The Bring It On franchise is getting its own horror movie with Bring It On: Halloween set for next year. SYFY dished out an abundance of tricks and treats when it unveiled its 2021/2022 slate of movies and shows this week, including a slasher spinoff called Bring It On: Halloween, which will premiere sometime in 2022. The movie will center around a cheerleading squad practicing a killer routine ahead of an upcoming competition, only to find out that their performance might not be the only thing that kills. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=20-hidden-horror-gems-worth-streaming&captions=true"] "Held down by restrictive rules, an embattled cheerleading squad seeks the freedom of a creepy, closed school gym to practice for regionals, but when members of the squad start to disappear, the cheerleaders must unmask their assailant to save themselves," reads the official synopsis for the spooky new installment of the cheerleading comedy movie series. It will be the seventh installment of the Bring It On franchise and the first of another genre, marking a departure from all other entries in the series. The first movie, released in 2000, worked its way into the fabric of pop culture and spawned five additional sequels, starting with Bring It On Again in 2004 right the way through to 2017's Bring It On: Worldwide Cheersmack. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=best-reviewed-movies-of-2021&captions=true"] Other projects coming from SYFY include Don Mancini's Chucky series, which will share continuity with the film series, plus a 10-episode Day of the Dead series, and a modern retelling of Slumber Party Massacre — a series that not only inspired at least one spin-off franchise (Cheerleader Massacre), but dozens of other "massacre" knock-offs (many either produced or distributed by Roger Corman). [poilib element="accentDivider"] Adele Ankers is a Freelance Entertainment Journalist. You can reach her on Twitter.

The Bring It On franchise is getting its own horror movie with Bring It On: Halloween set for next year. SYFY dished out an abundance of tricks and treats when it unveiled its 2021/2022 slate of movies and shows this week, including a slasher spinoff called Bring It On: Halloween, which will premiere sometime in 2022. The movie will center around a cheerleading squad practicing a killer routine ahead of an upcoming competition, only to find out that their performance might not be the only thing that kills. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=20-hidden-horror-gems-worth-streaming&captions=true"] "Held down by restrictive rules, an embattled cheerleading squad seeks the freedom of a creepy, closed school gym to practice for regionals, but when members of the squad start to disappear, the cheerleaders must unmask their assailant to save themselves," reads the official synopsis for the spooky new installment of the cheerleading comedy movie series. It will be the seventh installment of the Bring It On franchise and the first of another genre, marking a departure from all other entries in the series. The first movie, released in 2000, worked its way into the fabric of pop culture and spawned five additional sequels, starting with Bring It On Again in 2004 right the way through to 2017's Bring It On: Worldwide Cheersmack. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=best-reviewed-movies-of-2021&captions=true"] Other projects coming from SYFY include Don Mancini's Chucky series, which will share continuity with the film series, plus a 10-episode Day of the Dead series, and a modern retelling of Slumber Party Massacre — a series that not only inspired at least one spin-off franchise (Cheerleader Massacre), but dozens of other "massacre" knock-offs (many either produced or distributed by Roger Corman). [poilib element="accentDivider"] Adele Ankers is a Freelance Entertainment Journalist. You can reach her on Twitter.

Lady Dimitrescu has held an unassailable position as the Resident Evil community's favourite new character since months before the game arrived. But with Resident Evil Village now in players' hands, a new fan-favourite character could be on the way to take her crown – The Duke. Resident Evil Village's unusually friendly merchant was shown a little in trailers for the game, but becomes more or less Ethan Winters' only friend throughout the game – and that's led to a huge surge in fan appreciation for him. To go some way towards showing that love, check out a Reddit post from Naillian603, titled, "I didn't think The Duke would live up to the RE4 merchant but he proved me long. I'd go as far to say I love The Duke". In a single day, it's gone on to earn over 5,500 upvotes, becoming the 12th-most upvoted post of all time on the r/ResidentEvil subreddit. The comments below that post are similarly appreciative, singling out the Duke's voice (and English-language voice actor, Aaron LaPlante), his bizarre habit of appearing in just the right places at just the right times, and his callbacks to previous Resident Evil games. "Hands down, best character." wrote CaptainAlabama91. "Mostly [because] he is the only person who is genuinely pleased to see you. And you know, doesn't try to end you." It's far from the only post pointing to The Duke as a favourite character. There's fan art, speculation about his potentially supernatural origins, and even self-referential posts about how much the community loves The Duke. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/05/05/resident-evil-village-review"] In an interview with Dan Allen on YouTube, Duke voice actor Aaron LaPlante was asked if he'd expected the huge reaction to the character. "No, absolutely not. Not even for a second," he replied. "I'm so thrilled that people are into it. I think one of the most thrilling aspects is that I'm a fan too – I'm a huge fan of a lot of this stuff [...] It's kind of nice to contribute to that excitement for someone else." He also explained that The Duke was originally directed to have a gravelly-voiced Russian accent, but LaPlante eventually found his more English-inflected style. It remains to be seen if The Duke will hit the same cultural impact as Lady Dimitrescu, but it's more than clear that this character – who could so easily have been a run-of-the-mill merchant – will be remembered beyond this game. And he's far from the only memorable thing about Village – we awarded the game an 8/10 review, pointing out that it's "like visiting a disturbing and deadly Disneyland, where every attraction is a house of horrors." [poilib element="accentDivider"] Joe Skrebels is IGN's Executive Editor of News. Follow him on Twitter. Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

Lady Dimitrescu has held an unassailable position as the Resident Evil community's favourite new character since months before the game arrived. But with Resident Evil Village now in players' hands, a new fan-favourite character could be on the way to take her crown – The Duke. Resident Evil Village's unusually friendly merchant was shown a little in trailers for the game, but becomes more or less Ethan Winters' only friend throughout the game – and that's led to a huge surge in fan appreciation for him. To go some way towards showing that love, check out a Reddit post from Naillian603, titled, "I didn't think The Duke would live up to the RE4 merchant but he proved me long. I'd go as far to say I love The Duke". In a single day, it's gone on to earn over 5,500 upvotes, becoming the 12th-most upvoted post of all time on the r/ResidentEvil subreddit. The comments below that post are similarly appreciative, singling out the Duke's voice (and English-language voice actor, Aaron LaPlante), his bizarre habit of appearing in just the right places at just the right times, and his callbacks to previous Resident Evil games. "Hands down, best character." wrote CaptainAlabama91. "Mostly [because] he is the only person who is genuinely pleased to see you. And you know, doesn't try to end you." It's far from the only post pointing to The Duke as a favourite character. There's fan art, speculation about his potentially supernatural origins, and even self-referential posts about how much the community loves The Duke. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/05/05/resident-evil-village-review"] In an interview with Dan Allen on YouTube, Duke voice actor Aaron LaPlante was asked if he'd expected the huge reaction to the character. "No, absolutely not. Not even for a second," he replied. "I'm so thrilled that people are into it. I think one of the most thrilling aspects is that I'm a fan too – I'm a huge fan of a lot of this stuff [...] It's kind of nice to contribute to that excitement for someone else." He also explained that The Duke was originally directed to have a gravelly-voiced Russian accent, but LaPlante eventually found his more English-inflected style. It remains to be seen if The Duke will hit the same cultural impact as Lady Dimitrescu, but it's more than clear that this character – who could so easily have been a run-of-the-mill merchant – will be remembered beyond this game. And he's far from the only memorable thing about Village – we awarded the game an 8/10 review, pointing out that it's "like visiting a disturbing and deadly Disneyland, where every attraction is a house of horrors." [poilib element="accentDivider"] Joe Skrebels is IGN's Executive Editor of News. Follow him on Twitter. Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

Update 05/14/2021: The Australian Classification Review Board has reversed the ban on Disco Elysium: The Final Cut, after developer ZA/UM formally challenged the decision. It seems the tipping point for the game's ban stemmed from Dico Elysium's depiction of drug use, and the temporary benefits it offers you character. However, as reported by Kotaku Australia, the Review Board (which is separate to the Classification Board that originally refused to classify the game) has specifically made clear that Disco Elysium's depiction of drug use is shown in an ultimately negative light, such that it can now receive an R 18+ classification. "In the Review Board’s opinion," reads the Review Board's report, "while drug use linked to incentives and rewards cannot be accommodated at R 18+, this game does provide disincentives related to drug-taking behaviour, to the point where regular drug use leads to negative consequences for the player’s progression in the game. It was, specifically, the disincentives for drug use that influenced the Review Board in making their decision. Drug use is not explicitly depicted within the game." The classification means that Disco Elysium: The Final Cut can now be sold in Australia without impediment, although the R 18+ rating means that only adults can puchase the game. Despite the refused classification, The Final Cut (and the original, unclassified version of Disco Elysium) was still available to buy on Steam in Australia while the game was technically banned. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/03/31/disco-elysium-the-final-cut-review"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Disco Elysium: The Final Cut has been refused classification in Australia. You can see the 'Refused Classification' page on the Australian Government's Classification Board website. According to the rating explanation page, a product will be refused classification if it "contains content that is very high in impact and falls outside generally-accepted community standards." The refused classification will mean that, without alterations, the game cannot be sold in Australia. More specifically, The Final Cut was refused classification as a game that has been seen to "depict, express or otherwise deal with matters of sex, drug misuse or addiction, crime, cruelty, violence or revolting or abhorrent phenomena in such a way that they offend against the standards of morality, decency and propriety generally accepted by reasonable adults to the extent that they should not be classified." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/12/11/disco-elysium-final-cut-trailer"] Disco Elysium features alcohol and drug misuse, not to mention a plot that often centres on crime, cruelty, and violence along the way, which could explain why the game has been refused. This seemingly only affects the new version of the game, as the original PC version of Disco Elysium is still available on Steam in Australia, as it has been since its launch in 2019. Developer ZA/UM may have to edit the game's content if they want to get past the rating board in Australia. The news arrives as the PC, PS5, PS4 and Google Stadia launch of The Final Cut version of the game looms on March 30th. Disco Elysium was originally exclusive to PC, but developer ZA/UM announced a console version of the game during The Game Awards last year. The Final Cut adds voice acting and some bonus content and will be a free upgrade to users who own the game already on PC. A TV adaptation of the game is currently in the works at dj2 Entertainment. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jordan Oloman is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.

Space Jam: A New Legacy star Don Cheadle has confirmed that Michael Jordan will make an appearance in the highly anticipated Space Jam sequel. Speaking recently to Access Hollywood, Cheadle, who is playing a rogue artificial intelligence known as AI-G Rhythm in Space Jam 2, confirmed that Jordan will appear in some sort of capacity in the movie, though he didn't share how big of a role the Chicago Bulls legend will play. "Michael Jordan is in the movie," Cheadle revealed. "But not in the way you'd expect it." [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=space-jam-a-new-legacy-character-posters&captions=true"] Space Jam: A New Legacy is set to be released in theaters and on HBO Max on July 16, 2021, and is a sequel to the original 1996 movie starring Michael Jordan. However, this time, LeBron James is stepping in to play ball with Bugs Bunny and co. James previously revealed his Tune Squad uniform, which sports the iconic Looney Tunes concentric circles, stretching over both the jersey and the shorts. In addition to James, Cheadle, and now seemingly Jordan, Space Jam 2 stars Star Trek: Discovery's Sonequa Martin-Green as Kamiyah James, LeBron's wife, together with the rest of their family unit, including Cedric Joe as Dom James, their youngest son, Ceyair J Wright as Darius James, their eldest son, and Harper Leigh Alexander as Xosha James, their daughter. The voice cast features Jeff Bergman as Bugs Bunny, Sylvester, and Foghorn Leghorn, as well as Eric Bauza as Daffy Duck and Marvin the Martian, Bob Bergen as Porky Pig and Tweety, Jim Cummings as Tasmanian Devil, and Gabriel Inglesias as Speedy Gonzales. Zendaya will voice Lola Bunny, the Tune Squad star who will initially live in the world of Wonder Woman in the cameo-laden movie. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/04/04/space-jam-a-new-legacy-easter-egg-hunt"] With more and more teasers and tidbits being shared for the animated/live-action mash-up, Space Jam: A New Legacy appears to be on schedule to slam-dunk its theatrical release this summer, with a simultaneous streaming release on HBO Max, despite all of the other shifts, shake-ups, and delays in the film industry that have occurred as a result of the global coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Adele Ankers is a Freelance Entertainment Journalist. You can reach her on Twitter.

Space Jam: A New Legacy star Don Cheadle has confirmed that Michael Jordan will make an appearance in the highly anticipated Space Jam sequel. Speaking recently to Access Hollywood, Cheadle, who is playing a rogue artificial intelligence known as AI-G Rhythm in Space Jam 2, confirmed that Jordan will appear in some sort of capacity in the movie, though he didn't share how big of a role the Chicago Bulls legend will play. "Michael Jordan is in the movie," Cheadle revealed. "But not in the way you'd expect it." [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=space-jam-a-new-legacy-character-posters&captions=true"] Space Jam: A New Legacy is set to be released in theaters and on HBO Max on July 16, 2021, and is a sequel to the original 1996 movie starring Michael Jordan. However, this time, LeBron James is stepping in to play ball with Bugs Bunny and co. James previously revealed his Tune Squad uniform, which sports the iconic Looney Tunes concentric circles, stretching over both the jersey and the shorts. In addition to James, Cheadle, and now seemingly Jordan, Space Jam 2 stars Star Trek: Discovery's Sonequa Martin-Green as Kamiyah James, LeBron's wife, together with the rest of their family unit, including Cedric Joe as Dom James, their youngest son, Ceyair J Wright as Darius James, their eldest son, and Harper Leigh Alexander as Xosha James, their daughter. The voice cast features Jeff Bergman as Bugs Bunny, Sylvester, and Foghorn Leghorn, as well as Eric Bauza as Daffy Duck and Marvin the Martian, Bob Bergen as Porky Pig and Tweety, Jim Cummings as Tasmanian Devil, and Gabriel Inglesias as Speedy Gonzales. Zendaya will voice Lola Bunny, the Tune Squad star who will initially live in the world of Wonder Woman in the cameo-laden movie. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/04/04/space-jam-a-new-legacy-easter-egg-hunt"] With more and more teasers and tidbits being shared for the animated/live-action mash-up, Space Jam: A New Legacy appears to be on schedule to slam-dunk its theatrical release this summer, with a simultaneous streaming release on HBO Max, despite all of the other shifts, shake-ups, and delays in the film industry that have occurred as a result of the global coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Adele Ankers is a Freelance Entertainment Journalist. You can reach her on Twitter.

Though Amazon is already working on its own The Lord of the Rings series, many J.R.R. Tolkien fans encountered an unseen television adaptation of the author's fantasy novels earlier this year. A Soviet-produced TV movie based on The Lord of the Rings has reemerged online, thirty years after its original air date. Based on Tolkien's fantasy novel, Khraniteli, or The Protectors, was a two-part, two-hour-long program that aired in 1991, mere months before the Soviet Union's collapse. After spending decades unavailable to the public, Producer 5TV, formerly known as Leningrad TV, posted a copy of the movie online in March. Since then, Khraniteli has accrued 2.3 million views on YouTube as more Tolkien fans discover the odd and endearing adaptation. In Variety's deep dive on the project's resurgence, 89-year-old actor Georgiy Shtil recounted his recent surge in popularity after Khraniteli became available online. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/08/24/the-lord-of-the-rings-gollum-teaser-trailer"] "Friends started calling me with compliments, but at first I couldn’t even recall what they were talking about,” Shtil said. “I did many films at the time that never got to see the light of day… It was a very, very hard time when we were making the movie; people were more focused on the changes in government than any show.” Though the production had a limited budget, Khraniteli is still jam-packed with effects work and costuming to match the high fantasy of Tolkien's source material. Sixty-eight-year-old actor Sergey Shelgunov, who played Merry Brandybuck in the film, explained the project's high aesthetic ambitions, despite an estimated shooting schedule of "about nine hours over the span of less than a week." “We used everything that the TV station had to offer at the time. The backdrops, the cheap plastic props, the wigs and make-up, everything was just what we could find there for free,” Shelgunov said. "[Director Natalya 'Natasha' Serebryakova] wanted to create a sort of mysterious atmosphere, so she’d put some candles in the foreground and try to shoot through them for a kind of blur effect... The film is 100% the result of her struggles, working 30 years ago without any money. Frankly, it’s a huge win that it looks as good as it does.” Shelgunov also played Gollum in his theater company's live productions of The Ballad of Bilbo Baggins, an adaptation of The Hobbit which Leningrad TV adapted into a TV movie in 1985. Without a properly translated version of Tolkien's novel available to them, Shelgunov and his collaborators were given plenty of artistic license in their conception of the character. "There wasn’t a clear idea of what kind of creature he was. The director decided he should just look strange,” Shelgunov said. “We didn’t know Gollum’s gender, so we made him something between girl and boy — a bit of both... I tried to understand his psychology and what kind of person he is. I tried to depict his deep loneliness." Shtil also voiced his love of Peter Jackson's blockbuster adaptation of The Lord of The Rings, though he retained that Khraniteli has its own unique charms. "Ours has professional ballerinas, and a lot of songs and poems. The foreign movie doesn’t have that," Shtil said. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=amazons-the-lord-of-the-rings-cast-and-characters-gallery&captions=true"] In other Lord of the Rings news, Amazon recently hired The Witcher director Charlotte Brändström to helm episodes of the studio's upcoming Middle-earth television show. The studio intends for the mega-budget production to work for a "giant, global audience." Meanwhile, actors involved in Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy have also been talkative lately. Dominic Monaghan and Billy Boyd, who played Merry and Pippin respectively, are launching a podcast themed around their experience making all three films. A trio of actors also recently revealed the origin of The Two Towers' infamous line "Looks like meat's back on the menu, boys!" [poilib element="accentDivider"] J. Kim Murphy is a freelance entertainment writer.

Though Amazon is already working on its own The Lord of the Rings series, many J.R.R. Tolkien fans encountered an unseen television adaptation of the author's fantasy novels earlier this year. A Soviet-produced TV movie based on The Lord of the Rings has reemerged online, thirty years after its original air date. Based on Tolkien's fantasy novel, Khraniteli, or The Protectors, was a two-part, two-hour-long program that aired in 1991, mere months before the Soviet Union's collapse. After spending decades unavailable to the public, Producer 5TV, formerly known as Leningrad TV, posted a copy of the movie online in March. Since then, Khraniteli has accrued 2.3 million views on YouTube as more Tolkien fans discover the odd and endearing adaptation. In Variety's deep dive on the project's resurgence, 89-year-old actor Georgiy Shtil recounted his recent surge in popularity after Khraniteli became available online. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/08/24/the-lord-of-the-rings-gollum-teaser-trailer"] "Friends started calling me with compliments, but at first I couldn’t even recall what they were talking about,” Shtil said. “I did many films at the time that never got to see the light of day… It was a very, very hard time when we were making the movie; people were more focused on the changes in government than any show.” Though the production had a limited budget, Khraniteli is still jam-packed with effects work and costuming to match the high fantasy of Tolkien's source material. Sixty-eight-year-old actor Sergey Shelgunov, who played Merry Brandybuck in the film, explained the project's high aesthetic ambitions, despite an estimated shooting schedule of "about nine hours over the span of less than a week." “We used everything that the TV station had to offer at the time. The backdrops, the cheap plastic props, the wigs and make-up, everything was just what we could find there for free,” Shelgunov said. "[Director Natalya 'Natasha' Serebryakova] wanted to create a sort of mysterious atmosphere, so she’d put some candles in the foreground and try to shoot through them for a kind of blur effect... The film is 100% the result of her struggles, working 30 years ago without any money. Frankly, it’s a huge win that it looks as good as it does.” Shelgunov also played Gollum in his theater company's live productions of The Ballad of Bilbo Baggins, an adaptation of The Hobbit which Leningrad TV adapted into a TV movie in 1985. Without a properly translated version of Tolkien's novel available to them, Shelgunov and his collaborators were given plenty of artistic license in their conception of the character. "There wasn’t a clear idea of what kind of creature he was. The director decided he should just look strange,” Shelgunov said. “We didn’t know Gollum’s gender, so we made him something between girl and boy — a bit of both... I tried to understand his psychology and what kind of person he is. I tried to depict his deep loneliness." Shtil also voiced his love of Peter Jackson's blockbuster adaptation of The Lord of The Rings, though he retained that Khraniteli has its own unique charms. "Ours has professional ballerinas, and a lot of songs and poems. The foreign movie doesn’t have that," Shtil said. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=amazons-the-lord-of-the-rings-cast-and-characters-gallery&captions=true"] In other Lord of the Rings news, Amazon recently hired The Witcher director Charlotte Brändström to helm episodes of the studio's upcoming Middle-earth television show. The studio intends for the mega-budget production to work for a "giant, global audience." Meanwhile, actors involved in Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy have also been talkative lately. Dominic Monaghan and Billy Boyd, who played Merry and Pippin respectively, are launching a podcast themed around their experience making all three films. A trio of actors also recently revealed the origin of The Two Towers' infamous line "Looks like meat's back on the menu, boys!" [poilib element="accentDivider"] J. Kim Murphy is a freelance entertainment writer.

If you hoped EA and Xbox’s recent partnership on Game Pass meant you might be able to play Mass Effect Legendary Edition on the subscription service, we have some bad news. An EA community manager has confirmed that the only subscription service it's available on is EA Play Pro.

If you’re a Game Pass Ultimate subscriber, you’ve instead automatically got a basic EA Play membership, which gets you a 10% discount on games in addition to access to the EA Play game library. You can of course still purchase Mass Effect Legendary Edition on the usual digital or retail storefronts.

[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/05/13/mass-effect-legendary-edition-the-10-biggest-changes"]

Keep in mind that EA Play Pro is also a PC-exclusive membership, so if you’ve only got consoles around the house, you’re similarly out of luck. EA Play Pro is available for $15 a month, which gets you access to all the latest EA PC games at launch.

Still, it’s possible that Mass Effect Legendary Edition may come to Game Pass in the future. FIFA 21 similarly debuted on EA Play Pro, but landed on Game Pass a mere six months later. That’ll depend entirely on EA’s plans for the remastered trilogy, though.

[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/05/13/mass-effect-legendary-edition-the-first-21-minutes-of-gameplay-4k-60fps"]

“[Mass Effect Legendary Edition coming to Game Pass is] certainly a possibility, though I'm not aware of any current plans or a timeframe for anything beyond EA Play Pro access at this point,” EA said.

Still on the fence about whether or not to pick up the Mass Effect remaster? You might have to stay there a little while longer for IGN’s review. EA provided review codes on Monday, so reviews editor Dan Stapleton is still cracking through the massive RPG franchise, just not at the expense of his *checks notes* family? You can check out his very, very early off-the-cuff impressions in the link above.

In the meantime, check out the 10 biggest changes in Mass Effect Legendary Edition, or what comes in each pre-order edition. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Joseph Knoop is a writer/producer for IGN.