Monthly Archives: January 2016
Marvel TV Head Talks Agent Carter, Luke Cage and X-Men on TV
There's a lot more to look forward to from Marvel Television in the near future. Beyond Marvel's Agents of SHIELD and Agent Carter on ABC and Daredevil and Jessica Jones on Netflix, the company has at least eight other shows in various stages of development.
Some, like Netflix's Luke Cage and potentially ABC's Marvel's Most Wanted, will be debuting later in 2016. Others, like the two comedies Marvel is developing with ABC and FOX's X-Men-universe-set series Hellfire, are still early in the development process. What's clear is that Marvel TV is actively looking to expand its slate on the small screen, and that studios, networks and audiences are open to more.
New Venom Story Inspired by Wounded Veterans
Marvel has announced a new partnership with the non-profit organization Wounded Warrior Project. That partnership has informed this week's new issue of Venom: Space Knight, which will kick off an important chapter in Flash Thompson's life as he abandons his symbiote costume and adjusts to a new set of prosthetic legs.
According to Marvel, writer Robbie Thompson consulted with WWP spokesperson and double amputee Dan Nevins in order to provide an honest, accurate account of Flash's rehabilitation and day-to-day struggles. “Working with Wounded Warrior Project has been an invaluable part of the process of writing Venom: Space Knight,” said Thompson in Marvel's press release. “Dan Nevins' insight was inspiring, generous and deeply moving, allowing us to create a more realistic character and story for the book. I'm forever grateful for their ongoing help and guidance."
Disney Boss: Marvel to Keep Making Movies ‘Forever’
Don't expect the flow of Marvel and Star Wars films to stop anytime soon, according to Disney chairman Bob Iger.
"Marvel, you're dealing with thousands and thousands of characters--that will go on forever," Iger told the BBC. "I don't think
getting weary. But I think we keep raising the bar in terms of telling stories that bring them back, that excite them, that make it feel new and that is what we do for a living."
Meanwhile, Iger said there are four more Star Wars films in various stages of development, which are slated for the next four years. Rogue One is coming this December, followed by Star Wars Episode VIII in 2017, a Han Solo film for 2018, and Episode IX in 2019. The comment seems to rule out the rumored Boba Fett film as being in active development, since Iger didn't mention it as part of the plans.
Star Wars Voice Credits Reveal Alien Saying ‘Kojima’
An ancillary line of dialgue in Star Wars: The Force Awakens doubles as an amusing nod to Metal Gear Solid creator Hideo Kojima.
Star Wars' official website released a list of the added voice credits for off-screen roles in the recent Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and among them is a credit for Robert Stambler who, when voicing the part of the 'Red Eyed Sand Alien', said "Kojima" as it watched newcomer astromech BB-8 roll away after Kylo Ren and The First Order attacked a Jakku village. A similar credit was given to the Stormtrooper who famously called Finn (John Boyega) a traitor.
PlayStation Store Square Enix Sale Discounts a Ton of Great Games
There's currently a Square Enix Sale on the PlayStation Store and it's headlined by some pretty great games for up to 75% off.
Right now, you can pick up games like PSOne Classics Final Fantasy VI, Final Fantasy VII, and Final Fantasy VIII for $5 a piece, PS4 games Thief and Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition for $7.50 a pop, and Sleeping Dogs: Definitive Edition for $10.
For a full list of the 32 games discounted in the Square Enix Sale, head on over to the PSN Store listing. The sale will last for another week until February 2.
If you're strapped for cash and can only pick one game, I would suggest Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition, which we gave a 9.1 in our review.
Wonder Woman Has Seen the Worst of Mankind
Wonder Woman is very, very old. Several millennia old in fact.
In the new cover issue of Empire, it is revealed that Wonder Woman is 5,000 years-old. "Because she's seen it all, she has seen what humans can do, so it was very hard for her to come back and fight," said Gadot (via ComicBookMovie.com).
The recently revealed first footage of the Wonder Woman movie showcased her longevity by depicting her experiences during World War I.
Destiny’s Matchmaking System is Changing Again
Bungie is making changes to Destiny's matchmaking system. The company is reversing the changes it implemented quietly in December. The community has spoken—reducing lag is the important issue.
Since the changes were made, players have been experiencing excessive lag in Player-versus-Player combat—a side effect of Bungie's tweaking. The goal was to "find the right balance between skill and connectivity," matching players with those who equally matched in skill, preventing newer and less experienced players from getting annihilated by more competitive teams.
Connection quality was given less consideration, which angered highly-skilled players who were now experiencing increased lag. This will change with Iron Banner. Community manager DeeJ writes, "Lord Saladin's battle for the Spark will feature new matchmaking settings that will assign more emphasis to connection quality." However, the new system will still give "some consideration" to matching players with "worthy adversaries."
Scientists: Aliens Likely Existed But Have Since Gone Extinct
Is there intelligent life in our universe? We've long theorized and fantasized about sharing with other beings the nothingness of space, but scientists have recently concluded that while at one time it may have, but it's likely to have long died out by now.
“The mystery of why we haven’t found signs of aliens may have less to do with the likelihood of the origin of life or intelligence and have more to do with the rarity of the rapid emergence of biological regulation of feedback cycles on planetary surfaces,” Dr. Aditya Chopra of Australian National University told The Irish Times.
Detective Pikachu Announced Alongside Odd Video
Nintendo has announced Detective Pikachu, and it’s coming to Japanese 3DSs on February 3.
The newly-released trailer shows Pikachu in a detective hat going around a city, talking, and drinking coffee. There are some screenshots towards the end of the video, which shows the electric mouse hanging around with a boy in a red hoody.
Called Meitantei Pikachu: Shin Konbi Tanjou (which roughly translates to Detective Pikachu: Birth of a New Team), Nintendo bills the game as a "cinematic adventure." The player (aka, the trainer stand-in in the trailer) teams up with Detective Pikachu for a Sherlock Holmes-style story, filled with puzzles and mysteries. While Pikachu has appeared in spin-off games before (most notable, Hey You, Pikachu! on the N64), the big surprise here is that Pikachu talks in a decidedly non-Pikachu voice while narrating the action. Have a look at the trailer, you’ll see what we mean.
Daily Deals: Fallout 4, Halo 5, Super Cheap Memory and SSDs
$30 off a PlayStation 4 Bundle with Star Wars, Uncharted, and Call of Duty
This is currently the best PS4 deal on the internet. Right out of the gate you're saving $30 versus the $400 price tag Amazon has on the PS4 Battlefront bundle (you can get a PS4 with just CoD for $350, FYI), and getting two additional games. So if you were to buy that cheaper $350 CoD bundle, then get Battlefront and Uncharted separately, you'd still be spending at least $420, which is $50 more than this bundle would cost you. This is $70 worth games on top of a $30 discount on the system.