Monthly Archives: February 2020

Chris Pratt Addresses Question of Thor in Guardians of the Galaxy 3

Marvel Cinematic Universe star Chris Pratt couldn't give an answer when asked if Thor will appear in Guardians of the Galaxy 3, but he didn't rule out the possibility. At IGN's red carpet event for Pixar's Onward, we asked Pratt why Thor isn't in Guardians 3. "How do you know that Thor's not in Guardians 3? We haven't shot it yet, he might be in Guardians 3," Pratt said. "We don't know! There's no definitive yes or no on that." [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=marvel-phase-4-official-lineup&captions=true"] This is the first time in a while that someone involved with Guardians 3 has answered a question about Thor's status. Last July, a fan asked director James Gunn if Thor would "be a part of it," referring to Guardians 3. However, Gunn dodged the question by saying, "No. Thor will not be in The Suicide Squad," which Gunn will finish before filming for Guardians 3 begins. Guardians 3 could be a long way off, as Gunn previously apologized for Guardians 3's absence from Phase 4 of the MCU. However, it may be worth the wait, as Karen Gillan, who plays Nebula in the MCU, said the script for Volume 3 is the best of the trilogy. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/07/22/james-gunn-apologizes-for-no-guardians-of-the-galaxy-3-in-marvels-phase-4"] For now, MCU fans have plenty to look forward to, with Black Widow releasing in May, as well as the upcoming slate of Disney+ shows. For more, read how Chris Pratt and Tom Holland want to start an Avengers Dungeons & Dragons party. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Logan Plant is a news writer for IGN, and the Production Assistant for Nintendo Voice Chat, IGN's weekly Nintendo show. You can find him on Twitter at @LoganJPlant.

Sony Won’t Be at PAX East Anymore

Sony has announced that it is canceling its participation in the upcoming PAX East due to concerns over COVID-19, or the novel coronavirus. The company announced the news as an update to its PlayStation Blog post detailing its PAX East plans. "Today, Sony Interactive Entertainment made the decision to cancel its participation at PAX in Boston this year due to increasing concerns related to COVID-19 (also known as "novel coronavirus")[,]" Sony wrote in an update to its February 13 blog post. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=all-the-big-games-coming-in-2020&captions=true"] Sony was originally scheduled to present the first playable public demo for The Last of Us Part 2 at PAX East. Other games in Sony's PAX East lineup included Marvel's Iron Man VR, Nioh 2, Doom Eternal, Spelunky 2, and more. It is unclear if the demo will still be available since Sony has decided to pull out of the event. IGN has reached out to Sony for more details, including whether The Last of Us Part 2 will still be available as a demo at the show. The outbreak of COVID-19 has interrupted several planned gaming events already. Overwatch announced it will temporarily relocate its Chinese teams to South Korea, and Nintendo confirmed the outbreak will impact Animal Crossing: New Horizons shipments in Japan. Developing... [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt Kim is a reporter for IGN. You can reach him on Twitter.

Grand Theft Auto 4 Returning To Steam, But Without Multiplayer

After being delisted on Steam, Grand Theft Auto 4 will return to Valve’s platform as Grand Theft Auto 4: Complete Edition. However, despite the name, this version is missing something: the game’s multiplayer mode. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2013/05/08/igns-top-10-grand-theft-auto-4-mods"] From March 19, Grand Theft Auto IV: Complete Edition will be added to Steam and any other digital distribution platform where GTA 4 is sold. This version will replace Grand Theft Auto IV and Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City, effectively combining them into a single package. Existing owners will have their version replaced with this one, which means those who only own GTA 4 will actually be upgraded to the Complete Edition. The Rockstar official support page also confirmed that while old save files will be compatible with Grand Theft Auto IV: Complete Edition, but Steam Achievements will not be available until the new version launches in March. This change is a result of Microsoft dropping support for Games for Windows Live, which was integrated into the PC version of GTA 4. The lack of support has forced Rockstar to make some adjustments to the game, which unfortunately has meant the removal of multiplayer and leaderboards. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=every-ign-rockstar-game-review-ever&captions=true"] The new version will also lack three radio stations - RamJam FM, Self-Actualization FM, and Vice City FM - although Rockstar’s statement on the GTA 4 Steam page claims that this is a temporary situation. Steam users will find that the automatic update will do the heavy lifting for them, but those with Windows Store or physical media copies will need to do some extra work. The key codes provided in physical media boxes can now be used to claim the game digitally, provided they are currently unclaimed. Those with versions of GTA 4 claimed in the Windows Store via Games for Windows Live will need to link their Microsoft account with the Rockstar Social Club, which will then replace the old version with a new copy of Grand Theft Auto 4: Complete Edition. In other Rockstar news, Dan Houser - co-founder of the developer and writer of GTA 4 - recently announced that he’s departed Rockstar. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Entertainment Writer. You can follow him on Twitter

No Man’s Sky Update Lets You Hatch a Spaceship From an Egg

Hello Games has announced that it is releasing the 9th major free update for No Man’s Sky this week: the Living Ship update. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/02/19/no-mans-sky-living-ship-official-trailer"] Living Ship adds, as the name suggests, a race of biological spaceships to the game. These organic space-faring craft can be nurtured from eggs and grown into huge, pilotable ships. With an entirely different look, cockpit, and movement design to any other ship in the game, they will make quite the unique addition to a fleet. While the organic spaceships are the headline feature of the update, Living Ship also adds more variety to exploration in the form of space points of interests, which can be discovered during traversal of No Man’s Sky’s solar systems. NPC ships can also now be encountered in space. Hello Games also promises a variety of quality of life improvements. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=no-mans-sky-living-ship-update&captions=true"] Living Ship is part of a new approach Hello Games is taking with No Man’s Sky’s update cadence. Where previous updates like Next and Beyond took many months - almost a year - to release, the studio has recently adopted the idea of delivering smaller but much more frequent updates. The developer does promise that “more radical” things are being worked on in the background, but hopes that these smaller features will help keep players more regularly entertained. Previous smaller No Man’s Sky updates included the addition of a full audio creation tool called ByteBeat, and the Synthesis update that brought a slew of fan-requested changes. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Entertainment Writer. You can follow him on Twitter

New Final Fantasy 7 Remake Footage Shows Off DLC Summons

A trio of videos posted on the official Final Fantasy 7 Remake Twitter account has revealed the animations and abilities for three summons: Chocobo Chick, Carbuncle, and Cactuar. First up is Chocobo Chick, who's definitely not just a tiny version of the classic ChocoMog summon. Instead, the tiny bird flies around Cloud and casts magic spells at its target. It's a cute little addition, but certainly doesn't seem to be the tide-turner that many summons are. Carbuncle is undoubtedly the cutest of the trio, and - as is tradition for the summon - casts Reflect on the whole party in order to protect characters from magical damage. Finally there's Cactuar, who once again brings the 1,000 Needles attack to the battlefield. As summons in Final Fantasy 7 Remake don't just cast their signature move and then leave the fight, Cactuar can also be seen doing a much wider, 360-degree attack. Cloud is shown to defend with the Buster Sword when this attack is being used, so it seems that perhaps Cactuar doesn't distinguish between friend and foe. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=final-fantasy-7-remake-25-new-images&captions=true"] All three summons are new for the remake, and were not available in the original game. They are available through a variety of purchase-based means; Chocobo Chick is a pre-order bonus, Carbuncle comes with the Digital Deluxe or 1st Class edition, and Cactuar is available with any purchase of a deluxe edition. In other FF7 Remake news, it appears this beefy new interpretation of the classic RPG will be over 100GB. It's got a fancy new opening movie, too, and you can see how it compares to the original in our video below. If you've never played the original, catch up with episode 1 and episode 2 of our Never Played Final Fantasy 7 let's play series. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/02/14/final-fantasy-7-opening-movie-comparison"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Entertainment Writer. You can follow him on Twitter

Mulan: Live-Action Remake of Disney G-Rated Animated Film Lands PG-13

Disney's live-action remake of Mulan has received an official PG-13 rating from the Motion Picture Association of America, which marks the first time a House of Mouse live-action remake of an animated classic has earned this classification. Disney's upcoming Mulan release has broken the mould of the studio's former wave of live-action remakes of their animated films, as the new Mulan has been rated PG-13 for its "sequences of violence", per The Hollywood Reporter. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/02/02/mulan-official-final-trailer"] The British Board of Film Classification has yet to confirm the official Mulan live-action age rating for the UK. However, the 1998 animated film was originally rated U, with "mild threat and violence" listed under the guide notes, which may indicate a 12A certification for the upcoming release. Before now, Aladdin, Dumbo and Disney's other live-action adaptations of beloved fables have all been given PG or G ratings. In addition, Mulan is the first title from Disney's live-action studio to receive a PG-13 rating since the release of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales in 2017. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=disneys-mulan-official-photos-from-the-live-action-remake&captions=true"] From the footage shown in trailers, Disney's live-action Mulan has been depicted as a grand war epic that expresses a darker tone than its musical predecessor, though it appears to be using a lot of similar imagery to the original film. For more on Disney's Mulan adaptation, which arrives in theatres March 27, take a closer look at the six new character posters for the film, check out this selection of photos that show Mulan in action, and watch our 2020 vs. 1998 side-by-side comparison feature. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Adele Ankers is a Freelance Entertainment Journalist. You can reach her on Twitter.

Chris Pratt and Tom Holland Want to Start an Avengers Cast D&D Party

Tom Holland has revealed that he and Chris Pratt have discussed setting up an Avengers cast Dungeons & Dragons session, redefining what it means to assemble. Speaking to IGN at Disney Pixar's Onward World Premiere, Holland was asked if he has ever played D&D before. While he never has, he did gave fans of Earth's Mightiest Heroes a reason to cheer. "I haven't, no, but Chris and I have been talking about setting up an Avengers D&D session," Holland said. "Which would be amazing. We actually want to like film it, because it would be really fun. Not livestream it, because I don't do...is this live? It is live! Oh ok, I'm really stressed now." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/08/12/the-mcus-infinity-saga-ranked"] An Avengers D&D session with Holland, Pratt, Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, and many more could be something spectacular if done right. It could allow our favorite Marvel movie characters no longer with us to have one more story, it could allow for our heroes to explore some of the abandoned plot threads in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, or it could simply allow us to once again see the Avengers sitting around a table eating shawarma. While it may focus on something completely out of the MCU, it could be fun to get a different perspective from our favorite actors, one that could be in a similar fashion to the upcoming Marvel's What If...? series coming to Disney+. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=every-plot-thread-the-mcu-abandoned&captions=true"] Alongside the D&D talk, Holland also discussed how the upcoming Uncharted film will take inspiration from Uncharted 4: A Thief's End and will have a "global" scope. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com. Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

Tom Holland: Uncharted Movie Will Start Filming in ‘Four Weeks’

Tom Holland, who will be playing a younger Nathan Drake in the upcoming Uncharted film, has said this new movie will draw inspiration from Uncharted 4: A Thief's End and will have a "global" scope. Speaking to IGN at Disney Pixar's Onward World Premiere, Holland revealed that Uncharted 4 was one of his favorite games of all time and that it will also be a guiding light for the film, which will begin shooting in "like four weeks."
"If I'm honest, one of my favorite video games ever is the fourth Uncharted game... Unbelievable. And lots of the inspiration from the film has come from that game in particular," Holland said. "It was interesting, when I sat down with [Sony Pictures Chairman] Tom Rothman and we were talking about video games, and I was like "Oh, I've just finished Uncharted." And he was like "Well, why don't you play Nathan Drake?" I remember being like, "I would do anything to play Nathan Drake. Please, that would be amazing." So yeah, we start shooting in like four weeks. Mark Wahlberg is going to be amazing as Sully. The stunt department that we have out there in Berlin have done an amazing job already, prepping the stunts, and it's going to be an exciting one."
[widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=the-strange-history-of-the-uncharted-movie&captions=true"] IGN's Max Scoville then asked him about his younger version of Nathan Drake and if it's based more on the games or Holland himself.
"There was definitely a lot of inspiration that came from the games, but it's a very young, fresh take on the character because, obviously, we didn't get to meet him all that much when he was younger," Holland explained. "But it's a pretty awesome movie, and it's global. We travel the world, we see some amazing places, and Mark Wahlberg and I are going to have a great summer together."
The Uncharted film is set to be released on March 5, 2021, and has reportedly found its seventh director in Venom and Zombieland's Ruben Fleischer. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/02/14/tom-holland-says-uncharted-has-a-solution-to-the-video-game-movie-problem"] For more on the Uncharted film, check out Holland's comments on how this movie has a solution to the video game movie problem and the strange history of this particular project. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com. Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

ICYMI: Ben Affleck Reveals the Real Reason He Left Batman

Ben Affleck revealed in a new interview with The New York Times why he decided to leave the Batman movie he had signed on to write and direct: It was due to the infamously troubled production of the Justice League movie that Affleck had just completed. “I showed somebody The Batman script. They said, ‘I think the script is good. I also think you’ll drink yourself to death if you go through what you just went through again,’” Affleck explained. While that may sound like a flippant remark, Affleck has been open about his history of dealing with alcohol addiction and has checked himself into rehab on multiple occasions, which he also addressed in the interview. This new quote from Affleck paints a different picture from what he’s said before on the subject. Previously, Affleck told IGN that he decided to depart The Batman because he wasn’t satisfied with the script, saying, “We worked on the script, I was trying to figure out how to crack it, and I was never happy enough with it where I thought it was worth going out and making it because I just didn't want to do a version that I wasn't really excited by, so I still don't know." Perhaps enough time has passed that Affleck now feels comfortable being a bit more candid with why he left. It wasn't about the script, it was about doing what was best for his health. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=every-dc-cinematic-universe-movie-rotten-tomatoes-score&captions=true"] While Affleck’s take on the Caped Crusader in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice was generally well-received, Zack Snyder’s movie as a whole received a critical thrashing. While promoting the film, the “Sad Affleck” meme was spawned, showing a dejected Affleck lost in thought after being asked about the negative reaction to the film. Affleck had sworn off superhero roles after the poor reception to 2003’s Daredevil movie. The story for Affleck’s Batman only got worse when he starred in the poorly-received follow-up Justice League, which was subject to numerous rewrites, reshoots, and, most notably, saw Avengers director Joss Whedon brought on as a replacement after Snyder departed the project. Affleck now admits it was his experience on the DC ensemble flick that ultimately dissuaded him from continuing on as Batman and writing/directing his solo movie. Despite Affleck’s bad experience with Justice League, he seems to still be in Snyder’s corner given how he tweeted in support of the campaign to #ReleaseTheSnyderCut two years after its release. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=dc-extended-universe-every-upcoming-movie&captions=true"] With Affleck out of the picture, Matt Reeves took over The Batman as director and began fresh with a new script. Reeves recently shared the first look at Robert Pattinson as Batman with a screen test showing the actor in the new Batsuit. The story reportedly shows Batman early on in his superhero career and the Batman cast also stars Zoe Kravitz as Selina Kyle / Catwoman, Colin Farrel as Oswald Cobblepot / The Penguin, Jeffrey Wright as Commissioner Gordon, Paul Dano as Edward Nashton / The Riddler, Andy Serkis as Alfred Pennyworth, and John Turturro as Gotham City mobster Carmine Falcone. Check out our breakdown of the new Batsuit below: [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/02/14/the-batman-breaking-down-the-new-batsuit-ign-now"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Joshua is Senior Features Editor at IGN. If Pokemon, Green Lantern, or Game of Thrones are frequently used words in your vocabulary, you’ll want to follow him on Twitter @JoshuaYehl and IGN.

Luke Skywalker’s Yellow-Bladed Lightsaber Revealed in New Star Wars Comic

Marvel Comics’ new Star Wars comic picks up after the events of Empire Strikes Back and shows just what happened to Luke Skywalker’s blue lightsaber after it was lost during his fateful duel with Darth Vader. And while we know that Luke eventually builds a new, green lightsaber to replace it some time in the lead up to Return of the Jedi, apparently he also obtains a replacement during the interim in the form of a never-before-seen lightsaber with a yellow blade. The new saber can be seen on the cover to May’s Star Wars #6 by writer Charles Soule and artist Jesus Saiz. The cover is drawn by R.B. Silva, check it out below: luke skywalker new lightsaber Yellow-bladed lightsabers are a rarity in Star Wars lore, but the reveal of Rey’s new yellow saber at the end of The Rise of Skywalker has sparked an interest in their history. Aside from her, the only other canon users were the Jedi Temple Guards on Coruscant who wielded double-ended lightsaber pikes with yellow blades. If you look closely at the hilt of Luke’s saber, it’s seemingly identical to those used by the Jedi Temple Guards, except for the coloring, so it’s a possibility that Luke somehow recovers one of their weapons to use as his own. yellow bladed lightsabers The reveal of Rey's yellow lightsaber and now Luke's may imply a link. It could be that the yellow kyber crystal in Luke's saber somehow falls into Rey's possession, and that's how she's able to build her saber using such an uncommon kyber crystal color. Star Wars is no stranger to such coincidences, like Rey stumbling across Luke's saber in the basement of Maz Kanata's castle, since the Force does work in mysterious ways. It's also worth remembering that several Luke action figures from Kenner's Star Wars line included a retractable yellow lightsaber blade. This color choice could be an homage to those figures. Update: Writer Charles Soule confirmed on Twitter that the yellow saber is indeed a Kenner homage.   The story of Luke’s lost lightsaber took quite an unexpected turn in Star Wars #1 when we were shown what happened to the saber as it fell. A hand reached out and unexpectedly caught it, raising all manner of questions about their identity and how they knew to be there at that time to catch it. That's not the only big Star Wars twist as of late: Marvel's Darth Vader series revealed that Padme may have survived the events of Revenge of the Sith. For more on the lightsabers of Star Wars, read our full primer on what the various lightsaber colors mean. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=the-strangest-lightsabers-in-the-star-wars-universe&captions=true"] [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2015/05/27/star-wars-school-the-history-of-the-lightsaber"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Joshua is Senior Features Editor at IGN. If Pokemon, Green Lantern, or Game of Thrones are frequently used words in your vocabulary, you’ll want to follow him on Twitter @JoshuaYehl and IGN.