PS5 vs PS4 Pro: will it be worth the upgrade?

PS5 vs PS4 Pro: which should you buy? As the PS5 launch date approaches, there's still the current mid-gen refresh, the PS4 Pro, to consider.

This beefed-up PlayStation 4 released in 2016 and represents a decent chunk of the 100 million PS4s sold this generation. Plenty of base PS4 owners upgraded to the Pro for the 4K-ready horsepower, and it remains the best way to play exclusives like God of War, Uncharted 4, and Horizon: Zero Dawn.

But now we're coming to the end of this generation, and the PS4 Pro vs PS5 dilemma is a worthy question. We also know that the PS5 will come in two models: a standard and Digital Edition variant. So, here's a breakdown of what we know about the two consoles so far, including their prices (or rumored prices), specs, and flagship games, to help you weigh up whether it'll be worth upgrading from the PS4 Pro to the PlayStation 5.

PS5 vs PS4 Pro price

PS5 vs PS4 Pro

The most difficult thing about weighing up the PS5 price is that even Sony doesn't know it yet. That said, there are some ideas out there. 

It looks like the PS5 price won't be as bad as you think. PSErebus, who correctly estimated The Last of Us 2 release date, claimed in November 2019 that the PS5's RRP would be $499 (about £380 and AUS$745). And, while Sony admitting it didn't know the price of its upcoming box in February 2020 somewhat undermines the leak, this certainly wouldn't be a bad price considering the power of its rumored components.

The leak puts the PS5 price at $100 more than the PS4 Pro launch cost of $399 (£349, AU$559), but Amazon currently lists the Pro for around $320, £300 and AU$484 in the US, UK, and Australia, respectively.

That said, you can still do better than that. The PS4 Pro plunged to just £299 in the Black Friday PS4 sales when bundled with Death Stranding. Either way, the PS4 Pro is highly likely to be the cheaper option, and its price will tumble even more once its big brother releases later this year.

PS4 Pro vs PS5 specs

PS5 vs PS4 Pro

There's still plenty to find out about the PS5's internals, but here's what we know so far:

  • GPU: 10.28 TFLOPs, 36 CUs at 2.23GHz (variable frequency) with RDNA 2 architecture
  • CPU: AMD Zen 2-based CPU with 8 cores at 3.5GHz (variable frequency)
  • Memory: 16GB GDDR6, 256-bit interface, 448GB/s bandwidth
  • Storage: Custom 825GB SSD with 5.5GB/s (raw), typical 8-9GB/s (compressed)
  • Expandable storage: NVMe SSD slot, USB HDD support (for PS4 games only)
  • Optical: 4K UHD Blu Ray drive
  • Visuals: Native 4K 120Hz + 8K
  • Audio: Temptest 3D

One of the highlights is the AMD GPU and CPU pairing. We've now learned officially that these will be a combination of eight Zen 2 CPU cores running at 3.5GHz and 36 compute units running at 2.23GHz to handle the graphics. The GPU will be capable of 10.28 TFLOPs. 

PS5 lead system architect Mark Cerny has also confirmed to Wired that the new hardware is capable of ray tracing. Seen in some of the prettiest PC games around, like Control, Metro Exodus, and Battlefield V, ray tracing is an innovative means of rendering light and shadows.

But since every 'ray' of light has its own simulated source, only now has the power required been viable in a console. In other words, ray tracing is going to make the rumored God of War 2 and Horizon: Zero Dawn 2 look properly next-gen.

And if that wasn't treat enough for your corneas, there's word of 8K support, too. But when it comes to whether you should choose between the 4K vs 8K consoles, know that 8K won't be a mainstream prospect for some years yet.

ps5 ray tracing PS5 vs PS4 Pro

Excellent news for PlayStation players is the PS5's solid state drive (SSD) – a long overdue upgrade that PC players have enjoyed for years. Games are claimed to load 19-times faster. And, although the SSD coming in the PS5 is only 825GB, Cerny noted that the faster speeds of the SSD mean developers won't need to duplicate data onto multiple parts games' files, thereby cutting down on wasted space. 

Meanwhile, the PS4 Pro is still held back by its ageing mechanical HDD. While the PS4's UI design felt seamless as you could easily pick up a game where you left off from standby or after visiting other apps, you'll eventually be envious of the few loading screens PS5 players will be enjoying. Even if you upgrade the PS4 Pro with an SSD, it won't be able to offer the same bandwidth available in the PS5. The Pro also doesn't have the 4K Blu Ray player that the PS5 will.

Cerny also made clear to Wired that the PS5's audio will reach a new "gold standard" thanks to its upgraded audio engine. Sony is using the Tempest 3D audio tech to power the sound experience. It will be capable of handling hundreds of sound sources for impressive spatial audio, so you're going to want to invest in the very best gaming headsets. Cerny did mention that Sony is working on virtual surround sound for speakers as well, though.

Meanwhile, here are the PS4 Pro's specs:

  • CPU: eight-core x86-64 AMD Jaguar
  • GPU: AMD Radeon with 4.2 teraflops
  • RAM: 8GB GDDR5
  • Storage: 1TB HDD

The refreshed mid-gen model proved a decent jump on the base PS4: it supports 4K streaming from Amazon and Netflix, but native 4K gaming isn't possible on all titles, and only then at 30fps. 

Naturally expect the PS5 to be a healthy power jump over the Pro, but if you're all about the best graphics, don't want a PC, and are platform agnostic, it's worth considering the most powerful console on the market today, the Xbox One X.

PS5 vs PS4 Pro games

ps5 or ps4 pro

If you buy a PS4 Pro now, we hope you've got some time off sorted: Bloodborne, God of War, Uncharted 4, The Last of Us, The Last Guardian, and Marvel's Spider-Man are exclusive to Sony's box, along with other killer multi-platform experiences like Red Dead Redemption 2 and Control.

However, we still don't know much about the PS5 launch lineup, although Marvel's Spider-Man Miles Morales might be one of the games. We know Horizon Forbidden West, the follow up to Horizon: Zero Dawn, is also coming at some point the future, but it might be worth holding fire until there's something that really excites you. Here's what's confirmed (so far):

  • Godfall
  • Gothic
  • Rainbow Six Siege
  • Outriders
  • WRC 9
  • Horizon Forbidden Dawn
  • Demon's Souls
  • Battlefield 6
  • Stray
  • Tribes of Midgard
  • The Pathless
  • Goodbye Volcano High
  • GTA 5
  • Gran Turismo 7
  • Ghostwire: Tokyo
  • Returnal
  • Marvel's Spider-Man Miles Morales
  • Dying Light 2
  • Project Anthia
  • Sackboy: A Big Adventure
  • Destruction All-Stars
  • Kena: Bridge of Spirits
  • Oddworld: Soulstorm
  • Solar Ash
  • Hitman 3
  • Astrobot's Playhouse
  • Little Devil Inside
  • NBA 2K21
  • Bugsnax
  • Resident Evil 8
  • Deathloop
  • Pragmata
  • Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart
  • Lord of the Rings: Gollum
  • Watch Dogs: Legion
  • Gods and Monsters
  • Rainbow Six Quarantine

That said, PS5 backwards compatibility with the PS4 has been confirmed for the upcoming console. This means those that skip a generation won't miss out: it looks like you'll be able to play most PS4 games on the new box, since they're based on a similar architecture to the PS5. Sony has even said the PS5 will launch with support for most of the top 100 PS4 games. 

PS5 vs PS4 Pro verdict

PS5 vs PS4 Pro

While there's still plenty more to learn about the PlayStation 5 – the price being arguably the most crucial point – there's little reason to buy a PS4 Pro right now. Not only will the PS5 be the more powerful, faster box, but Sony's efforts to enable backwards compatibility means that even if you buy a PS5, it's likely you won't miss out on the PS4's finest experiences, and probably those older than that, too.

If you've been waiting this long to buy your first PS4, you might as well do so a little longer and either skip a generation and buy a PS5, or take advantage of an even cheaper PS4 Pro once the newer console launches.

That said, upgrading from a Pro is a tougher dilemma. The Pro already supports native 4K for many games at decent performance, and you'll need deep pockets for an 8K TV to fully benefit from the PS5's power. And that's only when 8K gaming is fully supported. As ever, early adopters pay a premium, so it's worth waiting for the next-gen exclusive you really can't do without.

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Rick and Morty season 5: release date, cast, and what else we know

How long will we have to wait until Rick and Morty season 5? Us fans of a certain belching scientist and his pubescent grandson sidekick needn't fret now that season 4 is done: there are loads more episodes to come to Adult Swim, and the wait between seasons should be plenty shorter. Rick and Morty season 4's continuity-heavy finale leaves a lot to think about, too, especially around Beth - but we won't spoil that here if you haven't seen it yet. 

Production problems on the wacky intergalactic animation forced us to wait years between seasons, but following confirmation of a Rick and Morty season 5 in July 2019, co-creators Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon have stressed that the wait won't be as long this time. That comes despite the coronavirus outbreak: it looks like the scripting process is coming along well, but recording may be more of a challenge.

Here, we'll be breaking down when we can expect the Rick and Morty season 5 release date, what we know about the returning cast, and what's to come from the anarchic animated series in future.

Rick and Morty season 5 release date: episodes may arrive faster

There's no release date for season 5 yet, but we at least know that the likely ten episodes are pretty far along on its route to Adult Swim in the US and E4 (and later Netflix) in the UK. Speaking to Slash Film, co-creator Justin Roiland said while "season 5 is mostly in the can," that "it’s largely dependent on how quick the episodes can get produced."

He went on to float the idea of a monthly release schedule for season 5, although that's evidently up to Adult Swim. "I believe if they [Adult Swim] have the full ten episodes, they’ll release them without a split," he said. “I’ve been saying we should drop an episode each month, just make it a big event [...] If you do one a month, the show is alive the whole year and you’re still buying us all the time we need to make them as good as they need to be."

Either way, there's a chance we may not have to wait as long between seasons as we have before. Season 3 was delayed for two years, but the wait was even longer due to protracted contract negotiations between Roiland, Harmon and Adult Swim. However, the pair's new contract struck in 2018 with the cable network, including at least 70 more episodes, has given them the security to produce episodes better and faster.

"It is structured into our deal that if we’re going strong and fast there are options to deliver more episodes at a time," Harmon told EW. Speaking to Polygon, Roiland said “For the first time ever, we’re locked in, we know what the future is, we have job security. We want the episodes to stay good, but we do also want to try to turn them around a little quicker now that we have this big order, I think it gives us the ability to be faster."

However, Sarah Chalke (Beth) suggested to Digital Spy that there may be a coronavirus-related delay ahead of season 5. Recording is currently on hold because "as it stands, we are going to most likely hold off on recording until things settle down a little bit," Chalke said. Some recording has been done remotely for seasons 4 and 5, but the team need to be in a proper studio to record at the necessary quality.

That said, Roiland provided an encouraging update on the future of Rick and Morty production amid the disruption to The Wrap. When it all started they "had already finished season 4," and writers are now " working on season 5 in two-hour blocks through Zoom." But while there are positives to working remotely, Roiland explained, "they are balanced out by things that are worse." Still, at least the cogs are moving on the writing side.

On the other hand, composer Ryan Elder told Inverse "I haven't seen anything for season 5 yet, although I'm told I will soon." He also acknowledged to Inverse in 2018 that he tends to get "involved kind of in the middle" of the process, so we still have a while to wait for Rick and Morty season 5 yet.

Rick and Morty season 5 cast: will Kanye appear this time?

While there's no season 5 cast list confirmed yet, we can almost certainly expect Spencer Grammer (Summer) and Sarah Chalke (Beth) to return alongside Roiland (Rick and Morty). We also know that Chris Parnell (Jerry) is all-but-officially in, after revealing to IGN "I've upgraded my home setup - even though it doesn't look like it - so I can actually record proper sessions from home."

In terms of direction, will this be the season in which Kanye West gets an episode? It was confirmed that he'd be offered this chance in 2019, but so far schedules between the rapper and the Rick and Morty creators have not synced. "We f**king love Kanye, man," Roiland told a photographer at the WarnerMedia upfronts last year. "He's a kindred spirit."

Rick and Morty season 5 story: expect new worlds and adventures

rick and morty season 5 story

We don't know much about Rick and Morty's future escapades, but at least Roiland aims to always keep the show fresh, and not cover old ground. To EW, Roiland said, "One philosophy we tend to adopt is to keep moving forward with new ideas, new worlds, and not look back as often as other shows might, just in fear of that coming off as disingenuous fan service."

Will Rick and Morty go on after season 10?

Once season 4 is complete, there will be another 60 Rick and Morty episodes still to come. However, it seems likely it'll go on after season 10. Harmon told EW, "Sure I’ll end it! But I don’t know that would be on 70. I would be equally unsurprised if you told me that this thing goes for 20 years. I wouldn’t balk at that at all. If it still feels right, let’s do it." 

Roiland agreed: "We have characters that don’t really age, it’s very Simpsons-esque. There’s so much we can do to keep riding this train."

No doubt hardcore fans are happy to watch this adult animated comedy for many years to come. 

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The Eddy on Netflix evokes the self-indulgent power of jazz

In case it wasn’t already obvious, director Damien Chazelle loves music. Like really loves it. The now-famous director was once on a doomed quest to become a professional jazz drummer when he studied at Princeton High School, and the fact that he had an especially intense tutor will come as no surprise to fans of his breakout film, Whiplash. Then there was his band at Harvard, Chester French, and, of course, La La Land, his heartfelt, timeless ode to the musical.

Just as music has characterized and defined the director’s life, so it does with The Eddy, a just-released limited series for Netflix in which Chazelle appears to have been able to fill its eight-hour duration with as much jazz as he can squeeze. Here it's the show’s entire language and the structural glue that holds it all together. It almost feels like TV made from jazz. But for all The Eddy’s entertaining glamor and emotional weight, it’s held back by aimlessness and overindulgence. 

The Eddy is the story of a Parisian jazz club and the band of the same name that ply their rambunctious trade there nightly. However, the club founded by Elliot Udo (André Holland, Moonlight) is struggling financially. This famous New York musician has to manage business interests that get increasingly murky, his extremely tiresome daughter, Julie, and the dysfunctional band while it records an all-important album.

The Eddy trumpets onto the streaming scene in a time of booming renaissance for jazz more widely. In recent years, the genre’s popularity has exploded. Spotify reported in 2018 that listens to their Jazz UK playlist have more than doubled, with artists like the Ezra Collective, The Comet is Coming, and Kamasi Washington revitalizing the genre and repurposing it for our turbulent present. In short, jazz is cool now. The Eddy thinks it’s pretty cool, too. And it is, for the most part.

At first, however, it may put some people off. The show’s title card invites you into this “série originale netflix” and most of the cast in this flit between fluent French and English effortlessly. Its tone and style certainly won’t be for everyone. The musical numbers – of which there are many – often outstay their welcome, so if you have anything against jazz, I wouldn’t bother watching. And as we start in the crowd watching the band, they seem haughty and aloof, moaning at each other for minor mistakes.

This first impression fades when you realize The Eddy doesn’t take itself as seriously as it initially seems. Farid’s wife Amira (Leïla Bekhti), gently teases them for their snobbishness, and as they play an al fresco wedding gig, the bride mutters that she wishes they’d change their “elevator music” for something more popular. Even the bank refuses to support the club because they’re “not French enough.”

But it’s The Eddy's structure that gets under its characters' highfalutin skin. Each episode is named after one character and is then mostly driven by the baggage that person bring to each gig. These mini-narratives give the show the feel of an anthology, and that was a strong creative choice. As Katarina struggles to get the support from the state her disabled father needs and Sim gets desperate in his efforts to get his terminally-ill mother to Mecca, we see the real diversity that enriches Paris’ shabby banlieues. Beyond a poster reading “Strength in diversity” in the background and a copy of James Baldwin’s The Price of the Ticket, the importance of diversity isn’t commented on or emphasized. It’s just there.

By the time the band comes together to record their album – the final episode is named ‘The Eddy’ – it’s a different story, like an empty gallery that’s now been filled. The sound they produce is more nuanced in context. Once we know that band members are variously playing through the pain of addiction or a poor relationship with a parent, we understand where the passion for their music comes from, and it creates a quite beautiful ensemble by the end.

That said, The Eddy does occasionally lurch into cheesiness and melodrama. After a hectic night involving a botched sexual encounter, and being kidnapped by drug dealers, Julie plays her clarinet to cope. Impromptu performances take place frequently as if The Eddy were a sort of makeshift musical, and it doesn’t always work. We also get a classic rom-com cliche as Elliot makes a last-ditch exhortation to his love interest and Eddy lead singer, Maja, at the airport.  

The show is weakest when it wants to be a crime thriller. The fallout of Elliot's partner's dodgy business dealings triggers a hokey overarching plot that gets increasingly ridiculous and ultimately tails off. The big bad gangster that torments Elliot and the club with fire bombs and threats is someone that really loves jazz, for instance. The lack of a crescendo feels as if another season is being set up, but this is just a limited series.

the eddy netflix damien chazelle

But, as we’re reminded in the final scenes, The Eddy is all about the music and the people that produce it. So much so that scenes without it are conspicuous in its absence. With the lively gig scenes still reverberating in the mind, the scene of a body being prepared for burial – drained of all life, colour, and sound - is especially jarring, and stark in its cold silence. Other moments play simultaneously with the band’s performances, both to enhance and contrast with events elsewhere. At times in The Eddy, music and life become so intertwined as to be indistinguishable.

It's all enhanced by a demanding, close-up camera that helps us feel like we're there. We get right up in Elliot’s face in a way that recalls Ryan Gosling’s claustrophobic cockpit in First Man, of which Holland copes masterfully as his face displays endless variations of I don’t need this right now. Conversations feel as chaotic as a solo as we whirl from one face to the next. Thrust into the centre of the crowd we can almost taste the black coffee amid the haze of tobacco.

While that may sound off-putting to some at first, what starts as impenetrable and distant becomes more welcoming as the chinks in the band's initially arrogant armour unravel. Each note, scene, and character is marshalled to bring us all together under one roof regardless of our backgrounds, by a shared appreciation of music. 

The Eddy's earnestness to present its clarion call on the uniting power of music means it veers into something overlong, self-indulgent, and all that jazz, but its heart is in the right place. 

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The Last Dance makes it hard to like the players at the heart of this documentary

Sports documentaries, for the most part, need to do two things: be accessible to you even if you know nothing about the discipline, and give you someone to root for. You can’t beat an underdog story like Sunderland ‘Til I Die, but the drama is bound up in your support for the show’s subject, so even if they're global superstars, you’ve got to at least like them. Then that drama shouldn't be weighed down by reams of complex tactical analysis and exposition. In one sense the first two episodes of ESPN's The Last Dance (releasing on Netflix internationally) are successful. But in the other it fails, emphatically.

Chasing a second ‘three-peat’ - winning an NBA championship in three consecutive seasons - The Last Dance follows who some consider the greatest ball player of all time, Michael Jordan, and the Chicago Bulls in their 1997/98 season. Supplemented with some never-before-seen footage and illustrious talking heads including all-star ex-pros, Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, and MJ today, this ten-part drama is the result of exclusive access enjoyed by NBA Entertainment cameras. You may not need to know the first thing about basketball to watch it, but you may not develop enough affection for the team to stick with it.

Before I started the first two episodes - Netflix is dropping two each week on Mondays until May 18 - I knew little more than what an ‘alley-oop’ was, but it turns out that already made me overqualified to understand what’s going on. Occasionally terms like, steals, rebounds, and playoffs are thrown at you, but you don’t need to know what any of that means to realize that a guy once called 'Mike' Jordan from North Carolina is special at what he does. 

MJ steals the show everywhere he goes, so it’s not surprising that he dominates the show’s attention, despite the efforts of some to wrench away the spotlight. Watching the man in action is mesmerizing. The sheer pace and bristling, irresistible energy with which he inhales the court in the sprint to the opposition basket is astounding. I could watch him endlessly as he contorts his body majestically, arms flailing in impossible positions to feint and pulls off ridiculous distance shots.

Eventually, however, I found myself appreciating the superstar with a detached admiration. The thing is, Michael Jordan doesn't make a great impression. When asked for an autograph after a game, he wordlessly turns to an assistant who says for him “not now”. Sarcastically offering to shoot hoops with the Bulls’ diminutive General Manager, Jerry Krause, Jordan points out they’d have to “lower the hoops” first. He even buys the team’s second best player, Scottie Pippen, a pair of golf clubs so he can put him in his place in that sport, too.

It seems like being told you’re the best NBA player for a decade can really go to your head, which is something that becomes more apparent when the show’s timeline jumps about a bit. 

The 97/98 season is the glue that holds the series together, but we also see MJ’s childhood, his time in high school and college, plus the terrible Chicago Bulls roster he vastly improved in the 1980s, which provide valuable context. Experiencing MJ’s time as a child with his pushy father, with his brothers that’d fight if they lost a one-on-one basketball match against each other, and him getting cut from the high school team, makes the lurch back to 1997 even more jarring in an international exhibition win against PSG-Racing in Paris. Refusing to hug his ecstatic teammates, he dismisses the game as one that, for a regular NBA championship winner like him, just “doesn’t count”.

the last dance michael jordan

Like anyone who’s reached the pinnacle of their discipline, MJ’s overwhelming drive to win is a given. That said, it seems to be all there really is to him, based on this documentary. I was hoping the show would get under his skin, so I could know more about the personality of a man I’d only heard of, but never understood. 

But, albeit based on the first two episodes of The Last Dance, winning does seem to be his personality. When his side is losing, he becomes apoplectic. With Pippen sidelined with injury and the team on their worst run in years, it becomes not a moment for reflection that perhaps being a team player is important, but an excuse to yell his teammates’ shortcomings in training.

The rest of those associated with the Bulls aren’t much more agreeable. Pippen may be subjected to an overly-long contract unworthy of the second best player in the NBA, but hearing of his berating of Jerry Krause on the team bus makes for uncomfortable television. Then again, despite Krause having the nerve to make the necessary point that “organizations win championships, not players” in what seems like a thinly-veiled dig at Jordan, the GM's attitude towards others in the limelight makes him come off as pretty unappealing in this documentary, also.

So they’re not a likeable bunch so far, which is some of an issue when they’re the main cast in a sports documentary. For all MJ’s heroics on the court, you remember he refers to himself in the third person. You’re not invested in seeing his team succeed, no matter how many matches they see out on a knife edge with seconds remaining. 

Unlike the underdogs you can’t help but support in Sunderland ‘Til I Die, these players are serial winners. The drama of their petty squabbling doesn’t make up for the reduced stakes of following a group on their quest to simply repeat their success. In the end, unlike the famous Michael Jordan, I just don’t care if he wins.

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Better Call Saul season 6: release date, story, and what we know

When Better Call Saul started in February 2015, it wasn't quite as hotly discussed as its predecessor. Now, after five exceptional seasons, we’re clamoring for Better Call Saul season 6. AMC confirmed the final season a month before the season 5 premiere, and it’s currently being written remotely as the coronavirus outbreak rages on.

Co-creator Peter Gould and the writing team have spent five years carefully developing each complex character, and now the stories of Jimmy, Kim, and the various conniving drug kingpins of New Mexico are ready to reach their climax. Speaking to Deadline, Gould says Better Call Saul season 6 is “going to be big, and it’s going to be resolved.”

Since he plays a role in Breaking Bad, set six years after the prequel starts, we already know Jimmy ‘Saul Goodman’ McGill is safe, but there are plenty of characters that could be in the writer’s crosshairs. The wait for the final season is already agonizing, so let’s break down what we know about the Better Call Saul season 6 release date, cast, and story. Be warned, season 5 spoilers follow.

The Better Call Saul season 6 release date will be in 2021

Variety confirms that Better Call Saul will conclude in 2021. Expect it to be in the latter half of next year, though: there will be three more episodes than the usual ten, and there tends to be a year gap between each season. Also, the start of production could be delayed by Covid-19.

Work on the finale’s story is already underway, however. In an interview with Variety in April, Gould said “We just started working the last few weeks [...] There are some things going on in the writers’ room that I’m really excited about.”

Better Call Saul season 6 story: who will survive?

The season 5 finale set up two major storylines: Kim against Howard Hamlin, and Lalo Salamanca versus, well, everyone. In the final scene we left Lalo fuming with rage after Gus’ failed assassination attempt. With his house ablaze and mother dead, “Lalo has vengeance in his eyes and is heading north for revenge,” Tony Dalton told the LA Times. We know Lalo survives, though, since we recall Goodman’s terrified line to Walter White in Breaking Bad: “Did Lalo send you?”

One of the men with a target on his back is Nacho Varga, and Gould told The Wrap he’s “in deep, deep trouble.” Nacho disappears during the assassination, and the extended shot of Lalo fixating on the drinks he shared with Varga moments earlier confirms that he suspects his former colleague’s involvement. Nacho never appears in Breaking Bad, so don’t bet on him making it out alive.

Another central Better Call Saul character missing in Breaking Bad is Jimmy’s wife, Kim Wexler, and she doesn’t seem to be on a danger-free path either. After standing up to Lalo - so she has one foot in the grave already - it seems like the taciturn attorney is getting a taste for chaos: she wants to scam goody-two-shoes Howard out of his illustrious legal career, making the newlyweds millions. Gould is also concerned for Wexler: in an interview with The Wrap, he says “The title of the penultimate episode this season was Bad Choice Road. And, certainly, Kim Wexler seems to be on a bad choice road.”

In many ways, the roles of Kim and Jimmy have reversed. Following ‘Saul Goodman’s’ near-death experience in the desert, he’s reverted back to the unsure Jimmy McGill. Speaking to Deadline, Bob Odenkirk said “Jimmy is in a vulnerable place. He’s in a weak and uncertain and frightened place inside.”

We know that McGill makes it through Better Call Saul season 6, but will it be worth it? “He is an accessory to just awful, awful things, not just in the Walter White of it, but all the other things that he’s done,” Gould said to Deadline. “I feel that he has a karmic burden. Does this guy earn a happy ending?”

Better Call Saul cast: will more Breaking Bad characters return?

Better Call Saul wouldn’t exist without the man himself, so Odenkirk will return as Goodman. The Better Call Saul season 6 cast list isn’t confirmed, but we’ll certainly see more from Rhea Seehorn (Kim Wexler), Jonathan Banks (Mike Ehrmantraut), Patrick Fabian (Howard Hamlin), Micheal Mando (Nacho Varga), Giancarlo Esposito (Gus Fring), and Tony Dalton (Lalo Salamanca).

But while Gould has already confirmed that we won’t see Jesse (Aaron Paul) or Walter (Bryan Cranston), could we see any other Breaking Bad cameos? We were already treated to the return of Hank (Dean Norris) and his DEA buddy, Steven (Steven Michael Quezada) in season 5...

Will Better Call Saul season 6 outshine Breaking Bad?

It didn’t take long for Better Call Saul to justify its existence in its own right. Its undivided focus on character development makes it not only better than Breaking Bad in some ways, but one of the finest shows around. And chances are, it’s only going to get better.

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Avoid The English Game on Netflix, even if you’re desperate for Premier League football

In extraordinary, unprecedented circumstances, my strict Saturday routine is forcibly changed on March 14, 2020. Usually, at 3pm sharp, I’d be tuning in to follow the ups and – more often than not – downs of my club’s chase for promotion from the third tier of English football. Today, however, Portsmouth won’t host Accrington Stanley at Fratton Park. My afternoon is an open goal, as will will be the rest of them for the foreseeable future: football across the United Kingdom has been suspended due to the coronavirus.

After as little as two hours into my football-free time I anxiously twiddle my thumbs and, like many others, look for ways to fill the gap. FIFA and Football Manager are fun, but no replacement for the real thing. To give you an idea of how desperate people like me get for any kind of competition, Southampton FC played Manchester City on Twitter, at noughts and crosses

So Julian Fellowes’ The English Game arrived on Netflix at the best possible time. The drama from the writer best known for Downton Abbey traces the origins of football in the late 19th century. It ticks the only box I need in this trying time: it has football in it, at least an impression of it. But does it offer anything valuable for a sports fan in their time of need? 

Well, no. The English Game sees Fergus Suter (Kevin Guthrie) travel from their Glaswegian home to the Lancashire town of Darwen to play professional football and win the FA Cup, the oldest national football competition in the world, for the working man. The trouble is, in 1879, being paid to play is forbidden by competition rules, in this amateur-only sport devised by gentlemen in the playing fields of elite British public schools.

Its premise isn’t half bad and the familiar shouts from the sidelines, of 22 pairs of boots pounding the turf, are a reassuringly warm blanket at first. The clichés are comforting – “Let the ball do the work,” Suter implores his fellow Lancastrians in his first match – and captain of the Old Etonians, Arthur Kinnaird (Edward Holcroft) even looks a bit like Chelsea forward Olivier Giroud, if you squint.

But this is a world away from the sport I know, and that’s not because midfielders are ‘half-backs’ or that players swarm around the ball instead of occupying space, charging towards their target almost like a wedge formation. I didn’t previously know that teams with five or six forwards in this time could be defensive, but this isn’t football, whatever the century.

It’s hard to put into words how terrible The English Game’s on-pitch action is. I tried to suspend my disbelief, to forget that these are actors pretending to play football, but they sought to doggedly remind me of that fact at every opportunity. Obviously fake tackles and half-arsed attempts at saves are as heavy and laboured as the bright boiled leather ball with which they’re ‘playing’. “Jimmy would’ve got to that,” Fergie thinks to himself as he punts a ball directly into a hedge.

It’s somehow made worse by this weird, guttural chanting during matches. It also materialises during supposedly tense scenes off the pitch to indicate that we should be feeling something. Seriously, two football clubs tactically placing their crests inside a three-by-three grid is closer to the beautiful game than this.

Away from the field is hardly any better with wooden acting, lazy stereotypes of working Northerners from down t’mill pit against cold, corrupt elites, and one of the worst scripts I’ve ever endured on Netflix. “On the football field you’re a genius,” Fergie is told before a match, “away from it you’re a puzzle.” Suter plays football for money and then moves to another club for more money. What an enigma.

But the ridiculous melodrama of The English Game’s subplots are so bad they make me long for a return to the pitch. The actual football is almost entirely absent during the show’s middle episodes preoccupied with problematic class politics, affairs, and... actually the less said on that the better. 

At one stage Darwen players are shocked when its impoverished population pay to support them. But if “people need football,” as hirsute manager James Walsh (Craig Parkinson) explains, why is it relegated to the background as if it were an inconvenience? Then, occasionally, I’m reminded of what football is like in The English Game and regret my question.

Instead we follow relationships and character arcs that are somehow both under-developed and dwelled on for too long. After five minutes in Darwen, Suter has already made friends for life there, apparently, and the kindly Kinnaird almost immediately transforms from odious posho to saccharine saviour of the working man.

Admittedly there is something interesting buried beneath all the rubbish. It’s ham-fisted and heavy-handed, but the show is bookended by attempts to ask the vexed question of who football is for. Is it for the rich who play for fun, or the working poor that cobble together what little they have each week to support their adopted mercenary heroes?

It isn’t long before the gentlemen amateurs start to lose their grip on the pastime they invented as working class professionals threaten to beat them at their own game. The line “Football is a game, not a business,” may be intoned with trademark awkwardness and scenery chewing, but it’s hard not to reflect on the dark side and dominance of money in today’s game as clubs take ever greater risks to have a swipe at the English Premier League, and the lucrative TV money that entails.

While The English Game momentarily encourages football fans like me to reflect on the origins of the game and how it could’ve all been so different, it’s still just awful. Yet I binged it all in one go anyway, and I hate myself for it. On reflection, I’d sooner watch a game of tic-tac-toe on Twitter.

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The Haunting of Hill House season 2 release date: what we know about Bly Manor

The Haunting of Hill House season 2 is coming, but not quite how you might have expected it: our time with the Crain family is over, but now we're set to inhabit a new haunted abode in The Haunting of Bly Manor.

The first series, loosely based on Shirley Jackson's 1959 Gothic novel, gnawed at our collective psyches and became a smash horror hit in 2018, but the will transports us to the dark, unsettling world of Henry James' iconic work, The Turn of the Screw. That means we already have a decent idea of the basics of the season 2 story, so we'll definitely be emotionally prepared. Definitely.

Here we're detailing what to expect from the The Haunting of Bly Manor story, as well as when to expect it to launch. We'll also list what we know about its returning cast, so we can properly prepare ourselves for more terrifying psychological scares.

The Haunting of Bly Manor release date is this year

the haunting of bly manor

The Haunting of Bly Manor is coming in 2020, as confirmed by the tweet above. We don't have any more specific launch day information other than it's coming this year, but if we were betting people, we'd put our money on our next dose of Gothic goodness arriving at the spookiest time of year: Halloween. So, could The Haunting of Hill House season 2 release date be October 31, 2020? 

That said, it could arrive earlier: Flanagan confirmed on January 4 that he was heading to Vancouver to finish the project, which suggests the second season is at an advanced stage. Whenever season 2 lands, expect to see The Haunting of Bly Manor trailer turn up a month before launch, which is the standard way Netflix publicizes its shows. 

The Haunting of Hill House season 2 cast sees some familiar faces

We already know a few of the cast members for Bly Manor already, and some of them are returning despite the fresh setting. Victoria Pedretti (Nellie Crain) was revealed to be returning to the show on the show's official Twitter account, alongside Oliver Jackson-Cohen who played Nellie's twin, Luke. 

However, since the Crains' narrative is now over, they will be reappearing in new roles. Thanks to Netflix, we know that Pedretti will play the governess and Jackson-Cohen will be Peter, a Bly Manor resident.

Flanagan revealed on Twitter that Henry Thomas is in for the ride in an unknown role, returning from season one where he played Hugh Crain. The director is clearly a fan of the former ET child actor: he was also cast in the Flanagan-directed The Shining sequel, Dr Sleep. 

The horror supreme won't be directing The Haunting of Hill House season 2, though: instead it will be shared by up-and-coming horror directors, Yolanda Ramke, Ben Howling, Ciarán Foy, Liam Gavin, and Axelle Carolyn, Flanagan revealed on Twitter. That said, Flanagan did say he would still be "collaborating" with the new filmmakers.

The Haunting of Bly Manor story turns the screw

the haunting of hill house season 2 cast

Before we get to Henry James, why are we leaving the Crain family? "The story of the Crain family is done," Flanagan told Entertainment Weekly. He also said that while there are other possible stories that could be pursued surrounding the family, "I felt like the Crains have been through enough [...] the show is about haunted places and haunted people, and there's no shortage of either."

Instead season 2 is based on Henry James' 1898 novel, The Turn of the Screw, which sees a governess look after two children in a large house on a remote estate. Like Shirley Jackson's novel, The Turning of the Screw is a slim novella, so there'll have to be plenty of additions if season 2 stretches to another ten episodes. However, as Flanagan said to EW, season 1 was always "more of a remix than an adaptation." 

In other words, The Haunting of Bly Manor should entrance and surprise even James experts. "For Henry James fans, it's going to be pretty wild, and for people who aren't familiar with his work, it's going to be unbelievably scary," Flanagan told Birth.Movies.Death. Not only that, but it'll be "much scarier than season 1."

What The Haunting of Bly Manor can learn from other Turn of the Screw adaptations

The best-respected Turning of the Screw adaptation is The Innocents (1961), which stars Deborah Kerr and Michael Redgrave. The horror classic builds its horror and tension gradually, which is something a Netflix show's length can leverage. It was also subtle and nuanced: each viewing yields different conclusions, if you can bear to watch multiple times.

Then there's The Others, which released in 2001. Starring Nicole Kidman and James Bentley, this Alejandro Amenabar-directed flick proved a strong update on a classic. Like The Innocents, it left plenty of questions unanswered; if Bly Manor achieves that, fans of a horror binge will be excitedly puzzling them out together on forums and message boards long after release.

2020's The Turning - starring Stranger Things' Finn Wolfhard - was less successful. Plagued by production problems, this take on Screw suffered from a complicated, muddled plot and an ending that felt abrupt and unearned, rather than subtle. In short, learning from its cinematic predecessors, Bly Manor should tease out chilling ideas slowly, ensure the plot is subtle and mysterious, and not be like this year's The Turning.

Henry James' seminal text has inspired a fair few adaptations.

The best horror show on Netflix

Even as a loose adaptation, The Haunting of Hill House had the weight of the one of the most important Gothic texts on it shoulders, but it delivered. Its intricate storytelling and use of multiple timeframes didn't just deliver expertly choreographed scares, but also managed to be a thoughtful meditation on the madness of family. The pressure of adapting The Turn of The Screw will arguably bring greater pressure, but Flanagan and his cast have already proved up to the task.

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Xbox Series X vs Xbox One X: will it be worth the upgrade?

Xbox One X vs Xbox Series X: that is the question. If you're picking between a high-end (but current-gen) Xbox console and its fast-incoming next-gen successor, it might not be obvious which way to go.

Do you choose the cheaper, but still powerful Xbox One X, and miss out on exclusive next-gen games – or fork out for a massively powerful Xbox Series X console that may be more advanced than your current TV setup can do justice to?

Microsoft’s mid-gen refresh of the Xbox One – and answer to Sony’s PS4 Pro – is the best games console when it comes to sheer computing chops. It’s for console players who want the best of the best in terms of specs, and native 4K and HDR support, but the upcoming Xbox Series X will have something to say about that when it releases this year.

So, here's a break down of everything we know about the two consoles so far, including price (or rumored price), specs, and existing or expected games to help you weigh up whether it'll be worth upgrading from the Xbox One X to the Xbox Series X.

If you're more interested in the rumored disc-less alternative to the Series X, you can check out our Project Lockhart guide too.

UPDATE: We've seen a number of new Xbox Series X games announced for the console, after a gameplay reveal showcase that included our first look at Assassin's Creed Valhalla in action. For the full list of games (and whether they should sway you), read on below.

Xbox Series X vs Xbox One X price

Xbox One X

Both Sony and Microsoft are being coy on price, and for good reason. The Xbox Series X price and the PS5 price came out on top in a Twitter poll of the most important factors for those looking to pick up a next-gen console. Neither company intends to repeat the mistakes of the widely overpriced ($599!) PS3 in 2006, or that of the original $499 Xbox One. Some rumors have suggested the next Xbox will be around $499, but that's just speculation.

In other words, we don’t know the price of the next-gen Xbox yet, but head of Xbox, Phil Spencer, has stressed that Microsoft won’t be making the same mistake that crippled their start to the current console generation. Speaking with The Verge, Spencer said “we will not be out of position on power or price,” so expect the RRP to be more competitive this time.

In terms of the Xbox One X launch RRP of $499 / £449 / AU$649, you can do an awful lot better than that nowadays. At time of publication, some of the best Xbox One X deals see you picking up the console for less than $300 with a month of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate in the US or the console and every numbered Gears game for £299 in the UK. However, expect the Xbox One X to be reduced even more when Xbox Series X pre-orders launch later this year.

Xbox One X vs Xbox Series X specs

Xbox Series X

Xbox Series X boasts seriously impressive specs, and they paint an exciting picture for next-gen gaming. Here’s what we know:

  • CPU: Eight-core 3.8GHz (3.6GHz with SMT) custom AMD 7nm
  • GPU: 12 teraflops 1.825GHz (locked)
  • RAM: 16GB GDDR6
  • Frame rate: Up to 120 fps
  • Resolution: Up to 8K
  • Optical: HD Blu-Ray disk drive
  • Storage: 1TB NVMe SSD

With a 12 teraflop GPU capable of up to 120 fps, the Series X is twice as powerful as the One X. It’s also got the computing muscle to support ray tracing, the demanding lighting tech only available on cutting-edge Nvidia RTX graphics cards right now.

The Xbox Series X will include a super-fast NVMe SSD, which opens up all sorts of possibilities: part of its storage system can be used to boost load times by up to 40 times and Quick Resume allows users to jump between multiple games at once without closing each game.

Meanwhile, here are the Xbox One X specs:

  • CPU: Eight-core 2.3GHz custom AMD
  • GPU: Six teraflops 1172 MHz
  • RAM: 12GB GDDR5
  • Frame rate: Up to 60 fps
  • Resolution: Up to 4K
  • Optical: HD Blu-Ray disk drive
  • Storage: 1TB HDD

The innards of the premium Xbox ensure it’s the most powerful console available today and the best way to play with native 4K and HDR. That said, its 1TB mechanical hard drive holds it back: it’s slow and can hold disappointingly few triple-A titles. For a console aimed at those who accept nothing less than the best of the best, there can only be one winner in this category.

Xbox Series X vs Xbox One X games

Halo Infinite

Beyond Halo Infinite, Hellblade 2 and Cyberpunk 2077, there wasn’t much to get excited about in terms of confirmed Xbox Series X games – until now. The month of May has seen a number of new titles confirmed for the next-gen console, meaning there are now 20+ games to look forward to on Xbox Series X. At the time of publication, they are:

While that may not be much so far, the Series X’s impressive specs in combination with the excellent value of Xbox Game Pass gives early adopters a ready-made library that benefits from faster load times, better graphics, and higher resolution.

Backwards compatibility is confirmed for the Series X, which allows you to play games from previous generations on your new system, but Microsoft has gone a step further with Smart Delivery. Consider this ‘forwards compatibility’ in the sense that when you buy a compatible game, it’s unlocked on all supporting hardware. For example, Cyberpunk 2077 supports Smart Delivery, so owners of the game on Xbox One X will benefit from a free upgrade on Series X.

That means if buying a One X has cleaned you out, you can buy the likes of Halo Infinite – which launches on Game Pass day one – safe in the knowledge that it’ll be there for you on Series X when you’ve cobbled together the cash. 

Until then, there are plenty of Xbox One X games to enjoy in gorgeous 4K, like Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, Metro Exodus, and Forza Horizon 4. But thanks to backwards compatibility, many current-gen games and older should be available on Series X.

Xbox One X vs Xbox Series X verdict

Xbox Series X

The Xbox Series X is an increasingly enticing prospect. While we don’t know if it’ll be the most powerful console by the end of the year, its graphical grunt combined with the excellent Game Pass subscription service means Xbox fans should be getting seriously excited. 

For early adopters, the Series X’s lack of exciting launch games is ameliorated by an instant collection of great games thanks to Game Pass and backwards compatibility. And with Smart Delivery, those looking to upgrade from their One X can buy supported games now and upgrade for free to the Series X version once they can afford the new unit.

Since the cost of the One X will plummet once the Series X launches, there are few reasons to buy a new version now. Even then the better value prospect is the cheaper, but less powerful, Xbox One S. So, really, it’s less a battle between the Xbox One X vs Xbox Series X: instead, Microsoft seems to be ensuring a harmonious, flexible transition between consoles for those that want the best of the best from an Xbox.

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Succession season 3: release date predictions, story and what we know

If you're waiting for the Succession season 3 release date, you'll be sad to know there's no return scheduled for the engrossing HBO drama yet. Filming, though, is apparently going to begin in April and the episodes are being written now, which means we're very likely to see it before the end of the year. 

Succession is the best returning HBO drama around right now (you can stream it in the US here), following the clashes, twisted affection and downfalls of the wealthy Roy family. After a strong first season, 2019's second sent the show's popularity soaring, and made must-see TV out of constant backstabbing and Brian Cox's explosive swearing in swanky locations. 

Succession season 3 was officially confirmed back in 2019, but details are scarce besides that. Nevertheless – while discussing spoilers, so be warned – we'll be breaking down what you can expect from the Succession season 3 plot, when that all-important release date will arrive, and everything else you need to know.

Succession season 3 release date: likely summer 2020

While we don't know the precise Succession season 3 release date yet, we have our suspicions. Both the previous seasons landed in the summers of 2018 and 2019, and considering that series 3 was commissioned by HBO only two episodes into season 2, a summer 2020 launch makes sense. 

The speedy renewal of the gripping satire was no surprise, given how keen HBO is on the show. In a statement following the confirmation of a third season in August 2019, Executive Vice President of HBO Drama Programming, Francesca Orsi said, "We are elated that Succession and its exploration of wealth, power and family has resonated so powerfully with audiences [...] in today's world where the intersection of politics and media is increasingly prevalent, Succession presents an especially piercing look behind the curtain of this elite, influential, and cutthroat community."

Lucy Prebble – one of the show's writers who was awarded the 2019 Wellcome Screenwriting Fellowship prize – told Deadline in November 2019 that scripting was underway: "she says [Succession] will likely shoot in spring for a late summer air date". 

At Sky UK's Up Next event on February 12 2020, host Chris Evans mentioned that shooting would start shooting around "April-ish" as he interviewed creator Jesse Armstrong and actor Brian Cox on stage. 

"I've come from the writers' room, we're writing it right now," Armstrong said. 

Succession season 3 story: it's likely about Logan vs Kendall (again)

We still haven't fully recovered from the twist that concluded series 2. As Kendall Roy (Jeremy Strong) was due to take the fall for the sexual harassment allegations and subsequent cover up attempt plaguing Waystar Royco, he ignored his prepared press statement and blamed his father, Logan – following a Judas kiss. He refused to be the 'blood-sacrifice' for the firm and finally stood up for himself, and fans have been debating what that could mean for season 3.

Logan, of course, watched with a twisted smile on his face. 

The narrative twists and turns make Succession almost impossible to predict. How will Logan react to his son's betrayal? Will he be able to maintain his grip on the firm? His final, inscrutable smirk seemed to suggest a kind of pained pride; he seemed impressed by his son's bravery despite being humiliated on national television. 

We know, however, that Logan has proof of Kendall's involvement in the accidental death of a waiter in season 1's trip to the UK, so it's likely that dark secret will eventually see the light of day.

One of the fans teasing this prospect is Kieran Culkin's Roman Roy. A popular Succession theory maintains that each series focuses on one particular member of the Roy family: season 1 was Kendall, Shiv was season 2. Could Roman be the focal point of Succession season 3? Culkin light-heartedly claimed it as "my theory" in a chat with Entertainment Weekly.

Even the main cast can have little idea of where the plot is going. Take the unlikely 'thing' going on between Roman and Gerri (J. Smith-Cameron), for instance. "I'm not sure where the writers land on that question," Smith-Cameron told Entertainment Weekly. "I think they were kind of floating this idea, but it’s the nature of television writing, and definitely our show, that there is a sort of fluid feeling of sticking your toe in the water of a certain storyline, and then deciding as you go along." 

Could future series transcend American borders? While Lucy Prebble said to Deadline that Armstrong and the writing team don't "want it to be too on the nose about what is happening now in the world," there are "talks about going more international than we’ve gone before, which is to do with the relationship between the media industry and international countries." Perhaps the question of who truly holds power will go beyond just the Roy inner circle in Succession's future.

Can Succession capitalize on the dramatic success of season 2?

Succession's premise shouldn't be as enticing it is: who cares about the problems of rich people as they scheme to get even richer? It shouldn't work, but Jesse Armstrong's unpredictable HBO knockout got its claws in us early and left us desperate for more. After that season 2 finale there are plenty of threads to be tied up, and if the improvement between seasons is anything as noticeable as last time, we're in for a real treat.

We'll update this page when we know more about Succession season 3. 

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PS5 vs PS4 Pro: will it be worth the upgrade?

PS5 vs PS4 Pro: which should you buy? As the PS5 launch date approaches, there's still the current mid-gen refresh, the PS4 Pro, to consider.

This beefed-up PlayStation 4 released in 2016 and represents a decent chunk of the 100 million PS4s sold this generation. Plenty of base PS4 owners upgraded to the Pro for the 4K-ready horsepower, and it remains the best way to play exclusives like God of War, Uncharted 4, and Horizon: Zero Dawn.

But now we're coming to the end of this generation, and the PS4 Pro vs PS5 dilemma is a worthy question. So, here's a breakdown of what we know about the two boxes so far, including their prices, specs, and flagship games, to help you weigh up whether it'll be worth upgrading from the PS4 Pro to the PlayStation 5.

PS5 vs PS4 Pro price

PS5 vs PS4 Pro

The most difficult thing about weighing up the PS5 price is that even Sony doesn't know it yet. That said, there are some ideas out there. 

It looks like the PS5 price won't be as bad as you think. PSErebus, who correctly estimated The Last of Us 2 release date, claimed in November 2019 that the PS5's RRP would be $499 (about £380 and AUS$745). And, while Sony admitting it didn't know the price of its upcoming box in February 2020 somewhat undermines the leak, this certainly wouldn't be a bad price considering the power of its rumored components.

The leak puts the PS5 price at $100 more than the PS4 Pro launch cost of $399 (£349, AU$559), but Amazon currently lists the Pro for around $320, £300 and AU$484 in the US, UK, and Australia, respectively.

That said, you can still do better than that. Thanks to recent Black Friday PS4 deals, the Pro plunged to as low as £299 with the recently-released Death Stranding. Either way, the PS4 Pro is highly likely to be the cheaper option, and its price will tumble even more once its big brother releases later this year.

PS4 Pro vs PS5 specs

There's still plenty to find out about the PS5's internals, but here's what we know so far:

  • GPU: Custom AMD Navi - capable of ray tracing
  • CPU: 8-core AMD Ryzen, 7nm Zen 2
  • Storage: SSD
  • Optical: 4K Blu Ray media player
  • Visuals: Native 4K 120Hz + 8K
  • Audio: 3D

One of the highlights is the AMD GPU and CPU pairing, which PS5 lead system architect Mark Cerny confirmed to Wired is capable of ray tracing. Seen in some of the prettiest PC games around, like Control, Metro Exodus, and Battlefield V, ray tracing is an innovative means of rendering light and shadows.

But since every 'ray' of light has its own simulated source, only now has the power required been viable in a console. In other words, ray tracing is going to make the rumored God of War 2 and Horizon: Zero Dawn 2 look properly next-gen.

And if that wasn't treat enough for your corneas, there's word of 8K support, too. But when it comes to whether you should choose between the 4K vs 8K consoles, know that 8K won't be a mainstream prospect for some years yet.

ps5 ray tracing

Excellent news for PlayStation players is the PS5's solid state drive (SSD) - a long overdue upgrade that PC players have enjoyed for years. Games are claimed to load 19-times faster, but we still don't yet know much storage we'll get yet. 

Meanwhile, the PS4 Pro is still held back by its ageing mechanical HDD. While the PS4's UI design felt seamless as you could easily pick up a game where you left off from standby or after visiting other apps, you'll eventually be envious of the few loading screens PS5 players will be enjoying. The Pro also doesn't have the 4K Blu Ray media player that the PS5 will.

Cerny also made clear to Wired that the PS5's audio will reach a new "gold standard" thanks to its upgraded audio engine. Whether or not that extends to a Dolby Atmos-style system, you're going to want to invest in the very best gaming headsets.

Meanwhile, here are the PS4 Pro's specs:

  • CPU: eight-core x86-64 AMD Jaguar
  • GPU: AMD Radeon with 4.2 teraflops
  • RAM: 8GB GDDR5
  • Storage: 1TB HDD

The refreshed mid-gen model proved a decent jump on the base PS4: it supports 4K streaming from Amazon and Netflix, but native 4K gaming isn't possible on all titles, and only then at 30fps. 

Naturally expect the PS5 to be a healthy power jump over the Pro, but if you're all about the best graphics, don't want a PC, and are platform agnostic, it's worth considering the most powerful console on the market today, the Xbox One X.

PS5 vs PS4 Pro games

ps5 or ps4 pro

If you buy a PS4 Pro now, we hope you've got some time off sorted: Bloodborne, God of War, Uncharted 4, The Last of Us, The Last Guardian, and Marvel's Spider-Man are exclusive to Sony's box, along with other killer multi-platform experiences like Red Dead Redemption 2 and Control.

However, we still don't know much about the PS5 launch lineup. There's not much to get players excited yet, so it might be worth holding fire until there's something that really excites you. Here's what's confirmed (so far):

That said, PS5 backwards compatibility with the PS4 has been confirmed for the upcoming console. This means those that skip a generation won't miss out: it looks like you'll be able to play most PS4 games on the new box, since they're based on a similar architecture to the PS5.

PS5 vs PS4 Pro verdict

PS5 vs PS4 Pro

While there's still plenty more to learn about the PlayStation 5 - the price being arguably the most crucial - there are few reasons to buy a PS4 Pro right now. Not only will the PS5 be the more powerful, faster box, but Sony's efforts to enable backwards compatibility means that even if you buy a PS5, it's likely you won't miss out on the PS4's finest experiences, and probably those older than that, too.

If you've been waiting this long to buy your first PS4, you might as well do so a little longer and either skip a generation and buy a PS5, or take advantage of an even cheaper PS4 Pro once the newer console launches.

That said, upgrading from a Pro is a tougher dilemma. The Pro already supports native 4K for many games at decent performance, and you'll need deep pockets for an 8K TV to fully benefit from the PS5's power. And that's only when 8K gaming is fully supported. As ever early adopters pay a premium, so it's worth waiting for the next-gen exclusive you really can't do without.

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Star Trek: Discovery season 3: release date, trailer, new teaser and more

Star Trek: Discovery season 3 has been a long time coming, but while we saw a first trailer back in October, finishing the season is challenging in the current climate. As of May 2020, Star Trek: Discovery season 3's visual effects and sound mixing is being finished from home, meaning a release date might still require a little wait. 

The plan with season 3, and all other Trek series, is that they're going to spread across the year, so fans have something from that universe to enjoy. Executive producer Alex Kurtzman told The Hollywood Reporter that, "the intention is to have something Star Trek on the air all the time, but not necessarily on top of each other." This year, CBS All Access has given us Picard, and will debut the animated comedy series Lower Decks in 2020 as well as Star Trek: Discovery season 3. It's unclear which will come first, but we'd bet on Discovery.

Here's what we know about Star Trek: Discovery season 3, including its 2020 release date, where the story will take us after the ending to season 2, that first season 3 trailer and everything else we've learned about the series' return.

Star Trek: Discovery season 3 release date: coming in 2020, but delayed by the lockdown

Season 3 was confirmed on January 18, 2019, the month the second season began. We’re still waiting for a specific release date, though. Season 1 premiered in September 2017, and season 2 arrived in January 2019. With that 16-month gap in mind and a 2020 release confirmed by Kurtzman above, it now seems unlikely Star Trek: Discovery will return before June 2020. 

Regardless, the actual launch date will be affected by the coronavirus outbreak, we just don't know by how much. During a Wilson Cruz Instagram Live, Anthony Rapp (Paul Stamets) said in the comments: "They’re currently editing and doing visual effects for Season 3, but it’s shifting to work from home so it’ll be slower than usual. No word yet as to how long that will take or when it will be released..."

On that same note, editor Scott Gamzon posted the following, confirming that Star Trek: Discovery season 3 is "going to take longer" but that it'll be worth the wait. We wish the crew the best of luck during this difficult time...

The Star Trek: Discovery season 3 trailer reveals the future of the universe

Above we can see the state of the Discovery in the future. We also get a sneak peek of David Ajala (Nightflyers) as new character Cleveland Booker. As reported by Variety at San Diego Comic-Con 2019, Kurtzman said Booker or ‘Book’ "is going to be a character that breaks the rules a little bit."

Ajala is joined by new cast members Maulik Pancholy (Dr Nambue, Chief Medical Officer on the USS Shenzhou), Terry Serpico (Admiral Anderson, a top Starfleet official), and Sam Vartholomeos (Connor, a Junior Officer also on the Shenzhou).

Interestingly, we also see a United Federation of Planets Flag with only six stars - is the Federation no more in this time period? Could they be the 'ghosts' Book refers to in the trailer?

It also looks like Burnham is spending a long time in her search to find "that domino that tipped over and started all of this." Early in the trailer we see Burnham change her hair and appearance, suggesting that her adventures may take months, or even years.

Star Trek: Discovery season 3 cast: here's who's confirmed

The first trailer confirms the reappearance of a number of returning actors. They are:

  • Michael Burnham: Sonequa Martin-Green
  • Saru: Doug Jones 
  • Sylvia Tilly: Mary Wiseman
  • Dr Hugh Culber: Wilson Cruz
  • Lt. Joann Owosekun: Oyin Oladejo
  • Keyla Detmer: Emily Coutts
  • Paul Stamets: Anthony Rapp 
  • Emperor Georgiou: Michelle Yeoh 

It might be worth forgetting Captain Pike and Spock, as they languish in the present. "Our bridge crew is so capable," Kurtzman told The Hollywood Reporter. "We're going to be using all of them much, much more. Especially because this crew has forfeited their lives for each other."

That said, will we see an appearance from Jonathan Frakes as Will Riker? He already made a cameo in Star Trek: Picard, as Jean-Luc stayed at his home and was later rescued by Riker from the Romulans. Now Frakes is teasing a "big tonal shift" for Star Trek: Discovery season 3 (via Comicbook.com). Some fans have criticised the show for being relatively dark for Trek, but Frakes says that it's now "got a lot of action-adventure and not so much pain," as Michael's priority is reuniting with her Discovery crew, rather than reconciling with her troubled past.

star trek discovery season 3 story

Star Trek: Discovery season 3's story is set way in the future

star trek discovery season 3

So, how far did the Discovery go? Also at SDCC 2019, Kurtzman said: "Obviously we made a pretty radical jump into the future at the end of season two – we're going almost 1000 years into the future in season three, which is crazy. Further than any Trek series has ever gone before." 930 years to the as-yet-unexplored 32nd century, to be specific.

Kurtzman also mentioned at the panel that he’s excited by the prospect of getting to "honor canon but shake it up hugely." For Sonequa Martin-Green, speaking to Syfy Wire, this is an opportunity for the show to boldly go where no one has gone before, properly. Visiting new planets, timelines, and sectors is "the perfect way to define us, because we are new yet familiar."

Speaking of Burnham, we know that it’ll have an impact on her. Martin-Green said to TrekMovie that "there has been deep deep deep change [...] it’s linked to this very future we’re in. Basically, there’s a host of problems that this new future presents, an entirely brand-new tapestry of conflict."

Can Discovery bounce back?

The first season of Star Trek: Discovery proved a promising start to The Original Series, but it rather lost its way in season 2. Viewers waded through reams of exposition and technical jargon, and it mostly failed to capitalize on the engrossing, galaxy-consuming war of season 1. Hopefully this new Frontier will be the fresh start the series needs, without having to lean on familiar characters.

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Peaky Blinders season 6: release date predictions, production delay, and everything we know

Peaky Blinders season 6 was first planned to launch in 2021, but the chaos the coronavirus has imposed on the entertainment industry means that's likely a bit of stretch - at least the show's filming in Manchester has now resumed. Either way, the original plan was for five series, so we should at least count ourselves lucky that we'll get to enjoy more of the Shelby gang and their violent high jinks with season 6.

Before the breathtaking fifth season, the story of each series tended to be self-contained: The cliffhanger ending to season 5 really threw a fascist-following spanner in the works. Information thus far is thin on the ground as to how the Peaky Blinders season 6 plot will address Mosley's near miss at the hands of Tommy at one of his far right rallies, but we at least have plenty of time to speculate. 

And if you haven't got to that point yet, you absolutely have time to catch up with the show on BBC iPlayer in the UK and Netflix internationally. But, also, beware spoilers for seasons 1 to 5 as we go into everything we know about Peaky Blinders season 6. 

Peaky Blinders season 6 release date: 2021?

The novel coronavirus has claimed another scalp. Like No Time To Die, A Quiet Place Part II and many others, season 6 will be delayed. A message on the official Twitter feed on March 16, 2020 confirmed that "the start of production of Peaky Blinders season 6 has been postponed." However, as of May 2020, filming has now resumed following the easing of lockdown restrictions in the UK, with the cast following the two-metre distance rules and washing their hands regularly.

So that plunges the Peaky Blinders season 6 release date into more uncertainty. Whatever the release date is, Netflix subscribers will likely have to wait just for over a month after Peaky Blinders season 6's BBC premiere, which is how season 5 was released. 

Previously director Anthony Byrne – of Ripper Street fame, and the first to helm multiple Peaky Blinders seasons – said to BBC Sounds' Obsessed With… Peaky Blinders podcast that "I have no idea when it would be out, maybe early 2021."

"I'm reading the scripts at the moment, which Steven is writing," Byrne said in September 2019. "I start properly on series six in early November. Then we start shooting early next year, is the plan." The first episode is called 'Black Day'.

Peaky Blinders season 6: what we know about the story and returning cast

Expect to see some familiar faces tying up the dramatic loose ends of Tommy's failed assassination of Sir Oswald Mosely. Speaking of the slimy Blackshirts founder, we know from BBC Sounds' pod that Sam Claflin is back.

We don't know much more about the official cast besides Claflin, but expect to see Cillian Murphy return as Tommy, plus the other usual Shelby suspects. While we did leave him rather distressed in a field with a gun to his head at the end of season 5, our money's on him living to fight another day. 

His troubles also trigger the ethereal apparitions of his dead wife, Grace Shelby, so we'll likely see Annabelle Wallis again, too. Less clear is whether Tom Hardy will reappear as Alfie Solomons, following his miraculous season 5 return after being shot in the head in series 4.

But what of Michael's mysterious partner Gina (Anya Taylor-Joy)? Were the scheming couple behind the assassination's failure? Michael's bid to take charge of Shelby Company Ltd certainly raises suspicion around them. Regardless, we do know we'll be meeting more of Gina's family in season 6. 

Byrne told GQ in August 2019 that, "Gina, and whoever her family are, will make themselves known, Oswald Mosley and some people around him and his world." It's looking like the murky machinations of the interwar elite will become clearer in the next season, but when it comes to Gina, specifically, "there's a lot to be revealed about her next series. She's a player, she's a manipulator. She's part of a wider plan," Byrne says.

Byrne also confirmed Stephen Graham's future involvement in Peaky on the Obsessed With… Peaky Blinders pod, too.

World War II will start to loom over the story in season 6. "Because of the nature of the decade, the 1930s, we know what happened at the end – that war began. There are rumblings and rumors of war and that is overshadowing the whole thing. It makes it all the more... the stakes are higher," Knight told the Press Association


Five seasons in, Peaky Blinders remains an essential drama

Peaky Blinders is a rare thing: a UK prestige drama that has the cachet of bigger US shows. No wonder more and more big names are showing up in every season. In the UK, the viewing figures for new episodes have tripled since the show began – don't be surprised if season 6 isn't the last we'll see of the Shelbys. 

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Xbox Game Pass vs PlayStation Now: which is the best game subscription service?

PS Now vs Xbox Game Pass: which game subscription service will get your hard-earned dollars? We're juggling all sorts of subscription services nowadays: Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney Plus, and Spotify are all competing for your cash, but this is increasingly becoming the case for games, too.

It's worth remembering that neither platform properly equates to a Netflix-style model but, with the popularity of Xbox Game Pass and the gains PlayStation Now is making in mind, both are a more viable means of consuming videogames than ever before. 

If you can't justify owning both, it's worth knowing the differences between Xbox Game Pass and PlayStation Now. So we'll be going into what each service is, how much it costs, and the strength of their respective game libraries.

Xbox Game Pass vs PS Now overview

ps now vs xbox game pass

Both Game Pass and PS Now are game subscription services that, in exchange for a flat monthly fee, give you access to a library to hundreds of games. However, you only own these games as long as your subscription is active. 

But there are differences: PS Now allows you to stream the 500+ games in its library, as well as the choice to download them to your PC or PS4 hard drive. Following Sony's acquisition of cloud gaming company Gaikai in 2012 for $380 million, PS Now members can play titles on a remote server, if their internet speeds are strong enough. 

Sony recommends at least 5 mbps, but 10+ will be better for interruption-free gameplay, and that can go higher for the most graphically intensive experiences. However, while this saves on hard drive space, irritating mid-game disconnections are a possibility. In any case, an Ethernet connection is always preferable to wi-fi for the best quality stream.

However, PS Now is available on PS4 and PC, making the platform the only way mouse and keyboard loyalists can play Sony exclusives like Bloodborne, The Last of Us, and Uncharted.

Game Pass only has the capacity for members to download games to their PC or Xbox One, which requires HDD or SDD drive space, and the time to download them. That said, Microsoft's Fast Start functionality uses machine learning to download the essential parts of a game first. 

While Game Pass is not a streaming service - Microsoft has that covered with Project xCloud - there's no limit on your number of game downloads and you have access to them offline for up to 30 days. While Xbox 360 games are included, the service can only be used on an Xbox One - and it's on PC, but it's still in beta and with a smaller library.

PS Now vs Xbox Game Pass price

Xbox Game Pass vs PlayStation Now

PlayStation Now can be purchased for longer time periods at increasingly better value - however the service currently isn't available in Australia.

One month of PS Now costs $9.99 / £8.99 - recently cut from $19.99 to match the price of a month of Game Pass in the US - and three months is $24.99 / £22.99, and a year is $59.99 / £49.99. 12 months of PS Now bought at once works out at just under $5 a month. There's also a 7-day free trial that can be cancelled at any time, so it's worth quitting for a month if you find yourself with less time to play.

Microsoft's service, however, comes with a two-week free trial, and often with Xbox Game Pass deals such as $1 for the first month. Should you need it, here's how to cancel Xbox Game Pass, which you can also do at any time.

Xbox Game Pass costs $9.99 / £7.99 / AU$10.95 per month on console, with access to the PC beta at the time of writing costing just $1 / £1 / AU$1 for the first three months – and subsequently $4.99 / £3.99 / AU$4.98 per month or $14.99 / £11.99 / AU$14.95 per quarter.

Then there's Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, which is more expensive at $14.99 / £10.99 / AU$15.95 a month, but with it you get Game Pass, Xbox Live Gold, and Game Pass for PC. Bought separately this works out as $30 (£23) - ideal for owners of both a PC and Xbox One.

Xbox Game Pass vs PS Now games

playstation now vs xbox game pass

Xbox Game Pass rocketed in popularity in 2019 with some serious triple-A scalps. Highly anticipated games like The Outer Worlds launched day one on the platform, along with Microsoft first-party exclusives like Gears 5. Expect upcoming exclusives like Halo: Infinite to also arrive on launch.

There are usually around 200 Game Pass titles available at once - and a smaller 150-strong collection on Game Pass for PC - with games coming and going every month. Keep an eye on your console's Game Pass tab to see which games are leaving. You can also buy and keep Game Pass games for a 20% reduction and a 10% discount for associated DLC.  

There are more games on PS Now, but it's arguably quantity over quality. New titles from the PS2, PS3, and PS4 generations are added to its 650+ game library each month and they include heavy hitters like Red Dead Redemption 2 as well as Sony exclusives The Last of Us and Horizon: Zero Dawn. But unlike Game Pass, they tend not to appear on day one. That said, it's a great way of replaying older games without booting up an older console.

Xbox Game Pass vs PS Now verdict

Going into 2020, Xbox Game Pass is the stronger service, but PS Now is steadily narrowing the gap. The key factor that swings in favour of Microsoft's platform is the quality of its library, and how quickly they arrive. Of course that depends on the company with the exclusives you prefer.

But PS Now is quickly improving. Sony has expanded its library with stronger titles, cut the price, and introduced downloads to complement its streaming options. However, as internet speeds improve, streaming is only going to become more viable.

Either way, Sony and Microsoft will surely be investing heavily in both their subscription offerings. The green team will aim to capitalise on their recent success and Sony will likely start launching their games on PS Now at launch, if they hope to catch up. With Google and even Amazon looking to claim their own slice of the video game pie, the winner of the subscription battleground may well decide the next-gen console war.

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Will there be Mindhunter season 3?

Will there be a Mindhunter season 3? It's looking uncertain. Mindunter is one of the best true crime thrillers on the small screen. It challenges and dispels the glamor around the late 20th century's most notorious murderers, rather than reveling in it like a lot of modern true crime media does. But it's also got a director who's in-demand, which means the show won't be returning any time soon (that's if it does return at all). 

While Mindhunter hasn't technically been renewed for a third season, an outline for further seasons does exist in some form. The show was originally envisioned with a five-season plan. That said, in December 2019, options for the cast expired, and the show is officially on indefinite hiatus while Fincher works on other projects. 

We'll explain more about what that means below, and outline everything that's been discussed about a potential season 3 so far. 

Mindhunter season 3 release date: the show is on 'indefinite hiatus'

While season 2 dropped on Netflix two years after the first in 2019, we could be waiting longer this time to hear about the show's future. Netflix confirmed to Deadline that the cast's options had expired, meaning they can work on other shows. "[Fincher] may revisit Mindhunter again in the future, but in the meantime felt it wasn’t fair to the actors to hold them from seeking other work while he was exploring new work of his own. 

That doesn't mean it's been canceled, then, but it definitely means any third season of Mindhunter is in limbo. 

David Fincher is currently working on Mank, a biopic based on screenwriter, Herman J. Mankiewicz, and his work with Orson Welles on the creation of Citizen Kane. The Gary Oldman-led film is set to release in 2020. THR noted that talk of a third season is "on hold" while Mank is being filmed. 

Also, the Fight Club director is known for taking his time. One nine-minute Mindhunter take was shot 75 times and he averaged 50 per scene for Gone Girl. Fincher's attention to detail is important for the veracity of Mindhunter's real-life subjects. 

We know that writer Joe Penhall "wrote a five-season bible" in an interview with Metro in January 2019 and that Holt McCallany (Bill Tench) is "hopeful that we will get to do the whole five seasons because the audience seems to have really responded to the show,” in a chat with Pop Culture. Fingers crossed we get to see the rest of the series.

Which killers will we meet in Mindhunter season 3?

There are no confirmed plot developments for season 3 given that it hasn't technically been renewed yet, that hasn't stopped legions of fans from speculating on where it could go next on Reddit based on the timeframe of the show. Names such as John Wayne Gacy come up: the man convicted of 33 homicides and known as 'Killer Clown' was sentenced to death in 1980, but wasn't executed until 1994. Gacy's name and photo were also shown on-screen briefly during season 2, which some interpret as an Easter Egg.

Ted Bundy also comes up time and again, not only because of the recent Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile film and Netflix's Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes, both released in 2019. The famous serial killer was executed in 1989. Seasons 1 and 2 of Mindhunter take place in the late '70s and early '80s, so the timelines for both Bundy and Gacy fit. 

These are just two of the serial killer boom in the 1980s, though. Any number of infamous characters could be the subject of future Holden Ford investigations - that includes BTK killer, Dennis Rader, shown in a single scene per episode of Mindhunter, and spotted again in the final moments of season 2. 

While we expect Jonathan Groff and Holt McCallany to return if a Mindhunter season 3 materialized, we're less sure we can predict their arcs. Speaking to Pop Culture, McCallany said "it would be premature for me to talk about the journey that these characters will take [...] you are on this journey that nobody really can be 100 percent certain of what the destination is, not even the writers."

Of course, we know the cases criminal profiler John Douglas - the real-life inspiration for Holden Ford - tackled within Mindhunter's timeline. "By 1981, not only did I have the Atlanta child killings, but I had the Tylenol murders," Douglas said in an interview with Vulture. "We had the Unabomber case up in Chicago. Then we had other cases, Buffalo's .22-caliber killer." While we don't know any plot specifics yet, a potential Mindhunter season 3 could explore any of these subjects.

Mindhunter remains one of the best Netflix original shows to date

Netflix's scattergun approach to original content means a lot of hits and misses, but teaming up with Fincher was a smart idea. Mindhunter is one of the most visually distinctive TV shows around, and both seasons illustrate how successful the idea of plugging semi-fictionalized characters into real-world criminal cases is. However long we have to wait, it'll be worth it. 

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Wonder Woman 1984: delayed release date, trailer, and everything else we know

Like many other films, the second Wonder Woman 1984 release date has been delayed by Covid-19. If you're anything like us, having witnessed Diana Prince's epic sprint through the bleak, hellish emptiness of no man's land, you'll be even more desperate for more from the Justice League's iconic goddess. Looks like we'll be waiting a little longer.

Wonder Woman blessed a generation of girls with a role model that proved that they could be a hero just as much as men, and we're excited to see what else returning director Patty Jenkins can do with the hero. Wonder Woman 1984 appears to be adopting a lighter tone, it's shaping up to be just as excellent.

We'll be going over the film's release date, trailer, and cast - with some spoilers from the previous film - so you're all set for a return to the bright neon lights of the eighties.

The coronavirus has delayed the Wonder Woman 1984 release date to August

Despite a recent poster shared by Patty Jenkins reiterating the film's June 5 release date, Wonder Woman 1984 has been delayed again, this time due to Covid-19. In a statement to Variety, Warner Bros. confirmed that the new Wonder Woman 1984 release date would be August 14. The company also said that "we hope the world will be in a safer and healthier place by then.”

That makes WW one of many coronavirus movie release date delays, along with Black Widow, A Quiet Place Part 2, and the latest Bond film, No Time To Die.

However, this hasn't been the first delay. The original launch window was November 2019, but producer Charles Roven explained to Collider that this led to a "very rushed post-production schedule.'' In other words, the conclusion of a little thing called Star Wars was concluding around about then. Fingers crossed this third launch date is the final one.

Wonder Woman 1984 trailer: Blue Monday is now stuck in your head

If you're of an enviable age or just not up on your synth-pop, you may be wondering just what is that Wonder Woman 1984 trailer song? That eighties earworm is New Order's Blue Monday and we love how the pounding beat syncs with gunshots in the trailer. Speaking of music, the legendary Hans Zimmer returns here for his sixth DC film.

The Wonder Woman 1984 trailer gives us a good glimpse at the film's eighties setting, a time important to the director. Speaking at San Diego Comic Con 2018, Jenkins explained that this decade "was mankind at its best and worst", making this backdrop fertile ground for Wonder Woman's struggle against evil.

Speaking of evil, we see in the trailer that Kristin Wiig appears as Barbara Minerva, aka Wonder Woman's arch enemy, Cheetah. The trailer opens with the pair sharing drinks as friends, but given their comics history, we doubt this'll last long.

Diana may have faced down the actual God of War in her previous outing, but now she has another villain to face: Maxwell Lord. Lord, in the character's cinematic debut, is a master of manipulating human desires: we see Pascal's face all over television screens in the trailer, so it'll be interesting to see how his powers manifest in 1984.

Prince's exertions in her origin film have left her a different character in 1984. Speaking with Extra, Gadot explains that "in this one, she's been around. She's much wiser and mature and lonely… and then something crazy happens that changes the whole game." Perhaps this involves the return of Steve Trevor? More on that below.

We also know the script writers are ex-president and CCO of DC, Geoff Johns, and David Callaham, known for 2015's Ant-Man adaptation. Callaham is also working on the upcoming Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse sequel.

Wonder Woman 1984 cast: how is Steve Trevor alive in this movie?

wonder woman 1984 cast

Right, how is Steve Trevor still alive? Not only did he heroically blow himself up in a plane packed with mustard gas canisters, but in the Wonder Woman 1984 trailer, Trevor hardly looks a day older than he did in the Great War. That's over 60 years before the setting of the sequel. 

That said, in an interview with Vulture, Roven claimed that Jenkins doesn't see 1984 as a sequel at all. He said Jenkins "was just determined that this movie should be the next iteration of Wonder Woman but not a sequel". Since the films are not intended as "one continuous story" this may mean that the narratives of both films don't necessarily connect, but we're still hoping for answers on this front. We honestly don't know right now, even if you were to lash us to the Lasso of Truth. 

Speaking of characters back from the dead, Robin Wright confirmed to Net-A-Porter that she would return as Antiope along with Connie Nielsen's Hippolyta, but in a flashback sequence.

Can Wonder Woman 1984 continue DC's run of form? 

After Shazam, Aquaman and Joker, it feels like DC's movies have found their form after the poor 2017 Justice League movie. Let's hope that doesn't change any time soon. 

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