Monthly Archives: May 2022
Green Lantern Animated Movie Gets 4K Blu-Ray Release Date
Green Lantern: Beware My Power is coming to 4k Blu-Ray on July 26, 2022. That’s right – DC’s cosmic hero is blasting his way back onto our screens in the form of his own animated movie.
“In Green Lantern: Beware My Power, recently discharged Marine sniper John Stewart is at a crossroads in his life, one which is only complicated by receiving an extra-terrestrial ring which grants him the powers of the Green Lantern of Earth,” reads the official synopsis.
Previously announced back in 2021, the animated Green Lantern movie introduces John Stewart in animated form.
But it looks as though his transition to Green Lantern is far from simple.
“Unfortunately, the ring doesn’t come with instructions – but it does come with baggage, like a horde of interplanetary killers bent on eliminating every Green Lantern in the universe. Now, with the aid of the light-hearted Green Arrow, Adam Strange, and Hawkgirl, this reluctant soldier must journey into the heart of a galactic Rann/Thanagar war and somehow succeed where all other Green Lanterns have failed.”
A new trailer gives us our first glimpse at John’s plight… and it looks pretty cool, too. Green Lantern last appeared on the big screen in 2011 in the critically-panned Green Lantern movie... but has yet to make his Justice League debut in the current Warner Bros. pantheon.
Still, this upcoming animated feature sets the stage for an interesting addition to DC’s animated works, with a focus on John Stewart over the traditional Green Lantern, Hal Jordan.
The 4K Blu-Ray includes the new featurette, John Stewart: The Power and the Glory – a new documentary that explores John Stewart’s legacy including new interviews with those who helped shape his story.
Green Lantern: Beware My Power stars Aldis Hodge as John Stewart alongside Jimmi Simpson as Green Arrow, Ike Amadi as Martian Manhunter, Brian Bloom as Adam Strange, Jamie Gray Hyder as Hawkgirl, and Rick D. Wasserman as Sinestro with additional voices by Nolan North.
Jeff Wamester directed the movie based on a script by John Semper and Ernie Altbacker. Jim Kreig is on board as producer alongside Butch Lukic with Sam Register as executive producer.
Ryan Leston is an entertainment journalist and film critic for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.
Green Lantern Animated Movie Gets 4K Blu-Ray Release Date
Green Lantern: Beware My Power is coming to 4k Blu-Ray on July 26, 2022. That’s right – DC’s cosmic hero is blasting his way back onto our screens in the form of his own animated movie.
“In Green Lantern: Beware My Power, recently discharged Marine sniper John Stewart is at a crossroads in his life, one which is only complicated by receiving an extra-terrestrial ring which grants him the powers of the Green Lantern of Earth,” reads the official synopsis.
Previously announced back in 2021, the animated Green Lantern movie introduces John Stewart in animated form.
But it looks as though his transition to Green Lantern is far from simple.
“Unfortunately, the ring doesn’t come with instructions – but it does come with baggage, like a horde of interplanetary killers bent on eliminating every Green Lantern in the universe. Now, with the aid of the light-hearted Green Arrow, Adam Strange, and Hawkgirl, this reluctant soldier must journey into the heart of a galactic Rann/Thanagar war and somehow succeed where all other Green Lanterns have failed.”
A new trailer gives us our first glimpse at John’s plight… and it looks pretty cool, too. Green Lantern last appeared on the big screen in 2011 in the critically-panned Green Lantern movie... but has yet to make his Justice League debut in the current Warner Bros. pantheon.
Still, this upcoming animated feature sets the stage for an interesting addition to DC’s animated works, with a focus on John Stewart over the traditional Green Lantern, Hal Jordan.
The 4K Blu-Ray includes the new featurette, John Stewart: The Power and the Glory – a new documentary that explores John Stewart’s legacy including new interviews with those who helped shape his story.
Green Lantern: Beware My Power stars Aldis Hodge as John Stewart alongside Jimmi Simpson as Green Arrow, Ike Amadi as Martian Manhunter, Brian Bloom as Adam Strange, Jamie Gray Hyder as Hawkgirl, and Rick D. Wasserman as Sinestro with additional voices by Nolan North.
Jeff Wamester directed the movie based on a script by John Semper and Ernie Altbacker. Jim Kreig is on board as producer alongside Butch Lukic with Sam Register as executive producer.
Ryan Leston is an entertainment journalist and film critic for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.
FTC Probing Sony’s Bungie Acquisition As Gaming Merger Oversight Gets More Aggressive
The Federal Trade Commission is reportedly opening an inquiry into Sony's planned acquisition of Bungie, marking a notable ramp-up in federal oversight of gaming mergers during a period of major industry consolidation.
According to sources speaking with The Information, last week the FTC began seeking more information about the deal in an investigation that could potentially delay its closing by six months or even more. Though a closing date wasn't announced alongside the initial announcement, The Information reports it could be pushed into early 2023.
The FTC is reportedly focused on concerns that Sony might be motivated to prevent competing companies and services, such as Xbox, from accessing Bungie's games such as Destiny 2. That means examining how popular Destiny is, and whether a possible restriction would meaningfully harm Sony's competitors and create antitrust violations. While Sony has publicly committed to keeping Bungie games cross-platform, its ability to restrict both current titles and future releases in the future is a point of antitrust concern.
This investigation represents another sign of the FTC's recent, more aggressive approach toward potential antitrust issues in the gaming industry. While it is customary for the FTC to look into large deals, the spree of major gaming acquisition in recent years as well as the growing size of such deals appears to have prompted greater scrutiny, particularly under Biden-appointed FTC chair Lina Khan.
For instance, in February, reports suggested that the FTC was similarly investigating the planned acquisition of Activision Blizzard by Microsoft to determine whether it would harm consumers, partners, or competitors. And Khan has stood at the head of a planned crackdown on merger guidelines, and has similarly pushed a block of a planned Nvidia acquisition and reopened an antitrust case against Meta.
The FTC's investigation doesn't necessarily mean the acquisition will be meaningfully impacted, especially given the immense legal challenge required to ultimately block a deal. However, the increased scrutiny on the gaming and tech sectors will likely remain a consideration in future acquisitions as more and more major companies express interest in adding to a growing pile of internal studios and the industry is further consolidated.
Update 4:08pm PT: Responding to an inquiry from IGN, the FTC declined to comment.
Rebekah Valentine is a news reporter for IGN. You can find her on Twitter @duckvalentine.
FTC Probing Sony’s Bungie Acquisition As Gaming Merger Oversight Gets More Aggressive
The Federal Trade Commission is reportedly opening an inquiry into Sony's planned acquisition of Bungie, marking a notable ramp-up in federal oversight of gaming mergers during a period of major industry consolidation.
According to sources speaking with The Information, last week the FTC began seeking more information about the deal in an investigation that could potentially delay its closing by six months or even more. Though a closing date wasn't announced alongside the initial announcement, The Information reports it could be pushed into early 2023.
The FTC is reportedly focused on concerns that Sony might be motivated to prevent competing companies and services, such as Xbox, from accessing Bungie's games such as Destiny 2. That means examining how popular Destiny is, and whether a possible restriction would meaningfully harm Sony's competitors and create antitrust violations. While Sony has publicly committed to keeping Bungie games cross-platform, its ability to restrict both current titles and future releases in the future is a point of antitrust concern.
This investigation represents another sign of the FTC's recent, more aggressive approach toward potential antitrust issues in the gaming industry. While it is customary for the FTC to look into large deals, the spree of major gaming acquisition in recent years as well as the growing size of such deals appears to have prompted greater scrutiny, particularly under Biden-appointed FTC chair Lina Khan.
For instance, in February, reports suggested that the FTC was similarly investigating the planned acquisition of Activision Blizzard by Microsoft to determine whether it would harm consumers, partners, or competitors. And Khan has stood at the head of a planned crackdown on merger guidelines, and has similarly pushed a block of a planned Nvidia acquisition and reopened an antitrust case against Meta.
The FTC's investigation doesn't necessarily mean the acquisition will be meaningfully impacted, especially given the immense legal challenge required to ultimately block a deal. However, the increased scrutiny on the gaming and tech sectors will likely remain a consideration in future acquisitions as more and more major companies express interest in adding to a growing pile of internal studios and the industry is further consolidated.
Rebekah Valentine is a news reporter for IGN. You can find her on Twitter @duckvalentine.
Moon Knight Director Reveals How Scarlet Scarab Was Almost Very Different
Spoiler Warning: This article contains spoilers for Marvel's Moon Knight!
This week the last episode of Moon Knight aired, bringing the supposed end to one hero and kicking of the exploits of another. Marc Spector and Steven Great were able to bargain for freedom away from the service of Khonshu, not knowing that there was a catch. At the same time, Layla El-Faouly stepped up as the new avatar of the Hippo-faced goddess Tawaret.
Layla's heroic identity is the Scarlet Scarab, an Egyptian hero from Marvel Comics who only shares slight similarities with the MCU counterpart. In the comics, the first Scarlet Scarab is Dr. Abdul Faoul, who uses the powers of a scarab amulet to gain a crimson costume and the powers of super-strength, flight, and energy projection. The amulet and mantle were then passed on to his son, Mehemet Faoul. The MCU version has only tangential connections, like the Scarab of Ammit being unearthed by archaeologist Dr. Abdallah El-Faouly. Otherwise, this new iteration blazes its own trail, with Layla's powers coming from a different source and featuring an entirely unique look.
While Marc Spector's outfit as Moon Knight is clearly inspired by Khonshu himself, Layla's new guise as the Scarlet Scarab sports hand-held blades and metal wings. How do wings tie into service to Tawaret? Is Layla supposed to be like the Oxpecker birds that sit on the backs of hippos?
The answer is that Layla's superheroic identity was originally tied to a different goddess entirely.
"She wasn't at the beginning, tied to Tawaret. She was an avatar of Isis," director Mohamed Diab tells IGN.
Looking up Isis, you can definitely see where Scarlet Scarab's inspiration came from. The goddess is frequently depicted with outstretched wings, very similar to the ones on Layla's costume. It also makes more sense in the narrative that Isis would take over Osiris duties in his absence; she was a deity involved in funeral rites, who helped the dead reach the afterlife. She also happened to be married to Osiris and was the one who brought him back to life in the first place.
So why the change? According to Diab, it's because they ultimately decided that Isis wasn't the right character to pair with Layla.
"[Isis] was serious and there wasn't much fun. I love the idea of tying people who are at the opposite ends together, that creates drama," said Diab. "But I love her relationship, what could happen between her and Tawaret? She's so serious and Tawaret could annoy the hell out of her. She's funny, but she could be a handful. So I love having her."
We'll have to see where the partnership takes the pair in the future, if Moon Knight has a future. Currently, there's no word from Marvel whether the show will get a second season or other follow-ups. Diab said that it'd be "a waste" if that didn't happen in some fashion and he'd be excited to return to the character.
While we're waiting for more Moon Knight and Scarlet Scarab, Dr. Strange and the Multiverse of Madness is in theaters right now. Marvel Studios will also be releasing the new Ms. Marvel series, which will hit Disney+ on June 8.
'Mike Williams is a freelance writer at IGN.
Moon Knight Director Reveals How Scarlet Scarab Was Almost Very Different
Spoiler Warning: This article contains spoilers for Marvel's Moon Knight!
This week the last episode of Moon Knight aired, bringing the supposed end to one hero and kicking of the exploits of another. Marc Spector and Steven Great were able to bargain for freedom away from the service of Khonshu, not knowing that there was a catch. At the same time, Layla El-Faouly stepped up as the new avatar of the Hippo-faced goddess Tawaret.
Layla's heroic identity is the Scarlet Scarab, an Egyptian hero from Marvel Comics who only shares slight similarities with the MCU counterpart. In the comics, the first Scarlet Scarab is Dr. Abdul Faoul, who uses the powers of a scarab amulet to gain a crimson costume and the powers of super-strength, flight, and energy projection. The amulet and mantle were then passed on to his son, Mehemet Faoul. The MCU version has only tangential connections, like the Scarab of Ammit being unearthed by archaeologist Dr. Abdallah El-Faouly. Otherwise, this new iteration blazes its own trail, with Layla's powers coming from a different source and featuring an entirely unique look.
While Marc Spector's outfit as Moon Knight is clearly inspired by Khonshu himself, Layla's new guise as the Scarlet Scarab sports hand-held blades and metal wings. How do wings tie into service to Tawaret? Is Layla supposed to be like the Oxpecker birds that sit on the backs of hippos?
The answer is that Layla's superheroic identity was originally tied to a different goddess entirely.
"She wasn't at the beginning, tied to Tawaret. She was an avatar of Isis," director Mohamed Diab tells IGN.
Looking up Isis, you can definitely see where Scarlet Scarab's inspiration came from. The goddess is frequently depicted with outstretched wings, very similar to the ones on Layla's costume. It also makes more sense in the narrative that Isis would take over Osiris duties in his absence; she was a deity involved in funeral rites, who helped the dead reach the afterlife. She also happened to be married to Osiris and was the one who brought him back to life in the first place.
So why the change? According to Diab, it's because they ultimately decided that Isis wasn't the right character to pair with Layla.
"[Isis] was serious and there wasn't much fun. I love the idea of tying people who are at the opposite ends together, that creates drama," said Diab. "But I love her relationship, what could happen between her and Tawaret? She's so serious and Tawaret could annoy the hell out of her. She's funny, but she could be a handful. So I love having her."
We'll have to see where the partnership takes the pair in the future, if Moon Knight has a future. Currently, there's no word from Marvel whether the show will get a second season or other follow-ups. Diab said that it'd be "a waste" if that didn't happen in some fashion and he'd be excited to return to the character.
While we're waiting for more Moon Knight and Scarlet Scarab, Dr. Strange and the Multiverse of Madness is in theaters right now. Marvel Studios will also be releasing the new Ms. Marvel series, which will hit Disney+ on June 8.
'Mike Williams is a freelance writer at IGN.
Thor: Love and Thunder Director Says Christian Bale Is Probably MCU’s Best Villain Yet
Thor: Love and Thunder director Taika Waititi has heaped praise on Christian Bale for his portrayal of Gorr the God Butcher in the upcoming Thor movie.
During an interview with Associated Press, the 46-year-old filmmaker called out Bale’s performance.
“In my humble opinion, we have probably the best villain that Marvel’s ever had in Christian Bale,” he said.
The upcoming Thor sequel depicts the legendary Norse god’s search for inner peace.
Unfortunately, his spiritual gap year is short-lived as the villainous Gorr the God Butcher (Christian Bale) turns up looking for vengeance. But is Thor a match for the infamous cosmic villain after the events of Avengers: Endgame
“Thor is just trying to figure out his purpose, trying to figure out exactly who he is and why he’s a hero or whether he should be a hero,” said Waititi. “I guess you could call it a midlife crisis.”
“It’s a great, really fun, weird little group of heroes, a new team for Thor with Korg, Valkyrie, and The Mighty Thor.”
Of course, his search for identity leads Thor on a journey of self-discovery where he even gets a rather striking new look at one point. Worse still, he runs into his old girlfriend, Jane Foster (played by Natalie Portman) who seemed to be doing a lot better than him.
In fact, she’s suited up as Thor, and wielding his legendary hammer. Bummer.
“The film finds Thor (Chris Hemsworth) on a journey unlike anything he’s ever faced – a quest for inner peace,” reads the official synopsis. “But his retirement is interrupted by a galactic killer known as Gorr the God Butcher (Christian Bale), who seeks the extinction of the gods.”
Marvel recently revealed a cool new poster depicting Jane Foster as the mighty Thor, while another separate image gave us our first glimpse of Russell Crowe as Zeus, the legendary Greek god.
How Thor will take on Gorr the God Butcher remains to be seen… but Jane Foster’s stint as Thor will follow the comic books even closer than we thought.
Ryan Leston is an entertainment journalist and film critic for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.
Thor: Love and Thunder Director Says Christian Bale Is Probably MCU’s Best Villain Yet
Thor: Love and Thunder director Taika Waititi has heaped praise on Christian Bale for his portrayal of Gorr the God Butcher in the upcoming Thor movie.
During an interview with Associated Press, the 46-year-old filmmaker called out Bale’s performance.
“In my humble opinion, we have probably the best villain that Marvel’s ever had in Christian Bale,” he said.
The upcoming Thor sequel depicts the legendary Norse god’s search for inner peace.
Unfortunately, his spiritual gap year is short-lived as the villainous Gorr the God Butcher (Christian Bale) turns up looking for vengeance. But is Thor a match for the infamous cosmic villain after the events of Avengers: Endgame
“Thor is just trying to figure out his purpose, trying to figure out exactly who he is and why he’s a hero or whether he should be a hero,” said Waititi. “I guess you could call it a midlife crisis.”
“It’s a great, really fun, weird little group of heroes, a new team for Thor with Korg, Valkyrie, and The Mighty Thor.”
Of course, his search for identity leads Thor on a journey of self-discovery where he even gets a rather striking new look at one point. Worse still, he runs into his old girlfriend, Jane Foster (played by Natalie Portman) who seemed to be doing a lot better than him.
In fact, she’s suited up as Thor, and wielding his legendary hammer. Bummer.
“The film finds Thor (Chris Hemsworth) on a journey unlike anything he’s ever faced – a quest for inner peace,” reads the official synopsis. “But his retirement is interrupted by a galactic killer known as Gorr the God Butcher (Christian Bale), who seeks the extinction of the gods.”
Marvel recently revealed a cool new poster depicting Jane Foster as the mighty Thor, while another separate image gave us our first glimpse of Russell Crowe as Zeus, the legendary Greek god.
How Thor will take on Gorr the God Butcher remains to be seen… but Jane Foster’s stint as Thor will follow the comic books even closer than we thought.
Ryan Leston is an entertainment journalist and film critic for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.
GeForce Now Subscribers Can Now Stream Cloud Games in 4K On Windows And Mac
Nvidia has announced new incentives for those who are subscribed to the RTX 3080-tier of its cloud gaming service, GeForce Now. This includes the option to stream games in 4K on the native apps for PC and Mac.
As announced in the latest blog post, Nvidia confirmed that RTX 3080 subscribers can now stream games in 4K resolution and 60FPS when playing games on the native GeForce Now apps on both PC and Mac. Previously, these subscribers with the membership tier could only stream games on the PC and Mac clients at a resolution of 1440p, while the 4K resolution was exclusive to those who owned an Nvidia Shield TV.
Nvidia also announced that six new Android-based smartphones now support high refresh rate cloud gaming, at 1080p and 120Hz; this includes Samsung's Galaxy S22 series, such as the S22 Ultra, the Galaxy Z Fold 3, and Z Flip 3, in addition to the OnePlus 9 Pro. Smartphones that already support this feature include the Samsung's Galaxy S21 series and the Google Pixel 6 Pro.
The announcement comes less than a year after Nvidia announced the RTX 3080-tier membership, which allowed those struggling, to buy a card in Nvidia's RTX 30 series – allowing subscribers to play games with an RTX 3080 PC gaming rig without physically buying the GPU.
Taylor is the Associate Tech Editor at IGN. You can follow her on Twitter @TayNixster.
GeForce Now Subscribers Can Now Stream Cloud Games in 4K On Windows And Mac
Nvidia has announced new incentives for those who are subscribed to the RTX 3080-tier of its cloud gaming service, GeForce Now. This includes the option to stream games in 4K on the native apps for PC and Mac.
As announced in the latest blog post, Nvidia confirmed that RTX 3080 subscribers can now stream games in 4K resolution and 60FPS when playing games on the native GeForce Now apps on both PC and Mac. Previously, these subscribers with the membership tier could only stream games on the PC and Mac clients at a resolution of 1440p, while the 4K resolution was exclusive to those who owned an Nvidia Shield TV.
Nvidia also announced that six new Android-based smartphones now support high refresh rate cloud gaming, at 1080p and 120Hz; this includes Samsung's Galaxy S22 series, such as the S22 Ultra, the Galaxy Z Fold 3, and Z Flip 3, in addition to the OnePlus 9 Pro. Smartphones that already support this feature include the Samsung's Galaxy S21 series and the Google Pixel 6 Pro.
The announcement comes less than a year after Nvidia announced the RTX 3080-tier membership, which allowed those struggling, to buy a card in Nvidia's RTX 30 series – allowing subscribers to play games with an RTX 3080 PC gaming rig without physically buying the GPU.
Taylor is the Associate Tech Editor at IGN. You can follow her on Twitter @TayNixster.