Monthly Archives: February 2020
Control Devs Say ‘This Is Just the Start’ for the Brand
Remedy Entertainment has hinted at the possibility of more projects set in the world of Control, saying "this is just the start" of its work in the weird, wild setting.
Speaking to IGN at D.I.C.E. 2020, Remedy communications director Thomas Puha addressed whether the development team wanted to continue creating projects set in the world of Control now that the game has been released:
"A lot of [our recent work] was about getting Remedy into a position where we can create Control, and we can hopefully keep making more Control. So yeah, absolutely - and especially with all the love we're getting. There are so many things we know we can we can do and explore, so I'd say this is just the start."
The game's executive producer, Juha Vainio, continued: "There's no one in the current Control team who wants out; there are actually people who want in. So we have a positive problem."
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This doesn't necessarily mean Remedy is thinking of a Control 2, but it certainly seems to point to the studio thinking beyond the two paid expansions coming this year.
That's perhaps backed up by Remedy's latest financial report. Apart from revealing an as-yet-untitled new game for the Finnish developer, it also refers to Control as "a new game brand" for the company, seemingly pointing to ideas beyond the first game.
The first of the two announced expansions, The Foundation, will be released on March 26, and Puha says work is "mostly done" on that. The second, AWE (which appears to link in some way to another of the studio's games, Alan Wake) is scheduled for mid-2020. Puha says work has just begun on that.
Vainio says both of those expansions will take place in the main game's weird-brutalist setting The Oldest House. When I visited Remedy for IGN First last year, several of the game's developers mentioned that The Oldest House could allow for modular storytelling, perhaps even set around other characters who work or end up there. I ask if that's still a going idea at the studio, to which Vainio replies, "the Oldest House might be infinite, we don't know, so it's definitely a good place to take any story."
[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/01/12/control-developers-react-to-49-minute-speedrun"]
Control was IGN's game of the year for 2019, and its critical and commercial success seems to have spurred Remedy to think more about how to work with the world The Oldest House sits within:
"With the success of Control, a lot of interesting opportunities have opened up," explains Puha, "and there's no shortage of ideas at Remedy either. It's been a very, very interesting past six months, the future’s really exciting. Now, all this great momentum that Control’s generated is [making us say] let's not waste that!"
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Joe Skrebels is IGN's Executive Editor of News, and he'd like a Control spin-off about being in the Bureau's admin department - like Papers, Please but with impossible-to-understand horror creatures trying to get planning permission. Follow him on Twitter.
Moviefone Now Being Run by One Employee
In a scenario that's reminding some online of the Seinfeld episode when Kramer's new phone number was so similar to a movie listing hotline that he started to answer calls as Mr. Moviefone (while rifling through actual newspapers for showtimes), the actual Moviefone is now being run by one employee.
Moviefone -- which began in 1989 as a dial-up service for checking movie times -- filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy last month, after parent company Helios and Matheson suffered unsustainable losses from MoviePass, now only has one staff member left.
According to Variety, General manager Matt Atchity, former EIC of Rotten Tomatoes, has "been retained by the trustee overseeing Helios and Matheson’s liquidation to keep Moviefone running pending a sale of the property."
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Moviefone is currently reported to be worth around $4 million which is 1.1% of its former value ($388 million in 1999). All Moviefone employees except Atchity were laid off at the end of January. The site's listings are all automated, pulling movie times in from theater chains all across the country.
For more movie news, check out our ranking of all the Batman movie batsuits, the theory that Robert Pattinson's batsuit contains the gun that killed Bruce Wayne's parents, and what Harrison Ford said about Indiana Jones 5.
[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/02/15/sonic-responds-to-ign-comments"]
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Matt Fowler is a writer for IGN and a member of the Television Critics Association. Follow him on Twitter at @TheMattFowler and Facebook at Facebook.com/MattBFowler.
Harrison Ford Says Indy 5 Will “See Part of His History Resolved”
The Indiana Jones films have so far explored a range of the globe-trotting archaeologist’s life. The Last Crusade portrayed Indy’s youth as well as his role as a son. The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull depicted Indy as a father and ended with him marrying his former flame Marion Ravenwood. So what does actor Harrison Ford -- who recently revealed that he begins filming Indiana Jones 5 in the next couple of months -- want to see explored about his iconic character in the next sequel?
IGN got the chance to ask Ford that very question at the press junket for his newest film, The Call of the Wild, and while he was reluctant to spill too many beans the actor did promise that Indy 5 will “see part of [Indy’s] history resolved.”
“Well, I’m not going to share the story with you because that doesn’t seem like a good idea,” Ford began. “But we’ll see new developments in his life, his relationship. We’ll see part of his history resolved.”
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Ford added, “It’s a very good script. I’m looking forward to it.” That script was most recently worked on by Jonathan Kasdan, one of the writers of Solo: A Star Wars Story and the son of original Raiders of the Lost Ark screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan.
So which part of Indy’s history will the film resolve? Will fans finally learn what happened to Indy’s young Temple of Doom sidekick Short Round? Could an adult version of the character appear in this new adventure? Or will Indy once again receive help from his old pal Sallah? (Actor John Rhys-Davies certainly has ideas about how Sallah could return.)
While Ford didn’t directly mention actress Karen Allen or Marion in his chat with us, his remark about Indy 5 seeing “new developments in his life, his relationship” would seem to indicate that Marion plays a role in the story.
[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/02/14/harrison-ford-indiana-jones-5-will-see-part-of-his-history-resolved"]
Whether or not Indy and Marion’s son, Mutt, played in Kingdom of the Crystal Skull by Shia LaBeouf, also returns remains to be seen, but it seems doubtful. David Koepp, who wrote the previous draft of Indy 5 before Kasdan, said in 2017 that Mutt wasn’t in his version of the story.
LaBeouf’s possible exclusion from Indy 5 shouldn’t really come as a surprise, though, given his very public criticisms of Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.
Koepp also said at the time that Indiana Jones creator George Lucas is not involved in the fifth film.
One key creative who will return is director Steven Spielberg, who’s currently in post-production on his remake of West Side Story. Indiana Jones 5 is slated to open July 9, 2021.
Let’s Hope PS5 Doesn’t Have This Feature
Welcome back to Game Scoop!, IGN's weekly video game talk show. This week we're discussing a new Sony patent that seems to want to point players towards purchasing more microtransactions. We also talk about rage quitting, video game movies, and much more. Watch the video above or hit the link below to your favorite podcast service.
Listen on:
Apple Podcasts
YouTube
Spotify
Stitcher
Let’s Hope PS5 Doesn’t Have This Feature
Welcome back to Game Scoop!, IGN's weekly video game talk show. This week we're discussing a new Sony patent that seems to want to point players towards purchasing more microtransactions. We also talk about rage quitting, video game movies, and much more. Watch the video above or hit the link below to your favorite podcast service.
Listen on:
Apple Podcasts
YouTube
Spotify
Stitcher
Tom Holland Says Uncharted Has a Solution to the Video Game Movie Problem
Actor Tom Holland is set to star as a young Nathan Drake in the upcoming Uncharted movie based on the hit video game series. While Uncharted has had numerous production delays, Holland remains optimistic about the project. In fact, Holland says that their approach to the Uncharted movie will solve one of Hollywood’s toughest questions: how do you make a successful video game movie adaptation? While a few video game movies have managed to please audiences over the years, such as last year’s charming Pokemon: Detective Pikachu, generally they tend to disappoint viewers and under-perform at the box office, but Holland thinks that they’ve figured out the right approach for Uncharted.
“I think what Uncharted offers that most video games films don't is that it's an origin story to the games,” Holland told IGN. “So if you played the games, you haven't seen what's going to happen in the film. And if you haven't played the games, you're going to enjoy the film because it's information that everyone else is getting at the same time. But I'm super excited to make that movie and it's been a long time coming.”
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Holland’s casting in the role of Nathan Drake raised some eyebrows because the boyish Spider-Man actor seems years away from resembling the roguish treasure hunter, but it turns out that was done on purpose. Holland intends to show the beginnings of the character in order to tell the story of how he eventually becomes the man gamers are familiar with.
Holland was enthusiastic about the latest script from writer Joe Carnahan, saying, “I read the newest draft of the script on the way over here and it's one of the best scripts I've ever read. It really, really jumps off the page.”
He also praised his co-star Mark Wahlberg, who will be playing Nathan Drake’s mentor. “I think Mark Wahlberg's going to kill it as Sully and it's going to be a lot of fun,” he said.
[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2017/09/27/7-unforgettable-uncharted-moments"]
Uncharted lost its sixth director in December 2019 when Bumblebee’s Travis Knight dropped out, reportedly because there was a scheduling conflict caused by Holland’s Spider-Man commitments. The Uncharted movie was recently pushed back to a March 5, 2021 release date, but a new director has yet to be named by Sony. The latest rumor says Venom director Reuben Fleischer is in talks to come on as the new Uncharted director.
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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.
Tom Holland Says Uncharted Has a Solution to the Video Game Movie Problem
Actor Tom Holland is set to star as a young Nathan Drake in the upcoming Uncharted movie based on the hit video game series. While Uncharted has had numerous production delays, Holland remains optimistic about the project. In fact, Holland says that their approach to the Uncharted movie will solve one of Hollywood’s toughest questions: how do you make a successful video game movie adaptation? While a few video game movies have managed to please audiences over the years, such as last year’s charming Pokemon: Detective Pikachu, generally they tend to disappoint viewers and under-perform at the box office, but Holland thinks that they’ve figured out the right approach for Uncharted.
“I think what Uncharted offers that most video games films don't is that it's an origin story to the games,” Holland told IGN. “So if you played the games, you haven't seen what's going to happen in the film. And if you haven't played the games, you're going to enjoy the film because it's information that everyone else is getting at the same time. But I'm super excited to make that movie and it's been a long time coming.”
[widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=the-strange-history-of-the-uncharted-movie&captions=true"]
Holland’s casting in the role of Nathan Drake raised some eyebrows because the boyish Spider-Man actor seems years away from resembling the roguish treasure hunter, but it turns out that was done on purpose. Holland intends to show the beginnings of the character in order to tell the story of how he eventually becomes the man gamers are familiar with.
Holland was enthusiastic about the latest script from writer Joe Carnahan, saying, “I read the newest draft of the script on the way over here and it's one of the best scripts I've ever read. It really, really jumps off the page.”
He also praised his co-star Mark Wahlberg, who will be playing Nathan Drake’s mentor. “I think Mark Wahlberg's going to kill it as Sully and it's going to be a lot of fun,” he said.
[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2017/09/27/7-unforgettable-uncharted-moments"]
Uncharted lost its sixth director in December 2019 when Bumblebee’s Travis Knight dropped out, reportedly because there was a scheduling conflict caused by Holland’s Spider-Man commitments. The Uncharted movie was recently pushed back to a March 5, 2021 release date, but a new director has yet to be named by Sony. The latest rumor says Venom director Reuben Fleischer is in talks to come on as the new Uncharted director.
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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.
Jurassic World 3 to Bring Back Two Characters From Jurassic World
Jake Johnson and Omar Sy, who both appeared in 2015's Jurassic World, have signed on to reprise their roles for Jurassic World 3.
As reported by THR, Johnson and Sy will be joining Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Mamoudou Athie, DeWanda Wise, Justice Smith, and Daniella Pineda in this latest entry. Furthermore, they will be joining returning original Jurassic Park cast members like Laura Dern, Sam Neill, and Jeff Goldblum.
The last time we saw Jake Johnson's Lowery Crythers and Omar Sy's Barry Sembene, they were evacuating the island after the disastrous events of Jurassic World.
[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2018/06/23/jurassic-world-3-where-does-the-franchise-go-from-here"]
Cruthers was a "sardonic control room operator" for the Jurassic Park theme park island while Sembene was a velociraptor trainer and colleague of Chris Pratt's Owen Grady.
Johnson was a co-star on Fox's New Girl and also voiced Peter Parker in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, and Sy starred in The Intouchables and has lent his voice to such films as Transformers: The Last Knight.
Jurassic World 3, which is said to be more like the original Jurassic Park than the two films before it, will be directed by Colin Trevorrow, who was once set to direct Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.
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This newest Jurassic World film is set to be released in theaters on June 11, 2021. For more, check out Jeff Goldblum's and Sam Neill's reactions to returning to the franchise, and read about a newly discovered Tyrannosaur species in real life that was dubbed the "Reaper of Death."
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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.
Jurassic World 3 to Bring Back Two Characters From Jurassic World
Jake Johnson and Omar Sy, who both appeared in 2015's Jurassic World, have signed on to reprise their roles for Jurassic World 3.
As reported by THR, Johnson and Sy will be joining Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Mamoudou Athie, DeWanda Wise, Justice Smith, and Daniella Pineda in this latest entry. Furthermore, they will be joining returning original Jurassic Park cast members like Laura Dern, Sam Neill, and Jeff Goldblum.
The last time we saw Jake Johnson's Lowery Crythers and Omar Sy's Barry Sembene, they were evacuating the island after the disastrous events of Jurassic World.
[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2018/06/23/jurassic-world-3-where-does-the-franchise-go-from-here"]
Cruthers was a "sardonic control room operator" for the Jurassic Park theme park island while Sembene was a velociraptor trainer and colleague of Chris Pratt's Owen Grady.
Johnson was a co-star on Fox's New Girl and also voiced Peter Parker in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, and Sy starred in The Intouchables and has lent his voice to such films as Transformers: The Last Knight.
Jurassic World 3, which is said to be more like the original Jurassic Park than the two films before it, will be directed by Colin Trevorrow, who was once set to direct Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.
[widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=the-best-deaths-in-the-jurassic-park-movies&captions=true"]
This newest Jurassic World film is set to be released in theaters on June 11, 2021. For more, check out Jeff Goldblum's and Sam Neill's reactions to returning to the franchise, and read about a newly discovered Tyrannosaur species in real life that was dubbed the "Reaper of Death."
[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.
Lucifer Season 6: Netflix Reportedly in Talks to Extend Show Beyond S5
Netflix has reportedly entered talks with Warner Bros. to extend Lucifer beyond its planned fifth and "final" season.
According to TVLine, Netflix is considering resurrecting the supernatural drama for a sixth season despite it being previously announced that the devil's reign would be coming to an end after Season 5.
[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/02/01/new-to-netflix-for-february-2020"]
The fifth season of Lucifer was originally set to be a 10-episode run, but Netflix significantly expanded the episode count while the show was still in production, ordering six additional episodes to take the grand total up to 16 episodes, which are set to be split across two parts on the streamer.
This expansion of episodes served as a potential indication that the writers required a little more scope to tell the story and wrap up all of the loose threads from the fourth season of the series, loosely based on Neil Gaiman's depiction of the Devil from the Sandman comic book and its spinoff Lucifer.
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However, it now seems that Netflix might be swooping in to save the fallen angel with a Season 6 renewal, offering the team the opportunity to expand the story even further. This is great news for Lucifans who have been campaigning for the show's continuation ever since it was cancelled by Fox after just three seasons on the air.
In our review of Lucifer Season 4, we called it "Great" saying "Netflix's Lucifer has a shorter season and a tighter arc, but the campy show retains the humor and naughtiness we love."
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Adele Ankers is a Freelance Entertainment Journalist. You can reach her on Twitter.