Monthly Archives: March 2017
The Future of Overwatch’s Storytelling
Overwatch doesn’t really have a story. Not while you’re playing it, anyway, where you might murder a red-tinged mirror of yourself while escorting a talking limousine to an arbitrary point, or find your ‘good guy’ character fighting alongside an evil goth for no particular reason. It is, for all intents and purposes, utter nonsense, but it’s video game nonsense, which we forgive.
Outside of play, Overwatch has a million stories. There’s its delightfully unruly headcanon, where unlikely couples end up in bed and the space and time continuum can be be bent into any shape fans want. But there’s also its official lore, born from stunning Pixar-esque standalone shorts, that have informed the way we view these characters and their relationships, and moved us in the process.
8 New Shadowverse Cards: Exclusive Reveal
Shadowverse is rapidly becoming a major player in the CCG space. The anime-infused card game recently hit eight million downloads and is gaining steam outside its native Japan. It’s not hard to see why – Shadowverse has some excellent mechanics and clever points of difference, such as bespoke resources for classes and the ability to evolve minions a limited number of times per game. Its team has also printed some truly impressive – and occasionally bonkers - cards. Not only that, but with an expansion coming every three months like clockwork, there really isn’t time for the meta to get stale.
Ed Sheeran to Cameo in Game of Thrones Season 7
British singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran is heading to Westeros.
Game of Thrones showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss confirmed the cameo during a panel at SXSW, explaining that Sheeran was a favourite of actress Maisie Williams, who plays Arya Stark.
“For years we were trying to get Ed Sheeran on the show to surprise Maisie and this year we finally did it,” Benioff said.
Ed Sheeran (via Wikipedia)
Sheeran won't be the first musician to cameo in the series - he'll join Coldplay's Will Champion, Animal Circus's Joel Fry, and members of metal band Mastodon in the annals of Game of Thrones history.
Game of Thrones’ Final Season Confirmed to Be 6 Episodes
Games of Thrones' final eighth season will indeed be the shortest one yet.
Per Entertainment Weekly, showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss revealed that Season 8 will only be six episodes long during a panel at SXSW.
Though HBO hasn't confirmed the episode count, Benioff and Weiss are certain about the length and are already preparing for pre-production by deciding who gets to write which episode.
“We argued over who got to kill Sansa,” Benioff jokingly said.
Season 7, which will premiere a little bit later than usual for Game of Thrones on July 16, has also been shortened to only seven episodes. However, despite the shorter episode order, the "size and scale" of the show is increasing, resulting in even bigger and more epic episodes. Sir Davos Seaworth actor Liam Cunningham revealed to IGN that the new season will also see a lot of the show's expansive ensemble cast coming together.
The Tick Gets a Shiny New Costume for Amazon Series
The Tick is getting a new and improved costume for the rest of the upcoming Amazon series.
A photo of The Tick actor Peter Serafinowicz was released on Twitter showing him wearing a much brighter costume that's more in line with his traditional appearance.
via Twitter
The new design is a stark contrast from what The Tick wore in the pilot -- a costume that was more darker-toned and "scaly." Check out the old look below.
Guardians of the Galaxy 2 Post-Credits Scene Confirmed
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 will have a surprise for those who wait until all of the end credits have finished rolling, director James Gunn has confirmed.
When asked on Twitter if there would be mid and post-credit scenes in the upcoming sequel, Gunn replied, "all I'll say is, unless you have to rush out because your mother is dying, stay through the entire end credits."
Chris Pratt is back as Peter Quill/Star Lord in the sequel, who's once again joined by Drax the Destroyer (Dave Bautista), Rocket Racoon (Bradley Cooper), Zoe Saldana (Gamora), Baby Groot (Vin Diesel) and many more.
Kong: Skull Island Takes Down Logan at the Box Office
Kong: Skull Island debuted in first place at the domestic box office, earning an estimated $61 million.
As noted by Variety, Warner Bros. and Legendary's new film performed well above expectations, which had Skull Island's weekend earnings pegged somewhere between $45 million and $50 million.
That said, the Jordan Vogt-Roberts-directed movie has a long way to go before recouping its hefty $185 million production budget, and will have to rely on international success if it's to reach levels of profitability.
Factoring in both production and marketing costs, Kong: Skull Island needs to make approximately $500 million worldwide to be considered a success for Warner Bros. and Legendary. The film won't debut in China for another two weeks but so far has made $81.6 million in international markets.
Awesome, Amazing, and Hilarious Cosplay Image Gallery
PAX East 2017 is in its final day, and in spite of the blistering cold, cosplayers were still out in force over the weekend, showing off their craft and cleverness.
We've compiled a gallery of images taken around the Boston Convention Center of some of the amazing cosplay on display. Some cosplayers provided links, so be sure to check out their hard work online.
Seth Macy is IGN's weekend web producer and just wants to be your friend. Follow him on Twitter at sethmacy.
X-Men TV Series Title Revealed; Originals Star Joins Cast
The title for FOX's X-Men TV series has been revealed.
The show, whose pilot will be directed by X-Men movie director Bryan Singer, is called Gifted. X-Men franchise producer Lauren Shuler Donner shared the news while tweeting a photo of a cast reading.
Cast reading of "Gifted" #Gifted pic.twitter.com/fQGgfoqZrl
— Lauren Shuler Donner (@ShuDonner) March 11, 2017
24: Legacy Delivers Tony Almeida’s Return
While 24: Legacy is definitely in the same universe as the original show, there have only been a few Easter eggs for fans to identify so far in the story. That changes in Monday’s new episode, as Tony Almeida’s return bridges the gap, solidifying the connection between the original long-running series and Legacy.
I recently got to chat with Carlos Bernard about his return to the franchise and how he sees his character as part of an iconic piece of television pop culture.
In addiiton, you can check out this exclusive behind-the-scenes look at Tony's return, featuring the 24: Legacy cast and producers discussing what it means to bring the character into the series.
The last time we saw Tony Almeida, he was planning his escape from prison, as seen in the shot called Solitary feature on the the 24: Live Another Day Blu-ray. As Bernard explained, “Solitary functioned as an out. They love the character and knew they wanted to use him again. The time constraint of the show made it hard. You can’t take time away from the main story for a prison break.”