Don’t Expect Andy Serkis as Gollum in Amazon’s Lord of the Rings Series
It sounds like Andy Serkis won't reprise his role as Gollum for Amazon's The Lord of the Rings series.
In an interview with CinemaBlend, Serkis revealed he's not interested in playing the character again for the show, which is said to be set before the original trilogy.
"Oh boy, listen, I mean ... I don't think so," Serkis said, when asked if he'll return as Gollum. "And if I was anyone making those, they're obviously going to want to start fresh and create something brand new. And that's how it should be."
Serkis elaborated further, saying the creative team behind the series should want to go in a new direction with a new story and characters.
NBA Playgrounds 2 Delayed
NBA Playgrounds 2 won't release on May 22 as originally planned.
Saber Interactive announced the delay on the official NBA Playgrounds Facebook account. The developer said the sequel was pushed back because "there are exciting things brewing with the NBA Playgrounds franchise that we think will take arcade basketball to new levels."
However, details are sparse on exactly what those things are. "Please be patient with us, we promise that NBA Playgrounds 2 will be better than ever. We’ll have more details to share soon," Saber added in the statement.
Every TV Show Canceled So Far This Year
We're keeping a running tally on all of the TV shows canceled in 2018 so far. Since we first made our list back in May, thirty-seven more shows have been put on the chopping block.
Some of these cancelations were due to low ratings, while others, like ABC's popular Roseanne revival, were axed because of off-screen controversies. In recent news, Netflix canceled Marvel's Daredevil after three seasons, painting a dark picture for the future of the Marvel/Netflix universe.
How Paul Bettany Landed His Solo: A Star Wars Story Role
Paul Bettany landed his role in Solo: A Star Wars Story by sending a hilarious text message to director Ron Howard.
“Have you ever spent long winter evenings wondering why you’re not in the Star Wars franchise? I have,” Bettany wrote to Howard, as revealed on The Tonight Show (via EW). The director replied, “LOL I’ll get back to you.”
Howard did eventually get back to him, and the actor was on set a few weeks later. Bettany said if he hadn't sent the text, he would've never nabbed the role of crime boss Dryden Vos.
The Division 2 Will Launch Within a Year
The Division 2 will arrive before April 2019.
Ubisoft revealed the time frame for the sequel in the company's 2017-18 earnings report. The Division 2 was announced in March, though details were sparse at the time. E3 next month is set to be the game's big unveiling.
Now The Division 2, along with The Crew 2, won't be the only big games for the company within the next 12 months. Ubisoft also mentions "an unannounced franchise title" will come out before April.
God of War Proves Wonder Woman Needs a AAA Game
With the new God of War game releasing to rave reviews, quite a few people are saying that its success is proof that Marvel’s Thor needs his own game. While that’s an understandable reaction, there’s a different hero who is far more deserving: DC’s Wonder Woman. She naturally lends herself to the video game experience with her wide array of tools for fighting evil, her deep mythology full of gods and monsters, and a recent comic book run that’s essentially a ready-to-use blueprint on how to make her game one worthy of the gods.
There’s little wonder why many have said that God of War proves Thor needs his own game because, well, God of War is pretty much a Thor game. On the surface, anyway. Kratos journeys through the realms of Norse mythology, clashes with their legendary figures and creatures, and he even uses an enchanted axe that he can magically summon back to his hand, just like Thor’s Mjolnir.
Kingdom Hearts 3 Feels Like a True Next Step in the Series
Kingdom Hearts captured my imagination way back in 2002. And it’s continued to do so in the 16 years between it and Kingdom Hearts 3 thanks to its unique ability to capture Disney magic, put me in the middle of it through the keyblade swings of Sora, and tell a ridiculous tale full of endearing characters. Square Enix has released one numbered sequel and plenty of spinoffs that deepened, and sometimes muddied, the mythology, but only a few have captured the magic that captivated me as a kid.
If the extended demo I played on both PS4 and Xbox One ahead of E3 is any indication, Kingdom Hearts 3 looks to be a true evolution of the franchise, recapturing that magic by taking all those various offshoots and experiments and melding them into a cohesive, exciting whole.
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POW! Entertainment Responds to Stan Lee’s $1 Billion Lawsuit
POW! Entertainment has called Stan Lee's $1 billion lawsuit "preposterous," saying he "clearly understood" what he was signing,
"The complaint is completely without merit," reads the statement from Camsing International (the Hong Kong company that controls POW!) to Variety. "In particular, the notion that Mr. Lee did not knowingly grant POW! Entertainment the exclusive rights to his creative works or his identity is so preposterous that the Company has to wonder whether Mr. Lee is personally behind this lawsuit."
Earlier this week, it was reported that Stan Lee was suing POW! Entertainment on the grounds that the company he co-founded stole his name and likeness to sell POW! to a Chinese company, saying that the terms were never disclosed to him. He also accused POW! CEO Shane Duffy, and co-founder Gill Champion, of fraudulently obtaining a document in which Lee grants exclusive rights to his likeness and identity to the company, and control of his social media accounts.
THAT Deadpool 2 Cameo Was Shot on a Different Movie’s Set
Warning! Full Deadpool 2 SPOILERS below!
The first Deadpool movie had a gag about how the X-Mansion was suspiciously devoid of any X-Men, almost as if studio 20th Century Fox wouldn't allow them to use any of the characters -- or the movie couldn't afford any of those cast members -- from their flagship mutant movie franchise. That's not the case with Deadpool 2.
During Deadpool's visit to the X-Mansion this time out, we see Wade Wilson riding around in Professor Xavier's wheelchair and messing with the mutant-tracking headgear Cerebro. But just as Deadpool is once again complaining about the absence of X-Men, there's a quick cut to the X-Men in the study as Nicholas Hoult's Beast quietly closes the door so that Deadpool doesn't know they're actually home.