The Last of Us Part II: Capturing Wrapped for Ellie and Joel
Update 4/18: Following yesterday’s update that the final scene for The Last of Us Part II has been shot using performance capture, the last scene with Joel and Ellie is now finished as well, and “the most ambitious cinematic shoot” ever for Naughty Dog has wrapped.
Posted by writer and director Neil Druckmann on Twitter, the announcement comes with a picture of Joel actor Troy Baker and Ellie actress Ashley Johnson in their motion capture suits with a champagne flute in hand. Druckmann included the caption "And that’s a wrap on Ellie, Joel, and the most ambitious cinematic shoot we’ve ever done. Tears were shed...”
Halo TV Series Finds Its Master Chief
Showtime's Halo TV series has found its Master Chief in Emmy-nominated actor Pablo Schreiber (Orange Is the New Black, First Man).
According to Showtime, Schreiber will play "Earth's most advanced warrior in the 26th century and the only hope of salvation for a civilization pushed to the brink of destruction by the Covenant, an unstoppable alliance of alien worlds committed to the destruction of humanity."
Showtime also announced that "newcomer Yerin Ha will play a new character within the Halo world: Quan Ah, a shrewd, audacious 16-year-old from the Outer Colonies who meets Master Chief at a fateful time for them both. The series is produced by Showtime in partnership with 343 Industries, along with Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Television and will begin production this fall in Budapest, Hungary."
IGN’s Up at Noon Returns on 4/20!
We're incredibly excited to announce that starting this weekend, Up at Noon is returning to IGN and YouTube! For years, Up at Noon has served as IGN's weekly definitive pop culture variety show covering games, entertainment, toys, and more. After a brief hiatus (that felt like forever) and hundreds of requests, we've decided to bring the show back. We're rebooting the format a bit but sticking with the show's pledge to cover everything from Star Wars, comic book movies, video games, action figure and statue unboxings, celebrity interviews, and more - all through the filters of our weird, passionate, irreverent brains.
Everything We Know About Days Gone
With God of War, Horizon Zero Dawn, Marvel's Spider-Man, and Uncharted 4, over the past two years Sony has solidified its position as this generation's premier publisher of single-player games. And next week, it hopes to build upon this reputation with Days Gone, an open-world, single-player action-adventure from Bend Studio.
With its release date just around the corner, we've compiled everything we know about Days Gone, from its announcement at E3 2016 to our latest hands-on impressions.
The Announcement
Sony first mentioned the game that would become Days Gone in late 2015, when PlayStation Game Development Head Scott Rohde referred to Studio Bend's next game as its "shining moment." Less than a month later, Sony filed a trademark for "Days Gone."
DC Reportedly Shuts Down Swamp Thing, Cuts Season 1 Short
James Wan's upcoming Swamp Thing has reportedly shut down production on Season 1 prior to the expected completion, according to local newspaper, Wilmington Star News where the filming is taking place, and reported by ScreenRant.
The shutdown is said to be happening due to Warner Bros. wanting to reevaluate its upcoming DC Universe streaming service, where Swamp Thing was planned to premiere on May 31.
The season has also been reduced from 13 episodes to 10, with local crew told on Tuesday night about the abrupt change. After production wraps on episode 10, writers and producers will reportedly rewrite the ending.
Assassin’s Creed Unity Free for PC in Honor of Notre-Dame
Following Monday’s devastating fire that destroyed large portions of the Notre-Dame de Paris, Ubisoft has decided to donate €500,000 to help with its restoration and reconstruction, and is even offering Assassin’s Creed Unity for free on PC via Uplay in honor of the famed cathedral.
Ubisoft announced this news on its official website, writing "As the smoke clears on the events that unfolded on Monday at the Notre-Dame de Paris, we stand in solidarité with our fellow Parisians and everyone around the world moved by the devastation the fire caused. Notre-Dame is an integral part of Paris, a city to which we are deeply connected. Seeing the monument in peril like this affected us all."
Why That Jon Snow Moment Probably Won’t Mean What You Think
This interview contains spoilers for the Game of Thrones Season 8 premiere, "Winterfell." If you haven't caught up, here's how to watch Game of Thrones Season 8.
In the Game of Thrones Season 8 premiere, Jon Snow finally learned about his true identity as Aegon Targaryen, son of Rhaegar and Lyanna, and rightful heir to the Iron Throne. But his biggest issue with the news wasn't that he's inadvertently been bumping dragons with his aunt - it's that his "father," Ned Stark, lied to him his whole life, and that he considers it treason to suggest anyone other than Daenerys should rule Westeros.
Netflix’s The Witcher to Premiere in Late 2019
Netflix's new TV series, The Witcher, will launch on the streaming platform sometime toward the end of 2019, according to a Netflix earnings call, as reported by Variety.
Chief Content Officer, Ted Sarandos, said their line-up for the third-quarter consists of their most watched shows on Netflix, such as Stranger Things, Orange is the New Black, and Casa de Papel.
Fourth quarter – which runs from October to December – will see larger film investmentslike Irishman, 6 Underground, and the live-action adaptation of The Witcher series, Sarandos said.
Sarandos said The Witcher, which they are currently shooting in Hungary, is, "an enormous European IP, very popular game and Book IP, that we think is going to make a really fun global series."
Rage 2 Final Preview – IGN First
Above anything else, Rage 2 is about having fun. Sure, pretty much all games are in one way or another, but this one is fundamentally built around empowering you to enjoy yourself. Its creative weaponry, the carnage of its combo system, and the freedom of its open world give you loads of options and then get out of your way. And while the extent of that world and the quality of the story in it remain to be seen, boy was it sure fun to be in.
I had the pleasure of running around Rage 2’s wasteland for a couple of hours last week, and I’m happy to say that a massive part of what actually made it so enjoyable was is its guns. While Avalanche Studios of Just Cause fame is the main developer behind it and that influence comes through loud and clear, the gunplay also feels punchy and fast in the way you’d hope from a modern id Software game, with slick movements abilities like an omnidirectional dash to play with.
Jurassic World Ride Reveals Terrifying Mosasaurus
Universal Studios Hollywood’s upcoming Jurassic World - The Ride will feature appearances from some of the biggest, hungriest dinosaurs from the franchise, and we just got our first look at the Mosasaurus, which you’ll remember is the massive aquatic dino.
See the Mosasaurus in action by watching the trailer below:
The ride is set during the time of the first Jurassic World movie right as the Indominus rex escapes. As you can see from the brief footage, the ride will have guests pile into a raft to take a tour of Jurassic World, but, naturally, things go horribly awry. The ride will also see appearances from the docile Stegosaurus and Parasaurolophus and the predatory Velociraptors and Dilophosaurus, and of course the Tyrannosaurus rex. Eventually, in an effort to flee from the dinosaurs, the raft will plummet down an 84-foot waterfall.