Actor Viggo Mortensen revealed that he turned down the role of the X-Men’s Wolverine thanks in part to his son Henry.

On an episode of the Happy Sad Confused podcast (via MovieWeb), Mortensen detailed how an early meeting with 20th Century Fox and director Bryan Singer colored his thoughts on potentially being locked into a superhero role for years to come. Besides his own personal misgivings, Mortensen’s young son Henry, a fan of the X-Men, noted how different Singer’s incarnation of the superhero group looked.

"The thing that bothered me at the time was just the commitment of endless movies of that same character over and over,” Mortensen said. “I was nervous about that. And also there were some things... I mean they straightened most of them out, but I did take Henry to the meeting I had with the director as my sort of good luck charm and guide. In the back of my mind, I was thinking he could learn something, too, because I did let Henry read the script and he goes 'This is wrong, that's not how it is.'"

[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/02/05/marvels-wandavision-just-introduced-the-mcus-strangest-ever-cameo-ign-news"]

Singer eventually asked Henry if he was familiar with Wolverine, Mortensen said.

“And he goes 'yeah, but he doesn't look like this,' And all of a sudden the director is falling all over himself and then the rest of the meeting was him explaining in detail to Henry why he was taking certain liberties,” Mortensen said. “We walked out of there, and Henry asks if he will change the things he told him about, and I say I don't think so. I'm not going to do it anyway, because I'm not sure I want to be doing this for years, and then a couple of years later I'm doing three Lord Of The Rings [films] so who knows."

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While three Lord of the Rings movies is quite the project, it ended up being far less of an ask than what Wolverine actor Hugh Jackman got over the course of seven (technically eight) X-Men movies, most of which focused on Wolverine as the central lead. It's well-known that Jackman wasn't the first choice to play Wolverine, but call it a happy accident, considering Jackman is easily the most lauded and popular part of the X-Men film franchise.

Mortensen even turned down a role in the Hobbit trilogy prior to that franchise’s filming way back in 2008. The actor is definitely the type to be careful with his role selection, typically appearing in only one to two movies per year. His most recent major appearance in 2019’s Green Book (alongside Mahershala Ali) earned him an Oscar Award nomination for best actor. He most recently made his directorial debut for 2020’s Falling, starring Mortensen as a gay man caring for his dementia-ridden homophobic father.

Now that Disney owns 20th Century Fox, the future of the X-Men franchise has been a popular question considering the MCU made it all the way to Avengers: Endgame with nary a mutant. You can read our thoughts on what WandaVision latest twists and turns might mean for the future of the MCU. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Joseph Knoop is a writer/producer/strider for IGN.

Actress Jamie Lee Curtis is joining the cast of the upcoming Borderlands film, Lionsgate announced Monday.

Curtis will play Tannis, a scientist/archaeologist who possibly holds the (literal) key to the fabled vault, but her past with the Siren Lilith may complicate things along the way. Tannis has appeared in every main Borderlands game, but returned most recently as a side character in Borderlands 3 that assists the protagonists.

"Working with the iconic Jamie Lee Curtis has been a life long dream of mine, and I am so excited for her to bring her humor, warmth and brilliance to the role of Tannis," director Eli Roth said.

Curtis is joining actors Kevin Hart (playing the mercenary Roland) and Cate Blanchett (playing the Siren Lilith) in the film.

Curtis, who rose to fame as the original “scream queen” Laurie Strode in the Halloween series, is also known for her roles in cult classics such as Knives Out, Arnold Schwarzenegger’s True Lies, Trading Spaces, Freaky Friday, and others.

The Borderlands movie is being written by Craig Mazin, previously writer on HBO’s Chernobyl and currently developing a series based on The Last of US for HBO as well.

Developer Gearbox and Lionsgate announced the Borderlands movie back in February 2020. Since then, fans have been treated to the trickle of casting news, including the potential for fans and cosplayers to join the cast and be summarily killed.

[widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=every-video-game-movie-in-development-almost&captions=true"]

With production still in the casting phases, don’t expect to hear much news on when we can expect to see the movie in theaters. Remember those?

[poilib element="accentDivider"] Joseph Knoop is a writer/producer/vault hunter for IGN.

Actress Jamie Lee Curtis is joining the cast of the upcoming Borderlands film, Lionsgate announced Monday.

Curtis will play Tannis, a scientist/archaeologist who possibly holds the (literal) key to the fabled vault, but her past with the Siren Lilith may complicate things along the way. Tannis has appeared in every main Borderlands game, but returned most recently as a side character in Borderlands 3 that assists the protagonists.

"Working with the iconic Jamie Lee Curtis has been a life long dream of mine, and I am so excited for her to bring her humor, warmth and brilliance to the role of Tannis," director Eli Roth said.

Curtis is joining actors Kevin Hart (playing the mercenary Roland) and Cate Blanchett (playing the Siren Lilith) in the film.

Curtis, who rose to fame as the original “scream queen” Laurie Strode in the Halloween series, is also known for her roles in cult classics such as Knives Out, Arnold Schwarzenegger’s True Lies, Trading Spaces, Freaky Friday, and others.

The Borderlands movie is being written by Craig Mazin, previously writer on HBO’s Chernobyl and currently developing a series based on The Last of US for HBO as well.

Developer Gearbox and Lionsgate announced the Borderlands movie back in February 2020. Since then, fans have been treated to the trickle of casting news, including the potential for fans and cosplayers to join the cast and be summarily killed.

[widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=every-video-game-movie-in-development-almost&captions=true"]

With production still in the casting phases, don’t expect to hear much news on when we can expect to see the movie in theaters. Remember those?

[poilib element="accentDivider"] Joseph Knoop is a writer/producer/vault hunter for IGN.

The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) has confirmed that E3 2021 will happen as a digital event. In a statement to IGN, the ESA has confirmed the return of one of the biggest video game conferences after its cancellation in 2020 due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. "We can confirm that we are transforming the E3 experience for 2021 and will soon share exact details on how we’re bringing the global video game community together." A spokesperson from the ESA said. "We are having great conversations with publishers, developers and companies across the board, and we look forward to sharing details about their involvement soon." This news follows a report from VGC, in which E3 2021 pitch documents sent to game publishers have outlined the proposal that would see three days of live-streamed coverage from the previously announced dates of June 15-17, 2021. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/12/17/the-biggest-games-coming-in-2021"] The plan includes having "multiple two-hour keynote sessions from game partners, an awards show, a June 14 preview night and other smaller streams from game publishers, influencers and media partners." The broadcast event would be preceded by a media preview week, and demos would be released to the public during E3 2021 to help celebrate the future of video games. The ESA is also planning on making it possible to "allow partner companies to remotely stream playable game demos to the media across 'thousands' of scheduled meetings" alongside one-on-one assistance from developers. According to the report, these plans for E3 2021 still need approval from the ESA's membership, which include some of the biggest game companies in the world. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/01/13/playstation-will-not-be-at-e3-2020-ign-now"] Prior to COVID-19, many companies, including Sony, had already backed out of E3 in favor of doing their own digital events. Furthermore, The Video Game Awards and Summer Game Fest's Geoff Keighley had also backed out of E3 2020, and has no plans to return this year. Becoming a part of E3 is also very expensive, and one video game company indicated that it would rather run its own digital event instead of "paying the six-figure sums required to join E3 2021's schedule." VGC does note that the ESA has not officially cancelled plans for a physical E3 2021 event, but the digital event is indeed the main focus. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/04/07/no-digital-replacement-for-e3"] The proposed show would run from 10am-10pm EST, with regional replays scheduled for around the world. A typical day would include "a 30-minute pre-show run by a media partner, followed by a 2-hour 'exclusive press conference' by a console platform holder, followed by a Q&A and panel reaction." There would then be more third-party publisher presentations, a wrap-up show, a teaser for the next day, and a "charitable after-party" stream. [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.

The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) has confirmed that E3 2021 will happen as a digital event. In a statement to IGN, the ESA has confirmed the return of one of the biggest video game conferences after its cancellation in 2020 due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. "We can confirm that we are transforming the E3 experience for 2021 and will soon share exact details on how we’re bringing the global video game community together." A spokesperson from the ESA said. "We are having great conversations with publishers, developers and companies across the board, and we look forward to sharing details about their involvement soon." This news follows a report from VGC, in which E3 2021 pitch documents sent to game publishers have outlined the proposal that would see three days of live-streamed coverage from the previously announced dates of June 15-17, 2021. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/12/17/the-biggest-games-coming-in-2021"] The plan includes having "multiple two-hour keynote sessions from game partners, an awards show, a June 14 preview night and other smaller streams from game publishers, influencers and media partners." The broadcast event would be preceded by a media preview week, and demos would be released to the public during E3 2021 to help celebrate the future of video games. The ESA is also planning on making it possible to "allow partner companies to remotely stream playable game demos to the media across 'thousands' of scheduled meetings" alongside one-on-one assistance from developers. According to the report, these plans for E3 2021 still need approval from the ESA's membership, which include some of the biggest game companies in the world. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/01/13/playstation-will-not-be-at-e3-2020-ign-now"] Prior to COVID-19, many companies, including Sony, had already backed out of E3 in favor of doing their own digital events. Furthermore, The Video Game Awards and Summer Game Fest's Geoff Keighley had also backed out of E3 2020, and has no plans to return this year. Becoming a part of E3 is also very expensive, and one video game company indicated that it would rather run its own digital event instead of "paying the six-figure sums required to join E3 2021's schedule." VGC does note that the ESA has not officially cancelled plans for a physical E3 2021 event, but the digital event is indeed the main focus. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/04/07/no-digital-replacement-for-e3"] The proposed show would run from 10am-10pm EST, with regional replays scheduled for around the world. A typical day would include "a 30-minute pre-show run by a media partner, followed by a 2-hour 'exclusive press conference' by a console platform holder, followed by a Q&A and panel reaction." There would then be more third-party publisher presentations, a wrap-up show, a teaser for the next day, and a "charitable after-party" stream. [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.

More details have come to light about the nearly-released GoldenEye 007 remaster following a leak of the game's files online, including the fact that Nintendo canceled the project when it was nearly done. Former developers on the remaster Ross Bury and Mark Edmonds spoke with Ars Technica about its development, saying that it had started in late 2006 or early 2007, but didn't initially have approval from higher-ups. The game was planned as an Xbox 360 release, and was intended as a very straightforward remaster for the console with little in the way of new content beyond some dramatic visual upgrades -- including updated character models to, in many cases, make the characters look much closer in appearance to their real-life actors. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2010/11/02/goldeneye-007-video-review"] Edmonds explained that at some point in the process, the team was told that "everyone had approved it." The team continued work, believing that the rights had cleared and there were no strings attached to the remaster of the Nintendo 64 title. However, just as the game was about to go gold, it was canceled due to an unknown "high up" Nintendo executive. "When it was put to Nintendo, everyone there approved it," Bury said. "Except they didn't check with the one guy who mattered." "I believe I was told his response went along the lines of, 'There is no way a Nintendo game is coming out on a Microsoft console,'" he added. Both Edmonds and Bury estimate that at the time the game was canceled, it only had around 90 bugs in QA testing -- a relatively small number for a game release and indicating that GoldenEye 007's remaster was nearly ready to be released. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/why-a-james-bond-007-game-from-the-hitman-team-has-major-potential"] The two added that the version of GoldenEye 007 that leaked online earlier this month was not the most "current" version of the game, but relatively close. It's missing some more updated art assets and has more bugs and other issues than the last version of the game. Bury stated that he does not anticipate the final version will ever be made available in any way. You can watch a longplay of the GoldenEye 007 remaster from earlier this year on YouTube, or take solace in the fact that while we will probably never get a proper release of the remaster, IO Interactive is at least supplying us with both a proper flashy spy game in Hitman 3, and a true 007 licensed title coming sometime in the future. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Rebekah Valentine is a news reporter for IGN. You can find her on Twitter @duckvalentine.

More details have come to light about the nearly-released GoldenEye 007 remaster following a leak of the game's files online, including the fact that Nintendo canceled the project when it was nearly done. Former developers on the remaster Ross Bury and Mark Edmonds spoke with Ars Technica about its development, saying that it had started in late 2006 or early 2007, but didn't initially have approval from higher-ups. The game was planned as an Xbox 360 release, and was intended as a very straightforward remaster for the console with little in the way of new content beyond some dramatic visual upgrades -- including updated character models to, in many cases, make the characters look much closer in appearance to their real-life actors. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2010/11/02/goldeneye-007-video-review"] Edmonds explained that at some point in the process, the team was told that "everyone had approved it." The team continued work, believing that the rights had cleared and there were no strings attached to the remaster of the Nintendo 64 title. However, just as the game was about to go gold, it was canceled due to an unknown "high up" Nintendo executive. "When it was put to Nintendo, everyone there approved it," Bury said. "Except they didn't check with the one guy who mattered." "I believe I was told his response went along the lines of, 'There is no way a Nintendo game is coming out on a Microsoft console,'" he added. Both Edmonds and Bury estimate that at the time the game was canceled, it only had around 90 bugs in QA testing -- a relatively small number for a game release and indicating that GoldenEye 007's remaster was nearly ready to be released. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/why-a-james-bond-007-game-from-the-hitman-team-has-major-potential"] The two added that the version of GoldenEye 007 that leaked online earlier this month was not the most "current" version of the game, but relatively close. It's missing some more updated art assets and has more bugs and other issues than the last version of the game. Bury stated that he does not anticipate the final version will ever be made available in any way. You can watch a longplay of the GoldenEye 007 remaster from earlier this year on YouTube, or take solace in the fact that while we will probably never get a proper release of the remaster, IO Interactive is at least supplying us with both a proper flashy spy game in Hitman 3, and a true 007 licensed title coming sometime in the future. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Rebekah Valentine is a news reporter for IGN. You can find her on Twitter @duckvalentine.

Michelle Rodriguez and Justice Smith have joined Chris Pine in Paramount and eOne's Dungeons & Dragons feature film. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Rodriguez, who is best known for her role as Letty in the Fast and Furious franchise, and Smith, who has starred in blockbuster movies like Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom and Detective Pikachu, have both now closed deals to appear in the upcoming movie, which is based on the popular role-playing game owned by Wizards of the Coast. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/02/19/chris-pratt-and-tom-holland-want-to-start-an-avengers-cast-dungeons-and-dragons-party"] Plot details for the Dungeons & Dragons feature adaptation are being kept firmly under wraps, but we do know that Spider-Man: Homecoming's Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley penned the latest version of the script based on a previous draft by Michael Gilio. Goldstein and Daley are also doubling up as the directors of the movie. Jeremy Latcham, who formerly served as SVP of Production and Development at Marvel, is producing through his deal with eOne, Hasbro's entertainment arm, alongside Hasbro's Brian Goldner who is also on board as a producer. The Dungeons & Dragons reboot is currently slated to be released in theaters on May 27, 2022, following delays due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=every-delayed-movie-due-to-coronavirus-so-far&captions=true"] This will be the first feature film based on the property since Jeremy Irons starred in New Line's adaptation in 2000. In our review of that movie, we said: "If making a movie is akin to running a marathon, then Dungeons & Dragons is like an infant trying to crawl. This film truly gives the already legendary Battlefield Earth legitimate competition as the worst, most inept big-budget movie released by a major studio in recent memory. Though it doesn't have Battlefield Earth's extra camp factors (the Scientology connection, Travolta), it may well actually be even worse. Quite an achievement." [poilib element="accentDivider"] Adele Ankers is a Freelance Entertainment Journalist. You can reach her on Twitter.

Michelle Rodriguez and Justice Smith have joined Chris Pine in Paramount and eOne's Dungeons & Dragons feature film. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Rodriguez, who is best known for her role as Letty in the Fast and Furious franchise, and Smith, who has starred in blockbuster movies like Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom and Detective Pikachu, have both now closed deals to appear in the upcoming movie, which is based on the popular role-playing game owned by Wizards of the Coast. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/02/19/chris-pratt-and-tom-holland-want-to-start-an-avengers-cast-dungeons-and-dragons-party"] Plot details for the Dungeons & Dragons feature adaptation are being kept firmly under wraps, but we do know that Spider-Man: Homecoming's Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley penned the latest version of the script based on a previous draft by Michael Gilio. Goldstein and Daley are also doubling up as the directors of the movie. Jeremy Latcham, who formerly served as SVP of Production and Development at Marvel, is producing through his deal with eOne, Hasbro's entertainment arm, alongside Hasbro's Brian Goldner who is also on board as a producer. The Dungeons & Dragons reboot is currently slated to be released in theaters on May 27, 2022, following delays due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=every-delayed-movie-due-to-coronavirus-so-far&captions=true"] This will be the first feature film based on the property since Jeremy Irons starred in New Line's adaptation in 2000. In our review of that movie, we said: "If making a movie is akin to running a marathon, then Dungeons & Dragons is like an infant trying to crawl. This film truly gives the already legendary Battlefield Earth legitimate competition as the worst, most inept big-budget movie released by a major studio in recent memory. Though it doesn't have Battlefield Earth's extra camp factors (the Scientology connection, Travolta), it may well actually be even worse. Quite an achievement." [poilib element="accentDivider"] Adele Ankers is a Freelance Entertainment Journalist. You can reach her on Twitter.

Epic has announced an upcoming announcement showcase and sale on the Epic Games Store, starting on February 11. The event kicks off with a Twitch stream at 11am Pacific / 2pm Eastern / 7pm UK (that's 6am AEST on February 12) on the Epic Games Twitch Channel, and will include new game announcements, gameplay, and extended looks at upcoming games planned for launch on the Epic Games Store this year. Beginning three hours earlier the same day at 8am Pacific / 11am Eastern / 4pm UK / (3am AEST on February 12) and lasting through the same time on February 25, Epic Games will also run its Spring Showcase Sale. The sale will include deals on a number of titles such as Star Wars: Squadrons, SnowRunner, Cyberpunk 2077, Assassin's Creed Valhalla, and Hades. A preview of all the games that will go on sale during this time is available on the Epic Games Store now and appears to include over 180 games, though it isn't currently showing what the discounts on those titles will be. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/10/01/star-wars-squadrons-single-player-review"] Though Epic hasn't given any hints about what new announcements might be present at its stream on the 11th, it recently gave a statement to PC Gamer indicating that we should expect to specifically see a lot more Epic Games Store exclusives in the future. "We have more exclusives coming in the next two years than we have published to date," said a company representative to PC Gamer, in response to a report that the storefront's bevy of exclusives seemed to have quieted down of late. Exclusives have also been a major revenue driver for the storefront in the past, so it wouldn't be surprising to see a few new announcements along those lines at the showcase next week. It's also possible we might see glimpses of exclusives already announced for the store that aren't yet out -- which could include games such as The Wolf Among Us 2, Jett: The Far Shore, Darkest Dungeon 2, Kena: Bridge of Spirits, or upcoming titles from Ubisoft (which typically also launch on the Ubisoft Store) or Remedy. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Rebekah Valentine is a news reporter for IGN. You can find her on Twitter @duckvalentine.