There are few franchises quite as popular as Star Wars, as entire generations have grown up with the galaxy far, far away. Star Wars movies started it all, but the property has also expanded thanks to live-action shows that are available with a Disney+ subscription. Chief among them is the Emmy-winning hit Andor, which featured Fantastic Four actor Ebon Moss-Bachrach in a handful of episodes during Season 1. And he recently schooled Seth Meyers about an important rule the beloved space opera lives by.

While fans are looking forward to upcoming Star Wars movies and TV shows, information about Andor is still trickling out. During an appearance from Late Night with Seth Meyers, the host recounted some of Moss-Bachrach's death scenes, including when the actor was "shot by a laser gun" in the Star Wars show. The Bear star corrected Meyers, saying:

Who knew? While it's common knowledge that the characters of Star Wars wield blasters, I didn't realize that the cast and crew were forbidden to refer to them as "guns." I have to assume this is due to the space opera being largely family-friendly. Although Andor might be the exception thanks to its complicated, adult-focused narrative.

While Star Wars is perhaps most closely associated with its epic lightsabers, tons of characters use blasters throughout the Skywalker Saga and beyond. But it's clearly very important that those who carry them use very specific verbiage. Don't you just love learning how the sausage gets made?

You can check out Ebon Moss-Bachrach's appearance from Late Night with Seth Meyers below:

In the first season of Andor, Moss-Bachrach played Arvel Skeen, a mercenary who worked for the Rebels on a covert mission. The Girls alum was (unsurprisingly) fascinating in that role, although he was unfortunately killed off after a few episodes. That plot twist obviously kept him from popping up in the second and final season of the Star Wars series, but the performance definitely kept Arvel in our memories.

In the above clip Meyers quizzed Moss-Bachrach about his various onscreen deaths. I'm hoping that another one doesn't join the ranks soon, specifically his role as Ben Grimm/ The Thing in the upcoming Marvel movie Avengers: Doomsday. He only just entered the MCU in Fantastic Four: First Steps, and was featured in a Doomsday teaser alongside Black Panther characters. But the stakes are high, and there's no telling how deadly Robert Downey Jr.'s Doctor Doom will end up being.

All will be revealed when Avengers: Doomsday hits theaters on December 18th as part of the 2026 movie release list. For now, we can re-watch the Punisher actor's tenure on Andor over on Disney+.

Spoiler alert! This story contains spoilers for all five seasons of The Bear, which can be streamed now with a Hulu subscription.

The Bear has served its final meal by way of an eight-episode fifth season that takes place almost entirely on one stressful, rainy day. I couldn’t help but binge through Season 5 as soon as it hit the 2026 TV schedule — especially after watching the standalone episode “Gary,” which is not required viewing but should be, because it’s great — and I was not ready for the emotions that hit me with all of the great callbacks to previous seasons.

The Bear Season 5 was hailed by critics as a return to form, forgoing tons of guest stars and drama outside of the restaurant to watch how the staff came together under seemingly impossible conditions for what might be one last night of service. As an eight-episode meal, I was fully satisfied, and it was the tasteful sprinkling of nods to its past that really put it over the top. Here were some of my favorites:

The ‘Original Berf’ Shirts Made A Big Comeback

The printing error that caused The Original Beef of Chicagoland T-shirts to actually read “Original Berf” may have been just another thing to go wrong for Carmy (Jeremy Allen White) back in Season 2. Richie (Ebon Moss-Bachrach), however, knew all along that those were collector’s items, and they sure came in handy when a burst pipe sullied all of the chefs’ white coats in Season 5. As he said in his rousing pre-service speech:

I was so tickled to see those shirts on everyone for the rest of that night’s service.

Carmy Jokes About Getting Locked In The Freezer

A pivotal moment in Season 2 came when Carmy got locked in the walk-in freezer because he hadn’t gotten the handle fixed. He unwittingly ended things with Claire (Molly Gordon) and then got into a horrible shouting match with Richie. Thank goodness there was a locked door between them.

Season 5 showed just how far the “cousins” had come, as Carmy finds Richie in the freezer having a panic attack. He talks him through it, and as he turns to leave and give Richie some privacy, he pretends he can’t open the door, momentarily freaking Richie out even more. I was certainly fooled, and it leads to such a joyful moment between the two.

Sydney's Coca-Cola Short Ribs Saved The Day

The Coca-Cola-braised short ribs made their appearance in Season 1 as a dish that reminded Sydney (Ayo Edebiri) of her late mother. She worked with Carmy to perfect the balance on the dish, and it was lovely to see Season 5 open with her pulling out the ribs and Coke bottles to make the dish for the final family meal we’d see.

However, the ribs got an even bigger day in the sun when Carmy dropped the lamb dish that was supposed to go to the man they thought was responsible for deciding whether or not they’d get a Michelin star. Carm tells Sydney to serve the short ribs instead, saying they’re better than anything he’s ever made.

Sydney Finally Tells Carmy He Made The Beat Meal She’d Ever Eaten

Carmy’s praise of Sydney’s short ribs was really just returning the favor, because earlier in the service, he had prepared a serving of the lamb tonnato for her to try as a menu option. Without fanfare (but with very meaningful glances), they had this exchange:

• Sydney: Second-best bite I’ve had in a long time.
• Carmy: Yeah?
• Sydney: Yeah.
• Carmy: What was the first best?
• Sydney: I had this grapefruit scallop dish at Empire a few years ago.

We’d previously heard Sydney tell Marcus that’s how she ended up at The Original Beef, staging under Carmy, and we saw Carmy agonizing over that dish with Chef David Fields (Joel McHale) literally over his shoulder. However, this was the first time that it all clicked for Carmy.

Sugar’s Husband Craves Sydney’s Bolognese

If The Bear fans weren't convinced that Sydney earned her spot taking over for Carmy, Season 5 did everything it could to remind us how good she is. When the chef asks Sugar’s husband Pete (Chris Witaske) to help with the trash in exchange for her cooking him any meal he wants, Pete is quick to say, “Bolognese!”

It’s a super subtle reference, but think back to Season 3, when Sydney brought Sugar (Abby Elliott) and Pete a care package after Sugar had her baby. Amongst the items she brought them was bolognese, and clearly that left an impression on Pete!

You Can’t Keep A Carmy-Sydney Shipper Down

From the beginning there have been questions and very strong opinions about Carmy and Sydney and whether they would (or should) get together. There was so much tension between them that “Yes, chef!” became, like, the hottest thing ever. Ayo Edebiri consistently shut down that possibility, but how could Carmy’s mom Donna (Jamie Lee Curtis) possibly know that? In a Season 5 wink to fans, Donna asks Pete, “Are they dating?” and Pete stammers a bit before landing on:

Say what you will, but I think that hug during Sydney and Carmy’s big emotional moment in the series finale was more intimate than any kiss. For me, their chemistry as colleagues goes deeper than romance.

Richie Calls Marcus ‘Cousin’

One of the more confusing aspects of The Bear’s first few episodes in Season 1 was that Richie and Carmy referred to each other as “Cousin,” only to reveal they’re not actually related. Richie was best friends with Carmy’s brother Mikey, and when Mikey died, it really was like they both lost a brother. They continued to call each other “Cousin” in good times and bad as a term of endearment, and in the end, Richie passes the nickname on to Marcus (Lionel Boyce).

Sydney and Richie may have been the ones put in charge of the restaurant when Carmy chose to step away, but the final episodes gave a strong indication that Marcus was the one Carmy was passing the torch to. In addition to inheriting the familial nickname, Marcus was also the beneficiary of Carmy’s journals, where he sketched dishes and worked out new creative recipes. It was a beautiful ending for one of The Bear’s best characters.

There were plenty of other moments that stuck out, and I can safely say that all of the anxiety and shouting and fretting and talking over each other was well worth it to see how The Bear served its last meal by bringing back so many of the dishes we loved the first time around.

This story contains NO SPOILERS for The Bear Season 5, which is available to stream now with a Hulu subscription.

The Bear has officially served up its final meal, dropping all eight of its Season 5 episodes on the 2026 TV schedule at once. At the end of Season 4, we saw Carmy (Jeremy Allen White) walk away from the restaurant, leaving it in the hands of Sydney (Ayo Edebiri), Richie (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) and Sugar (Abby Elliott). With no money, however, the future appears bleak, so is the comedy-drama able to provide an ending that will leave audiences full and satisfied? A look at the reviews and Rotten Tomatoes score is giving me early-season flashbacks.

How The Bear Season 5’s Rotten Tomatoes Score Compares To Past Seasons

Longtime fans of The Bear will be excited to know that the fifth and final season is rated a Certified Fresh 97% on Rotten Tomatoes, as of this writing. The Chicago-set series hasn’t seen numbers that high since its first two seasons, which received 100% and 99%, respectively.

I’d agree with the general consensus that The Bear was at its best in the beginning, when it quickly became one of FX and Hulu’s best original shows and started raking in all of those Emmy Awards. Seeing the stressful back-of-house operation may have been anxiety-inducing, but that energy was missed in the decidedly slower-paced third and fourth seasons.

The RT scores reflected that, too, with Season 3 earning 89% from critics, and Season 4 dropping to 84% (the audience scores were even less forgiving, rating them 54% and 68%, respectively).

If a 97% rating on Season 5 is an indication of a return to form in its final 8 episodes, sign me up! So what are the critics saying, anyway?

Reviews Say The Bear Season 5 Is A ‘Classic Recipe Done Very, Very Well’

The Bear Season 5 reviews came out before critics saw Episode 8, “The Original Beef of Chicagoland," but Clint Worthington of RogerEbert practically had his fill by the end of the penultimate episode, “Caramel” (and that’s not a bad thing). The critic notes how the focus had become too much on the guest stars, the needle drops, the Faks, etc. Season 5, however, feels as scaled back as the restaurant’s budget, en route to a satisfying finale. He writes:

Victoria Luxford of NME rates the final season 4 out of 5 stars, calling it a “bingeable buffet,” freed by the absence of an overarching storyline, which allows our food heroes’ stories room to breathe over the course of a single day. It’s “funny, gripping and jaggedly sentimental,” Luxford says, writing:

Benji Wilson of The Telegraph’s review of The Bear Season 5 gives it a perfect 5 out of 5 stars, writing that this season is “chaos incarnate,” sticking the landing by going back to what made us love the show in the first place. The critic writes:

These Rotten Tomatoes’ scores — especially combined with the critics’ feedback — have me flashing back to the chaotic intensity of The Bear’s peak seasons, and I can’t wait to jump into the final one. All eight episodes are available to stream now on Hulu.

If you haven’t checked out The Bear’s bonus episode “Gary,” an hour-long flashback starring Jon Bernthal and Ebon Moss-Bachrach, who also co-wrote the episode, I implore you to do that before diving into Season 5. It’s not necessary in order to follow Season 5’s plot, but it is incredible and should not be skipped.

Then, you can dive into these last episodes that feel like they'll give a perfect goodbye to this beloved show.

Every time I hear an Avengers: Doomsday cast member hype the movie up, my excitement for the film on the 2026 movie schedule increases exponentially. Case in point, Ebon Moss-Bachrach just obsessed over working with Robert Downey Jr. on this upcoming Marvel movie, and it was the best.

Unlike a good chunk of the Doomsday cast, this movie will mark the first time Ebon Moss-Bachrach has worked with Robert Downey Jr. in a big way; also, he’ll be acting alongside the MCU icon as he plays Doctor Doom instead of Tony Stark. Before they started filming, the Fantastic Four: First Steps star said he was “excited” to work with RDJ. Now, he’s updated ET on the experience. Responding to a question about who surprised him most, The Bear actor said:

Well, I love that! I especially love it because we’ll be seeing Downey in a totally different role in Dommsday. He’s no longer a hero; he isn’t Iron Man. He’s Doctor Doom now, and I’m very excited to see how he surprises all of us in that role. And if he’s keeping the cast on their toes, I imagine the audience is poised to have a similar experience.

Along with this comment being thrilling on its own, it also goes right along with what other Doomsday cast members have said about Robert Downey Jr. Moss-Bachrach’s Fantastic Four co-star, Vanessa Kirby, compared RDJ to “the godfather,” explaining to Variety that he’s the movie's “leader” and he’s “always there” and looking out for his fellow actors. Overall, she said it was a “joy” working with him and the movie’s directors, the Russo brothers.

Meanwhile, Simu Liu said Downey has inspired him greatly. He gushed about how the Iron Man actor is very “kind, generous, and inspiring,” and he spoke to the impact he’s had on Marvel’s success.

Of course, the Oppenheimer star has quite the sense of humor, so we get to see him bickering with Chris Evans and joking around. However, it’s clear that this cast really looks up to him and has loved working with him. To see exactly what I mean, check out this clip of Ebon Moss-Bachrach talking about RDJ:

It’s so wonderful to see this ensemble gushing about each other. This video is also a thrilling reminder that not only is Robert Downey Jr. returning to the MCU, but he’s coming back as a new character, and we’ll get to see him go against a team of heroes made up of actors who have acted with him many times and never acted with him before.

So, get ready, folks! Avengers: Doomsday will hit theaters on December 18, and that’s when we’ll get to see Robert Downey Jr. back on the big screen in a Marvel movie, and we’ll get to watch him interact with other beloved actors, like Ebon Moss-Bachrach.

Every streaming service has a few hit shows, and The Bear is definitely on that list for those with a Hulu subscription. The Emmy-winning drama is one of the best shows to watch on Hulu, and folks are emotionally preparing for its upcoming fifth and final season. Fans were shocked when a surprise episode was released, called Gary, and I think it's essential viewing ahead of Season 5's debut this summer.

Gary is a prequel to The Bear, set years before Season 1's action. Written by Jon Bernthal and Ebon Moss-Bachrach, the hour-long episode is a deep dive into the relationship between Richie and Mikey ahead of the latter's death. And anyone who watches the series should take the time to stream this emotional bonus episode.

Gary Offers Major Emotional Ties To The Bear

Gary takes place years before The Bear, where Bernthal's Mikey is still very much alive. The two "cousins" are tasked with driving to Gary, Indiana, and delivering a package for Uncle Jimmy. The road trip's stakes are higher due to Richie's wife, Tiff's pregnancy, and her superstition that she'll give birth at 5:15 PM just like her mother did with her.

Throughout the episode, we get a snapshot of just how close these Richie and Mikey were, as well as the latter character's deteriorating mental health. The pair of buddies laugh, sing, play basketball, and get drunk and high while waiting for Jimmy's contact to show up and take the mysterious package. And it provides some much-needed context for both of the characters.

While it was originally a joy to see how much Mikey and Richie have fun and truly love each other, there's also a darkness that boils over by the time the episode is over. Mikey humiliates his best friend in a bar full of strangers and tells him he's a coward who will abandon his unborn child. It's an emotionally devastating moment that shows just how toxic and mentally unwell Bernthal's character was.

It's also shown that Richie failed to make it home in time for his daughter's birth, which is presumably a big reason why Tiff ultimately left him. His heartbreak over the split is still palpable in The Bear's current timeline, although he proved his late friend wrong and is a great father to Eva. Mikey also opens up about his trauma related to Jamie Lee Curtis' Donna, especially since Gary is set after the flashback episode "Fishes."

Then there's Gary's ending, which might end up factoring into The Bear when it returns for its fifth and final season. In the episode's final moments, we're transported back into the present, shortly before Richie ends up being T-boned by another vehicle. Will he end up seriously injured and therefore unable to work at the restaurant? Only time will tell, but I assume this was included for a specific narrative reason.

Gary is streaming now on Hulu as part of the 2026 TV schedule. The Bear will return for Season 5 on June 25th, so there's a month and change to catch up and prepare for whatever the acclaimed series will throw at us for its final batch of episodes.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is known for keeping fans on their toes, thanks to projects in theaters and streaming with a Disney+ subscription. The most highly anticipated upcoming Marvel movie is arguably Avengers: Doomsday, and the studio has been methodically releasing quick teasers featuring the Doomsday cast. The latest brought us back to Wakanda, pairing the Black Panther stars with none other than Fantastic Four: First Steps' Thing.

What we know about Avengers: Doomsday is limited, which is why fans have gobbled up every second of footage that's been released. It all started with the Chris Evans' Captain America teaser, but the latest featured Shuri, M'Baku, and Namor. And they surprisingly come face to face with Ebon Moss-Bachrach's Ben Grimm/ Thing. Check it out below:

I mean, how cool is that? While we've gotten a bunch of these short teasers like the one about Thor and his daughter Love, this one is the first that confirmed one of the movie's many impending crossovers. The Thing in Wakanda is already thrilling enough to make me want to buy a ticket.

In this clip we hear Letitia Wright's Shuri narrating, catching us up with what's been happening in the fictional country since Black Panther: Wakanda Forever's ending. She laments the deaths of Queen Ramonda and T'Challa, and also confirms that M'Baku has indeed become King. That's when Winston Duke's character appears, and meets none other than The Thing. Is it just me, or does The Thing and The King sound like a great spinoff title for this unlikely duo?

The fact that Ben Grimm somehow traveled to Wakanda might be surprising to some fans who have spent years watching the Marvel movies in order. After all, the Thunderbolts* credits scene heavily teased that the Fantastic Four would be having a crossover with the New Avengers. But it looks like that won't be the only exciting melding of characters.

In addition to Shuri and M'Baku, this brief clip also showed the return of Tenoch Huerta's Namor. While he was the primary antagonist of Wakanda Forever, Ryan Coogler's sequel saw him reach an uneasy alliance with the fictional country. This might be a serious boon for the good guys, as they're seemingly going to need all the help they can get when Robert Downey Jr.'s Doctor Doom comes knocking.

This isn't the first time that Wakanda has factored into the Avengers franchise. The big battle at the end of Infinity War was famously set there, to epic results. But now Namor and his forces are also present, and it should be fascinating to see how they factor in the movie's mysterious story.

All will be revealed when Avengers: Doomsday hits theaters on December 18th as part of the 2026 movie release list. Hopefully we get a full trailer soon, including details about the movie's mysterious plot.

The Ben Grimms have finally crossed paths. Michael Chiklis, the gravel-voiced OG from the much-maligned 2005 and 2007 Fantastic Four films, posted a warm meeting snap with Ebon Moss-Bachrach, who starred in the 2025 movie release Fantastic Four: First Steps, as the MCU’s Thing. It’s the kind of nerd-history handshake that instantly lights up the imagination and, now, I need to see them appear together in an Avengers movie.

Michael Chiklis took to Instagram, posting a shot of himself and the Bear star arm-in-arm, both dressed to the nines. For the carousel below, the Shield star captioned it: “If it ain’t one Thing…it’s another! This was good. This made me happy. This was overdue.” Those sentiments definitely align with my feelings as well:

And that’s how two generations of Ben Grimm finally collided IRL, and Marvel fans (hi, it’s me) immediately started fantasy-booking the crossover.

With the MCU in multiverse mode, the two Things—Thing One and Thing Two, if you will—crossing paths isn’t a pipe dream, but could be a scheduling conversation. And, with the upcoming Avengers: Doomsday already in production and Secret Wars looming beyond, the franchise has two natural crossroads to make it happen. Doomsday could tease the collision; Secret Wars, given the rumors and what feels like its anything-goes nature, feels like the perfect payoff.

Fans clocked the meet-up fast, and the speculation machine hit ludicrous speed. Here’s a quick pulse-check from a Reddit thread on r/Marvel Studios Spoilers reacting to the meetup:

• “Here's the thing - we have to keep in mind that this isn't necessarily a guarantee that both actors will work together. We don't necessarily know that this photo is even in the UK, where filming is still ongoing. All the same, I am approving this for now - it's interesting to consider, and I imagine that some Avengers: Secret Wars cameos might be shot on the side of the production of Avengers: Doomsday depending on cast availability.” – u/Pomojema_The_Dreamer
• “This probably means nothing and it's just a picture of two actors who played the same character, not a big deal. However, I fully expect Fox's Fantastic Four to appear in Secret Wars, at least in the climax. Chris Evans aside for obvious reasons, the remaining 3 seem to have had a good experience working on those movies and some of them have even supported the MCU cast by appearing in premieres and congratulating them on social media. I'm sure they'd come back for Secret Wars if Marvel called.” – u/HearTheEkko
• “Jessica Alba has said some negative things about the production of those movies. Not that that means she wouldn't come back, considering it's an entirely different crew involved with this movie.” – u/Foxj100
• “Everyone on the OG Brian Singer X-Men had horrible times on set and are still pulling up for Doomsday that doesn’t really mean much [to be honest].” – u/SiahLegend
• “I wonder if they would make his costume cgi and updated to match the new one, otherwise you have a modern thing that looks great, stood next to a rubber suit thing.” – u/Pen_Dragons_Pizza

Whether it was just a lucky chance or a little wink from the universe, this opportunity is way too good to pass up. Let’s get a Doomsday teaser and a Secret Wars payoff that brings together two versions of Ben Grimm in the upcoming Marvel movie.

There’s real meta juice here. Chiklis embodies the Fox era, practical suit, pulp-bright palette, surprising tenderness under all that rock. Moss-Bachrach is the MCU’s modern recalibration—performance-forward and grounded, with stunning visual effects.

Putting those two Ben actors together wouldn’t exactly break new ground (see Chris Evans’ Johnny Storm in Deadpool & Wolverine). However, it could remind audiences that older Marvel timelines are a feature, not a bug. Also, however fans feel now, those OG Fox Marvel movies carried the superhero torch long before there was a Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Nothing is set in stone—pun intended—but tell me you wouldn’t cheer for two eras of Ben Grimm sharing the spotlight (and the slogan) in one clobberin’ chorus. Take my money now, Marvel!

Until then, fans can revisit Michael Chiklis in his duology of Fantastic films, which are streamable with a Disney+ subscription.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is always expanding, thanks to new projects arriving in theaters and streaming with a Disney+ subscription. The latest project to hit theaters is The Fantastic Four: First Steps, which won at the box office upon its release. The actors playing the titular team have great chemistry, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach recently poked fun at Pedro Pascal over a similarity between the latter's characters in both FF and his other recent release, Materialists.

Fans who spent years watching the Marvel movies in order know that the cast of Fantastic Four: First Steps killed it while promoting the blockbuster, proving their close bond extends off camera. That's not stopping as Moss-Bachrach took to his Instagram Story to poke fun at his co-star. That was namely because (and spoilers for Materialists) Pascal's characters in both films stretch their legs. That includes Reed Richards' stretching powers and Harry Castillo getting a limb-lengthening surgery. The star of The Bear (which is streaming with a Hulu subscription) used a LEGO minifigure to make fun of his co-star, check it out below:

Shots fired. This connection might have gone unnoticed by some moviegoers, but not Ebon Moss-Bachrach. So he was sure to share this funny IG Story to his 469k followers on the social media outlet.

Obviously, Reed Richards' stretching abilities are well-known, but not everyone saw Materialists in theaters. The romantic comedy-drama featured Pascal as a wealthy man named Harry Castillo. In the movie, it's revealed that he was originally 5'6, before undergoing an expensive limb-lengthening surgery, which left him with legs full of scars. It's a strange coincidence that both of Pascal's characters share this trait, which is something that Ebon Moss-Bachrach couldn't resist pointing out on social media.

I can only imagine what the texts between these two actors might look like. Hopefully, they get to reunite soon to continue poking fun at each other.

While Fantastic Four: First Steps is in the rear view, the movie's quartet of leading actors were included in Avengers: Doomsday's cast announcement. They've already reunited for upcoming Marvel movies, and it seems like this is just the beginning for the Fantastic Four. And I'm hoping for more of them poking fun at each other throughout the years.

Pedro Pascal might have been named the internet's daddy, but he's been working non-stop lately, taking on a bunch of other names in the process. Aside from his ongoing tenure in The Last of Us and The Mandalorian, he was also recently seen in Eddington, Gladiator II, and The Wild Robot. And with his tenure in the MCU only just beginning, he's definitely going to be on our screens for the foreseeable future.

Fantastic Four: First Steps is still in theaters now as part of the 2025 movie release list, and Materialists can be rented and purchased digitally now. We'll just have to wait and see if a third movie features Pascal stretching his limbs.

The Fantastic Four: First Steps has been hailed as a fittingly “fantastic” film by various critics and fans. While the Marvel flick’s box office numbers haven’t been sublime, that doesn’t take away from Matt Shakman’s fresh take on the storied superhero team and their mythology. Shakman and co. do a lot right, especially when it comes to the characterizations of the lead heroes. I’m particularly impressed by the depiction of Ben Grimm/The Thing, as this big-screen iteration of him rises above his predecessors in a key way.

How Does First Steps’ The Thing Improve Upon Past Movies' Takes On The Character?

Michael Chiklis plays Ben in Tim Story’s two FF movies, while Jamie Bell tackles the role in Josh Trank’s FANT4STIC from 2015. I’d argue that Trank’s movie doesn’t offer Ben much in the way of character depth or complexity. As a child of the 2000s, I have some affection for Chiklis’ Grimm, though. However, an aspect of Chiklis’ Ben that gets a bit tiresome is his role as a “tragic figure.”

Obviously, Ben is transformed to a greater extent than his teammates, given he becomes a large being made of rock. Ben struggles with that on and off in the comics. Story tackles that head on in his films, especially the first one. It’s somewhat interesting, but it ultimately feels clichéd. Thankfully, that’s not emphasized in Shakman’s film. His Ben (who’s played excellently by Ebon Moss-Bachrach) isn’t painted as a tortured and ostracized monster.

What fans receive instead is a confident Ben Grimm, who’s celebrated for being the hero he is. There are brief flashes of Ben’s longing to be normal, which is understandable. However, this version is far more concerned about the well being of his found family and the planet than he is about his looks.

In fairness, when fans meet the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s version of Ben, it’s been four years since his transformation, and he’s seemingly been through the adjustment period. Still, I really appreciate the fact that with First Steps, fans mostly just get to see Grimm saving the world, chopping it up with his loved ones and getting flirty with Natasha Lyonne’s Rachel Rozman.

MCU Fans Are Set To See More Of Ben Grimm In The Near Future

As it stands, Marvel’s First Family is set to return to the big screen in 2026. The characters are will appear in Avengers: Doomsday, in which they’ll help various other heroes take on the evil Doctor Doom. It’s exciting to me that the Fantastic Four’s return is already set, but what really has me pumped is the prospect of them interacting with established MCU characters. It’s particularly fun to think about how Ben Grimm will mix it up with the various characters.

What fans have to remember is that the FF live in a world in which they’re the only superheroes in existence, and it may be a bit of a shock for them to run into so many other superpowered good guys. So, as intriguing as the idea of Thor, Red Guardian or Bucky Barnes reacting to the Thing is, I’m even more curious as to what he’ll think of them. Of course, given that Ben’s a chill guy, I can’t imagine him not getting along with any fellow do-gooders.

At this point, though, I’m just glad fans now have a movie version of Ben Grimm that isn’t defined by tragedy. Let’s hope that remains the case when he appears in upcoming Marvel movies. Right now, though, check out The Fantastic Four: First Steps in theaters, and stream past FF flicks with a Disney+ subscription.

If you're a comic book fan, it's really impossible nowadays not to be happy with the way that costumes are brought to life on screen, as filmmakers have fully embraced designs from the source material and made them look awesome... but it can also be said that they don't look terrifically comfortable. With all due respect to those who make them, they often appear tight, restrictive and claustrophobic (particularly those with masks) and one feels a touch of sympathy for the performers who have to act within their confines. The suits worn by the stars of Fantastic Four: First Steps are an exception, however.

The blue-and-white retrofuturistic fits donned by Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, and Joseph Quinn in the new Marvel Cinematic Universe film look downright comfy (Ebon Moss-Bachrach being on the outside looking in given that The Thing is brought to life via performance capture), and as you can see in the video up top, CinemaBlend's Jeff McCobb asked them about the costumes during the movie's recent Los Angeles press day. Jeff compared the suits to pajamas, and Pascal responded saying that was a more apt description of their look than their feel – but he did acknowledge that there are certainly worse directions that the production could have taken:

Pedro Pascal surely knows a thing or two about bulky costumes, having spent time in a Mandalorian armor and helmet for his role in the Star Wars universe. In Fantastic Four: First Steps, his only "headgear" are the delicate silver wingtips on the side of his head, and instead of a bulky chest plate, he has what almost looks like a sweater at first glance.

Joseph Quinn, who plays the speedy Human Torch, also had some nice things to share about his super suit, particularly complementing the mobility that he was allowed. There's no armor or even a cape, and he found it didn't hold back his physicality:

In Fantastic Four: First Steps, the titular team lives in their own universe apart from the main Marvel Cinematic Universe, so they don't really get to compare suit designs with other heroes in the movie – but their crossover opportunity is coming, and it's coming soon. While Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn and Ebon Moss-Bachrach have been spending recent weeks traveling the world promoting the blockbuster centering on Marvel's First Family, they've also been busy in recent months as part of the expansive ensemble cast in Avengers: Doomsday.

How are the other stars of the MCU responding to the comfy look of the Fantastic Four? Per Pascal,

Audiences everywhere can see that special shade of light blue in action right now, as Fantastic Four: First Steps is playing in theaters everywhere and just dominated the competition at the weekend box office in its debut. Stay tuned here on CinemaBlend in the coming days for not only more stories from our interviews with the cast and director Matt Shakman, but also plenty of editorial coverage examining the movie's place in the current superhero landscape.

Ever since the NSFW Dune: 2 popcorn bucket took the internet by storm last year, special containers for this movie theater snack staple have been more abundant. The Fantastic Four: First Steps is the latest 2025 movie to get in on the popcorn bucket action, and I’m not just talking about the $80 Galactus one. Pedro Pascal’s Mister Fantastic also got his own popcorn bucket, and The Mandalorian actor and his co-stars from the new Marvel movie had some dirty thoughts upon seeing it.

Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Ebon Moss-Bachrach and Joseph Quinn bore witness to the glory of the Mister Fantastic popcorn bucket when Jimmy Kimmel Live! guest host Alan Cumming presented it to him. Cumming, who will co-star with these four when he reprises Nightcrawler in next year’s Avengers: Doomsday, then pointed out how when positioned in a certain way, this popcorn bucket can also look NSFW:

At first glance, there’s nothing that looks particularly sexual about this popcorn bucket. It’s just Mister Fantastic using his stretching ability to hold what is, from his perspective, a giant popcorn bucket. But then Alan Cumming rotated the bucket until it looked like Reed Richards has wrapped his extendable penis around the bucket. As Pedro Pascal was laughing upon seeing the bucket for the first time, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, who plays Ben Grimm/The Thing, dropped this A+ comment:

Well done, sir! Well done. After getting the NSFW jokes out of the way, Alan Cumming passed the popcorn bucket to Vanessa Kirby, who’s playing Sue Storm/The Invisible Woman. Pedro Pascal got a kick out the little version of his character, especially how it serves as the bucket’s handle. And while Kirby shared some of the popcorn with Joseph Quinn, a.k.a. Johnny Storm/The Human Torch, she decided to keep the popcorn bucket in her possession, which Cumming quipped she was allowed to do because she’s pregnant.

If you’d like to get your own Mister Fantastic popcorn bucket, it’ll cost you $39.99 at your nearest Cinemark theater. Over at Regal Cinemas, you’ll have the option of buying a Fantasticar popcorn bucket for $56.95. You can also find the Galactus popcorn bucket at both theater chains, as well as AMC.

The Fantastic Four: First Steps is now playing in theaters, with the aforementioned actors being joined by Ralph Ineson, Julia Garner and Paul Walter Hauser, among others. It'll be fine for kids to eat popcorn from the Mister Fantastic bucket as they’re watching Marvel’s First Family’s return to the big screen, but maybe don’t take a cue from Ebon Moss-Bachrach and refer to it as the “reach around” in front of them.

Right now, as you read this, one of the upcoming Marvel movies that will bring us a ginormous and star-studded cast is in production, as everyone set for the highly-anticipated Avengers: Doomsday is hard at work. Some of those stars are basically pulling double MCU duty right now, because there’s some cast overlap with another fast-approaching blockbuster, The Fantastic Four: First Steps. The main cast from the 2025 movie is currently promoting the debut of Marvel’s First Family, and while I loved hearing that star Ebon Moss-Bachrach was excited to work with Robert Downey Jr., I was totally unprepared for Pedro Pascal’s sick burn after that announcement.

How Pedro Pascal Responded When Ebon Moss-Bachrach Said He Was Excited To Work With Robert Downey Jr.

Though I suspect that filming a movie (even one as action-packed as an entry among the Marvel movies in order like Avengers: Doomsday) isn’t quite as thrilling as it would at first appear to be, one thing that must be pretty cool is being able to work with others whose work you’ve admired for a long time. This is the case for MCU double-dipper Ebon Moss-Bachrach, who is working on his third appearance by being one of the many stars in the upcoming superhero film.

When speaking with SensaCine Latinoamérica recently, Moss-Bachrach and his fellow Fantastic Four members (Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, and Joseph Quinn) were asked who they were most excited to work with on Doomsday, leading to this quick exchange between The Bear Emmy winner and franchise king, Pascal:

• Moss-Bachrah: I was excited to work with Robert Downey Jr. I’ve loved him for so long; he’s one of my favorite actors. What a brilliant actor. Come at me!
• Pascal: [smiling] Too bad you don’t have any scenes with him.

Whoa, Pedro! We all just saw the fourth hottest man in Hollywood history tearing up during a FF launch event in Sydney while this same co-star was talking about how “grateful” he was to his castmates and this movie, which led to even more love from his fans. Clearly, though, Mr. Pascal was feeling a lot saucier during this interview, because I never could have guessed he’d offer up such a retort. I suppose his The Last of Us co-star Bella Ramsey is correct, there really is a lot more to Pascal than just being the internet’s “Daddy”! You can see the full interview, below, with this portion starting at around 5:53 in the video:

As you can see, the comfortably-costumed The Thing actor didn’t exactly take his co-star’s words lying down, as he quickly replied, “Or do I?” to the snarky comment. The names that were announced for Doomsday in March added plenty of surprises to the news that Downey Jr. would not only return to the MCU after his franchise-starting role as Tony Stark/Iron Man had long ended, but play the movie’s Big Bad, Doctor Doom.

Along with the New Avengers actors featured in Thunderbolts*, we’ll also see stars like Chris Hemsworth, Anthony Mackie, Paul Rudd, Simu Liu, Winston Duke, Tom Hiddleston and former X-Men movies actors such as Kelsey Grammer, Patrick Stewart, Rebecca Romijn, James Marsden and several others.

We all know that with Marvel secrecy being the way it is, we’ll have to wait until much closer to the release of Doomsday to see exactly which new Marvel characters get to interact with our returning favorites. So, no spoilers, Pedro!

Spoilers for The Bear’s Season 4 finale are ahead! You can stream the show in its entirety with a Hulu subscription.

The second I finished binge-watching Season 4 of The Bear after it dropped on the 2025 TV schedule, I was left with a lot to think about. The clock ran out of time, and it’s unclear how the restaurant will stay open. However, the biggest bombshell to me came when Jeremy Allen White’s Carmy told Ayo Edebiri’s Sydney that he’d taken his name off the partnership agreement and planned to leave.

Now, on the one hand, it’s clear Carmy needs to find his spark, and maybe the best way to do that is to put restaurants behind him. However, he also has a tendency to run away when he probably shouldn't. And after seeing him debate this all with Sydney in the finale, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about what the right choice is.

On The One Hand, Carmy Needs To Deal With His Baggage And Find His Spark

While watching Season 4 of The Bear, I kept thinking about Carmy’s declaration to Mikey in the opening flashback regarding his dream of making a peaceful and joyful restaurant. Clearly, he hasn't done that, and this season, while on a quest to heal, he started to question if his work was worth it.

Seeing him find some semblance of a spark again outside the restaurant as he cooked for his mom and rekindled his relationship with Claire brought me immense joy. It also showed that Carmy was moving toward grappling with his demons and healing.

So, when he took his name off the agreement, I got where he was coming from. He wanted to take himself out to find himself, and he was aware of the trouble he’d inflicted on The Bear. He was attempting to remove the “hurdles” for everyone he loves, as well as himself.

However, He Also Can’t Run Away From His Problems

Now, after learning Sydney’s true feelings about her future in Episode 4 of The Bear’s fourth season, and seeing her go back and forth about leaving or staying, I get why she was distraught by Carmy’s choice. He’s the reason they’re all in this beautiful mess; the restaurant was his idea. Losing him would mean losing a key player in this business as well as a member of their family.

Sydney also sees this as another example of him self-sabotaging and sprinting away from his problems, as she yelled through tears:

Jeremy Allen White’s character has a track record of running away from things, and that’s not the right answer. Therefore, maybe he should stick around The Bear and find a way to love this all again.

For days now, I’ve been going back and forth about who is right here. On the one hand, Carmy has a point; if he’s lost his passion, he should go find it. He's got baggage he needs to work through, and taking a moment to reflect and heal could be great for him and everyone in his life. However, on the other hand, he’s the man behind The Bear, and most importantly, his family works there. If he leaves, he’d be running away...again.

Now, when the season ended, it was decided that the agreement would have Sydney, Richie and Nat’s names on it, and Carmy would stay until the restaurant was on solid ground. So, if the show gets a Season 5, I’d imagine Jeremy Allen White would still be in The Bear cast, and there’d be more discussion about whether Carmy should continue cooking or not.

I know I need them to keep this conversation going, because I don’t think there’s one perfect answer. This is a complex mess, and I see everyone’s points. So, hopefully, the debate can continue…

I’ll be honest, I didn’t know I needed to see Benjamin Grimm, a.k.a. The Thing, rocking a glorious rock beard when I woke up this morning. Now it’s a desire that’s been fulfilled after watching the final trailer for next month’s The Fantastic Four: First Steps. However, this simple look at the unique facial hair on Ebon Moss-Bachrach’s character seemingly confirmed something important for me: there will be at least two time jumps in the upcoming Marvel movie.

Before we go any further, take a look at the new Fantastic Four trailer for yourself. There are plenty of other things to enjoy in the preview, including more teasing looks at the magnitude of Galactus’ threat:

The Thing’s beard is most prominently seen when Joseph Quinn’s Johnny Storm, a.k.a. The Human Torch, is transporting him through the air and urging him to say, “It’s clobberin’ time!” It’s something Ben’s hesitant to do since in this continuity, that’s his catchphrase from a cartoon about the Fantastic Four, not something he actually says in real life. The beard is also briefly scene in some action shots at the end of the trailer, including when Ben is ramming his way through some load-bearing concrete pillars.

I remembered that shot from the previous Fantastic Four trailer, except in that earlier version, Ben’s beard isn’t noticeable. So the facial hair was edited out months back, presumably since at the time, it was deemed too much of a spoiler. Evidently that’s not the case now, and it actually gives me a pretty good idea of how the timeline of events in The Fantastic Four: First Steps will unfold.

Vanessa Kirby’s Sue Storm, a.k.a. Invisible Woman, informing Ben and Johnny that she and Pedro Pascal’s Reed Richards, a.k.a. Mister Fantastic, are expecting a baby is obviously going to happen early in the movie. Then a few months later, Ralph Ineson’s Galactus and Julia Garner’s Silver Surfer will arrive on Earth after Reed catches their attention by stretching “the bounds of space.” We know it’s a few months later because Sue is noticeably pregnant at this point.

And then we’ll eventually meet baby Franklin Richards, whom I suspect may be the key to defeating Galactus. Given Franklin’s reality-warping powers in the comics, I wondered if there was a possibility that they could result in his birth being accelerated in The Fantastic Four: First Steps. However, Thing’s beard indicates we will be jumping forward another several months, as that kind of facial rockiness doesn’t just grow overnight. So following their initial clash with Galactus and Silver Surfer, apparently the team won’t reengage these adversaries until some time after Franklin is born.

That now leads me to wonder why it’s taking months for Galactus devour this Earth rather than him nourishing his appetite instantly, but that question and many others will be answered when The Fantastic Four: First Steps opens in theaters on July 25. Until then, I’ll be envious of The Thing for having such a one-of-a-kind, and frankly badass, beard.

Inarguably one of the biggest upcoming 2025 movies is Matt Shakman’s The Fantastic Four: First Steps, which will present a different and rather unique corner of the MCU to Marvel fans. (Perhaps unique is a strange word, considering this is the fourth FF movie in the past 20 years.) Now audiences everywhere are indulging in our lengthiest look yet at the latest live-action adventure, which first premiered for CinemaCon attendees earlier this month. Check it out!

This new trailer has all the fun hallmarks of the intial first look at Fantastic Four's footage, as well as all of the other promotional material building up the film's alt-timeline, all while while incorportating lots of new moments to gnaw on while waiting for it to hit theaters. So let's get into it.

Julia Garner's Silver Surfer Looks Like An Evil Academy Award, But In A Good Way?

Julia Garner is the kind of young Hollywood talent who has largely managed to avoid taking projects that turned out to be disappointing or downright awful, so the fact that she signed on for this movie in the first place is kind of amazing to me. And while I'm sure her Silver Surfer look isn't going to please everyone, I'm weirdly fascinated by it.

The silvery, mirrored look is almost akin to The Secret World of Alex Mack and its titular teen's liquid form, while also adhering pretty closely to award statuettes like Oscars and Emmys. Maybe one day there will be an MCU Awards, and the trophy will be molded to look like this film's villain.

Mr. Fantastic Gets All Stretchy With It

After seeing Joseph Quinn's Johnny Storm light himself up as the Human Torch, as well as all the Ben Grimm moments we've already been made privy to, I've been most excited to see how The Fantastic Four: First Steps will show off Pedro Pascal's stretching powers as Reed Richards. I'm hoping for an all-out smorgasbord of weird humor utilized in relation to his elastic body parts, while still keeping to the PG-13 rating.

And while this trailer doesn't exactly show off a ton of those moves, I love that the shot we do get of him extending his limbs out while falling looks so surreal and out of place. There shouldn't be anything normal about watching a normal-sized human being suddenly have the wingspan of a 747.

Galactus' Bigass Foot Is As Much Of A Threat As Anything

The MCU has provided a bevy of top-notch villains across its 15+ years of existence, and while I tend to think the more human-esque antagonists are the most effective, from Vincent D'Onofrio's Wilson Fisk to Kathryn Hahn's betwitching Agatha (not always a villain, I know). But I can't deny how fascinating it is to consider a baddie whose size is so massive that he could be the source of the nursery rhyme "The Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe."

In this case of Galactus, the Fantastic Four's most formidable comic book villain, an entire apartment complex with businesses on the ground floor could be opened up inside one of his garbantuan boots. I wonder what the body count for this movie is going to be solely when it comes to those getting squashed into pulp.

We have yet to get a full body shot of the cosmic threat, which could be because there are no cameras big enought to capture him completely, but director Matt Shakman recently spoke about filming star Ralph Ineson as Galactus, and how they made a point to avoid motion-capture performances as much as possible. Bring on all the minatures!

Fans React To The Fantastic Four Trailer: The Positive Takes

To be expected, social media is aflutter with fan reactions to the first full trailer for the upcomign MCU adventure, and while there are definitely dissenters out there, the overall feelings seem to be positive. Especially when it comes to how this current quartet looks in comparison to the 2005 film's team, or that of Josh Trank's reboot.

There are hundreds of posts with more simple forms of excitement like "LFG!" and various forms of fire emojis, but here's a smattering of some general good vibes being shared online.

• Holy shit... this looks REALLY good 🔥🔥 it's rare that a trailer gets me this hype #TheFantasticFour - @javierayala10
• It is moments like this that makes you wanna appreciate life more - @kelvwayaaa
• AHHHHHH THE POWERS #TheFantasticFour - @gabofrfr
• Son perfectos. Muy guapos y muy perfectos. #TheFantasticFour - @GeekZoneGZ

And now let's hone in on some of the specific praise for Pedro Pascal and Reed Richards' key abilities.

• HE STRETCHED!!! - @SuperTuberEddie
• Finally the stretching looks right! 👏👏👏 - @Bobby_Ferrari
• Oh my god they finally did it, THEY GOT PEDRO PASCAL'S REED FINALLY STRETCHING OUT. #TheFantasticFour - @ChrisAGWrites
• PEDRO PASCAL AS REED RICHARDS IS GOING TO CHANGE LIVES, MY MAN LOOKS AMAZING!! #TheFantasticFour #ReedRichards - @mightyfosterr
• #TheFantasticFour Reed’s powers look really really good - @TK_anomaly

And you know I'm pumped that other fans out there are happy to see a new take on Silver Surfer.

• BRUH SILVER SURFER #TheFantasticFour - @_linasol
• HELLO ??????? SHES SERVING SO HARD OMGGG #TheFantasticFour - @WandazWorldz
• SHALLA-BAL LOOKS PERFECT. #TheFantasticFour - @heyitsjennalynn
• Silver Surfer, I fear I might stan #TheFantasticFour - @ItsLegendaryKay_

A WandaVision Easter Egg! Probably!

During the trailer's wide shot of New York City's busy streets and nightlife, it's easy to let one's eyes focus on all the familiar-but-different cars driving around. But it's the businesses lining the street that are more worthy of Marvel fans' attention, as there's a TV appliance store that seems to be a direct shout-out to WandaVision's central location.

While it's entirely possible that this isn't an intentional MCU easter egg, I don't think anyone could ever fully convince me it was an accident. Somebody had to design and add that visual into the composite shot.

The question here would be "What does it even mean?" My guess? Not much. The fact that the sign is a winking nod to WandaVision's embrace of TV sitcom history is probably as far as the reference goes. It doesn't make all that much sense for a New Jersey town to have a branded repair shop in the middle of NYC. But I suppose someone could have put that building there through magic as opposed to architectural efforts.

It really just makes one wonder whether or not such mystical magic exists in this specific universe. Is there a Wanda Maximoff or an Agatha Harkness that's different from the versions we know and love? Or is this particular reality so wholly invested in scientific anomalies that there's no need for magic to exist?

Following that massive Avengers announcement a few days ago, anticipation is high as the 2025 movie schedule will introduce The Fantastic Four: First Steps to the world, and that picture marks the start of Phase 6 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It could also be the start of something that’ll literally Doom the MCU, which is on everyone’s minds after Avengers: Doomsday’s massive cast reveal.

That day put the potential for cracking wise on the table in all sorts of ways, and fans still haven't disappointed on that front. This leads to the latest front in that comedy battle, as people are now joking about star Ebon Moss-Bachrach’s past role in The Punisher - just as he’s about to debut as Ben “The Thing” Grimm in an upcoming Marvel movie.

The Marvel Double Dip Strikes Again With Ebon Moss-Bachrach’s Avengers Casting

This isn’t the first time Moss-Bachrach’s repeat casting has been brought up in service of invoking “The Marvel Double Dip,” as he was in The Punisher back in the Netflix days and will soon be in Fantastic Four as a totally different character.

Just as you’d expect with Daredevil: Born Again reopening that corner of the street-level MCU, social media user “@driftyfilm” dropped this piece of comedy onto the internet about Doomsday:

You really know you’ve made it when a role in a Netflix series eight years ago is casually thrown around for a laugh. Though to be fair, if Ebon Moss-Bachrach has “made it” for anything, it’s probably his intense performances in FX’s The Bear and Disney+’s Andor.

Keep those roles in mind for the next part of the ride, though, as one of those two had to be mentioned when joking in the face of Doomsday.

Further Comments On Avengers: Doomsday’s Casting Seem To Have One Thing In Mind

For the most part, fellow digital comedians stuck to the obvious pun that comes with what we know about The Fantastic Four: First Steps. But I had to save the best for last, as it opens up to the potential for a hilarious image in Marvel’s near future that all Hulu subscription holders would find to be a godsend.

With that in mind, here’s a sampling of the internet being the internet, but in a really funny way:

• “Here’s the thing…” - @mmarti2001
• “Can’t wait to see Punisher’s tech nerd fight the Thing!” - @Rick_Zou
• “The thing about this is that…” - @mgeorge9492
• “He's playing the cousin from the Bear in this one. Sorry to kill the excitement over here... :(“ - @thegameoverture

There are probably countless further references to Mr. Moss-Bachrach’s tragic rock hero, so if you want to see the full field, it’s out there. However, I have to respectfully tip my chef’s knife to that final contributor, who said that Richie from The Bear would be the alternate character to join the ranks of Avengers: Doomsday.

For some reason, a really pissed off Cousin Richie squaring up with Robert Downey Jr’s Doctor Doom sounds just as intense as when Elizabeth Olsen’s Scarlet Witch walked up and down Josh Brolin’s Thanos in Avengers: Endgame. There’d naturally be a lot of witty snipes on both ends, which would escalate into massive PG-13 violence - and perhaps that golden singular usage of the F-bomb could be slipped in since Marvel’s cool with that now.

That’s not a likely scenario, and neither is the actor reprising his Punisher role. However, in that dream situation, you can see why people love to joke about Ebon Moss-Bachrach possibly popping up multiple times in the same universe.

Coming back to reality, we know very well that Ben Grimm’s gonna do his Thing in The Fantastic Four: First Steps when it opens on July 25th, with his MCU hero ready to rock and ruin for Avengers: Doomsday’s opening on May 1, 2026.

Oh, it’s always fun when viral moments collide, and after the 2025 Grammys and The Fantastic Four: The First Steps trailer’s release, that has happened in the silliest way. On the heels of the trailer premiere for the upcoming Marvel movie, one fan reacted to it in the most unserious and iconic way by connecting The Thing to Taylor Swift – and yes, you read the correctly.

Alright, to explain all this, I need to break down what happened at the Grammys first. Over the weekend, Taylor Swift wore a red minidress to music’s biggest night that featured a red T on her thigh (as you can see below). Swifties were quick to point out that this was likely a reference to her boyfriend Travis Kelce and her song “Guilty as Sin,” which features the line “What if he’s written ‘mine’ on my upper thigh only in my mind?”

This reference was perfect because The Tortured Poets Department – the album “Guilty as Sin” is featured on – was nominated for many Grammys and Kelce is about to play in the Super Bowl, making the red T very timely. However, after the release of The Fantastic Four’s trailer, Ash Crossan took to X to joke about how maybe that T stands for someone else:

I’m cackling over this! As we really start to anticipate the July 25 release of The Fantastic Four on the 2025 movie schedule I’ve been loving all the jokes, memes and reactions to this first look at these iconic characters, including Ebon Moss-Bachrach's The Thing. However, I wasn’t expecting an A+ Taylor Swift joke to emerge out of it!

But I’m so happy it did, especially because it also featured this silly image of The Thing licking his finger next to an image of the pop star's now legendary T on her upper thigh:

Overall, to quote X user @budice0, this joke is “rock solid.”

It’s “rock solid” for more reasons than one too. Not only is it a marvelous callback to two very viral events that happened within days of each other, but it also adds to the lore that connects Taylor Swift to Marvel and Ebon Moss-Bachrach…stick with me here.

First of all, let’s break down the Moss-Ebon Moss-Bachrach and Swift connection. When Season 2 of The Bear came out, fans were in love with the fact that his character Richie blasted “Love Story” and sang at the top of his lungs. To this day, the actor is still asked about it. So, knowing that makes this Fantastic Four joke even funnier.

Secondly, we heard rumor after rumor last year that Taylor Swift might appear in Deadpool and Wolverine. Obviously, that didn’t happen, however, it put her in tons of online conversations about the MCU.

Now, this joke about her T standing for The Thing instead of Travis Kelce is making all the worlds collide, and I can’t stop laughing about it.

It’s so unserious to think that “what if he’s written ‘mine’ on my upper thigh” implies The Thing, and that’s the kind of silliness I thrive on. So, keep the Fantastic Four and Taylor Swift jokes coming, because they are – for lack of a better term – fantastic.

As we’ve learned in the post-Endgame ecosystem, The Multiverse works in some pretty wild ways. With the 2025 movie schedule bringing us further into the mix with The Fantastic Four: First Steps, it feels like we’re just getting started when it comes to familiar faces being brought back to the screen.

That's because this upcoming Marvel movie is the latest apt example of fans calling out what’s now considered “double dipping” in the casting pool, and it’s got everyone talking. This is all thanks to the people of Reddit noticing that the new Ben Grimm, The Bear’s Ebon Moss-Bachrach, has actually played a previous role in the MCU.

To be fair, some may not have noticed this Fantastic Four cast member previously. Part of that concern may have been due to some the age of some commenters, as what you’re about to read involves a TV-MA Netflix series:

If that doesn’t provide a bump in viewership for The Punisher’s Netflix series, then we don’t know what will. In which case...we'll just vaguely say don't get too attached to the man some call "Micro" in Frank Castle's typically brutal adventures.

Getting back to the subject of MCU “two timing," that's a galaxy that you probably already know is wider than just one person. However, if you're someone surprised by the fact that Ebon Moss-Bachrach isn’t the only star to achieve that feat, brace yourselves.

Based on what we know about Fantastic Four: First Steps alone, there's another returning Marvel Cinematic Universe performer present in that very same movie. Whether you need a refresher course, or if this is your first lesson in Marvel Casting 101, here are some further members of this distinguished order, as cited in the source post:

• “And Ralph Ineson, on the same upcoming movie, is playing Galactus after being a Ravager in Guardians Vol. 2. There's a lot of double dipping in the MCU.” - @PepsiSheep
• “Ray Stevenson doesn't exactly count since his Punisher wasn't part of the MCU but technically he played two Marvel characters. I think Chris Evans is now officially part of this club since his Johnny Storm has now made an appearance in the MCU.” - @Ok-Health-7252
• “Damn, you would think Gemma Chan would get mentioned being in the two-fers club. Also Quill’s mom” - @ThatIowanGuy
• “I had to look it up: in addition to playing Peter Quill's mom in the first two Guardians of the Galaxy movies, [Laura Haddock] was also credited as "Autograph seeker" in 2011's Captain America: The First Avenger. Also TIL that she's British!” - @jalabi99

One could say this sort of thing was bound to happen, as Marvel Studios has almost 20 years of films under its belt at this point. Then again, as we've seen in Avengers: Doomsday's casting choices, Kevin Feige and his braintrust aren't afraid to double dip anymore; especially when it comes to potential variants of its storied heroes.

Admittedly you’re probably going to want to watch all of the Marvel movies in order already, in hopes of preparing for The Fantastic Four: First Steps’ theatrical debut on July 25th. Should you be one of those intrepid loyalists who have that very goal in mind, you’ve got your work cut out for you.

It's a pretty wide multiverse, and you should get started as soon as you can. Just know that you’ll need to budget your time wisely, and that pretty much every entry of the MCU can be streamed through the power of a Disney+ subscription.

Now that the new year is underway, there are three upcoming Marvel movies to look forward to on the 2025 release schedule. The last of the trio is The Fantastic Four: First Steps, which will follow along with the superhero quartet on a 1960s retro-futuristic Earth elsewhere in the Marvel multiverse. Ebon Moss-Bachrach will bring Ben Grimm, a.k.a. The Thing, to life in the new Fantastic Four movie, and he recently revealed that he has gotten to say his character’s classic catchphrase, “It’s clobberin’ time!” It’s a welcome First Steps update, but it’s also resulted in me remember how poorly 2015’s Fantastic Four, a notorious flop, used that line.

What Ebon Moss-Bachrach Said About The Thing’s Catchphrase

Moss-Bachrach stopped by Jimmy Kimmel Live! the night after the 82nd Golden Globes, where he was nominated in the Best Supporting Performance in a Series, Limited Series, Anthology Series, or Motion Picture Made for Television category for playing Richie Jerimovich in The Bear. When Kimmel brought up The Fantastic Four: First Steps during the interview, the actor stayed tight-lipped when it came to plot information and only went into great detail to talk about the motion-capture work he did. However, when Kimmel asked Moss-Bachrach if he says “It’s clobberin’ time!” in the movie, he responded:

Ben Grimm has been exclaiming “It’s clobberin’ time!” in the comics since 1964’s Strange Tales #121, to the point it’s become one of the character’s trademark elements. I’ll be shocked and, frankly, disappointed if Ebon Moss-Bachrach’s version of The Thing doesn’t say the catchphrase at least once in the movie, especially since it would arguably mesh better with the 1960s setting. Moss-Bachrach is joined in The Fantastic Four: First Steps’ cast by Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic, Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm/The Invisible Woman, Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm/The Human Torch, Ralph Ineson as Galactus and Julia Garner as Silver Surfer, as well as Paul Walter Hauser, John Malkovich, Natasha Lyonne and Sarah Niles in undisclosed roles.

How 2015’s Fantastic Four Used “It’s Clobberin’ Time!”

Michael Chiklis’ Ben Grimm got to say “It’s clobberin’ time!” in 2005’s Fantastic Four, as did the adorable prototype Thing action figure Chris Evans’ Johnny Storm showed off to him before it was crushed against a wall. Jamie Bell also said the catchphrase in 2015’s Fantastic Four when he was punching Doctor Doom, and that’s all well and good.

But here’s the problem: as I was thinking back on that reboot, I remembered that the origin of Bell’s use of the line originated at the beginning of the movie when Ben and Reed were shown as kids. Ben’s older brother said “It’s clobberin’ time” right before he was going to beat him up, and something tells me that wasn’t the first time that happened. So the origin of the line essentially stems from trauma in this continuity rather than it just rolling off the tongue well or Ben having even come up with it all on his own, and thus taints some of its appeal. You can stream Fantastic Four with a Disney+ subscription if you’d like to see that moment for yourself.

Meanwhile, The Fantastic Four: First Steps hits theaters on July 25, 2025. Matt Shakman directed the movie, and Jeff Kaplan, Ian Springer, Josh Friedman, Cameron Squires, Eric Pearson and Peter Cameron all worked on the script. Be sure to check out Ebon Moss-Bachrach in The Bear, which is accessible with a Hulu subscription.

Amid his yelling and fast talking on The Bear, Ebon Moss-Bachrach has established a sweet, on-set family dynamic with the cast of the comedy-drama series. Now, his latest project, the upcoming The Fantastic Four: First Steps, makes the fan-favorite actor a part of another skilled ensemble of stars. They've seemingly become close, and Moss-Bachrach drove that point home by revealing how his FF castmates sweetly supported him before his latest Emmy win.

The Bear had another great showing at the Emmys, as it took home four wins across multiple categories. Among the 2024 Emmys winners was Ebon Moss-Bachrach, who won Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series for his role as restaurant co-owner Richie Jerimovich. As the star recently revealed, the cast of his upcoming Marvel movie were cheering for him even before his win. The award winner told Variety that his co-stars gifted him “a bunch of flowers and a bottle of Champagne” that were left in his hotel room before departed for the Emmys:

That’s so sweet! As filming for Fantastic Four started six weeks ago and is ongoing, I can understand how hard it must have been for him to break away from his co-stars even for a short amount of time. Ebon Moss-Bachrach spoke about how he and his Fantastic Four crew bonded instantly through a group chat started by Pedro Pascal, who will play Reed Richards in the Marvel film. The Girls actor gushed about everyone sending each other images, GIFs and stickers to build up that chemistry, and it seems to have worked.

Joseph Quinn, who plays Johnny Storm, also teased the dynamic between the Human Torch and The Thing , who's played by the Bear star. Apparently, the two FF stars built that chemistry via rehearsals. Considering Thing and Torch are supposed to have a fun yet semi-antagonistic rivalry, I have a feeling these scenes are going to be fun.

With Ebon Moss-Bachrach saying he gets a little “separation anxiety” being away from his cast of superheroes, I'd like to think that he's eager to get back to filming The Fantastic Four. While speaking to Variety, he described their bond as “beautiful” and shared some sweet thoughts about his colleagues:

Joseph Quinn told THR that filming for First Steps is expected to last for about five months. So it looks like Ebon Moss-Bachrach will have plenty of opportunities to continue bonding with his cast. I don't know about you, but I'd love to know how they ultimately responded to his Emmy win via the group chat. I'd also imagine that when he returns to set, he'll be welcomed in a big way.

The Fantastic Four: First Steps is set to open in theaters on July 25th amid the 2025 movie schedule. While you wait for it, stream the original FF flicks as well as the Marvel movies in order using a Disney+ subscription.

Overshadowed by the news that Robert Downey Jr. will be returning to the MCU for a handful of upcoming Marvel movies, the famous Comic-Con Hall H panel also included information about what fans can expect from some of the costumes the new cast of Fantastic Four: First Steps will wear when the film releases in July 2025.

It’s no secret that costuming can make or break a movie, especially one that revolves around the suspension of reality. The past Fantastic Four films haven’t always had the greatest luck when it came to creating some of the more difficult costumes, like The Thing’s rocky skin or the Human Torch’s fire effects, but that doesn’t seem to be a problem with First Steps thanks to advancements in technology.

At least, that seems to be the case for Ebon Moss Bachrach, who is set to play The Thing. In a post-panel interview with MTV, The Bear star and his co-star Joseph Quinn were asked about how costume fittings were going and if they had begun to regret signing on to the film. Bachrach was the first to answer, praising his costume, or lack of one, by saying:

Instead of creating a physical suit like past Fantastic Four films have done, director Matt Shakman has decided that they will be using CGI technology to bring The Thing to life. Bachrach seems to be thrilled at the change.

Unfortunately, Stranger Things’ breakout star Joseph Quinn isn’t getting the same CGI treatment as Bachrach, but that hasn’t led to any regret for taking on the iconic role once held by Chris Evans. In fact, Quinn seems to thrilled with the looks they’ve come up for his version of the Human Torch.

• Joseph Quinn: Yes, he looks very comfortable. I wasn’t regretting too many of my life choices. We’ve put together some pretty strong looks. I think, yeah… Yes, of course [I look good in the mirror].
• Ebon Moss Bachrach: Well, Joe’s got his top off for like, 75 percent of the movie.
• Quinn: Yeah, Ebon wrote on that rewrite.

The highly-anticipated superhero flick had yet to begin production when the interview was filmed, and yet Bachrach and Quinn were already comfortable enough that they had no problem teasing each other. This bodes well for the film, which will focus on the familial dynamic among the team members instead of being another origin story.

Bachrach and Quinn are just 50% of the core team. They will be joined by Pedro Pascal and Vanessa Kirby, who also had a viral Comic-Con moment. The quartet will also be joined by Julia Garner as The Silver Surfer and Ralph Ineson as Galactus, among others.

It’ll be a while before fans get to see the Fantastic Four costumes on the big screen, but hopefully the wait will be worth it. After all, Marvel really needs to knock them out of the park since the superhero group is slated to also appear in Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars.

As expected, The Bear absolutely dominated the Emmy nominations. Actually, it dominated so hard that it broke a record for most nominations for a comedy. Obviously, it’s also probably going to win a lot of those awards too. While I love this FX dramedy as much as the next person, I think it’s a major issue that it’s probably going to win everything.

The Bear Received A Record-Breaking Number Of Nominations For The 2024 Emmys 

Coming off the heels of a successful Season 3 premiere on the 2024 TV schedule, Season 2 of The Bear received a record 23 nominations for the 76th Primetime Emmy Awards. Here are a few of the show’s notable nominations:

• Best Comedy Series
• Lead Actor In A Comedy Series for Jeremy Allen White
• Lead Actress In A Comedy Series for Ayo Edebiri
• Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for Liza Colón-Zayas
• Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series for Lionel Boyce and Ebon Moss-Bacrach

It also received nods for its production design, casting, cinematography, costumes, directing and guest stars (who include Olivia Colman, Jamie Lee Curtis, Jon Bernthal, Bob Odenkirk and Will Poulter).

I’m sure many remember that The Bear absolutely devoured awards season last year. Jeremy Allen White took home award after award for playing Carmy, and his co-stars, Ayo Edebiri and Ebon Moss-Bachrach, both won Emmys, and numerous other trophies for their performances. Along with that, the show as a whole won over and over again.

Now, even more of The Bear cast and creatives are nominated, and it’s looking like it could completely sweep the comedy categories this year.

I Desperately Do Not Want The Bear To Win Everything

Let me start by saying this: This problem is not The Bear’s fault and I’m not mad about it because I don’t like the show. In fact, I love the show. However, I think the Emmys have an issue of always awarding the same series over and over and over again. We’ve seen it happen in the drama category recently as Succession made it so it felt like no other shows got a spotlight on them. And I fear this is going to happen to the comedy categories now.

The Bear is great and award-worthy. However, the shows it's nominated with – Abbott Elementary, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Hacks, Only Murders in the Building, Palm Royale and Reservation Dogs in the overall comedy category, among others in various acting and other categories – are also fantastic!

The Emmys really need to share the wealth here, and it can’t do that by giving The Bear everything.

When I look back on my favorite performances of the year, I’m more inclined to note Jean Smart and Hannah Einbinder’s dynamic, emotional and funny performances in Hacks or the cast of Abbott Elementary’s brilliant work over some of the nominated performances in The Bear. Both shows were firing on all cylinders this season, and their ensembles hit a new level of fantastic. Plus, shows that have never won Emmys in the big tentpole categories, like Only Murders in the Building and Reservation Dogs, served up excellent new seasons that were incredibly smart and award-worthy.

I’m a big believer that talents like Einbinder, Quinta Brunson, Tyler James Williams, Selena Gomez, Steven Martin, D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai and more deserve just as much love as The Bear.

It’s no fun to give one show all the awards. As a viewer, it gets repetitive and boring, and I find that it also makes it so fewer series get the attention they deserve.

Obviously, I’d love to see the FX/Hulu dramedy take home a few trophies. However, I think it’s important that more brilliant shows get recognized than just the one. So, Emmy voters, if you are reading this, when you are filling out your ballots consider all the nominees, and maybe show multiple love rather than just one, because they are all brilliant.

Spoilers for the Season 3 finale of The Bear are ahead. If you haven’t watched the show yet, you can stream it with a Hulu subscription.

When Season 3 of The Bear ended, my first thought was “That can’t be it.” Not only was I unsatisfied with the cliffhanger, but it also felt like we were right in the middle of all the action. We were getting to the climax of the season where Sydney revealed her job offer and Carmy read the review. However, neither of those things happened. So, I immediately started thinking that this might not be the last time we see new episodes of this show on the 2024 TV schedule. Now, Ebon Moss-Bachrach’s latest comments have added fuel to this ongoing theory I’ve been thinking about.

Quite some time ago, rumors came out (via Deadline) that Seasons 3 and 4 of The Bear were being filmed back-to-back. Considering the popularity and acclaim of the show plus the star power of its cast, that wouldn’t be surprising. However, the ensemble has been reluctant to talk about whether those extra episodes are really a fourth installment or not. Now, Moss-Bachrach’s comments about everything they filmed have me wondering if that “To Be Continued” card at the end of this season was telling us that we only got the first half of Season 3.

What Ebon Moss-Bachrach Said About The Next Episodes Of The Bear

While we still don’t really know how things will proceed following The Bear’s finale (which let me down), Ebon Moss-Bachrach did confirm that they filmed more than the ten episodes we saw. When he spoke with Mr. Porter, he explained that they ended up filming more than they initially planned:

So, yes, he said “two seasons.” However, it feels like this is all one big cohesive chapter, and we stopped in the middle of it, not the end. Maybe, what we get next could be a Season 3B.

Moss-Bachrach continued to explain that they filmed 18 episodes this time around, and as you likely know, we've only seen ten of those. The actor said:

Also, as the story notes, Moss-Bachrach “thinks” they shot Seasons 3 and 4 together, but they did not confirm that that’s the case, and that, my friend, is suspicious.

I Think They’ll Surprise Drop The Second Half Of Season 3

My theory about all this began when I attended The Bear’s press conference for CinemaBlend, and the cast was asked about the reports that they filmed Seasons 3 and 4 together. They wouldn’t give a straight answer about what’s to come, as you can see by the responses Jeremy Allen White, Ayo Edebiri and Abby Elliott gave to the question below:

Jeremy Allen White: We did something like that.

Ayo Edebiri: Yeah, a little version of it, sort of. But not exactly.

Jeremy Allen White: Not exactly.

Ayo Edebiri: Is that helpful for journalism?

Abby Elliott: You'll have to find out.

As I noted, the second I finished binge-ing The Bear, I didn’t feel like it was over. Yes, both seasons that came before have ended on cliffhangers, but they also ended a chapter definitively. Season 1 closed out with them deciding to open The Bear, Season 2 saw them open the restaurant, and Season 3 gave us the result of the review and their work…but not really…there's still so much to do.

So, it stands to reason that we could get a Part 2 to Season 3 so we can find some closure. It's filmed, the story lends itself to that format, and it would explain these confusing answers about what's coming next.

Of course, I could be completely wrong, and maybe that was the end of Season 3, and the next installment of one of Hulu’s best shows will be a totally new Season 4. However, as Moss-Bachrach said, they didn’t want to feel constrained, and so they decided to make more. That signifies to me that a Season 3B could be coming.

Plus, no other season has ended with a “To Be Continued.” Season 1 ended with “The Bear is coming” written on the door, but it wasn’t a cut-and-dry “more is coming” like the end of Season 3 was.

So, when you mix Ebon Moss-Bachrach's comments about filming 18 episodes with the ambiguous press conference comments, I can’t help but think that I might be onto something.

However, we won’t know until we get official word from The Bear itself.

To go back and watch the first three seasons of The Bear, and see if you agree with my theory that we might be getting a part two sooner than later, you can do so with a Hulu subscription.

Stranger Things’ Joseph Quinn is taking over a lot of big projects on the 2024 movie schedule, between his role in this weekend’s A Quiet Place: Day One and this fall’s Gladiator II. The actor will have a flaming hold over our hearts next summer too, when the MCU’s Fantastic Four movie hits theaters. Ahead of the new Fantastic Four cast uniting on set next month, Quinn has spoken about bringing the Johnny Storm/Ben Grimm dynamic to the big screen, and I can't wait to see it!

The Human Torch and The Thing have always had a notable friendship within the Marvel Comics team. And in one of next summer’s upcoming Marvel movies, The Bear’s Ebon Moss-Bachrach is set to play the most tortured member of the team alongside Quinn, Pedro Pascal’s Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic and Vanessa Kirby’s Sue Storm/The Invisible Woman. Here’s what Joseph Quinn said about bringing that dynamic to the big screen with their new iteration: 

Now Quinn hasn’t quite had the opportunity to work with his superhero team yet. As Marvel boss Kevin Feige recently shared (while also confirming some popular rumors about Fantastic Four), the movie is set to begin filming the day after San Diego Comic-Con. When the Stranger Things’ actor spoke to Men’s Health, he also said this: 

Even though the cast has yet to start filming, apparently a group chat between the main cast has “been popping off,” per Quinn. Between the ball of personality and fun Quinn brought to Stranger Things as Eddie Munson and the real depth and humor Moss-Bachrach has showcased on The Bear, I absolutely cannot wait for these two to riff off of each other! You can get a sense of the new Fantastic Four together in this official artwork from Marvel: 

Oh yeah, this is going to be a blast! In the new interview, Quinn also shared that he thought the image was a “really lovely way to announce” the new movie, but he’s still pinching himself over the whole thing. He also called the role a “little surreal” and something he’s approaching with both serious “responsibility” and “a lot of fun.” 

Fantastic Four is set to come out on July 25, 2025! The movie will be a period piece set in the '60s, but as the artwork has teased, it won’t be set in our universe’s New York City at that time. While we wait to see all these dynamics on the big screen, get ready for Marvel's next release, Deadpool & Wolverine, coming July 26, 2024. 

When an actor signs on to star on to star in an upcoming Marvel movie, they can't say much about it. They're contractually obligated to say next to nothing about what they are doing – which is for the audience's benefit to an extent, as it's bad when secrets get exposed on the internet early. All that being said, humor makes a wonderful tool for diversion, and it's one that The Bear star Ebon Moss-Bachrach used effectively while recently discussing his part in the upcoming Fantastic Four blockbuster.

It was in February 2024 (on Valentine's Day, to be specific) that Marvel Studios announced Moss-Bachrach as part of the Fantastic Four cast, and the actor was asked about it during a recent appearance on The Daily Show. Co-host Desi Lydic asked him how he was preparing for his part in the 2025 movie, and he said with a smile, 

In reality, Ebon Moss-Bachrach won't be doing much interacting with rocks or fake rocks in the making of The Fantastic Four. As most would expect, the new incarnation of the character (previously portrayed by Michael Chiklis and Jamie Bell) will be brought to life with performance capture technology. As such, the actor won't be wearing a rock suit and instead will be going around set wearing a set of grey pajamas covered with visual effects tracking markers. 

Ben Grimm isn't a role doesn't require much the way of physical training (unlike Joseph Quinn, he's not going to the gym at all hours of the day). Ebon Moss-Bacharach's Marvel preparation has been more about emotionally understanding the character. For that, he has not just the script for the film, but also a Marvel Unlimited account that was gifted to him by Marvel Studios. He continued, 

At present, we don't know much about how The Fantastic Four will present this new incarnation of The Thing, but a core quality of the character is that sees his incredible powers as a curse far more than his teammates given that he has been physically stripped of his humanity. The hero is famously able to find some happiness thanks to his relationship with Alicia Masters, a blind sculptor, but it is unknown if Alicia will be a character in Marvel's upcoming blockbuster.

In addition to Ebon Moss-Bacharach, The Fantastic Four will also star Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn, Julia Garner, Ralph Ineson, John Malkovich, Paul Walter Hauser, and Natasha Lyonne. The film will be in theaters everywhere on July 25, 2025, and be sure to stay tuned here on CinemaBlend for all of the latest updates about the project.

Would it be The Bear if my heart rate wasn't through the roof every time I watched it? No. Thankfully, that part of the show won't be changing when it premieres on the 2024 TV schedule – despite the restaurant finally being in the place Carmy dreamed of – as we saw the finest of food and the chef spiraling in the Season 3 trailer for the Emmy-winning dramedy. 

In our first comprehensive look at Season 3 of The Bear, we saw Jeremy Allen White's Carmy set his non-negotiables for the restaurant and the chaos that ensued after that. Between his business relationship with Sydney, the ever-unpredictable actions of characters like Richie, and his rocky romantic relationship, it seems like the owner of The Bear is spiraling more than usual, which is saying a lot, and I’m very nervous about it.

In every season of this show, we've seen Carmy struggle with perfectionism and control. Now that his restaurant is open, he's focusing on the little details and leaning into his declaration at the end of Season 2 that he is going to commit fully to his job. All this stress was amplified in the new trailer, and I am so anxious about the breaking point he'll hit as he puts too much pressure on himself and his staff. 

While that tension makes for great TV, it also makes the show nerve-wracking to watch. As Fak said “the vibe is weird,” and seeing Carmy and Richie fight about the size of bowls was enough to make me stop and take a few deep breaths, and that was only the trailer. Imagine the kind of chaos that’s about to ensue in the season.

As we’ve seen before, Carmy is surrounded by characters in The Bear who challenge and fight him. During The Bear’s Season 2 finale, Carmy got stuck in the walk-in – which was the subject of many jokes about Season 3 – and Richie and Sydney ran the show. In this new season, I think these three will clash when it comes to how the restaurant should be run, and Jeremy Allen White’s character will freak out more than he has in the past, despite the fact that the food looks delightful and he has what he’s been yearning for.

Ebon Moss-Bachrach told me that Jeremy Allen White is brilliant in the role of Carmy because he plays the tension that constantly plagues his character so well. It’s an internal battle for the most part, however, when he explodes it's scary. We all remember what happened in “Fishes,” if there’s a stressed-out Berzatto, we should all be nervous. 

This trailer seemed to allude to the chef reaching a serious breaking point over control of his restaurant. Between the trauma he got from working in other fine dining establishments and his family history that’s littered with chaos and tragedy, it makes sense that he’s striving for perfection at The Bear. However, that drive that he thinks will help him succeed seems like it will ultimately be his downfall.

So, it’s unclear if this tension will turn the restaurant into a diamond or if it will cause its demise. However, you better believe that I can’t wait to witness it, even though I’ll need to monitor my heart rate throughout.

We'll find out what happens to Carmy and co. and if he reaches a terrible breaking point when The Bear becomes available to stream with a Hulu subscription on June 27.

The Fantastic Four have had a rocky time of it on the film front. A movie starring Marvel’s First Family made in 1994 never even got released, the movies from the 2000s earned mixed critical reception and never made much of a splash at the box office, and the 2015 reboot was a dud all around. But it’s like the old saying goes, the fifth time’s the charm, right? Maybe not, but we do know that The Fantastic Four: First Steps will finally give audiences a version of this team that are part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe franchise.

Plot-wise, little has been revealed about this upcoming Marvel movie, though it's been confirmed it will be set in another universe rather than the main MCU reality. What has been an open book is learning which actors are starring in The Fantastic Four: First Steps, which includes Pedro Pascal and Vanessa Kirby playing two of its heroes. So let’s discuss them and the others who have been announced or reported so far.

Pedro Pascal

Although Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness saw John Krasinski cameoing as Earth-838’s Reed Richards, a.k.a. Mister Fantastic, he’s not reprising the role for The Fantastic Four: First Steps. Instead, it’ll be Pedro Pascal bringing the stretchy superhero to life following Ioan Gruffudd and Miles Teller. In addition to having prior superhero movie experience from playing Maxwell Lord in Wonder Woman 1984, Pascal goes deep with genre projects overall, with that list including Game of Thrones, The Mandalorian and The Last of Us.

Vanessa Kirby

Unlike Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby doesn’t already have superhero movie experience, but she does know her way around the action genre thanks to Hobbs & Shaw and two of the Mission: Impossible movies, with a third one on the way. She’s also well known for playing Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon on The Crown as a series regular in the first two seasons, and a guest role in Season 5. She’ll succeed Jessica Alba and Kate Mara in playing Sue Storm, a.k.a. The Invisible Woman, in The Fantastic Four: First Steps.

Ebon Moss-Bachrach

Ebon Moss-Bachrach has already spent some time in the MCU playing David Lieberman, a.k.a. Micro, in The Punisher Season 1, but needless to say Benjamin Grimm, a.k.a. The Thing, is a much bigger role, one previously played by Michael Chiklis and Jamie Bell. The actor’s other genre experience includes NOS4A2 and Andor, but these days, he’s most famous for playing Richie Jerimovich in The Bear, which netted him an Emmy win and Golden Globe nomination, among other accolades.

Joseph Quinn

Joseph Quinn has been professionally acting for over a decade, but in 2022, he gained worldwide fame for playing Eddie Munson in Stranger Things Season 4. That paved the way for him to be cast in A Quiet Place: Day One and Gladiator 2, but The Fantastic Four: First Steps is arguably his biggest project yet. Like Chris Evans and Michael B. Jordan before him, he’s been cast as Johnny Storm, a.k.a. The Human Torch.

Julia Garner

If you’re a Netflix subscriber, then there’s a good chance you’re familiar with Julia Garner from Ozark and/or Inventing Anna. Film-wise, her body of work includes The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Sin City: A Dame to Kill For and The Royal Hotel, but it’s safe to say that The Fantastic Four: First Steps is her biggest cinematic project yet. Garner has reportedly been cast as Shalla-Bal, who is the love interest of Norris Radd, a.k.a. The Silver Surfer, in the comics. However, apparently for this movie, Garner’s version of Shalla-Bal will be Silver Surfer instead, which begs the question of where thing with Norrin stand, assuming we even see him.

Paul Walter Hauser

From I, Tonya and Richard Jewell to Cruella and Da 5 Bloods, Paul Walter Hauser has acted in some major movies over the years, and he’s also been present throughout Cobra Kai as Stingray. As far the Fantastic Four reboot goes, his role is officially being kept a mystery for now, but we shouldn’t necessarily assume he’ll be on camera. Taking into account his voice acting work in Orion and the Dark and Inside Out 2, I suspect he may be the voice of H.E.R.B.I.E. the robot, who’s in the first official piece of concept art with Reed, Sue, Ben and Johnny.

John Malkovich

Arguably the most famous actor on this list, John Malkovich is jumping back into the superhero movie genre for the first time since he played Quentin Turnbull in 2010’s Jonah Hex, although he did also play Marvin Boggs in the RED movies, which were loosely inspired by the same-named DC Comics limited series. In any case, as with Hauser, Malkovich’s role in The Fantastic Four: First Steps hasn’t been disclosed yet, but our own Eric Eisenberg is hoping he’ll play The Vulture, as the actor was going to bring that villain to life in the scrapped Spider-Man 4. It's more likely, though, that he's been cast as someone like Franklin Storm, Sue and Johnny's father.

Ralph Ineson

Remember when Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer depicted Galactus as a cosmic hurricane cloud? Well, that won’t be happen with The Fantastic Four: First Steps, as Ralph Ineson has been cast in the role. Ineson, known from movies like The Witch and The Green Knight, confirmed this news on social media, though it remains to be seen if his version of Galactus will resemble his traditional appearance from the comics or be depicted differently. I also worry that Galactus’ inclusion in this movie could mean that the Fantastic Four’s Earth will be consumed by him, assuming this reboot does take place in another corner of the Marvel multiverse.

Natasha Lyonne

Whether you’ve been a fan of Natasha Lyonne stretching back to the days of American Pie and Scary Movie 2, or you became enamored with her from shows like Russian Doll and Poker Face, there’s no denying Natasha Lyonne’s talent. Now, per Deadline, she’ll enter the superhero genre by taking part in The Fantastic Four: First Steps. Her role is being kept under wraps for now, though it would be interesting to see her paired with Ebon Moss-Bachrach’s Ben Grimm as Alicia Masters, his blind, sculptor girlfriend.

Directed by Matt Shakman, and Josh Friedman having written the most recent draft of the script, The Fantastic Four: First Steps opens in theaters on July 25, 2025. Check back here for more casting additions, and remember that the majority of the Marvel movies in order and all of the MCU’s tie-in TV shows can be streamed with a Disney+ subscription.

We all have our television blind spots, shows we’ve heard amazing things about, but we haven’t found the time to actually press play and catch up on the latest culture-defining program. Maybe you are finally sitting down to visit The Sopranos (and form your own opinion on the controversial ending). Or maybe you are revisiting a classic like Games of Thrones, and it’s making you rethink your opinions of certain characters. One of my recent blind spots was The Bear, the chaotic and critically acclaimed Emmy winner set in a Chicago restaurant that plunges the depths of the main characters as they struggle to keep a business afloat. My wife and I finally decided to catch up on the show, and quickly discovered that neither one of us were emotionally prepared for the arcs mapped out in Season 1, or the wallop of a payoff in the Season 1 finale. 

Needless to say, I’m going to be spoiling The Bear Season 1, so stop reading now if you haven’t seen it, and still want to remain in the dark.

‘As we got older, I realized I didn’t know anything about him, really.’

To fully grasp the impact of the Season 1 finale, we have to rewind back to Episode 7, “Review.” And everyone who knew that I was watching The Bear for the first time prepped me for the oner, knowing how much I would appreciate the technical aspect of the shot. And it is impressive. But to me, it pales in comparison to the unbroken close-up on Jeremy Allen White’s mesmerizing face during the Al-Anon meeting that Carmy attends, finally confessing the truth about his strained relationship with his late brother, Mikey (Jon Bernthal, who is devastating in the brief screen time he’s allowed). 

White won an Emmy for his work on The Bear Season 1, and my hope is that FX simply sent voters this 7-minute monologue. I realized during it that I hung on every single word coming out of Carmy’s mouth. Because the character’s not verbose. And for the first time, he was admitting why The Beef was so important to him, and why he was trying to re-establish the restaurant, and fix his relationships with his dead sibling. This is engrossing television:

Chunks of the Season 1 finale, “Braciole,” dealt with The Beef employees picking up their own pieces in the wake of Carmy’s meltdown in Episode 7, when he pushed Sydney (Ayo Edebiri) out of his workstation with his aggressive verbal tactics, and smacked Marcus’s (Lionel Boyce) donut out of his hands and to the floor. Even in the midst of the stunning technical oner, the moments I will remember are character driven – Syd changing sneakers as she works up the courage to quit, or Carm bending down to taste Marcus’s donut off the floor, and allowing himself to briefly celebrate and acknowledge just how delicious the dessert turned out. Marcus does eventually return to The Beef in “Braciole,” and Carm apologizes. But there’s still tension in that mentorship. It might remain fractured. I’m not certain. 

‘I love you, dude. Let it rip’

The power of The Bear, throughout Season 1, has been in presenting the main characters in one light – Richie (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) is an arrogant, self-involved blowhard, Carmy is an uptight perfectionist – then peeling away layers to reveal an unexpected center. As new details emerge, we also chip away at the overarching mystery figure that is Mikey, with mid-sized details parceled out over the course of the entire season. 

It got to the point where I’d forgotten the existence of the letter Richie found behind the lockers until he handed it to Carmy. When he justified it by saying that he didn’t give it to Carm because it would finalize the fact that Mikey was gone, my heart climbed into my throat… and stayed there the entire scene as Carm stood in the alley and worked up the courage to read the message his brother had left him. 

A bad show makes that letter a flowery, sentimental goodbye. The Bear is better than that. In the Al-Anon monologue, Carm told the story about Mikey’s message to him, “Let it rip.” Which is what Mike tells Carm to do. And then he leaves him with the cash incentive to do just that. 

The presence of the cash in the tomato sauce cans raises a bunch of questions I’m sure The Bear Season 2 will address. For now, I’m content to breathe a little easier for the first time all season as some weight appears to have been lifted off Carm’s shoulders. But he can’t completely forget. Because as the final, devastating shot of the finale reminds us, the shadow of Mikey forever hangs over this show, and its lead character. 

God, that is a heartbreaking smile. It’s a brutal, necessary reminder why Carmy sacrificed all that he did to bring order to The Beef. And it’s an eye-opening truth that Mikey made some calculated decisions to provide for the brother with whom he’d lost touch. Carm now plans to launch the restaurant he and Mike discussed – “We wanted to open a restaurant together. Um, we had a name, we had a vibe, all of it.” – and he’ll call it The Bear. 

On to The Bear Season 2. 

I know the rest of you are dying for news on The Bear Season 3. We even put together a list of previous guest stars we want to see return for future episodes. For now, we wait for June, when Season 3 is expected to drop.

Becoming a superhero isn’t always about form-fitting costumes and incredible stunt work. Sometimes the newer ways are indeed the best, and that’s what actor Ebon Moss-Bachrach seems to have revealed is the case in the upcoming Marvel movie The Fantastic Four. It appears that his portrayal as the newly cast Ben Grimm/The Thing will indeed be a CGI creation, which has led Marvel fans to weigh in with some varying takes on the matter.

What Eben Moss-Bachrach Said About His Version Of The Thing

During a recent appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! (which was shared to YouTube) the actor best known for his role on FX’s The Bear talked about what he thinks his performance in director Matt Shakman’s big reboot will entail. While it doesn’t sound like it’s 100% confirmed just yet, Ebon Moss-Bachrach put the following news into the world with confidence: 

If what Ebon Moss-Bachrach has said above is any indication, there might be some practical effects work when it comes to this new iteration of The Thing. Although the claim of “mostly performance capture” could be referencing the fact that we might see Ben Grimm in his pre-transformation form in the 2025 MCU release.

Seeing as what we know about The Fantastic Four has shown that this isn’t an origin story for the first family of superheroes, we can't speak to specifics on the above. What isn’t unknown, though, is how Marvel fans have provided arguments on both sides of the issue, which seem to have divided the room. 

Marvel Fans Drop Different Takes On A CGI Thing In The Fantastic Four

Opinions that ran the gamut of positive and negative reinforcement have made it onto social media, with both sides of the aisle being firmly represented. Starting things off with the pro-CGI side, user @SickJay84 tweeted this short but honest assessment of how they felt on the matter: 

Of course, there are those that are absolutely on the side of The Fantastic Four using practical effects and makeup to portray Ben Grimm in his Thing form. User @HorrorLawyer laid out their case for why such an approach is superior as follows: 

Moving further into the case of why Ebon Moss-Bachrach’s thoughts on using CGI for The Thing, @LothbrokViking8 seems to agree with the previous remarks about how certain characters are practically built for that method. Citing a certain character's appearance in The Marvels' end-credits scene and others as proof, this comment also has a bit of a message for those who are on the side of practical methods:

One could debate whether or not practical effects are holding on to the past, or trying to anchor whatever the vision of a movie like FF might be in a sense of realism. To close out this debate, at least for our purposes, tweeter @Coty__Ellis provided a thread that dug into why they thought Ebon’s comments were “kind of insulting.” Here’s what they had to say:  

As The Fantastic Four still needs to go into production in order to meet its July 25, 2025 release date, there’s a chance that Ebon Moss-Bachrach might see some more practical suit work than he currently knows. Anything could happen and, once the cameras start rolling, a newfound need for actual physical effects might arise after production gets into the groove. 

The Marvel Cinematic Universe has seen stranger things happen in its history thus far and, in the end, all anyone can hope for is that the method that best suits the vision will be employed. Well, that and if Ebon Moss-Bachrach ends up needing to use a suit, everyone should hope that it’s not as painful and unwieldy as past experiences have proven to be. 

We’ve still got a little over a year before the MCU welcomes Ben Grimm and the rest of his Fantastic compatriots to the big screen in the upcoming superhero film. So, if you want to go back and watch the original Fantastic Four duology, or any of the other Marvel movies (in order) leading up to the current day, be sure to use the only superpower needed to get the job done: a Disney+ subscription!

This past Valentine’s Day, a number of comic book movie fans rejoiced, as Marvel Studios finally unveiled the cast of The Fantastic Four. After months of speculation, it was confirmed that Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn and Ebon Moss-Bachrach would portray the quartet of heroes. What a number of people now seem concerned with in the aftermath of the announcement is how the four stars might gel when they appear on screen together. That remains to be seen but, at this moment, Moss-Bachrach reveals that he and his co-stars are already doing some light bonding, and I love it. 

The Emmy-winning actor is set to play the role of Ben Grimm a.k.a. The Thing in the upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe film. He shared some details on the high-profile gig while appearing on Jimmy Kimmel Live!. Of course, the Fantastic Four cast member couldn’t say too much, given the secrecy that comes with MCU productions. He did, however, share some details about his co-stars. Though he says he hasn’t met Vanessa Kirby, he has been able to communicate with his co-stars via a group text that’s been created: 

Based on the clip shared to YouTube, Ebon Moss-Bachrach seems to appreciate the early enthusiasm from his colleagues, and I honestly can’t wait to see them all together. The group chat may sound like a small detail in the grand scheme of chemistry building, but one can do wonders in that regard. It’s no secret that the Avengers cast had one as well, and it’s definitely helped to keep them bonded over the years. (They even all assembled in 2022 to share reactions to Chris Evans’ Sexiest Man Alive title.) So I really like the idea of the FF cast having a chat of their own, and I’m sure it’ll become more active in the lead-up to production and during it as well. 

That text could end up expanding as well, as more actors are cast for the blockbuster. For example, whoever gets cast as H.E.R.B.I.E., the titular team’s faithful robot assistant, might be added as well. And, if the reports about the studio wanting a comedian to voice the character are accurate, then said person could add a jolt of humor to the text chain. 

A few details are known about The Fantastic Four, but much of it remains shrouded in mystery. In addition to the Bear cast member playing Ben, Pedro Pascal will play Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic, Vanessa Kirby will portray Sue Storm/The Invisible Woman and Joseph Quinn will bring Johnny Storm/The Human Torch to life. It’s being helmed by WandaVision director Matt Shakman, and it reportedly will not be an origin story. The official cast announcement also has some under the impression that FF will be set in the 1960s. And that would, of course, cause us to ponder where the team has been within the MCU all this time, if that’s the case. 

While there’s still a lot of uncertainty surrounding the film, I’m excited to see what it offers. The cast, in particular, is what truly has me pumped (and I’m not paying attention to the hate for Pedro Pascal’s casting). I’m hopeful that all four of the leads will absolutely nail their roles and hope that through the group chat, Ebon Moss-Bachrach and his co-stars will establish a strong rapport. 

The Fantastic Four is set to open in theaters on July 25, 2025. While you wait for it, stream past MCU films using a Disney+ subscription and read up on other upcoming superhero movies.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is constantly expanding, thanks to shows that are available with a Disney+ subscription and (of course) big screen adventures. One of the most highly anticipated upcoming Marvel movies has been Matt Shakman's Fantastic Four, with countless rumors circulating about who might star in that project. And now Marvel has finally revealed the Fantastic Four cast, and teased a comic character's MCU introduction. 

What we know about Fantastic Four is limited, but fans have not-so-patiently been waiting for the titular team to finally join the shared universe. A tweet by Marvel revealed the foursome to be Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, and Joseph Quinn. What's more, it looks like the robot H.E.R.B.I.E. will be joining them. Check it out below:

Is anyone else's mind blown? It turns out that the rumors about Fantastic Four casting were pretty accurate, as each of these actors' names have been thrown around online prior to this official announcement. And smart money says this quartet of actors is going to get butts in seats. 

Indeed, this foursome of talent is filled with fan favorite actors. Pedro Pascal has become the internet's daddy over the last few years, while Joseph Quinn was a breakout star as Eddie in Stranger Things. Add in The Bear star Ebon Moss-Bachrach and Mission: Impossible's Vanessa Kirby and you've got a truly all-star cast. 

As previously mentioned, this announcement by Marvel also seemingly confirms another comic character will be joining the Fantastic Four: H.E.R.B.I.E.. After first being introduced in the animated series The New Fantastic Four, H.E.R.B.I.E. began accompanying the team on the page shortly after. He's an adorable robot sidekick, and seems like a great choice to bring into the forthcoming MCU blockbuster. I mean, just think of the merchandise possibilities!

News of the official Fantastic Four cast is sure to quickly go viral, because fans have been wondering who would play the team since Disney acquired 20th Century Fox and its properties. There have been plenty of debates online, with some fans campaigning for John Krasinski to play Reed Richards for years ahead of his small but memorable role in Doctor Strange 2. But Krasinski seemingly didn't want to take on the role full-time, opening the door for Pedro Pascal to play yet another beloved character. 

It should be fascinating to see exactly how the Fantastic Four (and H.E.R.B.I.E.) are introduced in the main timeline of the MCU. Will they brought in via the multiverse, or will we see their origin story play out in front of our eyes? Only time will tell, but the stakes are high and the hype is real.

Fantastic Four is currently expected to hit theaters on July 25, 2025. In the meantime, check the 2024 movie release dates to plan your next trip to the movies. 

The Bear cast is made up of colorful and unique characters, from the loud-mouthed Richie and the more cool-headed Sydney, to the eager-to-learn Marcus and the veteran chef Tina. At the center of this kitchen-based craziness is Jeremy Allen White’s Carmy Berzatto, the award-winning chef who returned to Chicago to take over his brother’s restaurant, and as of the Season 2 finale is now running a new dining establishment.

As Hulu subscribers know all too well, Carmy keeps a wide circle of people in his life, between the members of his family, which are comprised of both blood relatives and longtime friends, as well as the staff he works with on a daily basis and various other individuals with whom he has special ties. We’re here to talk about these most prominent of The Bear characters while we wait for news on The Bear Season 3 and continue relishing how the show netted six wins at the 75th Primetime Emmy Awards.

Spoilers from the first two seasons of The Bear are included in this article...

The Berzatto Siblings

Every primary character in The Bear is tied to the Berzatto siblings in one form or another, and in the main cast, Carmy is joined by his sister, Abby Elliot’s Natalie “Sugar” Berzatto. Then there’s their brother, Jon Bernthal’s Michael “Mikey” Berzatto, who died by suicide four months before the events of the series premiere episode. We’ve gotten to spend some time with Mikey thanks to some flashbacks in Season 1 and the tense “Fishes” episode from Season 2, and in the present day, Carmy and Sugar are co-owners of The Bear restaurant, which finally opened in the same-named Season 2 finale.

“Cousin” Richie And His Ex-Wife Tiffany

Although not tied to the Berzattos by blood, Ebon Moss-Bachrach’s Richard “Richie” Jerimovich has been tight with this family for many years thanks to having been Mikey’s best friend. He even admits in “Forks” that Donna Berzatto was more like a mother to him than his own mother, so he’s more than earned the right to be called “Cousin” throughout the show. Then there’s Tiffany, Richie’s wife played by Gillian Jacobs. The two were still married in “Fishes” and had their daughter Eva shortly thereafter, but they’re divorced in the present days, and in “Forks,” Tiffany told Richie that she was engaged to a man named Frank.

Sydney, Marcus and Tina - The Bear’s Core Kitchen Staff

They’re not members of the Berzatto family, but these characters certainly aren’t important to The Bear’s narrative. Chief among this particular trio is Ayo Edebiri’s Sydney Adabu, who joined The Beef as a sous-chef at the start of the show after her catering business failed. After The Beef fell under, she stuck around to help develop The Bear restaurant, becoming its chef de cuisine. Lionel Bryce’s Marcus and Liza Colón-Zayas’s Tina Marrero worked at The Beef back when Mikey was still alive, meaning they go way back with Carmy too. At The Beef, Marcus is in charge of deserts and Tina works as the sous-chef.

Ebraheim And Sweeps - Other Important Kitchen Staff Members

Although Edwin Lee Gibson and Corey Hendrix’s characters aren’t series regulars like the other kitchen staff, they’re nonetheless important members of The Bear, with both Ebraheim and Gary “Sweeps” Woods also having been around at The Beef when Mikey was running it. Granted, Ebraheim did disappear when he and Tina were tasked to go to culinary school in Season 2, but he eventually resurfaced and has resumed his duties. Hopefully these two will have more prominent roles in Season 3.

“Uncle” Jimmy And His Wife Carol

Jimmy “Cicero” Kalinowski was the best friend of Carmy, Sugar and Mikey’s dad when he was still alive, hence why he’s referred to them, as well as Richie, as “Uncle.” He loaned Mikey $300,000 for The Beef, and even after that unspent money was finally found, he lent an additional $500,000 to Carmy, Sugar and Sydney for The Bear, though the restaurant has to pay off the $800,000 debt within 18 months time. Jimmy is married to Maura Kidwell’s Carol, who can briefly be seen in a few episodes.

Pete - Sugar’s Husband

If The Bear has a consistent punching bag, it’s Pete, Sugar’s husband who’s played by Chris Witaske. He means well and is consistently trying to impress, but he’s nonetheless the target of many jabs, insults and teases from his wife’s family members and friends. Pete did get a chance to shine in the Season 2 finale when he noticed Donna (who we’ll talk about next) outside the restaurant and tried to get her to come in. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out, and to make matters worse, Pete accidentally revealed to his mother-in-law that he and Sugar were having a baby, something he assumed Donna already knew about, but wasn’t the case.

Donna - Carmy, Sugar And Mikey’s Mother

In “Fishes,” we met Jamie Lee Curtis’ Donna, Carmy, Sugar and Mikey’s mother who was preparing the Christmas dinner that year for her extended family (there’s a wild story behind the actress getting the role). It soon became clear that Donna was in trouble between her erratic mood shifts and alcoholism, and by the end of the episode, she crashed her car into the house. In the Season 2 finale, Donna showed up at the opening of The Bear restaurant, but only interacted with Pete, as she decided at the last minute that she didn’t deserve to witness her children’s success, plus was taken aback by the news about the baby.

Brothers Neil And Theodore Fak

Like Richie, Neil Fak, played by Matty Matheson (a real-life chef), is a childhood friend of Mikey Berzatto, but he and Richie were constantly at odds with one another, and that hasn’t changed in adulthood. As a mechanic, Neil was often around The Beef to fix things up, and he played an integral role in the construction of The Bear. We spent some time with Neil’s brother Theodore, played by Ricky Staffieri, in the episodes “Fishes,” “Omelette” and “The Bear.”

Michelle - The Berzatto Siblings’ Cousin

Sarah Paulson guest-starred in “Fishes” as Michelle Berzatto, cousin to the Berzatto siblings. In addition to being one of the many witnesses to that night’s craziness, she approached Carmy about staying with her in New York in order to get some distance from his nuclear family. While we know Carmy did move to The Big Apple and became a sous chef at a three-star Michelin restaurant, it’s unclear if he took Michelle up on her offer.

Stevie - Michelle’s Boyfriend

Michelle brought her boyfriend Stevie along for the family dinner in “Fishes,” and you could tell John Mulaney’s character was easily entertained by everyone around him up until the actual meal started. This included Neil and Theodore hitting him up for money with their investment in baseball cards. It’s unclear if Stevie and Michelle are still together during the show’s present day events.

“Uncle” Lee

Although Bob Odenkirk’s “Uncle” Lee Lane is Jimmy’s business partner and Donna’s on-and-off again boyfriend, he’s a far cry from being the most beloved member of the family. He and Mikey got into an ugly spat in “Fishes,” which was prompted by Lee giving him grief about sharing the same story over and over again. This escalated later when Mikey started throwing forks at Lee during the meal, prompting Odenkirk’s character to start insulting Mikey’s life choices, addiction problem and more. In the present day, Carmy doesn’t think highly enough of Lee to consider him an “uncle.”

Claire, A.K.A. Claire-Bear

Molly Gordon’s Claire, a.k.a. Claire-Bear, was pretty close with the Berzattos, Faks and Richie when she was growing up, enough to the point that she referred to Richie as “cousin” during Season 2. However, she started to drift apart from them as they all got older, and she eventually became a resident in emergency medicine. She and Carmy were particularly close in their youth, and while Mikey and Richie tried to set them back up together in “Fishes,” they didn’t reconnect until Season 2. Unfortunately, the two appear to now be broken up due to what happened in the Season 2 finale, though that’s not to say we’ll never see Claire again.

As The Bear continues, we’ll surely meet more members of this family, and maybe there will be opportunities from for guest stars to return too. Keep visiting CinemaBlend for news about The Bear Season 3 and the other best Hulu TV shows.

The West Wing cast was known for being incredibly good at delivering Aaron Sorkin’s fast-paced dense dialogue all while walking. On The Bear, they take the idea of a walk and talk and turn up the volume, literally. So, when I interviewed Ebon Moss-Bachrach about his show that is mentioned many times on the 75th Emmy winners list, I had to ask about what their scripts look like, and how The Bear cast goes about performing all the yelling and fast-talking that’s in the show.

Long before Season 3 of The Bear was announced, and the show cleaned up at the Emmys that aired on the 2024 TV schedule, I interviewed Ebon Moss-Bachrach about Richie and Season 2 of the beloved FX dramedy. While we talked about what fuels Cousin and how incredible Jeremy Allen White is as Carmy, we also chatted about the logistical side of the show, specifically the scripts. Anyone who has seen this series knows there’s a lot of yelling, screaming and talking over each other, and Moss-Bachrach explained to CinemaBlend what that looks like on the page:

As Ebon Moss-Bachrach said, when they get the script, all that yelling is in there, and the moments where characters are talking over each other are written too, it’s not typically off the cuff. 

Many beloved shows and movies are known for doing this too, like the aforementioned West Wing, which Aaron Sorkin famously wanted performed word perfect. These scenes are choreographed masterpieces, and it’s all because of how the actors deliver the precisely written dialogue. 

You can see this in effect in the Season 2 finale of The Bear which shows the restaurant in full action and centers around Ayo Edebiri rattling off order after order in an epic one-take. However, while the script is typically the Bible, according to the first-time Emmy winner, it’s also not the end-all-be-all as he said:

So, while the majority of what The Bear cast says is scripted, they also have opportunities to put their own spins on it. However, for the most part, as Ebon Moss-Bachrach put it, what looks like chaos on screen is actually meticulously planned and choreographed dialogue. And honestly, that makes The Bear even more impressive and 100% deserving of its Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series Emmy. 

To see these brilliant scripts and actors, including Ebon Moss-Bachrach, in action, you can stream The Bear with a Hulu subscription. 

It’s safe to say that The Bear came to dominate the 75th Emmy winners list, because it ended up taking ten trophies last night, including one for Ebon Moss-Bachrach, who plays everyone’s favorite cousin, Richie. There’s no question that the actor was deserving of the win for Oustanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series, and looking back on his candid comments about what fuels his character made it even clearer. 

I spoke to Ebon Moss-Bachrach long before he received his first Emmy nomination for The Bear. During our interview, he gushed about Jeremy Allen White and how hard it is to play Carmy, and he gave us the inside scoop on how Jon Bernthal ended up on the FX dramedy. However, now it’s time to give the Richie actor his flowers, because as we talked about Season 2 of the show, he opened up about what fuels his character, and he was very candid about it all, saying:

We were specifically discussing the place Richie was at when Season 2 began. Moss-Bachrach explained how lost Cousin was, and how he was “trying to preserve” The Beef. However, as Season 2 goes on, his character evolves, and he truly finds his place and drive both literally and figuratively. It’s a gorgeous arc, and he plays it out beautifully – belting Taylor Swift and all. 

Ultimately, Richie’s story through the first two seasons of The Bear came down to the idea that he just wanted to help, that's what fueled him. Moss-Bachrach eloquently and candidly explained this to me too, saying:

Now, not only has Richie found his place in The Bear, Ebon Moss-Bachrach was rewarded for it too by winning an Emmy. 

Along with the Cousin actor, two others from The Bear cast took home awards from the Television Academy. Jeremy Allen White and Ayo Edebiri both won in their categories – plus the show won Best Comedy. Overall, it was a wickedly successful night for the show, and it was in part because its cast and crew took the time to think about their characters and storylines in deep and thoughtful ways as Ebon Moss-Bachrach did with me.

I assume this thought process and what drives Richie will stay the same as Season 3 of The Bear gets into production. Hopefully, we’ll get to see another fabulous installment starring Richie and co. on the 2024 TV schedule that results in more Emmys. In the meantime, you can go back and see why Ebon Moss-Bachrach won one of the biggest awards in television by streaming the first two seasons of The Bear with a Hulu subscription. 

While Jeremy Allen White has been consistently working for a long time now, there’s no question that he reached a new level of stardom because of The Bear. He plays Head Chef Carmy in the critically acclaimed FX dramedy, and he effortlessly leads an incredible ensemble of actors that make up his kitchen. Now, the actor has received award after award for his work on the show  – most recently he was among 2024’s Golden Globe winners – and it has me thinking about what his co-star Ebon Moss-Bachrach told me about just how hard it is to play Carmen “Carmy” Berzatto. 

I interviewed Ebon Moss-Bachrach – who received an Emmy nomination for playing Richie – back in June, right before Season 2 premiered. Now, that season has come and gone, Season 3 of The Bear is on its way, and the cast is up for many awards, with their leading man at the front of the pack. 

And there’s a good reason for all the hype surrounding White, his role is not an easy one to play, and he makes it look easy. To this point, his co-star and on-screen Cousin said during an interview with CinemaBlend:

Carmy is very in his head, and he internalizes a lot of his emotions. That’s what causes him to explode in moments, and it’s also what makes him so contemplative in others. On top of that, he’s also an expert chef and those skills are on full display. Overall, White is juggling a lot while playing Carmy, and it makes sense why Moss-Bachrach thinks it’s “very, very, very hard.”

Jeremy Allen White’s performance as Carmy is masterful, and he’s been recognized for it. So far, the former Shameless star has won a Screen Actors Guild Award, two Golden Globes and a Critics Choice Award. This year, he’s also nominated again for both SAG and CCA, and he’s a frontrunner. On top of all this, he’s also up for an Emmy. Clearly, Carmy has made an impact, and White’s brilliant performance as this complex character is why.

While I was chatting with Ebon Moss-Bachrach, he told me about his adoration for Jeremy Allen White and Carmy. The Bear’s head chef is a totally unique man, and the Richie actor loves him and the actor behind him for it. He said:

There’s a lot of love in The Bear cast, and you can feel their care for each other and their characters on screen (even if they’re yelling at each other most of the time). And along with folks falling in love with this show, they’re also head over heels for the actors.

Jeremy Allen White is the prime example of how the cast has found even more success outside of their show. Along with The Bear, the actor starred in The Iron Claw with Zac Efron and Harris Dickinson. He’s also the current face of Calvin Klein underwear. So, overall, he’s thriving, and it’s in part thanks to the difficult role he plays on The Bear.

To see if Jeremy Allen White and Ebon Moss-Bachrach take home some of the biggest awards in television for The Bear, you can catch the telecast on January 15 at 8 p.m. ET on Fox. Then, make sure to check the 2024 TV schedule so you are up to date on when Season 3 will premiere, and to go back and see the actors in action as Carmy and Richie, you can stream the FX dramedy with a Hulu subscription. 

"Yes, chef!" That is what you are bound to start saying now that we know The Bear Season 3 is officially confirmed – and we have some details you don't want to miss out on. 

There are plenty of great shows on Hulu to enjoy and binge, but for me, there is a series that stands out as one of the best shows on Hulu that I will always recommend first, and that's The Bear. 

The series, starring Jeremy Allen White, has completely taken over the platform, and it only grew more significant in its sophomore season, gaining more traction as time passed. And now, The Bear Season 3 is coming. 

But what do we know about The Bear's third installment? Who will be back? When could it come out? For all the questions you could have, here is what to know about the next season. 

What Is The Bear Season 3's Premiere Date?

At the time of updating this in May 2024, it was confirmed by FX that all ten episodes of The Bear Season 3 will release on June 27, 2024, exclusively on Hulu.  

The Bear Season 3 was paused for some time due to the 2023 Writer's Strike and the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike, but production resumed in 2024 and the show will premiere as part of the 2024 TV premiere schedule. 

Anticipation for the new season is high, particularly given how critically acclaimed the streaming series has been. The Bear won a total of six awards at the 75th Primetime Emmy Awards in 2024.  

The Trailer For The Bear Season 3

The trailer is finally here for The Bear Season 3! It features all the cast members we are going to see as well as the chaos we are about to endure, watching everyone try to make their fine-dining establishment somehow work -- when everything feels like it's falling apart. Check it out above!

The Bear Season 3 Cast

Finally, the cast for The Bear  Season 3 is officially confirmed by FX. Here is who you will be seeing for sure: 

Jeremy Allen White as Carmen "Carmy" Berzatto

Jeremy Allen White will be back as Carmy inThe Bear. White has gained a lot of fame since taking on the role. While many of us knew him as Lip from the Shameless cast, it's great to see him expand his acting career in such a remarkable way. He even won an Emmy award for his portrayal in the show. 

Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Richard "Richie" Jerimovich

Ebon Moss-Bachrach will be back as Richie, Carmy's hot-headed cousin who truly loves his family, and will work his butt off to make sure the restaurant doesn't go out of business. Moss-Bachrach was a part of the No Hard Feelings cast in 2023, but of course, we all want to see him again in The Bear. He won the award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series at the 75th Primetime Emmys.

Ayo Edebiri as Sydney Adamu

Ayo Edebiri will return as Sydney. There are plenty of great Ayo Edebiri movies and TV shows to enjoy, but her performance as Sydney in The Bear is one of the best, and she's gained plenty of notoriety over the last few years. 2023 was an excellent year for her, as she also co-led the Bottoms cast, and had supporting roles in Theater Camp and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem. She won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series. 

Lionel Boyce as Marcus Brooks

Lionel Boyce portrays Marcus Brooks, the main baker in The Bear. The actor has appeared in various other TV shows such as The Jellies!, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Loiter Squad and more. 

Liza Colón-Zayas as Tina Marrero

Liza Colón-Zayas portrays Tina Marrero in The Bear, another one of the cooks that actually goes to culinary school in Season 2. The actress has appeared in many films like All Is Bright, Lost Cat Corona, All at Once, Collateral Beauty, Cat Person and more. 

Abby Elliott as Natalie "Sugar" Berzatto

Abby Elliott plays Natalie Berzatto, otherwise affectionately called “Sugar.” The actress has appeared in movies like Cheaper by the Dozen and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, as well as shows like How I Met Your Mother, Odd Mom Out, Indebted and more. 

Matty Matheson as Neil Fak

Matty Matheson plays Neil Fak in The Bear. He’s actually a real-life chef, and owns several restaurants, but he’s also appeared in other shows like Workin’ Moms and one of my personal favorite cooking shows, Selena + Chef. 

Oliver Platt as Uncle Jimmy

FX also confirmed that Oliver Platt would be back as Uncle Jimmy for Season 3 of The Bear in a recurring role. The actor has appeared in shows like Chicago Med, The Good Wife, The West Wing and more.

Molly Gordon as Claire

FX also confirmed Molly Gordon would return as Claire in a recurring role for Season 3 of The Bear. She’s appeared in Booksmart, Life of the Party and Good Boys. 

I'm unsure if the incredible guest stars from Season 2 will return, including Jamie Lee Curtis' character, Donna, but I'm hopeful. 

Season 3 Will Follow Carmy, Sydney And Ritchie Trying To Keep Their Restaurant Afloat

FX revealed official details of what’s going to happen in Season 3 and I’m not prepared. 

The third season is going to follow Carmy, Sydney, Ritchie, and the whole crew of The Bear as they try to keep their beef stand-turned-fine dining establishment afloat when it’s difficult to rise to the level and intensity that Carmy is bringing. Every day is a battle as they try to keep their restaurant in business. 

And Carmy also pushes himself harder than ever – if you can believe it, which is only going to lead to more stress in the kitchen. Now, it’s all about finding out if he and his crew have what it takes to be the next best restaurant in town or if they’re meant to collapse. 

Jeremy Allen White Hopes That Season 3 Allows Carmy To Give Out "Apologies"

Jeremy Allen White hopes that the next installment will give Carmy a chance to give out "apologies" to his friends and family.

In an interview with Deadline in July 2023, White was asked what he might want to see in a possible Season 3. The actor didn't think it was up to him and that he didn't know what would happen, but he said he "hoped" Carmy would be able to grow, apologize and that people would still accept them:

White confirmed this even more so in an interview with Deadline after his SAG Awards win for his portrayal of the character in February 2024, saying that he hopes Carmy somehow is able to “find some peace” amongst everything that has happened:

Ebon Moss-Bachrach Believes That Carmy And Richie's Fight In The Finale Could Be "Irreparable"

Richie has become one of my favorite characters of The Bear, and he experienced significant growth in Season 2, which included him standing up for himself more. In the Season 2 finale, he and Carmy get into a severe fight (when Carmy accidentally locks himself in the fridge), and both say some pretty nasty things. 

The actor behind Richie, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, told The Hollywood Reporter in July 2023 that he's unsure if this is a fight the two family members can come back from, saying some fights are "irreparable:" 

 Oh boy, there’s going to be more trouble in the Berzatto family.

Season 3 Will Feature A “Functioning Kitchen” Like Season 1

I know that The Bear is one of those shows where it constantly feels like we are on edge because of all the stress going on, but Jeremy Allen White revealed in an interview to Variety in December 2023 that Season 3 will return to a “functional kitchen atmosphere,” based on the scripts and what he had heard so far. He also spoke on the process of cooking, and how Season 3 will most likely feature a lot more of it, like the first season:
 

What are you the most excited for when it comes to The Bear Season 3? All I know is that I need to make all the delicious food from there soon – starting first with the amazing cake Marcus made in Season 1.

If you want to stream Seasons 1 and 2 of The Bear, you can do so with a Hulu subscription.

Although The Bear viewers heard Richie Jerimovich’s ex-wife Tiffany once during Season 1, it wasn’t until Season 2’s sixth episode that Community alum Gillian Jacobs made her onscreen debut as the character. “Fishes” took place five years before the opening of the title restaurant, a time when Tiffany and Ebon Moss-Bachrach’s Richie were still together and the former was pregnant with their daughter, Eva. But with the different relationship Tiffany and Riche have in the present day, and following Moss-Bachrach earning an Emmy nomination for his work on The Bear, Jacobs talked with CinemaBlend about what she’d like to see happen with these two in a potential Season 3.

I had the pleasure of speaking with Gillian Jacobs ahead of the SAG-AFTRA strike and shortly after it was announced that Ebon Moss-Bachrach had been nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series at the 75th Primetime Emmys. As such, I asked the actress what it was working with him in “Fishes,” bringing up the intimacy their characters shared in their scenes together since this was when they were still married. She responded:

Tiffany and Richie’s scenes were arguably the most positive aspect of “Fishes,” as along with expressing their love for each other and their excitement for Eva’s impending arrival, Tiffany was also incredibly thankful to Oliver Platt’s Jimmy "Cicero" Kalinowski for giving him a job, even though Cicero hadn’t actually made a decision on that, but decided to cut Richie a break after Tiffany brought it up. Shortly thereafter, the stressful dinner table scene unfolded, which had Jacobs experiencing paradoxical feelings in the middle of the shoot. So getting those other scenes with Moss-Bachrach, someone she’s known for so long, made for a nice counterbalance.

Gillian Jacobs returned as Tiffany in The Bear Season 2’s seventh episode, “Forks,” where she called Richie to let him know that she was getting married again. While Richie was understandably a little surprised by the news, he and Tiffany still seemed to be on amicable terms with each other, at least when it came to co-parenting. As of this writing, The Bear hasn’t been renewed for Season 3, but if Hulu subscribers do end up getting another batch of episodes, I wanted Jacobs’ take on what Tiffany and Richie’s dynamic would be like now that she’s about to begin a new marriage, and the actress said this:

Ebon Moss-Bachrach is competing at the next Emmys ceremony against Ted Lasso’s Brett Goldstein and Phil Dunster, Barry’s Anthony Carrigan and Henry Winkler, Jury Duty’s James Marsden and Abbott Elementary’s Tyler James Williams. His is one of 13 nominations the Hulu show received, including Outstanding Comedy Series, Jeremy Allen White for Outstanding Lead Actor and Ayo Edebiri for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series. Given the critical acclaim both seasons of The Bear received, its chances of scoring another renewal are stronger than not. If/when Season 3 is announced, let’s hope that Gillian Jacobs is brought back and she and Moss-Bachrach are able to more deeply explore how things are between Tiffany and Richie as ex-spouses.

We’ll find out if Moss-Bachrach takes home the gold when the 75th Primetime Emmys air Monday, September 18 on Fox. For those who’ve finished The Bear Season 2, take a look at the other best Hulu TV shows available to watch, or get a lay of the small screen land as a whole for the near future with our 2023 TV schedule.

Spoilers for Season 2 of The Bear are ahead. If you aren’t caught up on the 2023 TV schedule hit, you can stream it with a Hulu subscription. 

As The Beef evolves into The Bear, a lot of the characters on the FX show of the same name are also going through some major changes. However, the character who has arguably had the biggest evolution this season is Richie, as he went from a guy hanging on to the past with no real job duties to one of the most valuable employees at The Bear. With this redemptive arc, tons of fans have been raving about Ebon Moss-Bachrach’s character’s development, while the actor himself reflected on where this beloved “Cousin” was at the beginning of Season 2. 

Fans Are Loving Richie’s Evolution In Season 2 Of The Bear

What I’d compare this about-face fans had about Richie to is the evolution of Steve Harrington on Stranger Things. Over the course of a few days, viewers of The Bear went from not loving Ebon Moss-Bachrach’s character to him being one of their favorite people in the ensemble, much like Joe Keery's beloved character on the Netflix hit. This admiration was made clear on Twitter too, as people like C. tweeted:

To make this arc really work, there were a few scenes that proved how Richie had changed, and fans loved them. For example, Rolo Tony tweeted: 

This scene is from Episode 7, when Richie is staging at a fancy restaurant. Following a successful job shadow, the installment ends with Moss-Bachrach's character singing “Love Story” by Taylor Swift at the top of his lungs. This T-Swift moment really sealed the deal for a lot of fans, as they tweeted things like what abdullah posted:

Overall, this love for Richie is so sweet, and quite overwhelming, and it’s all the more meaningful because of the place Ebon Moss-Bachrach’s character started in Season 2. 

Ebon Moss-Bachrach Opens Up About Why Richie Felt So Lost At The Beginning Of Season 2

When we find Richie at the beginning of Season 2 he’s literally in the basement, at the bottom, searching through old pictures. Moss-Bachrach broke down how his character was feeling at that moment by reflecting on how Richie was trying to “preserve a way of life” and the “memory of his best friend.” The actor told CinemaBlend:

Within The Bear’s cast of characters, everyone has a specific role, except for Richie. In Season 1, it’s hard to tell what his purpose is, but it’s clear he’s trying to preserve the restaurant's past, and he fails. So, finding him at rock bottom in episode one of Season 2 felt natural. For Moss-Bachrach that place his character was in helped him figure out where to take him next. That place he realized was to be as helpful as possible, as the actor explained: 

Richie needs The Bear, and in Season 2 of the FX hit he makes it so The Bear needs him. This redemption arc has really stuck a chord with fans, and they’ve truly loved it. However, it started with the character at rock bottom, and from that scene, he was able to grow into the lovable front-of-house guy he is by Episode 10. 

Over the years, there have been a lot of sex comedies that have both made us laugh and left us in shock. We’ve seen it with classics like Porky's, the various American Pie movies, and so many others. Though the jury is still out on No Hard Feelings, Gene Stupnitsky’s latest raunchy comedy, the actors who appear on screen could make this a movie we won't soon forget.

If you recently watched the new film starring Jennifer Lawrence and Andrew Feldman, or plan on checking it out in the near future, there’s a good chance you’re wondering why the No Hard Feelings cast looks so familiar. Well, worry no longer, for we are about to break it down now!

Jennifer Lawrence (Maddie)

Jennifer Lawrence tops the No Hard Feelings cast as Maddie, a down-on-her-luck Uber driver who has to find a new way to do her job after her car is repossessed, which leads to her answering a Craigslist ad like no other.

Prior to playing a young woman hired to help a couple’s 19-year-old son break out of his shell, Lawrence made a name for herself in films like Silver Linings Playbook, which earned her an Oscar and the Hunger Games movies. Since then, Lawrence has given a variety of great performances in everything from American Hustle to various titles in the X-Men film franchise, to dramas like Causeway, and so much more. 

Andrew Feldman (Percy)

Playing opposite Jennifer Lawrence is Andrew Feldman, who portrays Percy, the sheltered and awkward 19-year-old whose parents made the Craigslist ad.

Though he doesn’t have nearly as many credits as his co-star, Feldman has made a handful of appearances over the course of the past half-decade. This includes roles in movies like A Tourist’s Guide to Love, shows like High School Musical: The Musical: The Series, and multiple stage productions, including Dear Evan Hansen, Ratatouille the Musical, and Catch Me If You Can. 

Matthew Broderick (Laird)

Matthew Broderick shows up as Laird, Percy’s father who posted the Craigslist ad in an attempt to get his son some life experience.

Best known for his career-defining performance in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, which could be a movie that plays out entirely in Cameron Frye’s imagination, Broderick has made countless film and TV appearances over the years. Movies like Wargames, Project X, The Lion King, and Election have all featured the actor (or his voice) in a major capacity. In more recent years, Broderick has also popped up on the small screen with roles on everything from The Conners to Better Things. 

Laura Benanti (Allison)

Laura Benanti appears in No Hard Feelings as Allison, Percy’s mother, who finds a rather unique way of getting her son to go out into the world and live a little.

Fans of movies like Worth, Here Today, and Tick, Tick… Boom! will surely recognize Bananti from her roles in each of those movies, but the majority of her career has been spent on the small screen and Broadway stages. Starting with TV, the actress has appeared on shows like Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Nashville, Supergirl, The Detour, and the Gossip Girl reboot series. She has also won a Tony and various other awards for performances in productions like Gypsy, In The Next Room, and Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown over the years.

Natalie Morales (Sara)

Next up is Natalie Morales, who takes on the role of Sara, Maddie’s best friend.

Prior to appearing in the new comedy, Morales made a name for herself on the small screen, with prominent roles on shows like Dead to Me, Santa Clarita Diet, The Grinder, and The Middleman. She also appeared sporadically with the Parks & Recreation cast during the show’s run, as well as a few episodes of The Newsroom, Girls, and Mr. Mayor. Her film credits include The Little Things, Battle of the Sexes, and Stuber, to name only a few. 

Scott MacArthur (Jim)

Scott MacArthur appears in the No Hard Feelings cast as Jim, Sara’s husband and another one of Maddie’s closest friends.

In addition to being a part of the Mad Men cast for an episode early in the AMC show’s run, MacArther has a few other appearances that might ring a bell. Throughout his career, the comedic actor has popped up on everything from How to Be a Gentleman to Angie Tribeca, and The Mindy Project to Numb3rs. He’s also had more prominent roles on the likes of The Mick, The Righteous Gemstones, and Killing It. Movie wise, MacArthur has landed roles in El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie, Halloween Kills, and The Starling, to name a few.

Ebon Moss-Bachrach (Gary)

Ebon Moss-Bachrach also pops up in No Hard Feelings, in which he plays Maddie’s ex-boyfriend and tow truck driver, Gary.

If you’re currently binging The Bear Season 2 with your Hulu subscription, or at least catching up with the show’s first season, then you’ll certainly recognize Moss-Bachrach from his outstanding portrayal of Richard “Richie” Jerimovich, a performance that is so good it’s hard to believe he’s not from Chicago. Over the years, he’s also appeared on shows like The Punisher, NOS4A2, Girls, John Adams, and multiple titles set in the Law & Order universe. His film roles include everything from Tesla to Live Free or Die and American Splendor to The Royal Tenenbaums. 

Kyle Mooney (Jody)

Former Saturday Night Live castmember Kyle Mooney appears as Jody, Percy’s former nanny.

In addition to being on SNL for the better part of a decade, Mooney has multiple film and TV credits to his name, including the 2017 comedy film, Brigsby Bear, which he also co-wrote. Throughout his career, Mooney has popped up on shows like Drunk History, Bob’s Burgers, Killing It, The Great North, and Nathan For You. 

Hasan Minhaj (Doug Khan)

And then there is Hasan Minhaj, who takes on the role of real estate agent and Maddie’s former classmate, Doug.

Though Minhaj has appeared in movies like The Spy Who Dumped Me, Most Likely to Murder, and Rough Night over the years, he is mostly known for his time as a correspondent on The Daily Show and his Netflix show, Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj. On top of that, he’s had some great stand-up comedy specials and roles on shows like the Apple TV+ original series, The Morning Show  

No Hard Feelings is currently playing in theaters nationwide. If you want to know about the other great upcoming releases, take a look at our 2023 movie schedule. 

Spoilers for Season 2 of The Bear are ahead. You can stream both installments of the FX dramedy with a Hulu subscription. 

In Season 1 of FX's The Bear we came to know and love the set of The Beef. Just about every moment of the first season took place in that restaurant, and I know I grew to love it. Well, now in the new season on the 2023 TV schedule, things are looking very different. Carmy’s business is getting a face-lift and a full gut as it turns itself into The Bear, and to film this transformation the cast was “literally ripping” apart the set too. 

The cast of The Bear had mixed emotions about tearing down their beloved set of The Beef. On one hand, it was fun for Ebon Moss-Bachrach, who plays Richie, and Lionel Boyce, the actor behind Marcus, to cause some chaos and pack up the set. However, it also had its emotional moments, as Moss-Bachrach explained to CinemaBlend: 

I can totally see why this would be emotional for them. This set was the place the cast came together to make its magnificent first season, and I’d imagine filming in such a small space with this group of people really bonded them. However, as it was revealed at the end of The Bear's first season, it was time to grow out of their old digs and into some new ones. To put it simply, Carmy and especially Sydney are bound and determined to make a restaurant worthy of a Michelin Star.

For Lionel Boyce, who plays the lovable baker Marcus, tearing down the set felt kind of like the last day of school. While the comparison threw me for a second, it actually makes a lot of sense once he gave his reasoning. The actor explained:

He’s right, that feeling of only seeing a few folks at school and finding that everything has been put away is really odd, and can feel quite final. In the show we see a lot of Marcus, Richie, Carmy and Fak tearing down the restaurant while the rest of the crew is working outside of their building. 

However, also like school, The Beef is moving up, and Boyce explained how literally tearing down the set helped him play out that transition as Marcus, he said: 

Watching those scenes it’s clear how emotional the moment is for them. It’s also obvious how much fun they had tearing down this set to make room for their new one. Like many storylines on The Bear, this renovation is chaotic, fun and heartfelt (in a sense). So now, knowing that the actors literally went through the same experience taking apart their set makes it all the more meaningful to me.

To see the transformation of The Beef into The Bear, you can stream Season 2 of The Bear right now on Hulu.  

Mike, Michael, Mikey, Jon Bernthal’s character is referred to in a lot of ways on FX's The Bear, but he isn’t seen often. He kind of lives as a legend or a myth in the ensemble’s minds. So, having an A-lister like Bernthal come in to play Carmy’s older brother really did help hammer that idea home. It turns out that getting him onto the FX hit was in part thanks to Ebon Moss-Bachrach, who plays Richie on the Chicago-set dramedy. After working with The Walking Dead alum during Season 1 of The Punisher, he explained how he helped get his Marvel colleague onto the hit series, and why he was such a good fit. 

Back in 2017, when Marvel still had shows on Netflix, Jon Bernthal played the titular character in The Punisher, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach played Frank Castle’s ally and hacker David Liberman, also known as Micro. After working closely together during Season 1, the actors went their separate ways. As Moss-Bachrach was working on The Bear he was asked if he knew of any actors who’d be a good fit to play Carmy’s older brother who died and appears in flashbacks. While he didn’t think we should see Mikey at first, he came to the conclusion that his Marvel co-star would be a good fit for the role telling CinemaBlend:

So, he took the idea to the showrunners, Christopher Storer and Joanna Calo, and they loved it. Although, he also said they may have already had Bernthal in mind as he told us: 

It’s amazing that Bernthal was so game to join the cast of The Bear so quickly. While he’s only in two episodes, Mikey’s presence is constant throughout the show, so when we finally see him it’s powerful. Having an actor like The Punisher star playing such a vital role makes it even better. Moss-Bachrach spoke to this idea too, saying: 

Along with the show's lead Jeremy Allen White, who plays Mikey’s little brother Camry, Jon Bernthal was one of the bigger names among The Bear’s ensemble. As Moss-Bachrach said there is a sort of “mythos” around the Mikey actor, I mean just look at Bernthal’s movies and TV shows. Having that recognizable face on the show made me perk up when I saw him, feeling like I already knew the character well, which seems to be how the cast of characters felt about Mikey. 

Jon Bernthal was such a fantastic casting choice, and I’m so happy Ebon Moss-Bachrach made the recommendation. Now, the question is will Mikey appear in a flashback in Season 2 of The Bear? 

Luckily, we won’t have to wait long to find out, because the show is set to premiere on the 2023 TV schedule Thursday, June 22. You’ll be able to stream it with a Hulu subscription, and the entire first season is available now. Also, to go back and see Bernthal and Moss-Bachrach on their hit Marvel show, you can stream The Punisher with a Disney+ subscription. 

Since its debut in June 2022, The Bear has not only become one of the best shows on Hulu, but the FX-produced restaurant drama is arguably one of the best shows on TV. The gritty dramedy series that is at times incredibly funny while at others intensely somber is made all the better because of its stellar cast. Thankfully, The Bear season 3 has been officially confirmed. But, if you’re late to the game and just now hearing about the show, or you've already seen how things end in the Season 2 finale, there’s a good chance you want to know where you’ve seen the actors behind Carmy, Richie, Sydney, and the rest of the faces at that Chicago-based Italian beef shop. I can’t make a delicious sandwich magically appear, but I can serve up where you’ve seen The Bear cast before...

Jeremy Allen White (Carmen ‘Carmy’ Berzatto)

Leading The Bear cast and the Chicago Italian beef shop on the incredibly fun-to-watch series is Jeremy Allen White’s Carmen “Carmy” Berzatto.

Before becoming the thirst trap of Summer 2022 (sorry Joseph Quinn), White made a name for himself on the long-running Showtime series Shameless, where he portrayed Philip “Lip” Gallagher for maybe a little longer than he would have liked. The talented actor has also had memorable roles on shows like Homecoming and in movies like The Rental in recent years.

Ebon Moss-Bachrach (Richard ‘Richie’ Jerimovich)

Ebon Moss-Bachrach’s Richard “Richie” Jerimovich quickly became a character you both loved and hated for a whole variety of reasons throughout The Bear Season 1, but became even more loveable in season 2 – particularly after Richie's Taylor Swift moment – but the actor has done more than master the Chicago accent.

Prior to landing that unforgettable character on The Bear, Moss-Bachrach cut his teeth by doing things like hitting a “Dick Wolf Hat Trick” by appearing on Law and Order: Criminal Intent, Law and Order: Trial by Jury, and Law and Order: Special Victims Unit. But, that isn’t all, as he has had major roles on The Punisher, NOS4A2, The Dropout, and John Adams, proving he can handle just about any type of character effortlessly.

Ayo Edebiri (Sydney Adamu)

One of the best things about The Bear has to be Ayo Edebiri and her portrayal of sous chef Sydney Adamu, who brings a breath of fresh air to the chaotic kitchen.

If you like her performance and the way it elevates The Bear cast, then you should check out some of her other roles on shows like Big Mouth (she replaced Jenny Slate as Missy Foreman-Greenwald), The Premise, and Dickinson. She also has movies like As of Yet, How It Ends, and Cicada that are worth a watch. See Ayo Edebiri's best movies and TV shows. 

Lionel Boyce (Marcus)

Lionel Boyce brought a much-need sense of calm to the otherwise turbulent kitchen on The Bear, on which he portrayed bread-maker and later dessert expert, Marcus.

Like Jasper Dolphin, who was one of the standouts of the Jackass Forever cast earlier in 2022, Boyce came up as a member of the rap collective Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All, appearing on multiple albums and mixtapes produced by the group as well as shows they created like Loiter Squad and The Jellies over the years. Boyce has also appeared on shows like Hap and Leonard and Hey You, It’s Me, as well.

Liza Colón-Zayas (Tina)

Liza Colón-Zayas provided one of the most complex characters in The Bear Season 1 with her incredible portrayal of Tina.

Prior to landing the role of the queen of the kitchen on The Bear, Colón-Zayas made a name for herself as a tour de force on the stage, in movies, and on TV. Over the years, she has starred in plays like Sistah Supreme (which she also wrote) and We’d All Be Kings, movies like United 93, All Is Bright, and Purge Election Year, and a list of shows that includes everything from Law and Order to Rescue Me and Dexter to Blue Bloods.

Abby Elliott (Natalie ‘Sugar’ Berzatto)

Former Saturday Night Live cast member Abby Elliott gave a tremendous performance on The Bear as Natalie “Sugar” Berzatto, the sister of series lead, Carmy.

Elliott, who left SNL in August 2012 after four seasons on the sketch comedy show, has appeared on quite a few shows over the years, including How I Met Your Mother, King of the Hill, Odd Mom Out, and Indebted. She most recently showed up as a member of the Cheaper by the Dozen cast in the Disney+ remake of classic family comedy.

Edwin Lee Gibson (Ebraheim)

Probably the most prolific member (103 stage productions per BroadwayWorld.com) of The Bear Season 1 cast, Edwin Lee Gibson portrayed longtime restaurant staple, Ebraheim, on the intense dramedy.

In addition to his scores of stage performances, Gibson has popped up on some pretty well-known shows throughout his career, including Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty, Shameless, and Fargo. He is also another member of the cast to have a “Dick Wolf Hat Trick,” having appeared on Chicago P.D., Law and Order: Special Victims Unit, and Law and Order.

Matty Matheson (Neil Fak)

Matty Matheson plays the shop’s handy man, Neil Fak, on The Bear, but in real life he’s one of the most exciting and unique chefs today.

The tattooed Canadian chef has written several cookbooks, hosts multiple cooking shows, and often makes appearances on videos produced by the likes of Architectural Digest, Bon Appetit, and GQ, to name only a few. His Just a Dash cooking series is also a must for fans of The Bear. But, don’t let his funny nature fool you, Matheson’s dishes take a ton of work to pull off.

Oliver Platt (Cicero)

Oliver Platt appears in a couple of episodes of The Bear as Cicero, a.k.a. Uncle Jimmy, Carmy’s uncle and the owner of his late brother’s massive debt.

Platt has been a major fixture of film and TV for decades now, having appeared on everything from underrated HBO comedies like Bored to Death to Beethoven and disaster films like 2012 to NBC's Chicago Med. Pretty much, if you flip through enough channels on any given day, you’re going to find one of his movies.

Chris Witaske (Pete)

And then there is Chris Witaske, who portrays Carmy’s suburban Chicago brother-in-law, Pete, on The Bear.

Outside of his work on The Bear, Witaske is probably most recognized from his portrayal of Chris Czajkowski on the Netflix romantic comedy series Love or from his various one-off appearances on shows like New Girl, Arrested Development, and Curb Your Enthusiasm.

There are also quite a few other actors who appear briefly throughout the The Bear  including Jon Bernthal as Michael ‘Mikey’ Berzatto in a touching flashback, Joel McHale as the abusive executive chef not remembered fondly by Carmy, and Molly Ringwald who is seen moderating an Al-Anon meeting. And, with The Bear Season 3 becoming a reality, I’m sure the list will continue to grow.

Spoiler alert for anyone who still hasn't finished The Punisher Season 1.

When The Punisher brought its stellar first season to a close, it was clear that Frank Castle's story wasn't finished. And neither was Micro's or Madani's, nor Billy Russo's. Luckily enough, Netflix announced today that The Punisher was renewed for Season 2, so we'll be catching back up with all those characters soon enough. CinemaBlend recently spoke with Micro portrayer Ebon Moss-Bachrach, and when I asked what he wanted to see from his character in the event of a second season, he had some solid ideas.

Let's break those two sides of the Micro coin down. For one, Season 2 will give Micro (a.k.a. David Lieberman) a comic-changed storyline that won't keep him barricaded inside a basement the whole time, save for minor location changes when Frank needed help. Granted, Micro is a solid hacker, so it makes sense to keep him in front of a wall of computers at some point in the story; just not the whole time. He might not have the fisticuffs skills that Frank has, nor the firearm proficiency, and Frank might not exactly be the best kind of mentor or teacher, but -- BUT -- Micro could definitely learn a lot from Frank in an ideal world. And he'll likely need to learn this kind of stuff if he's expected to get out into the field for Season 2.

The flip side of Micro's future involves reverting back to a home life with the family that spent a long time thinking he was dead. A lot of his Season 1 story revolved around emotional beats that undoubtedly meant a lot more to viewers with spouses and children of their own -- Ebon Moss-Bachrach amusingly referring to it as "emotional stuntwork" -- but will that thrust change whenever David is able to regularly connect with Sarah, Leo and Zach? Knowing how these shows work, it almost definitely won't be a smooth transition back to domestic life, since we watched both Sarah and Zach tackling some big mental issues in Season 1 that tied to David's absence. Sure, those issues might just magically fade away with David's return, but everyone will need some time to adjust back to the former status quo.

It should surprise no one that the actor would want to take on a more varied role in Season 2. While making sure that he didn't sound like he was complaining, Ebon Moss-Bachrach talked about how heavily his character's story lacked exterior shots.

So it's pretty easy to understand why Ebon Moss-Bachrach is interested in Micro getting a bigger piece of the action pie in Season 2. And though the actor didn't mention this specifically, I would like to see Micro mixing it up with other characters, too, since he spent the majority of Season 1 only talking to Frank. I think he would be a good ally for Karen in hunting down information, as well as a good foil for Madani to bounce snark off of whenever Frank isn't around. Seeing Moss-Bachrach and Jaime Ray Newman together more often will be nice, too, especially if it's not just short-term sex sessions imbued with apologies.

While we're waiting to see where the story will go in Season 2, don't forget that all of The Punisher's 13 Season 1 episodes are available to stream on Netflix right now. In the meantime, head to our 2017 Netflix premiere schedule and our 2018 Netflix premiere schedule to see what'll be streaming in the near future. And then jump over to our 2018 midseason premiere lineup to see all the new and returning shows hitting the small screen next year.

Warning: spoilers for The Punisher ahead! Read on at your own risk!

While Jon Bernthal's take on Frank Castle in The Punisher feels like the familiar, vulnerable hero that fans know and love, other characters have been changed in their transitions to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. One such personality is Ebon Moss-Bachrach's David "Micro" Lieberman, whose origin story was altered substantially for television. CinemaBlend's Nick Venable recently asked the actor if it was easier to portray a character who wasn't a 1:1 translation of the comic book persona, and it turned out that the answer was more complicated than a simple "yes" or "no." In response to the question, Bachrach said:

By the loosest definition of the character, Ebon Moss-Bachrach's Micro is a fundamental adaptation of what fans could expect. He's an expert hacker who forms a tenuous partnership with Frank Castle to take down criminals. However, the more delicate details of Micro's life -- such as his backstory as an NSA tech expert, and his origin being tied to Frank Castle's -- were left turns for the character that afforded Bachrach the chance to make Micro his own while still actually playing Micro. It's not a reinvention, just a slight alteration with a bit more "nuance."

That said, despite any inherent difficulties in adapting Micro while also making him his own, Ebon Moss-Bachrach noted that he went into the role knowing that changes would be made. Marvel made sure to hammer home the importance of blending fidelity and creative liberties, so he had a certain degree of assurance going into the role.

Ebon Moss-Bachrach's remarks to CinemaBlend only further reinforce the idea that the folks behind The Punisher didn't use the films as the guide for this adaptation. After all, we have seen a live-action version of Micro before (Wayne Knight's take in Punisher: War Zone), but that take on the character was far more comic book-accurate in its creation of the character.

One of the most substantial changes made to Micro was the inclusion of a family that he couldn't go home to due to his status as a fugitive. Ebon Moss-Bachrach addressed the unexpected challenges of shooting the scenes of him sitting in front of the monitors to watch his family and said:

Now that The Punisher is currently streaming on Netflix, you can read our in-depth review and check out the unflinchingly brutal series to see the changes made to Micro for yourself. Elsewhere in the world of Netflix, make sure to glance at our premiere schedule to see what else is debuting on the streaming giant this year, and listen to our very own Punisher episode of The Cord Cutter Podcast to hear what we have to say about Frank Castle's revenge series.

Frank Castle kicked off his MCU tenure earlier this year in Daredevil Season 2, but after decades of popularity in the comics and three movies, many fans assumed that he would get a spinoff series on Netflix, and they were right. Aside from Jon Bernthal reprising the gun-toting Frank, few details have come out about what to expect from The Punisher. Fortunately, the upcoming show took a major step forward today, casting two key characters.

Marvel confirmed today that Girls star Ebon Moss-Bachrach and Son of God star Amber Rose Revah have been added to The Punisher's main cast. Moss-Bachrach will play Micro, a former NSA analyst who has secrets that could be valuable to not just Frank Castle, but others around them, good or bad. Revah will play Dinah Madani, a "highly trained sophisticated" Homeland Security agent who is "vexed" by The Punisher.

Ebon Moss-Bachrach is best known for playing Desi Harperin in the HBO series Girls since Season 3. His other credits include The Lake House, Damages, The Last Ship and Person of Interest. Daredevil Season 2 viewers will also remember that in the finale, Frank Castle retrieved a CD labeled "Micro" from his house before setting the place on fire, so he's already familiar with the man, or at the very least, some of his valuable information. In the comics, Microchip, a.k.a. David Lieberman, served as Punisher's ally by supplying him with technology and weaponry, although he later morphed into one of the vigilante's adversaries.

Amber Rose Revah rose to prominence in the U.S. playing Mary Magdalene in Son of God, an adaptation of The Bible miniseries. Her other credits include Silent Witness, Indian Summers and the upcoming Emerald City. Unlike Micro, Dinah Madani is not a character from the Marvel universe, so you won't have any luck looking to the comics for hints about what might happen with her.

Along with these two castings came confirmation that Westworld's Ben Barnes has joined The Punisher, though not as the character we thought he might play. It was originally rumored that he had been added as villain Bobby Saint, but now he's been officially revealed as Billy Russo, Frank Castle's best friends from the Special Forces days who now runs a private military corporation called Anvil. However, Barnes still isn't far at all from villain territory, because in the comics, Billy Russo is also known as Jigsaw, one of The Punisher's most notable enemies. I suppose that means we can expect Mr. Russo's face to be roughed up by the end of The Punisher Season 1, right?

With production having already begun, fans can expect to see The Punisher on Netflix sometime in 2017. Stay tuned to Cinema Blend for more crucial details.