Marvel Studios has announced a new Legends series that will premiere on Disney+ in 2021. The studio revealed that the Legends series will revisit some of the "most iconic moments from the MCU, one character at time," starting with Wanda Maximoff and Vision, the two stars of WandaVision, which is set to premiere on Disney+ next month. The first two episodes of Marvel Studios: Legends will dive deeper into the stories of Wanda and Vision, and their interconnected path across the MCU.

Marvel Studios: Legends is a new series that revisits some of the most iconic moments from the MCU, one character at a time. Kicking off with Wanda Maximoff and Vision, the first two episodes start streaming Jan. 8, only on #DisneyPlus. pic.twitter.com/iTN2kNdhFv

— Marvel Studios (@MarvelStudios) December 15, 2020

The opening episodes of the new Legends series will be added to the Disney+ library on January 8, 2021, exactly one week before WandaVision debuts on the platform. After that, the MCU supporting series will continue to release new episodes to feed directly into Marvel's upcoming Disney+ slate, serving as a refresher for fans while simultaneously setting the stage for future events. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=marvel-cinematic-universe-every-upcoming-movie-and-tv-show&captions=true"] According to the official series synopsis, Marvel Studios: Legends "celebrates and codifies what has come before" by weaving together "the many threads that constitute the unparalleled Marvel Cinematic Universe" and revisiting "the epic heroes, villains, and moments from across the MCU in preparation for the highly anticipated stories still to come." Marvel Studios: Legends will initially debut as a precursor to WandaVision, a forthcoming miniseries described as being "half classic sitcom and half full MCU spectacular." It will tell the story of Elizabeth Olsen's Scarlet Witch and Paul Bettany's Vision who appear to be living as a married couple in the suburban town of Westview, where they attempt to hide their "ill-defined and unexplored" powers. We last saw Wanda nearly killing Thanos in battle in Avengers: Endgame as she sought revenge for the death of Vision, who was killed in Avengers: Infinity War, before the snap, making his death (more or less) permanent. In WandaVision, Wanda appears to be trapped in some sort of mental prison in which she imagines a domesticated life with Vision via various TV sitcom styles and eras. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/12/11/wandavision-official-trailer-2"] So reserve a spot on the sofa and get ready to tune in to watch the first episode of WandaVision when it lands on Disney+ on January 15, 2021, just one week after the first two episodes of Marvel Studios: Legends, which will be dropping on Disney+ on January 8, 2021, offering a showcase of the "individual characters viewers have come to know and love over the years." [poilib element="accentDivider"] Adele Ankers is a Freelance Entertainment Journalist. You can reach her on Twitter.

Capcom has given IGN a small but nevertheless welcome update on the status of the next-gen Resident Evil Village, aka Resident Evil 8. The publisher has also provided three exclusive new screenshots, which you can see in the gallery below. Peter Fabiano, producer on Resident Evil Village, tells IGN: “We’re really excited for fans to experience Resident Evil Village when it comes out in 2021. We feel it’s an accumulation of all the best elements of Resident Evil games from the past 25 years, with everything fans love about action-infused survival horror plus new surprises. Of course, there are plenty of puzzles to solve and mysteries to unfold. "We hope fans will enjoy exploring the desolate, snowy village in which Resident Evil Village takes place, where enemies new to the franchise are waiting for them. Players will once again take control of Ethan Winters, experiencing more of the story set in motion in Resident Evil 7 biohazard. New technologies are allowing us to immerse players in the game in ways we couldn’t achieve before, in what we hope will be the most pulse-pounding Resident Evil game to date.” [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=resident-evil-village-3-exclusive-new-screenshots&captions=true"] We'll have much more on Resident Evil Village as 2021 rolls on. In the meantime, for more on the eighth mainline RE game, don't miss its initial announcement from this past summer, as well as the reveal trailer. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Ryan McCaffrey is IGN’s Executive Editor of Previews. Follow him on Twitter at @DMC_Ryan, catch him on Unlocked, and drop-ship him Taylor Ham sandwiches from New Jersey whenever possible.

Joker is widely regarded as Batman's greatest nemesis, but few have attempted to make the Clown Prince of Crime the main protagonist in a DC comic. That will change in March 2021 when DC launches a new ongoing series simply titled The Joker. The new series is an offshoot of the current Batman series from writer James Tynion IV, one that builds on Joker's uncertain status quo following the events of Joker War. Joker may have survived his latest run-in with Batman and gone into hiding overseas, but things aren't exactly looking up for him. He's missing an eye (courtesy of Harley Quinn) and dealing with the sting of being left to die by the Dark Knight. Making matters worse, Commissioner Gordon is about to retire, and he's made it his mission to bring Joker to justice before he does. Worse, it seems Bane also has a bone to pick with Mister J. In short, the deck is really stacked against Joker in 2021. Check out the slideshow gallery below to see all the covers revealed for Joker #1 so far: [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=joker-breaks-free-from-batman-in-these-creepy-dc-covers&captions=true"] Tynion will  write this spinoff, with Batman artist Guillem March also making the jump. Each issue will also feature a backup story co-written by Tynion and Sam Johns and drawn by Mirka Andolfo. This same team previously collaborated on November's Punchline #1 special, and their new story will again focus on Joker's new sidekick. In this ongoing story, Alexis Kaye deals with her newfound celebrity and becoming an inmate at Blackgate Penitentiary. Meanwhile, Harper Row will take up the mantle of Bluebird once again after finding Punchline's influence is warping her brother's mind. “When I was approached by DC about the concept of an ongoing series spotlighting The Joker, I thought, ‘What would that book even look like?,’” said Tynion in DC's press release. “I’m excited to share this story in a way that honors everything that a series about The Joker can be, while coming at if from an exciting, unexpected angle. I’m also thrilled to continue working with Sam and Mirka to expand the Punchline story we began in November as a back-up feature in this new ongoing Joker series. The Joker War was only the beginning of the terror and mayhem we’re creating!” While DC has published a handful of stories with Joker as the main protagonist (most notably 1994's Joker: Going Sane and 2008's Joker graphic novel), this is actually only the second time the company has published an ongoing Joker comic. The Joker Vol. 1 ran for nine issues in 1975 before being abruptly canceled. DC belatedly reprinted the unpublished issue #10 in 2019 as part of the hardcover collection The Joker: The Bronze Age Omnibus. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/06/26/joker-war-why-batmans-worst-enemy-is-finally-ready-to-finish-their-game"] The Joker #1 is priced at $4.99 and is scheduled for release on March 9, 2021. A new Joker series is just one of many projects DC has planned for early 2021. January and February will see DC switch gears to Future State, a massive crossover that reveals the fate of the DCU ten years into the future. Following that, DC will launch a number of new ongoing series in March, all aimed at welcoming new readers in the aftermath of Dark Nights: Death Metal. But unlike DC's past Crisis events, Death Metal isn't intended to reboot DC's complex history. [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.

Xbox is asking fans to come up with ideas for a Space Jam: A New Legacy video game tie-in which will come to Xbox Game Pass in June 2021, to complement the film's release in July. The "arcade-style" video game will be built from the ideas of two lucky winners, who will have their names featured in the game's credits and receive signed LeBron James memorabilia, as well as a private screening of the new movie and an Xbox Series S console. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2017/08/01/space-jam-2-justin-lin-offers-sequel-update-"] You can enter the contest on the game's website here, which is worth a look just for the awesome genre mock-ups half-way down the page. Entrants will have to pick one of the pixel-art concepts to inspire their entry, which should be around 500 words and detail "the story and vision" of your ideal Space Jam arcade game. Microsoft is also setting up virtual Space Jam-themed coding workshops to help get kids into computer science. For more on Space Jam: A New Legacy, check out a detailed look at the movie's star LeBron James in his Tune Squad jersey. Space Jam: A New Legacy could be one of the Warner Bros. movies coming to HBO Max as well as theatres upon release in 2021. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jordan Oloman is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.

A new report has learned that a viral video of a 6 year-old child being banned from Call of Duty: Warzone was faked by the boy’s parents in an attempt to progress in a competition held by FaZe Clan. The extensive PC Gamer investigation reveals that a video clip from RowdyRogan, the young COD streamer with 95,000 followers on Twitch, in which Rogan is seen to have his Warzone account banned, was scripted by his parents. This was all part of an attempt to create a viral video of Rogan, one of the tasks set as part of FaZe Clan’s FaZe5 competition.

As some of you know, Rogan was banned from Warzone on stream tonight. The Team and us are currently trying to handle the situation and will keep you guys updated. Thank you for all the support. #FreeRogan pic.twitter.com/df1B28Fa8R

— RowdyRogan (@RowdyRogan) December 10, 2020

The talent contest-style competition sees five winners inducted into the popular esports organisation. As part of the final 20 competitors, RowdyRogan had been tasked to "try and make content that goes viral." Rogan's parents - who work as his managers - attempted to do this via a doctored livestream. The stream was edited to show a ‘permanently banned’ alert (in reality his mother had logged into his account on a different PC to cause a disconnect) and the clip then circulated on Twitter with the hashtag #FreeRogan. A ‘reveal’ video posted to RowdyRogan’s YouTube channel the following day explained how and why Rogan’s parents put together the video. "I know there are some people that aren't going to be happy when they find out this was a stunt for the FaZe5 challenge," says Rogan’s father, Harry Drew. "I also don't want to bring any more negativity towards them, Activision has done nothing wrong,” he added, in reference to an outpouring of anger from fans towards Activision for ‘banning’ Rogan. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/03/23/call-of-duty-warzone-review"] In a statement to PC Gamer, FaZe CEO Lee Trink said “What finalists choose to do with these tasks and how they approach each challenge is also being assessed, not just the quantitative results. A broad challenge is more emblematic of what their experience will be like in FaZe since a key goal of ours is to support our talent’s vision of their individual career.” Trink appears to offer no condemnation or support of the video. For more from Warzone, take a look at Warzone’s Rebirth Island, which will arrive as part of Season One of Black Ops Cold War. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Entertainment Writer. 

Vin Diesel has joined developer Studio Wildcard as an Executive Producer on Ark 2, the game he also stars in. As detailed by The Hollywood Reporter, Diesel will act as the "President of Creative Convergence" at Studio Wildcard as well as playing the character Santiago, described as a "freedom fighter" who will appear in Ark 2 and Ark: The Animated Series, which was announced alongside the sequel during this year's Game Awards ceremony. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/12/11/ark-2-cinematic-trailer"] Diesel said in a statement that he is "excited to join the Studio Wildcard team to develop the story both in-game and in the new animated series." Studio Wildcard CEO Doug Kennedy also added that Diesel "has played 1000's of hours of Ark: Survival Evolved" and "understands the game intimately," which explains last week's surprise trailer appearance. It's worth noting that this is not Diesel's first foray into game development. The Hollywood actor founded Tigon Studios in 2002, which contributed to the development of The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay, Wheelman, and Fast & Furious Crossroads. For more on Ark 2, check out our article covering the game's announcement, which digs into everything you need to know from the prehistoric cinematic trailer. We reviewed Ark: Survival Evolved back in 2017, scoring it a 7.7 and touting its "great moments of battle with prehistoric beasts." [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jordan Oloman is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.

CD Projekt has said that it didn't feel any unusual "external or internal pressure" to launch Cyberpunk 2077 on December 10, and explained that the decision not to delay the game was, at least in part, because it "definitely did not spend enough time looking" at compromised last-gen versions. The company also explains that, "in theory" it could have released the game on PC only. In an unscheduled investor call, senior members of CD Projekt were asked whether the company felt they had to release the game before 2021. SVP of business development, Michał Nowakowski replied: "I wouldn’t say that we felt any external or internal pressure to launch on the date – other than the normal pressure, which is typical for any release." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/12/15/cyberpunk-2077-for-xbox-one-and-playstation-4-review"] With major issues present in the base PS4 and Xbox One versions of the game, not to mention persistent bugs in upgraded last-gen, next-gen, and PC versions, many have questioned why CD Projekt Red didn't delay the game further after three previous delays (the first two of which, in particular, were celebrated by many fans for showing a dedication to creating a polished product). In fact Nowakowski seems to imply that the company simply didn't realise how broken some versions of the game were: "It is more about us looking – as was previously stated – at the PC and next-gen performance rather than current-gen. We definitely did not spend enough time looking at that." As part of the same line of questioning, the board was asked how the game passed certification on Xbox and PlayStation, which appears to come down to trust from the console companies. "In terms of the certification process and the third parties," Nowakowski explained, "this is definitely on our side. I can only assume that they trusted that we’re going to fix things upon release, and that obviously did not come together exactly as we had planned." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/12/10/cyberpunk-2077-looks-flat-out-bad-on-ps4-and-xbox-one-ign-daily-fix"] In a separate question, the board was asked if the company could have simply released a PC version of the game on December 10, and delayed a console release. "In pure theory, if we had decided that one day before the launch then yes; we might have released just the PC version," said Nowakowski. He went into no further detail about whetehr those discussion took place. However, Nowakowski went onto make clear that it would have been impossible to release a next-gen-only version alongside PC: "[Next-gen consoles] get a completely different version of the game, so it’s not like we could have decided at any point recently to 'flip the switch', so to say, and change the old-gen version to the next-gen version and release only on next-gens. As you have noticed, there is no native next-gen release. The game runs on next-gens and takes advantage of how next-gens are performing, but it’s not like we had a next-gen version in our hands and decided to keep it on the shelf." CD Projekt yesterday formally apologised for the below-par version of the game released on PS4 and Xbox One, and informed customers that they could apply for refunds. After receiving the console version of the game late, we've published a 4/10 review of the base console version, saying that it "fails to hit even the lowest bar of technical quality one should expect even when playing on lower-end hardware". [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.

Epic Games has added a new Performance Mode to Fortnite on PC, which reduces the game’s visual quality and memory usage to provide significant performance gains, particularly on lower spec hardware. A prompt will be displayed for users of older hardware to encourage using performance mode. While those with very modern PCs will have no need for the mode, and those with modest rigs can simply scale settings down, this option will allow those with the very minimum specs for Fortnite to run the game at a much more competitive framerate. This will potentially open up the ability to play Fortnite to many more people. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/12/03/fortnite-chapter-2-season-5-zero-point-update-guide"] Epic provided two benchmarks as an example of the gains provided by performance mode. Using an i5-8265U laptop processor with integrated graphics and 8GB RAM, performance mode boosted frame rates from 24fps to 61fps at 720p. On an AMD A10-5745M-powered machine (another laptop CPU) with the mobile HD 8610G graphics chip and 6GB of RAM, performance increased from 18fps to 45fps at 720p. These are impressive improvements from such low-end hardware. In addition, players can now opt out of high-resolution textures, should you wish to improve performance or even just save hard drive space. This is done from the Epic Games Launcher, via the options menu on the Fortnite section in your game library. High-res textures take up 14.48GB of space, so it’s quite a saving if you’re in a pinch or don’t need them. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=master-chief-in-fortnite&captions=true"] Available from December 15, the mode will be available in the Advanced Graphics section of the video settings menu. It can be found under Rendering Mode, which now offers a choice between DirectX 11, DirectX12, and Performance. This new option is an “experimental” mode that is currently in alpha. For more, check out Fortnite’s latest additions in the form of Master Chief, Kratos, and The Mandalorian, all of which have arrived in the wake of the massive Fortnite Galactus event. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Entertainment Writer. 

While doing a press tour for Tenet, Christopher Nolan has said that Tom Hardy's portrayal of Bane in The Dark Knight Rises has yet to be "fully appreciated." As reported by IndieWire (via NME), Nolan was speaking to MTV's Happy Sad Confused podcast and discussed how Hardy really delivered "quite a performance." “There’s no safety net for any of these guys and Tom, I mean… what he did with that character has yet to be fully appreciated. It’s an extraordinary performance, and truly amazing,” Nolan said. “The voice, the relationship between just seeing the eyes and the brow. We had all these discussions about the mask and what it would reveal and what it wouldn’t reveal, and one of the things I remember him saying to me, he sort of put his finger up to his temple and his eyebrow and said, ‘Can you give me this to play with? Let people see this.' Sure enough, you see there in the film, this kind of Brando-esque brow, expressing all kinds of just monstrous things. It’s really quite a performance.” [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/10/19/ranking-the-batman-movie-villains"] The reception to Hardy's Bane was mostly positive, but many complained that his muffled dialogue made it hard to truly understand what he was saying. This caused Nolan to adjust some of the sounds mixing to make it a bit clearer, but he would not change the voice completely. Nolan is very set in his ways, and also believes that not being able to hear his movies' dialogue isn't a big deal. This is but a small glimpse into the directorial style of Nolan, the same director who seemingly doesn't allow chairs on his movie sets and changed a character's "sickening" death scene in The Dark Knight rises as it would have given the film a NC-17 rating. Later in the podcast, Nolan defended David Fincher's work in Alien 3, saying "“Everyone always complains that sequels get bigger but we’re the people making sequels get bigger, we do want them bigger. You don’t want them smaller. It’s the ‘Alien 3’ lesson that [David] Fincher learned. You can do it but it’s not going to make anybody happy, even though personally I love that film, a lot more than he does in fact.” [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=ranking-the-batman-movies&captions=true"] These comments were one of the many recently made by Nolan alongside those criticizing HBO Max and WB's decision to shift its 2021 film slate to make its films available on both HBO Max and theaters on the same day. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com. Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

December 2020's Nintendo Switch Online Games are NES' Nightshade and SNES' Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!, The Ignition Factor, SUPER VALIS IV, and Tuff E Nuff. Announced by Nintendo, all of these games will become available to Nintendo Switch Online subscribers on December 18, 2020, and follow September 2020's games that included Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest and Mario's Super Picross. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/12/15/nintendo-switch-online-december-2020-game-updates"] Nintendo also released a "Classified Information" video that features codes for Donkey Kong Country 3, The Ignition Factor, and Super Valis IV. These codes include bonus rooms, level selects, and more. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/12/15/nintendo-switch-online-december-2020-classified-information"] Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble! was released in 1996 and sees both Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong go missing. It's up to Dixie Kong and Kiddy Kong to find and rescue them. The Ignition Factor was released in 1994 and is an intense firefighting game that has you saving people from towering infernos and flame-filled factories. Super Valis IV has players taking on the role of Lena, the only warrior able enough to wield the Valis sword against the forces of evil in this action platformer. The longer it takes you to beat a level, the harder the bosses at the end will become. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=the-top-25-switch-games-fall-2020-update&captions=true"] Tuff E Nuff is an action game that has four champions seeking to challenge the great tower. Fight your way up to Jade, the self-proclaimed Fighting King. It also features an instant replay feature to allow you to watch the last moments of a fight play out. Nightshade is the only NES game in this bunch of Nintendo Switch Online games, and has players becoming Mark Gray under the guise of Nightshade, who is the last person standing between Sutekh and total control of Metro City. The gameplay is a combination of point-and-click and action. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com. Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.