The Tom Cruise Mission Impossible franchise has lost many operatives over the years, not just to death but to mysterious saga exits -- like Jeremy Renner's William Brandt, Maggie Q's Zhen Li, and Paula Patton's Jane Carter. Though it's still a franchise with a lasting memory. Enough to bring back Ethan's ex, Michelle Monaghan's Julia, for 2018's Fallout anyhow. Now the series, which is the middle of shooting both its seventh and eighth installments back to back (written and directed by Christopher McQuarrie, who helmed both Rogue Nation and Fallout), is going all the way back to Brian De Palma's 1996 film to bring back an original face from Ethan's distant past. Check out McQuarrie's Twitter post from today...

There is no escaping the past...#MI7MI8 pic.twitter.com/FwZCsAlnqE

— Christopher McQuarrie (@chrismcquarrie) February 1, 2020

That's a picture of Henry Czerny as Kittridge from the first film - the franchise's first director of the Impossible Mission Force and the voice behind the Ethan's "this message will self-destruct" orders. With the image is the hashtag #MI7MI8, indicating that Kittridge will be part of both films! Kittridge served as a big obstacle for Ethan in the first movie as he believed Ethan was the mole behind the sabotage of his own team. The two of them met face to face in a restaurant and when Ethan realized he was about to be apprehended, he blew up a giant fish tank to escape. Visual effects supervisor of the Mission Impossible films, Todd Vaziri, posted this as well...

KITTRIDGE ALERT pic.twitter.com/BafJViZcTZ

— Todd Vaziri (@tvaziri) February 1, 2020

Genre fans will have most likely seen Henry Czerny recently in 2019's Ready or Not where he played the cultist patriarch of a tabletop gaming dynasty who attempts, with the rest of his family, to kill his son's new bride. He was also in HBO's 2018 miniseries Sharp Objects, starring Amy Adams. Czerny joins the already cast additions of the MCU's Hayley Atwell and Pom Klementieff, along with Joker's Shea Whigham and the X-Men saga's Nicholas Hoult. Mission: Impossible 7 is slated for release on July 23, 2021, while Mission: Impossible 8 is set for release on August 5, 2022. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=the-best-movies-you-probably-didnt-see-in-2019&captions=true"] [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.

The Tom Cruise Mission Impossible franchise has lost many operatives over the years, not just to death but to mysterious saga exits -- like Jeremy Renner's William Brandt, Maggie Q's Zhen Li, and Paula Patton's Jane Carter. Though it's still a franchise with a lasting memory. Enough to bring back Ethan's ex, Michelle Monaghan's Julia, for 2018's Fallout anyhow. Now the series, which is the middle of shooting both its seventh and eighth installments back to back (written and directed by Christopher McQuarrie, who helmed both Rogue Nation and Fallout), is going all the way back to Brian De Palma's 1996 film to bring back an original face from Ethan's distant past. Check out McQuarrie's Twitter post from today...

There is no escaping the past...#MI7MI8 pic.twitter.com/FwZCsAlnqE

— Christopher McQuarrie (@chrismcquarrie) February 1, 2020

That's a picture of Henry Czerny as Kittridge from the first film - the franchise's first director of the Impossible Mission Force and the voice behind the Ethan's "this message will self-destruct" orders. With the image is the hashtag #MI7MI8, indicating that Kittridge will be part of both films! Kittridge served as a big obstacle for Ethan in the first movie as he believed Ethan was the mole behind the sabotage of his own team. The two of them met face to face in a restaurant and when Ethan realized he was about to be apprehended, he blew up a giant fish tank to escape. Visual effects supervisor of the Mission Impossible films, Todd Vaziri, posted this as well...

KITTRIDGE ALERT pic.twitter.com/BafJViZcTZ

— Todd Vaziri (@tvaziri) February 1, 2020

Genre fans will have most likely seen Henry Czerny recently in 2019's Ready or Not where he played the cultist patriarch of a tabletop gaming dynasty who attempts, with the rest of his family, to kill his son's new bride. He was also in HBO's 2018 miniseries Sharp Objects, starring Amy Adams. Czerny joins the already cast additions of the MCU's Hayley Atwell and Pom Klementieff, along with Joker's Shea Whigham and the X-Men saga's Nicholas Hoult. Mission: Impossible 7 is slated for release on July 23, 2021, while Mission: Impossible 8 is set for release on August 5, 2022. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=the-best-movies-you-probably-didnt-see-in-2019&captions=true"] [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.

The Wonderful 101 may be getting a second chance at life, thanks to rumors of an upcoming PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch port. An initial report from GameXplain shared a video theorizing that the old Wii U title, The Wonderful 101, would be ported to current gen consoles. The theory was backed up today by Liam Robertson (via EuroGamer) of DYKGaming. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=8-wii-u-ports-we-need-on-switch&captions=true"] According to Robertson, The Wonderful 101 developers, PlatinumGames, pitched the Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 port to multiple publishers, but failed to find an interested party. In lieu of this, Platinum is expected to announce a Kickstarter aimed at gaining enough support to port the game to new platforms. Adding fuel to the speculation fire, Platinum Games posted a tweet featuring Hideki Kamiya, director of The Wonderful 101 (and Bayonetta, Okami, Devil May Cry). Notice the timestamp on the computer behind Kamiya reading 1:01, and the Switch to his left. While none of this has been confirmed by Platinum at the time of writing, Robertson shared that fans could expect an announcement as early as Monday, February 3. The Wonderful 101 released on the Wii U in 2013 and is an action-adventure hack and slash. In the game, players must explore different levels and recruit citizens to join their team of superheros. Further, as more superhero citizens join the fight, players can use a unique feature, known as "Unite Morphs" to turn into various objects and defeat enemies. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2013/09/06/ign-conversation-10-things-you-want-to-know-about-the-wonderful-101"] PlatinumGames already has a working relationship with Nintendo, as it released Astral Chain as a Switch exclusive last year and is expected to port Bayonetta 3 to the Switch later this year. The Wonderful 101 is one of the Wii U games that we could like to see ported to the Switch, be sure to check out some other games we are hoping for as well. In the meantime, if you need a refresher on the game, check out our review of The Wonderful 101. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Andrew Smith is a freelance contributor with IGN. Follow him on Twitter @_andrewtsmith.

The Wonderful 101 may be getting a second chance at life, thanks to rumors of an upcoming PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch port. An initial report from GameXplain shared a video theorizing that the old Wii U title, The Wonderful 101, would be ported to current gen consoles. The theory was backed up today by Liam Robertson (via EuroGamer) of DYKGaming. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=8-wii-u-ports-we-need-on-switch&captions=true"] According to Robertson, The Wonderful 101 developers, PlatinumGames, pitched the Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 port to multiple publishers, but failed to find an interested party. In lieu of this, Platinum is expected to announce a Kickstarter aimed at gaining enough support to port the game to new platforms. Adding fuel to the speculation fire, Platinum Games posted a tweet featuring Hideki Kamiya, director of The Wonderful 101 (and Bayonetta, Okami, Devil May Cry). Notice the timestamp on the computer behind Kamiya reading 1:01, and the Switch to his left. While none of this has been confirmed by Platinum at the time of writing, Robertson shared that fans could expect an announcement as early as Monday, February 3. The Wonderful 101 released on the Wii U in 2013 and is an action-adventure hack and slash. In the game, players must explore different levels and recruit citizens to join their team of superheros. Further, as more superhero citizens join the fight, players can use a unique feature, known as "Unite Morphs" to turn into various objects and defeat enemies. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2013/09/06/ign-conversation-10-things-you-want-to-know-about-the-wonderful-101"] PlatinumGames already has a working relationship with Nintendo, as it released Astral Chain as a Switch exclusive last year and is expected to port Bayonetta 3 to the Switch later this year. The Wonderful 101 is one of the Wii U games that we could like to see ported to the Switch, be sure to check out some other games we are hoping for as well. In the meantime, if you need a refresher on the game, check out our review of The Wonderful 101. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Andrew Smith is a freelance contributor with IGN. Follow him on Twitter @_andrewtsmith.

Alan Harris, the actor responsible for multiple minor (but no less significant) Star Wars roles, including the lizard-headed bounty hunter Bossk in The Empire Strikes Back, has died.

SYFY Wire obtained a comment from Harris’ appearance manager, stating that the actor had been dealing with undisclosed health problems but “loved and lived every moment to the fullest.”

 

Cathy Munroe, who similarly played the bounty hunter Zuckuss in Empire Strikes Back, issued a statement, saying Harris was “an incredible courageous man" whose "legacy will live on and he will always be fondly remembered."

Harris is most widely known for playing Bossk, the Trandoshan bounty hunter who joined Boba Fett and several others (including the robotic IG-88) in the hunt for Han Solo. That was far from Harris’ only Star Wars role, though. According to the actor’s IMDB page, the man also portrayed a member of Leia’s Rebel escort, as well as a Bespin security guard who can be briefly seen helping transport a frozen Han Solo. He also played an uncredited role as a stormtrooper in Return of the Jedi. Harris also doubled for Anthony Daniels as C-3PO. All this would make him one of the few actors outside of the core cast to appear in all three of the original trilogy movies.

[caption id="attachment_2296300" align="alignnone" width="432"] Bossk, the Trandoshan bounty hunter, from The Empire Strikes Back. As played by Alan Harris.[/caption]

Harris also got to play the role of a vervoid, a plant-like humanoid alien, over the course of several Doctor Who episodes. When the Star Wars prequel trilogy finally rolled around, Harris returned to double as the actor Terence Stamp, who played Supreme Chancellor Finis Valorum.

Though his acting career mainly comprised of playing an extra, Harris managed to do it in some of the biggest franchises and films in Hollywood. His IMDB page also lists minor credits for Flash Gordon, The Shining, Superman, and A Clockwork Orange.

[widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=top-10-best-star-wars-movie-moments&captions=true"]

Harris spent much of his retirement on the convention circuit, where he proved popular among diehard Star Wars fans, sharing stories of his time on Empire Strikes Back.

Original Boba Fett actor Jeremy Bulloch shared a statement on Facebook reflecting on his friendship with Harris, according to the Boba Fett Fan Club Twitter page.

“We were so sorry to hear about Alan Harris - he was one of the nicest guys we have met - and he was so modest and so very good with all the fans - he will be greatly missed,” a statement from Jeremy and wife Maureen Bulloch read.

Harris was 81 years old.

[widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=star-wars-40-pieces-of-obscure-trivia&captions=true"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Joseph Knoop is a writer/producer for IGN.

Alan Harris, the actor responsible for multiple minor (but no less significant) Star Wars roles, including the lizard-headed bounty hunter Bossk in The Empire Strikes Back, has died.

SYFY Wire obtained a comment from Harris’ appearance manager, stating that the actor had been dealing with undisclosed health problems but “loved and lived every moment to the fullest.”

 

Cathy Munroe, who similarly played the bounty hunter Zuckuss in Empire Strikes Back, issued a statement, saying Harris was “an incredible courageous man" whose "legacy will live on and he will always be fondly remembered."

Harris is most widely known for playing Bossk, the Trandoshan bounty hunter who joined Boba Fett and several others (including the robotic IG-88) in the hunt for Han Solo. That was far from Harris’ only Star Wars role, though. According to the actor’s IMDB page, the man also portrayed a member of Leia’s Rebel escort, as well as a Bespin security guard who can be briefly seen helping transport a frozen Han Solo. He also played an uncredited role as a stormtrooper in Return of the Jedi. Harris also doubled for Anthony Daniels as C-3PO. All this would make him one of the few actors outside of the core cast to appear in all three of the original trilogy movies.

[caption id="attachment_2296300" align="alignnone" width="432"] Bossk, the Trandoshan bounty hunter, from The Empire Strikes Back. As played by Alan Harris.[/caption]

Harris also got to play the role of a vervoid, a plant-like humanoid alien, over the course of several Doctor Who episodes. When the Star Wars prequel trilogy finally rolled around, Harris returned to double as the actor Terence Stamp, who played Supreme Chancellor Finis Valorum.

Though his acting career mainly comprised of playing an extra, Harris managed to do it in some of the biggest franchises and films in Hollywood. His IMDB page also lists minor credits for Flash Gordon, The Shining, Superman, and A Clockwork Orange.

[widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=top-10-best-star-wars-movie-moments&captions=true"]

Harris spent much of his retirement on the convention circuit, where he proved popular among diehard Star Wars fans, sharing stories of his time on Empire Strikes Back.

Original Boba Fett actor Jeremy Bulloch shared a statement on Facebook reflecting on his friendship with Harris, according to the Boba Fett Fan Club Twitter page.

“We were so sorry to hear about Alan Harris - he was one of the nicest guys we have met - and he was so modest and so very good with all the fans - he will be greatly missed,” a statement from Jeremy and wife Maureen Bulloch read.

Harris was 81 years old.

[widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=star-wars-40-pieces-of-obscure-trivia&captions=true"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Joseph Knoop is a writer/producer for IGN.

Sometimes nostalgia clips are just too good, and too hilarious, not to share, so here's a slice of viral-ness from this past week. With the internet in its infancy, the '90s were flooded with movies about hacking and the untapped potential of cyberspace - like Sneakers, Disclosure, The Net, Johnny Mnemonic, and - naturally, 1995's Hackers ("Hack the Planet!"). Enter Julia Stiles' recurring character on PBS' Ghostwriter, Erica Dansby - a no-nonsense hardcore hacker all about that cyber life. In this clip from the four-part story, "Who Is Max Mouse?," a hacker disrupts the school's computer system, causing our heroes to get a "crash course in the internet in its cruder and more basic form, including chat rooms and bulletin boards." Here's the clip, as shared by critic D. Patrick Rogers on Twitter...

Julia Stiles as the school newspaper’s cyberpunk editor-in-chief on a 1994 episode of ‘Ghostwriter.’ I will never get tired of this clip. pic.twitter.com/Nzb8q0gwRq

— d. patrick rodgers (@dpatrickrodgers) January 29, 2020

"Can you jam with the console cowboys in cyberspace?" Suffice to say, the moment when Erica looks longingly at her desktop monitor and says "It's a world where you're judged by what you say and think, not what you look like. A world where curiosity and imagination equals power" is everything. If only we viewed the internet with such awe and glowing admiration these days. Ghostwriter was a mid-90s children's mystery that ran on PBS, about a team of young detectives who solve crimes with the help of an invisible ghost named Ghostwriter. This past fall it was announced that a Ghostwriter reboot series was in the works at Apple TV+. Anyhow, back to your regularly scheduled internet. Thank you for indulging in this detour. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=every-tv-show-coming-to-apple&captions=true"] [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.

Sometimes nostalgia clips are just too good, and too hilarious, not to share, so here's a slice of viral-ness from this past week. With the internet in its infancy, the '90s were flooded with movies about hacking and the untapped potential of cyberspace - like Sneakers, Disclosure, The Net, Johnny Mnemonic, and - naturally, 1995's Hackers ("Hack the Planet!"). Enter Julia Stiles' recurring character on PBS' Ghostwriter, Erica Dansby - a no-nonsense hardcore hacker all about that cyber life. In this clip from the four-part story, "Who Is Max Mouse?," a hacker disrupts the school's computer system, causing our heroes to get a "crash course in the internet in its cruder and more basic form, including chat rooms and bulletin boards." Here's the clip, as shared by critic D. Patrick Rogers on Twitter...

Julia Stiles as the school newspaper’s cyberpunk editor-in-chief on a 1994 episode of ‘Ghostwriter.’ I will never get tired of this clip. pic.twitter.com/Nzb8q0gwRq

— d. patrick rodgers (@dpatrickrodgers) January 29, 2020

"Can you jam with the console cowboys in cyberspace?" Suffice to say, the moment when Erica looks longingly at her desktop monitor and says "It's a world where you're judged by what you say and think, not what you look like. A world where curiosity and imagination equals power" is everything. If only we viewed the internet with such awe and glowing admiration these days. Ghostwriter was a mid-90s children's mystery that ran on PBS, about a team of young detectives who solve crimes with the help of an invisible ghost named Ghostwriter. This past fall it was announced that a Ghostwriter reboot series was in the works at Apple TV+. Anyhow, back to your regularly scheduled internet. Thank you for indulging in this detour. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=every-tv-show-coming-to-apple&captions=true"] [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.

Though it's already established that Todd Phillips' Oscar-nominated Joker has no connection to the current slate of Warner Bros.'s DC Extended Universe, it doesn't stop fans from wondering how Joaquin Phoenix's Arthur Fleck, and his murderous machinations as the Joker, might fit in with that cinematic world. The DCEU's Harley Quinn, played by Margot Robbie in 2017's Suicide Squad and the upcoming Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn), has a history with the Joker played by Jared Leto...but would she gel well with Phoenix's Fleck? During an interview with the U.K.'s Capital FM, Robbie gave her thoughts on this hypothetical pairing. "I think they exist in two very different worlds," she said. "Todd Phillips's Gotham and this Gotham [are] very different. I don't know how you'd bridge that gap." [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=birds-of-prey-movie-images&captions=true"] "She'd drive him insane," Robbie continued. "She'd be on the other side of the fridge, like 'here.' 'J-puddin, whatcha doin?' And he’s like ‘'I just need a minute, I’m going through a lot of s***.’" The first reactions from those who saw an advance screening of Birds of Prey praised the actions scenes along with stars Margot Robbie and Ewan McGregor while Robbie also recently explained why Black Mask was the villain of the piece and not Joker. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/01/30/birds-of-prey-you-lost-something-right-clip"] For more on Black Mask, read our explainer on the villain’s DC Comics backstory as well as our breakdown of the Birds of Prey’s comic book history. And for more on Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn), learn about the film’s surprising video game connection as well as how the film differs from 2019’s Joker. [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.

Though it's already established that Todd Phillips' Oscar-nominated Joker has no connection to the current slate of Warner Bros.'s DC Extended Universe, it doesn't stop fans from wondering how Joaquin Phoenix's Arthur Fleck, and his murderous machinations as the Joker, might fit in with that cinematic world. The DCEU's Harley Quinn, played by Margot Robbie in 2017's Suicide Squad and the upcoming Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn), has a history with the Joker played by Jared Leto...but would she gel well with Phoenix's Fleck? During an interview with the U.K.'s Capital FM, Robbie gave her thoughts on this hypothetical pairing. "I think they exist in two very different worlds," she said. "Todd Phillips's Gotham and this Gotham [are] very different. I don't know how you'd bridge that gap." [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=birds-of-prey-movie-images&captions=true"] "She'd drive him insane," Robbie continued. "She'd be on the other side of the fridge, like 'here.' 'J-puddin, whatcha doin?' And he’s like ‘'I just need a minute, I’m going through a lot of s***.’" The first reactions from those who saw an advance screening of Birds of Prey praised the actions scenes along with stars Margot Robbie and Ewan McGregor while Robbie also recently explained why Black Mask was the villain of the piece and not Joker. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/01/30/birds-of-prey-you-lost-something-right-clip"] For more on Black Mask, read our explainer on the villain’s DC Comics backstory as well as our breakdown of the Birds of Prey’s comic book history. And for more on Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn), learn about the film’s surprising video game connection as well as how the film differs from 2019’s Joker. [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.