If early estimates hold, the movie is on course to open to a better-than-expected $51.1 million domestically after grossing $22 million on Friday in a big win for MGM and Michael B. Jordan, who directed Creed III in his feature debut. Jordan also returns in the role of Adonis Creed, a character first introduced in Ryan Coogler’s 2016 sleeper hit Creed, which revived the legendary Rocky film franchise.
Creed III — which will easily win the weekend — opens at a critical juncture for MGM and parent Amazon as they plot an expanded film footprint.
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The Creed series has been one of MGM’s most important modern-day franchises, and the third installment isn’t disappointing. It is more than holding when compared to the first two films, and will easily score the biggest first weekend opening of the spinoff franchise, fueled by top exit scores on PostTrak and an A- CinemaScore (not to mention glowing reviews).
Creed powered its way to a $42.1 million domestic opening over the five-day Thanksgiving holiday in 2015, including $29 million for the three-day weekend, not adjusted for inflation. The Steven Caple Jr.-directed sequel opened over the Thanksgiving corridor in 2018, grossing $56 million for the five days and $35.5 million for the three.
Creed III, which was filmed with Imax digital cameras, is bumping Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania off of many premium screens, including Imax locations.
The pic follows Jordan’s character as he comes out of retirement to face off with an old friend, played by Jonathan Majors (who is also garnering notice for his villainous role in Quantumania). Tessa Thompson, Mila Davis-Kent and Wood Harris co-star, among others.
Now that Amazon owns a legacy Hollywood studio, it is in a better position than other streamers to execute a traditional theatrical release in North America. In recent weeks, for example, Amazon Studios announced that Ben Affleck’s AIR will open in theaters across the globe, versus being sent straight, or almost straight, to Prime Video.
Amazon protected its newfound theatrical apparatus by folding United Artists Releasing into MGM. UAR was the domestic distribution and marketing company that was previously a co-venture between MGM and Megan Ellison’s Annapurna Pictures.
Also debuting this weekend at the domestic box office is the anime franchise installment Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – To the Swordsmith Village (Crunchyroll), which looks to place No. 4 with roughly $5 million, and Guy Ritchie’s action pic Operation Fortune: Ruse de guerre (Lionsgate, Miramax), which is looking at a seventh-place finish with an estimated $3 million.
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Tom Sandoval backed out of a pre-scheduled interview with Page Six next week after the scandalous news of his affair with Raquel Leviss broke on Friday.
The “Vanderpump Rules” star, 39, was set to sit-down with us this upcoming Wednesday to discuss his partnership with Hydroyxcut and other topics about his reality show alongside his co-star and business partner, Tom Schwartz.
However, a spokesperson for Hydroxycut told Page Six Friday — within hours of Sandoval receiving brutal backlash online for allegedly cheating on longtime girlfriend Ariana Madix — that the Bravolebrity was no longer available for press for the time-being.
The rep noted, though, that the weight-loss company’s partnership with Sandoval has “not changed” aside from “being forced to push interviews back.”
We’re told that Hydroxycut is still running a sweepstakes in March with both Sandoval and Schwartz, in which they are giving away a trip to Los Angeles to meet them at their restaurants, Tom Tom and Schwartz and Sandy’s, which fans are currently boycotting.
“The winner may get all of the gossip before we do,” the rep cheekily noted.
Tom Sandoval canceled a pre-scheduled interview with Page Six after news of his cheating scandal with Raquel Leviss broke.Instagram/ Raquel Leviss
A spokesperson for Bravo could not immediately be reached for comment on whether the network made the call to have Sandoval stop doing press. However, a separate source tells us that it was not the reality star’s decision to hold off on interviews.
Despite his limited media appearances, the affair drama did not stop Sandoval from going onstage with his cover band, Tom Sandoval and The Most Extras, Friday night.
We’re told it was not Sandoval’s decision to stop doing press amid the scandal.Scott Gries/Bravo via Getty Images
The singer took a moment during the show to seemingly address his scandal, telling the audience, “Have you ever been one of the most hated people in America?”
He then also responded, “We love her,” when the crowd began chanting, “Ariana!”
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Page Six exclusively learned on Friday that Sandoval and Leviss, 28, had been having a “months-long” affair behind Madix’s back and the new lovers want to “be together” now.
“Ariana is heartbroken,” a source said, adding that the “Fancy AF Cocktails” author feels “betrayed” by the former beauty queen.
The insider also said Madix, 37, was “blindsided” by her longtime boyfriend cheating because she had “no idea there were any issues” in their relationship.
Sandoval had been dating Ariana Madix since 2014.Getty Images
Madix found out that Sandoval had been unfaithful on Wednesday night after she discovered a sexually explicit video from Leviss on her ex-partner’s phone.
A source previously confirmed to Page Six that “cameras are rolling” and the goal is for the fallout of the relationship to be featured on the final episodes of Season 10 of “Vanderpump Rules,” which is currently airing on Bravo.
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Tom Sandoval has seemingly broken his silence after it emerged that he and longtime girlfriend Ariana Madix have called it quits.
The “Vanderpump Rules” star made a conscious effort to remain silent after news broke he and co-star Raquel Leviss were having a “full-on affair” — but decided to finally speak out Friday night.
During his gig at the City National Grove in Anaheim, Calif., on Friday, the Tom Sandoval & The Most Extras frontman made a passing comment that raised eyebrows.
“Have you ever been one of the most hated people in America?” the 39-year-old asked the audience, according to Us Weekly.
In a TikTok video taken at the gig, one audience member could be heard screaming, “Ariana!” prompting Sandoval to respond, “We love her.”
Other gig-goers were heard chanting, “Cheater!” after Madix’s pal Lala Kent urged those going to kick up a fuss at the event on her Instagram Story Friday.
The gig took place just hours after it emerged that Sandoval and Leviss have been“communicating inappropriately” for months.
Madix, who is said to be “heartbroken” and “blindsided” over the news, has since kicked Sandoval out of their LA pad.
It emerged Friday that Sandoval and Leviss have been “communicating inappropriately for months.”Instagram/@raquellevissMadix reportedly found out about the pair’s affair after Leviss sent an explicit video to Sandoval.Instagram/@raquelleviss
Madix then scrolled through the text thread where she read their history of inappropriate messages. Immediately after, she and Sandoval left the venue.
Leviss and Madix struck up a friendship after her engagement to James Kennedy crumbled.Instagram/@raquelleviss
Rachael Ray, the daytime talk show, will end its run after 17 seasons on the air.
The decision to end the Emmy-winning program comes after host Rachael Ray recently launched a new production company, Free Food Studios, which will focus on producing “in the kitchen content.”
“In my more than 20 plus years in television, I have had 17 wonderful seasons working in daytime television,” Ray said in a statement on Friday. “However, I’ve made the decision that it’s time for me to move on to the next exciting chapter in my broadcast career.”
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She continued, “My passions have evolved from the talk show format production and syndication model to a platform unencumbered by the traditional rules of distribution. I am truly excited to be able to introduce and develop new and upcoming epicurean talent on all platforms. That is why I am looking forward to putting all my energies into my recently announced production arm, Free Food Studios. Thank you to all of our Rachael daytime show partners, crew and affiliates, and the wonderful years we all worked together.”
The Monday-Friday talk show, which debuted in 2006, featured celebrity interviews, entertainment, cooking, makeovers and advice from the host.
When explaining her show in a September 2021 interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Ray said, “We like that family feeling, and I think that’s evident when we do have celebrities on, and you often see the same folks over and over again. We feel close to them, we feel like we built something together.”
In May, the Food Network celebrity and chef will also be inducted into the Broadcasting & Cable Hall of Fame for her television achievements.
Rachael Ray is distributed and produced by CBS Media Ventures in association with Harpo Productions, Discovery Inc., and Watch Entertainment.
The first three episodes of the much-anticipated Prime Video show “Daisy Jones & The Six” are finally here, just in time to inspire all your outfits for music festival season.
Starring Riley Keough in the titular role, the adaptation of Taylor Jenkins Reid’s hit book premiered on Amazon’s Prime Video March 3, with viewers applauding the glamorous stage looks on social media.
And Denise Wingate, the costume designer behind the series’ Fleetwood Mac-inspired fashions, spoke with Page Six Style about paying homage to one of her favorite Stevie Nicks looks for the “Aurora” album cover — and how she wound up collaborating with a designer who once dressed Keough’s grandfather, Elvis Presley.
Stevie Nicks inspired some of the “Daisy Jones” costumes.Getty Images
Fleetwood Mac was a “huge” inspiration.
Reid has said that the romantic tension between Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham helped her write “Daisy Jones,” so it’s no surprise the ’70s rockers were all over Wingate’s mood boards.
And while the costume designer says she wanted Keough’s Daisy “to be her own person” rather than a Nicks clone, a certain look of the “Landslide” singer’s did make its way into the show.
“There was one dress that I had seen a photo of Stevie Nicks in,” she says, describing a “white sheer chiffon” number that was “just so beautiful and ethereal.”
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Daisy’s outfit on the cover of the “Aurora” album was directly inspired by Nicks.Atlantic Records
Wingate wound up making a version of the frock for the fictional band’s “Aurora” album cover — but viewers don’t get to see it in all its glory.
“Unfortunately, the day we shot that scene there was a freezing storm, and I ended up putting a coat on Riley to keep her warm,” Wingate reveals. “That dress didn’t get the recognition it deserved.”
Stevie Nicks was famous for her ethereal stage outfits.Getty Images
Fleetwood Mac fans may also pick up on the reference in Keough’s final performance look.
“We knew for the last big show we really wanted to go out with a bang,” Wingate says. “Riley called me one day and said she was listening to ‘Gold Dust Woman’ and that she thought this was the look we should go for. We just had to find a spectacular piece.”
Daisy Jones (played by Riley Keough) performed in ethereal, flowing dresses.Lacey Terrell/Prime Video
Luckily, Wingate discovered a gold lamé Halston caftan, which she cut down the middle to make into a cape and layered on top of a vintage metallic crochet dress.
Wingate calls it “a magical outfit” and “the perfect way to end the show.”
Some of the show’s styles have an Elvis connection.
When Wingate reached out to Levi’s to look for vintage pieces from the archives to use onscreen, the brand connected her with Melody Sabatasso, a designer who just so happened to craft jumpsuits for Presley back in the day.
Presley was famous for his opulent stage outfits.NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images
“She made a lot of patchwork leather and denim pieces back in the ‘70s that I loved,” Wingate says. “I knew I wanted her to make something for the show just to have some authentic designs from the period.”
“When she told me she had made jumpsuits for Elvis, it was like kismet,” Wingate gushes, calling it a “full circle” moment.
Even the documentary scenes were inspired by real rock stars.
For certain sequences, the series’ characters appear 20 years older and reflect on the band’s golden era.
The characters give documentary interviews 20 years later.Prime Video
And while Wingate says she tried to make Daisy “a little more of a blank canvas” for these scenes, keyboardist Karen (Suki Waterhouse) channels “an older Chrissie Hynde or Patti Smith.”
Eddie (Josh Whitehouse), meanwhile, “would have been performing solo like Lindsey Buckingham or Richard Marx,” she notes, and it shows in his clothes.
The ’70s fashions are sure to inspire fans’ festival-season attire.AP
Expect to see similar ’70s styles throughout festival season.
Wingate predicts the show’s “fabulous” coats, crochet halter tops and high-waisted flares will make a strong showing at outdoor concerts this year, along with “short shorts with knee-high boots” — a practical choice for those stomping across muddy fields in the summer sun.
Expect plenty of boot-and-short combos, crochet halter tops and long coats this festival season.Prime Video
Among male concert-goers, she predicts “vintage leather jackets, tight T-shirts and vintage boots” will be ubiquitous — though perhaps not the bolder bare-chested looks seen on Sebastian Chacon’s drummer character.
“I’m not sure an average guy will be able to rock a fur vest like Warren,” Wingate quips.
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Tom Sandoval and Ariana Madix have broken up after he allegedly cheated on his longtime girlfriend with his “Vanderpump Rules” co-star Raquel Leviss, sources tell Page Six.
An insider tells us, “It’s true that they split and cameras are rolling.”
Insiders also told TMZ Friday that Madix, 37, called it quits with Sandoval, 39, when she found out about the alleged infidelity earlier this week.
Reps for the former couple, Leviss and Bravo did not immediately return Page Six’s request for comment.
Just two days ago, Madix appeared to be a supportive girlfriend by attending Sandoval’s show with his cover band, Tom Sandoval & the Most Extras, in Los Angeles.
Tom Sandoval reportedly cheated on Ariana Madix with Raquel Leviss.Instagram/ Tom SandovalMadix broke off their longtime relationship after finding out about the alleged infidelity this week.Todd Williamson/Bravo via Getty Images
The blonde beauty — who has been dating her co-star since 2014 — appeared in good spirits and was seen smiling at the event.
However, Madix’s Instagram account was suspiciously deactivated on Friday amid news of the cheating scandal breaking.
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According to TMZ, producers of the hit Bravo reality show immediately ramped up filming again to record the fallout from the alleged cheating scandal.
The intention is reportedly to capture some of the drama for the end of Season 10, which is currently airing.
In this season’s first few episodes, Leviss has been in the middle of another love triangle with the now-divorced Katie Maloney and Tom Schwartz, who is BFFs and business partners with Sandoval.
Sandoval previously helped Raquel Leviss’ former fiancé, James Kennedy, pay for his proposal to the beauty queen.Instagram/ Raquel LevissLeviss admitted to kissing Tom Schwartz, who is BFFs with Sandoval.Getty Images
The former pageant contestant — who previously dated DJ James Kennedy — admitted to wanting to make out and then doing so in the months thereafter with the new divorcée.
However, in a peculiar twist of events, Leviss admitted on “Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen” during a press tour this week that she thinks Sandoval is hotter than Schwartz. Her response even shocked host Andy Cohen.
Leviss, Sandoval and Madix have not yet addressed the cheating rumors.
However, several “Vanderpump Rules” cast members have taken to social media to speak out on the scandal, including Kennedy.
“Hope you all feel as sick as I do. This explains everything,” the DJ, who was previously engaged to Leviss, wrote on Instagram Friday.
Meanwhile, Madix’s brother, Jeremy Madix, wrote in a lengthy comment under that post, “It’s funny to watch people social climb and be soooooooo fake that they’re willing to s–t on people that are supposed to be their ‘best friend’ ( a term that gets thrown around very often around here) all just to come up or have some sort of story line.”
Leviss called off her engagement to Kennedy in December 2021.NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal viaThey were together for five years before going their separate ways.Getty Images
He continued, “This lifestyle and this group is beyond toxic and I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone. All just for clout from a corny ass network like BravoTV 😂.”
Jeremy then went on to slam his sister’s ex, writing, “Toms a try hard having a midlife crisis with his cringy band and Raquel has faked her way to the top trying to make something of her life willing to step on whoever to get there [sic] starting with James.
He concluded, “Sell out type lame s–t. Let’s all remember that Raquel was a fan of the show before all of this. Does anyone pay attention?”
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Musician Travis Scott and his lawyer are expected to meet with officials at the New York Police Department after the rapper was accused of assault at a New York City club early Wednesday morning, a law enforcement official confirms to CNN.
CNN previously reported that police are investigating allegations that Scott assaulted a sound engineer and caused $12,000 worth of damage to sound equipment at Nebula, a nightclub in mid-town Manhattan.
No charges have been filed in the incident, and Scott has not been named as a suspect.
A representative for Scott told CNN on Thursday: “Legal counsel for Travis are actively working with the authorities and remain confident that Travis will be vindicated once all is said and done.”
“Any statements about the incident involving Travis are clearly an attempt to sensationalize what is nothing more than a misunderstanding,” the statement added.
Mitchell Schuster, Scott’s attorney, previously told CNN on Wednesday that the incident was “clearly a misunderstanding” and that they were cooperating with the police.
Scott is currently facing multiple lawsuits relating to the incident at his Astroworld Festival in Houston back in 2021 that left 10 people dead and dozens injured. Scott has denied legal liability.
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The reason that “Teen Mom” alum Ryan Edwards was arrested earlier this week was because he texted his wife, Mackenzie, who had an order of protection against him that prohibited all communication.
According to legal documents obtained by Us Weekly on Thursday, the 35-year-old sent multiple messages to Mackenzie after he was initially ordered to stop contacting her.
“My god I don’t haven’t [sic] to live my life without you! Sorry!” he allegedly wrote on Feb. 19.
Four days later, he allegedly texted again, “For what it’s worth, I’m sorry and I do miss you.”
Per the outlet, the court papers noted that “Mrs. Edwards didn’t respond to any messages from Mr. Edwards.”
Mackenzie had filed the order of protection last month after Ryan took to social media to bash Mackenzie for allegedly cheating on him and to share an X-rated photo of her.
His wife, Mackenzie, filed an order of protection against him in early February.Instagram/@mackedwards95
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Shortly after, Mackenzie — who shares kids Jagger, 4, and Stella, 3 with Ryan — went to the police and detailed a series of alleged domestic violence incidents that occurred over the last couple of months.
She said during a fight in January he “opened [a] pocket knife, put to my back like he was going to kill me. This was in front of children. I tried to leave, he smashed my phone, took my car keys.”
The mother of two also claimed Ryan would hold her up by her neck and even “threw menthol nicotine” in her eyes during an argument.
The 27-year-old filed for divorce on Feb. 28 amid all the legal drama.Instagram/@mackedwards95Mackenzie was also granted a restraining order against her soon-to-be ex-husband.Instagram/@mackedwards95
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Mason Disick, 13, seemingly went through a growth spurt as he was photographed looking taller than usual while walking in Beverly Hills with his dad, Scott Disick, on Wednesday.
The Disick men were joined by a red-headed woman as they shopped together before stopping for some ice cream.
The father of three lovingly draped his arm around Mason’s shoulders as the teen scrolled on his phone.
Disick, 39, wore a gray Talentless long-sleeve sweater and beige cargo pants while his oldest son opted for a black graphic T-shirt and maroon sweatpants.
The father-son duo embraced the break from the rain while out shopping.TheImageDirect.com
Back in December, Mason celebrated his bar mitzvah — and in typical Kardashian fashion, they went all out.
The big night included a massive cake, numerous food trucks, group dancing and hundreds of silver-mirrored balloons lining the walls of the Offsunset lounge in West Hollywood, Calif.
Mason recently celebrated his 13th birthday.GC Images
While Mason’s new stature comes as a shock to many, aunt Kim Kardashian has seen it coming for a while.
His sister, Penelope, gave her TikTok followers an inside look at her sibling’s cavernous shoe closet last month, showing off some of his sneakers worth over $2,300.
In the video, dozens of shoes lined Mason’s massive walk-in closet as Penelope snuck in to “rate” her brother’s collection — which was obviously a 10/10.
In their 2022 Netflix docuseries Harry & Meghan, Harry recalled going through boxes at their U.K. home after stepping back.
"We always saw Archie running around the garden at Frogmore Cottage and maybe jumping in the Queen's pond," he said in the series, which was released in December. "That was all part of our future, and everything changed really, really quickly. We knew that we were going to get some breathing space from this very painful experience that we'd been stuck in, but also it was really sad."
And he and Meghan have continued to grow their life in the U.S.
"Home for me now is, for the time being, it's in the States, and it feels that way as well," Harry told Hoda Kotb in an April interview with Today. "We've been welcomed with open arms, and it's got such a great community up in Santa Barbara."
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The Mandalorian is back, and you know what that means. Season 3 episode 1 is a concentrated burst of entertainment showcasing all the best bits of Star Wars: laser gun shootouts, soaring space battles and tentacle-faced pirate captains.
Hang on, is this still Star Wars we're talking about? It sure is -- after season 1 and season 2 of the Disney Plus series were influenced by the cowboys 'n' gunfighters of the Western genre, season 3 of the Mando's adventures sails into uncharted waters: the kind of monstrous swashbuckling we know and love from the Pirates of the Caribbean movies. Avast, me hearties!
Read on for our recap of The Mandalorian season 3 episode 1 (or chapter 17 in the series as a whole), complete with Star Wars Easter eggs and some first thoughts on how the new season will shape up. Beware spoilers, ye scurvy sea dogs!
Pre-recap recap
OK, before we get into chapter 17, let's remind ourselves where we're up to in the adventures of the titular Mandalorian bounty hunter (Pedro Pascal, also currently searing the screen in the acclaimed HBO series The Last of Us), and his cute buddy Grogu (aka Baby Yoda). In the finale of season 2 the Mando dropped off Grogu with everyone's favorite Jedi, Luke Skywalker. So why are Grogu and Din back together?
Well, in between seasons, the stars of the Mandalorian appeared in an episode of another Disney Plus series, The Book of Boba Fett. It was one of the best installments of the otherwise underwhelming series and is well worth a watch, but that doesn't change the fact that season 3 of the Mandalorian only just started and you already have homework. Thanks, Disney.
Grogu loves a trip through hyperspace.
Lucasfilm
The fifth episode of Boba Fett's series explained why Mando and Grogu got back together and why they're traveling in a modified version of one of the Naboo N-1 Starfighters seen in The Phantom Menace. That episode also reveals a chunk of backstory about the Mandalorian's sect, the Children of the Watch, and why they left Mandalore.
The new series also opens with a brief recap showing droid IG-11 self-destructing in a battle with Imperial stormtroopers in this show's season 1 finale. The story of that droid, voiced by Taika Waititi, clearly doesn't end there.
As for the show's other major characters, the villainous Imperial Moff Gideon was carted off to face a New Republic war tribunal after his capture. And Cara Dune is no longer a marshal, having been recruited by New Republic special forces. Given actor Gina Carano's very public dustup with Disney, that's probably the last we'll hear of Cara.
This is the Way
The episode opens with the sound of hammering. (Like the Mandalorian warriors themselves, their beskar armor is forged in fire and repeatedly beaten.) Their leader, the Armorer, builds a new helmet in a fetching shade of turquoise, and it's carried onto a beach where a youngster feels the sun on their face for the final time.
"The words of the Creed shall be forever forged in my heart," the youngling intones, but they never actually complete the vow to keep the helmet on because they're interrupted by a gigantic space alligator. Woo, Star Wars!
We drop in on a Children of the Watch ritual.
Lucasfilm
That kicks off an intense battle in the air and beneath splashing waves. Luckily the Mando swoops in to save the day. See you later, alligator!
Is the Armorer grateful? No, she's still banging on about Mando (real name Din Djarin) removing his helmet. She insists that redemption is impossible, as the mines of Mandalore were destroyed by the Empire, but Mando offers some hope with a crystal that may be a relic of their home planet. Our hero reckons this is proof that Mandalore is no longer poisoned, and the Armorer seems to agree to welcome the apostate back into the fold if he can prove it. That sounds like a quest to me!
Pirates of the Outer Rim
So once again the Mandalorian and Baby Yoda head for Nevarro, the planet where the Mando once dropped off Baby Yoda and subsequently rescued him in season 1. This scummy fringe planet has gone up in the world under Magistrate, sorry, High Magistrate Greef Karga, to become the "gem of the Outer Rim."
Baby Yoda back up to the old tricks.
Disney Plus
Karga even offers Mando a parcel of land to hang up his blaster. But it isn't long before old trouble finds them, as they face Vane, henchman of pirate king Gorian Shard. Vane and his thirsty pirates insist on a drink for old times' sake, reminding Karga that he paid them for murder and mayhem back in the good old days.
The High Magistrate is having none of it but shows he hasn't grown soft, drawing back his fine robes to reveal a blaster. A proper Western-style shootout ensues, and Vane is sent packing with a message for the pirate king.
After a classic Star Wars asteroid-dodging dogfight, the Mando and Grogu encounter Gorian Shard in space. This seaweed-encrusted freebooter looks inspired by the fantastical creatures of the Pirates of the Caribbean and warns Mando that he better start believing in ghost stories because he's in one. Wait, wrong movie -- actually, he demands the Mando's ship. But our hero sails away, leaving the pirate king cursing. We're guessing we'll see more nautical naughtiness from the space pirates soon.
IG'll be back
Nevarro has raised a statue of the bounty hunter droid IG-11, which sacrificed itself fighting Imperials. It turns out the statue is made of the droid's actual remaining parts, allowing the Mando to resurrect the bot. He quickly changes his mind when it defaults to old programming and goes all Terminator on little Grogu. Leave Baby Yoda alone! Another statue solves the problem, though there was no need for Mando's dreadful pun.
Grogu hanging out with Anzellans is as adorable as you'd expect.
Lucasfilm
Mando takes the remains of IG-11 to the Anzellans, jabbering animatronic mechanics in delightfully Star Wars style (you might remember Babu Frik from The Rise of Skywalker). It's great to see The Mandalorian continues that grand Star Wars tradition of delightfully fleshy aliens coming in all prosthetic shapes and animatronic sizes. It's a massive squee from us when Grogu tries to give the little cutie a squeeze.
Sadly IG-11's memory is fried, but we're sure something will turn up.
Bo-Katan's castle
Next stop: Kalevala, a world in the Mandalorian system, complete with a concrete-gray brutalist Mandalorian castle.
Bo-Katan Kryze attempts to look relaxed as Mando arrives, but she's not fooling anyone.
Lucasfilm
The helmetless and bitter Bo-Katan Kryze is on a throne but overthrown, because without the fabled Darksaber -- a symbol of Mandalorian leadership -- her forces have melted away to become mercenaries. She's presumably still furious that Mando inadvertently took ownership of the weapon when he defeated Moff Gideon in combat.
Katan insists there's nothing magic about the mines of Mandalore and that Mando's quest is based on superstition. But we're sure her interest could be revived if Mando & Co. prove her planet isn't as ravaged, plundered and poisoned as everyone thinks.
Easter eggs and observations
The episode is directed by Rick Famuyiwa, a director usually known for more grounded stories like coming-of-age drama Dope, the true story Confirmation and the TV series The Chi. That said, he was originally set to direct DC's The Flash movie, but given that film's troubled history, he's probably glad to be working on Star Wars instead.
While in hyperspace, Grogu sees some space whales -- fans who've watched CGI animated series Rebels will remember these as the Purgill. All four seasons are on Disney Plus.
These hyperspace-traveling creatures dragged Imperial baddy Grand Admiral Thrawn and trainee Jedi Ezra Bridger off to an unknown destination in that show's finale. This story is likely to continue in live-action Mandalorian spinoff show Ahsoka, which is expected to hit Disney Plus this year, so the Purgill might be showing up here to establish them for live-action audiences.
The pirates include a Klatooinian, a Trandoshan and a Warthog.
Klatooinian criminals were among the antagonists in the Book of Boba Fett (and whose name calls to mind the famous alien catchphrase "Klaatu barada nikto" from the 1950s sci-fi classic The Day the Earth Stood Still).
The Trandoshans also appeared in the Boba Fett series. A notable member of the lizardlike race is Bossk, a contemporary of Fett on the bounty hunting scene.
A warthog is, er, a warthog.
Look out for those Salacious Crumb monkey dudes in a tree.
The Anzellan mechanics are voiced by Shirley Henderson, the award-winning actor who also lent her distinctive voice to Moaning Myrtle in the Harry Potter films.
Pirate king Gorian Shard is voiced by Nonso Anozie, who played Xaro Xhoan Daxos in Game of Thrones.
Vane is played by Marti Matulis, who played the Monstrosity in 2022 horror hit Smile.
For the scenes in which The Armorer forges baskar armor, the credits list a "forging double" -- blacksmith and artist Heather McCarty.
Come back next Wednesday for the next Star Wars adventure, as The Mandalorian season 3 episode 2 streams on Disney Plus on March 8.
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Ed Sheeran is completing the equation. The star took to social media on Wednesday (Mar. 1) to reveal that his upcoming album, –, will be arriving on May 5 via Atlantic Records.
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The album, pronounced Subtract, will be the last installment in Sheeran’s decade-long mathematical album era, following 2011’s +, 2014’s x, 2017’s ÷ and 2021’s =.
“I had been working on Subtract for a decade, trying to sculpt the perfect acoustic album, writing and recording hundreds of songs with a clear vision of what I thought it should be. Then at the start of 2022, a series of events changed my life, my mental health, and ultimately the way I viewed music and art,” Sheeran shared about the upcoming album in his announcement.
“Writing songs is my therapy. It helps me make sense of my feelings,” he continued. “I wrote without thought of what the songs would be, I just wrote whatever tumbled out. And in just over a week, I replaced a decade’s worth of work with my deepest darkest thoughts. Within the space of a month, my pregnant wife got told she had a tumour, with no route to treatment until after the birth. My best friend Jamal, a brother to me, died suddenly and I found myself standing in court defending my integrity and career as a songwriter. I was spiraling through fear, depression and anxiety.”
Sheeran concluded by writing, “I felt like I was drowning, head below the surface, looking up but not being able to break through for air. As an artist I didn’t feel like I could credibly put a body of work into the world that didn’t accurately represent where I am and how I need to express myself at this point in my life. This album is purely that. It’s opening the trapdoor into my soul. For the first time I’m not trying to craft an album people will like, I’m merely putting something out that’s honest and true to where I am in my adult life. This is last February’s diary entry and my way of making sense of it. This is Subtract.”
Ed Sheeran’s – (Subtract) album art Atlantic Records
Sheeran teamed up with The National’s Aaron Dessner — whom he met through pal Taylor Swift — to write and produce the upcoming album. Writing over 30 songs during their month-long studio stint, the 14-track album is set to feature folk-leaning qualities as well as full-band and orchestral arrangements.
