Lea van der Merwe

Lea van der Merwe is a writer from Cape Town, South Africa. She has a coffee addiction, a dog she adores, and a love of all things Marvel and Star Wars. When she's not working, she's traveling the world while listening to old school rock 'n roll.

Looper's content is a collaboration between a core group of experienced entertainment editors and a vast team of writers, graphic designers, interviewers, and experts in all things entertainment and pop culture. Our goal is to provide up-to-the-minute breaking news coverage as well as original and engaging opinion and editorial content that serves fans of movies, television, and genre media in general.

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Stories By Lea van der Merwe

Movies

Comic Book Movie Fans Finally Get Amazing News About These Upcoming Releases

It's been a long wait, but Marvel and DC fans have finally gotten some good news. With a raft of 2020 features having been pushed back to the fall or later, fans had reason for concern that James Gunn's upcoming flicks might suffer a similar fate. This, however, does not appear to be the case.

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Movies

Why Davis From Code 8 Looks So Familiar

The 2019 sci-fi film Code 8 has officially dropped on Netflix. A feature-length version of a Canadian short (just 10 minutes of action) by the same name, the new Code 8 offers more drama for fans to indulge in and more time to spend with familiar faces. One of them is the actor who plays Davis.

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Movies

Marvel Gave This Actor The Biggest Ultimatum To Join The MCU

Don Cheadle has appeared in seven Marvel films alongside Iron Man and the rest of the Avengers, making it quite a lucrative deal that the actor signed with Marvel back in 2009. It was a bit of a wild ride, though, and Cheadle recently opened up about how he actually got the role in the first place.

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Television

Here's How Much Money The Kids On Modern Family Really Made

The cast of Modern Family has had fans laughing for years with their bizarre and often downright ridiculous schemes. The popular sitcom came to a tearful end on April 8, 2020, after 11 seasons on ABC. The kids that anchored the cast were paid a small fortune to appear on the sitcom.

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Movies

The Original Trilogy Easter Egg You Totally Missed In The Star Wars Sequels

The Star Wars universe is rife with Easter eggs peppered throughout the 11 films that have been released to date. One of these, from the sequel trilogy, is a reference that dates all the way back to A New Hope in 1977, as confirmed by the official Star Wars Twitter page.

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Movies

Why Tracy From The Roommate Looks So Familiar

The Roommate featured a face you may have recognized: Aly Michalka, who played Tracy. It's a drastic change from the roles most people associate Michalka with.

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Movies

Relive One Of Avengers: Endgame's Best Scenes With Opening Night Live Reactions

It's been almost a year to the day since the release of Marvel's superhero ensemble of epic proportions, Avengers: Endgame. The film was filled with incredible moments, but one stands out above all others when it comes to the raucous cheering heard in theaters across the globe on opening night.

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Movies

Whatever Happened To Cam Gigandet From The Roommate?

Cam Gigandet is a name recognizable from a number of projects: The O.C., Twilight, Burlesque, The Roommate, and more. Whatever the association that comes to mind, Gigandet seems to have gone relatively quiet, with fewer big-name projects on his resume these days. What's he really been up to?

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Movies

Flash Fans Are Outraged, Want Ezra Miller Gone Immediately

An incident involving actor Ezra Miller has sent fans of the DCEU into a frenzy. On April 6, a video started circulating that appears to show Miller choking a female fan before dragging her to the ground. While many thought it might be a joke, the clip has since been confirmed as being genuine.

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Movies

The Detail In Alita: Battle Angel That Doesn't Make Any Sense

It's been more than a year since the release of Alita: Battle Angel, and fans of the popular manga it was based on still have some questions surrounding the film. Somehow, by the time the credits roll, many of the questions from the start of the movie have still not been answered.

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Television

The Untold Truth Of Nell Jones From NCIS: Los Angeles

As we ponder the reason Nell Jones is leaving NCIS: Los Angeles, let's dive into the history of the character.

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Television

The Good Doctor Season 4 - What We Know So Far

The Good Doctor series has been renewed for a fourth season (which broke in February 2020). Here's everything we know so far about the upcoming fourth season.

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Television

The Real Reason Nell Is Leaving NCIS: Los Angeles

On Sunday, March 29, 2020, NCIS: Los Angeles dropped a bombshell: Renée Felice Smith's Nell Jones is planning to leave, using her accrued vacation weeks before potentially resigning for good. But what's the real reason Nell will no longer be a part of NCIS: Los Angeles?

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Television

The Best Episodes Of The Big Bang Theory, According To IMDb

Over 12 seasons, The Big Bang Theory kept fans across the globe endlessly entertained by the quirky, socially awkward scientists and their pursuits in life and love. There are a total of 279 episodes of the series, but which are held in highest regard?

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Television

The Real Reason They Don't Say 'Zombie' On The Walking Dead

Most people who describe The Walking Dead to their friends and family use the word "zombie" when trying to give a short synopsis of the popular post-apocalyptic horror show. But why don't the characters on The Walking Dead actually refer to said monsters as "zombies"?

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Television

Will Cote De Pablo Return For NCIS Season 18?

Cote de Pablo shocked fans — and apparently her castmates too — during season 17 of popular crime drama NCIS, when her character Special Agent Ziva David made an unexpected return to the series. She has since guest starred in a handful of episodes, but is she planning on sticking around this time?

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Television

Here's How Much Doc Antle From Tiger King Is Really Worth

Netflix's latest crime docuseries Tiger King has been making waves all across the globe, not only for the crime and tiger aspect, but for its bizarre cast of characters — like Bhagavan "Doc" Antle, the owner of a Myrtle Beach Safari attraction. How much is "Doc" Antle really worth?

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Television

The Big Bang Theory Plot Hole That Still Bothers Fans

Much like those who adore the hit sitcom Friends, fans of The Big Bang Theory haven't stopped watching the show just because it ended. Recently, viewers have uncovered plot holes and inconsistencies in the series' narrative — one of which is particularly bothersome.

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Movies

Zack Snyder Confirms Justice League Was Originally Planned As Five-Movie Arc

The initial plan for Justice League and its fellow DC films looked wildly different, according to Zack Snyder. The director was speaking during a live stream watch party when he opened up about Justice League, and what the DCEU was supposed to look like after the superheroes' big crossover.

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Television

The Real Reason Stephen Amell Will Never Return To The Arrowverse

After eight years of pulling on the Emerald Archer's uniform, Stephen Amell has made a startling statement about his future as part of the Arrowverse. Many fans still had hope of seeing Amell and his Green Arrow in other Arrowverse series in the future, but he has effectively quashed those dreams.

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Movies

All Frozen 3 Rumors And Spoilers Leaked So Far

Frozen II barely cooled off its run in theaters before fans were clamoring for information about a possible third installment of the popular Disney franchise.

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Sitcoms

The Real Reason Ross' Son Disappeared On Friends

On the beloved sitcom Friends, Ross' son Ben was played by twins Dylan and Cole Sprouse, but disappeared from the show completely. Why did he vanish?

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Television

The Real Reason The Bones Spin-Off Was Canceled

The popular crime drama Bones ran for 12 seasons before reaching its end in 2017. During its lengthy run, creator Hart Hanson came up with an idea for a spin-off of the popular show, but for some reason, that series — titled The Finder — lasted only a single season. What happened?

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Television

Here's What Ivy Calvin From Storage Wars Is Doing Now

While Ivy Calvin, a.k.a. the King of Palmdale, is a well-known and much-loved cast member of the popular reality television show Storage Wars, there's so much more to him than an aggressively calculated bidding technique. Here's what Calvin is doing now.

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Television

What Edwina Registre And Shana Dahan From Storage Wars Are Doing Now

Edwina Registre and Shana Dahan may have been late additions to the Storage Wars family when they joined in 2017, but the duo were a welcome burst of youth and energy nonetheless. Here's what the lively duo have been up to since Storage Wars slowed down in January 2019.

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Movies

All Avengers 5 Rumors And Spoilers Leaked So Far

The dust has barely settled (no pun intended) on Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, but fans of the popular superhero franchise have been clamoring for more from the bosses at Marvel Studios. We don't yet know what Avengers 5 could look like, but that won't keep us from speculating.

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Television

The Most Valuable Locker Ever Discovered On Storage Wars

The "Storage Wars" cast has found some incredible finds. But which locker had the best loot?

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