Monthly Archives: May 2017
Netflix Is Making a Prequel Series to The Dark Crystal
Netflix is developing a prequel series to Jim Henson's 1982 fantasy film, The Dark Crystal.
Titled The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance, this 10-episode prequel series takes place many years before the film and follows the story of three Gelfling who, after discovering the horrifying secret behind the Skeksis’ power, set out on a journey to save the world of Thra. The show will feature creatures created by Brian Froud, the original film's creature designer, and Jim Henson’s Creature Shop.
The Dark Crystal movie poster.
Age of Resistance will be filmed in the UK sometime this fall. No release has been set yet. Louis Leterrier (Now You See Me) will executive produce and direct from screenplays by Jeffrey Addiss and Will Matthews (Life in a Year), and Javier Grillo-Marxuach (The 100).
Telltale Games’ The Walking Dead Season 3 Finale Episode Release Date Announced
The fifth episode of The Walking Dead: A New Frontier, Telltale Games' third season of its ongoing series, will be released on May 30, the developer announced today.
Titled "From the Gallows," the season finale finds Richmond on the verge of collapsing. In what Telltale calls its "most tailored episode to date...the decisions you've made and bonds you've nurtured across the season will determine which characters now trust Javi to safeguard all they hold dear."
Episode 4, "Thicker Than Water," released in April. For more on that entry, check out our video review below:
Is Marvel TV About to Introduce SWORD?
Full spoilers for Marvel's Agents of SHIELD: Season 4 and speculation about how the show may tie to Marvel's Inhumans continue below.
It's not easy being the Director of SHIELD in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Every time Phil Coulson overcomes one problem, another one rears its head. That was very much the case with the recent Agents of SHIELD: Season 4 finale. Just as Coulson and his team sat down to enjoy some well-deserved R&R, they found themselves kidnapped and dragged to a mysterious space station. As far as cliffhangers go, it was a biggie.
And while at first glance it might seem hard to glean much from this sudden plot twist, we have a theory about where the series is heading in Season 5. We think Agents of SHIELD is gearing up to introduce the organization SWORD to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. For more on SHIELD's finale, make sure to check out our Q&A with the showrunners about Season 5 and heading to space.
Why Bethesda’s Review Policy is Bad For Everyone
Bethesda’s review policy is bad for everyone involved, including Bethesda. The short of that policy, for those who don’t know, is that last year, Bethesda decided to stop giving game reviewers access to their games before release. Outlets like IGN now get Bethesda games at the exact same time as the public, meaning that critics don’t have a chance to assess the game and inform readers on the quality of the game before it comes out. Usually we’d get something early, have enough time to play it, and then publish the review on an embargo date that applies to all outlets. That means no one has to rush, because there’s no benefit to being first to finish.
Bethesda doesn't do this, and of course, they don't owe anyone early access to their games - it is their product, and they absolutely aren't wrong to control how it's marketed. But giving reviewers early access is a courtesy that has existed for games, movies, books, and music for a very long time, because it’s in the best interest of consumers and publishers to have informed opinions available right as the public is most interested in knowing if a thing is good.
Black Lightning Not Part of CW’s Arrowverse
Greg Berlanti's upcoming DC series Black Lightning is not set within the The CW's Arrowverse.
As reported by Entertainment Weekly, The CW president Mark Pedowitz confirmed today, prior to the network's upfront presentation, that Black Lighting is not part of The CW's shared DC universe, and as such won't be part of its next DC crossover.
"We do not aim to do a five-way crossover," Pedowitz told reporters. "Black Lightning, at this time, is not part of the Arrowverse. It is a separate situation. But there will be a big fourth quarter crossover with all four of the shows that are on in the fall."
Richard Madden Joins Philip K. Dick’s Electric Dreams
Game of Thrones alum Richard Madden has joined the sci-fi series Philip K. Dick's Electric Dreams.
Electric Dreams is a 10-episode sci-fi anthology series, executive produced by Bryan Cranston, that features stand-alone episodes inspired by Phillip K. Dick's work. Madden will star as Agent Ross in the episode titled "The Hood Maker." Additionally, Holiday Grainger (Cinderella) and Anneika Rose (Silent Witness) will star in the episode as Honor and Mary, respectively.
Richard Madden in Game of Thrones.
Microsoft Renews Trademark for Cancelled Game Scalebound
Microsoft may have cancelled Scalebound, but it doesn't want to lose the trademark on its dragon-centric IP just yet, it seems.
Despite canning the PlatinumGames project in January, as well removing any past mention of it from its web outlets, the publisher renewed its trademark on the name this month (spotted by Twitter user y2konya) - despite seemingly being in no immediate danger of losing its registration.
The 15 Best Deaths in the Alien Movies
In our excitement over the arrival of Alien: Covenant, you might say we’ve had xenomorphs on the brain. And as a result, we decided to compile a list of our favorite Alien deaths -- the most iconic demises in the (movies only) saga. We’ve also ranked them for your consideration (and for the added controversy, of course).
For the purposes of this list, we considered all the main storyline Alien films, including Prometheus, as well as the two Alien vs. Predator installments (but we’re not including Covenant since the film still isn’t out everywhere). Our criteria for inclusion was shock factor, lasting cinematic impact, emotional effect on the viewer, and just plain coolness. In order, from sort-of-memorable to inarguably-the-most-iconic, we present the following…
Into the Badlands: Sunny Fights Quinn in Season Finale Clip
AMC's Into the Badlands roars into its Season 2 finale, "Wolf's Breath, Dragon Fire" -- airing Sunday, May 21st -- as Sunny (Daniel Wu) faces one of the toughest showdowns of his life in the form of his former Baron, Quinn (Marton Csokas).
Badlands has some of the best fights scenes and stunt work on TV and this battle is no exception. Check out this exclusive scene that gives you all a little taste of Sunny's clash with his old boss!
Into the Badlands was recently picked up for an expanded Season 3 - that's 16 episodes, set to premiere sometime in 2018.
Windjammers PS4 Beta Coming Next Month – Sign Up Now
Windjammers is a getting a closed beta on PlayStation 4 next month, and you can sign up now.
Developer DotEmu announced on Twitter that the beta will run from June 8 -12. Those who want to participate can register here. The closed beta will feature the game's new online ranking mode, which lets players from around the world compete against each other.
DotEmu will be using the closed beta as an opportunity to test the matchmaking system. You can watch the beta announcement video below:
Windjammers is slated to release sometime in 2017 for PlayStation 4 and Vita. The classic NeoGeo sports game features six playable characters, each with their own unique skills, will also have ranked matches to go along with the online ranking mode.