Black Panther 2’s Original Story Focused on the Events of Avengers: Endgame

Before the film was rewritten after the death of Chadwick Boseman, the sequel to Black Panther would have focused on the events of Avengers: Endgame.

In an interview with Inverse, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever Director and Screenwriter Ryan Coogler says while the story has shifted in the wake of Boseman’s death, the original screenplay for the Black Panther sequel was always going to be about grief, as it would have dealt with the fallout of Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame; both of which focused on Thanos’ plan to eliminate half of all life using the Infinity Stones.

While the movie coming to theaters next week is about mourning Boseman’s character of T’Challa, the original script was about grieving the five years lost in the time between his death in Infinity War and resurrection in Endgame.

“The tone was going to be similar,” Coogler tells Inverse. “The character was going to be grieving the loss of time, you know, coming back after being gone for five years. As a man with so much responsibility to so many, coming back after a forced five years absence, that’s what the film was tackling. He was grieving time he couldn’t get back. Grief was a big part of it.”

Following Boseman's death, Coogler reworked the movie with co-writer Joe Robert Cole to center other characters, though Namor the Sub-Mariner was always planned as the antagonist, even in the original script. Namor is played by Tenoch Huerta in Wakanda Forever.

“Who the protagonist was, the flaws of the protagonist, what the protagonist was dealing with in their journey, all of that stuff had to be different due to us losing him and the decisions that we made about moving forward," Coogler says.

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever arrives in theaters on November 11, with Letitia Wright, Lupita Nyong'o, Danai Gurira, Winston Duke, and Angela Bassett reprising their roles from the first film. Newcomers include Huerta as Namor and Dominique Thorne as Riri Williams/Ironheart.

Kenneth Shepard is a writer covering games, entertainment, and queerness all around the internet. Find him on Twitter at @shepardcdr, and listen to his biweekly video game retrospective podcast Normandy FM, which is currently covering Cyberpunk 2077.

Resident Evil: Original Wesker Actor Pleasantly Surprised to Learn His Character is Famous

It turns out, the original voice actor behind Albert Wesker, the iconic villain of the original Resident Evil game, didn’t know how popular his character and line delivery was in Capcom’s 1996 horror game until long after it launched on the PlayStation.

Wesker has been voiced by several actors over the course of the Resident Evil franchise’s lifetime, but Pablo Kuntz originated the role in one of several freelance voice jobs he was taking on in the 90s. In an interview with PC Gamer, Kuntz describes voicing Wesker as "a wonderful experience," but it was one of many jobs the actor took on while living in Japan, at the time.

As such, Kuntz has been distanced from the Resident Evil community, having only confirmed his involvement four years ago in a YouTube video comment section.

"Reconnecting with fans has quite honestly been a life-changer," Kuntz tells PC Gamer. "It’s been a huge blessing, meeting a large number of great people that are supportive, kind, and witty. …It may have been a bit surprising at first, the incredible affection that people have for the game, but I don’t feel that way now. I (we) get it!"

Since then, Kuntz has been playing through the Resident Evil series with his son Lexonal on YouTube, which marked the first time the actor heard his performance as Wesker in context. As he only voiced the character in the first game, Kuntz has even started redubbing the character’s later appearances in games like Resident Evil - Code: Veronica, and tells PC Gamer he plans to redub further appearances in the future.

In the meantime, Kuntz has launched a Patreon to support the YouTube channel and includes perks like a Cameo-style video message and behind-the-scenes content.

Wesker has appeared in several Resident Evil projects since Kuntz originated his English voice in the 90s, with D.C. Douglas having voiced him in most of his English appearances. The character seemingly died in Resident Evil 5, though he was still mentioned in Resident Evil 6 when it was revealed he was the father of new character Jake Muller. His most recent appearance was as the Killer character in the Resident Evil and Dead By Daylight crossover that began earlier this year.

Kenneth Shepard is a writer covering games, entertainment, and queerness all around the internet. Find him on Twitter at @shepardcdr, and listen to his biweekly video game retrospective podcast Normandy FM, which is currently covering Cyberpunk 2077.

Resident Evil: Original Wesker Actor Pleasantly Surprised to Learn His Character is Famous

It turns out, the original voice actor behind Albert Wesker, the iconic villain of the original Resident Evil game, didn’t know how popular his character and line delivery was in Capcom’s 1996 horror game until long after it launched on the PlayStation.

Wesker has been voiced by several actors over the course of the Resident Evil franchise’s lifetime, but Pablo Kuntz originated the role in one of several freelance voice jobs he was taking on in the 90s. In an interview with PC Gamer, Kuntz describes voicing Wesker as "a wonderful experience," but it was one of many jobs the actor took on while living in Japan, at the time.

As such, Kuntz has been distanced from the Resident Evil community, having only confirmed his involvement four years ago in a YouTube video comment section.

"Reconnecting with fans has quite honestly been a life-changer," Kuntz tells PC Gamer. "It’s been a huge blessing, meeting a large number of great people that are supportive, kind, and witty. …It may have been a bit surprising at first, the incredible affection that people have for the game, but I don’t feel that way now. I (we) get it!"

Since then, Kuntz has been playing through the Resident Evil series with his son Lexonal on YouTube, which marked the first time the actor heard his performance as Wesker in context. As he only voiced the character in the first game, Kuntz has even started redubbing the character’s later appearances in games like Resident Evil - Code: Veronica, and tells PC Gamer he plans to redub further appearances in the future.

In the meantime, Kuntz has launched a Patreon to support the YouTube channel and includes perks like a Cameo-style video message and behind-the-scenes content.

Wesker has appeared in several Resident Evil projects since Kuntz originated his English voice in the 90s, with D.C. Douglas having voiced him in most of his English appearances. The character seemingly died in Resident Evil 5, though he was still mentioned in Resident Evil 6 when it was revealed he was the father of new character Jake Muller. His most recent appearance was as the Killer character in the Resident Evil and Dead By Daylight crossover that began earlier this year.

Kenneth Shepard is a writer covering games, entertainment, and queerness all around the internet. Find him on Twitter at @shepardcdr, and listen to his biweekly video game retrospective podcast Normandy FM, which is currently covering Cyberpunk 2077.

Hideo Kojima Adds Deadpool 2’s Shioli Kutsuna to His Next Game

Hideo Kojima has revealed Deadpool 2 actor Shiori Kutsuna will star in his upcoming game alongside Elle Fanning.

Kojima confirmed Kutsuna's involvement in the project on Twitter and Kojima Productions' website, where a poster was displayed featuring the actor's face with the text "Where Am I?" across the image. It was followed by a second, all-black poster with the words "How Come?" plastered on it, and a logo-style stamp of a tentacled creature above the studio's name.

Kutsana, who is best known for her role as Yukio in Deadpool 2, joins Elle Fanning on Kojima's still-unnamed project, which is speculated to be a horror game titled Overdose. The silhouetted version of Kutsana's poster was shared at the same time that Fanning got her poster reveal, meaning we might get another announcement for the "How Come?" image.

Kojima is well-known for his marketing stunts and has been dropping hints for a while now. He shared a tweet at the start of October referencing the "Who?" and "Where?" teasers, with one final set of question marks left, indicating another reveal at a later date. Whatever happens, we know that Kojima is working with Xbox to make the game he's "always wanted to make."

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

Hideo Kojima Adds Deadpool 2’s Shioli Kutsuna to His Next Game

Hideo Kojima has revealed Deadpool 2 actor Shiori Kutsuna will star in his upcoming game alongside Elle Fanning.

Kojima confirmed Kutsuna's involvement in the project on Twitter and Kojima Productions' website, where a poster was displayed featuring the actor's face with the text "Where Am I?" across the image. It was followed by a second, all-black poster with the words "How Come?" plastered on it, and a logo-style stamp of a tentacled creature above the studio's name.

Kutsana, who is best known for her role as Yukio in Deadpool 2, joins Elle Fanning on Kojima's still-unnamed project, which is speculated to be a horror game titled Overdose. The silhouetted version of Kutsana's poster was shared at the same time that Fanning got her poster reveal, meaning we might get another announcement for the "How Come?" image.

Kojima is well-known for his marketing stunts and has been dropping hints for a while now. He shared a tweet at the start of October referencing the "Who?" and "Where?" teasers, with one final set of question marks left, indicating another reveal at a later date. Whatever happens, we know that Kojima is working with Xbox to make the game he's "always wanted to make."

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

EA Reiterates a ‘Major’ Game Will Be Released Before April 2023 and It May Just Be Star Wars Jedi: Survivor

EA has reiterated that a game the company is describing as a "Major IP" will be released before March 31, 2023, and it just may or may not be Star Wars Jedi: Survivor.

On Page 10 of EA's Q2 FY 2023 Results slideshow, EA lists the games it is expecting to release before the end of its Fiscal Year 2023 on March 31, 2023. While there are many games we've already learned about in its Q4 list, including the Dead Space Remake, PGA Tour, Super Mega Baseball, and Wild Hearts, there is one game listed only as "Major IP" that is quite notable.

If we look at every EA game in development, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor seems to be the best bet for what this mystery game may be. Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is the sequel to 2019's Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order and it was first announced Star Wars Celebration 2022 with a 2023 release window.

Other EA games we know about are Dragon Age: Dreadwolf (which has only just completed its Alpha development milestone), the next Mass Effect (which is seemingly even farther away), EA's two other unannounced Marvel Games alongside its Iron Man game that is early in development, and two other unannounced games from Star Wars Jedi: Survivor developer Respawn.

Two other possibilities could be skate. or the return of EA Sports College Football, but the former only reached pre-pre-alpha in July 2022 and the latter may not make sense as we haven't learned any more about it and EA may want to time the release of the game with the start of the college football season in the fall.

Obviously, it could also be a game we have yet to learn about but, with April only less than half a year away, that gets less and less likely each and every day. Sure, Fallout 4 did something like that, but those types of releases are few and far between.

EA had previously confirmed that this "Major IP" would be released in Q4 of its Fiscal Year 2023 back in May, and it looks as though it is still planned to make it before that March 31, 2023, end date.

For more on Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, check out how it picks up from the original and learn more about the novel that will bridge the gap between the two adventures.

Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

EA Reiterates a ‘Major’ Game Will Be Released Before April 2023 and It May Just Be Star Wars Jedi: Survivor

EA has reiterated that a game the company is describing as a "Major IP" will be released before March 31, 2023, and it just may or may not be Star Wars Jedi: Survivor.

On Page 10 of EA's Q2 FY 2023 Results slideshow, EA lists the games it is expecting to release before the end of its Fiscal Year 2023 on March 31, 2023. While there are many games we've already learned about in its Q4 list, including the Dead Space Remake, PGA Tour, Super Mega Baseball, and Wild Hearts, there is one game listed only as "Major IP" that is quite notable.

If we look at every EA game in development, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor seems to be the best bet for what this mystery game may be. Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is the sequel to 2019's Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order and it was first announced Star Wars Celebration 2022 with a 2023 release window.

Other EA games we know about are Dragon Age: Dreadwolf (which has only just completed its Alpha development milestone), the next Mass Effect (which is seemingly even farther away), EA's two other unannounced Marvel Games alongside its Iron Man game that is early in development, and two other unannounced games from Star Wars Jedi: Survivor developer Respawn.

Two other possibilities could be skate. or the return of EA Sports College Football, but the former only reached pre-pre-alpha in July 2022 and the latter may not make sense as we haven't learned any more about it and EA may want to time the release of the game with the start of the college football season in the fall.

Obviously, it could also be a game we have yet to learn about but, with April only less than half a year away, that gets less and less likely each and every day. Sure, Fallout 4 did something like that, but those types of releases are few and far between.

EA had previously confirmed that this "Major IP" would be released in Q4 of its Fiscal Year 2023 back in May, and it looks as though it is still planned to make it before that March 31, 2023, end date.

For more on Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, check out how it picks up from the original and learn more about the novel that will bridge the gap between the two adventures.

Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

The Last of Us TV Series on HBO Gets a Premiere Date

Naughty Dog and HBO have confirmed that the TV show adaptation of The Last Of Us will premiere on January 15, 2023.

The news was shared alongside a new poster showing Pedro Pascal's Joel and Bella Ramsey's Ellie walking in a ruined city in the post-apocalyptic world of The Last of Us.

The January 15 premiere date was leaked yesterday, November 1, via the HBO Max app and website and promotional materials in the UK, but now it is official.

The first season of HBO's The Last of Us will consist of 10 episodes and it looks to cover the events of the first game from 2013. However, some of the episodes will feature events that "deviate greatly" from the game.

The Last of Us' first trailer was released in September, and it gave us our first look at the Clickers, a post-apocalyptic U.S., and even what appeared to be the heartbreaking opening scene from the game.

For more, check out why Bella Ramsey was "encouraged not to" play The Last of Us ahead of filming and the rest of the cast that will be joining Joel and Ellie.

Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

The Last of Us TV Series on HBO Gets a Premiere Date

Naughty Dog and HBO have confirmed that the TV show adaptation of The Last Of Us will premiere on January 15, 2023.

The news was shared alongside a new poster showing Pedro Pascal's Joel and Bella Ramsey's Ellie walking in a ruined city in the post-apocalyptic world of The Last of Us.

The January 15 premiere date was leaked yesterday, November 1, via the HBO Max app and website and promotional materials in the UK, but now it is official.

The first season of HBO's The Last of Us will consist of 10 episodes and it looks to cover the events of the first game from 2013. However, some of the episodes will feature events that "deviate greatly" from the game.

The Last of Us' first trailer was released in September, and it gave us our first look at the Clickers, a post-apocalyptic U.S., and even what appeared to be the heartbreaking opening scene from the game.

For more, check out why Bella Ramsey was "encouraged not to" play The Last of Us ahead of filming and the rest of the cast that will be joining Joel and Ellie.

Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

Atomic Heart Release Date Revealed

An explosive new trailer for Atomic Heart has revealed that the first-person action RPG will be released on February 21, 2023.

The new trailer for Atomic Heart showcases its blood-pumping, fast-paced gameplay, and reveals a release date for the Soviet-era shooter. Developer Mundfish and publisher Focus Entertainment have now confirmed that players will be able to explore the game's mysterious world on PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, Xbox One, and Game Pass in February.

The story is set in an alternate version of the 1950s Soviet Union in which robotics and other advanced technologies were developed during World War 2. Robots designed to help humans have since turned against their creators, and a variety of secret experiments have led to the accidental creation of terrifying mutants, wreaking havoc on your own mission.

Mundfish first announced Atomic Heart in 2018, and there's been plenty of information shared since then. A huge chunk of gameplay gave people a better idea of what to expect from the action-RPG, while a Cinematic In-Engine trailer and Photo Mode teaser exposed the finer details — and there's much more to come as Atomic Heart is this month's IGN First.

For those who haven't followed the story so far, check out our Atomic Heart explainer video to learn all about what's going on in the game's weird-yet-wonderful nuclearpunk dystopian world, and be sure to stay tuned to IGN throughout November for exclusive news and videos diving deeper into the game and find out more about how it will play out.

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