Summer is officially here, and the Hollywood news is hot! Time for a round-up!

Streaming has surpassed cable and broadcast TV combined in viewing time, according to The Hollywood Reporter.  The Nielsen's The Gauge rankings of TV use showed that streaming platforms had 44.8% of U.S. viewers in May 2025 versus the combined total of cable and TV, which came to 44.2%.  This marks a milestone change in the way TV audiences receive their entertainment content, which has taken over a decade to develop (see "Streaming Passes TV").

The Punisher will make an appearance in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, according to Variety. Jon Bernthal will once again play the role of Frank Castle, as he did in the Netflix Daredevil series and Daredevil: Born Again (see "'Daredevil: Born Again'"), and join Tom Holland on this Sony-Marvel web-slinging production. Spider-Man: Brand New Day will hit theaters on July 31, 2026 (see "Best in Shows -- 2026").

Marvel Studios has found a director for the first X-Men movie in the MCU, according to Variety.  Jake Schreier, who directed Thunderbolts, will helm this project.  Schreier had been circling this directing job since mid-May (see "'Thunderbolts*' Director Talks X-Men").

Marvel Studios also released a teaser trailer for Fantastic Four: First Steps (see below).  The new trailer features H.E.R.B.I.E. the robot (see "H.E.R.B.I.E.").  This movie will hit theaters on July 25, 2025.

Netflix dropped a trailer for The Sandman Season 2 (see below).  This will be the final season of this series (see "Sandman' S2"), and it will stream in two volumes: one releasing on July 3, 2025 and one releasing on July 24, 2025.

Hanna-Barbera Studios Europe, Mr. Morris Productions, and Warner Bros. Animation are developing a new animated series based on an original IP by Gerry Anderson, the creator of the Supercar and Thunderbirds TV series (see "Thunderbirds").  The new series, called Hit Squad, is an action-comedy that is set in 1990s London and follows the adventures of an international team of spies.  The production will executive produced by Gerry's son, Jamie Anderson, who will be joined by producer Russell McLean and director Darren Walsh.