Monthly Archives: June 2017
Switch Classic Game Selection Not Replacing Virtual Console
While Nintendo plans to offer a selection of classic games as part of its paid online service for Switch, it won't serve as a replacement for Virtual Console.
"Classic Games Selection (tentative name) is different from the
," a Nintendo rep told Famitsu (translation via Polygon). According to the rep, the company's schedule for selling Virtual Console games is "still undecided."
Nintendo has not yet officially announced a Virtual Console for Nintendo Switch. All we currently know about the company's plans for classic content on the platform is that Nintendo Switch's paid online service, which won't launch until 2018, includes access to a collection of retro titles through Classic Game Selection.
Business Is Booming for Marvel’s Star Wars Comics
Marvel Comics’ superhero line may have stumbled a bit these past couple years with its numerous big events, relaunches, and incidents of bad press, but there’s one area that remains a shining beacon of hope: Star Wars comics. After regaining the license to make comics set in that galaxy far, far away, the publisher kicked off 2015 with a brand new Star Wars series that sold just shy of one million copies with its first issue and followed up with a lean, high-quality line of comics that consistently sell well. Yet it wasn’t some secret imparted by Master Yoda that led to this success -- it’s just been Marvel doing what Marvel does best.
Ex-Gambit Director on the Challenge That Movie Faces
I chatted with Bourne Identity and Edge of Tomorrow director Doug Liman today about his upcoming true crime movie American Made (look for that interview next week), during which time I also asked him about two high-profile comic book movies he's dropped out of directing: Justice League Dark (aka Dark Universe) and Gambit.
Liman had been talking up Justice League Dark as recently as last month before the news broke that he had parted ways with the project. In that case, Liman's plate was simply too full to end up accommodating the DC Comics adaptation.
"I was really excited by the characters and that world, but I’m doing Chaos Walking for Lionsgate next and then Tom
Disney’s Avatar Land is Great Even if You Don’t Love Avatar
It was easy to be cynical about Pandora: The World of Avatar leading up to its opening at Walt Disney World’s Animal Kingdom in Orlando last week. And look, I shared a lot of those worries. It’s been 8 years since Avatar opened and in the time since -- despite still being the highest grossing movie ever -- the film has sort of fallen off the pop culture map. While long-promised sequels are in the works, it felt like no one cared about Avatar anymore, so why would they care about an entire theme park land devoted to it?
The answer is simple: Because it’s a terrific experience, no matter your investment in the film that inspired it. I’m someone who never was much of an Avatar fan to begin with, finding the film beautiful but hollow, and I haven’t revisited it since I saw it in the theater… and yet I loved Pandora. It’s a wonderfully made theme park experience, capped off by one hell of a ride.
Tom Cruise Reveals Official Title for Top Gun 2
The upcoming Top Gun sequel is officially titled Top Gun: Maverick.
In an interview with Access Hollywood, Tom Cruise revealed he didn't want a number in the title and that the film will instead be named after his character, Lieutenant Pete "Maverick" Mitchell.
The actor also discussed the tone of the film, saying "it's going to be a competition film like the first one, and it's going to be in the same vein and the same tone as the first," while also being "a progression for Maverick."
While Cruise didn't share any information about who else will star in the film, Val Kilmer took to Instagram to say express his interest in reprising his role as Iceman from the original. "I'm ready Tom - still got my top gun plaque," Kilmer wrote. "Still got the moves! Still got it!"
Batman: Is Josh Gad Teasing a Role as the Penguin?
Beauty and the Beast actor Josh Gad has been posting some curious Batman-related imagery to his social media.
Gad tweeted a photo on June 1st of himself at DC Entertainment's offices holding a Batman cover featuring the Penguin and standing alongside DC Films co-bosses Geoff Johns and Jon Berg. Gad's caption: "Nothing to see here..."
DC Films co-bosses Jon Berg (left) and Geoff Johns (right) with Josh Gad (center).
Far Cry 5: Road to E3 2017
It's that time of year again: E3 2017 is just on the horizon. From June 10-15, we'll be covering the biggest games and hardware announcements of 2017 and beyond. While you can check out our continually-updated Games of E3 List, we're now going to start diving deeper.
Every day leading up to the show, we'll be highlight the stuff we want to see and play at E3 2017. Today's game: Far Cry 5.
Far Cry 5 was recently revealed via a story trailer, as well as three separate cinematics that highlighted some of the allies we’ll meet amidst the chaos of Hope County, Montana.
Gears of War 4: Rise of the Horde Update Detailed
Gears of War 4 developer The Coalition has detailed Rise of the Horde, the next major update coming to its third-person shooter.
According to the studio's announcement on Xbox Wire, Rise of the Horde will be available as a free update on June 6, bringing with it fifteen new Horde Skills, three for each of Gears of War 4's character classes.
A new ability called Cloak will be available for the Scout class, allowing players to turn invisible. Magic Bullet is a new skill coming to Snipers, which increases the damage bonus rewards for landing a headshot. Meanwhile, the new Berserker and Last Stand skills for Heavies will give you the ability to deal and withstand more damage with Heavy Weapons when low on health. Several other new skills, including ones for Soldiers and Engineers are also on the way, all of which are detailed here.
Game of Thrones’ Final Season Might Not Air Until 2019
The eighth and final season of Game of Thrones might not air until 2019.
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, HBO programming president Casey Bloys revealed that, while nothing's set in stone yet, there's a chance fans will have to wait an extra year for the show's final season. It all depends on how much time showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss will need to make Season 8.
"They have to write the episodes and figure out the production schedule," Bloys said. "We’ll have a better sense of that once they get further into the writing."
Bloys also confirmed that the upcoming Game of Thrones spinoffs currently in development will only air sometime after Season 8 concludes, as HBO wants to give the original series "its proper send off first."
M. Night Shyamalan’s Tales From the Crypt Reboot Shelved Due to Rights Issues
M. Night Shyamalan's Tales From the Crypt reboot for TNT is currently no longer in the works due to rights issues, though the network may revisit the project in the future.
In an interview with Deadline, TNT and TBS president Kevin Reilly confirmed that, because of "a very complicated underlying rights structure," Shyamalan's reboot is no longer in development. The project faced legal issues since it was first announced back in 2016.
“That one got really caught up in a complete legal mess unfortunately with a very complicated underlying rights structure," Reilly said. "We lost so much time, so I said, ‘Look, I’m not waiting around four years for this thing.'"