Horror and Sci-Fi Brief · Friday 23 October 2026
Doctor Who’s very first TARDIS team is off to wartime Malta in a new six-hour audio novel from Big Finish, and Shudder has a horror mystery that Stephen King compares to The Thing. There are first pages from the Star Wars and Marvel crossover, a London-set Dracula, a time-travel thriller in the can, strong US previews for Clayface, and an Avengers: Doomsday preview landing in the middle of the World Series.
The News That Matters
Doctor Who’s first TARDIS team heads to wartime Malta in Big Finish’s The Missing Hour
- What’s new: Big Finish released Doctor Who – The Audio Novels: The Missing Hour on Thursday 22 October
- The story: The First Doctor, Barbara, Ian and Susan arrive in Malta in June 1940, days before Barbara’s father goes missing in action
- Who’s behind it: Written by Simon Guerrier from a storyline by Fio Tretheway and Guerrier, read by Barnaby Edwards (about six hours)
- UK availability: Out now from Big Finish as a £19.99 download. The Third Doctor Adventures: The Planet Killers is also out now, at £19.99 as a download or £24.99 with the limited CD box set
It is June 1940 and Malta is under constant bombardment. Flight Officer Roddy Wright is one of a handful of Hurricane pilots defending the island, and his daughter knows exactly how his story ends. Barbara Wright grew up without him, after his plane went missing defending Malta, and the TARDIS has landed just days before it happens. She can’t change history. But how can she resist spending a little more time with the father she lost?
Barnaby Edwards, an experienced director and Dalek operator as well as an audiobook reader, narrates. Producer David Richardson calls it “a substantial slice of Season One Doctor Who”, and it follows the Fugitive Doctor news in yesterday’s brief. It is a busy week for Big Finish: Tim Treloar and Katy Manning are back as the Third Doctor and Jo in The Planet Killers, a two-story set in which they meet Anton Chekhov on Sakhalin Island and then face the Daleks. The second story features a guest cast of students from the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School.
Update: the first pages from Star Wars/Marvel: Hope Assembles put Iron Man on a rebel ship
- New development: Marvel and Lucasfilm have released the first interior pages and a new variant cover from issue 1
- The comic: A six-issue crossover by Kevin Smith and David Marquez for Star Wars’ 50th anniversary
- UK availability: UK date not yet confirmed. The series launches in January 2027
When we first reported on Star Wars/Marvel: Hope Assembles earlier this month, it was just a premise: a reality-shattering spell makes the events of A New Hope play out in the main Marvel universe, with Luke, Leia and Han teaming up with the Avengers and Spider-Man while Darth Vader and Doctor Doom join forces. Now we know how it opens.
The first pages swap the famous Tantive IV boarding for something rather sillier. Instead of Vader and his stormtroopers, Iron Man and the Human Torch burst onto the rebel ship. Tony Stark greets the startled troopers with “May the Force be with you” and explains he is looking for a Disney princess, and the rebels open fire. A variant cover by Rafael Albuquerque shows Vader wearing the Infinity Gauntlet, but covers don’t always reflect what happens inside, so don’t read too much into it yet.
Jordan Downey’s The Cycle, which Stephen King compared to The Thing, arrives on Shudder today
- The film: A horror mystery from Jordan Downey (The Head Hunter), written with Kevin Stewart
- Starring: Deborah Ann Woll, Jeffrey Donovan, Gretchen Corbett, Jack Doolan and Will Hochman
- UK availability: Streaming on Shudder in the UK from today, Friday 23 October
Deborah Ann Woll plays Meg, a forensic expert whose father vanished 36 years ago. Now his body has turned up at the scene of a horrific crime, and the more she digs into his past, the darker it gets. Jeffrey Donovan co-stars as Marks, the detective working the case alongside her.
It arrives with serious word of mouth. Stephen King called it “a terrific fright flick: The Thing meets The Silence of the Lambs”, and Dread Central gave it 4.5 out of 5 at Fantastic Fest. Downey stuck to practical effects, which is a promising sign for anyone who loves old-school horror. It is a strong Halloween-season pick, and you can find more in our What to Watch guide.
Richard Brake and Shayne Ward join London-set vampire romance Dracula: The Crimson Code
- What’s new: Filming has started, and the cast has been announced
- Cast: Amanda Jiang, Joey Phillips (Outlander), Richard Brake and Shayne Ward
- Who’s behind it: Directed by Andrea M. Catinella from a script by Enrico Tessarin, for Starmist Films
- UK availability: UK date not yet confirmed. Filming is under way in London and the English countryside
This is a female-led, modern retelling of Dracula. Amanda Jiang plays Countess Isolde Dragomir, a centuries-old vampire at the heart of London’s most exclusive social circle. Her glamorous Crimson Code parties hide an ancient feud between two vampire bloodlines, the Dragomirs and the Howes.
When Isolde kills her old enemy’s son, she draws him back into her world. Then Theo Mercer, played by Joey Phillips, arrives, and she believes he is the reincarnation of the lover she lost centuries ago. Brake, a genre favourite from Game of Thrones and Barbarian, and former Coronation Street star Shayne Ward complete the main cast.
Time-travel thriller Telephone wraps, with The Walking Dead’s Gale Anne Hurd producing
- What’s new: Filming has wrapped in Sudbury, Ontario
- Cast: Laysla De Oliveira (Lioness), Riccardo Scamarcio (A Haunting in Venice), Rohan Campbell, Tenika Davis and Michael Greyeyes
- Who’s behind it: Directed by Anthony Scott Burns (Come True) from a script by Jack Stanley, with Gale Anne Hurd among the executive producers
- UK availability: UK date not yet confirmed
Sandy is abducted by her mysterious neighbours, who tell her she must travel back in time to save the future. Once she is there, she has to choose between trusting them and following another traveller who offers to help her stop the tragedy that shaped her life. Burns made a striking dream-horror in Come True, so this independent sci-fi thriller is one to keep an eye on.
Update: Clayface takes $3.5 million in US previews as it opens in UK cinemas
- New development: An estimated $3.5 million or more from Thursday previews in the US, Deadline reports
- The forecast: A US opening weekend of $20 million to $25 million
- UK availability: In UK cinemas from today, Friday 23 October
DC Studios’ body horror is off to a solid start. Its previews are well ahead of the $2 million for Kraven the Hunter and close to the $4 million for Birds of Prey. If the forecast holds, it would give the newly combined Paramount and Warner Bros their second No. 1 opening in a row, after Street Fighter.
It is a modest-budget film by superhero standards, costing $44 million to make before marketing, and it was shot in the UK. James Watkins directs from Mike Flanagan’s script, with Tom Rhys Harries as the actor Matt Hagen. Read our Clayface Super Review, and see what else is out this weekend in our Weekly Cinema Pack.
Avengers: Doomsday special preview to air during World Series Game 1
- What’s new: Major League Baseball says an exclusive preview will air during Game 1 of the World Series on Fox tonight
- When: First pitch is at 8pm Eastern; the exact slot in the broadcast hasn’t been given
- UK availability: The broadcast starts at 1am UK time on Saturday 24 October. The film is in UK cinemas from 18 December
MLB announced it on X with a short teaser of a glowing green Avengers logo rising over a ballpark. It is billed as a preview rather than a full trailer, and Marvel hasn’t said how long it runs or whether it will go online afterwards. The Fantastic Four’s social channels are also teasing a surprise for viewers, but Marvel hasn’t announced a date for the film’s second full trailer.
Joe and Anthony Russo direct, with Robert Downey Jr. as Doctor Doom. Doom has already been painting a Spanish fortress green, so the marketing is clearly ramping up as December gets closer.
Movieversalfilm Takeaway
Big Finish has given Barbara Wright one of her most personal stories, and it sounds like a proper treat for fans of the very first series. Away from the TARDIS, The Cycle is the one to stream this weekend, and Clayface’s previews suggest DC’s smaller, stranger films can pull in a crowd.
Are you starting with The Missing Hour, streaming The Cycle or heading out to see Clayface this weekend?