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Book of 99 Demo Play Free Slot Game

Online slots continue to evolve, but it’s unusual for a fresh release to capture players the manner Book of 99 has done. In the United Kingdom’s competitive iGaming scene, this slot has found a real home for itself. It combines the chance for large payouts with a math model that seems fair to players. The big draw is a 99% return to player (RTP) percentage. For enthusiasts who focus on the figures, this isn’t just another metric. It’s one of the most rewarding arrangements you can find at the moment. The game takes the famous ‘Book’ formula, a surefire hit with UK-based audiences, and offers it a fresh appearance with an Egyptian motif and action that encourages continued play. Let’s explore what makes Book of 99 special, from its functionality to how it looks, and discover why it works so perfectly for UK slot fans.

Comprehending the Core Appeal: The 99% RTP Model

The main attraction of Book of 99 is its 99% Return to Player rate. Most well-known slots sit between 94% and 96%, so this number is a massive leap. For someone betting in the UK, it means the casino’s theoretical edge decreases over a long session. Let’s be clear: RTP is a long-term average over millions of spins. Any single sitting can still vary wildly. But that high base percentage alters the overall expectation. It’s a game built for players who like longer sessions and who manage their bankroll with some thought. The design transfers the emphasis from pure chance to an experience with better odds. This concentration on player value is a bold move, making Book of 99 a premium choice for UK players who want strong maths and captivating play in one package.

What High RTP Really Means for Your Session

That 99% RTP is a great headline, but what does it actually do for you? It doesn’t ensure a shower of small wins. Instead, it means the money you wager should, statistically, last longer than it would on a game with a lower RTP. This is a significant deal for UK players who want to settle in for a longer session without watching their balance vanish too quickly. It gives you more time to see the game’s features and trigger its bonuses. The high RTP pairs with the game’s high volatility. This creates an intriguing balance. Payouts might be less common, but they can be much larger, all within a framework that’s more forgiving than most. This model appeals to patient players who understand how variance works and who think about the long game.

A Modern Twist on a Classic: The Book Mechanic Reworked

The ‘Book’ mechanic is a familiar sight for UK slot players. Book of 99 follows this tradition but introduces its own changes. You get a standard 5-reel, 3-row grid with 10 fixed paylines, so it feels familiar right away. The Book symbol does two jobs. It acts as a Wild, substituting for other symbols to make wins, and it’s the Scatter that triggers the Free Spins feature. This straightforward, elegant design is an advantage. It cuts out clutter and directs the excitement directly towards the bonus round. The mechanic’s lasting appeal in the UK arises from its mix of easy rules and massive potential. Book of 99 utilises that strong foundation well, dressing it in a new theme and its attention-grabbing RTP.

Sight and Sound Atmosphere: A Journey to Egypt

Book of 99 departs from the gloomy style of some earlier ‘Book of’ games. It provides a more luminous, more lavish take on Egypt. The graphics are clear and clear. Symbols display classic icons like scarab beetles, ankhs, and regal pharaohs, positioned against a backdrop of sunlit pyramids and golden sand. The colours are vibrant with blues and warm golds, rendering the game welcoming and easy on the eyes. The sound design complements this perfectly. A harmonious, atmospheric track sounds with hints of Egyptian style, and the sound effects for wins and features are crisp and pleasing. This whole package is a invigorating, less dreary spin on the Egyptian genre. It provides a peaceful but absorbing setting that won’t overload you during a long session, which matches perfectly with the game’s high-RTP, player-friendly design.

Exploring the Bonus Spins and Expanding Symbol Feature

The star of the Book of 99 game is its Free Spins bonus round. You unlock it by hitting three or more Book Scatter symbols anywhere on the reels. This gives you 10 free spins to start. Before the round begins, the game randomly picks one regular paying symbol to become a special Expanding Symbol for all the free spins. When enough of these chosen symbols land on a reel, they expand to cover it completely. This can create multiple winning combinations across the paylines all at once. Here is where the game’s high volatility comes into play. A screen full of expanding symbols can yield payouts worth thousands of times your stake. You can also retrigger the feature by landing more Book Scatters during the round, adding extra spins and more possibilities for a huge win.

Strategic Considerations During the Bonus

Thinking tactically about the Free Spins means paying attention on which symbol gets chosen to expand bookofslot.eu. Higher-value symbols, like the Pharaoh or the Ankh, naturally lead to bigger payouts when they expand compared to the lower-value card symbols. That random selection at the start adds a real jolt of anticipation. Bear in mind, the game’s high volatility is most intense here. You might have several spins with little result, then one spin can pack multiple reels with the expanding symbol. For the UK player, holding your expectations in check during this round is important. The 99% RTP backs the whole game, but the free spins are where the explosive wins reside. It needs a mix of patience and excitement.

Risk level, Betting Range, and Suitability for UK Players

Be under no illusion, Book of 99 is a high-variance slot. Winnings might not come often, but when they land, they can be significant. This trait is smartly balanced by the 99% RTP, making a distinctive product. The betting range is typically wide, with a modest minimum and a solid maximum per spin. This caters to both everyday players and high rollers in the UK. This mix suggests its perfect player. It’s most suitable for someone with a bankroll that can tolerate some slow periods while they hold out for the rewarding free spins. Players who prefer a constant trickle of small wins might feel the swings too much. But for those who relish the hunt for a big win, all within a numerically beneficial structure, Book of 99 is an superb fit.

How Book of 99 Excels in the UK Market

The UK slot market is overflowing with ‘Book’ clones and Egyptian games. Book of 99 distinguishes itself by committing to player value above all. That 99% RTP is its main selling point, a feature still rare enough to make players take notice. Other games might compete for bonus features or branded themes. Book of 99 goes back to basics, providing simply better long-term odds. Its clean, bright look also distinguishes it from the darker style of games like Book of Dead. For UK players who have become savvy and value-conscious, often checking game stats before they play, this slot makes a strong case. It doesn’t need gimmicks. It relies on a solid, rewarding core mechanic inside a polished presentation. It’s a sophisticated pick for a discerning player.

Mobile Gaming Experience and Availability

The UK gambles on mobile, and Book of 99 is set. Developed with responsive HTML5 technology, it operates flawlessly on any device, from desktop computers to smartphones and tablets. The interface adapts ideally to smaller screens. All the controls, graphics, and animations keep crisp and work as they should. Touch-screen controls are intuitive, making it easy to spin and change your bet. The visual thrill of the expanding symbols in free spins loses nothing on a mobile display. This universal access means UK players can dive into the high-RTP action on their commute, at home, or anywhere with a decent internet connection. The quality remains consistent.

Final Judgment: Is Book of 99 the Proper Slot for You?

Book of 99 won’t be for everyone, and that’s okay. It’s designed for a certain kind of player. If you’re a UK enthusiast who cares about good odds, likes high-volatility play, and prefers the classic ‘expanding symbol’ bonus, you should probably give it a spin. Its 99% RTP delivers a level of theoretical value that’s hard to pass up. The theme is familiar, but the execution appears new and looks great. The potential for major wins in the free spins is real, matching that high-risk, high-reward style. If you approach slots with an analytical eye, prioritize longer play sessions, and seek games with standout stats, Book of 99 hits a sweet spot. It mixes classic excitement with modern, player-focused design, guaranteeing its place as a notable title in the UK’s online casino world.

Mindful Play and Final Thoughts

With any high-volatility slot like Book of 99, a mindful play mindset is essential. The appeal of the 99% RTP and the possibility of large wins should never make you ignore that slots are games of chance. UK players should always establish boundaries before they play. Use the deposit limits, time caps, and loss caps offered by authorized UK casinos. See the high RTP as a way to extend your enjoyment, not a assurance of profit. The game acts as a perfect illustration of how intelligent design can improve the player’s experience. It illustrates a slot can be both exciting and statistically generous, setting a new standard for what players in the licensed UK market might anticipate from a premium game. It’s a refined, gratifying, and well-crafted slot that has built its rising reputation.

Online slots continue to evolve, but it's

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Notre Engagement Inébranlable pour la Sauvegarde des Données

La sauvegarde de vos données personnelles ne relève pas d’un choix, c’est une obligation essentielle. Nous avons toujours respecté des standards stricts, mais nous allons désormais bien au-delà des obligations légales. Nos systèmes emploient un chiffrement de bout en bout de niveau bancaire pour chaque interaction, garantissant que vos informations sont insaisissables. Nous collectons uniquement les données strictement nécessaires et leur traitement est complètement transparent. Votre vie privée est un droit inaliénable, et nous en sommes les protecteurs attentifs.

Cette philosophie se diffuse à chaque membre de notre équipe, instruite en continu aux meilleures pratiques de sécurité. Nous effectuons des audits réguliers et indépendants pour identifier et combler la moindre faille potentielle. Notre infrastructure technique est installée dans des centres de données certifiés en Europe, soumis à des législations rigoureuses. Vous pouvez ainsi vous focaliser sur le plaisir du jeu, en toute sérénité. Notre engagement est un processus continu, jamais un aboutissement.

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Outre des limites, nous mettons à votre disposition une boîte à outils complète pour un jeu responsable. L’auto-exclusion temporaire ou permanente est facilitée et peut être demandée directement en ligne, sans délai administratif. Nous proposons de plus un lien direct vers des tests de comportement de jeu et des organisations d’aide reconnues en Belgique. Notre système de monitoring proactif identifie les signes de jeu problématique et nous permet de vous contacter de manière préventive et confidentielle.

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Ces dispositifs sont accompagnés de rappels visuels évidents et de notifications personnalisables. Vous obtiendrez une notification lorsque vous vous rapprochez de votre plafond fixé, vous laissant le temps de considérer votre prochain geste. L’historique détaillé de vos dépôts est accessible en un clic, vous permettant une vision parfaite de votre gestion. Chez Crystal Roll Casino, nous pensons que le plaisir authentique émerge d’une sensation de maîtrise complète de ses finances.

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L’IA est également utilisée de manière éthique pour repérer les anomalies de comportement pouvant indiquer un compte compromis ou une dérive, permettant une intervention rapide et discrète. Ces innovations ne sont pas apparentes, mais elles travaillent en arrière-plan, 24h/24 et 7j/7, pour former une enveloppe sécurisée autour de votre parcours. Au Crystal Roll Casino, la technologie n’a de sens que si elle protège votre sérénité.

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Comprendre parfaitement ce qui se passe avec votre compte est un droit fondamental. Nous avons refondu notre interface pour vous offrir une visibilité totale. Vous pouvez maintenant vérifier quelles permissions sont actives (notifications, promotions, etc.), quels appareils sont connectés et l’historique complet des connexions. Chaque action administrative sur votre compte est consignée et consultable dans une section dédiée. Tout est transparent, tout est clair.

Cette transparence se prolonge aux traitements automatisés. Nous détaillons précisément comment nos algorithmes de recommandation de jeux agissent, et vous proposons la possibilité de les remettre à zéro ou de les éteindre. Vous avez également un accès facile pour obtenir l’ensemble de vos données personnelles en quelques clics. Cette politique de porte ouverte consolide la relation de confiance que nous bâtissons avec vous, jour après jour.

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Les Prochaines Étapes de Notre Roadmap Vie Privée

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Great news! “Making of: Brazil ’70” is available to watch on Netflix UK!

 

Date Added: 31st May 2026

Known expiry dates are shown above as well as on the Last Chance page.

Want to keep forever? Try looking for ‘Making of: Brazil ’70’ on Amazon (paid link)

 

Synopsis:

Step onto the pitch with the cast and crew of Brazil 70: The Third Star and gain access to exclusive footage and behind-the-scenes production secrets.

 

Age Ratings

Certificate: Parental Guidance suggested

BBFC Insight: Violence

Reasons: See BBFC website

 

Release Details

Year: 2026

Duration: 6m

Audio: Portuguese (Brazil) [Original]

Subtitles: Arabic, English, French, Polish, Portuguese (Brazil), Ukrainian

 

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The American Black Film Festival wrapped its final full day of programming for its 30th anniversary edition by announcing the winners of the 2026 festival at the Best of ABFF Awards.

Hosted by New York Times best-selling author and award–winning comedian, KevOnStage, the event included an electric performance by Grammy winner Anthony Hamilton, and the ABFF Alumni Award going to “Creed II” and “Transformers: Rise of the Beasts” director Steven Caple Jr.

“The Best of the ABFF Awards has always been about honoring the brilliance and resilience of independent creators,” said Jeff Friday, President of festival organizer Nice Crowd, via statement. “As we celebrate our 30th year, it is incredibly poetic to welcome back Steven Caple Jr., a filmmaker whose journey from our short film competition to global blockbuster success embodies the very mission of this festival. We are proud to celebrate him alongside this year’s exceptional nominees.”

Anthology film “Three Colors: Pan-African” and coming-of-age drama “Girl Dad” were the big winners for the U.S. Narrative Feature section, with the former receiving the Grand Jury Prize, the latter receiving the Screenwriting Award for writers Solvan “Slick” Naim and Lane Williamson, and both films receiving the Performance Award in a tie between Marsai Martin (“Girl Dad”) and Bashir Salahuddin (“Three Colors: Pan-African”). Meanwhile, the Directing Award went to “Otra” filmmaker Armani Ortiz.

While there were also winners for the international, episodic, and documentary sections, one of the highlights of the festival is its Oscar-qualifying HBO Short Film Award Showcase, which features Ryan Coogler and Reinaldo Marcus Green among its alumni. This year’s winner, “Spilled Milk,” written and directed by Jared Leaf, was produced by Oscar winner Jordan Peele, and stars J. Alphonse Nicholson, Jerry O’Connell, Scott “Kid Cudi” Mescudi, and Brandon Perea.

See the full winners list for the Best of ABFF Awards 2026 below.

  • U.S. Narrative Feature (Grand Jury Prize): “Three Colors: Pan-African”
  • Directing Award (U.S. Narrative Feature): Armani Ortiz (“Otra”) *Sponsored by Ally Financial
  • Screenwriting Award (U.S. Narrative Feature): Solvan Slick Naim & Lane Williamson (“Girl Dad”) *Sponsored by Amazon MGM
  • Performance Award (U.S. Narrative Feature) — TIE: Marsai Martin (“Girl Dad”) and Bashir Salahuddin (“Three Colors: Pan-African”)
  • International Narrative Feature (Grand Jury Prize): “Small Gods”
  • Episodic Series (Grand Jury Prize): “The Comic Shop”
  • Documentary Feature (Grand Jury Prize): “Black Is Beautiful: The Kwame Brathwaite Story”
  • HBO Short Film Award: “Spilled Milk” *Sponsored by Warner Bros. Discovery/HBO 
  • ABFF Alumni Award: Steven Caple Jr.

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The American Black Film Festival wrapped its

It’s hard to overstate the contributions DMX, who died in 2021 at 50, made to New York hip-hop history during his lifetime. This week, the city recognized that impact by naming the corner of School Street and Brooke Street in Yonkers, where the MC was born and raised, “Earl DMX Simmons Way.”

Per the Yonkers Times, the Yonkers City Council voted without objection to move forward with the proposal on May 27, after a public hearing garnered support from members of the local community. Earl DMX Simmons Way will be located near the Calcagno Homes, the public housing complex where DMX grew up. It’s also situated near a large mural honoring the rapper, which New York artist Floyd Simmons painted in 2021.

The new street name is not the only memorial nod to DMX coming this year. Back in January, 50 Cent announced that he is launching a new podcast on the rapper’s life and legacy, Look Thru My Eyes: Becoming DMX. The series will be hosted by Jadakiss; an official release date has yet to be announced.

Read about DMX’s 1998 album It’s Dark and Hell Is Hot at No. 35 in The 100 Best Rap Albums of All Time.

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It’s hard to overstate the contributions DMX,

It’s rare that we get original stories from Africa. Here in the States, all we get are Caucasian stories going through massive race swaps, and what we’ve been asking for is anything original from that large and fairly silent continent. Finally, we have filmmaker Sayibu’s sci-fi action film, The B.A.T.U. Project: Adam the First.

After barely surviving nuclear war, the Earth is in bad shape and slowly becoming uninhabitable. After the Council of Nine brokered a fragile peace among the surviving nations, the African Space Federation set its sights on one final option: find another planet to inhabit, and their only hope is a man known as Adam. After a long trip across the galaxy, Adam (Bex) wakes up from space hibernation on Tiamat, a planet believed to be lifeless but a perfect alternative to Earth. Accompanied by his small android companion, Tindaana, he has a clear mission: determine whether Tiamat is the place where mankind can start over. He steps out in his spacesuit, surveys an alien landscape with no sign of people, and yet gets the uncomfortable feeling he’s being watched anyway.

Adam and Bintu stand on an alien riverbank with a massive planet looming in the sky in The B.A.T.U. Project: Adam the First.

“After barely surviving nuclear war, the Earth is in bad shape and slowly becoming uninhabitable.”

That feeling proves justified when Adam awakens the following morning, dragged from his ship by Bintu (Naa Ashorkor), an alien woman who does not take kindly to strangers. They can’t understand a word the other says, but Adam reassures her that he is not a threat. Bintu then takes Adam to the planet’s Life Tree. Adam touches it and begins to transform, but on the upside, the tree enables him to understand Bintu. She informs him that Adam is not the first of his kind to arrive here. Decades ago, a man known as The Emissary arrived with promises of hope, but soon became someone who could not be trusted.

As Adam heads back toward his ship, he is confronted by the Emissary. The Emissary tells him that he came before him to prepare the planet for man’s arrival, but there is one obstacle in his way. The Emissary and Adam must destroy the Life Tree if they are ever to save humanity.

At Film Threat, we talk about films like The B.A.T.U. Project: Adam the First all the time. The film comes from Ghana. And for years, we have been asking — begging, really — to see original stories from this region rather than watching Hollywood strip-mine familiar American properties and merely race-swap characters. Writer-director M. Sayibu has delivered a completely original sci-fi story that feels both authentic to his culture and futuristic. That alone deserves recognition.

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It’s rare that we get original stories

Israeli forces are making their deepest incursion inside Lebanon since they withdrew from the country over a quarter-century ago, despite a nominal U.S.-brokered ceasefire and the first direct talks between the countries in decades.

The Israeli advance presents a challenge in the emerging deal to extend the Iran war ceasefire as Tehran wants any agreement to end fighting in Lebanon, too. Qatar called it a “dangerous escalation.” Germany’s foreign minister said it was cause for serious concern, according to German press agency dpa. There was no comment by the United States.

On Sunday, Israeli forces seized a symbolic fort in southern Lebanon that offers commanding views across Lebanon and into northern Israel. The last time they seized it, they held it for 18 years.

Israel says it is targeting the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group, which has a strong political presence in southern Lebanon and has launched thousands of missiles and drones at Israeli soldiers there and in northern Israel.

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Israel has warned Lebanese civilians across the south to evacuate or risk being in the line of fire. Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam on Saturday accused Israel of “implementing a policy of total destruction of cities and towns.”

Over 3,300 people, including dozens of children, have been killed in Lebanon since the fighting began March 2, two days after the Iran war started. About 1 million people have been displaced. At least 25 Israeli soldiers and a defense contractor have been killed in Lebanon or northern Israel, along with two civilians in northern Israel.

Here’s what to know:

Fort has been a military asset for nearly 1,000 years

Israeli forces seized Beaufort, also called Al-Shaqif, which was built as a Crusader castle around the 12th century and later used by Saladin’s Jerusalem army, Mamluks, Ottomans, the French mandate and the Palestinian Liberation Organization.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who last week vowed to “increase the blows,” noted that Beaufort is “a symbol of a heroic battle for our fighters” but also “a symbol of deep division between us.”

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The fort summons a sense of victory over the Israeli military’s seizure of it in 1982, but it also symbolizes the high price of defending it before it was handed over in 2000, said Orna Mizrahi, a former deputy director in the government’s National Security Council.

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Click to play video: 'Israel deports Gaza flotilla activists amid global backlash'


Israel deports Gaza flotilla activists amid global backlash


The military’s return feels like Israel is going in circles, said Mizrahi, now a senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies. “There’s a feeling of, ‘For what?’”

Israel likely will relinquish control eventually, she said, even as Defense Minister Israel Katz vows to make Beaufort part of Israel’s permanent security zone in southern Lebanon.

The military’s presence will not solve the issue with Hezbollah, Mizrahi said: “Yes, we are damaging them in the operations, but in parallel we need to pursue a political and diplomatic solution.”

Israel sees a threat to its northern communities

Israel has long considered Hezbollah a threat. The Shiite Muslim armed group emerged in 1982 in response to an Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon. Hezbollah has targeted communities in northern Israel and joined the war in Gaza in 2023 in solidarity with the Palestinians.

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Israel badly weakened Hezbollah during months of war. Fighting ended with a U.S.-brokered ceasefire in late 2024 after indirect talks, and Israeli forces withdrew except from five strategic hilltops along the border.


The new Lebanese government came to power with promises to disarm groups such as Hezbollah, but the militants resisted. Israel, meanwhile, claimed that Hezbollah was rearming and rebuilding.

On March 2, Hezbollah again fired at Israel, prompting Israel to invade southern Lebanon. Lately, Israel has said it is trying to keep Hezbollah from using a new kind of fiber-optic drone against its forces and civilians. The drone has been widely used in the war in Ukraine.

Lebanon says Israel has gone too far

Hundreds of thousands of people have fled southern Lebanon as Israeli forces carried out airstrikes and ground troops pushed into the country. Many people now shelter in the capital, Beirut, where hundreds have been killed, including in an intense bombardment in April.

The United States brokered a ceasefire that began in mid-April. Unlike the one in the Iran war, it has not held.

Israeli forces now control large areas in southern Lebanon and have demolished homes and historical sites. Israel is trying to “uproot Lebanon’s memory and erase the people’s history,” Lebanon’s prime minister, Salam, said Saturday.

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Hezbollah has refused to accept results of talks

Talks between senior officials from Israel and Lebanon began in April in Washington, the first in more than three decades between the countries that have no formal diplomatic relations.

On Friday, the first direct military talks in decades occurred.

Issues to work out include an Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon, deployment of Lebanese forces there and the disarming of Hezbollah, which has refused to give up weapons while Israeli forces remain in the country.

Talks will continue this week. Hezbollah is not taking part and has said it would not accept any results. The group prefers that negotiations benefit from Iran’s leverage and sees the Lebanese government as weak, a position shared by some others in the country.

Lebanon’s people have been divided over the talks, whose announcement was met with protests. Many Lebanese are angry with Hezbollah for the destruction it has caused in the country but also wary of Israel.

Lebanon’s prime minister has called the direct negotiations “currently the least costly option,” adding that they don’t mean a surrender and acknowledging they are not guaranteed to produce results.

___ Chehayeb reported from Beirut, and Anna reported from Lowville, New York.

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Israeli forces are making their deepest incursion

Shakira tagged Ugandan youth dance collective Ghetto Kids TFUG on Instagram this week, pairing the mention with a heart-eyes emoji and no additional text. The post collected over 2.1 million likes. For a gesture built around a single emoji, that figure speaks to the scale of Shakira’s audience reach.

Ghetto Kids TFUG has been building international recognition for several years. Based in Kampala, the collective draws its young members from communities across Uganda. They’ve developed a reputation for high-energy performances combining African street dance with acrobatics and a striking level of physical skill.

Their videos have found large audiences online, often spreading well beyond the African continent. Several of their clips have circulated widely among international music fans and artists, establishing the group as one of the more visible names in African youth performance. The group has also performed internationally, earning attention through the quality of the work itself.

Shakira‘s connection to African music runs deep. Her 2010 FIFA World Cup anthem “Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)” became one of the most-viewed music videos on YouTube and helped introduce a global audience to African-inspired pop. She performed the song at the tournament’s closing ceremony in Johannesburg, and it remains one of the most recognized anthems in World Cup history. Given that background, her tagging an African dance group carries a particular weight. The post doesn’t reveal how long she had been following the group. The warmth in that single emoji, though, is readable.

Two million likes on a post this brief is a genuinely notable number. It suggests Shakira’s audience engaged with the gesture rather than scrolling past it. It also directed a significant share of her tens of millions of followers toward Ghetto Kids TFUG’s own profile. That kind of organic reach is hard to replicate through paid promotion.

For Ghetto Kids TFUG, recognition of this nature carries real meaning. The group has worked for years to build international visibility, often doing so without the structural support that artists from larger music markets receive. Unsolicited admiration from an artist of Shakira’s standing reads differently than a paid mention or branded collaboration. It reads as one performer recognizing another’s craft. In the entertainment industry, that counts for something.

Shakira remains one of the most recognizable artists in global pop. Her career has bridged Latin pop, dance music, and international audiences across multiple decades. Ghetto Kids TFUG was already on an upward path before this week. The group has spent years making the case that Kampala produces world-class performance talent. A wordless co-sign from one of the world’s most followed musicians adds to that story.

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In all the years that I’ve produced Variety‘s Actors on Actors conversations, I’ve resisted the temptation to divulge how exactly the sausage gets made. When fans gripe on social media, for instance, about how our magazine didn’t pair two obviously compatible actors together, I haven’t taken to X to explain that we really tried, but one (or both!) of the actors turned down what seemed like an undeniable idea. Sometimes, the reasons a pairing didn’t work out are scandalous. In other cases, they’re more mundane. But spilling the tea — however satisfying for a moment — would only take attention away from the talented actors who actually do participate in our series.

Of course, the magic of Actors on Actors, which returns to CNN’s streaming platform on June 3 (with an all-time great season premiere), comes from getting the right two actors to talk to each other. It might sound easy in theory, as evidenced by all those fan suggestions. But in practice, this is an incredibly tricky series to produce. Booking Actors on Actors is like playing matchmaker with the most famous people on the planet — and their coffee date needs to be approved by an army of publicists and awards strategists.

So now, I’m going to break my cardinal rule of Actors on Actors: I’m going to talk about a few of the stars who got away. When the lineup for our installment of episodes is announced on Monday — featuring some of the most-talked-about performers of this year on television — one incredibly important show will not be on the list. Sorry to disappoint, but we didn’t include any of the actors from “Heated Rivalry.” And it was not for a lack of trying. I invited all three of the breakout actors from the groundbreaking series about gay hockey players to participate: the extraordinary Connor Storrie, the charming Hudson Williams and the magnetic François Arnaud. These actors, as millions of “Heated Rivalry” superfans know, simply need to show up at an event to create mass hysteria on social media, and they have the talent to back up their overnight stardom. They deserve to be in our portfolio alongside some of the biggest names in the business.

And yet, they turned us down. I’m certain they would have accepted the invitation if not for one key fact: “Heated Rivalry” isn’t eligible for this year’s Emmys due to a rule technicality. Since it’s made by Bell Media’s Crave, a Canadian streamer (airing in the U.S. on HBO Max), the show and its stars weren’t submitted for consideration, and as a result, the actors aren’t campaigning right now. While Actors on Actors isn’t only about winning awards (Ryan Reynolds did it for two “Deadpool” movies and, more recently, David Corenswet, of “Superman,” happily landed on our set), the conversations are published in Variety during the early days of Emmy Phase One voting — and so, it’s perfectly timed to help with the nomination process.

Perhaps the stars were worried it would look presumptuous to take part in a campaign event for an award they categorically could not win. But the Emmys need “Heated Rivalry” more than “Heated Rivalry” needs the Emmys. It’s a genuine hit — not just among its core audience, but among casual TV viewers who swooned for its steamy romance and its carefully wrought character development. The TV Academy’s exclusion of “Heated Rivalry” is deflating on so many different fronts: For fashion houses wanting to dress recent Met Gala standouts Storrie and Williams for the red carpet; for fans and for NBC, which will be airing the Emmys this year.

Why is this happening? As my colleague Michael Schneider explains, the TV Academy mandates that a show must be backed by U.S. production dollars to qualify, whittling down the list of potential contenders for voters. Most popular international shows (from “Adolescence” to “Squid Game”) have sidestepped this rule by adding U.S. producers somewhere in the process before they screen (or stream), but for whatever reason, “Heated Rivalry” — filmed and produced in Canada — didn’t expand its list of backers when it sold to HBO Max. These hockey players stayed north of the border, and beyond the reach of the Emmys.

But when a show captures the attention and affection of so many stateside, why does it matter where it was produced? Aren’t the Emmys supposed to be a celebration of what we actually watch? And haven’t we learned over and over again during Hollywood’s streaming age reinvention that a new and important voice can come from unexpected places — and that old rules are made to be broken?

The Emmys will feel strange without any acknowledgment of a show that put us all under its spell. The famed cottage where the star-crossed lovers Ilya Rozanov (Storrie) and Shane Hollander (Williams) admit they’re in love is as iconic to viewers as “Friends” coffee house Central Perk, or Carrie Bradshaw’s studio apartment on “Sex and the City.” (Both of those series eventually won the Emmys’ top prize.) Under no circumstances should “Heated Rivarly,” which has become one of the defining cultural moments of this decade, be excluded from any awards ceremony that is meant to showcase the best of TV. I only wish it weren’t excluded, too, from our Actors on Actors portfolio.

I can only imagine the long line of veteran actors who would have agreed to sit across from three of Hollywood’s most exciting new stars. And there would have been no shortage of awards voters who would have pulled the lever for Ilya to take a victory lap on live TV.

Ramin Setoodeh is the co-editor-in-chief and co-president of Variety.

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In all the years that I’ve produced

When you think you’re having a bad week, just watch the Summer House Season 10 reunion. It will remind you that someone else is having a just-as-bad, or possibly even worse week.The first part of Ciara Miller and Kyle Cooke’s showdown with Amanda Batula and West Wilson, the new lovebirds in town, left no crumbs. As expected, Ciara did not hold back when it came to confronting her former best friend and ex-situationship, and the lying duo countered with none other but a questionable timeline that no one is actually buying. The fact that we have two more episodes of this? Well, we’re gonna need another box of Loverboys to keep us from falling off the edge of our seats.

Photo: Bravo

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By Samantha Nungesser May 29, 2026 When you think you’re

At 16, an age when most teenagers are concerned with driving tests and prom dates, Kane Parsons made a nine-minute short called “The Backrooms (Found Footage),” about a man trapped in an unnerving realm of mazelike hallways.

The film and its follow-ups became such a YouTube sensation that, just months after Parsons turned 17, A24 signed him to direct a feature-length adaptation of “Backrooms,” making him the youngest director in the studio’s history. Two years of development followed, meaning Parsons was a wizened 19 when he cast the Oscar nominees Renate Reinsve and Chiwetel Ejiofor as his leads, and 20 when I met him in Los Angeles a few weeks before the film’s release.

“Age has never not been part of the conversation with me,” said Parsons, who has the rosy cheeks and brushed-forward curls of a teenage TikToker. Before production began on “Backrooms” (in theaters), he worried whether people would take him seriously as the director of a feature film.

“That was the thing that was eating me the most: How much do I have to do to counterbalance the bias that anyone’s going to have?” he said.

At the same time, he feared alienating the online audience he had worked so hard to build. Parsons is part of a new wave of horror filmmakers who first emerged on YouTube, including Mark Fischbach, 36, whose “Iron Lung” became an unexpected success earlier this year, and Curry Barker, 26, who segued from sketch comedy to directing this month’s “Obsession,” also a surprise hit.

Parsons is the youngest of the group and, in some ways, the most unlikely to have made the leap to the big screen. He freely admitted that his artistic approach has been shaped more by web series and video games like Portal and Half-Life than by traditional Hollywood moviemaking.

“I don’t watch a lot of films,” he said, though he has binged the TV series “Mr. Robot” at least eight times.

Still, Parsons is no dilettante. As we walked along the Los Angeles River in early May, I found him to be unusually thoughtful and self-possessed, with the stolid authority of a college professor. Pondering why the “Backrooms” concept caught on, Parsons brushed past the creep factor of all those abandoned hallways to reach for something much larger.

“There’s a lot of simplicity in the setup that preys on the anxiety people have around the stage of industrialization we’re at,” he said. “The world is becoming increasingly atomized and sort of lonely. We have so much available to us now — at least in this part of the world — yet it feels like all the stuff we have means less and less.”

On a video call, Reinsve praised Parsons for his ability to ground big philosophical concepts in our lived reality.

“I was fascinated by him,” she said. “Even though I’ve dipped my toes into liminal spaces or quantum physics or stuff that we have common interests, he is way beyond. And I was very intrigued by how existential he would want to go in something that was a genre movie.”

In the film, Reinsve plays Dr. Mary Kline, a therapist whose client Clark (Ejiofor) claims to have found a portal to a strange realm inside the furniture store he owns. When Clark disappears days later, Mary must venture into the labyrinthine Backrooms to investigate.

But there’s something deeper at play in that plot, Parsons said. Just as Mary tries to chart the human mind as a therapist, Clark attempts to map the Backrooms, with both people thwarted by systems whose internal logic remains stubbornly out of reach.

“It’s a movie mostly about the biological imperative of needing to make maps of everything to have some form of control, to explain your circumstances so you can escape the emotional burden of them,” Parsons said.

But what if we are problems that can’t be solved, and the corridors of our minds stretch on to infinity? To Parsons, that notion is what makes the Backrooms so scary.

“It’s being on the brink of being able to peer around the corner,” he said, “and there’s another corner that’s beyond it.”

PARSONS GREW UP on the outskirts of Silicon Valley in Northern California’s Petaluma Valley, beside rolling green hills he likened to the default wallpaper of Windows XP. “The fields are nice because some people with a lot of resources want to keep it that way, and you can hear the distant hum of data centers,” he said.

Armed with a hand-me-down digital camera from his parents, he spent much of his childhood making short films, from creature features starring his younger brother to stop-motion movies made with Play-Doh and Legos. But as he entered his teenage years, Parsons developed severe leg pain that took nearly two years to diagnose.

“Arthritis for a 13-year-old didn’t make sense,” he says now of the condition, which he manages with a weekly autoimmune injection. At times he could barely walk, and during that period he immersed himself in the craft of visual effects, using the 3-D modeling suite Blender to build virtual sets that could be explored even while immobile.

It was in that spirit that Parsons made his first “Backrooms” short in early 2022, inspired by a viral image of an abandoned office space bathed in a strangely malevolent shade of yellow. Cobbled together in Blender over three weeks, Parsons says he mostly regarded the project as a tech demo. But its seamless effects and eerie mood were so striking that the short spread like wildfire, earning 10 million views within its first two weeks online.

And then Hollywood came calling. As Parsons continued his “Backrooms” series with more shorts that consistently drew millions of views, he says that he was besieged with emails from producers who hoped to turn his fledgling property into a generic slasher franchise.

They may have expected a starry-eyed teenager eager to sell out. But after movie misfires like 2018’s “Slender Man,” which was also derived from an eerie internet meme, Parsons was wary about Hollywood attempting to exploit another online sensation: “It was the norm, not the exception, for that to fail,” he said.

He also resisted the idea that YouTube was seen as a steppingstone on the way to Hollywood. Couldn’t it be the main event?

“I get a perfectly adequate level of financial security from YouTube and a perfectly fulfilling level of creative gratification from it,” he said, adding, “Trying to jump mediums on certain projects will take away something intrinsically valuable about the original idea.”

That’s why, even though he eventually signed with A24, he considers the new movie to be just a supersized installment of his web series. “I did this film for a specific personal creative reason, and I don’t think it needs to be the end goal,” he said.

Shot over nine weeks last summer in Vancouver, the production built 30,000 square feet of the Backrooms on a soundstage, making real what had previously existed only on Parsons’s computer. “It was really surreal,” he said, though the thing that surprised him most was how natural it all felt.

“I found that there’s no true correct way to direct,” he said. “I couldn’t help but wonder, ‘Is this right? Why does this feel so normal? But we’re making the movie and it’s working.’”

Reinsve said that Parsons was firm when he needed to be, though always willing to adapt.

“I’ve worked with a lot of first-time directors, and I enjoy it because they are searching for their style and you learn something together,” said Reinsve. “But he was so certain, and then every day after we finished, he would ask, ‘Could I have done something better today?’”

Still, the process wasn’t without challenges. In addition to directing, Parsons composed the score with Edo Van Breeman and continued working on the visual effects, modeling the sets in Blender just as he had back when “Backrooms” was still a one-man job. Late last year, when the postproduction schedule was shortened by several weeks, those responsibilities demanded even more of him.

“I ended up getting a little bit too much on my plate,” said Parsons, who began pulling “self-imposed” 21-hour workdays to make sure the film was as polished and detailed as he’d envisioned. “I definitely abused my nervous system to the fullest degree I possibly could.”

In January, while Parsons was still mired in the postproduction crunch in Vancouver, the firmware for his autoimmune injector stopped working, leaving him bedridden for two weeks until the production team made a border run to secure a replacement. With another director, setbacks like those could have brought things to a standstill, but Parsons has been there before, albeit with fewer colleagues by his side.

“I didn’t burn out on this movie — if anything, it was positive burnout,” he said. “I feel very happy with where it ended up getting, but it certainly was not leisurely by any means. Everyone gave it their all.”

PARSONS IS OPEN to big-screen sequels if “Backrooms” succeeds, and advance tracking indicates the movie could open to over $40 million, which would make him the youngest director to make such a hit. (Josh Trank, who was 27 when “Chronicle” opened to $22 million, is currently the youngest filmmaker to direct a number-one movie at the box office.)

Still, Parsons’ main goal for the project has always been to turn it into a television series. For years, he has carried around several seasons’ worth of story in his head.

“I feel like I’m going to go insane if I don’t get this out of my system,” he said. “The reason I do ‘Backrooms’ at all is for stuff that hasn’t quite happened yet.”

And though he would like to branch out into other projects — a feature-film adaptation of Portal would be his dream, he said — Parsons doesn’t feel like he can truly move on until “Backrooms” reaches its conclusion.

“It’s been a few years since I first started the YouTube series and it’s like, ‘Come on, just finish the thing already, guy,’” he said. “But I counter that by saying I deeply enjoy working on it.”

And that’s where youth works to his advantage.

“I don’t plan on dying in the next five years,” he said, “so I don’t see a problem with taking a bit of time on it.”

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At 16, an age when most teenagers

US rapper Kanye West, whose concerts have been banned in several European venues over controversial antisemitic remarks, may perform in the Netherlands for two concerts in June, officials said.

The 48-year-old, also known as “Ye”, has sparked widespread anger over remarks glorifying Nazi leader Adolf Hitler and for antisemitic rants, which he has blamed on having bipolar disorder.

The mayor of the eastern city of Arnhem, Ahmed Marcouch, has granted a permit for the June concerts to go ahead despite what he described as “reprehensible statements made by the artist in the past”.

The majority of the Dutch House of Representatives had called for the rapper to be denied entry to the country.

But asylum and migration minister Bart van den Brink said there were no formal legal grounds to bar him from the Netherlands.

“You need clear reasons to bar people from your country. We did not find those in the analyses that were conducted,” said Van den Brink.

West is scheduled to play in Arnhem on June 6 and 8 — the latter date being the rapper’s birthday.

He is also slated to appear in Istanbul on May 30.

However, his extreme statements and actions — last year he released a song called “Heil Hitler”, with swastika T-shirts advertised on his website — caused a backlash against his planned European tour.

In April, the British government banned him from entering the country to headline a festival, forcing organisers to cancel the event.

A week later, he postponed a concert in Marseille following reports France’s interior minister was seeking to block the performance.

A Polish stadium cancelled a West concert scheduled for June 19, with the culture minister saying Poland wanted to bar him over his “promotion of Nazism”.

Later, Swiss football club FC Basel told AFP they had turned down an approach about hosting a West concert.

In January, West took out an advert in the Wall Street Journal to defend himself, saying: “I am not a Nazi or an antisemite” and “I love Jewish people”.

He attributed his behaviour to a manic episode brought on by bipolar disorder.

He is also set to perform in the Albanian capital Tirana on July 11, and in Prague on July 25.

AFP

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US rapper Kanye West, whose concerts have


This past week, Nicholas Cage reminded people he doesn’t always suck.

Also, X-Men ’97 fans got some more great news, and there’s more on the way.

X-Men '97

Photo courtesy of Marvel Animation. © 2024 MARVEL.

Oh, and Tom Holland is willingly going through puberty again.

I’ll explain all the details in MarvelBlog News for May 31st, 2026.

Return of the King

Spider-Man Noir

Spider-Man Noir Concept Art. Marvel.com

For a time in the 1990s, a super-weird actor wholly reinvented himself.

The nephew of legendary director Francis Ford Coppola, Cage had started young.

He got a role on an obscure ABC television series when he was just 17.

Then, he had a small part in the seminal teen comedy, Fast Times at Ridgemont High.

Spider-Man Noir

Spider-Man Noir. Image: Marvel.com

After a time, Cage developed a reputation as a free-thinker with eclectic taste for roles.

He was also considered a weirdo by many, charges he’s never going to beat.

John Guydo "Avengers Infinity Saga" SET - Noir Variant John Guydo "Avengers Infinity Saga" SET - Noir Variant John Guydo "Avengers Infinity Saga" SET - Noir Variant John Guydo "Avengers Infinity Saga" SET - Noir Variant John Guydo "Avengers Infinity Saga" SET - Noir Variant

Photo: Bottleneck Gallery

However, talent runs strong in the Coppola gene pool, something he proved.

The actor pulled off a weird double-dip of comedy with Raising Arizona and Moonstruck.

Image: Disney

For the latter role, he earned a reputation as a “serious actor” for a time.

He cemented this identity with Leaving Las Vegas, which earned him an Academy Award.

image: Amazon

At this point, Cage pivoted HARD into the wildly unlikely role of action hero.

His love for strange stories paid dividends thanks to two odd choices.

Source: Marvel

Cage anchored The Rock, Face/Off, and Con Air, all of which overachieved at the box office.

His next film, Gone in 60 Seconds, performed well enough and leveled up Angelina Jolie as well.

Spider-Man Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade balloon

Photo: Macy’s (via Polygon).

Suddenly, one of the strangest people in Hollywood was arguably the hottest action hero.

This trend didn’t last for long, but a four-movie run of excellence is better than most get.

Spider-Man Thanksgiving Day Parade Balloon

Photo: Macy’s (via Polygon).

Since then, everyone knows the deal with Cage. His career runs hot and cold.

The actor has performed in the National Treasure franchise but also…Drive Angry.

Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man

Photo: Marvel

For years, Cage unsuccessfully politicked to become Superman as well.

His coveting of the job led to his being cast as an alternate reality version for one DC film.

Batman v Superman

Photo: Warner Bros.

I certainly didn’t have Cage being a Marvel superhero again on my bingo card 19 years after Ghost Rider, but…

Retro Is In

I only hate spiders

Photo: Amazon

Spider-Noir finally debuted on Amazon Prime this week.

As a reminder, Sony owns the media licensing rights to Spider-Man characters.

Marvel

Source: Marvel

No matter how ridiculous they are, Sony can make movies and television series about them.

Sony had previously signed a comprehensive deal with Amazon.

Spider-Man hates traveling through the Multi-verse

Image: Marvel

Plans called for several Spider-based stories to appear on the streaming service.

We later found out that Amazon soured on the project without informing Sony.

Source: Marvel

The writer’s rooms for these projects either weren’t taken seriously or never got off the ground.

So, the deal appeared dead right up until Cage confirmed that he was Spider-Noir.

Source: Sony

Since Cage is, you know, a weirdo, nobody took him seriously.

As fate would have it, the actor was being sincere about the project.

Source: Marvel

Also, Good Cage showed up for a change, not the Cage of Renfield.

This past week, Spider-Noir debuted on Amazon, and it’s…great?!

Source: Marvel

Yes, that’s the consensus about the series, which is currently 92 percent fresh on Rotten Tomatoes.

I know. I don’t believe it, either. However, Metacritic gives it a solid 72.

Source: Marvel

Even more astoundingly, IMDb users currently grade it at 8.2 out of 10, which is terrific.

Folks, Spider-Noir is good. That’s not me talking but rather the consensus opinion.

Source: Marvel

If you own an Amazon Prime account – and odds are that you do – you should be watching.

Marvel Miscellany

Image: Disney

War was declared in the new trailer for season two of X-Men ’97.

Watch this clip and then tell me that you’re not excited for this battle:

You can’t, can you? Of course not. This is the big time for X-Men.

Image: Disney

Fans of the original animated series remember two stories the most.

One is the Phoenix/Dark Phoenix angle, and the other is Apocalypse.

Apocalypse X-Men Animated Series

Photo: IMDb

Now, we’re getting a multiple timeline struggle between The Mutants.

The scattered X-Men must work together to battle Apocalypse.

Image: Marvel

Some will face him during his origin story, while others get it worse.

They must take him down when he’s at the height of his power.

Image: Marvel

Also, this teaser briefly shows a glimpse of Cable, which is important.

“The name’s Cable. Remember it.” That quote has lived rent-free in my head for 30 years.

Image: Marvel

Now, we’re getting the sequel, and it’s going to be incredible.

Somehow, that’s not all, either. Empire Online got the big scoop.

Image: Marvel

Work is already underway on season four of X-Men ’97.

So, we know that we’re getting at least two more seasons of this great show.

Image: Marvel

Circling back to Spider-Man, Tom Holland may have just said too much.

Apparently, the Spider-puberty story was his idea. Gross.

Photo: Marvel

Spider-Man: Brand New Day includes a plot where Spider-Man undergoes…changes.

They’re apparently related to his age and *ahem* biology.

Photo: Marvel

Tom Holland claims he wanted this, which is just weird.

Oddly, he’s unknowingly bringing an idea full circle after 30 years.

Photo: Marvel

James Cameron had originally pitched a similar idea during the 1990s.

At the time, the iconic director was attached to Spider-Man, and that was his big idea.

Photo: Marvel

Now, we’re getting the same basic premise with Holland in 2026. Yay?

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The actor who played what is arguably DC‘s most underrated Joker to date has an almost 30-year-long history working in the franchise’s projects, which makes their time as the Clown Prince of Crime all the more impressive. Several of the actors who have played the Joker over the years are still to this day some of the most famous superhero movie or show actors of all time, thanks to both the popularity of the Joker as a character, and the impressive quality of their performances.

However, not every actor who provides a solid performance as the Joker gets the same level of attention. Indeed, as a result of DC’s extensive on-screen history – and the fact many Batman projects get less long-term appreciation than the likes of The Dark Knight trilogy or Batman: The Animated Series – plenty of interesting depictions of the Joker have still fallen to the wayside in terms of attention.

One of the best examples of this, somewhat ironically, involves one of the most storied DC actors in the franchise’s history, who has had a wide range of roles in an assortment of DC shows, movies, and games over the years – though their biggest was that of the Joker, even if this performance is generally not given the same level of appreciation or attention that many other movie or show takes on the villain receive.

Kevin Michael Richardson Is Arguably DC’s Most Underrated Joker

Kevin Michael Richardson as Joker in The Batman 2004 laughing
Kevin Michael Richardson as Joker in The Batman 2004 laughing

Despite being nominated for two Daytime Emmy Awards for his performance as the Joker, Kevin Michael Richardson’s time as the character is still often underappreciated in comparison to some of the most famous figures who’ve been cast in the role.

This is partially due to Richardson having voiced the Joker in an animated release – as generally, animated superhero movies and shows garner less attention than their live-action counterparts, with only a few exceptions – and partially due to Richardson’s Joker appearing in 2004-2008’s The Batman, which is itself often a show that falls to the wayside even when people are talking about animated Batman series.

In effect, this means The Batman and Kevin Michael Richardson’s Joker are equally underrated, as both are staggeringly interesting takes on the Dark Knight’s mythos, and all the more interesting because of the way they play with the pre-existing lore through things like altering designs and characterizations in ways that many other DC releases are reluctant to.

This is perhaps best evident when looking at how Kevin Michael Richardson depicts his iteration of the Joker, as the animated Clown Prince of Crime plays further into the more playful and unhinged prankster element of his character than a lot of other depictions do.

Between his red-eyed and shoeless design, his endlessly energetic but intelligent manner of speaking, and the decision to make him more of a physical threat for the Caped Crusader, there’s plenty to enjoy about the way The Batman show pulled off its version of the DC villain.

Kevin Michael Richardson’s DC Roles Expand Far Beyond Just The Joker

Kevin Michael Richardson's Joker in 2004's The Batman
Kevin Michael Richardson’s Joker in 2004’s The Batman

Kevin Michael Richardson’s Joker often being the most underrated rendition of the Joker is all the more of a shame given the voice actor has an extensive history with DC roles that ranges across the course of several decades.

Though Richardson’s role as the Joker is his biggest role with DC, the actor also played several roles in cult classic Teen Titans – including major villain Trigon – played the Joker again in The Batman Vs Dracula, and appeared in Batman: Under The Red Hood, The New Batman Adventures, Batman Beyond, Static Shock, and Batman: The Brave & The Bold, to name but a few of the other series he’s performed in.

With the earliest of these roles being in 1996-1997’s Superman: The Animated Series, and the latest being in 2025’s animated movie Bat-Fam, it’s clear that Kevin Michael Richardson’s time with the franchise is likely to continue for many years to come – which makes his biggest role all the more noteworthy, and all the more impressive, since it seemingly helped cement a decades-long working tenure with DC overall.

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The actor who played what is arguably

Ubisoft looks set to reveal a remake and remaster of classic Rayman platformers.

According to a listing that briefly appeared on the Xbox Store, a remaster of Ubisoft’s 2011 platformer, Rayman Origins, is in the works.

According to a now-pulled listing, archived by social media users, ‘Rayman Origins: Enhanced Edition’ will feature 4K / 60fps visuals and modern quality-of-life improvements. It will also include content previously exclusive to the PS Vita version, according to the listing.

The store listing follows a report claiming that Ubisoft is planning a larger remake of the 2013 title Rayman Legends. According to Dealabs, ‘Rayman Legends Retold’ is being developed by Ubisoft Montpellier, with an October release planned.

Among the expected new features is an online multiplayer cooperative mode for up to 4 players simultaneously, it’s claimed. The original game featured offline multiplayer only.

According to Dealabs, Legends Retold will have a physical edition for PS5 and Nintendo Switch 2 and will likely be revealed during this week’s PlayStation State of Play on June 2.

If the two games arrive this year, it will cap an eventful 12 months for the Ubisoft character, which celebrated its 30th anniversary with a collection of retro games from Digital Eclipse in February.

And the revival might not end there: last year, Mario + Rabbids studio Ubisoft Milan was spotted staffing up for what it described as a “AAA” Rayman game. References to the title were found in now-removed job ads, which were spotted and archived by Reddit users.