Monthly Archives: September 2022

The Division Heartland Is Gearing Up For Another Testing Phase

The Division Heartland is still on track for release sometime in 2022 or 2023 for PC, consoles, and cloud, Ubisoft has confirmed.

Announced at Ubisoft Forward 2022, we learned that Heartland will also have another testing phase that interested players can sign up for now.

Creative director Keith Evans appeared on the stream to explain "the fresh and distinct" take of Heartland while still staying true to the universe's established lore.

Evans also said that Heartland will feature brand new stories and characters that tie into the first two Division games.

The Division Heartland is a free-to-play game set in the universe of Ubisoft Massive's Tom Clancy series. It was announced in 2021, but was quietly delayed later that year.

A store leak finally revealed new details about the game this week, including that it's a 45-player game with PvE elements, selectable agent characters, and new screenshots.

You can catch up on everything announced at today's Ubisoft Forward event with our full roundup.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.

The Division Heartland Is Gearing Up For Another Testing Phase

The Division Heartland is still on track for release sometime in 2022 or 2023 for PC, consoles, and cloud, Ubisoft has confirmed.

Announced at Ubisoft Forward 2022, we learned that Heartland will also have another testing phase that interested players can sign up for now.

Creative director Keith Evans appeared on the stream to explain "the fresh and distinct" take of Heartland while still staying true to the universe's established lore.

Evans also said that Heartland will feature brand new stories and characters that tie into the first two Division games.

The Division Heartland is a free-to-play game set in the universe of Ubisoft Massive's Tom Clancy series. It was announced in 2021, but was quietly delayed later that year.

A store leak finally revealed new details about the game this week, including that it's a 45-player game with PvE elements, selectable agent characters, and new screenshots.

You can catch up on everything announced at today's Ubisoft Forward event with our full roundup.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.

Indiana Jones 5 Reveals First Trailer at D23

Disney and Lucasfilm have finally revealed the first trailer for Indiana Jones 5, but it hasn't been released to the public yet.

Revealed behind closed doors at the Marvel, Star Wars, and 20th Century Studio panel at D23 2022, the trailer showed Harrison Ford's Indiana Jones walking down the streets of a desert city reflecting on his past. Indy is teaching classes while scenes of past movies show. The trailer also showed Mads Mikkelsen in a Nazi outfit and Harrison Ford on a horse riding through New York. There's still no official title for the movie beyond just "Indiana Jones".

The fifth Indiana Jones movie wrapped filming earlier this year, and is set to conclude Indy's story. Directed by James Mangold, it returns to the series' early roots acording to star Mads Mikkelsen. The Casino Royale star joins Harrison Ford, Phoebe Waller-Bridge and many other cast members in this final chapter for the Nazi-foiling archaeologist.

We got a silhouetted first image during Star Wars Celebration, and found out that it will be legendary composer John Williams' last movie. Chris Pratt has since shut down rumors that he'll be taking over as Indy after this movie.

The Mandalorian Season 3 Gets an Official Trailer, Is Coming Next Year

The Mandalorian Season 3 has gotten a trailer and a release window of 2023.

Revealed during D23 2022, we got a look at the above trailer, which begins with a recap of the first two seasons before leaping into shots of him alone, Sackhoff discussing the Mandalorian's "cult" and how it fractured her people, Mandalorians jetpacking down into a city, a space dogfight, and Mando and Grogu leaping into space. It's a lot to take in!

Back in August, Moff Gideon actor Giancarlo Esposito confirmed that Season 3 would begin production "soon", following the completion of filming for spin-off series The Book of Boba Fett. Such is the show's popularity that Season 4 is already in the works.

Without spoilers, Season 2 ended with a major plot point and an even more major cameo, so it will be very interesting to see where the tale of Din Djarin goes next. We know it won't include Cara Dune, after actress Gina Carano was let go from the series after making "abhorrent and unacceptable" comments.

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Star Wars: Ahsoka Makes Brief Appearance at D23, but No New Trailer

Star Wars fans will have to wait a little longer for the first full trailer for Star Wars: Ahsoka, the upcoming live-action show starring Rosario Dawson.

The new Star Wars show was briefly discussed during the Marvel and Star Wars panel at D23, but little was shown outside of a still of Dawson as the iconic Jedi.

Instead, Disney's Jon Favreau was on hand to discuss the new show, where he talked about bringing Ahsoka to life with the help of actress Dawson. Along with Clone Wars and Rebels creator Dave Filoni, the pair talked about the history of the animated shows, and why the character of Ahsoka is Filoni's "magnum opus."

“It’s remarkable what they’re able to accomplish…seeing that come to life in such vivid detail…and then to see, of course, the lightsaber battles come to life…it’s just amazing action," Favreau says.

According to Favreau, the positive responsible to Ahsoka's appearance in Mandalorian was what gave him the confidence to make the live-action series. They also talked to Jon Watts about directing an episode, but Watts had his own idea for a series, which became Star Wars: Skeleton Crew. Meanwhile, Ahsoka will be more fully fleshed out in Tales of the Jedi.

In the end, the D23 Ahsoka trailer was a no-show. A teaser was previously shown behind closed doors at Star Wars Celebration, confirming that live-action versions of Star Wars Rebels' Sabine Wren, Chopper, and Hera Syndulla will be part of the series – and with a mural of Ezra Bridger in the show, there's a good chance he may appear as well.

Ahsoka was announced back in 2020, following the character's live-action debut in season two of The Mandalorian. Not only will it feature Rosario Dawson as Ahsoka Tano, but we'll once again be seeing Hayden Christensen as Anakin Skywalker. Sabine Wren, will be played by Natasha Liu. Ray Stevenson is also part of the cast, as is Mary Elizabeth Winstead. Rumours suggest that Grand Admiral Thrawn, a popular Imperial scumbag that's been part of the Expanded Universe for decades, will be the main villain.

Kat Bailey is a Senior News Editor at IGN as well as co-host of Nintendo Voice Chat. Have a tip? Send her a DM at @the_katbot.

Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi: Animated Anthology Series Gets First Trailer

Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi has received its first trailer, showing off its prequel-era storylines.

The upcoming six-episode show will debut on Disney+ on October 26.

Announced at Star Wars Celebration, the show will tell stories of Ahsoka and Count Dooku at different parts of their lives, and will also see Liam Neeson return to voice Qui-Gon Jinn. The last Star Wars anthology was Visions, a collection of anime episodes, but that wasn't deemed canon.

Ahsoka's episodes will be spread across her life and will give glimpses of her childhood days, her time spent with Anakin Skywalker in the Clone War era, and facing an Inquisitor after Order 66.

Count Dooku's episodes will have a similar format and will focus on a different part of his life as a Jedi before he turned to the dark side. Liam Neeson will appear in Count Dooku's stories, and the episodes will even feature a younger Qui-Gon Jinn that was voiced by Liam Neeson's son, Michael.

Star Wars regular Dave Filoni, who also created Star Wars Rebels as well as Star Wars: The Clone Wars, wrote all six episodes of this intriguing miniseries, with a focus on expanding the backstory of Ahsoka Tano - presumably before her own live-action series debuts with Rosario Dawson as the beleagured Jedi.

The new trailer debuted at Disney's D23 Expo, with Filoni discussing his love of Miyazaki and how that feeds into his work... Along with an art style that's reminiscent of The Clone Wars, it looks as though Tales of the Jedi is going to be a real crowd pleaser for fans of the Star Wars animated universe.

Want to read more about Ahsoka Tano? Check out which Star Wars Rebels characters will appear in Star Wars: Ahsoka and learn about her personal connection to the Force.

Ryan Leston is an entertainment journalist and film critic for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.

Disney Unveils New Trailer for Willow, Christian Slater Joins Cast

Disney has unveiled a brand new trailer for its upcoming Willow series and unveiled that Christian Slater has joined the cast to star alongside Warwick Davis.

Shown at its Studio Showcase at D23 2022, the trailer (below) opens with various characters walking through fog before arriving at the skeleton of a mammoth, all ringing with the deep fantasy style of the original 1998 film.

The titular Willow soon appears and even more classic fantasy tropes are thrown in. The trailer features a Thumbelina style character, sword fights, trolls, demons appearing from smoke, magical battles, and more.

A new poster (below) was also revealed, and Davis and fellow cast members Slater, Joanne Whalley, Erin Kellyman, Ruby Cruz, and Ellie Bamber took to the D23 stage to discuss the show.

"I love the fantasy, the sci-fi. Just getting to be a part of this show, I’ll be honest, is an absolute dream come true," said Slater. "This was a very fun character. You know, surprisingly, we got to have some improv, some ad-libs - we came up with stuff on the spot."

Slater will play a "friend" of Val Kilmer's character Madmartigan but details are still hazy on how exactly he'll fit into the long-awaited sequel.

The Disney Plus series is being produced by Ron Howard and will once again feature Davis as Willow Ufgood,
a Nelwyn dwarf and sorcerer. A first trailer was released at Star Wars Celebration 2022, which also revealed a November 30 release date.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.

Star Wars: The Bad Batch Season 2 Coming in January 2023

Star Wars: The Bad Batch will begin its second season next January.

Announced at D23 2022, The Bad Batch season 2 will begin on January 4, 2023 and will consist of 16 episodes. Two episodes will drop together on its premiere day, with weekly episodes to follow.

No new trailer was shown, but with the season only a few months away hopefully it won't be long until we see new footage.

Star Wars: The Bad Batch features a group of elite and experimental clones that were first introduced in Star Wars: The Clone Wars, and the story itself picks up in the immediate aftermath of the war. We called it "a worthy successor to The Clone Wars".

Season 2 was announced earlier this year, and a first trailer told us it will come this Fall, and will include a Wookiee Jedi. It appears that some time has passed since the first season as the crew looks older and is wearing new gear. It also looks like Emperor Palpatine and Commander Cody will factor into this season.

Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Features Editor.

Star Wars Andor Reveals Final Trailer at D23 Ahead of Three-Episode Premiere

With just two weeks to go ahead of its three-episode premiere, Disney has showed off the final trailer for Star Wars: Andor.

Revealed during the Marvel, Star Wars, and 20th Century showcase at D23 2022, the last trailer shows a handful of familiar faces, including Mon Mothma, Cassian Andor, and Saw Gerrera as they gear up to take on the Empire. Andor is asked if he wants to give up his current way of life to fight for something real, and what follows is a handful of battle scenes both in space and in city streets. You can check out the final trailer for yourself below.

Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy also said the second 12 episodes of the show's planned 24 episodes are currently in production. We already had a good sense that the show would get a second season after actor Stellan Skarsgård said, "in the autumn, it's time for the second season of the Star Wars series Andor."

Played by Diego Luna, Andor was first featured in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. Back in 2018 a spin-off TV show for him was announced, making it the second Star Wars show to have been announced after The Mandalorian. The show will see the return of Forest Whitaker's Saw Gerrera, but it seems like Alan Tudyk's sarcastic droid K-2SO hasn't made the cut.

The show will use more practical sets than previous Star Wars series, and it comes with a grittier tone courtesy of showrunner (and Bourne director) Tony Gilroy.

Logan Plant is a freelance writer for IGN covering video game and entertainment news. He has over six years of experience in the gaming industry with bylines at IGN, Nintendo Wire, Switch Player Magazine, and Lifewire. Find him on Twitter @LoganJPlant.

Marvel, Star Wars, and 20th Century Studio Showcase: Everything Announced

D23 2022 has arrived and, following a day filled with the Disney & Marvel Games Showcase and the Disney and Pixar D23 Studio Showcase, today brings us the Marvel, Star Wars, and 20th Century Studio Showcase.

We are expecting big things from the MCU and that galaxy far, far away, and we will gather each and every announcement and trailer here for you so you don't miss a thing.

The Mandalorian Season 3 Trailer Has Arrived: 'You are a Mandalorian No More'

The first trailer for Season 3 of The Mandalorian has been revealed and it gives us our first look at the new adventures Mando and Grogu will be going on in 2023. The trailer has the tagline of "You are a Mandalorian no more," which was said by The Armorer after she learned that Din Djarin had taken his helmet off. We also see the growing conflict between Mando and Bo-Katan as well as Mando and Grogu's return to Mandalore.

Star Wars: Andor Trailer Teases the Rogue One Prequel Before Its September 21 Three-Episode Premiere

Star Wars: Andor is set to have its three-episode premiere on Disney+ on September 21 and serve as a prequel to Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. A new trailer at D23 gave us another big look at what we can expect from the newest Star Wars adventure, including glimpses of Mon Mothma, Cassian Andor, Saw Gerrera, and more.

Star Wars: Ahsoka Makes Brief Appearance at D23, but No New Trailer

Star Wars: Ahsoka was discussed at D23, but no trailer was revealed to the public. Instead, Disney's Jon Favreau disucssed bringing this series to life and how the character of Ahsoka if Dave Filoni's 'magnum opus.'

Star Wars: The Bad Batch Season 2 Coming in January 2023

Star Wars: The Bad Batch is officially returning for its second season on January 4, 2023, and it will consist of 16 episodes. Two episodes will premiere on January 4, and the rest will air weekly. We didn't get a new trailer at D23, but one shouldn't be too far away.

Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi Original Shorts Get Their First Trailer and a Release Date

Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi, a series of six original stories that focus on Ahsoka, Qui-Gon Jinn, Count Dooku, and more at different parts of their lives, has received its first trailer and the news that all of the shorts will debut on October 26.

Willow Trailer Revealed at D23 Ahead of November 30 Premiere Date, Christian Slater Joins Cast

A new trailer for Willow was revealed at D23 and it showed more of the sequel to the 1988 classic film of the same name. Alongside the trailer, it was revealed that Christian Slater will be joining the cast, although we didn't learn too much about his character at the panel.

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