The last days of 2025 are in progress, and Hollywood news keeps hitting the wire; time for a round-up
Marvel Studios released an official teaser for Avengers: Doomsday online (see below). The teaser released online was the same one that was packaged for theaters for showings of Avatar: Fire and Ash (see “Captain America Returns as a Dad“). Avengers: Doomsday heads to theaters on December 18, 2026 (see “Best in Shows — 2026“).
The Legend of Aang: The Last Airbender animated feature will now go straight to streaming, skipping the planned theatrical release, according to Variety. The film’s theatrical release had previously been delayed from October 2025 to January 2026 (see “’Aang’ Delayed”). It will now drop on Paramount+ sometime in Fall 2026, according to the report. Paramount+ will also be home of the upcoming Avatar: Seven Havens animated series (see “’Avatar: The Last Airbender’ Series”).
Stranger Things Season 5 broke Nielsen streaming records over the Thanksgiving holiday week, according to Deadline. The final season of the show logged 8.46 billion viewing minutes, beating out the previous record holder (Stranger Things Season 4), by over a billion views. Earlier in December, Stranger Things Season 5 also broke a Netflix record for views (see “‘Stranger Things’ Season 5 Breaks Record“).
Paramount Skydance upped the ante in the battle over who gets to buy Warner Bros. Discovery, according to Deadline, amending its hostile bid to include a personal guarantee from Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison’s father Larry Ellison for $40.4 billion of equity financing, and a larger $5.8 billion breakup fee. Paramount turned toward a hostile takeover bid of $30 per share after the WBD board declared Netflix the winning bid from the auction process. Warner Bros. Discovery’s board rejected that $30 per share bid (see “Warner Rejects Paramount Bid“), expressing concerns over financing. WBD has not formally responded to the new hostile bid.
Pixar has moved up its 2027 animated feature Gatto, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The movie will now release March 5, 2027, instead of June 17, 2027. Frozen 3 is also scheduled to release in that same year (see “Best in Shows — 2027“).
James Gunn has cast Brainiac in the upcoming Man of Tomorrow movie, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The super villain will be played by German actor Lars Eidinger. This sequel will head to theaters on July 9, 2027 (see “Next ‘Superman’ Movie“).
GKids will release Lupin the IIIrd: The Movie – Immortal Bloodline into U.S. theaters for three nights only (see teaser below). The animated movie, based on the popular manga series (see “‘Lupin III’ Manga“), will play from January 4, 2026 to January 6, 2026. Source: ICv2
