Monthly Archives: May 2017
Street Fighter 2 Could Determine Capcom’s Switch Support
Capcom will assess how much it will support the Nintendo Switch based on sales of Ultra Street Fighter II: The Final Challengers, according to its COO.
Speaking to Toyokeizei (and spotted by NeoGAF user Calm Mind), Haruhiro Tsujimoto explained the company's current policy towards Nintendo's new hardware:
"With Street Fighter 2 going on sale in May," he explained (per an IGN translator), "Capcom will monitor its performance with regard to supporting the Switch."
It's not clear whether Tsujimoto is implying that Capcom may withdraw entirely from creating Switch games if the game sees poor sales, if it will reassess games it already has planned behind the scenes, or if this a more positive feeling - that if Street Fighter 2 performs well, it may increase Switch game production.
Samsung TV Update Should Fix a Major Switch Problem
An issue on Samsung TVs that saw them automatically switching HDMI channel to a Nintendo Switch console in sleep mode should be fixed soon.
Samsung's latest TVs include a feature that has them automatically switch to what they perceive to be a newly-active HDMI input, but docked Switch consoles (among other devices) appear to trigger that feature even when notionally turned off.
Speaking to The Verge (via Polygon), a spokesperson said: "Samsung has been following the comments on our Community Thread and we will be issuing a Firmware update early this summer that will address this behavior and provide the level of convenience that was intended."
Lucasfilm on Unmasking Captain Phasma
Lucasfilm Story Group creative executive, Pablo Hidalgo has revealed new details about the Star Wars character, Captain Phasma.
Speaking to Vanity Fair, Hidalgo spoke about the iconic chrome captain and why they decided to keep her face a mystery for the first film in the new trilogy.
“I think a big part of the allure of her character was just wondering what might be underneath,” says Hidalgo “It was only relatively recently that we wanted to commit to the idea that there was a human under there. The Force Awakens left that question, but as we got further into Last Jedi, as well as some other stories we’re thinking about with Phasma, we had to ask ourselves, ‘All right, do we agree there’s a human under there?’ ”
Disneyland May Offer Hints at Characters Coming to MCU
There are a ton of cool items on display at the new Guardians of the Galaxy - Mission: Breakout attraction at Disneyland Resort's California Adventure park (you can read my full reaction to the new attraction), and it's hard not to wonder if some could potentially hint at the Marvel Cinematic Universe's future - including a big nod to Thor character Beta Ray Bill.
As you queue up, the pretense of the ride is that you are inside the collection of Taneleer Tivan (Benicio Del Toro - one of many actors from the Guardians movies reprising his role here) and many familiar elements from MCU films and TV series are present, such as an Ultron drone (Avengers: Age of Ultron), a Nova Corps uniform (Guardians of the Galaxy) and Terrigen crystals (Agents of SHIELD). However, we'd also been told by Disney and Marvel representatives that we should look for items from Marvel comics that have not been seen in the MCU -- at least not yet -- with the idea that some of these inclusions could hint at what's to come in future films and TV series, while others are simply fun nods to the comics.
The Guardians of the Galaxy Disneyland Ride is Awesome
The new attraction Guardian of the Galaxy – Mission: Breakout opens at Disney California Adventure at the Disneyland Resort this weekend, and there’s a lot of excitement about it… mixed with some trepidation.
That trepidation is fueled by love for The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, the rightfully beloved attraction it replaced and, essentially took over, given Mission Breakout is in a reworked version of the same building, using a reconfigured version of the same ride system – an elevator, that hurls guests up and down.
However, having gotten the chance to ride Mission: Breakout, I have to say I’m now 100% sold on it and enforce it as a thrilling, incredibly fun attraction in its own right. It’s a crowd-pleaser and I think the vast majority who go on it will leave with a big grin on their face. Here’s why.
The 100 Creator on the Season Finale’s Big Reveals
Warning: Full spoilers The 100: Season 4 finale follow.
The 100 closed out Season 4 with some huge reveals, as a time jump found Clarke (Eliza Taylor) alive and well on Earth six years after the death wave hit, accompanied by a young girl we’d never met – only for a prison transport ship to arrive, singling to Clarke that her friends were still gone, but a potential new threat had arrived.
I spoke to The 100 executive producer/ showrunner Jason Rothenberg about these developments and what they mean for the show in Season 5 next year.
IGN: The assumption with that prisoner ship is we’re about to meet an entirely new group.
Jason Rothenberg: They’re a totally new group of people. But there are Easter eggs in Season 4 that point to long duration mining space missions and a group of prisoners that went missing. So that’s there in the background of a few different scenes in an early episode and a middle-season episode. I was trying to plant some scenes for that story. But no question it’s a total left turn that brings the thing back full circle. Obviously The 100, in the pilot, were prisoners coming to an earth they thought was uninhabited. Now here comes this group of prisoners coming to an Earth that may or may not be inhabited, and now Clarke is the Grounder. So it really shifts perspective in a cool way, putting Clarke in the position of the person that threw the spear at Jasper in the pilot. That was what was most exciting to me about that idea, is the full circle nature of it and the perspective shift.
Spider-Man: Homecoming – New Trailer Secrets Revealed
The third domestic trailer for Spider-Man: Homecoming hit today, so let's break down all the finer points and reveals in the piece.
Right off the bat we see another new element of Tom Holland’s Spidey suit. The tech-based costume of course was designed for Peter Parker by Tony Stark, and each trailer has revealed a bit more of its capabilities. Here we see that it has a JARVIS-like AI interface, though one with a female voice. Also, 576 possible webshooter combinations! And you thought web balls were fancy...
It’s also notable that Peter has an internal display not unlike that of the Iron Man suit. Makes sense. The trailer also gives us our best look yet at how saggy the suit is before it vacuum-fits to Peter’s body… at the touch of a spider-symbol. We even get to see a couple of the aforementioned 576 webshooter combos when Spidey webs a thief to another web and leaves him dangling in the air.
Every Secret Hidden in Game of Thrones’ Season 7 Trailer
The Great War is coming in Game of Thrones, and the Season 7 trailer gave us a preview of some of the epic battles and political showdowns we can expect this year.
The biggest fight showcased is a clash between Daenerys’ Dothraki and Unsullied army with Queen Cersei’s Lannister forces. Even Drogon gets into the fight in the coolest moment of the trailer. There seem to be two elements of this massive battle: first, the showdown between the Dothraki and Lannister army in an open field, and second, the Unsullied overtaking a Lannister keep. While there is a chance this keep is King’s Landing, it’s more likely that it’s the Lannister home of Casterly Rock.
Star Wars: Joseph Fiennes Almost Played Obi-Wan Kenobi
George Lucas' daughter cost The Handmaid's Tale star Joseph Fiennes the role of Obi-Wan Kenobi in Star Wars: Episode I -- The Phantom Menace.
In an interview with TheWrap, Fiennes revealed that, after a number of auditions for the role, it was whittled down to two candidates: Fiennes and Ewan McGregor, whom Fiennes attended drama school with. After moving forward to the next level in the audition process and impressing both George Lucas and casting director Robin Gurland, Fiennes had to then meet with Lucas' young daughter.
Joseph Fiennes in Risen.
Tron: Legacy Director Reportedly Eyed for Top Gun 2
Tron: Legacy director Joseph Kosinski is reportedly the frontrunner to helm Top Gun 2.
Variety reports Kosinski is the number one directorial choice for Paramount and Skydance Pictures, and while no offer has been made yet, one is believed to be imminent.
Kosinski previously worked with Top Gun star Tom Cruise on the 2013 sci-fi film Oblivion, and Cruise has reportedly been keen on working with Kosinski again. He was close to starring as car designer Carroll Shelby in Kosinski's racing film Go Like Hell before the film was canned.
While promoting The Mummy, Cruise confirmed Top Gun 2 is "definitely happening" and will begin filming sometime next year.