The standalone Flash movie has begun day one of production, and has a new logo. On Instagram, director Andy Muschietti wrote, "Here we go!!! THE FLASH Day 1", and posted a short visualisation of the new Flash logo appearing. It's a major milestone for The Flash movie, which has undergone many, many changes since being announced in 2014. While Ezra Miller has always been attached in the lead role, the movie has lost two directors, been delayed, got a complete rewrite, and been involved in an acrimonious bust-up between Warner Bros. and Cyborg actor Ray Fisher. The cast includes Ezra Miller as Barry Allen/The Flash, Sasha Calle as Supergirl, Michael Keaton returning as Batman (although the actor is assessing the COVID pandemic), Ben Affleck as a whole other Batman, and, reportedly, Ron Livingston as Barry Allen's father, replacing Billy Cudrup who played Allen's dad in Justice League.. Touted as a version of the classic DC Flashpoint story, the story will apparently "restart everything" in the DC cinematic universe. "It's going to be fun and exciting and there are a lot of DC characters in it," said producer Barbara Muschietti. "Flash is the superhero of this film because he is the bridge between all of these characters and timelines. And in a way, it restarts everything and doesn't forget anything." [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=the-flash-movies-possible-dceu-cameos&captions=true"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Joe Skrebels is IGN's Executive Editor of News. Follow him on Twitter. Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

The new Apex Legends hero, Valkyrie, has been revealed and she's the daughter of a Titanfall pilot. After a good amount of Titanfall content teases from Apex Legends developer, Respawn finally confirmed that its latest hero is directly tied to Titanfall. The new hero, Valkyrie, is set to "forge her own legacy in the Apex games...with the help of the remnants of her father's Northstar Titan." Respawn also released a new Stories From the Outlands story trailer that introduces Valkyrie to the world of Apex Legends. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/04/19/apex-legends-stories-from-the-outlands-northstar-trailer"] "Daughter of famed Titan Pilot Viper, Valkyrie inherited her father's love of flight, but not his sense of duty," a press release for the announcement reads. "In a heated moment with Blisk — where he speaks to 'little Viper' (Valkyrie) with respect, challenging her to be better. With Valkyrie joining the arena, keep your eyes open for more Apex Legends news this week." As you can see in the Northstar story trailer, Valkyrie comes face to face with Kuben Blisk and we even learn more about about her relation to Viper, who players might recognize as an antagonist from Titanfall 2. As if that connection to the Titanfall series isn't enough, the story trailer ends with Valkyrie using pieces of Viper's Northstar Titan — the Northstar Titan is a type of Titan in Titanfall 2 multiplayer — to create what appears to be a titan for herself. Perhaps this titan has something to do with Valkyrie's ultimate ability in Apex Legends. For those eager to learn more about how this hero will play, the Northstar story trailer doesn't reveal much about that unfortunately. Respawn says more Apex Legends news is coming this week, though, so perhaps we'll learn more then. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/03/22/apex-legends-the-story-so-far"] Valkyrie will join Apex Legends' hero roster on May 4. Check out this story about a recent record milestone for the game, where Respawn might have teased Valkyrie in a short clip of video, and then read about what Respawn has to say about Season 9 of Apex Legends, including how it will feature "a ton" of Titanfall content. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Wesley LeBlanc is a freelance news writer and guide maker for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @LeBlancWes. 

The new Apex Legends hero, Valkyrie, has been revealed and she's the daughter of a Titanfall pilot. After a good amount of Titanfall content teases from Apex Legends developer, Respawn finally confirmed that its latest hero is directly tied to Titanfall. The new hero, Valkyrie, is set to "forge her own legacy in the Apex games...with the help of the remnants of her father's Northstar Titan." Respawn also released a new Stories From the Outlands story trailer that introduces Valkyrie to the world of Apex Legends. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/04/19/apex-legends-stories-from-the-outlands-northstar-trailer"] "Daughter of famed Titan Pilot Viper, Valkyrie inherited her father's love of flight, but not his sense of duty," a press release for the announcement reads. "In a heated moment with Blisk — where he speaks to 'little Viper' (Valkyrie) with respect, challenging her to be better. With Valkyrie joining the arena, keep your eyes open for more Apex Legends news this week." As you can see in the Northstar story trailer, Valkyrie comes face to face with Kuben Blisk and we even learn more about about her relation to Viper, who players might recognize as an antagonist from Titanfall 2. As if that connection to the Titanfall series isn't enough, the story trailer ends with Valkyrie using pieces of Viper's Northstar Titan — the Northstar Titan is a type of Titan in Titanfall 2 multiplayer — to create what appears to be a titan for herself. Perhaps this titan has something to do with Valkyrie's ultimate ability in Apex Legends. For those eager to learn more about how this hero will play, the Northstar story trailer doesn't reveal much about that unfortunately. Respawn says more Apex Legends news is coming this week, though, so perhaps we'll learn more then. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/03/22/apex-legends-the-story-so-far"] Valkyrie will join Apex Legends' hero roster on May 4. Check out this story about a recent record milestone for the game, where Respawn might have teased Valkyrie in a short clip of video, and then read about what Respawn has to say about Season 9 of Apex Legends, including how it will feature "a ton" of Titanfall content. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Wesley LeBlanc is a freelance news writer and guide maker for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @LeBlancWes. 

Academy Award-winning actress Olivia Colman is in talks to join Samuel L. Jackson in Marvel's Secret Invasion series. As per the Hollywood Reporter, Colman could join Jackson in his Nick Fury-focused Disney+ series based on the popular Marvel Comics storyline. According to the report, the events of Captain Marvel will serve as a "launching pad" for Secret Invasion with Ben Mendelsohn also set to reprise his role as an ally Skrull, Talos. Secret Invasion is a storyline in the Marvel comics where shape-shifting aliens known as the Skrulls have secretly replaced key members of the Avengers, and the events of the storyline lead to the dissolution of SHIELD in the comics. Though given that SHIELD is already disbanded in the MCU and the Skrulls we've seen are friendly, the plot for the show will likely diverge from the comics. Other casting includes Kingsley Ben-Adir from One Night in Miami in what is being tipped as a likely villain role. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=marvel-cinematic-universe-every-upcoming-movie-and-tv-show&captions=true"] Colman is known for her portrayal of Queen Elizabeth II in The Crown as well as winning an Academy Award in 2018 for Best Actress in The Favourite. Colman is currently set to appear in another award-nominated film The Father as well as voice a character in the animated movie The Mitchells vs the Machines. In other Marvel news, the first trailer for Shang-Chi premiered today along with some first-look photos so check those out on IGN. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt T.M. Kim is IGN's News Editor.

Academy Award-winning actress Olivia Colman is in talks to join Samuel L. Jackson in Marvel's Secret Invasion series. As per the Hollywood Reporter, Colman could join Jackson in his Nick Fury-focused Disney+ series based on the popular Marvel Comics storyline. According to the report, the events of Captain Marvel will serve as a "launching pad" for Secret Invasion with Ben Mendelsohn also set to reprise his role as an ally Skrull, Talos. Secret Invasion is a storyline in the Marvel comics where shape-shifting aliens known as the Skrulls have secretly replaced key members of the Avengers, and the events of the storyline lead to the dissolution of SHIELD in the comics. Though given that SHIELD is already disbanded in the MCU and the Skrulls we've seen are friendly, the plot for the show will likely diverge from the comics. Other casting includes Kingsley Ben-Adir from One Night in Miami in what is being tipped as a likely villain role. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=marvel-cinematic-universe-every-upcoming-movie-and-tv-show&captions=true"] Colman is known for her portrayal of Queen Elizabeth II in The Crown as well as winning an Academy Award in 2018 for Best Actress in The Favourite. Colman is currently set to appear in another award-nominated film The Father as well as voice a character in the animated movie The Mitchells vs the Machines. In other Marvel news, the first trailer for Shang-Chi premiered today along with some first-look photos so check those out on IGN. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt T.M. Kim is IGN's News Editor.

A class action lawsuit over drift in Xbox controllers will be settled outside of a courtroom. GamesIndustry.biz reports that the lawsuit has been compelled to arbitration (in which a third party makes a binding decision to settle a legal dispute). After the class action lawsuit and the firm behind it, CSK&D, claimed that Microsoft had distributed faulty Xbox controllers, Microsoft requested to have an impartial adjudicator handle the claim outside of court. GamesIndustry.biz reports that the case was filed in April of last year by CSK&D with allegations that a large number of players using Xbox One controllers had been affected by controller drift as a result of nothing more than using the controller as intended. CSK&D has filed drifting cases against Sony and Nintendo as well, and like this case, the case against Nintendo moved into arbitration. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/04/02/the-real-science-behind-controller-drift"] According to CSK&D, the cause of the drift in the Xbox controllers stems from the potentiometer, which "is the mechanism that translates the physical movement of the thumbstick into movement within the video game". The class action lawsuit claims that this faulty potentiometer has been in Xbox controllers since 2014. The issue of these faulty controllers will be solved outside of court now that it's been moved to arbitration. According to GamesIndustry.biz, CSK&D have stated that it is committed to recuperating damages from Microsoft, even if outside of the court, as the law firm has a "sufficient volume" of faulty controllers. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=confirmed-xbox-series-x-games&captions=true"] Those involved in the class action lawsuit will find out what comes next when CSK&D and Microsoft go into arbitration. Drift isn't the only problem facing Xbox controllers at the moment. IGN reported last month that some players are experiencing unresponsive buttons on their Xbox Series X|S controllers — specifically the Y button. Even Sony's new DualSense controllers for the PlayStation 5 have been experiencing drift since launch. Check out our article about the real science behind controller drift to learn more about why drift keeps popping up in controllers like the DualSense, Xbox controllers, and many, many Nintendo Joy-Cons. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Wesley LeBlanc is a freelance news writer and guide maker. You can follow him on Twitter @LeBlancWes. 

A class action lawsuit over drift in Xbox controllers will be settled outside of a courtroom. GamesIndustry.biz reports that the lawsuit has been compelled to arbitration (in which a third party makes a binding decision to settle a legal dispute). After the class action lawsuit and the firm behind it, CSK&D, claimed that Microsoft had distributed faulty Xbox controllers, Microsoft requested to have an impartial adjudicator handle the claim outside of court. GamesIndustry.biz reports that the case was filed in April of last year by CSK&D with allegations that a large number of players using Xbox One controllers had been affected by controller drift as a result of nothing more than using the controller as intended. CSK&D has filed drifting cases against Sony and Nintendo as well, and like this case, the case against Nintendo moved into arbitration. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/04/02/the-real-science-behind-controller-drift"] According to CSK&D, the cause of the drift in the Xbox controllers stems from the potentiometer, which "is the mechanism that translates the physical movement of the thumbstick into movement within the video game". The class action lawsuit claims that this faulty potentiometer has been in Xbox controllers since 2014. The issue of these faulty controllers will be solved outside of court now that it's been moved to arbitration. According to GamesIndustry.biz, CSK&D have stated that it is committed to recuperating damages from Microsoft, even if outside of the court, as the law firm has a "sufficient volume" of faulty controllers. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=confirmed-xbox-series-x-games&captions=true"] Those involved in the class action lawsuit will find out what comes next when CSK&D and Microsoft go into arbitration. Drift isn't the only problem facing Xbox controllers at the moment. IGN reported last month that some players are experiencing unresponsive buttons on their Xbox Series X|S controllers — specifically the Y button. Even Sony's new DualSense controllers for the PlayStation 5 have been experiencing drift since launch. Check out our article about the real science behind controller drift to learn more about why drift keeps popping up in controllers like the DualSense, Xbox controllers, and many, many Nintendo Joy-Cons. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Wesley LeBlanc is a freelance news writer and guide maker. You can follow him on Twitter @LeBlancWes. 

Capcom dropped a Resident Evil Village demo onto the PlayStation store at the weekend, but it was only available for eight hours, starting from 5pm PST on April 17. This is, to put it simply, quite a weird thing to do. But while it’s odd for anyone on time zones in the American continent, it’s even more strange - or downright frustrating - for numerous other regions of the world. As such, plenty of people straight-up missed the opportunity to play it. Creating a post about the situation on the PS5 subreddit, user psfrtps said “I mean why only 8 hours? At least give people 24 hours so people with different timezones, who works in that hours, who is busy in that hours, who is sleepimg (sic) that hours....etc can play the demo.” [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/04/18/resident-evil-village-22-minutes-of-the-village-demo-gameplay-full-playthrough"] Another demo is due this week - check out our Resident Evil Village demo time guide to find out when you can play on PS5, Xbox Series X, and other platforms - but the situation is going to be the same once again. For people anywhere in the world east of Mumbai, the window of availability for the Resident Evil Village demo was late at night, stretching mostly through sleeping hours. New Zealand and Australia in particular got the short end of the stick, with the demo starting at 3am in the Wellington, NZ time zone. “3am to 11am on a workday monday morning,” noted user Stoibs. “Yep, I missed it,” added user AppletonDisposal. “Was really looking forward to it, but I live in New Zealand and have a job.” Simply put, the hours and day the demo fell on just didn’t allow people from places in the Eastern Hemisphere much - if any - chance to play. Regardless of territory, some fans had heard about the demo, but weren’t aware of the strict timings. User BlankStarBE said “I missed it, didn’t know there was an 8 hour window”. In a world where much of the buzz around games comes from social media chatter rather than just the official marketing line of the publisher, it’s not difficult to understand why some didn’t know about the demo’s limitations. Some people discussing the demo in the thread criticised Capcom’s use of a ‘fear of missing out’ marketing strategy. “I really REALLY hate all games that pull these FOMO tactics,” said Ifoundyourtoad. “I work a job I don’t want gaming to be the same. Geez” [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/01/22/resident-evil-village-maiden-demo-gameplay"] On top of that eight hour window, the Resident Evil Village demo is restricted to a 30 minute playthrough, too. This was also criticised among the comments. “It really is ridiculous, why force us to rush through it with a 30 minute limit as well?” asked DanFarrell98. “I really wanted to take my time to soak in the atmosphere and explore the setting but I was worried about missing out because I ran out of time. I ended up finishing with 8 minutes left because I had no idea where the end was.” Across numerous other threads, the same kind of complaints can be found. Lots of people missed out on the Resident Evil Village demo, and will likely have to miss out again when the second demo on April 24 - set in the castle - does the same limited time window again. Not everyone was so down on the situation, though, with a few pointing out that a demo - even one with such bizarre restrictions - is pretty rare these days. “So few games have a demo at all, so I don't really feel the need to attack them over a timed demo,” said terrordactyl1971. To make sure you’re prepared for the timing window of the next two demos, be sure to check out our guide to the 8 Hours in Village demo, which has dates and times for both the PlayStation exclusive demo and the multi-platform demo, too. And if you missed it, you can at least watch a playthrough of the full demo. And for all the latest on Resi, check out what was revealed at the recent Resident Evil Showcase, and our exclusive preview of the first five hours. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Entertainment Writer. 

Capcom dropped a Resident Evil Village demo onto the PlayStation store at the weekend, but it was only available for eight hours, starting from 5pm PST on April 17. This is, to put it simply, quite a weird thing to do. But while it’s odd for anyone on time zones in the American continent, it’s even more strange - or downright frustrating - for numerous other regions of the world. As such, plenty of people straight-up missed the opportunity to play it. Creating a post about the situation on the PS5 subreddit, user psfrtps said “I mean why only 8 hours? At least give people 24 hours so people with different timezones, who works in that hours, who is busy in that hours, who is sleepimg (sic) that hours....etc can play the demo.” [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/04/18/resident-evil-village-22-minutes-of-the-village-demo-gameplay-full-playthrough"] For people anywhere in the world east of Mumbai, the window of availability for the Resident Evil Village demo was late at night, stretching mostly through sleeping hours. New Zealand and Australia in particular got the short end of the stick, with the demo starting at 3am in the Wellington, NZ time zone. “3am to 11am on a workday monday morning,” noted user Stoibs. “Yep, I missed it,” added user AppletonDisposal. “Was really looking forward to it, but I live in New Zealand and have a job.” Simply put, the hours and day the demo fell on just didn’t allow people from places in the Eastern Hemisphere much - if any - chance to play. Regardless of territory, some fans had heard about the demo, but weren’t aware of the strict timings. User BlankStarBE said “I missed it, didn’t know there was an 8 hour window”. In a world where much of the buzz around games comes from social media chatter rather than just the official marketing line of the publisher, it’s not difficult to understand why some didn’t know about the demo’s limitations. Some people discussing the demo in the thread criticised Capcom’s use of a ‘fear of missing out’ marketing strategy. “I really REALLY hate all games that pull these FOMO tactics,” said Ifoundyourtoad. “I work a job I don’t want gaming to be the same. Geez” [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/01/22/resident-evil-village-maiden-demo-gameplay"] On top of that eight hour window, the Resident Evil Village demo is restricted to a 30 minute playthrough, too. This was also criticised among the comments. “It really is ridiculous, why force us to rush through it with a 30 minute limit as well?” asked DanFarrell98. “I really wanted to take my time to soak in the atmosphere and explore the setting but I was worried about missing out because I ran out of time. I ended up finishing with 8 minutes left because I had no idea where the end was.” Across numerous other threads, the same kind of complaints can be found. Lots of people missed out on the Resident Evil Village demo, and will likely have to miss out again when the second demo on April 24 - set in the castle - does the same limited time window again. Not everyone was so down on the situation, though, with a few pointing out that a demo - even one with such bizarre restrictions - is pretty rare these days. “So few games have a demo at all, so I don't really feel the need to attack them over a timed demo,” said terrordactyl1971. To make sure you’re prepared for the timing window of the next two Resident Evil Village demos, be sure to check out our guide. And if you missed it, you can at least watch a playthrough of the full demo. And for all the latest on Resi, check out what was revealed at the recent Resident Evil Showcase, and our exclusive preview of the first five hours. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Entertainment Writer. 

Grand Admiral Thrawn's stock is on the rise in 2021. This iconic villain was recently name-dropped in The Mandalorian: Season 2, fueling new hopes he'll finally be making his live-action debut in Star Wars: Ahsoka or another spinoff series. But for now, fans eager for more of Thrawn's story should be looking to his creator, novelist Timothy Zahn. Zahn is continuing his latest Thrawn trilogy with the release of Star Wars: Thrawn Ascendancy Book II - Greater Good. The follow-up to 2020's Thrawn Ascendancy: Chaos Rising, this book sheds more light on Thrawn's life before he became the most accomplished military leader in the Galactic Empire. At this point, Thrawn is still a young, ambitious captain in the Chiss Ascendancy. As we saw in the first book, Thrawn has a knack for making enemies among his own people, even as he racks up victory after victory in this obscure corner of the galaxy. That flaw only grows worse in Book 2, as Thrawn and his allies work to uncover an enemy hellbent on dividing the Chiss ruling families and destroying this powerful empire from within. IGN can exclusively debut a new excerpt from Thrawn Ascendancy: Greater Good. You can either scroll down to read the text version or watch the video player above to hear a clip of the audiobook narrated by Marc Thompson. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=how-grand-admiral-thrawn-became-an-iconic-star-wars-villain&captions=true"] A little background info first - this passage focuses on Thrawn's colleague, Captain Lakinda, who also serves under Admiral Ar'alani. Lakinda is a member of a once proud Chiss house that's now fallen on hard times. That makes her desperate to prove her mettle in battle, which can be hard to do when Thrawn has a knack for hogging the spotlight. Naturally, these two Chiss don't get along very well. Star Wars: Thrawn Ascendancy Book II - Greater Good is published by Del Rey and is set for release on Tuesday, April 27. You can preorder the book on Amazon or various other retailers. Be sure to check out IGN's interview with Zahn to learn more about the challenge of reinventing Thrawn's origin story, and brush up on all the Star Wars projects in the works for 2021. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.