• Promotional activity is in full swing: a Buzz Lightyear popcorn bucket is on sale at theaters, and concept art, sketches, and character maquettes from the film are on display at The Art of Pixar Gallery inside Disneyland’s Pixar Place Hotel

The toy box is almost open. With Toy Story 5 less than a month from its June 19 premiere, Disney and Pixar have released the final trailer, put tickets on sale, and confirmed two cast additions that should generate their own conversation: Bad Bunny and Alan Cumming are both joining the franchise.

Per 411Mania, the studio confirmed Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio — professionally known as Bad Bunny — and Alan Cumming as new voices in the film alongside the returning core: Tom Hanks as Woody, Tim Allen as Buzz Lightyear, and Joan Cusack as Jessie. Greta Lee is also in the cast. Neither character’s role has been detailed yet.

The final trailer itself, per Hypebeast, is being read as a deliberate signal about the film’s emotional register — one that leans into the passage of time rather than away from it. “Pixar isn’t afraid to let Woody get old,” was how Hypebeast framed it, noting that the trailer doesn’t shy away from themes of aging and change that have run through the franchise since Toy Story 3 first sent Andy to college.

A Story That Changed Completely

Director Andrew Stanton — whose Pixar credits include Finding Nemo, WALL-E, and the first two Toy Story sequels — has revealed that the film’s story was significantly reimagined during development, per MovieWeb. An earlier iteration tied to an internal concept called “Lilypad” was abandoned in favor of what is now the film, a process Stanton has described as a complete overhaul rather than a course correction.

Stanton has also confirmed a piece of Pixar trivia that fans have been speculating about: the film contains a deliberate reference to Bambi (1942), confirming an 84-year-old Disney Easter egg embedded in the movie. It’s a nod that fits the franchise’s history — the original Toy Story, released in 1995, turned 30 last year, and the series has long traded in callbacks to Disney’s foundational work.

On the promotional side, a Buzz Lightyear popcorn bucket is now available at theater concessions, and Disneyland’s Pixar Place Hotel has opened The Art of Pixar Gallery, featuring concept art, character sketches, and maquettes created during production. Toy Story 5 is in theaters June 19.

The post Bad Bunny and Alan Cumming Are Joining ‘Toy Story 5’ — Plus: What the Final Trailer, Easter Eggs, and Story Changes Tell Us About June’s Biggest Pixar Film appeared first on Cream.

• Toy Story 5 had to cut an entire character backstory from the film, though Pixar says it may surface in another form later
• The film ventures into new animation territory with an imaginative playtime sequence unlike anything in the franchise before
• A classic Disney/Pixar character speaks on screen for the first time in Toy Story 5
• Tickets are now on sale ahead of the June 19 theatrical release
• Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, and Joan Cusack all return; Conan O’Brien joins as Smarty Pants

Pixar had more Toy Story 5 than could fit in Toy Story 5.

In a new exclusive with SlashFilm, the filmmakers revealed that one character’s full backstory had to be cut from the final film — though they were careful to add that it hasn’t disappeared entirely. “You’ll see some of it eventually,” they teased, suggesting the material may resurface in a short, a special, or a future project. No character was named.

The same creative team also spoke about a new animated playtime sequence in the film that pushes the franchise into visual territory it’s never explored before. Since 1995, each Toy Story film has found a way to stretch what Pixar’s animation can do — and by the sound of it, this one is no different.

A First for the Franchise

Perhaps the most intriguing detail: a classic Disney/Pixar character will speak on screen for the very first time in Toy Story 5. The franchise has always kept certain toys in the background — present but silent — and now, apparently, one of them finally has something to say. Casting for the role has been described as “perfect.”

Meanwhile, a beloved character is getting what ComicBook called a “weird update” — some kind of change or reveal that comes after three movies of consistency. Given that the film already features a visibly aged Woody with a bald spot and a red poncho, clearly nothing is off-limits.

What’s Coming June 19

The final trailer is out, advanced tickets are on sale, and the full cast is locked in: Tom Hanks as Woody, Tim Allen as Buzz, Joan Cusack as Jessie, and Conan O’Brien as Smarty Pants — a toilet training tech toy, because of course. Toy Story 5 opens June 19.

The post Toy Story 5 Cut a Character’s Full Backstory — But Pixar Says You’ll See It Eventually appeared first on Cream.

• The final trailer for Toy Story 5 dropped this week ahead of the June 19 theatrical release
• Woody is visibly aged — including a bald spot under his hat — after years of retirement
• The villain is Lilypad, a frog-shaped smart tablet voiced by Greta Lee that threatens to replace toys entirely
• Director Andrew Stanton says the film tackles toys vs. technology because it’s a problem that “wasn’t going away”
• Conan O’Brien joins the voice cast as Smarty Pants, a toilet training tech toy

Woody has a bald spot. Let that sink in.

The final trailer for Toy Story 5 dropped this week, and along with all the expected warmth of seeing Buzz, Jessie, Rex, and Forky back together, it delivered one genuinely shocking visual: Woody takes off his hat and reveals he’s lost some plush up top. He’s also gained a little weight. He’s wearing a red poncho now. The cowboy is retired, and he looks it.

“He has a new purpose of not being devoted to one kid. He’s out in the field and not worrying,” director Andrew Stanton explained at a press preview in Anaheim after screening the first 30 minutes. “The bald spot symbolizes that he’s just worn out from not trying to take care of himself so much anymore — just doing whatever dirty work needed to be done to save a toy.”

Toys vs. Tablets

The central threat in Toy Story 5 isn’t another toy. It’s a frog-shaped smart tablet named Lilypad, voiced by Greta Lee, whose very existence threatens to make Bonnie stop caring about physical toys altogether. It’s the first time the franchise has pitted its characters against technology directly — and Stanton told Variety the team recognized this was a fight that “wasn’t going away” any time soon.

“By rooting it in the real-world shift of children moving away from traditional play, it addresses one of the biggest parental dilemmas in the digital age,” Stanton said. Toys aren’t just competing with other toys anymore. They’re competing with screens.

That said, Stanton was clear that Lilypad isn’t simply a villain. The film apparently treats the tablet as a character with her own perspective — a device doing what she’s designed to do, not an evil force.

The Cast

Tom Hanks returns as Woody. Tim Allen is back as Buzz Lightyear. Joan Cusack saddles up again as Jessie. Ernie Hudson takes over as Combat Carl from the late Carl Weathers. Blake Clark returns as Slinky Dog, the role he inherited from Jim Varney. And in the most unexpected addition, Conan O’Brien voices Smarty Pants — a toilet training tech toy.

Toy Story 5 opens June 19. The trailer makes one thing clear: even a balding cowboy with a poncho and a weight gain can still make you feel something.

The post Woody Is Balding and We’re Not OK: Inside Toy Story 5 appeared first on Cream.

• James Cameron wants to make Avatar 4 and 5 in “half the time for two-thirds of the cost” of previous films
• He says it’ll take “a year or so” just to figure out what new technologies can make that happen
• Avatar: Fire and Ash earned $1.48 billion — impressive by any measure, but well below The Way of Water’s $2.4 billion
• Disney has tentatively scheduled Avatar 4 for December 21, 2029, and Avatar 5 for December 19, 2031
• Cameron says if the saga doesn’t continue, he’ll hold a press conference and reveal what the films were going to be

James Cameron has a plan for Avatar 4 and 5. Sort of. The legendary director says he wants to make the next two entries in his Pandoran saga faster and cheaper than anything he’s done before — but right now, he doesn’t actually know how to do that yet.

Speaking on The Empire Film Podcast, Cameron was candid about where things stand after the release of Avatar: Fire and Ash. “You know, I’ll be doing some writing. I’ve got a number of projects that I’m cooking,” he said. “And Avatar 4 and 5 are still floating out there. We’re going to be looking at some new technologies to try to do them more efficiently. Because they’re hideously expensive and take a long time. I want to do them in half the time for two-thirds of the cost. That’s my metric.”

Then came the catch: “It’s going to take us a year or so to figure out how to do that. And in the meantime, I’ll be writing and probably be doing a couple of other things.”

So yes — Cameron’s next big project is figuring out how to make his next big project.

Why the Push to Cut Costs

The numbers tell the story. The original Avatar trilogy has collectively cost Disney upwards of $1.1 billion in production alone — and that’s before you factor in the marketing campaigns, which have historically rivaled the films’ budgets themselves. Fire and Ash reportedly carried a $400 million price tag, and while its $1.48 billion global haul would be a career-defining achievement for almost any other filmmaker, it fell noticeably short of The Way of Water‘s $2.4 billion and the original’s $2.7 billion. The franchise is still the only one in history where every single installment has crossed $1 billion — but the downward trend is hard to ignore.

Disney is clearly paying attention. The studio has already been in discussions about ways to bring the runtime and budget down for future installments, and Cameron appears to be on the same page — whether that’s entirely his own instinct or a reflection of the current pressure inside the company is an open question. Disney has faced its own financial turbulence recently, with layoffs touching even Marvel Studios.

What “new technologies” Cameron is eyeing hasn’t been specified, though the obvious conversation in Hollywood right now circles around AI. Cameron hasn’t said whether he’s open to leaning into that, and it’s worth remembering that this is the same director who essentially invented the production pipeline for performance-capture and stereoscopic 3D filmmaking. If anyone’s going to find a genuinely novel technical solution, it’s him.

Is the Saga Actually Happening?

Cameron has been careful not to promise anything. “I don’t know if the saga goes beyond this point,” he said. “I hope it does. But, you know, we prove that business case every time we go out.” He’s noted before that he’d hold a press conference and reveal the full plot of Avatar 4 and 5 if Disney decided to pull the plug — which is either a charming gesture toward fans or a quiet negotiating tactic, depending on how you read it.

There are reasons for cautious optimism. Producer Rae Sanchini said last month that scripts are already in hand and the team is moving “full speed ahead.” Disney still has tentative release dates locked in: December 21, 2029 for Avatar 4, and December 19, 2031 for Avatar 5. And Cameron has framed Fire and Ash as the conclusion of the first trilogy, with the final two films forming their own connected duology — meaning there’s a genuine creative reason to keep going, not just a commercial one.

He also mentioned, almost as an aside, that he wants to novelize the entire saga — even acknowledging there’s “no business model for it anymore” — because “it might be good to have the canonical record of what it was all supposed to be.” That’s the kind of thing you say when you’re thinking about legacy, not just the next opening weekend.

For now, Cameron is in a rare position: a filmmaker who has made three of the highest-grossing movies ever and is still trying to convince a room — maybe including himself — that the next two are worth it. “After that, I’m like Roadrunner going off a cliff,” he said about what comes after his Billie Eilish concert film. He’s not wrong. But if anyone can figure out how to stick the landing, it’s the guy who built a ship to sink on a studio backlot and then dove to the actual Titanic wreck for research.

A year to figure it out. Then, presumably, Pandora again.

The post Cameron Wants Avatar 4 & 5 Cheaper — But Needs a Year to Figure Out How appeared first on Cream.

• James Cameron says Avatar 4 and 5 are still planned but need new technology to pull off efficiently
• His goal: make both films in half the time for two-thirds of the cost of previous entries
• He estimates it’ll take about a year just to figure out how to achieve that
• Avatar: Fire and Ash earned $1.48 billion globally — huge by any standard, but a drop from its predecessors
• Cameron has promised a press conference to reveal the full story if Disney decides not to greenlight the sequels

James Cameron isn’t ready to leave Pandora behind — but he’s also not charging back in blind. The director behind the highest-grossing film franchise in history opened up on The Empire Film Podcast about where Avatar 4 and Avatar 5 stand right now, and the honest answer is: in development, but with a serious rethink underway.

“I’ll be doing some writing. I’ve got a number of projects that I’m cooking,” Cameron said. “And Avatar 4 and 5 are still floating out there. We’re going to be looking at some new technologies to try to do them more efficiently. Because they’re hideously expensive and take a long time. I want to do them in half the time for two-thirds of the cost. That’s my metric. And so it’s going to take us a year or so to figure out how to do that.”

That’s a candid admission from a filmmaker who has never exactly been known for working cheap or fast. The original Avatar (2009) took years to realize and redefined what moviegoing could look like. The Way of Water arrived 13 years later and cost at least $350 million to produce. Last December’s Avatar: Fire and Ash — now available on DVD — carried a reported $400 million budget and a global marketing campaign that likely pushed the total spend into the hundreds of millions more.

Why the Rethink? Fire and Ash’s Box Office Tells Part of the Story

Fire and Ash earned $1.485 billion globally, making it the third-best performing film of 2025, trailing only Zootopia 2 and Ne Zha 2. For virtually any other franchise, that number would be cause for celebration. But Avatar isn’t any other franchise — it’s the only one in history where every single installment crossed the $1 billion mark. The original grossed $2.7 billion in its original run. The Way of Water pulled in $2.4 billion. So while Fire and Ash is technically a hit, the slide is real, and Disney has taken notice.

Reports have already surfaced that Disney is in conversations about how to make Avatar 4 shorter and less costly to produce. The first three films ran between 157 and 195 minutes. Cameron, to his credit, seems to be ahead of that conversation rather than resistant to it — though he’s clearly still working out what “more efficient” actually looks like in practice when you’re building an alien world from scratch.

Tribune News Service critic Katie Walsh, reviewing Fire and Ash, captured what makes Cameron’s stubbornness both maddening and magnetic: “At 71, James Cameron still makes movies like he’s got something to prove — despite his many accolades, awards and box-office successes. But that fighting spirit is what makes Cameron’s films feel so alive and so urgent.”

What Happens If Disney Says No

Cameron isn’t pretending the future is guaranteed. He acknowledged as much when speaking to Entertainment Weekly late last year, laying out a contingency plan with a very Cameron-esque flair.

“I don’t know if the saga goes beyond this point. I hope it does,” he said. “But, you know, we prove that business case every time we go out… If we don’t get to make 4 and 5, for whatever reason, I’ll hold a press conference and I’ll tell you what we were gonna do. How’s that?”

It’s a promise that’s equal parts transparent and a little heartbreaking — the idea that a story he’s spent decades building could end with a press conference instead of a finale.

He also floated another idea: novelizing the entire saga. Even without a clear business model for it, Cameron said it “might be good to have the canonical record of what it was all supposed to be.” A five-book Avatar series might not have been the ending anyone pictured, but it’s clear he’s thought about every possible outcome.

For now, Cameron is in writing mode, exploring new production technologies, and giving himself about a year to crack the code on how to bring his vision home without breaking the bank. Whether that’s enough to convince Disney to keep the lights on in Pandora — that’s the question the next twelve months will answer.

The post James Cameron’s Avatar 4 and 5 Plan: Half the Time, Less Money appeared first on Cream.

• FØØD by Swedish Chef opens May 26 at Disney’s Hollywood Studios in the Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster courtyard
• The kiosk replaces KRNR The Rock Station and has already been visually transformed with new Muppets-themed signage
• The menu includes Wocka Wocking Nachos, a Churro Drumstick, and Muppet-inspired drinks like Pond Water Limeade and Pink Le-moi-nade
• The opening coincides with the debut of Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring The Muppets on Memorial Day weekend

The Swedish Chef is officially ready to feed the masses. Disney has revealed the full menu for FØØD by Swedish Chef, the new Muppets-inspired snack kiosk opening May 26 at Disney’s Hollywood Studios — and yes, it’s exactly as chaotic and delightful as you’d expect from that particular culinary mastermind.

The kiosk takes over the former KRNR The Rock Station in the Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster courtyard, and it’s already been physically transformed. The yellow-orange exterior is gone, replaced with white paneling, blue stripes, and bright pink accents. Lineart of the Swedish Chef has appeared on the front of the stand, a “FØØD” banner hangs where the old KRNR signage once lived, and the whole thing has been surrounded by fresh planters. The glow-up happened practically overnight.

The opening date is no coincidence — FØØD debuts the same day as Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring The Muppets, which replaces the long-running Aerosmith version of the ride that closed permanently on March 1. The new coaster still takes place at G-Force Records — now owned by Scooter’s uncle J.P. Grosse — and features The Electric Mayhem as the headline act. Kermit, Miss Piggy, and Scooter also appear in the pre-show, and the queue is packed with Muppet props, Electric Mayhem posters, and celebrity cameos.

What’s Actually on the Menu

Let’s talk food. The star of the savory side is the Wocka Wocking Nachos — a nod to Fozzie Bear’s signature punchline — featuring corn chips loaded with queso blanco, tomatoes, and guacamole. Simple, crowd-pleasing, and the kind of snack you’ll want in hand before you board anything.

On the sweeter end, the Churro Drumstick is the item everyone’s going to be photographing. It’s a twisted churro tossed in mixed berry sugar, topped with raspberry sauce and assorted sprinkles, and served with a side of chocolate sauce. Disney’s first teaser image of the kiosk actually showed what appeared to be an Animal-inspired churro — red with orange and yellow sprinkles — which tracks perfectly with the Electric Mayhem drummer’s whole vibe.

The drinks are where the Muppet character work really shines. The Mayhem Soft-Serve Float channels The Electric Mayhem with Frozen Fanta Blue Raspberry, vanilla soft-serve, and pink cotton candy on top. The Pink Le-moi-nade is Miss Piggy through and through: Minute Maid Premium Lemonade mixed with guava and finished with a sprinkle of pink shimmer. And for Kermit fans, the Pond Water Limeade brings together Minute Maid Premium Limeade, green apple, and fruit juice-filled pearls for something that is very, very green — and apparently proud of it.

Existing menu favorites from the kiosk’s previous KRNR days will also remain available alongside the new additions.

FØØD by Swedish Chef and Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring The Muppets both open Memorial Day weekend, May 26. If you’re planning a Hollywood Studios trip around the launch, you might want to budget time for a Churro Drumstick and a Pond Water Limeade before you hit the ride — Børk Børk Børk and all.

The post Full FØØD by Swedish Chef Menu Revealed at Disney’s Hollywood Studios appeared first on Cream.

• Disney delivered another gold-standard upfront at North Javits Center, with stars like Anne Hathaway and Robert Downey Jr. in tow
• Netflix leveled up in its fourth year of pitching advertisers, combining a new venue with a strong programming slate and major NFL news
• NBCUniversal stumbled with a bloated two-hour presentation that failed to recapture the energy of its blockbuster 2024 and 2025 shows
• Tom Brady stole the Fox upfront with an unscripted, improvisational moment alongside Rob Gronkowski that earned the room’s biggest laugh
• The three-day blitz also highlighted a growing VIP divide, with Amazon and others retreating behind velvet ropes while Disney and Netflix kept their executives accessible

The 2026 upfronts are done, and the verdict is in: Disney and Netflix are the ones advertisers should be excited about, while NBCUniversal had a rough week it would probably like to forget.

This year’s compressed three-day run through New York — Monday to Wednesday — gave media and streaming companies their annual shot at wooing ad buyers, and the results were as uneven as ever. Some stages crackled with energy. Others felt like they needed a serious edit. And at least one moment, courtesy of a certain Hall of Fame quarterback, was genuinely worth the price of admission.

Disney and Netflix Set the Standard

Disney stayed in its lane — and its lane happens to be the best one in the business. Back at North Javits Center, the company put on what can only be described as an end-to-end gold-standard show. News was dished, movie stars like Anne Hathaway and Robert Downey Jr. worked the stage, and the after-party was lavish enough to make a cruise ship envious. Crucially, Disney’s executives — from the CEO on down — didn’t vanish behind velvet ropes when the presentations ended. That kind of accessibility matters, and it showed.

Netflix, meanwhile, has been quietly doing the work. Now in its fourth year of pitching ad buyers, the streamer is firmly in what it calls the “walk” phase of its “crawl, walk, run” journey into the advertising business — and the walk looks increasingly confident. The newly opened Sunset Pier 94 Studios provided a genuine venue upgrade, the programming announcements landed, and the talent didn’t just show up — they showed out. Not counting the first year, which was virtual due to Covid, this was Netflix’s best-executed upfront presentation to date. Big NFL news added an extra jolt of energy to the room.

The contrast with some of the week’s other players was hard to miss. Netflix and Disney kept their doors open. Amazon, after a starry presentation at the Beacon Theatre featuring Michael B. Jordan, Chris Pratt, and Oprah Winfrey, clearly dropped most of its top brass at a more exclusive location on the way to the New York Public Library after-party — leaving Diplo and Shaboozey as the official bash’s main draws. That kind of split-tier access has always existed in this business, but it felt particularly pronounced this year.

NBCUniversal Loses the Room

Coming off back-to-back blockbuster upfronts in 2024 and 2025 — built around Wicked, Saturday Night Live‘s 50th anniversary, the Olympics, and the Super Bowl — NBCUniversal had a genuinely difficult act to follow. It did not follow it well.

The presentation ran two hours, and it felt like it. Song-and-dance numbers that should have landed with ordinarily winning talent like Bowen Yang, Matt Rogers, Tina Fey, and Jane Krakowski instead fell flat. Late-night host Seth Meyers did crush his roast set, and ad sales chief Mark Marshall delivered his customarily wry bit — this time built around the conceit of getting tattooed with brand messages — but those bright spots weren’t enough to save a bloated opener to what was already a packed week.

NBCU’s Spanish-language subsidiary Telemundo fared considerably better, throwing an energetic Rainbow Room celebration anchored by its Spanish-language rights to this summer’s World Cup. The event, which included a Peacock collaboration demo and appearances from Marshall and NBCU News Group chairman Cesar Conde, was a reminder of what upfront events can feel like when the hard sell takes a back seat to actually having a good time.

Tom Brady Steals the Fox Upfront

Fox moved to a new venue — New York City Center — and brought out a rare appearance from CEO Lachlan Murdoch. But the moment everyone will be talking about involved two former New England Patriots.

Tom Brady, now the No. 1 Fox Sports NFL analyst, has been steadily improving on air in a way that mirrors his playing career: methodical, disciplined, getting better every season. The upfront revealed something else entirely. Standing next to Erin Andrews and Rob Gronkowski as Gronk plugged an upcoming Fox holiday telecast, Brady didn’t hesitate to call an audible. When Gronkowski delivered his line — “Ho, ho, ho, the NFL is back for Christmas on Fox” — Brady flashed a sardonic smile and pounced. “Feels like he’s back at Arizona,” he cracked, referencing his ex-teammate’s notoriously hot-tub-filled college days at the University of Arizona. The room erupted.

It was the kind of loose, improvisational moment that no upfront script can manufacture — and it was the week’s single best piece of stage talent.

The Rest of the Field

Warner Bros. Discovery promised to get through its pitch in an hour. Sales co-chief Ryan Gould told the audience directly: “Put us on the clock.” They missed the target by more than 10 minutes, largely due to some vamping by Craig Ferguson and other talent. Not a disaster, but not a great look when you’ve made punctuality your selling point.

Paramount, which hasn’t put on a conventional full-tilt upfront since 2022, continued its more restrained approach. That 2022 stumble — linking CBS franchise 60 Minutes with the duration of the presentation, using the show’s stopwatch logo as a framing device — is still remembered as a cautionary tale.

Amazon and TelevisaUnivision managed to achieve something genuinely rare: they interrupted their own marketing pitches with more marketing. Amazon ran an ad-within-an-ad segment featuring Summer House alum Paige DeSorbo alongside one of the company’s own ad execs. TelevisaUnivision handed screen time to marketing executives from companies including Microsoft and Cologuard maker Exact Sciences. The meta-ness of it all was either bold or exhausting, depending on your tolerance level.

YouTube, at least, kept its obligatory chief marketing officer segment — this year featuring Coach’s Joon Silverstein — blessedly brief. Whatever aftertaste remained was immediately washed away by a rousing set from pop star Chappell Roan, which may have been the week’s most purely fun musical moment.

The Bigger Picture

Zoom out from the stage presentations and the after-parties, and the 2026 upfronts took place against a streaming landscape that’s shifting faster than the week’s PowerPoints could capture. Netflix’s ad business is on track to hit $3 billion in revenue this year, with more than 60% of new sign-ups in ad-supported markets choosing that tier. The company is now working with over 4,000 advertisers — up 70% year over year. Disney’s direct-to-consumer business, meanwhile, posted $582 million in operating income last quarter, a remarkable turnaround from the days when its streaming division was losing north of $100 million a day.

Warner Bros. Discovery, for its part, crossed 140 million global streaming subscribers in Q1 and is targeting 150 million by year’s end, with 50% of new retail subscribers opting for the ad-supported tier. The potential Paramount Skydance merger — still pending regulatory approval from the DOJ and European agencies despite an overwhelming shareholder vote in April — looms over everything, a reminder that the upfront sellers of today won’t all look the same by the time the next one rolls around.

One thing that did feel refreshingly different this year: the numbers took a back seat to the show. After years of charts and graphs elbowing out sizzle reels and trailers, the showbiz-oriented spirit of old largely prevailed. In a week that could easily have felt like a series of investor presentations with better lighting, that was a genuine relief.

Brady’s Gronkowski crack is still getting laughs in group chats. That’s the bar. More of that, please.

The post Upfronts 2026: Disney and Netflix Win, NBCUni Stumbles appeared first on Cream.

• Disney and the NFL staged a joint lovefest at Tuesday’s upfront, reflecting their new ESPN-NFL Network partnership deal
• Monday Night Football’s season opener is set for September 14: Kansas City Chiefs vs. Denver Broncos
• A Week 9 international game will take the Atlanta Falcons and Cincinnati Bengals to Madrid, Spain on November 9
• Super Bowl LXI will air on ABC for the first time in 20 years, with a star-studded analyst roster including Steve Young, Emmett Smith, Nick Foles, and the Manning brothers
• Disney projects a 55% increase in NFL impressions year over year and says it will deliver 40% of all football impressions this season

Disney didn’t just show up to the upfronts Tuesday — it showed up with the NFL on its arm. The two powerhouses were practically inseparable at Disney’s 2026 presentation in New York City, and the chemistry made a lot of sense given what they’ve built together: an earlier-this-year deal that handed ESPN control of NFL Network and other league media assets, while giving the NFL a 10% stake in ESPN itself.

That partnership was all over the stage. ESPN’s Monday Night Football play-by-play voice Joe Buck walked out alongside NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, and the moment quickly became one of the event’s most talked-about bits. Buck leaned in and gave Goodell an exaggerated, full-on hug — mimicking the way college prospects embrace the commissioner after hearing their name called at the NFL Draft. “We can all dream,” Buck said. Goodell, clearly in on the joke, smiled and echoed it right back: “We can all dream.”

Schedule Sneak Peeks Ahead of Thursday’s Full Reveal

By arrangement with the league, upfront presenters who hold NFL rights are permitted to release select schedule details before the league’s official full reveal, which is set for Thursday. Disney used that window to drop two notable matchups.

The first Monday Night Football game of the season will kick off September 14 with the Kansas City Chiefs hosting the Denver Broncos — a divisional rivalry that always draws. And for Week 9, the NFL goes global: the Atlanta Falcons and Cincinnati Bengals will face off on November 9 in Madrid, Spain, continuing the league’s international expansion push.

A Stage Full of Super Bowl MVPs

The bigger flex of the afternoon was the Super Bowl. ABC will air Super Bowl LXI next February — its first time carrying the game in 20 years — and Disney made clear it intends to treat that like the television event of the decade. The game will also stream on ESPN and other Disney platforms.

To drive the point home, MNF studio analyst Jason Kelce — fresh off his playing career and already a fan favorite in the booth — was told the plan was to assemble the “greatest Super Bowl team ever.” He promptly walked off stage, then returned a minute later leading out a parade of Super Bowl MVPs who will all be part of Disney’s coverage: Steve Young, Emmett Smith, Nick Foles, and several more legends took the stage to a roaring crowd. Eli and Peyton Manning, who are already deeply embedded in the ESPN universe through their ManningCast and other ventures, also appeared to hype the broadcast.

Adding to the sheer scale of the moment: in 2027, ABC will air four of the biggest live events in television — the College Football Championship, the Grammy Awards, the Super Bowl, and the Oscars. Rita Ferro, Disney’s President of Global Advertising, made sure advertisers felt the weight of that. “You have the Grammys one Sunday and the Super Bowl on Valentine’s Day,” she said, letting that combination sink in.

Disney’s Football Footprint Is Getting Massive

Ferro, who was introduced on stage by Paul Anthony Kelly — star of the upcoming Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette — framed Disney’s sports position in stark terms for the room full of advertisers. “With the addition of the NFL Network and the Super Bowl, we expect to see a 55% increase in NFL impressions year over year,” she said. “And when you combine NFL and college football, Disney will deliver 40% of the football impressions this upcoming season. That puts us in a position that no one else can match.”

She also teased what else is coming across Disney’s broader slate — Ryan Murphy has a major announcement in the works, and there’s news coming around Dancing with the Stars as well. New Disney CEO Josh D’Amaro, who rang the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange earlier in the day to mark the occasion, set the tone at the top of the event before Ferro took the stage to drive it home.

For now, all eyes turn to Thursday, when the NFL drops its full schedule. But Disney already made sure everyone in that room knows exactly where to watch.

The post Disney and NFL Go All-In Together at 2026 Upfront appeared first on Cream.

• Star Wars has grossed over $10 billion at the box office but faced mounting criticism in recent years.
• Nielsen data shows none of Disney’s sequel trilogy films made the top 10 most-streamed Star Wars titles on May the Fourth 2024.
• Luke Skywalker’s arc in The Last Jedi remains one of the most debated creative decisions in franchise history.
• John Boyega publicly criticized Disney’s handling of Finn, saying the character’s potential was squandered.
• Star Wars comics have quietly been doing the repair work — rehabilitating characters like Qi’ra and even bringing back Jaxxon.

Few franchises in entertainment history have inspired the kind of passionate, decades-long devotion that Star Wars commands — and few have also managed to frustrate that same fanbase quite so consistently. Since George Lucas introduced audiences to a galaxy far, far away in 1977, the series has grown into a $10 billion-plus box office juggernaut spanning a dozen films, multiple live-action and animated series, and an entire expanded universe of books, comics, and games. The scale of it is genuinely staggering.

But scale doesn’t equal perfection. And the bigger Star Wars has gotten, the harder some of its stumbles have landed.

The Sequel Trilogy’s Streaming Problem Is Worse Than You Think

Here’s a number that should give Disney pause: not one of the three sequel trilogy films — The Force Awakens, The Last Jedi, or The Rise of Skywalker — cracked the top 10 most-streamed Star Wars titles on May the Fourth last year, according to Nielsen data. Not one. The list was dominated by the original trilogy, the prequels, and a couple of Disney’s own TV entries, most notably Andor.

Fans have been vocal about their disappointment with the new trilogy for years, but this is something different. It’s not just criticism — it’s indifference. People aren’t rewatching these films. They’re not revisiting them for comfort or nostalgia. They’re simply moving on.

The reasons are well-documented at this point. The writing felt rushed and at times contradictory, particularly between The Last Jedi — directed by Rian Johnson — and The Rise of Skywalker, where J.J. Abrams returned to course-correct in ways that created their own continuity headaches. The result was a trilogy that felt less like a planned story and more like three different directors arguing with each other across three films, with audiences caught in the middle.

What Happened to Luke Skywalker

Of all the creative decisions made in the Disney era, none has been more polarizing than what The Last Jedi did with Luke Skywalker. Mark Hamill himself has spoken about his initial disagreements with Rian Johnson’s vision for the character — a broken, reclusive hermit who had turned his back on the Force and on hope itself. For many fans who grew up watching Luke as the beating heart of the original trilogy, seeing him reduced to that felt like a betrayal.

Hamill came back. He played the role. But the version of Luke presented in that film — world-weary, self-exiled, almost contemptuous of his own legend — hit differently than anything the franchise had done before. Whether that was bold storytelling or a fundamental misreading of what audiences needed from that character is a debate that hasn’t cooled down years later.

Finn’s Arc and a Wasted Opportunity

John Boyega, who played Finn across all three sequel films, didn’t hold back when he went public with his frustrations about how Disney handled his character. Boyega argued that Finn — introduced with real promise in The Force Awakens as a stormtrooper who breaks free and finds his conscience — was steadily sidelined in the final two installments.

He wasn’t wrong. Finn’s arc across the trilogy is one of the more glaring examples of a character with genuine potential being written into increasingly marginal territory. By The Rise of Skywalker, a character who had been set up as a central hero was essentially running around reacting to other people’s storylines. Whatever the reasons — and Boyega framed it largely around race, which sparked its own conversation — the end result was a compelling character who never got to fulfill what the first film promised.

The Comics Have Been Quietly Doing the Repair Work

While the films have struggled, something interesting has been happening on the page. Disney’s Star Wars comics — published under the Marvel banner, and through licensing deals with Dark Horse and IDW — have become an increasingly bold creative space, and some of the most important character rehabilitation in the franchise’s recent history has happened there.

Take Qi’ra. Emilia Clarke’s character in Solo: A Star Wars Story was one of the more intriguing figures introduced in the Disney era — a survivor, a manipulator, a woman who chose power over loyalty and paid a complicated price for it. When Solo underperformed at the box office, it looked like Qi’ra might simply disappear. Instead, she was reintroduced in War of the Bounty Hunters, a crossover comic event built around the scramble to claim a carbonite-frozen Han Solo. Qi’ra wasn’t a footnote in that story — she was a genuine power player, and the comic gave her the menace and complexity the film had only hinted at.

That led directly into Crimson Reign, a story centered on Qi’ra’s Crimson Dawn syndicate taking on both the Empire and the Sith. By the time those comics were done, the character had been transformed from a one-film love interest into one of the more compelling figures in current Star Wars canon. She’s since appeared in Star Wars Outlaws. If she ever returns on screen, there’s an entire architecture of story waiting for her.

Then there’s Jaxxon — and yes, that name will mean something to a very specific kind of Star Wars fan. First appearing in Star Wars #8 back in 1977, the rabbit-like smuggler created by Roy Thomas and Howard Chaykin was essentially the franchise’s attempt at comic relief, a kind of Bugs Bunny in space. He faded from view for decades. Disney brought him back in the Star Wars Adventures Annual in 2018, published through IDW, and the response was warm enough that Jaxxon has been popping up in comics ever since. The Clone Wars even snuck in a skeleton of his species as a background detail. A full screen appearance feels less like a question of if and more of when.

It’s a reminder that the comics have always been where Star Wars takes its risks — lower stakes, smaller audiences, more room to experiment. When those experiments work, they quietly reshape what the larger franchise can do. When the films misfire, the comics are often the ones quietly cleaning up.

Star Wars at its best has always been about hope — which makes it fitting that even after some of its biggest creative stumbles, the franchise keeps finding ways to course-correct. The question is whether the films can catch up to what the rest of the universe is already doing.

The post Star Wars’ Biggest Mistakes, Ranked by Fans appeared first on Cream.

• Q’orianka Kilcher, now 36, alleges James Cameron extracted her facial features at age 14 to design Neytiri in the Avatar franchise
• The suit was filed May 5, 2026 in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California against Cameron, Disney, and Lightstorm Entertainment
• Cameron allegedly admitted the connection on camera, saying Kilcher’s photo was “the actual source” for the Neytiri sketch
• Kilcher’s lawsuit also invokes California’s recently enacted deepfake pornography statute, citing her age and Neytiri’s intimate scenes
• The Avatar franchise has earned billions worldwide; Kilcher is seeking compensatory damages, punitive damages, and disgorgement of profits

Q’orianka Kilcher says James Cameron took her face when she was 14 years old — and built a billion-dollar franchise on it.

The Yellowstone actress, now 36, filed a lawsuit Tuesday against Cameron, The Walt Disney Company, and Lightstorm Entertainment in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, alleging that Cameron used a photograph of her taken during production of Terrence Malick’s 2005 film The New World — in which she played Pocahontas — as the foundation for Neytiri, the Na’vi protagonist of the Avatar films played onscreen by Zoe Saldaña. The case is Kilcher v. Cameron, No. 2:26-cv-04832.

According to the complaint, Cameron spotted a promotional photograph of Kilcher in the Los Angeles Times and, struggling to make Neytiri feel human enough to connect with audiences — her look had been described internally as “too alien” — chose the teenage actress’s image as what the suit calls “a facial anchor.” From there, her likeness was traced into production sketches, sculpted into three-dimensional maquettes, laser-scanned into high-resolution digital models, and distributed across multiple visual effects vendors. Her lips, chin, jawline, and overall mouth shape were, according to the filing, preserved in Neytiri’s final appearance. The suit calls it “a literal transplant of a real teenager’s facial structure into a blockbuster movie character.”

Kilcher is a Native Peruvian actress and Indigenous rights activist. She was 14 in the photograph Cameron allegedly used. She says she had no idea any of this had happened.

“I never imagined that someone I trusted would systematically use my face as part of an elaborate design process and integrate it into a production pipeline without my knowledge or consent,” Kilcher said in a statement. “That crosses a major line. This act is deeply wrong.”

The Sketch, the Note, and the Moment She Found Out

The story gets more complicated — and, frankly, more unsettling — from there.

According to the filing, Kilcher and Cameron first crossed paths briefly at a charity event in 2010, shortly after Avatar‘s massive 2009 release. Cameron personally invited her to visit his office. When she arrived about a week later, Cameron wasn’t there — but a staff member presented her with a framed print of a sketch Cameron had made, along with a handwritten note from the director that read: “Your beauty was my early inspiration for Neytiri. Too bad you were shooting another movie. Next time.”

“When I received Cameron’s sketch, I believed it was a personal gesture, at most a loose inspiration tied to casting and my activism,” Kilcher said. “Millions of people opened their hearts to ‘Avatar’ because they believed in its message and I was one of them.”

The suit also notes that Kilcher’s talent agent at the time had tried to get her a read for the film — and was never given one.

The moment everything shifted came late last year, when a broadcast video interview with Cameron began circulating on social media. In the clip, Cameron stands in front of the Neytiri sketch and names Kilcher directly: “The actual source for this was a photo in the L.A. Times, a young actress named Q’orianka Kilcher. This is actually her…her lower face. She had a very interesting face.”

That interview, according to the complaint, is what finally revealed the full scope of what had been done with her image.

Cameron’s team wasn’t alone in acknowledging the connection, either. Sculptor and concept artist Jordu Schell told Gizmodo back in 2009 that Cameron “very much liked the face” of Kilcher from The New World, describing her as one of several “really beautiful ethnic women” whose images were referenced during the character design process.

What the Lawsuit Is Actually Claiming

The complaint is broad. Kilcher is alleging violations of California’s right of publicity law, which prohibits the commercial use of a person’s likeness without consent. But the suit goes further, invoking California’s recently enacted deepfake pornography statute — because Kilcher was a minor in the source photograph, and Neytiri is depicted in an intimate scene in the film.

“This case exposes how one of Hollywood’s most powerful filmmakers exploited a young Indigenous girl’s biometric identity and cultural heritage to create a record-breaking film franchise — without credit or compensation to her — through a series of deliberate, non-expressive commercial acts,” the suit reads.

Lead counsel Arnold P. Peter of Peter Law Group did not mince words. “What Cameron did was not inspiration, it was extraction,” he said. “He took the unique biometric facial features of a 14-year-old Indigenous girl, ran them through an industrial production process, and generated billions of dollars in profit without ever once asking her permission. That is not filmmaking. That is theft.”

Co-counsel Asher Hoffman added: “The complaint describes a deliberate analog-to-digital creative process that misappropriated Ms. Kilcher’s identity.”

The suit also draws a pointed contrast between Avatar‘s public-facing message and what allegedly happened behind the scenes: “The result was a hugely lucrative film franchise that presented itself as sympathetic to Indigenous struggles, all while silently exploiting a real Indigenous youth behind the scenes.”

The first Avatar film earned more than $2.92 billion worldwide and remains one of the highest-grossing films of all time. Avatar: Fire and Ash, the third installment, crossed $1 billion at the box office after its release late last year. The franchise is among the biggest in Hollywood history.

Kilcher is seeking compensatory and punitive damages, disgorgement of profits tied to the use of her likeness, injunctive relief, and corrective public disclosure. Neither Disney nor Cameron has responded to the lawsuit.

“It is deeply disturbing to learn that my face, as a 14-year-old girl, was taken and used without my knowledge or consent to help create a commercial asset that has generated enormous value for Disney and Cameron,” Kilcher said.

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