YouTube Stars Get Super Bowl Halftime Show
YouTube is producing its own halftime Super Bowl show featuring some of its biggest stars.
It will stream live on the Google-owned video website during the game and will be hosted by Harley Morenstein, host of stunt cooking series Epic Meal Time. The program will featuring musical performances, stunts, and fake Super Bowl ads, and is described as being designed to appeal to viewers who care more about the ads than the actual game.
Harley Morenstein, as seen in Epic Meal Time
Marvel Teases All-New, All-Different Avengers Comic
Earlier this week, Marvel confirmed that both of their flagship Avengers comics - The Avengers Vol. 5 and New Avengers Vol. 3 - will be ending in April as writer Jonathan Hickman gears up for his yearlong Secret Wars project. But with Avengers: Age of Ultron hitting theaters in May, is Marvel really going to cancel these popular titles without having replacements in the wings? Probably not. Today the publisher released this image teasing a new start for Earth's Mightiest Heroes:
Teacher Convicted for Showing ABCs of Death
A former substitute teacher who screened The ABCs of Death to high school students has been found guilty of "disseminating matter harmful to juveniles."
Sheila Kearns showed the comedy-horror film during five periods of Spanish classes with students ranging from 14 to 18 at a Columbus, Ohio, high school. The jury convicted Kearns of four felony counts carrying possible jail sentences, reports The Columbus Dispatch.
Kearns' defense attorney argued that Kearns didn't know the content of the movie, saying, “There’s no way you would show that movie with knowledge of its content. I can’t even make up a reason. It’s clear that she didn’t know.” He reiterated that no one “who is not pleading insanity” would knowingly expose high school students to it.
Kong: Skull Island Time Period Revealed
We don’t know much about the upcoming Kong: Skull Island, but one of the film’s stars, the Oscar-nominated J.K. Simmons, has just dropped some details on the King Kong prequel.
While talking to MTV, the former J. Jonah Jameson revealed at least part of the film’s setting, and it’s kind of a surprise: 1970s Detroit.
J.K. Simmons
Larry Wilmore on Taking Over for Stephen Colbert
On Monday, January 19, Larry Willmore will take over Stephen Colbert's former time slot on Comedy Central and launch The Nightly Show With Larry Wilmore. Colbert, for his part, is busy setting up shop to take over for David Letterman, with The Late Show with Stephen Colbert set to debut on Tuesday, September 8 on CBS.
"You have no idea," Larry Wilmore laughed when we asked if the pressure of the tight turnaround of getting the show, leaving his role as showrunner on ABC's Black-ish, and going into production on The Nightly Show was just a little bit maddening. "My leg hasn't stopped shaking. It's complete bananas. It's a lot of pressure. I have panic dreams all the time -- or 'panic wake-ups' as I like to call them. It's all of that. But I can't reschedule Monday. Monday's coming whether I like it or not, so you just show up and start doing it."
Arrow Creator on Oliver’s Fate/Relationship to Ra’s Al Ghul
Warning: Full spoilers through Arrow's mid-season finale, and some speculation on what's to come...
We're going to be talking about the significant conclusion of the battle between Oliver Queen and Ra's Al Ghul, here. So if you haven't seen it yet and don't want to be spoiled, you may want to head out and return when you've had the opportunity to catch up.
Still with us? Okay!
Arrow left off with a big cliffhanger - almost, but not quite, a literal one. With Oliver soundly -- almost humiliatingly -- defeated by Ra's Al Ghul and chucked off a cliff like so much refuse, the question became: What's to become of The Emerald Archer?
IGN had the opportunity to speak exclusively with Ra's himself, Matt Nable, at the TCA (Television Critics Association) press tour, as well as follow-up with Arrow executive producer Andrew Kreisberg with a small group of reporters about when we can expect to see Oliver again and how the relationship between Ra's and the Arrow may evolve (assuming that Oliver makes it through...which we do).
Veteran WoW Players to Receive Physical Gift From Blizzard
Blizzard Entertainment is sending out thank-you gifts to World of Warcraft players that have had an account for ten years.
"As a way of thanking our loyal World of Warcraft players, we will send a physical gift to players who have been playing with us since the beginning," Blizzard says in a post replicated at MMO Champion. "Players who are eligible have received an email at the address listed on their Battle.net accounts. If you did not receive that email, your account is not eligible for this gift."
To be eligible, players must have created an account within 60 days of the original game's release in America or Europe.
Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons Sold to 505 Games
Developer Starbreeze AB announced today that they have sold their adventure game Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons to 505 Games.
The game, which reportedly has sold roughly 800,000 units since its release in 2013, went for $500,000 USD. The sale includes ownership of all trademarks and domain names associated with the title.
The independent Swedish company wrote that they feel the game "can be best nurtured under a new owner," and that they will continue developing games along more expansive lines.
505 Games, a worldwide publisher, responsible for titles like Terraria, Sniper Elite 3, PayDay 2 and Naughty Bear, say that the acquisition follows their stated goals of owning a controlling their own IP.
Is Harmonix Creating a New Rock Band Game?
A survey being circulated by development studio Harmonix suggests that a new Rock Band title may be on the way.
A promotional email sent out by Harmonix urges players to fill out the survey. Questions in the survey include "Which current-gen platforms do you currently own?" and "Would you be inclined to preorder a new Rock Band title?"
Another question also asks players to rate the importance of hardware compatibility in a new Rock Band experience.
IGN has reached out to Harmonix and will update this article with any further information we may receive.
Batman Is Infected by the Amazo Virus
Things are looking pretty grim for Lex Luthor and the Justice League right now. As the events of "The Amazo Virus" unfold, most of the League have become infected by the deadly plague as the hunt for Patient Zero and a possible cure continues. And as Justice League #38 opens, Batman has become the latest victim of the virus.
We have an exclusive preview of the new issue, which is written by Geoff Johns and drawn by Jason Fabok. Check it out below:
Justice League #38 is priced at $3.99 for the standard comic and $4.99 for the digital combo pack. The issue will be released on Wednesday, January 21.
Jesse is a mild-mannered writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter, or Kicksplode on MyIGN.