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This new insurance ad features Batman, Gordon, Joker, Catwoman, Two-Face, Riddler and Poison Ivy. Visually it evokes the Reeveseverse, though the villain costume designs are more comic accurate.

It reminds me of those OnStar commercials from the early 2000s.

Here are some behind-the-scenes pics.

Matthew Lillard has been cast in season 2: https://deadline.com/2025/02/daredevil-born-again-season-2-casts-matthew-lillard-1236305219/

Interestingly, Lillard is also set to reprise his role as Stu in Scream 7. I'm not sure how that's going to work.

Hackman really was one of the all-time greats. My father's always been a huge fan of his, so I grew up watching his movies from a young age. There are too many classic films on his filmography to list them all, but some of my personal favourites include The Conversation (1974), Bat*21 (1988), The Firm (1993) and of course Superman I and II.

There have been several notable Hollywood deaths this week. Michelle Trachtenberg died on the 27th. She was exactly the same age as me. Literally, we were born one day apart. I remember going to see Harriet the Spy (1996) when it first came out, and later I used to watch her on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It's very sad.

Also, writer and producer Roberto Orci, best known for his collaborations with Alex Kurtzman, died on the 25th. Orci was a protégé of Sam Raimi and began his career writing for Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and Xena: The Warrior Princess. Later he co-wrote the screenplays for several Transformers and Star Trek films, as well as Mission: Impossible III (2006), Watchmen (2009), Ender's Game (2013) and The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014). He was only 51.

It is currently suspected that it was a leak of some kind?

Initial speculation pointed to carbon monoxide poisoning, however the latest reports state that there was no evidence of obvious environmental factors contributing to the deaths. We'll likely find out what happened soon enough. At any rate, it's a horribly tragic situation. Hackman had a great innings, making it to the age of 95, but his wife was considerably younger. For the two of them to die so close together and not be discovered for several days is heartbreaking.

Rest in peace Hackman and Arakawa. And rest in peace Trachtenberg and Orci.

Hammer Studios recently posted the following announcement on Instagram:

The wait is over.

For the first time in 60 years, Hammer is unleashing a brand new monster.

Introducing Ithaqua, created by director and producer Casey Walker.

Set in the brutal wilderness of 1800s Canada, the fur trade is in decline and a remote outpost is starving. A mercenary fights to unite the survivors against the cold, the hunger... and something far worse. A dark force is watching. Waiting. And those who fall into its grasp are cursed with an insatiable hunger for flesh 🩸

Hammer Horror's legacy continues with Ithaqua, now in production, starring Luke Hemsworth, Kevin Durand, Michael Pitt, Craig Lauzon & Leenah Robinson, and directed by Casey Walker.

This is horror as it was meant to be: terrifying and utterly unforgettable.

You asked for more Hammer Horror. We listened.

Are you ready to meet our newest monster?

There are more details about the studio's upcoming plans, including 4K/Blu-ray releases of classic films from their archives and speculation concerning Ithaqua's plot, in the following article: https://thatparkplace.com/hammer-films-new-monster-movie/

And here's a recent interview with Hammer's Cryptkeeper, Steve Rogers, about their plans to reissue their classic films through their own label, as opposed to licensing them to other distributors as in the past: https://hammerfilms.com/blogs/news/hammer-films-2025-and-beyond

There's a Batman #1 relaunch coming later this year. Here's the new batsuit.

It reminds me of the fan-made batsuit in that pic I posted last month. Makes me wonder if DC took inspiration from that cosplayer.