When the first trailer for the upcoming Mortal Kombat movie premiered, the consensus seemed to be that it looked like an actual, bloody, martial arts, action film. And according to director Simon McQuoid, he tried to film the movie with as little green screen as possible. “I don’t like too much green screen,” McQuoid said during a group interview ahead of SXSW.” Even then there is a bit of it in the film, you’ll see some things just couldn’t avoid, but I try and avoid it and I try and make stuff.” McQuoid says filming the movie as cinematically as possible “felt right” for what he wanted to do with the movie. “And so, this I felt very privileged to have this opportunity to sort of bring these beloved characters to life and respect the material and turn it into this big movie.” [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/02/19/mortal-kombat-movie-vs-game-characters-compared"] Up until Mortal Kombat, McQuoid was best known for his commercial work, including a series of live-action commercials for PlayStation that feature recognizable heroes from major PlayStation games like Uncharted. McQuoid says this informed his desire to bring cinematic quality to a video game adaptation. “I’ve done several video game commercials, which I’d always… wanted them to have a scale to them that felt big and elegant and sort of have a beauty within them, but have a sort of cinematic quality to them,” says McQuoid. “So I did a thing for PlayStation where there were lots of beloved PlayStation characters… I love having the opportunity to sort of bring really well-known characters to life so they feel real and connective to the audience and [Mortal Kombat] was just another version of that.” Mortal Kombat looks to tell the classic Mortal Kombat story in which various martial artists will gather together and partake in a deadly tournament to determine the fate of Earth. Familiar characters like Sonya Blade, Raiden, Liu Kang, Sub-Zero, and Scorpion will be there to face off in R-rated combat. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2011/10/05/the-long-live-play-ad"] McQuoid spoke about the importance of respecting the DNA of the franchise, which means that battles weren’t just gory for the sake of blood, but kept with the martial arts of the franchise. The devotion to authenticity also led to an inclusive, mostly Asian cast to embody Mortal Kombat’s iconic cast. Mortal Kombat will be released on HBO Max as part of the streaming platform’s plan to release all of WarnerMedia’s 2021 theatrical film slate onto HBO Max. The debut trailer for Mortal Kombat has already broken viewership records for R-Rated trailers. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt Kim is IGN's News Editor.

The history of Mortal Kombat spans nearly three decades, eleven mainline games, and one of the most massive and passionate fanbases in video games. That’s a lot of pressure for the cast and crew of the upcoming Mortal Kombat, but going off of my own viewing of the first 13 minutes of the film, and a recent roundtable interview with director Simon McQuoid and producer Todd Garner, it seems like the cinematic fates of Earthrealm, Outworld, and Netherrealm are in the hands of people who love and understand what makes Mortal Kombat so beloved.

[widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=mortal-kombat-2021-movie-images&captions=true"]

One of the main things that Mortal Kombat is known for, of course, is its violence. And that’s not something that the movie is shying away from.

“I just wanted to do Mortal Kombat justice,” said McQuoid. “It was about studying and looking at what the fundamental ingredients are to Mortal Kombat. What are the key strands of DNA that make this what it is. So I spent a lot of time thinking about that, so that stylistically it ended up in the right place. One of those [key strands of DNA] is the brutality of it. What I liked about the blood aspect is that we could be authentic. We didn't have to hold back on the fights. If there was a fight going on, someone got stamped through the head, blood probably would burst out the back, and we could do that. New Line deserves a lot of credit because they always wanted to do it justice as well.”

[poilib element="quoteBox" parameters="excerpt=I%20just%20wanted%20to%20do%20Mortal%20Kombat%20justice"]

And sure enough, the extended scene I watched did not pull back on the violence, but it’s also important to note that it was more than just bloodshed. It opens on the Hasashi Compound in the year 1617, where Hanzo Hasashi (Hiroyuki Sanada), the man who will eventually become the yellow clad spectre of vengeance, Scorpion, shares a tender moment with his family before he goes out to collect some water from the river. We get to see a brief bit of the Hasashi family life before it gets torn apart due to the attack of Bi-Han (Joe Taslim) and the Lin Kuei clan.

“There’s a difference between violence for violence’s sake… and violence [that’s] motivated by characters you love and care about and worry about. We’re trying to do that,” said Garner. “We’re trying to make a movie where you care about the people. It’s grounded, it has a realistic tone to it, and the violence comes from the rules of the world we’ve established, but you’re not just trying to make torture porn. You’re trying to do something that is faithful to the IP, but also comes from a motivated and grounded place that is motivated by real characters that feel like they’ve lived real lives up to this moment.”

[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/02/19/mortal-kombat-movie-vs-game-characters-compared"]

Once the fighting does begin, that’s when the movie earns its R rating. Hanzo straps a gardening kunai to a rope to form his trademark spear, and starts absolutely tearing through a crowd of Lin Kuei clansmen, at one point piercing clean through a man’s head before yanking him to the ground and ripping the blade out with a healthy spurt of blood erupting from his skull.

One of the most notable aspects about Mortal Kombat’s absolutely enormous roster of characters over the years is the diversity of cultures and martial arts featured within it, from Japanese ninjas to Chinese monks to American special forces and Australian thugs, and casting actors that were not only authentic to that spread of nationalities and cultures, but also could fight, was extremely important to both McQuoid and Garner.

“It’s important because it’s the right thing to do. It’s that simple. To make these the best versions of these characters, that’s what we needed to do,” said McQuoid. “The thing about Mortal Kombat is its rich textural mixture of really great things. Many different cultures, and that’s a really important ingredient as we analysed it. It didn’t cross anyone’s mind at any point that we were doing it any other way. Perhaps the guys at New Line are just braver than most. We didn’t even talk about it much because it was like, ‘Obviously, that’s what we’re doing.’ When I talked to New Line for the first time and I could see their respect for it, I was like ‘well, this is great, because this is how I want to do it and how we all want to do it.’ It was easy because it was the right thing to do. It would have been silly to do it any other way.”

[widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=meet-the-cast-of-the-mortal-kombat-reboot-movie&captions=true"]

Garner said that the first thing they told Warners out of the gate was that not only was the movie going to be diverse, but that the cast also needed to know how to fight. Action scenes that had to be cut in a way that hides the fact that a stunt double was being used during the fight just wouldn’t work with the kind of movie that they had wanted to make. This shrunk the talent pool considerably, but Garner feels like it was worth it.

“It took a while, and it’s to Simon’s credit, he’s the most patient man, and he did it,” said Garner. “Everyone says that this is a video game movie, and OK, [but] it’s a martial arts movie.”

While video game adaptations certainly have gotten better over the most recent years, there’s certainly a history of disappointing adaptations. McQuoid’s thought on the secret to making a good video game adaptation is simple, but refreshing to hear.

[poilib element="quoteBox" parameters="excerpt=The%20intent%20was%20to%20respect%20the%20material.%20That%20had%20to%20be%20first%20and%20foremost."]

“The intent was to respect the material. That had to be first and foremost. It was to treat the game structurally like a film. Not to borrow the wrong things from the video game. From what I’ve observed from when video game films don’t do so well, it’s because they don’t respect the material,” said McQuoid. “I have great respect for video games and video game companies and video game characters. There’s a reason people love these video games. They immerse people far better in many cases than movies can. But I think also understanding what a film can give you that a video game can’t to make things totally real. To see Scorpion in full real samurai Japanese-inspired, richly led, richly textured [armor] that matters. And that’s something that  we can bring in a film that couldn’t be done in a video game, because it’s not real.”

Mortal Kombat will be released on HBO Max on April 16, 2021.

[poilib element="accentDivider"]

Mitchell Saltzman is an editorial producer at IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @JurassicRabbit

For those eager for their next MCU fix and wondering what time Marvel's The Falcon and the Winter Soldier comes out each week, the new Disney Plus series is being released Fridays at midnight PT/3am ET. Falcon and the Winter Soldier will make its much-anticipated debut on the Disney+ streaming platform on Friday, March 19, followed by one new episode every week for the remainder of its release schedule.

Marvel's The Falcon and the Winter Soldier Season 1, Episode 6 Release Time

Episode 6 (Season 1 Finale) of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier will be available to stream on Friday, April 23, at midnight PT/3am ET on Disney Plus. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/03/14/the-falcon-and-the-winter-soldier-timeline-so-far"] For a deeper dive into the upcoming series, check out our Falcon and the Winter Soldier timeline explainer, whether or not Marvel boss Kevin Feige thinks there will be a Season 2, and our interview with the new Captain America himself, aka John Walker (portrayed by Wyatt Russell). While Disney has not released a synopsis for individual upcoming episodes - opting only to give them blurbs and even names after they've been released - here's how the streamer describes The Falcon and the Winter Soldier: "The pair, who came together in the final moments of Avengers: Endgame, team up on a global adventure that tests their abilities—and their patience." Watch the latest Falcon and the Winter Soldier episode review right here (spoiler warning):  [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/04/16/the-falcon-and-the-winter-soldier-episode-5-review"]

When Does Marvel's The Falcon and the Winter Soldier Season 1 Release?

Disney+ is releasing new episodes of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier Season 1 weekly on Fridays, which is a trend the streamer has followed since Disney+ launched back in 2019, instead of opting for Netflix's binge model of releasing a whole season at once. After The Falcon and the Winter Soldier premieres on Friday, March 19, Disney+ will air the following five episodes every Friday until the Season 1 finale, which will release on Friday, April 23, 2021. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=the-falcon-and-the-winter-soldier-cast-and-characters&captions=true"]

What Time Do The Falcon and the Winter Soldier Episodes Come Out?

The time each new episode of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier Season 1 is expected to drop is at 12am PT/3am ET on Friday morning in the US, which is 8am in the UK and 6:30pm ACT/7pm AET in Australia. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier will be available globally wherever Disney Plus is available. Watch the latest trailer/featurette for Falcon and the Winter Soldier below: [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/04/15/the-falcon-and-the-winter-soldier-wakandans-featurette"]

How Long are The Falcon and the Winter Soldier Episodes?

Marvel's Falcon and the Winter Soldier Season 1 episodes will have a runtime of around 50-60 minutes according to Marvel boss Kevin Feige. Episode 5, titled "Truth," has a runtime of 61 minutes.

How Many Episodes of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier Are There Going to Be?

Marvel's The Falcon and the Winter Soldier Season 1 will consist of six episodes. Here's the full Season 1 release schedule for the series:

• Episode 1 - "New World Order": Friday, March 19 - Available Now
• Episode 2 - "The Star-Spangled Man": Friday, March 26 - Available Now
• Episode 3 - "Power Broker": Friday, April 2 - Available Now
• Episode 4 - "The Whole World Is Watching": Friday, April 9 - Available Now
• Episode 5 - "Truth": Friday, April 16 - Available Now
• Episode 6 (FINALE) - Friday, April 23

For more on the world of Disney, be sure to check out every movie and TV show coming to the streamer in May, hear what Avengers: Endgame's directors have to say about Captain America's time-traveling, and catch up on our explainer on John Walker a.k.a. U.S. Agent. [poilib element="accentDivider"] David Griffin still watches DuckTales in his pajamas with a cereal bowl in hand. He's also the TV Editor for IGN. Say hi on Twitter.

A new first person campaign shooter set in the Warhammer 40,000 universe, Necromunda: Hired Gun, has been leaked by a Microsoft Store entry. The store page, which is currently still available to view at time of writing, details a single-player FPS set in the planet-sized hive city of Necromunda in which players take on the role of a bounty hunter. Players are accompanied by a cyber-mastiff dog companion who can be upgraded, and the description promises "endless" weapon and augment customisation.

Screenshots pic.twitter.com/rw8Cg6Not3

— Idle Sloth (@IdleSloth84) March 17, 2021

"Pick your contracts. Hunt your targets. Collect the bounty." reads the game's tagline, which suggests that there may be some level of freedom in the way you take on jobs in Necromunda: Hired Gun. The few other details also explain that your dog is able to sniff out and kill enemies for you, and that a grappling hook will allow quick traversal of the game's "massive" environments. A pre-order pack known as the Hunter's Bounty Pack includes a unique knife, outfit skin, and the classic 40k weapon, the stub gun. It also has a 'new look' for the cyber-mastiff's toy, which indicates how we'll interact with the robot dog. The game is being developed by Streum On Studio, the developer responsible for Warhammer 40,000 game Space Hulk: Deathwing back in 2016. It's published by Focus Home Interactive, and is - according to this store page - due to release on June 1.

More Screenshots pic.twitter.com/3OgJeZsXbP

— Idle Sloth (@IdleSloth84) March 17, 2021

Twitter account Idle Sloth has managed to unearth five screenshots from the game, which show an action packed shooter that includes what appears to be a variant of a plasma cannon, as well as the cyber-mastiff in action and... is that a Cawdor Bomb Delivery Rat? Among the familiar Necrumda ganger we also see what is clearly a Luther Pattern Excavation Automata "Ambot" charging towards the player, too. As of right now, we only know of Xbox Series X/S and Xbox One platforms for the game, as those are the only ones listed on the Microsoft Store. We'll have to wait for an official announcement to see if PC and PlayStation formats will also be supported. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/12/11/warhammer-40000-dark-tide-cinematic-reveal-trailer"] For more Warhammer, checkout our interview with the makers of Warhammer 40,000: Darktide, and the news that a whole bunch of free Warhammer games will be free with the next White Dwarf magazine. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Entertainment Writer. 

Sony is announcing or providing updates on 7 PlayStation indie games today, and we'll be rounding up all the news right here, as it happens. Keep in mind that this post will be updating as we go, so make sure to check back for all the latest announcements.

Operation: Tango

[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/03/17/operation-tango-ps5-announcement-trailer"] Asymmetric co-op puzzle game Operation: Tango is launching this Spring. The spy adventure sees an agent player infiltrating locations, while a hacker player helps them to do so. The game will also launch on PS5, as well as its previously announced PS4, Xbox One, and Steam versions. We showed off the game at Gamescom 2020, and PlayStation's blog dives into its multiple art styles, as well as telling us that the game will range from office break-ins to high-speed chases.

Chicory: A Colorful Tale

[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/03/17/chicory-a-colorful-tale-color-the-world-trailer"] This adventure game about a dog using a magical paintbrush to explore and solve puzzles was funded on Kickstarter earlier this year. It's now been announced for PS5 and PS4 release this spring. The game sees a world stripped of colour, with the player asked to manually paint it back to life, offering personalisation as well as puzzling. On PS5, the game will use the DualSense touchpad to control the brush (with a left-handed option), and the developer has "added lots of soft texture rumbles which makes the whole thing feel warm and cozy, like petting a cat."

Nour: Play With Your Food

[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/03/17/nour-play-with-your-food-audioemotion-trailer"] Nour: Play With Your Friend looks like a heck of a trip in the tastiest way. Published by the same company as Untitled Goose Game and coming to PS5 this summer, Nour is a game where you play with your food, and the game's music and sound will react accordingly. Using "adaptive background music," Nour's tunes and sound effect will shift depending on what you do to the (extremely nice looking) food in front of you. Different foods correspond to different sounds; you can move them around, make messes, and even blow into the microphone for different effects. In a PlayStation blog post, developer Terrifying Jellyfish's Maximillian C Mueller describes "noodle harps," airy marshmallow flute sounds, ice cube grand pianos, turning toasters into drum sets, and a meat grinder set to heavy metal. The video above explains it best by showing how food interfaces with sound, but Mueller also sums it up best in the blog with an example: "Perhaps the best example of physical instrumentation in Nour is the noodle harp. Make some noodles, arrange them to form an elegant slope (or monster) using the magnet, and freeze them. While there are many ways you could choose to play the harp, one of my favorites is simply letting a gyoza tumble down the sculpture to create a descending melody."

Where the Heart Leads

[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/03/17/where-the-heart-leads-release-date-reveal-trailer"] A man's dog slips into a sinkhole, so he goes in after it and ends up on an unexpected journey. In Where the Heart Leads, husband and father Whit Anderson is visited by memories of his past, present, and future. What's more, he can change them as he goes, turning his life and the lives of others in an entirely different direction. Where the Heart Leads is a narrative game focused on decision-making throughout the life of one man. Developer Tod Keller from Armature Studio says the game is inspired by titles like Heavy Rain, Oxenfree, Xenogears, and Vagrant Story, and includes the influences of David Lynch, Wes Anderson, and Nicolas Winding Refn. It's out on PS4 and PS5 on July 13.

Puzzling Places

[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/03/17/puzzling-places-announcement-trailer"] Love doing jigsaw puzzles but hate making a giant puzzle piece mess? Puzzling Places is a 3D jigsaw puzzle game for PlayStation VR where you'll assemble puzzles of actual locations, all in 3D and all based on real-life scans made by people all around the world. Puzzling Places is extremely straightforward: it's all 3D location puzzles, with relaxing sounds and music to go along with them. It's only for PSVR, and it's coming out in the winter of this year.

Heavenly Bodies

[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/03/17/heavenly-bodies-gameplay-trailer"] It's a PlayStation event for puzzle-lovers today, and next up was Heavenly Bodies, a physics-based puzzler that got a new gameplay trailer today where you have to solve problems in zero-gravity, using the PlayStation controller to move each individual limb of your cosmonaut. The trailer today shows off two missions: one in which you have to assemble a communications tower, gripping elements of the tower and setting up a satellite dish, and the other in which you have to use a large mining spacecraft to mine for soils on an asteroid belt. Heavenly Bodies is out later this year for PS4 and PS5, and will let you play in either solo or local co-op mode with a friend. [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.

Microsoft has announced an Age of Empires Fan Preview event for April 10, and promises 'surprising reveals' for Age of Empires 4. The event will be broadcast on April 10 at 9am Pacific / 12pm Eastern / 5pm UK (that's 2am on March 11, Sydney time), and will include news on Age of Empires 4, as well as Age of Empires 2: Definitive Edition and Age of Empires 3: Definitive Edition. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/03/17/age-of-empires-fan-preview-tune-in-trailer"] Age of Empires 4 has been a remarkably quiet project for some time, with our last proper look at the game in a 2019 trailer. The game was announced in 2017, and is being developed by Relic, the studio behind Company of Heroes, and Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War. Microsoft's been ramping up to the new installment in the series by releasing Definitive Editions of previous games. Age of Empires 2: Definitive Edition launched in 2019, with Age of Empires 3: Definitive Edition following in 2020. We awarded the latter a 6/10 review, saying it "preserves for posterity the core of this weirdest 00s RTS experiments while making some much-needed changes. Love it or hate it, the definitive edition is Age of Empires 3 amplified." [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.

The world of Apex Legends is rich with lore, but the frantic, fast-paced nature of a battle royale shooter doesn't necessarily allow for a story-driven experience. That's where Apex Legends: Overtime comes in. This comic book spinoff digs deeper into the Apex: Legends/Titanfall universe for a story that brings all 16 Legends together for a common goal. Apex Legends: Overtime is a four-issue limited series written by Titanfall veteran Jesse Stern and drawn by Neil Edwards (Assassin’s Creed), with inks by Keith Champagne (Stranger Things), colors by Antonio Fabela (Skyward) and letters by Nate Piekos (The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys). [caption id="attachment_2487446" align="aligncenter" width="1561"] Art by Bengal. (Image Credit: Dark Horse/Respawn Entertainment)[/caption] Here's Dark Horse's official description for the series:

Apex Legends is a squad-based battle royale experience where players select from one of 16 Legends – each with their own unique abilities and playstyles – and the last team standing wins. In the comic series, the Legends find themselves pulled together to rescue the city from Mad Scientists, brutal assassins, and the sudden and sinister grip of The Syndicate, a corrupt cabal attempting to “fix” arena outcomes in their favor. Will the Legends hold up to their celebrity status and be the heroes Solace needs?

Not counting the previously released lore book Apex Legends: Pathfinder's Quest, this is the first time the game's storyline has been spun out into other media. We'll have to wait and see if Overtime is the start of a a recurring line of Apex Legends spinoffs at Dark Horse, similar to how the publisher continues to expand on the world of Blizzard's Overwatch. Apex Legends: Overtime #1 will release in print and digital formats on June 2, 2021. Until then, why not check out IGN's updated 2021 review of Apex Legends? [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/03/12/apex-legends-nintendo-switch-performance-review"] Apex Legends isn't the only battle royale game getting the comic book treatment in 2021. DC and Epic have teamed up for Batman/Fortnite: Zero Point, a comic book crossover that includes new cosmetic items to use in the game. IGN recently spoke with the creative team to learn more about how Batman is helping to expand the Fortnite multiverse. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.

UPDATE March 17, 2021: A representative for Mattel reached out to let us know the Amazon listing was an error, and the set won't actually be available for pre-purchase until later this year. The full statement: "Hot Wheels new Mario Kart Rainbow Road track set was mistakenly posted for pre-sale on Amazon over the weekend. While we love to see fans’ excitement about the new product, it was listed in error. Customers who purchased it via pre-sale can receive a full refund by requesting one on Amazon. The Hot Wheels Mario Kart Rainbow Road track set will be available for purchase this summer, so fans can keep an eye out for more details in the coming months." Read the original story below. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Hot Wheels and Mario Kart have been in cahoots for a while now, but this morning a new Mario Kart Rainbow Road set mysteriously appeared on Amazon without any sort of major fanfare. It's a shame, too, because it looks extremely awesome and collectible. The Hot Wheels Rainbow Road set comes out May 29 and includes "Mario and King Boo karts," as well as being reconfigurable into a straight-line track. [poilib element="commerceDeal" parameters="slug=mario-kart-rainbow-road-hot-wheels-track"] The playset will set you back $119.99 and you can preorder it from Amazon right now. The nice thing about preordering from Amazon is you won't get charged until the item ships, and if the price goes down after you've preordered, you'll get it for the lowest price. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=hot-wheels-mario-kart-rainbow-road&captions=true"] Sometimes Amazon will drop the price on preorder items for just a single day, or even a few hours, but as long as you preordered before the price drop, you lock in that price. Not saying this set will have a pricedrop: it's a Nintendo licensed product, after all. But if it does... We've reached out to Mattel for more info on this set, and we'll update the story with any new info. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Seth Macy is IGN's Executive Editor, IGN Commerce, and just wants to be your friend.

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier writer Malcolm Spellman has indicated that viewers should approach Marvel Studios' follow-up to WandaVision with very different expectations. Speaking to Inverse, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier's creator, showrunner, and head writer Spellman explained how the upcoming Disney+ series will offer a different type of experience for the MCU fans and casual viewers who previously tuned into WandaVision. He said the show will present a much more linear story rather than being a breadcrumb trail of a mystery that sparks multiple theories each week. "It's not about figuring something out, it is about characters," Spellman explained. "One of the primary themes of this series is identity and the fact that Zemo, Sharon Carter, Bucky Barnes, and Sam Wilson all saw themselves as one way at the beginning of the story. This is about a muscular story forcing these characters to rethink how they see themselves and confront how the world sees them." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/03/16/marvels-the-falcon-and-the-winter-soldier-the-mantle-of-captain-america"] In fact, Spellman described Falcon and Winter soldier as the exact opposite of Wandavision. While he hinted that the Sam Wilson/Falcon and Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier miniseries might have a dash of mystery, he stressed that it isn't a driving force in the show's plot, which features "outward and and of-the-moment" scenes in order to properly achieve the emotional experience of the characters' journeys. "One thing Marvel knew they wanted before I ever walked through the door was they wanted a buddy two-hander," Spellman revealed, discussing the studio's approach to the project. "And when I say 'buddy two-hander,' I mean the energy and vibe of those things and the way buddy two-handers are able to deal with issues of the moment while keeping them fun. "The other thing about buddy two-handers, if you've seen any of them, is there's really not a mystery to them. They're all character-first. They're all about the emotion and connection, or lack of connection, between characters, and that's something I do as a writer and it's something that the genre wants. As amazing as WandaVision was, this is an antithesis in every single way." "There is no mystery," Spellman stated flatly, before suggesting that his statement might not actually be entirely correct, "well, I shouldn't be saying that." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/03/14/the-falcon-and-the-winter-soldier-timeline-so-far"] While Marvel's WandaVision provoked numerous theories about everything that was going on with Wanda Maximoff and her husband Vision each week, it also attempted to deliver an intimate story about family and grief that will no doubt have lasting ramifications on not just these characters but the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe as it heads further into the rest of Phase 4. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier is the next project in the MCU pipeline, and given that both Sam and Bucky were snapped away, they've probably got plenty of their own issues to sort out. Ultimately, WandaVision gave us the confidence that when it does come time for these boys to talk about their feelings, they'll be given the proper weight and care... if they ever stop bickering. To revisit the journeys of these characters before The Falcon and the Winter Soldier premieres on March 19, you may want to start streaming Marvel Studios' Legends series. The individual Falcon and Winter Soldier character episodes debuted on Friday, March 5, while the Sharon Carter and Zemo episodes dropped last Friday, March 12, offering fans a short refresher before the next big MCU show arrives. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=marvel-cinematic-universe-every-upcoming-movie-and-tv-show&captions=true"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Adele Ankers is a Freelance Entertainment Journalist. You can reach her on Twitter.

A feature coming soon to the Xbox platform will allow users to suspend their games, allowing them to download at higher speeds. The news was revealed by Xbox Engineering lead Eden Marie on Twitter. The feature is already available to users in the Xbox Insider Program, who should be able to find a 'Suspend my game' option on the 'Manage Queue' page if they're signed up to preview dashboard changes early. Xbox consoles will automatically lower download speeds when a game is open to allow online features to function without interruption. Marie says that if this option is picked, players will suspend the game currently running to boost download speeds on the console. The best part about it is that you won't lose your place – the game will still be resumable, or Quick Resume-able on Xbox Series X and S.

Hey Xbox Insiders! Did you notice these changes rolling out now? Suspend in the queue will let you download at full speed while making sure your game remains resumable (or quick resume-able on Series X|S). New banners in the Full Library will take you to more useful categories! pic.twitter.com/L49winRpM0

— Eden Marie (@neonepiphany) March 16, 2021

Insider Program features usually see a full release a few weeks after being tested, so it shouldn't be too long until we see this roll out to all users. Another new feature available to Insiders is a set of banners that appear on the Game Pass library page, pointing players towards games that are leaving soon, or those that have been recently added. Useful if you feel overwhelmed looking at the growing library of games on Game Pass. In other Xbox news, Microsoft told IGN that VR is not in the works "at this time" after IGN Italy spotted a prompt referring to a "VR Headset" when testing the Xbox Wireless Headset. Here's our review of the Xbox Wireless Headset, which we scored an 8, noting that it delivers "a well-rounded audio setup" for consoles. [poilib element="accentDivider" Jordan Oloman is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.