Mario Movie: McDonald’s Seemingly Leaks How Princess Peach looks

McDonald's just leaked The Super Mario Bros. Movie’s Princess Peach.

A new McDonald’s advertisement has given us our first look at Princess Peach from the upcoming video game adaptation, The Super Mario Bros. Movie.

“They got Peach looking like a Disney Princess,” said Twitter user Elliot Duby who grabbed a screenshot of the advertisement before it was pulled offline. “It don’t look bad at all.”

Princess Peach will be voiced by Anya Taylor-Joy in the upcoming movie and was notably absent during The Super Mario Bros. Movie’s first official trailer which was released yesterday. Despite this, it seems Peach was included in a bunch of McDonald's adverts which have since been removed from social media.

Although the screenshots aren’t great quality, it looks as though Princess Peach stacks up pretty well compared to her in-game counterpart – a faithful adaption that’s pretty close to the games.

Chris Pratt’s Mario voice has already come under criticism for essentially being just his own voice… but does that mean Anya Taylor-Joy will use her own voice, too? Not necessarily. For one thing, we’ve also seen Jack Black’s Bowser who notably sounds different from Jack Black’s usual speaking voice - something we heard more of at New York Comic-Con, where Jack Black showed off more of his performance. Toad (Keegan-Michael Key) also sounds little like the actor who portrays him.

Meanwhile, the French-dubbed version of the new trailer for The Super Mario Bros. Movie has been met with huge enthusiasm from the fans. Why? Because Mario sounds a lot more like his video game incarnation – traditionally voiced by Charles Martinet.

Want to read more about Mario? Check out who else has been cast in The Super Mario Bros. Movie and find out why Chris Pratt isn’t doing an Italian accent in the movie.

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

Catan Is Coming to Consoles

A new version of Catan is officially coming to consoles, with a PlayStation and Xbox version of the classic board game announced for 2023.

Revealed on its official website, Catan will include up to four-player gameplay either locally or online, alongside a single player mode where different AI opponents try and conquer the island for themselves. When playing with friends in the same room, each player uses their smartphone as a controller to keep their resources hidden.

The game, which revolves around acquiring new resources, trading with your enemies, and building settlements, will present a fully animated and dynamic board for players to immerse themselves in Catan. Instead of just being flat tiles, each board piece includes NPCs walking around, animals in the fields, and so on.

Each game is also fully customisable, with players able to arrange the board in different ways and using different rulesets, while tutorial stages are also available for new players to get to grips with Catan.

Though it's confirmed for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One as well, the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series games will run at 60fps and 4k graphics, while haptic feedback is also available on PS5.

Settlers of Catan is an enormously successful strategy board game - so successful that it's even supposedly getting a movie adaptation.

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

No Man’s Sky: Waypoint Update Is the Game’s ‘Biggest Generational Jump So Far’

Hello Games has announced that No Man’s Sky’s 4.0 update, called Waypoint, will be released today, and said it's likely the “biggest generational jump so far” for the game.

The 21st major update brings both design and balance overhauls alongside hundreds of quality-of-life improvements, as Hello Games has attempted to unify all of its previous content into a more cohesive gameplay experience.

Its inventory system is one example of this, as players, ships, and weapons now have a “greatly increased” level cap. Milestones have also been updated and a new information portal makes it easier for returning players to pick No Man’s Sky back up thanks to summary of their goals and progress.

New gameplay modes have also been added, with Relaxed mode letting players enjoy the game more as an exploration and sandbox game over pure survival. Customisable controls for survival, crafting, and combat have all been added too, however, meaning players can shape the experience to match their own playstyle.

Given that Waypoint also marks the full 4.0 step up for No Man’s Sky, Hello Games said it’s as much about laying a foundation for the future as it is improving what’s already in the game.

“The leap from version 3.0 to 4.0 is perhaps our biggest generational jump so far. It’s an exciting moment, and marks a solid foundation for future updates,” it said.

“Starting as we mean to continue, No Man’s Sky launches on Switch with its first major update, and it’s no coincidence that many of our changes are focused on making No Man’s Sky a more pick-up and play experience for new and returning players on that mobile platform.”

The Nintendo Switch version was also released today, October 7. Hello Games’ founder Sean Murray said back in June that it “feels both completely natural and also totally improbable at the same time”, as No Man’s Sky’s procedural generation meant a Switch port was “a real moonshot for our small team”.

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

Valve Changing Steam Review Process After Visual Novel Gets Canceled, Then Un-Canceled

Upcoming visual novel Chaos; Head Noah has been un-canceled for a Steam release, and Valve is changing its review process for games as a result.

The game’s release was pulled last month after Steam insisted upon “guideline-required changes” to the game's content. Now, it looks as though Steam has reversed that decision.

“Valve's content review team, the group that made the original decision, has re-examined CHAOS;HEAD NOAH and decided to reverse course and allow the game to ship on Steam, as is,” said Valve in a statement to the developer, Spike Chunsoft. “We've also examined the process that led to the previous decision about CHAOS;HEAD NOAH, and made some changes to avoid situations like this in the future.”

Chaos; Head Noah is a visual novel (and part of the Science Adventure series that also includes the more well-known Steins;Gate) that sees players attempting to solve a series of murders in Tokyo's Shubuya area. Quite what the proposed changes were remains unclear, but some have speculated that the game's partial setting in a school may have prompted Steam to initially refuse to sell the game.

Whatever the changes were, it looks as though Spike Chunsoft was unwilling to make them, stating that it wouldn’t allow them to release the game to the company’s standards: “Spike Chunsoft, Inc. believes these changes would not allow the game to be released to its standards,” it said at the time.

After the reversal, the company said: “We believe this decision is the result of the unwavering support from fans of the Science Adventure Series as well as all of the players who are eagerly awaiting the release of this title,” said the game’s developers. “Your voices have been heard. We sincerely appreciate your commitment. We look forward to your continued support of Spike Chunsoft and the Science Adventure Series.”

It looks as though these issues were ironed out just in the nick of time, too – Chaos; Head Noah will launch on Nintendo Switch and PC (via Steam) today, October 7, 2022.

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

No, Dead Space Remake Isn’t Coming to PS4

The upcoming Dead Space remake won’t be coming to PS4 despite a trailer that seemed to claim otherwise.

A PlayStation trailer for the upcoming survival horror seemed to suggest that Dead Space would be getting a PS4 release alongside its PS5 launch. But it looks as though that’s not actually the case.

“A PlayStation trailer listing that suggested EA Motive's upcoming Dead Space remake will launch for PS4 as well as PS5 is a mistake,” said Eurogamer.

The trailer debuted on PlayStation’s Latin America YouTube channel and wrongly stated that the Dead Space remake is coming to both PS4 and PS5. Of course, the news spread quickly among fans, with some taking to Reddit to discuss the implications… even suggesting that the game could be coming to Xbox One as well.

Instead, it looks as though Dead Space will remain a next-gen remake, launching on PS5 as well as Xbox Series X|S and PC on January 27, 2023. Developer EA Motive recently showed off Dead Space with a gameplay reveal that teased the return of the necromorphs as well as introducing some new combat systems.

It certainly looks as though the remake has been assembled with a deep respect for the original game, and EA Motive even floated ideas to its very own community council – a group consisting of Dead Space fans who were consulted during the game’s early development.

“First, we honor the legacy,” said senior producer Philippe Ducharme. “We look at the original game with the utmost respect. So, the core foundations will remain the same. However, we are making several enhancements to the experience to make it enticing for both new players and returning ones.”

IGN’s original Dead Space review gave it 8.7/10 and said: “Call it science fiction survival horror, but Dead Space does the genre proud with an engaging story; action that's tense, fast-paced and extremely violent; as well as atmospheric qualities that will get under your skin and make you jump. It may be a newcomer, but the seeds of an incredible franchise have been sown, and EA's in a great position to reap a phenomenal franchise full of scares. If you like survival horror, action, or sci-fi, Dead Space needs to be on your radar.”

Want to read more about Dead Space? Check out our deep dive into how Dead Space is being remade as well as what you’ll get in each edition of the game.

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

The Legend of Vox Machina Renewed for Season Three

The Legend of Vox Machina, an animated adaptation of the popular online tabletop RPG series, has been renewed for a third season.

As announced at New York Comic-Con, Prime Video announced that a third season of The Legend of Vox Machina will be coming from Critical Role and Titmouse. The series was already renewed for a second season which will be coming to Prime Video in January 2023.

Stars Travis Willingham, Marisha Ray, Taliesin Jaffe, Ashley Johnson, Sam Riegel, Liam O'Brien, Laura Bailey, and Matthew Mercer will reprise their roles as members of Vox Machina.

The series is an adaptation of Critical Role's first live-streamed tabletop RPG campaign. Critical Role was started in 2015 and over two years and 115 episodes, the actors played a campaign of Dungeons and Dragons led by Dungeon Master Matthew Mercer.

The animated series was originally funded on Kickstarter with the initial goal of creating a single animated episode. The campaign would go on to become the most funded Kickstarter for a TV project, and by the end, the campaign hit the stretch goals for 10 full episodes. Amazon then acquired the rights to the project in 2019 and commissioned an additional 14 episodes.

IGN reviewed the first three episodes and gave it a 9, praising its animation and epic storytelling. You can read IGN's full Vox Machina review here.

Matt T.M. Kim is IGN's News Editor. You can reach him @lawoftd.

Hideo Kojima’s Next Game Casts Elle Fanning, as Confirmed by QR Code

Update: Fans have uncovered a website confirming that Elle Fanning will indeed be in Kojima's next project.

It was uncovered via QR code at the event, which led to a website linked to Kojima Productions. The untitled project is listed simply as a "Hideo Kojima Game." In discovering the QR code, it was noted that it's proxied by a tinyurl that suggests it might point to a new URL in the future.

The original story continues below.

Kojima Productions has been dropping a series of clues about the star of Hideo Kojima's next project, which is speculated to be a horror game titled Overdose. The latest hint? A cryptic poster with an outline of a woman's face and the question, "Where am I?"

The poster was revealed at PAX Australia early on Friday morning, Australian time. It follows a teasing tweet from Kojima posted early yesterday morning bearing the simple message, "The answer to "WHO" at TGS will be in the next "WHERE."

Fans suspects that the "who" in this case will be Elle Fanning, who has connections to Kojima through director Nicholas Winding Refn. Fanning has appeared in works including The Nightingale and Super 8. If Fanning is indeed the star of Overdose, she would join well-known actors such as Kiefer Sutherland and Norman Reedus in working with Kojima.

If there are any answers to be found in the poster revealed at PAX Australia, though, they're not immediately apparent.

Kojima has been relentlessly teasing new info for a while now. Kojima Productions posted a similar image during Tokyo Game Show, only this one read, "Who am I?"

Kojima, of course, is well-known for his marketing stunts. Metal Gear Solid fans will recall the saga surrounding Metal Gear Solid 5, which was originally billed as an original action game developed by a Swedith company known as Moby Dick Studio called The Phantom Pain. There was also P.T., which has remained lodged in the collective memory to this day.

These teases aren't nearly as dramatic as Kojima's previous reveals, but they certainly show that he's still up to his old tricks.

For now, we know that Hideo Kojima is working with Xbox to make "the game I have always wanted to make." There are also rumors that Kojima is involved somehow with the heavily-rumored Silent Hill revival, which has yet to materialize. What happens, Kojima seems to be gearing up for some kind of reveal. We'll just have to remain in the dark for a little longer.

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.

Ezra Miller Returns for ‘The Flash’ Reshoots in Another Sign WB Is Sticking With the Actor

Ezra Miller has reportedly returned for The Flash reshoots. According to The Wrap, the troubled Justice League star has returned to the set of The Flash following an apology for their recent behavior.

“Miller and their agent met with Warner Bros.’ film heads back in August,” revealed The Wrap. It’s claimed that this meeting was “very positive” about the future of DC’s upcoming superhero flick, The Flash.

It looks as though it went so well, Miller has already been back on set.

Additionally, it’s claimed that the film has been testing positively, giving Warner Bros. a compelling reason to smooth things over with Miller and carry on.

Over the past few months, Miller has seen a number of troubling claims made about his conduct, which have even resulted in arrests and police involvement. They have been charged with burglary in Vermont, as well as other legal issues in Hawaii, Massachusetts, and North Dakota.

Additionally, Miller has been accused of throwing a chair at a woman, grooming minors, and other serious misconduct.

The actor drew nationwide attention when they abruptly deleted their Instagram account and seemingly vanished. However, in August, Miller confirmed that they are suffering from “mental health” issues and delivered an apology.

“Having recently gone through a time of intense crisis, I now understand that I am suffering complex mental health issues and have begun ongoing treatment,” said Miller. “I want to apologize to everyone that I have alarmed and upset with my past behavior. I am committed to doing the necessary work to get back to a healthy, safe and productive stage in my life.”

Now, it looks as though Miller has at least done enough to appease the folks at Warner Bros. Discovery and hasn’t been kicked off his own DC solo movie.

At least, if he has indeed been back for reshoots and pickups.

Despite Miller’s recent issues, Warner Bros. Discovery is yet to deviate from its earlier plans, with a release date of June 23, 2023, still set for The Flash.

Want to read more about The Flash? Check out the films and TV shows affected by the Warner Bros Discovery merger and read more about Flashpoint which inspired the upcoming film.

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

HBO Max’s Velma Reveals Full Scooby Gang Voice Cast

The rest of the cast for Mindy Kaling's Velma HBO Max series is no longer a mystery, as THR has reported the entire cast, including the actors that will play the rest of Mystery Incorporated.

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia's Glenn Howerton is on board to play Fred, Veep's Sam Richardson will play Shaggy, and Crazy Rich Asians' Constance Wu is Daphne.

In addition to the gang, other cast members include Jane Lynch, Wanda Sykes, Weird Al Yankovic, Debby Ryan, Karl-Anthony Towns, Russell Peters, Melissa Fumero, Stephen Root, Gary Cole, Ken Leung, Cherry Jones, Frank Welker, Fortune Feimster, Yvonne Orji, Sarayu Blue, Nicole Byer, Ming-Na Wen, Shay Mitchell, and Kulap Vilaysack.

We got our first look at Velma back in May, where Kaling said she didn't care if people freaked out about Velma being South Asian. At the time, Kaling said, "I just couldn't understand how people couldn't imagine a really smart, nerdy girl with terrible eyesight, and who loved to solve mysteries, could be Indian." The show is also aimed at more of an adult audience than traditional Scooby-Doo, with a gruesome shot of a character with their head cut open marking the first look we got at the show.

HBO Max first announced this Velma Dinkley origin series last year, where we learned Kaling, Charlie Grandy, Howard Klein, and Sam Register were on board as executive producers.

You can read a synopsis of the New York Comic Con preview here.

In other Velma news, the character is finally gay in the new movie, Trick or Treat Scooby-Doo!, two years after we learned James Gunn tried to make Velma canonically gay in his live action Scooby-Doo movie from 2002.

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.

Photo by: Tyler Golden/Peacock/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images; Lloyd Bishop/NBC via Getty Images; Michael Kovac/The Hollywood Reporter via Getty Images

First Look at HBO Max’s Velma Is Full of Gore, Butts

HBO Max is teaming up with Mindy Kaling on a mature origin story for Velma and Scooby gang and we got our first look at the series at New York Comic Con.

In a panel, HBO Max shared a sneak peek of the first episode which establishes Velma as an origin story set before the gang officially teamed up to solve mysteries. The preview was full of a grizzly murder, profanity, and some butts.

While HBO Max hasn't shared the preview online, IGN was in attendance and got a glimpse of the first episode preview which begins with a voiceover from Velma Dinkley (played by Mindy Kaling) telling the audience about the bone-chilling events that lead up to the greatest mystery-solving team-up ever.

A full voice cast has also been revealed including Glenn Howerton, Constance Wu, and Sam Richardson.

The preview begins in the girl's locker room ("Sex sells," according to Velma in the preview) where Daphne (Constance Wu) and Velma are there together when a body falls out of one of the lockers. The corpse turns out to be another student named Brenda who is missing her brain.

The mystery to find Brenda's killer will unite crime-loving Velma with Daphne, who was Brenda's ex-best friend. Daphne's parents, who are cops, interrogate the two girls and give Velma 24 hours to solve the murder.

Fred (Glenn Howerton) is also introduced as a vain individual who has a disease where he can't recognize people who aren't hot. He is apparently dating Daphne, but Brenda was his "plan B in case she was too clingy."

Shaggy (Sam Richardson) appears last as a friend with a crush on Velma and later joins the investigation to help clear Velma's name. And yes, Shaggy does appear to be a bit of a stoner in this version.

While the gang's quest to find Brenda's killer leads to sketchy drug dealers, dismembered body parts, and forbidden romances this certainly appears to be a mature take on the Scooby gang, leaning towards adult animated comedies than the original cartoons.

During a panel following the preview the moderator says definitively that this show is "not for kids," and that it is closer to the shows Kaling and showrunner Charlie Grandy love like Rick and Morty and Harley Quinn.

This is just the latest reinvention of Velma in recent times, following the character coming out as a lesbian in a recent movie, unrelated to the HBO Max series.

For more on the show and other news from New York Comic Con, follow IGN.

Matt T.M. Kim is IGN's News Editor. You can reach him @lawoftd.