Pooja Pillai is an entertainment journalist with Asian Media Group, where she covers cinema, pop culture, internet trends, and the politics of representation. Her work spans interviews, cultural features, and social commentary across digital platforms.
She began her reporting career as a news anchor, scripting and presenting stories for a regional newsroom. With a background in journalism and media studies, she has since built a body of work exploring how entertainment intersects with social and cultural shifts, particularly through a South Indian lens.
She brings both newsroom rigour and narrative curiosity to her work, and believes the best stories don’t just inform — they reveal what we didn’t know we needed to hear.
The John Wick franchise is expanding into animation, offering fans a fresh take on the high-octane world of assassins. Lionsgate has confirmed that an animated series titled John Wick: The Continental is in development, exploring untold stories from the universe of the hit action films.
Chad Stahelski, who directed all four John Wick movies, revealed the project during a recent interview. He emphasised that animation allows for storytelling beyond the limits of live-action, making it possible to explore characters and events in ways not seen before. This new approach aims to deepen the mythology of the franchise while maintaining the action-packed style that fans love.
The series will focus on The Continental, the exclusive hotel that serves as a neutral ground for assassins. Unlike the recent live-action miniseries that followed Winston Scott’s rise in the criminal underworld, the animated adaptation is expected to introduce fresh narratives and possibly bring back familiar characters in new scenarios.
Stahelski hinted that animation allows for creative freedom, meaning the series might feature more stylised action sequences and world-building beyond what the films could achieve. While details about the voice cast and animation style remain under wraps, the project is already generating significant excitement.
The success of John Wick at the box office has proven there is strong demand for more content set in its universe. Beyond this animated series, the franchise has already expanded with The Continental miniseries and the upcoming spin-off movie Ballerina, starring Ana de Armas.
The animated series is still in early development, with no official release date announced yet. However, given the franchise’s popularity, expectations are high. Fans eager to see a different take on the John Wick universe will likely appreciate the chance to dive deeper into its intricate world of assassins, rules, and relentless action.
As the franchise continues to grow, this new project is another step in exploring different storytelling formats, ensuring that John Wick’s legacy lives on beyond the big screen.
Nobody saw Charli XCX coming during Role Model’s Saturday Night Live slot. She just walked on stage.
Her choice of a Max's Kansas City t-shirt immediately set fan theories alight.
Swifties linked the top to Taylor Swift’s fiancé, NFL star Travis Kelce.
It turns out, the whole thing was far simpler because she grabbed the shirt from Role Model himself.
A simple t-shirt choice during a surprise cameo has sent the pop world into a spin. Charli XCX appeared on Saturday Night Live this weekend, joining musical guest Role Model for his performance, and fans are convinced her outfit contained a pointed message for Taylor Swift. The British singer’s Max’s Kansas City top, seen during the broadcast, is being widely interpreted as a new chapter in their rumoured feud, following pointed lyrics on both of their latest records.
Fans think Charli XCX trolled Taylor Swift with Kansas City shirt during surprise SNL cameo Instagram/rolemodel
What happened during the SNL performance?
The moment happened during Role Model’s set. As he sang his track Sally, When the Wine Runs Out, he called out for his ‘Sally’. On cue, Charli XCX emerged through the stage doors to a roar from the crowd, dancing through the bridge of the song. She was in full brat mode, no surprise there. A black leather skirt, those boots, the tights. But the beat-up band shirt she had borrowed? That is what did it.
— (@)
So, why is the internet losing its collective mind over a t-shirt?
Well, if you are deep in the pop gossip sphere, it makes perfect sense. Taylor Swift’s whole world lately seems to include Kansas City, thanks to her fiancé Travis Kelce playing for the Chiefs. So, when you see ‘Kansas City’ printed across Charli’s chest right after all this feud chatter? It does not look like a coincidence. It looks like a shot.
Social media lit up instantly, with fans calling the move "the tea" and calling the situation "actually romantic," a direct nod to the song from Swift’s new album The Life of a Showgirl that many believe is about Charli.
— (@)
So was the shirt really a jab at Taylor Swift?
Not according to the facts. Role Model, whose real name is Tucker Pillsbury, quickly clarified on his Instagram Story that Charli had simply borrowed the shirt from him. He had worn the very same Max’s Kansas City top, a reference to a famed New York nightclub, not the Missouri city, in promotional material for the episode. His own sophomore album is titled Kansas Anymore, making the shirt a piece of his own branding. Despite this explanation, the visual symbolism in the heat of the rumoured feud was simply too powerful for fans to ignore.
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