Character crossovers and storyline mash-ups are nothing new. But if the premise has been done before, are the character overlaps and reincarnations worth a watch? Angry Nerd makes the case for metaphysical mash-ups, including Showtime’s new “Penny Dreadful.”

After Roland Emmerich missed the mark with Godzilla in 1998, we had reason to be skeptical of Gareth Edwards’ new remake. Fxguide’s Mike Seymour goes inside the special effects behind the latest incarnation, in which effects company MPC designed the largest Godzilla yet, featuring an animalistic appearance with anthropomorphized traits.

Angelina Jolie stars in Disney’s new Maleficent, featuring a forest world of detailed visual effects. Mike Seymour delves into how facial movement experts Digital Domain, worked to re-create realistic, fully digital counterparts to the story’s three fairies.

Condé Nast présents WIRED by Design, a two-day live magazine exploring the intersection of cuture and design. Held from September 29-October 1 WxD will feature personal stories from today’s most influential creative thinkers — from architects and filmmakers to artists and chefs — along with wide–ranging conversations, live performances, and amazing meals. For more information visit live.wired.com.

In X-Men: Days of Future Past, the mutant clan goes head-to-head with the Sentinels—a group of dystopian-era robots. Effects experts MPC created the Sentinels’ special effects using a follicle-like animation, comprised of tiny scales. Mike Seymour explains how they accomplished the technically complicated designs.

Intended to pick up where the original show left off, the web series “Star Trek Continues” has brought about a wave of nostalgic appreciation for the classic sci-fi show. After a successful Kickstarter campaign and now, with two full webisodes under its belt, the show, by producer/director/super fan/star Vic Mignogna, is ushering in brand-new voyages of the starship Enterprise.

The attention is all in the details on set at Star Trek Continues. As the cast and crew begin to film the latest episode—a follow-up to the episode “Mirror, Mirror,” which took place in the second season of the original series—see how Vic Mignogna and team re-created the incredibly detailed set.

From the transporter room to the sick bay, take a full tour of the stage used in Star Trek Continues. Modeled after the original set used in the late '60s, Vic Mignogna takes us behind the painstakingly recreated USS Enterprise.

Get to know the dedicated cast and crew that are bringing Star Trek Continues to life. Plus, find out which cast member spent time on set of the original series when his dad starred as Scotty.

It’s more than just a prop. Vic Mignogna, who stars as Captain Kirk in “Star Trek Continues,” shows us the famous Captain’s chair and explains how the set designer re-created a replica of the original version, down to the hand-poured control buttons.

Designer Greg Smith walks us through the process of scaling up the massive beast to see how much volume is needed to create it. After taking photos and videos of the rough frame and superimposing it onto an image of the creature, the team is able to get a better idea of what dimensions they'll need to bring it to life.

In the latest incarnation of Dawn of the Planet of the Apes Andy Serkis and Toby Kebbell deliver human motion-capture performances to help bring the realistic apes to life. Shot with a combination of high-speed cameras, Mike Seymour breaks down the tech behind shooting the motion-capture scenes on location versus on a sound stage.

In season four of Game of Thrones a combination of CGI and live character action were used to create impressive fight scenes and stunning visual effects. Mike Seymour breaks down the tech behind the hit HBO show.

In Brett Ratner's new big-budget flick Hercules, the title star portrayed by Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson battles mythical creatures, including a three-headed dog, giant boars and lions, and multi-headed serpents. Mike Seymour shows how the visual effects experts at Double Negative created the complicated, yet lifelike beasts.

What inspires a 17-year-old to go into cancer research or a 19-year-old to develop an obsession with astrophysics? Find out, as the 2014 Thiel Fellows explain how they first discovered their passions and why they've decided to turn them into careers.

Mike Seymour breaks down the tech behind the latest Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles flick, including the facial animation effects. Plus, find out how an improvised, off-camera moment turned into one of the funniest scenes in the movie.

Based on the hit YA novel of the same name, the upcoming flick The Maze Runner takes place in a post-apocalyptic world. To create the vast maze and relentless mechanical creatures called Grievers, FX experts Method Studios used technical and complicated special FX. Mike Seymour breaks down the tech behind the film.

Thanks to 40 years of increasingly cheap and tiny processors, new software, cheap sensors, and digital manufacturing, we can build products that seemed impossible a decade ago. WIRED has dubbed this new design renaissance Silicon Modern. Our editors collected 10 great exemplars of this movement, encompassing big ideas, inspiring projects, and new forms of expression. Silicon Modern is here, and design will never be the same. Original Composition by Nico Bergmann Recorded at First Voice Studio

Architect Bjarke Ingels at WIRED by Design, 2014. In partnership with Skywalker Sound, Marin County, CA. To learn more visit: live.wired.com

Mythbuster Adam Savage at WIRED by Design, 2014. In partnership with Skywalker Sound, Marin County, CA. To learn more visit: live.wired.com

Dava Newman and Gui Trotti at WIRED by Design, 2014. In partnership with Skywalker Sound, Marin County, CA To learn more visit: live.wired.com

Designer Ethan Imboden at WIRED by Design, 2014. In partnership with Skywalker Sound, Marin County, CA. To learn more visit: live.wired.com

Greg Petroff at WIRED by Design, 2014. In partnership with Skywalker Sound, Marin County, CA. To learn more visit: live.wired.com

Jake Barton at WIRED by Design, 2014. In partnership with Skywalker Sound, Marin County, CA. To learn more visit: live.wired.com

Sarah Stein Greenberg at WIRED by Design, 2014. In partnership with Skywalker Sound, Marin County, CA. To learn more visit: live.wired.com

Michael Hendrix at WIRED by Design, 2014. In partnership with Skywalker Sound, Marin County, CA. To learn more visit: live.wired.com

Natasha Jen at WIRED by Design, 2014. In partnership with Skywalker Sound, Marin County, CA. To learn more visit: live.wired.com

David Chang at WIRED by Design, 2014. In partnership with Skywalker Sound, Marin County, CA. To learn more visit: live.wired.com

Christina Tosi at WIRED by Design, 2014. In partnership with Skywalker Sound, Marin County, CA. To learn more visit: live.wired.com

Jennifer Colliau at WIRED by Design, 2014. In partnership with Skywalker Sound, Marin County, CA. To learn more visit: live.wired.com

On ABC’s “Once Upon a Time,” Disney characters like Snow White, the Queen of Hearts, and Peter Pan are set against a modern backdrop. Realistic visual effects bring to life the magic and mystery of Storybrooke—the town they now inhabit. Mike Seymour from fxguide goes behind the stunning FX and animation that are needed to create the fairytale mashup.

Dan Winters at WIRED by Design, 2014. In partnership with Skywalker Sound, Marin County, CA. To learn more visit: live.wired.com

Commune at WIRED by Design, 2014. In partnership with Skywalker Sound, Marin County, CA. To learn more visit: live.wired.com

Carl de Torres at WIRED by Design, 2014. In partnership with Skywalker Sound, Marin County, CA. To learn more visit: live.wired.com

Ije Nwokorie at WIRED by Design, 2014. In partnership with Skywalker Sound, Marin County, CA. To learn more visit: live.wired.com

Ian Bogost at WIRED by Design, 2014. In partnership with Skywalker Sound, Marin County, CA. To learn more visit: live.wired.com

YACHT at WIRED by Design, 2014. In partnership with Skywalker Sound, Marin County, CA. To learn more visit: live.wired.com

Weta Digital was behind the striking effects in two of this year's big-franchise films: “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes”—which picked up an Oscar nomination for best visual effects—and “The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies.” Mike Seymour takes an exclusive look at the impressive, large-scale battle sequences that Weta designed for the final installment in The Hobbit trilogy.

In the new series “Agent Carter” Marvel expands its universe to the small screen with help from Industrial Light & Magic. Creating high-quality visual effects was nothing new for the the award-winning team, but working against grueling weekly delivery dates proved to be a monstrous challenge. Mike Seymour finds out how they did it.

Neill Blomkamp's new dystopian sci-fi thriller "Chappie" stars a fully digital A.I. robot as the title character, acted out by Sharlto Copley. Mike Seymour goes behind the scenes of the CG robots.

Designer and JimmyJane Founder Ethan Imboden at The 2015 Adult Novelty Expo, Las Vegas

The new DreamWorks film “Home” commits the worst of all CGI sins. In an attempt to make cute, kid-friendly characters, “Home” ended up with shapeless purple blobs and uninteresting features. What happened to strange and kind of creepy aliens like E.T.?

Some people are worried that the new season of Game of Thrones will deviate too much from the books. Angry Nerd is worried that it won’t stray far enough. He explains why the brutal plot trims are needed when it comes to the show.

The Avengers return in Age of Ultron. Mike Seymour sat down with the men behind the special effects.

See how Industrial Light & Magic created the futuristic tech and magical world in Brad Bird’s Tomorrowland.

Shot mostly in Africa with real vehicles and complex stunts, “Mad Max: Fury Road” brings a high intensity to the post-apocalyptic franchise. Mike Seymour breaks down the complicated camerawork and VFX behind the action-adventure flick.

WHEN BJARKE INGELS set out to create the fourth and final skyscraper at the reborn World Trade Center earlier this year, he faced the same dilemma that has burdened every architect who has ventured onto New York’s most hallowed and expensive construction site.

“Jurassic World” debuted with a record-shattering opening weekend, netting nearly half a billion dollars. See how Industrial Light & Magic used motion capture to help design the complex dinosaurs, including the genetically modified Indominus rex.

He's back—this time in a time-traveling standoff. See how Arnold Schwarzenegger faced off against a digitized version of his younger self.

Find out how the visual effects came together for the end of season five on Game of Thrones, including Daenerys' elaborate and cinematic escape with her drogon.