The race to cast the next Batman has taken an unexpected turn, with the relatively unknown Brandon Sklenar now leading betting markets at a one-in-three probability. Viewed from Hollywood, this signals James Gunn’s preference for a younger actor capable of anchoring the role over a decade. Alan Ritchson and Jake Gyllenhaal, both better known, trail behind at lower odds. This search for fresh faces mirrors a broader industry appetite for revitalised intellectual property.

That appetite is evident in the critical realm as well. The horror film Obsession has landed a 96% score on Rotten Tomatoes, the highest for the genre so far in 2026. Its premise — a romantic’s wish on a mystical willow turned sinister — taps into a vein of folk horror that has proved durable with audiences.

Netflix, meanwhile, continues to mine established properties for streaming success. Man on Fire, a series adaptation of the novel that spawned the Denzel Washington film, has climbed to the top of Netflix’s charts a full week after its debut, a trajectory that analysts in London say makes a second season increasingly likely. The platform is also doubling down on anime adaptations: Devil May Cry will return for a second season on 12 May, picking up immediately after the first season’s finale. In Spain, the streaming giant has released the second season of its hit crime thriller El caso Hartung, a six-episode arc centred on a stalker and a cold case, drawing comparisons to the true-crime genre’s enduring pull.

French publisher Nacon offered its own contribution to the gaming landscape this week, unveiling a 35-minute showcase that highlighted Hunter: The Reckoning – Deathwish, a first-person supernatural investigation from the studio behind RoboCop: Rogue City. The presentation also featured the moody horror title The Mound: Omen of Cthulhu, a name that signals a growing willingness among game developers to lean into literary horror.

What unites these disparate announcements is a single strategic thread: the relentless conversion of proven stories into new formats. Whether through rebooting a superhero, adapting a video game for episodic television, or translating a horror concept across media, the entertainment industry is betting heavily on the familiar. The question, as viewed from Madrid and Los Angeles alike, is whether audiences will tire of the formula before the well runs dry.