Monthly Archives: October 2021
Marvel’s Wasp Is Still ‘An Enigma’ For Evangeline Lilly Even After Multiple Movies
Evangeline Lilly has been playing Hope van Dyne since 2014's Ant-Man, but she says the character is still hard for her to understand.
Speaking to THR, Lilly said, "the truth is that I find it harder to know and understand Hope than any other character I’ve ever played before.”
Lilly says she wants to honor Hope in her portrayal of her, but that she's an "odd enigma" for her. According to Lilly, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is about halfway through filming, and this script has helped her get more of a grasp on the character.
"I will say that after I read the script of the film, I did have a kind of eureka moment; I said to [director Peyton Reed], 'Oh my God, I think I finally get her.' Three or four films in, I thought, 'I think I get it now'," Lilly said. "So I’m hoping that when we come to wrap and when I see the movie, I’m going to know the difference. But I don’t think anyone else will. I think I’m a good bluffer."
Hope van Dyne is introduced in Ant-Man. She has a more prominent role in the sequel where she got the second billing in the title, Ant-Man and the Wasp, and where she takes on a starring role alongside Paul Rudd. Lilly also makes appears in Avengers Endgame and voiced the character on an episode of What If...? as a variant in another universe.
Ant-Man 3 was revealed late last year, and is set to release on February 17, 2023. Before that, MCU fans can look forward to 2021's Spider-Man: No Way Home and Eternals, which will have a "very big effect" on the MCU's future.
Logan Plant is a freelance writer for IGN. You can find him on Twitter @LoganJPlant.
Marvel’s Wasp Is Still ‘An Enigma’ For Evangeline Lilly Even After Multiple Movies
Evangeline Lilly has been playing Hope van Dyne since 2014's Ant-Man, but she says the character is still hard for her to understand.
Speaking to THR, Lilly said, "the truth is that I find it harder to know and understand Hope than any other character I’ve ever played before.”
Lilly says she wants to honor Hope in her portrayal of her, but that she's an "odd enigma" for her. According to Lilly, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is about halfway through filming, and this script has helped her get more of a grasp on the character.
"I will say that after I read the script of the film, I did have a kind of eureka moment; I said to [director Peyton Reed], 'Oh my God, I think I finally get her.' Three or four films in, I thought, 'I think I get it now'," Lilly said. "So I’m hoping that when we come to wrap and when I see the movie, I’m going to know the difference. But I don’t think anyone else will. I think I’m a good bluffer."
Hope van Dyne is introduced in Ant-Man. She has a more prominent role in the sequel where she got the second billing in the title, Ant-Man and the Wasp, and where she takes on a starring role alongside Paul Rudd. Lilly also makes appears in Avengers Endgame and voiced the character on an episode of What If...? as a variant in another universe.
Ant-Man 3 was revealed late last year, and is set to release on February 17, 2023. Before that, MCU fans can look forward to 2021's Spider-Man: No Way Home and Eternals, which will have a "very big effect" on the MCU's future.
Logan Plant is a freelance writer for IGN. You can find him on Twitter @LoganJPlant.
Squid Game Hits 111 Million Viewers, the Biggest Series Launch Ever for Netflix
Squid Game is a bonafide global hit, and Netflix is releasing the numbers to prove it.
On Twitter, Netflix said the South Korean survival drama has officially reached 111 million people, making it the biggest launch ever for the streaming service.
Squid Game has officially reached 111 million fans — making it our biggest series launch ever! pic.twitter.com/SW3FJ42Qsn
— Netflix (@netflix) October 12, 2021
Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos said last month that Squid Game was already on track to become Netflix's biggest show ever, and these latest figures seem to support his claims. Just know, however, that Netflix historically counts its views as any Netflix account that watches at least 2 minutes of a series within the first 28 days after release.
The last time Netflix reported data, Bridgerton: Season 1 took the top spot with 82 million accounts tuning in. Squid Game's 111 million has smashed that total. Other shows in the top 10 that Squid Game has surpassed include The Witcher, Tiger King, Stranger Things, and more.
Squid Game's journey from script to screen was a long one, so hopefully, its creators are enjoying the success. The script for Squid Game was rejected for a decade before Netflix gave it the green light. Once it entered production, Director Hwang Dong-hyuk says he lost multiple teeth due to stress.
For more, check out our Squid Game review, where we called the show, "one of the most exciting series to hit Netflix in some time." Or, read up on Squid Game season 2, which might not focus on the contestants.
Logan Plant is a freelance writer for IGN. You can find him on Twitter @LoganJPlant.
Squid Game Hits 111 Million Viewers, the Biggest Series Launch Ever for Netflix
Squid Game is a bonafide global hit, and Netflix is releasing the numbers to prove it.
On Twitter, Netflix said the South Korean survival drama has officially reached 111 million people, making it the biggest launch ever for the streaming service.
Squid Game has officially reached 111 million fans — making it our biggest series launch ever! pic.twitter.com/SW3FJ42Qsn
— Netflix (@netflix) October 12, 2021
Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos said last month that Squid Game was already on track to become Netflix's biggest show ever, and these latest figures seem to support his claims. Just know, however, that Netflix historically counts its views as any Netflix account that watches at least 2 minutes of a series within the first 28 days after release.
The last time Netflix reported data, Bridgerton: Season 1 took the top spot with 82 million accounts tuning in. Squid Game's 111 million has smashed that total. Other shows in the top 10 that Squid Game has surpassed include The Witcher, Tiger King, Stranger Things, and more.
Squid Game's journey from script to screen was a long one, so hopefully, its creators are enjoying the success. The script for Squid Game was rejected for a decade before Netflix gave it the green light. Once it entered production, Director Hwang Dong-hyuk says he lost multiple teeth due to stress.
For more, check out our Squid Game review, where we called the show, "one of the most exciting series to hit Netflix in some time." Or, read up on Squid Game season 2, which might not focus on the contestants.
Logan Plant is a freelance writer for IGN. You can find him on Twitter @LoganJPlant.
Mortal Kombat’s Ed Boon Shows Off the Original 1992 Scorpion Video Capture
Like everyone else, Ed Boon appears to be feeling nostalgic for Mortal Kombat. Boon, who helped create the franchise nearly 30 years ago, recently posted a series of tweets filled with info about Scorpion's legendary hook attack, complete with motion capture footage that dates all the way back to 1992.
Boon published the video on his Twitter on Tuesday. He says that, even though Mortal Kombat will celebrate its 30th anniversary in 2022, Boon says developing the game began 30 years ago in 1991. Boon shared the video to celebrate and commented on how spontaneous the video shoots were.
"We certainly did a ton of prep for our video shoots, but some ideas came to us while filming," Boon said. "With Scorpion’s spear, it started with 'You know what would be a cool ass move?' From there you can be a fly on the wall and see us working through the details."
Mortal Kombat will be 30 years old in 2022. But 2021 marks 30 years since we actually BEGAN working on the game. To celebrate, it seemed like a fun idea to share some behind-the-scenes stuff. This clip shows how we created Scorpion’s iconic (GET OVER HERE!) spear move. (1 of 9) pic.twitter.com/3f1tdvjG9R
— Ed Boon (@noobde) October 12, 2021
Boon kept replying to his tweets and talked about the difficulties of saving memory so the game can fit on what chips they had available in the '90s.
"We were so tight on memory, that we didn’t even capture any motions for the victim reactions," Boon wrote. "Instead we borrowed from their existing animation frames. You can hear us talk about reusing one of the victim’s 'knockdown' animations when they initially get hit by the spear."
Boon said in his final tweet in the thread that he wants to share more videos in anticipation of Mortal Kombat's anniversary.
Mortal Kombat developer NetherRealm Studios announced in July that they have stopped developing DLC for the most recent game in the series, 2019's Mortal Kombat 11, and will develop a new game. Boon is set to talk at DC FanDome on Saturday, which could possibly be that new game announcement.
Mortal Kombat 11 is the best-selling game in the franchise with 12 million units sold. The franchise has exceeded 73 million copies sold on consoles and over 138 million downloads of 2015's Mortal Kombat Mobile.
IGN's Mortal Kombat 11 review praised everything about the game except for its "grindy" way to unlock new content: "Everything from its methodical and deep combat to its fantastically absurd story mode and its rock-solid netcode, right down to its extraordinarily comprehensive tutorial is absolutely exceptional. It’s only when you get into its drawn-out progression that it trips up."
Mortal Kombat 11 was to be played at the in-person Evo Showcase 2021, but the event was recently canceled due to COVID-19 concerns.
Petey Oneto is a freelance writer for IGN.
Mortal Kombat’s Ed Boon Shows Off the Original 1992 Scorpion Video Capture
Like everyone else, Ed Boon appears to be feeling nostalgic for Mortal Kombat. Boon, who helped create the franchise nearly 30 years ago, recently posted a series of tweets filled with info about Scorpion's legendary hook attack, complete with motion capture footage that dates all the way back to 1992.
Boon published the video on his Twitter on Tuesday. He says that, even though Mortal Kombat will celebrate its 30th anniversary in 2022, Boon says developing the game began 30 years ago in 1991. Boon shared the video to celebrate and commented on how spontaneous the video shoots were.
"We certainly did a ton of prep for our video shoots, but some ideas came to us while filming," Boon said. "With Scorpion’s spear, it started with 'You know what would be a cool ass move?' From there you can be a fly on the wall and see us working through the details."
Mortal Kombat will be 30 years old in 2022. But 2021 marks 30 years since we actually BEGAN working on the game. To celebrate, it seemed like a fun idea to share some behind-the-scenes stuff. This clip shows how we created Scorpion’s iconic (GET OVER HERE!) spear move. (1 of 9) pic.twitter.com/3f1tdvjG9R
— Ed Boon (@noobde) October 12, 2021
Boon kept replying to his tweets and talked about the difficulties of saving memory so the game can fit on what chips they had available in the '90s.
"We were so tight on memory, that we didn’t even capture any motions for the victim reactions," Boon wrote. "Instead we borrowed from their existing animation frames. You can hear us talk about reusing one of the victim’s 'knockdown' animations when they initially get hit by the spear."
Boon said in his final tweet in the thread that he wants to share more videos in anticipation of Mortal Kombat's anniversary.
Mortal Kombat developer NetherRealm Studios announced in July that they have stopped developing DLC for the most recent game in the series, 2019's Mortal Kombat 11, and will develop a new game. Boon is set to talk at DC FanDome on Saturday, which could possibly be that new game announcement.
Mortal Kombat 11 is the best-selling game in the franchise with 12 million units sold. The franchise has exceeded 73 million copies sold on consoles and over 138 million downloads of 2015's Mortal Kombat Mobile.
IGN's Mortal Kombat 11 review praised everything about the game except for its "grindy" way to unlock new content: "Everything from its methodical and deep combat to its fantastically absurd story mode and its rock-solid netcode, right down to its extraordinarily comprehensive tutorial is absolutely exceptional. It’s only when you get into its drawn-out progression that it trips up."
Mortal Kombat 11 was to be played at the in-person Evo Showcase 2021, but the event was recently canceled due to COVID-19 concerns.
Petey Oneto is a freelance writer for IGN.
Avowed Reportedly Has Destructible Environments And Is ‘Deep Into Pre-Production’
A little more than a year since its original announcement, we still know comparatively little about Avowed — the new first-person RPG from Obsidian based in the Pillars of Eternity universe. However, a new report by Windows Central appears to shed light on the project, revealing that it's well into pre-production and that it will "feature many elements Pillars of Eternity fans are familiar with."
They reportedly include familiar spells such as Jolting Touch and Fetid Caress, as well as creatures like the Xaurips. The report repeatedly compares Avowed to Skyrim and Oblivion, describing it as "undoubtedly Obsidian's take on The Elder Scrolls." It may go as far as to include destructible environments, with fire spells leaving areas "coated in flames."
Avowed is reportedly still in pre-alpha and is not yet playable, but Obsidian is said to be making steady progress. The report speculates that Avowed could be in a playable state by E3 2022, but that date is currently unconfirmed.
Assuming it's all correct, it sounds like Avowed will be the sort of deep open world RPG that has been characteristic of Obsidian's efforts over the years. A direct descendant of Black Isle Studios, Obsidian is best-known for its work on Fallout: New Vegas and Knights of the Old Republic 2, both which has become beloved classics over the years.
Avowed was first announced back in July 2020, where it was presented as evidence of Microsoft's growing first-party muscle in the run-up to the launch of the Xbox Series X|S. Little has been revealed since, suggesting that Avowed is indeed still quite early in its development process.
However it turns out, both Avowed and The Outer Wilds represent Obsidian's renewed push into the AAA RPG space after a prolonged absence. Prior to being acquired by Microsoft, Obsidian had been focusing on smaller projects such as Pillars of Eternity and Tyranny.
Apart from Avowed, Obsidian is currently working on The Outer Worlds 2, which was announced during E3 2021. Both games are set to be released on PC and Xbox Series X|S, and neither have a release date as of yet.
Kat Bailey is a Senior News Editor at IGN
Avowed Reportedly Has Destructible Environments And Is ‘Deep Into Pre-Production’
A little more than a year since its original announcement, we still know comparatively little about Avowed — the new first-person RPG from Obsidian based in the Pillars of Eternity universe. However, a new report by Windows Central appears to shed light on the project, revealing that it's well into pre-production and that it will "feature many elements Pillars of Eternity fans are familiar with."
They reportedly include familiar spells such as Jolting Touch and Fetid Caress, as well as creatures like the Xaurips. The report repeatedly compares Avowed to Skyrim and Oblivion, describing it as "undoubtedly Obsidian's take on The Elder Scrolls." It may go as far as to include destructible environments, with fire spells leaving areas "coated in flames."
Avowed is reportedly still in pre-alpha and is not yet playable, but Obsidian is said to be making steady progress. The report speculates that Avowed could be in a playable state by E3 2022, but that date is currently unconfirmed.
Assuming it's all correct, it sounds like Avowed will be the sort of deep open world RPG that has been characteristic of Obsidian's efforts over the years. A direct descendant of Black Isle Studios, Obsidian is best-known for its work on Fallout: New Vegas and Knights of the Old Republic 2, both which has become beloved classics over the years.
Avowed was first announced back in July 2020, where it was presented as evidence of Microsoft's growing first-party muscle in the run-up to the launch of the Xbox Series X|S. Little has been revealed since, suggesting that Avowed is indeed still quite early in its development process.
However it turns out, both Avowed and The Outer Wilds represent Obsidian's renewed push into the AAA RPG space after a prolonged absence. Prior to being acquired by Microsoft, Obsidian had been focusing on smaller projects such as Pillars of Eternity and Tyranny.
Apart from Avowed, Obsidian is currently working on The Outer Worlds 2, which was announced during E3 2021. Both games are set to be released on PC and Xbox Series X|S, and neither have a release date as of yet.
Kat Bailey is a Senior News Editor at IGN
The Alien FX Series Will ‘Never Be As Good As the First One,’ Ridley Scott Says
Ridley Scott says the Alien TV series that he's working on won't overshadow the original movie he directed in 1979. Scott discussed the upcoming Alien series in an interview with The Independent that was published on Monday.
Disney announced the Alien TV series in December 2020 with the news that the show's creator, Fargo and Legion's Noah Hawley, is working with Scott on the series. Scott has now shared his thoughts on what will be the first Alien TV series and how it compares to his original, iconic movie.
"It’ll never be as good as the first one," Scott said grinning, according to The Independent. "That’s what I’ll say."
Scott directed the original Alien movie, which was released in movie theaters in 1979. Alien would go on to have three sequels and two spin-off crossover movies with Predator without Scott's involvement. Scott would return to the franchise as a director and producer with Prometheus in 2012 and Alien: Covenant in 2017.
Scott said the movie studio had a negative reaction to Prometheus and its box office results.
"I never showed an alien in it and the studio...said, ‘See, it didn’t do so well!’ Really?" Scott said.
As The Independent points out, Prometheus made over $400 million at the box office. The Numbers reports it among the top 20 biggest movies of 2012 and one of the biggest R-rated movies of all time.
The movie studio then told Scott to "put the aliens back in there." Alien: Covenant would only go on to make about $240 million at the box office, according to The Numbers.
"When you’ve got a marvelous beast, it does wear out and you have to actually think again," Scott said.
Scott already has plans for another Alien movie. In January 2020, Scott said the idea for the new Alien movie is to detail the origins of the ship filled with eggs from the first movie. But a lot has changed since then. The Alien TV series was announced and Scott signed up to direct two movies.
The Independent says the 83-year-old director plans to film the Napoleon Bonaparte movie Kitbag starring Joaquin Phoenix in January 2022 and will begin filming a sequel to Gladiator by the end of 2022. The Alien TV series is also set to film in 2022.
Scott's next movie to be released as a director is The Last Duel, which is set to hit movie theaters on Friday. He has already completed another movie, House of Gucci, which is releasing in movie theaters on November 24.
In IGN's The Last Duel review, we said the movie has, "brilliant performances, brutal fights, and impactful social commentary."
Petey Oneto is a freelance writer for IGN.
The Alien FX Series Will ‘Never Be As Good As the First One,’ Ridley Scott Says
Ridley Scott says the Alien TV series that he's working on won't overshadow the original movie he directed in 1979. Scott discussed the upcoming Alien series in an interview with The Independent that was published on Monday.
Disney announced the Alien TV series in December 2020 with the news that the show's creator, Fargo and Legion's Noah Hawley, is working with Scott on the series. Scott has now shared his thoughts on what will be the first Alien TV series and how it compares to his original, iconic movie.
"It’ll never be as good as the first one," Scott said grinning, according to The Independent. "That’s what I’ll say."
Scott directed the original Alien movie, which was released in movie theaters in 1979. Alien would go on to have three sequels and two spin-off crossover movies with Predator without Scott's involvement. Scott would return to the franchise as a director and producer with Prometheus in 2012 and Alien: Covenant in 2017.
Scott said the movie studio had a negative reaction to Prometheus and its box office results.
"I never showed an alien in it and the studio...said, ‘See, it didn’t do so well!’ Really?" Scott said.
As The Independent points out, Prometheus made over $400 million at the box office. The Numbers reports it among the top 20 biggest movies of 2012 and one of the biggest R-rated movies of all time.
The movie studio then told Scott to "put the aliens back in there." Alien: Covenant would only go on to make about $240 million at the box office, according to The Numbers.
"When you’ve got a marvelous beast, it does wear out and you have to actually think again," Scott said.
Scott already has plans for another Alien movie. In January 2020, Scott said the idea for the new Alien movie is to detail the origins of the ship filled with eggs from the first movie. But a lot has changed since then. The Alien TV series was announced and Scott signed up to direct two movies.
The Independent says the 83-year-old director plans to film the Napoleon Bonaparte movie Kitbag starring Joaquin Phoenix in January 2022 and will begin filming a sequel to Gladiator by the end of 2022. The Alien TV series is also set to film in 2022.
Scott's next movie to be released as a director is The Last Duel, which is set to hit movie theaters on Friday. He has already completed another movie, House of Gucci, which is releasing in movie theaters on November 24.
In IGN's The Last Duel review, we said the movie has, "brilliant performances, brutal fights, and impactful social commentary."
Petey Oneto is a freelance writer for IGN.