Monthly Archives: March 2022
DC’s Blue Beetle Adds Bruna Marquezine, Belissa Escobedo, and Harvey Guillén to Its Cast
Warner Bros. and DC's upcoming Blue Beetle movie starring Xolo Maridueña has added Bruna Marquezine, Belissa Escobedo, and Harvey Guillén to its cast.
According to The Wrap, Blue Beetle has found its female lead in Brazilian actress Bruna Marquezine who will play Penny, Jaime Reyes' love interest in the film, while Escobedo has been cast as Jaime's younger sister Milagros Reyes. What We Do in the Shadows star Harvey Guillén has also joined the cast, though details about his role have not yet been disclosed.
These three cast members join Cobra Kai breakout Xolo Maridueña who is set to star in the lead role of Jaime Reyes, the alter ego of the titular Blue Beetle. The film will center around the Mexican-American teenager, who is the third character to assume the Blue Beetle mantle after Dan Garrett, the original Blue Beetle, and Ted Kord, Garrett's student.
Debuting in 2006, Reyes is noted for being significantly different from previous Blue Beetles. His origin story sees him personally discover the Blue Beetle scarab, a piece of alien technology, which grafts itself onto the base of his spine and gives him a powerful battle suit, an energy cannon, powered blades, wings, and several other super abilities.
Maridueña's Jaime Reyes will step out to don the Blue Beetle costume on the big screen when the film debuts in theaters next year after shifting gears from its original HBO Max release, and it looks like the live-action movie will be sticking very closely to the character's traditional armored suit from the comics and animated shows.
Charm City Kings director Angel Manuel Soto is set to direct the film from a script by Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer, with Zev Foreman executive producing for Warner Bros.
Adele Ankers-Range is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow her on Twitter.
DC’s Blue Beetle Adds Bruna Marquezine, Belissa Escobedo, and Harvey Guillén to Its Cast
Warner Bros. and DC's upcoming Blue Beetle movie starring Xolo Maridueña has added Bruna Marquezine, Belissa Escobedo, and Harvey Guillén to its cast.
According to The Wrap, Blue Beetle has found its female lead in Brazilian actress Bruna Marquezine who will play Penny, Jaime Reyes' love interest in the film, while Escobedo has been cast as Jaime's younger sister Milagros Reyes. What We Do in the Shadows star Harvey Guillén has also joined the cast, though details about his role have not yet been disclosed.
These three cast members join Cobra Kai breakout Xolo Maridueña who is set to star in the lead role of Jaime Reyes, the alter ego of the titular Blue Beetle. The film will center around the Mexican-American teenager, who is the third character to assume the Blue Beetle mantle after Dan Garrett, the original Blue Beetle, and Ted Kord, Garrett's student.
Debuting in 2006, Reyes is noted for being significantly different from previous Blue Beetles. His origin story sees him personally discover the Blue Beetle scarab, a piece of alien technology, which grafts itself onto the base of his spine and gives him a powerful battle suit, an energy cannon, powered blades, wings, and several other super abilities.
Maridueña's Jaime Reyes will step out to don the Blue Beetle costume on the big screen when the film debuts in theaters next year after shifting gears from its original HBO Max release, and it looks like the live-action movie will be sticking very closely to the character's traditional armored suit from the comics and animated shows.
Charm City Kings director Angel Manuel Soto is set to direct the film from a script by Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer, with Zev Foreman executive producing for Warner Bros.
Adele Ankers-Range is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow her on Twitter.
New Obi-Wan Kenobi Images Reveal New Villain Inquisitor Reva
We’ve finally got our first look at Obi-Wan Kenobi in the upcoming Star Wars spin-off series and these new images reveal a new villain.
Known as Inquisitor Reva, the new Obi-Wan Kenobi villain is played by The Queen’s Gambit star, Moses Ingram. Although she’s yet to pick up a lightsaber we’ll surely see the distinctive flash of a red blade soon enough.
Entertainment Weekly reveals our first glimpse at the new Inquisitor:
As the force-sensitive Inquisitor Reva, Moses Ingram will prove a formidable new foe in #ObiWanKenobi as she seeks out Jedi-in-hiding for the Empire. Director Deborah Chow and writer Joby Harold describe the character as ruthlessly ambitious. https://t.co/brdtgkB0J4 pic.twitter.com/XjXD0CXVky
— Entertainment Weekly (@EW) March 9, 2022
Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, the young actress explained that Inquisitor Reva shares some traits with the likes of Darth Vader and the Grand Inquisitor.
“They share a common dark-side goal,” she explained. “They're on the same team.”
Director Deborah Chow and writer Joby Harold describe Inquisitor Reva as “ruthlessly ambitious”.
Although plot details for Obi-Wan Kenobi are firmly under wraps, that goal is likely the extermination of the Jedi order following Order 66 – a military order made by Darth Sidious which turned the clone armies of the Galactic Republic against the Jedi.
What kind of Obi-Wan Kenobi will we meet in #ObiWanKenobi? Says Ewan McGregor: "We find Obi-Wan at the beginning of our story rather broken, and faithless, and beaten, somewhat given up." See more FIRST LOOK photos and details on the upcoming series! https://t.co/brdtgkB0J4 pic.twitter.com/OrT90x13X4
— Entertainment Weekly (@EW) March 9, 2022
“We find Obi-Wan at the beginning of our story rather broken, and faithless, and beaten, somewhat given up,” said McGregor.
Witnessing the downfall of the Jedi order first hand, it’s easy to see how Obi-Wan could find himself in this position. And while we know that old ‘Ben’ becomes a hermit by the time of A New Hope, I can’t help thinking there’s some fight left in him yet.
Interestingly, Inquisitor Reva is described as “force-sensitive” rather than a force user, which usually means the individual has a natural ability to use the Force but hasn't yet been trained. It’s unclear whether this will be a plot point in the upcoming series... but could we see Vader or the Grand Inquisitor taking a student?
Meanwhile, Star Wars legend John Williams will return to score Obi-Wan Kenobi, with a lightsaber-wielding rematch planned for Obi-Wan and Darth Vader.
Obi-Wan Kenobi star Ewan McGregor as the iconic Jedi, with Hayden Christensen set to appear as Darth Vader. They’re joined by Rupert Friend, Kumail Nanjiani, Joel Edgerton, and Moses Ingram.
Deborah Chow directed the upcoming series, with scripts by Joby Harold.
Obi-Wan Kenobi will debut on Disney+ on May 25, 2022.
Ryan Leston is an entertainment journalist and film critic for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.
New Obi-Wan Kenobi Images Reveal New Villain Inquisitor Reva
We’ve finally got our first look at Obi-Wan Kenobi in the upcoming Star Wars spin-off series and these new images reveal a new villain.
Known as Inquisitor Reva, the new Obi-Wan Kenobi villain is played by The Queen’s Gambit star, Moses Ingram. Although she’s yet to pick up a lightsaber we’ll surely see the distinctive flash of a red blade soon enough.
Entertainment Weekly reveals our first glimpse at the new Inquisitor:
As the force-sensitive Inquisitor Reva, Moses Ingram will prove a formidable new foe in #ObiWanKenobi as she seeks out Jedi-in-hiding for the Empire. Director Deborah Chow and writer Joby Harold describe the character as ruthlessly ambitious. https://t.co/brdtgkB0J4 pic.twitter.com/XjXD0CXVky
— Entertainment Weekly (@EW) March 9, 2022
Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, the young actress explained that Inquisitor Reva shares some traits with the likes of Darth Vader and the Grand Inquisitor.
“They share a common dark-side goal,” she explained. “They're on the same team.”
Director Deborah Chow and writer Joby Harold describe Inquisitor Reva as “ruthlessly ambitious”.
Although plot details for Obi-Wan Kenobi are firmly under wraps, that goal is likely the extermination of the Jedi order following Order 66 – a military order made by Darth Sidious which turned the clone armies of the Galactic Republic against the Jedi.
What kind of Obi-Wan Kenobi will we meet in #ObiWanKenobi? Says Ewan McGregor: "We find Obi-Wan at the beginning of our story rather broken, and faithless, and beaten, somewhat given up." See more FIRST LOOK photos and details on the upcoming series! https://t.co/brdtgkB0J4 pic.twitter.com/OrT90x13X4
— Entertainment Weekly (@EW) March 9, 2022
“We find Obi-Wan at the beginning of our story rather broken, and faithless, and beaten, somewhat given up,” said McGregor.
Witnessing the downfall of the Jedi order first hand, it’s easy to see how Obi-Wan could find himself in this position. And while we know that old ‘Ben’ becomes a hermit by the time of A New Hope, I can’t help thinking there’s some fight left in him yet.
Interestingly, Inquisitor Reva is described as “force-sensitive” rather than a force user, which usually means the individual has a natural ability to use the Force but hasn't yet been trained. It’s unclear whether this will be a plot point in the upcoming series... but could we see Vader or the Grand Inquisitor taking a student?
Meanwhile, Star Wars legend John Williams will return to score Obi-Wan Kenobi, with a lightsaber-wielding rematch planned for Obi-Wan and Darth Vader.
Obi-Wan Kenobi star Ewan McGregor as the iconic Jedi, with Hayden Christensen set to appear as Darth Vader. They’re joined by Rupert Friend, Kumail Nanjiani, Joel Edgerton, and Moses Ingram.
Deborah Chow directed the upcoming series, with scripts by Joby Harold.
Obi-Wan Kenobi will debut on Disney+ on May 25, 2022.
Ryan Leston is an entertainment journalist and film critic for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.
Nvidia’s Geforce RTX 3090 Ti Reportedly Launching Later This Month
After weeks of silence following its initial reveal at CES 2022 in January, it appears Nvidia's forthcoming GPU, the RTX 3090 Ti, might be released soon.
As reported by VideoCardz, the outlet writes that Nvidia is planning to launch the graphics card on March 29. In the article, VideoCardz shared an image detailing information on the RTX 3090 Ti; this includes embargoed information of when the product would be announced and would be available to consumers — both of which note March 29, though no information on how much the RTX 3090 Ti would cost was mentioned.
Although pricing was not mentioned, it would be unsurprising if the RTX 3090 Ti ended up being higher than its announced MSRP. Within the last two years, graphics cards, particularly ones released by companies like Asus and MSI always come with a higher markup price than Nvidia's own Founder's Edition model.
As previously confirmed a few months back, the RTX 3090 Ti includes Ampere architecture, 40 teraflops of GPU performance, and 24GB of GDDR6X VRAM.
Taylor is the Associate Tech Editor at IGN. You can follow her on Twitter @TayNixster.
Report: Microsoft’s Activision Blizzard Deal Being Investigated for Insider Trading
Three investors are being investigated for insider trading in relation to Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard.
The Wall Street Journal reports that Barry Diller, Alexander von Furstenberg, and David Geffen invested around $108 million in Activision Blizzard just days before Microsoft acquired the company and shares went up in value.
Their investment has climbed to $168 million and could be worth upwards of $200 million if they keep their shares until the Microsoft deal closes later this year.
The investments were made by privately arranged transactions through JPMorgan Chase & Co, who later reported the trades to law enforcement after the deal became public. This prompted the US Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission to both open investigations into the matter.
Insider trading is the buying and selling of stocks with confidential or non-public information, usually with the intention to make as much money as possible. The practise is illegal in the U.S.
Diller has described himself as a "long term friend" of Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick and served on Coca-Cola's board of directors with him. Von Furstenberg is the stepson of Diller and Geffen is another long time friend.
Diller told The Wall Street Journal that none of the men had insider information about Microsoft's impending acquisition of Activision Blizzard and said it was just a coincidence and a "lucky bet".
While no insider trading has been proven, this is the latest in a long line of controversies surrounding Activision Blizzard in the last few months.
The company was sued by California over allegations of a "frat boy culture" that prompted a number of senior staff departures and partner companies taking a step back.
Things flared up again in November when a report claimed that Kotick knew about allegations of sexual assault and harassment but kept them quiet, and more than 1,000 Activision Blizzard employees called for his removal as a result.
Xbox, Microsoft, and Nintendo spoke out on the "disturbing" allegations and just three days later Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer initiated talks with Kotick that led to the $68 billion acquisition.
Microsoft initially stated that Kotick would remain in his position following the acquisition but later said it was unconfirmed, before the Wall Street Journal reported that Kotick is set to leave when the deal closes.
Kotick reportedly told senior managers in November, however, that he would consider stepping down if he couldn't quickly fix the ongoing problems at Activision Blizzard, and he's since been offered $22 million for improving the workplace culture.
Microsoft president Brad Smith commented in February that the company will make sure it has "the right people in the right position," though Kotick is also guaranteed $15 million of "golden parachute compensation" if Microsoft fires him without cause.
Activision Blizzard also claimed earlier this month that it violated a California law that required it to have at least three women on its board of directors by the end of 2021 because of complications caused by its Microsoft deal, despite having three years to comply.
For a full breakdown of the Activision Blizzard controversy, take a look at IGN's timeline of events that began in July 2021.
Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer who occasionally remembers to tweet @thelastdinsdale.
Elden Ring Can Be Paused on One Specific Menu
It turns out that Elden Ring can be paused after all, but only on one specific menu.
The Souls-like game by FromSoftware follows in the footsteps of its predecessors, forcing gamers to find a quiet corner of the map to get out of harm's way whenever they need a bit of downtime.
But now, YouTuber IronPineapple has found a way to pause the game for real. The best part? You don’t need a mod to do it – the hidden pause functionality is actually part of one specific menu in the game.
Essentially, this means that PC gamers no longer have to disable online play in order to pause their game… and console players can do it, too.
The feature is activated by heading into your inventory, then the ‘Help’ screen, then selecting “Menu Explanation”. While viewing this explanation of the Inventory Menu, the game is paused – allowing you to make a cup of tea or answer the door in peace.
IGN has confirmed that this pause actually works in-game.
It’s quite a long-winded way to get the game to pause – much more complicated than simply pressing ‘Start’ like in games of old. But while this method might not help out so much if you’re in the middle of one of Elden Ring’s incredibly tough boss fights, it might help you take a breather as you’re traversing the Lands Between.
Unfortunately, this appears to be an unintended benefit… and so it’s likely that Elden Ring devs FromSoftware will patch out this functionality in the future. Until then, feel free to use it whenever you need a break from the relentless onslaught.
IGN’s review of Elden Ring called it “a massive iteration on what FromSoftware began with the Souls series, bringing its relentlessly challenging combat to an incredible open world that gives us the freedom to choose our own path.”
Want to read more about Elden Ring? Check out our beginner’s guide for all the basics as well as our hints, secrets, and tips to survive.
Ryan Leston is an entertainment journalist and film critic for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.
Nintendo Has Delayed Advanced Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp Due to the War in Ukraine
Editor's Note: The war in Ukraine is an ongoing, painful and emotive topic. IGN urges community members to be respectful when engaging in conversation around this subject and does not endorse harassment of any kind.Nintendo has announced that Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp has been delayed due to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
In light of recent world events, we have made the decision to delay Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp, which was originally scheduled to release on Nintendo Switch on 08/04. Please stay tuned for updates on a new release date.
— Nintendo of Europe (@NintendoEurope) March 9, 2022
The Switch remake of the first two Advance Wars games was supposed to be released on April 8, but Nintendo has announced in a tweet that it has decided to delay the game “in light of recent world events”.
Those events refer to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. While Advance Wars does not depict any real world conflict nor show battles in a realistic fashion, it could be considered disrespectful to release a war-focused game during a time of such crisis.
No new release date has been announced for Advance Wars 1+2. It may be that Nintendo elects to wait for the conflict in Ukraine to de-escalate before making any further decision on a release date.
Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp’s new release date was only announced a month ago, following the game’s delay into 2022.
Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Entertainment Writer.
Gotham Knights Release Date Finally Announced
WB Games Montréal has finally announced a release date for Gotham Knights.
The co-op DC heroes game, which features Batgirl, Robin, Nightwing, and Red Hood, will release on October 25, 2022.
Gotham will always need its heroes. Suit up for an all-new adventure on 10.25.22. #GothamKnights pic.twitter.com/d7oV2LbcT8
— Gotham Knights (@GothamKnights) March 9, 2022
The release date, which has been long awaited, was announced on Twitter by the official Gotham Knights account.
We last saw Gotham Knights in October 2021, where its new story trailer left fans without a date they could put in their calendar.
Gotham Knights was originally planned to release in 2021, but was pushed back into 2022. While it’s definitely coming late in the year, it’s still a 2022 release.
Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Entertainment Writer.
The Original Dying Light Just Received a Next-Gen Upgrade
The original Dying Light just received a next-gen upgrade to improve the game's visuals on PlayStation 5.
Developer Techland has also released a patch for PS4 Pro. It also promised that an Xbox upgrade is coming soon in a Twitter post (below).
The free PS5 upgrade is "bringing quality improvements and enhancing your gameplay experience" but more specifically lets players choose between Performance mode (60 frames per second with Full HD), Balanced mode (targeting 60 FPS IN QHD), and Quality mode (30 FPS with 4K resolution).
Console players! A next-gen patch has come to PlayStation, bringing quality improvements and enhancing your gameplay experience even more! Try out the new video modes and enjoy the increased view distance while parkouring through Harran!
— Dying Light (@DyingLightGame) March 8, 2022
Coming to Xbox soon! Stay tuned! pic.twitter.com/PyJq0jSgCw
The PS4 Pro improves the 30 FPS cap and introduces new networking utilizing Epic Online services.
Dying Light was released more than seven years ago in 2015 and its next-gen upgrade appears quite out of the blue. While several PS4 games have received PS5 upgrades, Dying Light isn't a service game like Warframe or Elder Scrolls Online nor does it stand upon the immense popularity of Grand Theft Auto V or Skyrim.
That's not to say it isn't popular though. Dualshockers reported last September that Dying Light still had more than half a million unique players every month, and SteamDB data shows that around 10,000 people are playing it on PC every day.
Given that the sequel Dying Light 2 was released last month and received plenty of updates itself, fans were understandably confused in the comments of Techland's announcement, forcing the developer to clarify that they were talking about the original game.
It commented: "The first one may be older, but it still deserves some love. It's nice to take a break from VIlledor scenery to revisit Harran every now and then."
In our 8/10 review, IGN said "high-speed parkour and gruesome zombie massacres make Dying Light a blast, even if the story's just okay."
Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer who occasionally remembers to tweet @thelastdinsdale.