Monthly Archives: April 2016
J.J.’s Cryptic New Comments About Rey’s Parents
Star Wars: The Force Awakens director J.J. Abrams sparked a frenzy online Friday when public comments he made seemed to shoot down a major theory about his heroine Rey's parentage. However, the filmmaker later backpedalled from his bombshell statement.
During a Q&A at the Tribeca Film Festival, an attendee asked Abrams flat-out who Rey's parents are.
“Rey’s parents are not in Episode VII,” Abrams replied. “So I can’t possibly say in this moment who they are. But I will say it is something that Rey thinks about, too.”
Watch his comments below:
J.J. Abrams reveals Rey's parents aren't in The Force Awakens @slashfilm pic.twitter.com/O2j8gFNqtF
— emily chi (@theemilychi) April 15, 2016
Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart Circling Jumanji Reboot
Sony's Jumanji reboot may have found its leading men in Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart.
Sources have told Variety that the Central Intelligence co-stars are in "early talks" to star in the upcoming remake, with schedules currently being ironed out as the pair moves closer to striking a deal.
Jake Kasdan is directing Jumanji, which will serve as a reboot of the 1995 film starring Robin Williams. The film promises to offer a fresh take on Chris Van Allsburg's beloved 1981 children's picture book of the same name. Scott Rosenberg and Jeff Pinker penned the script, which is based on a draft by original writers Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers.
NVC: Animal Crossing Anniversary and Star Fox Guard Impressions
Download Nintendo Voice Chat Here
Your favorite Nintendo podcast has a new logo!
IGN's Nintendo show returns! Join host Jose Otero, Brian Altano, and Peer Schneider, as the crew celebrates the 15th anniversary of Animal Crossing, the trials and tribulations of guard duty in Star Fox Guard, and some awesome community questions in another exciting edition of The Question Block.
Make Your Own Oculus Rift Game With Roblox
Roblox, a massively multiplayer online sandbox where users can design their own game worlds and experiences, made its Oculus Rift debut today. With over 20 million visitors a month and 15 million user-created games, Roblox is now the largest social VR platform in the world.
It's also technically the first large-scale VR-compatible platform for designing your own unique video games. There are currently over 300,000 creators behind Roblox's growing line-up of free-to-play, fan-generated content, which ranges from sports games to roleplaying and beyond.
The introduction of VR to that mix will likely encourage creators to explore experiences custom tailored to the unique demands of virtual reality.
Fear TWD: “A Lot More Zombie Action” is Coming
As Fear the Walking Dead’s Season 2 premiere showed last week, the characters may have escaped to the sea on the Abigail -- the yacht belong to the mysterious Strand -- but they are still very much uncertain of their next move and how much to turn to others.
IGN has an exclusive clip from the next episode, as we find our group seeking refuge at a seaside home they come across. But, as it turns out, the occupants inside are equally as wary of strangers.
On the Mexico set of Fear The Walking Dead, I recently spoke to Kim Dickens (“Madison Clark”), Alycia Debnam-Carey (“Alicia Clark”), Mercedes Mason (“Ofelia Salazar”) and Colman Domingo (“Victor Strand”) about Season 2 and the big questions the group are debating about how much they should attempt to help -- or seek help -- from others and how the zombie threat will begin to escalate soon.
Halo 5 Warzone Firefight Beta Extended
Developer 343 Industries has extended its Halo 5: Guardians Warzone Firefight beta.
Technical issues plagued the playlist on its first day—and to thank fans for their patience while the team worked out the bugs, 343 added an extra day to the beta. Halo 5's Warzone Firefight beta will now run until Tuesday, April 19.
The "ambitious new multiplayer experience" will expand on Halo 5's popular Warzone multiplayer. The developer has said Warzone Firefight will be the "biggest Halo cooperative" mode in franchise history.
Ghost in the Shell Actor’s Ethnicity Almost Altered Via VFX
Paramount and DreamWorks reportedly commissioned visual effects tests to alter Scarlett Johansson's appearance in the live-action film adaptation of Ghost in the Shell.
Facing criticism for "whitewashing" the role of Major Motoko Kusanagi, producers attempted to "shift
ethnicity" in post-production, making the white actress appear "more Asian" for the film.
Ghost in the Shell's ethnicity tests were managed by Lola VFX—the company responsible for Brad Pitt's aging in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.
According to ScreenCrush, the idea of altering Johansson's ethnicity was rejected "immediately" after being reviewed. Speaking to the site, Paramount Pictures acknowledged the order, saying "a test was done related to a specific scene for a background actor," and was "ultimately discarded."
Fear the Walking Dead Renewed for Season 3
Hot off the heels of Fear the Walking Dead: Season 2's premiere, AMC has renewed its popular zombie spin-off series for a third season.
According to the network's announcement, Fear the Walking Dead is now the second most popular cable show this TV season -- with only The Walking Dead ahead -- thanks to the success of Season 2's 8.8 million-viewer debut.
Season 3 will receive a total of 16 episodes when it airs in 2017. AMC also announced the series will again be accompanied by its ongoing live aftershow Talking Dead: Fear, which will air after every new episode and be hosted by Chris Hardwick.
For our thoughts on Fear the Walking Dead's return, check out IGN's review of the Season 2 premiere, in which Matt Fowler highlights the episode's strong opening sequence that was ultimately weighed down by "highly emotional characters making poor choices."
Red Dead Redemption 2 Map Leaked
The map to Red Dead Redemption 2, a long-rumored sequel to Red Dead Redemption, has reportedly leaked online.
First posted on NeoGAF, but later taken down, the map is real and a “very recent” art direction model, an independent source confirmed to Techradar.
The source also told Techradar that Red Dead Redemption 2 would be a prequel and the map will be set just to the east. Check it out below:
Red Dead Redemption 2's leaked map. (via TechRadar)
Bungie May Be Teasing Us With a New Destiny ARG
Bungie may be up to its old tricks with a Destiny augmented reality game.
Users of Bungie.net have begun receiving cryptic messages from one Absense Vigil, another profile on the service. These include references both overt and subtle to Bungie's shooter.
Since the messages started, Destiny faithful have begun tearing apart the information and images for deeper connections to the game. They've also begun translating Absense Vigil's account information — which is written in Latin — and messaging the profile themselves in hopes of a response.
Much of the investigation is being shared on Reddit. There users are drawing further connections to the Rezyl Azzir profile which Kotaku reported on earlier this week.