Monthly Archives: July 2022

Marvel Reveals Real-Life Infinity Stones Collection Worth $25 Million

Marvel has unveiled a collection of 'Infinity Stones' comprised of actual precious gems with a combined value of more than $25 million – and their very own Infinity Gauntlet.

Revealed at Marvel's San Diego Comic-Con 2022 booth, the entertainment company is collaborating with East Continental Gems to release the Infinity Collection of Gemstones, made up of of six real-life precious stones representing the Time, Space, Reality, Power, Soul, and Mind Stones from the comics and several films, including Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame. The six stones come in at a combined 150 carats.

The $25 million valuation makes this collection one of the most valuable bits of comic-book paraphernalia in the world, and the stones obviously hold their own value as precious gems anyway. They will be housed in an specially designed Infinity Gauntlet designed by collectibles company Gentle Giant.

As for their real-life classifications, the Time Stone is a Colombian emerald, the Space Stone is a sapphire from Madagascar, the Reality Stone is an oval-shaped natural ruby from Mozambique, the Power Stone is an oval-shaped natural amethyst, the Soul Stone is a cushion-shaped Spessartite, and the Mind Stone is a brilliant cut yellow diamond.

Marvel and East Continental Gems aren't satisfied with just one multi-million dollar collection, however, as a limited edition Reality Stone will also be issued in September as part of a future collection, but no further details on this one were shared.

There's tons of news for all your favorite shows, films, games, and more coming out of San Diego Comic-Con 2022, and we've got the full schedule to guide you through the weekend of panels, announcements, trailers, and surprises.

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

Everything Announced At San Diego Comic-Con 2022’s Marvel Animation Panel

Marvel held a 90-minute long animation panel at SDCC 2022 today, focusing on the future of its animated franchises. The panel gave way to five major announcements for I Am Groot, X-Men '97, Spider-Man: Freshman Year, Marvel Zombies, and Marvel's What If... ?.

Here's all of the news from today's Marvel Studios Animation Panel.

I Am Groot Trailer Reveals the First Look at the Adorable Guardians of the Galaxy Spin-Off

Marvel revealed the first trailer for I Am Groot, which is slated to release on August 10. The Guardians of the Galaxy spinoff is comprised of five animated shorts that focus on none other than Groot, who is seen getting into some alien-related trouble in his adorable Baby Groot form in the trailer.

Spider-Man: Freshman Year Arrives on Disney+ in 2024, Will Feature Charlie Cox's Daredevil

While no trailer was shown at the panel, fans received more news about Spider-Man: Freshman Year, the show announced last year that focuses on Spider-Man's first year in high school. The series is now set to arrive on Disney+ in 2024, and it'll also feature Charlie Cox as Daredevil. It'll also receive a second season, fittingly called Spider-Man: Sophomore Year.

Marvel's What If...? Season 2 Announced for Early 2023 Alongside Season 3 Confirmation

What If...?, the Marvel show that imagines alternate timelines for some of Marvel's most iconic characters, has at least two more seasons on the way. At today's panel, Marvel Studios announced that Season 2 will be out in early 2023 for Disney+ subscribers. The show is also confirmed to return for a third season.

Marvel Zombies on Disney+ to Have the 'Gore and Splatter You Want From a Zombie Show'

While the series still doesn't have a release date, more details about Marvel Zombies were revealed today. It'll feature zombified versions of characters like Captain America and Scarlet Witch fighting against heroes like Kamala Khan and Yelena. As revealed during the panel, it'll be pretty gory for a Marvel series.

X-Men '97 to Premiere on Disney+ in Fall 2023

X-Men '97, a reboot of the fan favorite series, received a release window during the Marvel Animation Panel. The upcoming show, which revives the iconic '90s timeline of the X-Men, is now slated to premiere on Disney+ next fall.

Amelia Zollner is a freelance writer at IGN who loves all things indie and Nintendo. Outside of IGN, they've contributed to sites like Polygon and Rock Paper Shotgun. Find them on Twitter: @ameliazollner.

Tales of the Walking Dead Gets Its First Full Trailer at San Diego Comic Con

Today at San Diego Comic Con we got our first proper, full-length trailer for Tales of the Walking Dead, a new Walking Dead anthology series premiering next month.

The trailer gives a look at all six protagonists, and includes narration by Alpha - a known Walking Dead character who is the leader of a group of survivors called the Whisperers in the comic and television series. Tales of the Walking Dead will show her prior to her story as we know it, when she used to be called Dee. She is still played by Samantha Morton.

"I was so gutted when Alpha died," Morton said on the SDCC panel. "It was the role of a lifetime. All things must pass and I was like ‘Okay,’ but when I got the call that this was going to happen, potentially, I was over the moon. I’m 45 years old so as an actress the roles change, and you’re either making tea, or you’re the wife, and they can be kind of rubbish.

"This is interesting because this is Dee’s perspective. Dee is who she was before she was Alpha. She’s always been Alpha though, it’s always been there. It’s under the skin. There are a lot of things about gender and identity and who they are so it’s interesting to play someone surprising who they are and then blossom.

Tales of the Walking Dead is an anthology spin-off series of the original The Walking Dead set to premiere on August 14 on AMC+. Instead of telling a single, linear story, Tales of the Walking Dead consists of six, one-hour-long standalone episodes, each containing a mixture of new and established characters from the universe. Its cast is set to include Olivia Munn, Samantha Morton, Terry Crews, Parker Posey, Anthony Edwards, Poppy Liu, Jillian Bell, Loan Chabanol, Embeth Davidtz, Jessie T. Usher, Daniella Pineda, and Danny Ramierez.

There's tons of news for all your favorite shows, films, games, and more coming out of San Diego Comic-Con 2022, and we've got the full schedule to guide you through the weekend of panels, announcements, trailers, and surprises.

Marvel Zombies on Disney+ to Have the ‘Gore and Splatter You Want From a Zombie Show’

Marvel Zombies on Disney+ will not only feature undead versions of Captain America, Scarlet Witch, Hawkeye, Ghost, Abomination, Captain Marvel, and Okoye, but it will also have all the "gore and splatter you want from a Zombie show."

Revealed during Marvel's animation panel at San Diego Comic-Con, the team wanted to see "what happens next" after that cliffhanger of an ending in the What If... ? zombies episode.

Alongside zombified versions of our favorite characters, we will also have heroes who have yet to turn that are trying to save what is left of their world. These heroes include Yelena, Kate Bishop, Red Guardian, Jimmy Woo, Death Dealer, Shang-Chi, Kamala Khan/Ms. Marvel.

Eternals' Ikaris also appears to be half-zombie/half-human. Being an Eternal, he may not be able to become full zombie, but something is definitely off about him.

There also appears to be a team of Widows and a biker gang of Skrulls that look to be living in this zombie apocalypse with attire to match.

Marvel Zombies was announced during the Disney+ Day 2021, and its showing today was accompanied by the official announcement of Season 2 and Season 3 of Marvel's What If... ?, the news that Spider-Man: Freshman Year will arrive in 2024 with Charlie Cox's Daredevil, and the first trailer for I Am Groot.

You can also check out everything announced so far for San Diego Comic-Con 2022!

Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

X-Men ’97 to Premiere on Disney+ in Fall 2023

The highly-anticipated X-Men '97 revival finally has a release window. As part of Marvel's San Diego Comic-Con panel on the studio's animated projects, Marvel confirmed the revival will hit Disney+ in Fall 2023. It will mark the first official X-Men project at Marvel Studios since Disney acquired 21st Century Fox's film and TV assets.

Plenty of classic characters are returning to the show, including Rogue, Beast, Gambit, Jean Grey, Wolverine, Storm, Jubilee, and Cyclops. The designs are sticking true to the original looks from the 90s, but they'll be a bit sharper.

In a clip shown at the panel, Magneto appeared and said "You’re looking at he new leader of the X-Men." Other returning characters include Cable, Bishop, Forge, Morph, NIghtcrawler, and Sunspot. We also learned that one of the show's major themes will be, "Why do we still need the X-Men?"

As for villains, the panel showed off various Sentinels surrounding the X-Men, as well as Mr. Sinister. White Queen and Sebastian Shaw of the Hellfire Club were also confirmed to appear.

The revival of X-Men '97 was first announced last year. The original series' showrunners, Eric and Julia Lewald, are consulting on the new series. They previously confirmed that this show will pick up right where the original X-Men series wrapped up. The original series ended on somewhat of a cliffhanger, as Charles Xavier was gravely injured and had to be rescued by Empress Lilandra.

There was plenty announced at today's Marvel animation panel. For more, check out the reveals of Marvel Zombies, Spider-Man: Freshman Year, Marvel's What If...? Season 2, and I Am Groot. And, for everything else, check out our list of everything announced at SDCC 2022.

Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power Scenes Teased at SDCC Include an Elrond v. Durin IV Rock-Breaking Contest

In addition to a brand new, three-minute trailer of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, fans attending the show’s Comic-Con panel got to see no fewer than five new scenes featuring some of the major characters introduced in the prequel series. It doesn’t appear that Amazon has released this footage online, but IGN can break down what we saw during the panel.

One of these scenes shows the debut of Daniel Weyman’s character The Stranger, who has just crashed into Middle-earth. Elanor ‘Nori’ Brandyfoot (Markella Kavenagh) and Poppy Proudfellow (Megan Richards) are seen approaching this mysterious character. No sooner does Nori poke the unconscious man than he awakens and fire and rocks begin to rise around him. The scene ends with the two Harfoot rescuers preparing to take the Stranger with them, after much prodding from Nori.

At this point, we still know very little about the origins or true nature of the Stranger, as that seems to be one of the central mysteries of Season 1. Weyman would only tease that his character is motivated by a profound sense of purpose and desire.

“All you can do as an actor is play what’s in front of you,” said Weyman, which moderator Stephen Colbert joked was “a beautiful non-answer.”

Another new scene focuses on Owain Arthur’s Prince Durin IV and Robert Aramayo’s Elrond, highlighting the unusual friendship between the two. The scene is set in what appears to be the mines of Khazad-dûm, as Elrond and Durin take part in a competition to split a giant boulder. If Elrond loses, he’ll be banished from dwarven lands forever. Unfortunately, the scene ends before we learn whether he wins or loses.

Morfydd Clark’s Galadriel was showcased in two separate scenes. In one, Galadriel and Elrond can be seen conversing in Elvish, as they discuss the state of their army, such as it is in this deceptively peaceful period. Another shows Galadriel riding a ship to the island of Númenor, a key locale in the Second Age.

Finally, the panel showed off a clip of battle between elves and orcs, with the two sides violently pulling on chains.

We've already seen a handful of teasers for The Rings of Power so far, giving us looks at Galadriel, Isildur, Elendil, and more familiar characters from Middle-earth. While we wait for its coming release on September 2, IGN has a primer on what The Rings of Power is actually about, as well as why we probably won't see Gandalf anywhere.

There's tons of news for all your favorite shows, films, games, and more coming out of San Diego Comic-Con 2022, and we've got the full schedule to guide you through the weekend of panels, announcements, trailers, and surprises.

Spider-Man: Freshman Year Arrives on Disney+ in 2024, Will Feature Charlie Cox’s Daredevil

During SDCC 2022, we learned more information on Spider-Man: Freshman Year, the prequel series announced at Disney+ Day last year that focuses on the MCU Spider-Man during his freshman year of high school. This includes confirmation that the animated show will launch on Disney+ in 2024, and Charlie Cox's Daredevil will appear in the series.

Charlie Cox's Daredevil appearing in Spider-Man: Freshman year comes a few weeks after it was reported that Cox and Vincent D'Onofrio would return and reprise their roles as Daredevil and Kingpin in the upcoming live-action Disney+ series, Echo. In 2021 Kevin Feige said in an interview with CinemaBlend that Cox would return as Daredevil, with the actor making a brief cameo that same year in Spider-Man: No Way Home.

Although no trailer was shown at the panel, we did get plenty of new details on the upcoming animated show outside of a release window and Cox returning to voice Daredevil. This includes confirmation of some villains set to appear in the series: Dr. Octavius, Chameleon, Speed Demon, Scorpion, and Butane the Pyromaniac. Additionally, Harry Osborn and Amadeus Cho will appear in the series.

The panel also revealed, that the second season of the show, subtitled "Sophomore Year," will focus on Peter's sophomore year of high school.

There's tons of news for all your favorite shows, films, games, and more coming out of San Diego Comic-Con 2022, and we've got the full schedule to guide you through the weekend of panels, announcements, trailers, and surprises.

Taylor is the Associate Tech Editor at IGN. You can follow her on Twitter @TayNixster.

Star Wars: The Acolyte Will Star Amandla Stenberg

Upcoming Star Wars series The Acolyte will be led by Amandla Stenberg, most famous for playing Rue in The Hunger Games.

The official Star Wars Twitter account posted a short and sweet message (below) welcoming Stenberg to the franchise alongside a picture of them posing with R2-D2.

Stenberg will (presumably) play the titular Acolyte, a new sith in training, in a story told from the perspective of the bad guys. Taking place a century before The Phantom Menace, the show explores the end of the High Republic era and promises to be a "mystery thriller" inspired by martial arts movies.

Reports emerged in December last year that Stenberg was in talks with Disney to lead the upcoming series (that remains without a release date) but it's now finally official. They have more recently featured in the likes of As You Are, The Hate U Give and Dear Even Hansen.

We don't know too much else about the show, though it plans to bring back parts of the old Star Wars canon that was wiped when Disney acquired the franchise.

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

Marvel’s What If…? Season 2 Announced for Early 2023 Alongside Season 3 Confirmation

Season Two of Marvel's What If...? will arrive for Disney+ subscribers in early 2023, with a third season confirmed for sometime in the future.

Revealed during Marvel's animation panel at San Diego Comic-Con 2022, a behind-closed-doors preview showed off a handful of heroes and villains from the MCU's multiversal realities, including Captain Carter, Steve Rogers as Iron Man, Black Widow, Thor Ragnarok's Hela, Young Star-Lord and Ego, The Scarlet Witch, Mandarin, and more. The preview also showed Thanos fighting Captain America from Infinity War.

The last part of the preview takes place in the year 1602, which is a year longtime Marvel Comics fans will remember. Marvel 1602 was a 2003 eight-issue miniseries penned by Neil Gaiman. The story follows Marvel superheroes that exist in the Elizabethan era, including Nick Fury, X-Men, the Fantastic Four, Spider-Man, Doctor Doom, and more.

What If...? Director Bryan Andrews and Writer AC Bradley were on stage at Comic-Con to talk about the new season. They also pointed out that the Captain Carter seen in What If...? is not the Captain Carter that appeared in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. The What If...? segment of the panel ended with confirmation that a third season of the show is planned.

Based on the comics line of the same name, What If...? tells canon stories from across the MCU multiverse, imagining events that differ wildly from the MCU stories we know from the live action movies and series. We awarded the first season a 6/10 review, saying it "features a few standout remixes of MCU canon, but inconsistency across the board leaves it with plenty to improve on for next season."

The show eventually became more important to the wider MCU than we expected, and Chadwick Boseman was posthumously nominated for an Emmy after his performance as a T'Challa take on Star-Lord in the show.

There's tons of news for all your favorite shows, films, games, and more coming out of San Diego Comic-Con 2022, and we've got the full schedule to guide you through the weekend of panels, announcements, trailers, and surprises.

AMD Noise Suppression Is the Company’s Answer to Nvidia RTX Voice

Yesterday, AMD uploaded a video on its official YouTube video revealing a new feature called "Voice Suppression," allowing users to filter background noise, Tom's Hardware reports.

The leaked trailer mentions AMD Noise Suppression will use a "real-time deep learning algorithm" to provide users with "two-way noise-reduction" that will filter out background noise from both incoming and outgoing microphone audio. The video also suggests that Noise Suppression will be a new setting found in the Audio and Video Tab in the AMD Adrenaline driver. AMD has since removed the trailer from its YouTube channel, though Reddit user u/zenobian managed to download the trailer and post it on the AMD subreddit.

AMD Noise Suppression sounds interesting, and the concept reminds me of Nvidia's RTX Voice. This beta software launched in early 2020 and allowed Nvidia graphics card owners to improve their outgoing audio quality by eliminating most of their background noise using AI. While RTX was in the name, a patched version of RTX Voice supports older cards such as the GTX 1060, but your mileage will vary if you use a non-RTX card. Nvidia would later include the feature in an app called Broadcast, which launched in September 2020 and requires an RTX GPU.

AMD did not immediately respond to IGN's request for comment.

Taylor is the Associate Tech Editor at IGN. You can follow her on Twitter @TayNixster.