Dracula is no doubt one of the most iconic villains in pop culture. But where most modern takes on that classic story tend to paint this undead villain as a figure of tragedy, designer and artist Ricardo Delgado has a very different take in mind. His new illustrated novel Dracula of Transylvania aims to explore a more terrifying side of Vlad Dracula, portraying him as nothing short of "a complete horror." While timed to the 90th anniversary of Universal Pictures' seminal Dracula movie, Dracula of Transylvania is specifically a re-imagining of the original Bram Stoker novel. In this version of the story, published by Clover Press, Dracula is a terrifying, inhuman threat to all of mankind. In fact, he's depicted as the literal son of Satan. Opposing him, as ever, is heroic solicitor Jonathan Harker, who in this version of the story is an Indiana Jones-like adventurer whose travels take him from the Catacombs of Paris to the Roman Colosseum and into the heart of Dracula's native Transylvania. To get a better idea of how this new story is transforming such a familiar villain, check out our exclusive first look at Delgado's character designs and other artwork from Dracula of Transylvania: [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=dracula-of-transylvania-reimagines-the-iconic-vampire-as-a-complete-horror&captions=true"] “DRACULA OF TRANSYLVANIA supports and builds upon Stoker’s classic, haunting original story, but this is most certainly not your parents' Dracula or your grandparents’ Dracula,” said Delgado in Clover Press' press release. “This personification of the Nosferatu king is dark and powerful, a malevolent antagonist who suffers no fools, accepts no failure and crushes anyone in his path. This Dracula is not a romantic. He’s a complete horror. Just the way I always wanted him to be.” “Dracula is vileness incarnate, a pure thing of Hell,” added Delgado. “He’s spent the past thousand years putting sword to flesh and tearing at the tapestry of history as the son of Satan himself. Kings, Popes and armies fear Dracula. And so should you.” Delgado has worked as a storyboard artist and character designer for a number of film and TV projects, including Apollo 13, Avatar: The Last Airbender, The Incredibles, The Matrix: Reloaded, Men in Black and Wall-E. Comic book fans will also recognize him as the creator of the long-running Dark Horse Comics series Age of Reptiles. Dracula of Transylvania is currently being offered through Kickstarter, with the campaign running until March 25, 2021. The campaign includes a number of different pledge tiers, with bonuses including everything from signed, leatherbound copies of the book to art prints to original sketches. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2018/10/17/bram-stokers-dracula-whats-the-difference-cinefix"] This isn't the only drastically new take on Dracula to be announced in 2021. Marvel's Eternals director Chloe Zhao is writing, directing and producing a new Dracula movie with "futuristic, sci-fi western" trappings. Not to be outdone, Blumhouse Productions is developing a new Dracula movie inspired by the success of 2020's The Invisible Man reboot. For more Dracula goodness, find out what we thought of The BBC's quirky but enjoyable Dracula series. [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.

Pascal’s Wager a hardcore action-RPG originally released on iOS and Android devices is coming to Steam on March 12. Pascal’s Wager: Definitive Edition will include updated visuals and support for 4K resolution. Pascal’s Wager is a Souls-like RPG originally developed for mobile. After selling over 1 million copies, Pascal’s Wager is heading to Steam with new features and previously released DLC content. This is also developer TipsWorks first game to be released on PC. Along with updated graphics, Pascal’s Wager: Definitive Edition will allow uncapped frame rates, and fully mappable mouse/keyboard and controller keybinds. Check out the new trailer exclusively here on IGN below. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/02/22/pascals-wager-definitive-edition-steam-launch-trailer"] Set in the fictional land of Solas, players can choose between different members of a traveling group of fighters led by Terrence the Courier. There are five playable characters, each with their own combat style, skill tree, and abilities. Dodge, slash and parry your way through enemies and uncover the mystery behind an unknown disease that’s plaguing the land. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=pascals-wager-definitive-edition-screenshots&captions=true"] The Souls-like genre, named after FromSoftware’s brutally punishing RPG series, is now filled with plenty of worthy challengers, from the Nioh series to Mortal Shell. Pascal’s Wager made waves bringing the genre to mobile, but we’ll see how it measures when it comes to PC next month. Pascal’s Wager: Definitive Edition is coming to Steam on March 12, 2021, and comes packaged with the expansion The Tides of Oblivion. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt T.M. Kim is News Editor at IGN.

A reporter has stated that Fantastic Four is in the very early stages of development, with production not expected to start for "awhile." Deadline reporter Justin Kroll shared a status update on the hotly anticipated Fantastic Four project, countering recent rumors about the movie's supposed casting and shooting schedule. He claimed that Marvel Studios was only just starting to meet with potential writers to work on the Jon Watts-directed movie, which means there is "no script" and "it will be a while" before production begins.

All I’m gonna say is this, Marvel just started meeting with writers on FANTASTIC FOUR, there is no script and it will be awhile before this film starts shooting

— Justin Kroll (@krolljvar) February 21, 2021

This comes shortly after reports circulated about Jennifer Lawrence's rumored casting as Sue Storm (AKA Invisible Woman). One such report, coming from The Daily Telegraph, claimed that Marvel would be relocating its blockbuster movies to film out of Australia for the "foreseeable future," with Lawrence expected to arrive Down Under for the new Fantastic Four movie, per The Daily Mail. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/12/11/every-marvel-announcement-from-disneys-investors-call"] Kevin Feige officially announced Marvel's Fantastic Four project at Disney's Investors' Day in December following a deluge of updates about new Marvel TV shows. "I'm happy to announce a film about one of the truly iconic Marvel families - in fact, Marvel's first family: the Fantastic Four," he said. "We're working on a feature now and it will be directed by the director of our recent Spider-Man films, Jon Watts." Feige didn't offer any other details about the story or cast, and it could be sometime before those details start to emerge. Director Jon Watts is currently tangled up in Spider-Man 3's shooting schedule after production kicked off towards the end of last year. The untitled Spider-Man: Far From Home sequel is scheduled for release on December 17, 2021, after Black Widow, Shang-Chi, and Eternals. [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.

Yet another new image of Jared Leto as The Joker in Zack Snyder's Justice League cut has surfaced, and he looks alarmingly beatific. The image first appeared in an interview with Snyder published by Vanity Fair, which admittedly does not get into further details about this holy rendition of the character, but does touch on the Snyder Cut itself -- including the fact that Snyder hadn't actually seen the version of Justice League that was released in theatres three years ago after his departure from the project. [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="1600"] Photo Credit: Vanity Fair and Zack Snyder[/caption] This new image of Joker comes following several other images that dropped earlier this month, all of which seem to feature a more classic interpretation of the Joker than we've seen in other recent films with the character, though this latest one opens up some interesting potential questions. As has been previously revealed, the Joker will appear in the Snyder cut as a part of a new sequence, all a vision experienced by Bruce Wayne intended to show what will happen if Darkseid is not stopped. Other images have shown the Joker in the same hospital gown as seen here, but the crown of thorns appears to be new, with the image clearly intending to recall religious imagery of a tortured Christ-figure at the Crucifixion. We've also previously seen new images of Ben Affleck's Knightmare Batman from the cut, and gotten word that the release will occur on the same day worldwide as the US launch on HBO Max next month. Zack Snyder will join us for IGN Fan Fest at the end of this week, where he'll offer fans an inside look into the making of the long-awaited Snyder Cut. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Rebekah Valentine is a news reporter for IGN. You can find her on Twitter @duckvalentine.  

Zack Snyder has never watched the version of Justice League released in 2017, despite being credited as its director. And for his re-cut of the film, he’s not being paid anything. In a new feature from Vanity Fair, Zack Snyder reveals that his wife, Deborah Snyder, recommended that he not watch the final version of Justice League. That version had been partially re-shot and edited by Joss Whedon, who took over directorial duties when Snyder left the project following the death of his daughter. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/02/14/zack-snyders-justice-league-official-trailer"] “They came and they just said, ‘You can never see that movie,’” Snyder said, referring to a time when his wife, along with executive producer Christopher Nolan, had just seen the Whedon’s final cut of Justice League. Deborah Snyder said that she knew the version would “break his heart”. Now, just weeks away from Snyder releasing his own version of Justice League, it has been revealed that Warner Bros. are not paying the director for his work. “I’m not getting paid,” Snyder told Vanity Fair. He claims that going without a wage has meant he has held onto creative control of the project. “I didn’t want to be beholden to anyone, and it allowed me to keep my negotiating powers with these people pretty strong.” For more on the project, check out the news of the Snyder Cut's international release, and why the film is not in widescreen. And be sure to visit us for IGN Fan Fest, when we'll be interviewing Zack Snyder himself about his new cut of Justice League. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Entertainment Writer. 

A fan project that reverse-engineered the source code of Grand Theft Auto 3 and Grand Theft Auto Vice City has been taken down, seemingly by Rockstar's parent company. You can see the project in action in this YouTube showcase video, which shows all of the improvements brought to the game due to the team's reverse-engineering efforts over many years, such as fully-featured debug menus and modernized video settings. As reported by Eurogamer, accessing the repository for Re3 or ReVC on GitHub will now lead users to a "Repository unavailable for DMCA takedown" page. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/04/15/new-grand-theft-auto-in-development-at-rockstar-games"] The DMCA itself is available to read here, which appears to come from the copyright holder Take-Two Interactive Software, the parent company of Rockstar Games. The project would have allowed fans to thoroughly mod the game and port it to various platforms, now that the game was fully decompiled and understood. The project lead told Eurogamer that the DMCA could be from a troll, but it was "better to assume it was real" going forward. Asked about the move by IGN, Rockstar declined to comment. In other GTA-related news, a report has alleged that a new Grand Theft Auto game is in development, with the studio reportedly making changes to fix crunch culture. Here's every IGN Rockstar game review, to tide you over until then. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jordan Oloman is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.

Legendary French DJ duo, Daft Punk – who created four hit studio albums, wrote the soundtrack for Tron: Legacy, and appeared in DJ Hero – have announced that they have broken up. The duo, made up of Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo, announced the news in a video called Epilogue (in which one of the pair quite literally self-destructs), and confirmed the news to Pitchfork, giving no reason for the split. The duo have almost always worn robot-like headgear in public appearances. The duo, who spanned pop, dance, house and more, released the likes of 'Da Funk', 'Robot Rock', 'Around the World', 'One More Time', and 'Get Lucky', and released four studio albums. 2001 album Discovery was accompanied by an anime movie, Interstella 5555: The 5tory of the 5ecret 5tar 5ystem, which used the entirety of the album as a soundtrack. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2009/09/15/dj-hero-xbox-360-trailer-daft-punk-trailer"] Daft Punk went onto write the soundtrack to Tron: Legacy, which we awarded a 9/10 review, saying it did "an excellent job crafting a triumphant yet measured score that captures the spirit of the Tron world exceptionally well." Fortnite just released a number of crossover items based on Tron. In the world of video games, Daft Punk appeared in 2009's DJ Hero, and offered up 11 original mixes featuring their music. I also can't help but think that Insomniac might have been a little bit inspired by Daft Punk's image when making the coolest costume in Spider-Man: Miles Morales:

This costume is just Insomniac showing off, and I absolutely love it. pic.twitter.com/9Gd5TjpdTW

— Joe Skrebels (@2plus2isjoe) November 30, 2020

[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 Netflix release date for Zack Snyder's Army of the Dead has been revealed in a new zombie-infected poster. The official Army of the Dead poster, shared by Snyder on Twitter, confirmed that the zombie heist movie will breakout onto Netflix on May 21. For now, though, the poster keeps the living dead crushed behind a vault door. We're expecting to get a peek behind that door later this week, as the director announced that the movie will be getting its first teaser on February 25. [caption id="attachment_2476752" align="alignnone" width="1500"] Image credit: Netflix[/caption] Set in post-apocalyptic Las Vegas, Army of the Dead gives rise to a group of mercenaries who infiltrate a quarantine zone to raid a casino during a zombie outbreak. The movie stars Dave Bautista, Ella Purnell, Ana de la Reguera, Garret Dillahunt, Raúl Castillo, Omari Hardwick, Tig Notaro, Nora Arnezeder, Matthias Schweighöfer, Samantha Win, Theo Rossi, Huma Qureshi, Hiroyuki Sanada, and Richard Cetrone. The Snyder-directed flick appeared in Netflix's sizzle reel for 2021 at the start of the year, with the streaming giant promising to release at least one new movie a week throughout 2021 for a total of at least 70. The titles on the forthcoming slate featured an impressive roster of A-list actors including Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Gal Gadot, Leonardo DiCaprio, Amy Adams, Ryan Reynolds, and more. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=12-exciting-netflix-movies-coming-in-2021&captions=true"] Army of the Dead is also getting a prequel movie and an anime series at Netflix, with Shay Hatten onboard to write the scripts for both. Matthias Schweighöfer is attached to helm and star in the international prequel movie, which is said to follow his Army of the Dead character Ludwig Dieter, while the anime series, Army of the Dead: Lost Vegas, will chronicle the origins of Dave Bautista's Scott Ward. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Adele Ankers is a Freelance Entertainment Journalist. You can reach her on Twitter.

EA has patented technology that seeks to let players stream and play full games before they've been downloaded. As spotted by GameRant, the patent can be found on the United States Patent and Trademark Office here, where you can see a diagram of the system in action. The plan involves the creation of a "dynamic video game client" that provides a stream of the game to players from a remote simulation engine, upon request. "The dynamic video game client can utilize a state stream game engine in combination with a game application streaming service to provide users with the ability to begin playing games quickly on a huge range of devices," the patent reads. What this means is that you could request to play a video game you own without it being downloaded on your local system, propped up by a remote online stream akin to Google Stadia or other cloud-based services. It's not quite clear whether you will be downloading the game in the background during this process, but it is implied that this is the problem EA is trying to solve. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2017/11/17/star-wars-battlefront-2-review"] The patent copy can be found here, where it explains how this technology seeks to solve the "time consuming" installation process, sidestepping the wait to let players jump into the action. EA's patent observes the growing issue of games getting larger and taking longer to install. "Due to the large size of games, it can take a significant amount of time of a user to begin playing a game after it has been purchased," the patent reads. "This download process can be quite frustrating if a user is interested in playing a new game with friends or has a limited amount of time to play the game." Players will likely still need to have a decent internet connection in order to manage the simulated game stream, but it means that players could jump into a game as soon as they buy it, rather than waiting for it to install or download first. In other EA news, the company recently completed a $1.2 billion acquisition of Codemasters, which it will be treating as an "independent group," going forward. During an earnings call, it was revealed that the company had made $3 Billion from its Star Wars games and that it has no plans to slow down future development efforts with the licence. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jordan Oloman is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.

Google, Id Software, and Bungie are the subject of a class action lawsuit that claims the companies misled customers by saying Stadia games could be played at a 4K resolution. Reported by ClassAction.org, the lawsuit was filed last year in Queens County Superior Court, but has now been transferred to a New York federal court. The lawsuit, brought by plaintiff Jacqueline Shepherd, centres around claims by Google ahead of Stadia's release that the streaming platform would be "more powerful than both Xbox One X and Playstation 4 Pro combined", particularly in its ability to stream games at 4K resolution. However, upon launch, it became clear that many Stadia games weren't pushing a true 4K image, but upscaling from lower resolutions. By allowing pre-orders before launch, and not offering full information about the platform's ability to push 4K, the plaintiff alleges that, "Google made false and misleading claims concerning the streaming quality of Stadia’s service in order to generate increased revenue for the Google Stadia division." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/the-unexpected-reason-terraria-on-stadia-is-canceled-ign-now"] The plaintif includes Id Software and Bungie in the suit because of their advertising for Doom Eternal and Destiny 2 on Stadia, which included mentions of 4K resolutions – but neither game ran at true 4K upon release. The plaintiff alleges that Id, in particular, "wrongfully generated millions of dollars in revenue as a result" of those claims. Id has denied any liability or wrongdoing. The plaintiff is seeking financial compensation for a number of different factors, as well as an order that forces Google to display the true resolution and frame rate of every game sold on Stadia. The class action seeks to cover any person in the US who, from June 6, 2019 onwards, bought a Stadia Founder’s Edition, Stadia Premier Edition, or Stadia Pro subscription because of information that Stadia was more powerful than other consoles, or would run all games at 4K. It's unclear how far the lawsuit will progress, but we'll update you as we learn more. Stadia recently shut down all of its internal development studios – reportedly in part due to Microsoft's Bethesda acquisition – but says the service will receive more than 100 games in 2021. That won't include Terraria, however, as the developer has boycotted Goggle after being locked out of a number of Google accounts. [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.