Batwoman Showrunner Explains the Decision to Not Recast Kate Kane Character
Following the news that Batwoman lead Ruby Rose is leaving the series, The CW is reportedly looking to replace Kate Kane with an entirely new character for Season 2.
After a (now deleted) casting call leaked on Reddit -- a search for a "Ryan Wilder" (though it is not clear whether this is a placeholder name), who is "likeable, messy, a little goofy and untamed" and "nothing like Kate Kane, the woman who wore the batsuit before her" -- Batwoman showrunner/EP Caroline Dries spoke to Give Me My Remote about the decision to go forward with a new character instead of recasting the lead.
"I did consider the soap opera version for a hot minute, selfishly, because we had a couple episodes already written, and transition-wise, it would be seamless [since] we already started breaking season 2," Dries said. "But upon further reflection, and [EP] Greg [Berlanti] helped me make this call -- and he’s way smarter than me about this sort of stuff -- he’s like ‘You know, I think we should just reboot the character in terms of reboot Batwoman as a different character.’ Just to also respect everything that Ruby [Rose] put into the Kate Kane character."
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Dries also stated that she hopes "Ryan Wilder" will help fans accept that it's someone else in Batwoman's costume. "I just think it helps the audience a little bit, too," she said, "that we’re not asking them to not address the elephant in the room. I’m inventing a whole new character. In her past, she was inspired by Batwoman. She is going to take on the mantle and is completely maybe not be the right person at the time to be doing it. That’s what makes it fun."
The "Ryan Wilder" character description went on to read "With no one in her life to keep her on track, Ryan spent years as a drug-runner, dodging the GCPD and masking her pain with bad habits. A girl who would steal milk for an alley cat could also kill you with her bare hands, Ryan is the most dangerous type of fighter: highly skilled and wildly undisciplined. An out lesbian. Athletic. Raw. Passionate. Fallible. And very much not your stereotypical All-American hero."
Check out our recent review of Batwoman's season finale as well as our full review of Season 1. Plus, here's a closer look at all the ways the Batwoman might change in Season 2.
[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2018/09/24/batwoman-explained-how-the-batman-love-interest-became-a-lgbtq-icon"]
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Matt Fowler is a writer for IGN and a member of the Television Critics Association. Follow him on Twitter at @TheMattFowler and Facebook at Facebook.com/MattBFowler.
Batwoman Showrunner Explains the Decision to Not Recast Kate Kane Character
Following the news that Batwoman lead Ruby Rose is leaving the series, The CW is reportedly looking to replace Kate Kane with an entirely new character for Season 2.
After a (now deleted) casting call leaked on Reddit -- a search for a "Ryan Wilder" (though it is not clear whether this is a placeholder name), who is "likeable, messy, a little goofy and untamed" and "nothing like Kate Kane, the woman who wore the batsuit before her" -- Batwoman showrunner/EP Caroline Dries spoke to Give Me My Remote about the decision to go forward with a new character instead of recasting the lead.
"I did consider the soap opera version for a hot minute, selfishly, because we had a couple episodes already written, and transition-wise, it would be seamless [since] we already started breaking season 2," Dries said. "But upon further reflection, and [EP] Greg [Berlanti] helped me make this call -- and he’s way smarter than me about this sort of stuff -- he’s like ‘You know, I think we should just reboot the character in terms of reboot Batwoman as a different character.’ Just to also respect everything that Ruby [Rose] put into the Kate Kane character."
[widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=tv-shows-that-killed-off-a-main-character&captions=true"]
Dries also stated that she hopes "Ryan Wilder" will help fans accept that it's someone else in Batwoman's costume. "I just think it helps the audience a little bit, too," she said, "that we’re not asking them to not address the elephant in the room. I’m inventing a whole new character. In her past, she was inspired by Batwoman. She is going to take on the mantle and is completely maybe not be the right person at the time to be doing it. That’s what makes it fun."
The "Ryan Wilder" character description went on to read "With no one in her life to keep her on track, Ryan spent years as a drug-runner, dodging the GCPD and masking her pain with bad habits. A girl who would steal milk for an alley cat could also kill you with her bare hands, Ryan is the most dangerous type of fighter: highly skilled and wildly undisciplined. An out lesbian. Athletic. Raw. Passionate. Fallible. And very much not your stereotypical All-American hero."
Check out our recent review of Batwoman's season finale as well as our full review of Season 1. Plus, here's a closer look at all the ways the Batwoman might change in Season 2.
[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2018/09/24/batwoman-explained-how-the-batman-love-interest-became-a-lgbtq-icon"]
[poilib element="accentDivider"]
Matt Fowler is a writer for IGN and a member of the Television Critics Association. Follow him on Twitter at @TheMattFowler and Facebook at Facebook.com/MattBFowler.
EA Sports Takes Stronger Stance Against Racist Usernames, Especially in NHL Games
EA Sports has announced that it will take a more active stance against racism in its various sports titles, particularly in the EA NHL series.
EA was one of many game companies to come out in support of the Black community this week but some viewed the company’s statement as being hypocritical. This is because of the rampant racism present in its sports games, particularly the NHL series.
The r/EA_NHL subreddit has been filled with users highlighting instances of racist usernames that appear to have only grown in numbers these past weeks. Especially concerning are the racist usernames that directly reference the death of George Floyd.
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“NHL 20 might be one of the most racist communities I’ve ever been apart of,” wrote one Reddit user in a now-locked thread published almost a month ago. The user reported facing off against user-created teams with blatantly racist team names and bemoaned EA’s lack of a meaningful reporting tool. “Nobody laughs at them, it’s just next to impossible to report this stuff,” responded one user. “EA doesn’t have the systems in place to properly do so.” Now EA appears to be in the process of developing those tools. In a statement published on its official EA Sports Twitter account, the company wrote: “We’re constantly taking action to maintain a culture of inclusion. Toxic behavior changes and evolves rapidly and we recognize that we need to do more to actively monitor and remove those individuals who perpetuate racist, xenophobic, homophobic or sexist behaviors in our games.” The company promises to review its term list to ensure filters are “comprehensive and accounts for various languages, dialects and slang. This is something we will review and expand upon regularly.”— EA SPORTS (@EASPORTS) June 5, 2020EA also says it’s “adding more tools in-game to increase the reporting functionality to make it easier and more seamless for players to report toxic behavior as it occurs and for our teams to remove the content and offenders,” as well as increase the “frequency of reviewing offenses with the goal of acting more quickly to remove it from our games.” The company also made a special announcement to the EA NHL community, which appears to be the only EA Sports game to receive its own dedicated message.
— EA SPORTS NHL (@EASPORTSNHL) June 6, 2020“Chel shouldn’t be a place for any form of hatred, bigotry or racism. We have manually actioned on thousands of accounts to date, but it hasn’t been enough, and that’s on us.” EA says it will deliver “harsher penalties to anyone with offensive content,” bolster “resources to monitor and action on more accounts,” strengthen its profanity filters and create “new in-game functionality for future titles that will allow players to report and send any abusive material directly to our team.” “This is only the beginning. We want to be a force in promoting inclusive and equal hockey culture and we will continue to take the proper steps towards achieving that.” The move follows Infinity Ward which announced that it too will strengthen its policies against racist and hateful usernames players create for online matches. These actions follow an industry-wide stance against racism following the death of George Floyd. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt Kim is a reporter for IGN.
EA Sports Takes Stronger Stance Against Racist Usernames, Especially in NHL Games
EA Sports has announced that it will take a more active stance against racism in its various sports titles, particularly in the EA NHL series.
EA was one of many game companies to come out in support of the Black community this week but some viewed the company’s statement as being hypocritical. This is because of the rampant racism present in its sports games, particularly the NHL series.
The r/EA_NHL subreddit has been filled with users highlighting instances of racist usernames that appear to have only grown in numbers these past weeks. Especially concerning are the racist usernames that directly reference the death of George Floyd.
[widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=every-ign-nhl-review-ever&captions=true"]
“NHL 20 might be one of the most racist communities I’ve ever been apart of,” wrote one Reddit user in a now-locked thread published almost a month ago. The user reported facing off against user-created teams with blatantly racist team names and bemoaned EA’s lack of a meaningful reporting tool. “Nobody laughs at them, it’s just next to impossible to report this stuff,” responded one user. “EA doesn’t have the systems in place to properly do so.” Now EA appears to be in the process of developing those tools. In a statement published on its official EA Sports Twitter account, the company wrote: “We’re constantly taking action to maintain a culture of inclusion. Toxic behavior changes and evolves rapidly and we recognize that we need to do more to actively monitor and remove those individuals who perpetuate racist, xenophobic, homophobic or sexist behaviors in our games.” The company promises to review its term list to ensure filters are “comprehensive and accounts for various languages, dialects and slang. This is something we will review and expand upon regularly.”— EA SPORTS (@EASPORTS) June 5, 2020EA also says it’s “adding more tools in-game to increase the reporting functionality to make it easier and more seamless for players to report toxic behavior as it occurs and for our teams to remove the content and offenders,” as well as increase the “frequency of reviewing offenses with the goal of acting more quickly to remove it from our games.” The company also made a special announcement to the EA NHL community, which appears to be the only EA Sports game to receive its own dedicated message.
— EA SPORTS NHL (@EASPORTSNHL) June 6, 2020“Chel shouldn’t be a place for any form of hatred, bigotry or racism. We have manually actioned on thousands of accounts to date, but it hasn’t been enough, and that’s on us.” EA says it will deliver “harsher penalties to anyone with offensive content,” bolster “resources to monitor and action on more accounts,” strengthen its profanity filters and create “new in-game functionality for future titles that will allow players to report and send any abusive material directly to our team.” “This is only the beginning. We want to be a force in promoting inclusive and equal hockey culture and we will continue to take the proper steps towards achieving that.” The move follows Infinity Ward which announced that it too will strengthen its policies against racist and hateful usernames players create for online matches. These actions follow an industry-wide stance against racism following the death of George Floyd. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt Kim is a reporter for IGN.
Valorant Review – For Your Tactical Consideration
Think Counter-Strike with hero elements. That's the elevator pitch for Valorant, Riot Games' debut on the competitive first-person shooter scene. I say that not to disparage Valorant, though. In fact, that's what I love most about it, especially since it executes on the formula extremely well. Valorant thrives because of tight, tactical gameplay and a mix of character-based abilities that provide a necessary strategic layer. Although it's a slim package with limited features and barren presentation, Valorant has the potential to be great.
The core mode of Valorant revolves around five-on-five matches in a best of 25 rounds with two teams of attackers and defenders of bomb sites, switching sides about halfway through. The stakes are high as everyone gets only one life per round, and the focus on precise gunplay with low time-to-kill leaves little margin for error. Teams must account for buying guns, armor, and ability charges based on money allocated (depending on performance) on a per-round basis. In turn, each round maintains a high level of intensity as the tide of advantage can shift at any moment.
Agents introduce an essential X-factor to the mix with their unique abilities as well. While it's easy to compare them to heroes/classes from other games, Valorant's Agent abilities function more like gear in a loadout. Two are subject to limited uses per round (but thankfully carry over even if you're killed) while a default ability subject to cooldown or replenish upon kills. Knowing how and when to execute these abilities, including Ultimates that can come in clutch, is key especially for highly competitive matches.
Continue Reading at GameSpotValorant Review – For Your Tactical Consideration
Think Counter-Strike with hero elements. That's the elevator pitch for Valorant, Riot Games' debut on the competitive first-person shooter scene. I say that not to disparage Valorant, though. In fact, that's what I love most about it, especially since it executes on the formula extremely well. Valorant thrives because of tight, tactical gameplay and a mix of character-based abilities that provide a necessary strategic layer. Although it's a slim package with limited features and barren presentation, Valorant has the potential to be great.
The core mode of Valorant revolves around five-on-five matches in a best of 25 rounds with two teams of attackers and defenders of bomb sites, switching sides about halfway through. The stakes are high as everyone gets only one life per round, and the focus on precise gunplay with low time-to-kill leaves little margin for error. Teams must account for buying guns, armor, and ability charges based on money allocated (depending on performance) on a per-round basis. In turn, each round maintains a high level of intensity as the tide of advantage can shift at any moment.
Agents introduce an essential X-factor to the mix with their unique abilities as well. While it's easy to compare them to heroes/classes from other games, Valorant's Agent abilities function more like gear in a loadout. Two are subject to limited uses per round (but thankfully carry over even if you're killed) while a default ability subject to cooldown or replenish upon kills. Knowing how and when to execute these abilities, including Ultimates that can come in clutch, is key especially for highly competitive matches.
Continue Reading at GameSpotIGN’s Summer of Gaming Will Now Begin on June 10
IGN's Summer of Gaming will kick off on June 10, with four days of IGN Expo events to come.
IGN’s Summer of Gaming Will Now Begin on June 10
IGN's Summer of Gaming will kick off on June 10, with four days of IGN Expo events to come.
Fantastic 4 Director’s Biggest Regret Is About the Casting of Sue Storm
Fantastic Four director Josh Trank says his biggest regret about his infamous 2015 comic book movie is that he backed down over his intent to cast a black actress as Susan Storm, aka the Invisible Woman, after receiving "pretty heavy pushback" from studio 20th Century Fox.
In a chat with Geeks of Color, Trank revealed he wanted the entire Storm family to be played by black actors. In the end, Michael B. Jordan played Johnny Storm opposite Reg E. Cathey as his dad Franklin Storm, with Kate Mara cast as Sue, Franklin's adopted daughter.
While Trank didn't name any particular actress he had in mind for the role of Sue, he said he was "embarrassed" with himself for backing down from his principles and said he should have just quit the movie right then.
[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2016/08/24/kate-mara-is-game-for-a-fantastic-four-sequel"]
"There was a lot of controversial conversations that were had behind the scenes on that," Trank said. "I was mostly interested in a black Sue Storm and a black Johnny Storm and a black Franklin Storm. But when you're dealing with a studio on a massive movie like that, everyone wants to keep an open mind to like who the big stars are going to be. Like, maybe it'll be Margot Robbie or something like that. But when it came down to it I found a lot of pretty heavy pushback on casting a black woman in that role."
Trank said that, in hindsight, he should have parted ways with the project -- a film which went on to be a commercial and critical failure, with its stories of behind-the-scenes drama tainting the young director's once-promising career.
"I feel bad that I didn't take it to the mat with that issue. Yeah, I feel like I failed in that regard," Trank said. "If there's one regret that I have -- and I've talked a lot about not having any regrets -- it's that one issue."
[widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=7-milestones-for-black-superheroes-on-screen&captions=true"]
With his new movie Capone now on VOD, Josh Trank has been opening up a lot recently about his grueling experience thus far in Hollywood, revealing he has no interest in a "Trank Cut" of Fantastic Four, how Fantastic Four made him bitter toward James Gunn and superhero movies, and the real reason why he left the Boba Fett movie.
Fantastic 4 Director’s Biggest Regret Is About the Casting of Sue Storm
Fantastic Four director Josh Trank says his biggest regret about his infamous 2015 comic book movie is that he backed down over his intent to cast a black actress as Susan Storm, aka the Invisible Woman, after receiving "pretty heavy pushback" from studio 20th Century Fox.
In a chat with Geeks of Color, Trank revealed he wanted the entire Storm family to be played by black actors. In the end, Michael B. Jordan played Johnny Storm opposite Reg E. Cathey as his dad Franklin Storm, with Kate Mara cast as Sue, Franklin's adopted daughter.
While Trank didn't name any particular actress he had in mind for the role of Sue, he said he was "embarrassed" with himself for backing down from his principles and said he should have just quit the movie right then.
[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2016/08/24/kate-mara-is-game-for-a-fantastic-four-sequel"]
"There was a lot of controversial conversations that were had behind the scenes on that," Trank said. "I was mostly interested in a black Sue Storm and a black Johnny Storm and a black Franklin Storm. But when you're dealing with a studio on a massive movie like that, everyone wants to keep an open mind to like who the big stars are going to be. Like, maybe it'll be Margot Robbie or something like that. But when it came down to it I found a lot of pretty heavy pushback on casting a black woman in that role."
Trank said that, in hindsight, he should have parted ways with the project -- a film which went on to be a commercial and critical failure, with its stories of behind-the-scenes drama tainting the young director's once-promising career.
"I feel bad that I didn't take it to the mat with that issue. Yeah, I feel like I failed in that regard," Trank said. "If there's one regret that I have -- and I've talked a lot about not having any regrets -- it's that one issue."
[widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=7-milestones-for-black-superheroes-on-screen&captions=true"]
With his new movie Capone now on VOD, Josh Trank has been opening up a lot recently about his grueling experience thus far in Hollywood, revealing he has no interest in a "Trank Cut" of Fantastic Four, how Fantastic Four made him bitter toward James Gunn and superhero movies, and the real reason why he left the Boba Fett movie.