NECA is currently king of the hill when it comes to high-quality Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles figures, no matter whether you prefer your TMNT collectibles to be based on the animated series, live-action movies or the classic Mirage comics. The latter group will be especially pleased with NECA's latest exclusive figure, which pays homage to Shredder's earliest comic book appearances.

NECA's new Shredder figure is directly inspired by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird's early comics, from the sculpt right down to the new black and white paint scheme. Get a closer look at this new figure in the slideshow gallery below:

Like the rest of NECA's TMNT line, this Shredder is sculpted in a 7-inch scale. It includes multiple interchangeable weapons and hands and features unique packaging with art from Eastman. The packaging is designed to match NECA's other Mirage-inspired TMNT figures, including the recent Fugitoid figure.

This Shredder figure is also notable for being the first release in a new partnership between NECA and Walmart. The two have teamed for an online platform called AutoT, which focuses on limited edition collectibles and the promise of guaranteed authenticity. Figures purchased through AutoT can be stored in a digital vault, allowing fans to show off their collections online. AutoT will also offer signed versions of certain collectibles. In the case of Shredder, 1 out of every 10 figures will be randomly autographed by Eastman.

Walmart and NECA will be revealing more information about the AutoT platform on Monday, October 3. Preorders for the Shredder figure will go live on October 6, and in-person AutoT kiosks will also begin showing up in select Walmart stores on October 15.

2022 has been a good year for the TMNT franchsie as a whole, with both the arcade brawler Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge and the animated film Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Movie doing justice to the franchise's colorful legacy.

Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.

NECA is currently king of the hill when it comes to high-quality Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles figures, no matter whether you prefer your TMNT collectibles to be based on the animated series, live-action movies or the classic Mirage comics. The latter group will be especially pleased with NECA's latest exclusive figure, which pays homage to Shredder's earliest comic book appearances.

NECA's new Shredder figure is directly inspired by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird's early comics, from the sculpt right down to the new black and white paint scheme. Get a closer look at this new figure in the slideshow gallery below:

Like the rest of NECA's TMNT line, this Shredder is sculpted in a 7-inch scale. It includes multiple interchangeable weapons and hands and features unique packaging with art from Eastman. The packaging is designed to match NECA's other Mirage-inspired TMNT figures, including the recent Fugitoid figure.

This Shredder figure is also notable for being the first release in a new partnership between NECA and Walmart. The two have teamed for an online platform called AutoT, which focuses on limited edition collectibles and the promise of guaranteed authenticity. Figures purchased through AutoT can be stored in a digital vault, allowing fans to show off their collections online. AutoT will also offer signed versions of certain collectibles. In the case of Shredder, 1 out of every 10 figures will be randomly autographed by Eastman.

Walmart and NECA will be revealing more information about the AutoT platform on Monday, October 3. Preorders for the Shredder figure will go live on October 6, and in-person AutoT kiosks will also begin showing up in select Walmart stores on October 15.

2022 has been a good year for the TMNT franchsie as a whole, with both the arcade brawler Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge and the animated film Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Movie doing justice to the franchise's colorful legacy.

Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever star Winston Duke has shared some new images from the upcoming MCU sequel, spotlighting M'Baku, Nakia, and Riri Williams, amongst others.

Anticipation is building in the lead-up to the theatrical release of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, which will officially mark the end of the MCU's Phase 4. Actor Winston Duke decided to treat fans by sharing a fresh glimpse of the movie on Instagram. "New Wakanda Forever stills are here people," he wrote in the caption. "It's almost that time… I've got chills already!!"

The gallery gives a teaser of what's to come in Wakanda, starting with a photo of Duke's M'Baku standing stoically in a full suit of armor, followed by an image of Nakia dressed in all-white. Ramonda and Nakia are both pictured separately with Riri Williams, who is making her MCU debut in the film, while the spotlight is also directed at new character Aneka.

Instead of one lead character, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever will focus on the larger supporting cast, including Letitia Wright's Shuri, Angela Bassett's Queen Ramonda, Winston Duke's M'Baku, and Lupita Nyong'o's Nakia, as they navigate the passing of the original Black Panther and the theme of moving on in the face of insurmountable odds.

According to a recent theater listing, the upcoming Marvel movie clocks in at 2 hours 41 minutes – that makes it the longest Phase 4 movie as well as the longest non-Avengers film in the entire MCU - but with plenty of new stories emerging in the recent Wakanda Forever teaser trailer, it looks like there’s plenty of justification for a pretty hefty runtime.

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever will be released in theaters on November 11, 2022. For more, check out why Namor is a villain in the film and our breakdown of the sequel's first trailer.

Adele Ankers-Range is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow her on Twitter.

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever star Winston Duke has shared some new images from the upcoming MCU sequel, spotlighting M'Baku, Nakia, and Riri Williams, amongst others.

Anticipation is building in the lead-up to the theatrical release of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, which will officially mark the end of the MCU's Phase 4. Actor Winston Duke decided to treat fans by sharing a fresh glimpse of the movie on Instagram. "New Wakanda Forever stills are here people," he wrote in the caption. "It's almost that time… I've got chills already!!"

The gallery gives a teaser of what's to come in Wakanda, starting with a photo of Duke's M'Baku standing stoically in a full suit of armor, followed by an image of Nakia dressed in all-white. Ramonda and Nakia are both pictured separately with Riri Williams, who is making her MCU debut in the film, while the spotlight is also directed at new character Aneka.

Instead of one lead character, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever will focus on the larger supporting cast, including Letitia Wright's Shuri, Angela Bassett's Queen Ramonda, Winston Duke's M'Baku, and Lupita Nyong'o's Nakia, as they navigate the passing of the original Black Panther and the theme of moving on in the face of insurmountable odds.

According to a recent theater listing, the upcoming Marvel movie clocks in at 2 hours 41 minutes – that makes it the longest Phase 4 movie as well as the longest non-Avengers film in the entire MCU - but with plenty of new stories emerging in the recent Wakanda Forever teaser trailer, it looks like there’s plenty of justification for a pretty hefty runtime.

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever will be released in theaters on November 11, 2022. For more, check out why Namor is a villain in the film and our breakdown of the sequel's first trailer.

Adele Ankers-Range is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow her on Twitter.

A fired Nintendo contractor who filed an official complaint with the National Labor Relations Board has spoken out for the first time, revealing their name along with additional details about the incident that ultimately led to the complaint filed in April.

In an interview with Axios, former Nintendo QA tester Mackenzie Clifton alleged that they were dismissed after asking for Nintendo of America's view on the growing unionization trend within gaming during an online public meeting. They said they were rebuked for asking a "downer question" and fired a month later.

Nintendo's official reasoning was that Clifton had disclosed confidential information. The cited tweet, dated February 16, read, "[I]n today’s build someone somewhere must have deleted every other texture in the game bc everything is now red. Just like, pure red. it’s very silly.”

Cllifton says that the tweet is vague, arguing that it is "misdirection." However, Nintendo is also known for its strict social media policy, leading to many employees to stop posting entirely in order to avoid crossing what they perceive as an ill-defined line.

Clifton's contract was terminated in February, leading them to file the labor complaint that grabbed headlines throughout the industry. It was followed by more current and former employees of Nintendo coming forward to share their own experiences.

A report published by IGN earlier this year revealed growing discontentment within Nintendo of America over a perceived inability to gain full-time employment along with working conditions. Many Nintendo of America employees, particularly those in departments like QA, are contractors with limited benefits and privileges.

Clifton said things were "actually very good initially" at Nintendo of America, saying they earned a promotion and a raise. However, after not appearing in the credits of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, they say they experienced severe depression (they were later added to the credits after their departure). They say that they were also frustrated by being forced to take breaks during contract renewal periods — frustrations shared by other contract employees.

Following the complaint, an investigation and talks for a potential settlement followed. Clifton said that their condition was a signed apology from Nintendo of America president Doug Bowser, but that Nintendo countered with an offer to speak with the company's HR department, then a neutral letter of reference.

“I hope that sharing this story can get more and more people thinking about how the games industry works and how these companies, that everyone’s come to know and love as providers of fun entertainment, are so much more than that,” Clifton said.

IGN has reached out to Nintendo for comment and will update with any official statement.

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.

Among the absolutely massive amount of explorable world and evergreen story content in Genshin Impact, one of the ways the open-world adventure keeps folks busy over time is through limited-time events that often cannot be accessed later if they are missed. But developer MiHoYo may be looking for a way for players to reexperience them after all.

While some events have come back around, such as Windtrace and Lost Riches, others with character development involved are either seemingly gone for good, or if they return, have story content changed between iterations to account for how the story has evolved since.

But in an interview with IGN, a MiHoYo spokesperson acknowledged the community's sadness at missing story events for characters like Albedo and Childe, as well as the desire for at least some sort of story recap option to catch up on critical information players may have missed without having to dive into a wiki.

With limited-time seasonal events, we want to show players how the world of Teyvat and each character have changed over time outside of the main storyline. Therefore, even if events return, such as the Golden Apple Archipelago in Version 2.8, there will be changes to the characters, stories, and gameplay of relevance. However, we are considering the issues you mentioned and may have new ideas in the future with the advancement of our technology and productivity.

MiHoYo has been working hard on pushing its technological advancements in several other areas, too, such as upcoming improved support for PS5 players using DualSense controllers. And MiHoYo confirmed that the announced Switch version is still in development, though it couldn't give further details. It's likely we'll see how the studio handles its various limited-time events shift over the years, especially as it pushes further into its ten-year roadmap, introduces more characters and continents, and gets increasingly far removed from its earliest story moments.

We also spoke to miHoYo about why the Dendro element took so long to add to the game. And for more, you can take a look at several upcoming new characters for 3.1 as well as our review of Genshin at launch.

Rebekah Valentine is a news reporter for IGN. You can find her on Twitter @duckvalentine.

When Genshin Impact first launched, it included playable characters for six elements: Pyro (fire), Hydro (water), Anemo (wind), Electro (electricity), Cryo (ice), and Geo (earth). However, anyone paying attention at all to Genshin's lore. some of its monsters, or even its loading screen would have noticed that a seventh element was seemingly missing in action: Dendro, or nature.

For the first two major Genshin Impact chapters, Dendro remained elusive. But with 3.0 and the introduction of dendro-focused continent Sumeru, we're at last getting a taste of greenery. Bow users Collei and Tighnari kicked dendro off alongside the Traveler gaining a Dendro element through the Sumaru storyline — and more are on the way.

But why did it take so long for developer miHoYo to introduce Dendro, especially when all other elements were present from the start? What was it about Dendro that required a little more time in the veggie steamer?

In an interview with IGN, a Genshin Impact spokesperson shed a little bit of light on what, exactly, took Dendro so long to join its elemental brethren, as well as why its character rollout has been a bit slow:

The Dendro element is the last piece of the puzzle in the seven-element system. It is also the representative element of Sumeru, the nation of wisdom. Therefore, when we designed its elemental reaction mechanisms, we wanted it to be an element with more profound gameplay, one that enables multi-element reactions.

However, at the time of design, we were unable to come up with a mechanic that the development team found satisfying and innovative. As the development of the Sumeru area progressed, we had gathered more ideas and inspirations amidst constant polishing. We made a deeper connection between the Dendro element and Pyro/Hydro/Electro elements, so that the Elemental Reactions are not only reflected by characters, but also in the entire ecological environment of Sumeru.

For example, there are many plants and creatures with Dendro characteristics. Such plants and creatures have the potential of exhibiting polymorphic transformation that alters their appearances, functions, and even behavior, which is also the reason why we released the Dendro element along with its featured nation.

So for Dendro, it was largely a matter of miHoYo wanting multi-element interactions but struggling to come up with the right ones until Sumeru development prompted some inspiration.

The core concepts of the Dendro element have always been catalysis, wisdom, and life. However, the in-game presentation of its gameplay has gone through many iterations over time. We hope that the Dendro element can not only symbolize Sumeru's image of the nation of wisdom, but also have a system of elemental reactions that conforms to common sense and contains enough strategy and gameplay diversity to connect more elements together.

Sumeru, Dendro, and everything else we've seen in 3.0 come as part of an ongoing 10-year roadmap of content for Genshin Impact that began at its launch. MiHoYo told us that it has a "rather clear long-term plan in mind" that it can't share due to spoilers. But everything we know from Genshin's lore indicates we'll likely visit the respective continents of the all the elements we haven't been to yet (Cryo, Pyro, and Hydro). MiHoYo has affirmed that Dendro is the "last piece of the puzzle in the seven-element system" so we're unlikely to get any surprise new elements, but more dendro characters down the line are sure to add even more interesting elemental interactions.

We also spoke to miHoYo about its plans to bring back limited-time seasonal events that have already completed. And for more, you can take a look at several upcoming new characters for 3.1 as well as our review of Genshin at launch.

Rebekah Valentine is a news reporter for IGN. You can find her on Twitter @duckvalentine.

McDonald's is making Happy Meals cool for all ages this October with a new menu item, and yes, the boxed meals come with toys.

The restaurant chain announced a partnership (via NPR) with Cactus Plant Flea Market for a new meal deal for the month of October. Cactus Plant Flea Market is a fashion label that focuses on creating original streetwear.

From October 3 to October 30, you can order the Cactus Plant Flea Market Meal Box, that comes with a meal and one of four toys: the Hamburglar, Birdie, Grimace, and Cactus Buddy.

You may recognize the first three names from Mickey D's classic stable of characters, while Cactus Buddy is the mascot for Cactus Plant Flea Market. The McDonald's characters look a little strange, though, with four eyes a piece. The meal comes packaged in a box designed with CPFM's style in mind.

Some CPFM x McDonald's merch will also be available as part of this new promotion beginning on October 3.

Some of McDonald's' other marketing ploys over the years have included the Rick and Morty sauce, and a fakeout of a 5G cell phone announcement. If you're lovin' all this McDonald's news, check out the leaked design for the McDonald's PS5 controller, or the huge lawsuit over the restaurant's broken ice cream machines.

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.

Venom and Uncharted director Ruben Fleischer will helm Now You See Me 3. The upcoming film will continue the Now You See Me franchise, which stars Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Dave Franco, and Mark Ruffalo.

“There are three things in this world I absolutely love… Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson and magic,” said Fleischer. “To have the chance to work with these two talented actors, as well as the rest of the incredible cast of the Now You See Me movies is a dream come true.”

Fleischer has worked with Eisenberg and Harrelson previously, on his debut movie Zombieland. Earning just $100 million at the box office, it was nevertheless considered a success – debuting at number 1 with the second-highest opening weekend for a zombie film since the 2004 Dawn of the Dead remake.

Although Venom managed an impressive $856 million, it was received poorly.

The Marvel-adjacent superhero film holds a 30% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 362 reviews, so it’s safe to say that critics didn’t exactly love it. IGN’s own review said: “Tom Hardy’s committed performance can’t overcome a painful script and indecisive direction, resulting in a film with a personality that’s as split as its titular character. There are occasional moments of brilliance in the dynamic between Eddie and Venom that give a hint of what the film could have been in steadier hands, but ultimately, that only makes the finished product a more frustrating viewing experience.”

It's much the same for Uncharted, too – with 40% on Rotten Tomatoes and $401 million at the box office. Commercially successful? Sure… but not exactly well-received.

Nevertheless, Lionsgate president Nathan Kahane said Fleischer has a "special talent with character-driven blockbuster entertainment" in the release announcing the hiring.

“Ruben has proven time and again that he has a special talent with character-driven blockbuster entertainment,” said Lionsgate president Nathan Kahane. “He delivers big excitement while ultimately keeping the focus on the characters audiences care about. We feel like we’ve assembled a dream team to get this movie off the ground. For everyone we’ve kept in suspense, the wait is almost over.”

That certainly sounds as though we’ll be getting more details soon… and perhaps we’ll find out whether Ruffalo will be back as Dylan Rhodes after the events of Now You See Me 2.

“I am a lifelong fan of heist movies,” added Fleischer. “I love getting drawn in by the twists and the mystery where nothing is what it seems. And that’s even more true when the thieves are magicians – the opportunities are endless. Eric was able to unlock a fresh and exciting way into a new movie and fun new characters, so I’m excited to dig in even further.”

IGN’s Now You See Me review gave it 6.3/10 and said: “Now You See Me seemed so promising, but it squanders its cool cast and nifty premise on smarmy, shallow characters and a flimsy, nonsensical plot.”

Fleischer will oversee a new draft of the film’s screenplay by Seth Grahame-Smith, while an earlier draft was written by Eric Warren Singer. Bobby Cohen and Alex Kurtzman will produce the film with Meredith Wieck and Chisom Ude overseeing the project for Lionsgate.

Want to read more about Now You See Me? See where it sits among the biggest summer blockbuster flops and check out our review of Now You See Me 2.

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

Marvel's Armor Wars series for Disney+ is being turned into a full-length feature film, THR reports.

Armor Wars' creators were reportedly informed of the change today. The series was still early in development, with no directors and a 2023 start date for production. The change was reportedly undertaken in order to tell the story "the right way," sources told THR.

Little is known about the the upcoming MCU series, in which Don Cheadle is set to reprise his role as Colonel James Rhodes, better-known as War Machine. First announced back in 2020, Armor Wars is based on a seven-issue Iron Man story arc written by David Michelinie and Bob Layton.

The original story was focused around the idea of various armor suits falling into the wrong hands. The series was set to address the aftermath of Tony Stark's death in Avengers: Endgame.

Armor Wars was a no-show at Comic-Con, leading to writer Yassir Lester assuring fans that it wasn't canceled. Lester will remain onboard as the lead writer as the series transitions to a movie.

The Armor Wars movie does not yet have a release date. It will presumably be set during the recently-announced Phase 6, but Marvel has not yet listed a time period for the film.

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.