Monthly Archives: August 2022
She-Hulk Creators Respond To VFX Crunch: “If They’re Feeling Pressure We Stand With Them’
She-Hulk: Attorney at Law star Tatiana Maslany joins the show’s creators in supporting VFX artists.
Appearing at the Disney+ Television Critics Association panel, the 36-year-old She-Hulk actress commended the VFX team on their work… and confirmed that she stands with them.
“I feel incredibly deferential to how talented these artists are and how quickly they have to work,” she said. “Obviously, way quicker than they should have to. I know there are a lot of eyes on the CG but I do think we have to be super conscious of how the work conditions aren’t always optimal and they've made these amazing strides in this tech. I feel very in awe of what they do and very grateful that we're at the point where we get to work with them.”
Maslany will star as Jennifer Walters – the cousin of Bruce Banner who becomes Marvel’s She-Hulk in the upcoming Disney+ show.
But it’s not just the star who has the VFX team’s back – it’s the showrunners, too.
“We stand in solidarity with what they say!” said director, Kat Coiro. “If they're feeling pressure, we stand with them and we listen to them.”
“This is a massive undertaking,” added head writer, Jessica Gao. “To have a show of this scale where the main character is CG is a very overwhelming and ginormous thing to take on and it's terrible that a lot of artists feel rushed and feel that the workload is too massive. I think everyone on this panel stands in solidarity with all workers and is very pro-union and good working conditions.”
Marvel recently came under fire for its treatment of VFX artists after some shared their experience of working with the studio, calling the studio “inflexible”.
“Where I would usually have a team of ten VFX artists on a non-Marvel movie, on one Marvel movie, I got two including myself,” said one artist. “So, every person is doing more work than they need to.” Additionally, the She-Hulk series was initially slammed for its CG character, with Gao admitting that “lessons were learned along the way”.
Want to find out more about She-Hulk? Check out how the show fits into Marvel’s upcoming phases and our full breakdown of the recent She-Hulk trailer.
Ryan Leston is an entertainment journalist and film critic for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.
She-Hulk Creators Respond To VFX Crunch: “If They’re Feeling Pressure We Stand With Them’
She-Hulk: Attorney at Law star Tatiana Maslany joins the show’s creators in supporting VFX artists.
Appearing at the Disney+ Television Critics Association panel, the 36-year-old She-Hulk actress commended the VFX team on their work… and confirmed that she stands with them.
“I feel incredibly deferential to how talented these artists are and how quickly they have to work,” she said. “Obviously, way quicker than they should have to. I know there are a lot of eyes on the CG but I do think we have to be super conscious of how the work conditions aren’t always optimal and they've made these amazing strides in this tech. I feel very in awe of what they do and very grateful that we're at the point where we get to work with them.”
Maslany will star as Jennifer Walters – the cousin of Bruce Banner who becomes Marvel’s She-Hulk in the upcoming Disney+ show.
But it’s not just the star who has the VFX team’s back – it’s the showrunners, too.
“We stand in solidarity with what they say!” said director, Kat Coiro. “If they're feeling pressure, we stand with them and we listen to them.”
“This is a massive undertaking,” added head writer, Jessica Gao. “To have a show of this scale where the main character is CG is a very overwhelming and ginormous thing to take on and it's terrible that a lot of artists feel rushed and feel that the workload is too massive. I think everyone on this panel stands in solidarity with all workers and is very pro-union and good working conditions.”
Marvel recently came under fire for its treatment of VFX artists after some shared their experience of working with the studio, calling the studio “inflexible”.
“Where I would usually have a team of ten VFX artists on a non-Marvel movie, on one Marvel movie, I got two including myself,” said one artist. “So, every person is doing more work than they need to.” Additionally, the She-Hulk series was initially slammed for its CG character, with Gao admitting that “lessons were learned along the way”.
Want to find out more about She-Hulk? Check out how the show fits into Marvel’s upcoming phases and our full breakdown of the recent She-Hulk trailer.
Ryan Leston is an entertainment journalist and film critic for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.
Upscaled Pokemon Scarlet & Violet Map Offers Closer Look at Paldea Region
During today's Pokemon Presents presentation, the Pokemon team revealed a full map of Paldea, the region where Pokemon Scarlet and Pokemon Violet are set. While the official map is slightly blurry, a fanmade upscaled version is now giving us a clearer look at the Paldea region.
Today, IGN's own Ryan Quintal created an upscaled version of the map, revealing notable details of the region in a Twitter thread.
Quintal pointed out how diverse the map is, making note of several desert regions, seaside towns, smaller, grassy towns, and mountainous cliffside locations. Find all the details of Quintal's map below:
The Pokemon Company also revealed further details about Paldea on its website, stating that it's filled with "a variety of locations, ranging from a farming village with bountiful harvests to a port town with a bustling marketplace."
Pokemon will also occupy every nook and cranny of Paldea's diverse terrain, living in "treetops, rivers, and all sorts of other locations in the wilderness."
Pokemon Scarlet and Violet are slated to release on November 18. During today's presentation, we learned that you'll be able to explore Paldea's open world with the help of the games' strange living vehicle legendaries.
The game will also also have three separate story campaigns and a host of new Pokemon (including the fast fan favorite Fidough).
Amelia Zollner is a freelance writer at IGN who loves all things indie and Nintendo. Outside of IGN, they've contributed to sites like Polygon and Rock Paper Shotgun. Find them on Twitter: @ameliazollner.
Upscaled Pokemon Scarlet & Violet Map Offers Closer Look at Paldea Region
During today's Pokemon Presents presentation, the Pokemon team revealed a full map of Paldea, the region where Pokemon Scarlet and Pokemon Violet are set. While the official map is slightly blurry, a fanmade upscaled version is now giving us a clearer look at the Paldea region.
Today, IGN's own Ryan Quintal created an upscaled version of the map, revealing notable details of the region in a Twitter thread.
Quintal pointed out how diverse the map is, making note of several desert regions, seaside towns, smaller, grassy towns, and mountainous cliffside locations. Find all the details of Quintal's map below:
The Pokemon Company also revealed further details about Paldea on its website, stating that it's filled with "a variety of locations, ranging from a farming village with bountiful harvests to a port town with a bustling marketplace."
Pokemon will also occupy every nook and cranny of Paldea's diverse terrain, living in "treetops, rivers, and all sorts of other locations in the wilderness."
Pokemon Scarlet and Violet are slated to release on November 18. During today's presentation, we learned that you'll be able to explore Paldea's open world with the help of the games' strange living vehicle legendaries.
The game will also also have three separate story campaigns and a host of new Pokemon (including the fast fan favorite Fidough).
Amelia Zollner is a freelance writer at IGN who loves all things indie and Nintendo. Outside of IGN, they've contributed to sites like Polygon and Rock Paper Shotgun. Find them on Twitter: @ameliazollner.
John Wick Director Reveals What He Told Kevin Feige About MCU Blade Reboot
John Wick director Chad Stahelski wanted to make the upcoming Blade something he told directly to Kevin Feige.
During an interview with ComicBook.com, the 53-year-old filmmaker and stuntman revealed that he once had a chat with the Marvel boss, and told him he wanted to make the upcoming Blade reboot.
“After John Wick 3, he was nice enough to carve out a big chunk of time and have a nice talk,” he revealed. “And he actually asked me, 'What could we ever do?' I was like, 'Look, I'm not going to lie to you. I don't know if I fit that kind of studio mold, but Blade would be the one interesting thing I'd like to do.’”
Blade is based on the Marvel comic book character who made his debut in The Tomb of Dracula #10 as a supporting character. A half-vampire himself, Blade is a renowned and merciless vampire hunter who was originally played by Wesley Snipes in the 1998 film and its sequels.
Now, Mahershala Ali has taken the title role in the upcoming reboot alongside Delroy Lindo.
Although Stahelski wanted to make the reboot himself, director Bassam Tariq will now helm the film based on a script by Stacy Osei-Kuffour.
“Marvel was very influential in my career,” said Stahelski. “I owe them a great deal. Kevin [Feige] is an awesome guy and I've worked for him many times on second unit.” Although the film is going ahead without him, Stahelski doesn’t hold a grudge… unlike John Wick.
“I don't know if I would've been the best choice for that in the direction they wanted to go,” he added. “If you want to do the edgy, rated R version, yeah, give me a call. If you want to be non-apologetic, yeah. That's me. But I think they're protecting their brand, they're doing their thing. The individual they selected, I think is a very good director, and I think will do a great job in the direction that I think they want to take the property.”
Blade finally got an official release date at San Diego Comic Con, heading to the big screen on November 3, 2023.
Want to find out more about Blade? Check out everything Marvel announced at San Diego Comic Con and find out everything you need to know about Marvel’s Blade.
Ryan Leston is an entertainment journalist and film critic for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.
John Wick Director Reveals What He Told Kevin Feige About MCU Blade Reboot
John Wick director Chad Stahelski wanted to make the upcoming Blade something he told directly to Kevin Feige.
During an interview with ComicBook.com, the 53-year-old filmmaker and stuntman revealed that he once had a chat with the Marvel boss, and told him he wanted to make the upcoming Blade reboot.
“After John Wick 3, he was nice enough to carve out a big chunk of time and have a nice talk,” he revealed. “And he actually asked me, 'What could we ever do?' I was like, 'Look, I'm not going to lie to you. I don't know if I fit that kind of studio mold, but Blade would be the one interesting thing I'd like to do.’”
Blade is based on the Marvel comic book character who made his debut in The Tomb of Dracula #10 as a supporting character. A half-vampire himself, Blade is a renowned and merciless vampire hunter who was originally played by Wesley Snipes in the 1998 film and its sequels.
Now, Mahershala Ali has taken the title role in the upcoming reboot alongside Delroy Lindo.
Although Stahelski wanted to make the reboot himself, director Bassam Tariq will now helm the film based on a script by Stacy Osei-Kuffour.
“Marvel was very influential in my career,” said Stahelski. “I owe them a great deal. Kevin [Feige] is an awesome guy and I've worked for him many times on second unit.” Although the film is going ahead without him, Stahelski doesn’t hold a grudge… unlike John Wick.
“I don't know if I would've been the best choice for that in the direction they wanted to go,” he added. “If you want to do the edgy, rated R version, yeah, give me a call. If you want to be non-apologetic, yeah. That's me. But I think they're protecting their brand, they're doing their thing. The individual they selected, I think is a very good director, and I think will do a great job in the direction that I think they want to take the property.”
Blade finally got an official release date at San Diego Comic Con, heading to the big screen on November 3, 2023.
Want to find out more about Blade? Check out everything Marvel announced at San Diego Comic Con and find out everything you need to know about Marvel’s Blade.
Ryan Leston is an entertainment journalist and film critic for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.
Warner Bros. Discovery Has Been Quietly Cutting Other Movies Amid Shock Batgirl Cancellation
Warner Bros. Discovery has been trimming down their offerings on HBO Max, including abruptly removing several films from the streaming platform. They include sci-fi rom-com Moonshot, Superintelligence starring Melissa McCarthy, and the 2020 remake of Roald Dahl’s The Witches, plus three others. All the removed films were branded as “Max Originals.”
The removals were noted by a Reddit user in a post about the Batgirl movie being shelved with no plans for it to come out in theaters or streaming. One upcoming release, a reboot of the comedy film “House Party,” has also been removed from the release calendar for HBO Max.
Movies and series do leave streaming platforms all the time, but subscribers usually get a notice before those removals happen. In the past, HBO Max has released monthly updates on what’s arriving and leaving their service, but these six were removed without notice.
Moonshot was removed from HBO Max just a few months after its March release. There are also still several exclusives from Warner Bros. still available to watch on HBO Max. It, alongside the other removed films, are still available digitally for purchase or to rent elsewhere.
Last May, WarnerMedia and Discovery finalized a deal for $43 billion to merge into one in an effort to give other streaming giants like Netflix a run for their money. Then, a few months ago it was revealed that Discovery would bring together two streaming services: HBO Max and Discovery Plus.
Casey is a freelance writer for IGN. You can usually find him talking about JRPGs on Twitter at @caseydavidmt.
Dead By Daylight Announces a New Resident Evil Collaboration: Project W
Dead by Daylight is returning to Raccoon City with a new Resident Evil chapter tentatively titled Project W.
Behaviour Interactive, the developers of Dead by Daylight, previously worked with Capcom to bring Jill Valentine and Leon S. Kennedy to the game. Now, a new Resident Evil collaboration will bring two new survivors to The Fog: Ada Wong and Rebecca Chambers.
But with new survivors means a new Killer and it’s none other than Albert Wesker or The Mastermind as he’s called in The Fog. Check out the first teaser trailer below.
Ada Wong is the series’ resident super spy while Rebecca Chambers is the young S.T.A.R.S. recruit and medic. Albert Wesker is a high-ranking Umbrella officer and is armed with super strength, a rush ability, and the power to infect victims with the Uroboros Virus which can be cured by First Aid Sprays littered through the map.
Alongside the new characters Project W will add an improved version of the Raccoon City Police Department. The map has received a complete quality of life update based on player feedback which includes splitting the Police Department into two separate Maps based on the West and East wings.
The West wing includes the S.T.A.R.S. Office, Dark Room, and Records Room while the East wing contains the Chief’s Office, Art Room, Rooftop, and more. There is also additional access to the front exterior section.
Dead by Daylight Project W is coming soon to all platforms. Also, check out Behaviour’s new game Meet Your Maker which was also announced during today’s livestream.
Matt T.M. Kim is IGN's News Editor. You can reach him @lawoftd.
Dead By Daylight Studio’s Next Game Has You Create Evil Levels for Other Players to Infiltrate
Dead By Daylight developer Behaviour Interactive is expanding its lineup with a new game called Meet Your Maker, a first-person building-and-raiding game where players design the levels.
As announced during the Behaviour Beyond livestream, the Canadian studio announced its next game to go alongside its hit horror game Dead By Daylight. Just like the studio’s PvP horror game, Meet Your Maker revolves around an asymmetrical PvP experience where players create maze-like levels called Outposts that other players must then work to infiltrate.
Check out the official reveal trailer below.
Set on a dying world, players will become the Custodian, a servant to a living experiment known as the Chimera. In order for the Chimera to evolve players will fight for pure Genetic Material which is guarded by the Outposts created by other players.
Outposts designs will need to outwit and kill enemy players using blocks, traps, and guards which can be programmed with custom patrol paths. Players will then need to use their own tools and expertise to survive these user-created Outposts.
“Behaviour Interactive is known for creating unique moments for players and Meet Your Maker clearly delivers on this reputation,” says creative director Ash Pannell. “As a builder, share your meticulously built Outpost and watch other players take them on via our replay system. It never gets old to watch others die.”
As part of the Behaviour Beyond stream, the studio also announced a new Resident Evil collaboration that will add Ada Wong, Rebecca Chambers, and new Killer Albert Wesker to the game.
Matt T.M. Kim is IGN's News Editor. You can reach him @lawoftd.
AEW: Fight Forever Reveals Its Match Types and More
Fresh details about AEW: Fight Forever have emerged, bringing news of different match types and customization options that players can expect. THQ Nordic has also been confirmed as the publisher.
Match types include Single Matches, Tag-Team Games, 3-Ways, 4-Ways, Ladder Matches, Casino Battle Royale, Falls Count Anywhere, Exploding Barbed Wire Death Matches, and some good ole' fashioned unsanctioned fun with Lights-Out Matches, which will see wrestlers brawl with weapons in the ring.
THQ Nordic and @AEW have joined forces to bring AEW: Fight Forever - @YUKES_AEW's latest creation - to PC, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series S|X, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch!#AEWFightForever #AllEliteWrestling pic.twitter.com/j0t3kGSPf1
— THQ Nordic (@THQNordic) August 3, 2022
There's also a wide range of customization modes, giving players the option to switch up their wrestler attire and appearance while also changing their entrances, move-sets, teams, and arenas. They can choose to join the AEW roster and appear in matches and stories over an event schedule in career mode or show off their manoeuvres during tag-team matches in online co-op.
The AEW talent roster will give players the chance to step into the wrestling boots of some of the most legendary wrestlers that have ever entered the ring while also putting all-new, high-flying AEW talent through their paces. The full list of playable characters has not yet been released but past previews have told us that Nyla Rose and Kris Statlander will be in the mix.
"We just landed the perfect finisher by partnering with global publishing and distribution powerhouse THQ Nordic," said Kenny Omega, EVP of AEW and former AEW World Champion and AEW World Tag Team Champion. "The THQ brand has long been synonymous with wrestling games – there is simply no more qualified partner to bring AEW: Fight Forever to the millions of wrestling fans the world over."
"Kenny's incredible vision for AEW: Fight Forever is informed by his wrestling pedigree both inside the ring and on the controller," added Executive Producer Reinhard Pollice, THQ Nordic. "Combine that vision with Yukes' unparalleled wrestling game development history is resulting in an AEW experience that draws heavily on the arcade feel that first won wrestling gamer hearts more than two decades ago."
THQ Nordic and Yuke's Media Creations have joined forces to bring AEW: Fight Forever to PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PC, and Nintendo Switch. The game currently has no release date, and more than a year has passed since AEW executive vice president Kenny Omega suggested they were aiming to release it in the first quarter of 2022.
Adele Ankers-Range is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow her on Twitter.