Bradley Cooper will completely transform into American conductor Leonard Bernstein for Netflix's Maestro, an upcoming drama based on Bernstein's life. The film will follow Bernstein's marriage to Felicia Montealegre, and in photos Netflix has released from the set, you can see Cooper is significantly aged up in one of the shots, to the point where he is barely recognizable.

From the set of MAESTRO. pic.twitter.com/y3qsYILk6P

— NetflixFilm (@NetflixFilm) May 30, 2022

Earlier this year, Cooper confirmed to Variety that the film would start production this month. The movie is Cooper's first time back in the director's chair since 2018's A Star Is Born, which he starred in with Lady Gaga. For Maestro, Promising Young Woman's Carey Mulligan will star alongside Cooper as Montealegre. The movie is expected to come out sometime next year.

Bernstein was a conductor, composer, and pianist who lived from 1918 until 1990. His best-known work is the music for West Side Story, the Broadway musical about two rival teenage street gangs in 1950s Manhattan. The musical recently got a new theatrical adaptation, which we called amazing in our review.

A Star Is Born was Cooper's directorial debut, and the movie received widespread acclaim back in 2018. In our glowing review, we said the movie was "a refreshing take of this classic showbiz rise and fall tale, with updated character work, fantastic performances by Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga, and a soundtrack that will be stuck in your head for days." The movie received a handful of nominations at the 2019 Academy Awards, taking home the win for best original song with "Shallow."

Logan Plant is a freelance writer for IGN. You can find him on Twitter @LoganJPlant.

Remember those debates with your friends over who would win in a fight between God of War's Kratos and Halo's Master Chief? Well, now you can see the two video game titans duke it out thanks to a PC mod for God of War 2018.

The mod was originally created by Marcos RC, and the footage takes the first boss fight from the game, replacing The Stranger with Chief himself. You can check out a snippet of the brawl below, or watch the entire thing play out on Marcos RC's YouTube page.

We finally have a Master Chief vs Kratos battle. This is such damn cool mod. #Halo #HaloInfinite #GodofWarPC pic.twitter.com/vSSyd6nhAA

— Kidskull (@Kidskull51) May 29, 2022

Due to the nature of the original boss fight, Chief doesn't rely on any of his iconic weapons, instead opting for hand-to-hand combat. So, I guess the jury's still out on who would win if both characters were fully equipped.

Modders have been creating all sorts of wild God of War mods since the game launched on PC earlier this year. If you want to see a much more comical brawl, check out how one modder replaced Kratos and The Stranger with Homer Simpson and Ned Flanders from The Simpsons.

Kratos fans are anxiously awaiting God of War: Ragnarok, the follow-up title to 2018's God of War. Ragnarok recently received a rating in South Korea, suggesting the game is set to hit its 2022 release target. There are certainly high expectations for the game, as we awarded its predecessor a 10/10 and our 2018 Game of the Year award. God of War 2018 even came out on top in IGN's best video game of all time fan bracket.

Logan Plant is a freelance writer for IGN. You can find him on Twitter @LoganJPlant.

Remember those debates with your friends over who would win in a fight between God of War's Kratos and Halo's Master Chief? Well, now you can see the two video game titans duke it out thanks to a PC mod for God of War 2018.

The mod was originally created by Marcos RC, and the footage takes the first boss fight from the game, replacing The Stranger with Chief himself. You can check out a snippet of the brawl below, or watch the entire thing play out on Marcos RC's YouTube page.

We finally have a Master Chief vs Kratos battle. This is such damn cool mod. #Halo #HaloInfinite #GodofWarPC pic.twitter.com/vSSyd6nhAA

— Kidskull (@Kidskull51) May 29, 2022

Due to the nature of the original boss fight, Chief doesn't rely on any of his iconic weapons, instead opting for hand-to-hand combat. So, I guess the jury's still out on who would win if both characters were fully equipped.

Modders have been creating all sorts of wild God of War mods since the game launched on PC earlier this year. If you want to see a much more comical brawl, check out how one modder replaced Kratos and The Stranger with Homer Simpson and Ned Flanders from The Simpsons.

Kratos fans are anxiously awaiting God of War: Ragnarok, the follow-up title to 2018's God of War. Ragnarok recently received a rating in South Korea, suggesting the game is set to hit its 2022 release target. There are certainly high expectations for the game, as we awarded its predecessor a 10/10 and our 2018 Game of the Year award. God of War 2018 even came out on top in IGN's best video game of all time fan bracket.

Logan Plant is a freelance writer for IGN. You can find him on Twitter @LoganJPlant.

The Blitzball minigame from Final Fantasy 10 is now, weirdly, an official part of Star Wars canon.

The fantastical sport - which is essentially underwater hockey played by the inhabitants of Spira in Final Fantasy 10 - is mentioned in Star Wars: Brotherhood, a novel focusing on the adventures of Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi during the Clone Wars.

As spotted by GamesRadar, author Mike Chen shared a series of Easter eggs from the novel on Twitter (below), revealing that he is a huge fan of Blitzball and therefore included it in the novel.

#6: There's a reference to a sport called Blitzball played in a local lake. Blitzball is basically underwater hockey played as a minigame in Final Fantasy X. As a former NHL writer, I freaking loved Blitzball and spent hours winning leagues. pic.twitter.com/uad4uIMcrA

— Mike Chen - LIGHT YEARS FROM HOME is out now! (@mikechenwriter) May 17, 2022

It's only a fleeting reference, but the sport is mentioned as something played in a local lake. Chen confirms this isn't a coincidence and comes straight from Final Fantasy, saying he's a big fan of hockey and therefore loved the minigame.

It's not the only video game reference in the book, though the other one is much more on brand. A jedi called Jaro Tapa (from the video game Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order) is mentioned in the book and is seen with a "red-haired youngling", who Chen confirms to be the Fallen Order's protagonist, Cal.

There are several other references and Easter eggs included in Star Wars: Brotherhood that Chen unpacks in his thread, including the basis of some plot points (such as the giant space corgis being based on his dog).

There will likely be several more references hidden within the ever-growing franchise, with last weekend's Star Wars Celebration revealing the new Andor Disney+ series and Jedi: Survivor video game, and confirming that The Mandalorian Season 3 is coming next year.

For absolutely every piece of Star Wars news from the event check out IGN's round-up of everything announced at Star Wars Celebration 2022.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer who occasionally remembers to tweet @thelastdinsdale. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.

The Blitzball minigame from Final Fantasy 10 is now, weirdly, an official part of Star Wars canon.

The fantastical sport - which is essentially underwater hockey played by the inhabitants of Spira in Final Fantasy 10 - is mentioned in Star Wars: Brotherhood, a novel focusing on the adventures of Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi during the Clone Wars.

As spotted by GamesRadar, author Mike Chen shared a series of Easter eggs from the novel on Twitter (below), revealing that he is a huge fan of Blitzball and therefore included it in the novel.

#6: There's a reference to a sport called Blitzball played in a local lake. Blitzball is basically underwater hockey played as a minigame in Final Fantasy X. As a former NHL writer, I freaking loved Blitzball and spent hours winning leagues. pic.twitter.com/uad4uIMcrA

— Mike Chen - LIGHT YEARS FROM HOME is out now! (@mikechenwriter) May 17, 2022

It's only a fleeting reference, but the sport is mentioned as something played in a local lake. Chen confirms this isn't a coincidence and comes straight from Final Fantasy, saying he's a big fan of hockey and therefore loved the minigame.

It's not the only video game reference in the book, though the other one is much more on brand. A jedi called Jaro Tapa (from the video game Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order) is mentioned in the book and is seen with a "red-haired youngling", who Chen confirms to be the Fallen Order's protagonist, Cal.

There are several other references and Easter eggs included in Star Wars: Brotherhood that Chen unpacks in his thread, including the basis of some plot points (such as the giant space corgis being based on his dog).

There will likely be several more references hidden within the ever-growing franchise, with last weekend's Star Wars Celebration revealing the new Andor Disney+ series and Jedi: Survivor video game, and confirming that The Mandalorian Season 3 is coming next year.

For absolutely every piece of Star Wars news from the event check out IGN's round-up of everything announced at Star Wars Celebration 2022.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer who occasionally remembers to tweet @thelastdinsdale. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.

The Star Wars film from Thor: Ragnarok director Taika Waititi is expected to be released towards the end of 2023.

In an interview with Total Film, LucasFilm president Kathleen Kennedy was asked if the Waititi project will be the next Star Wars film released (it will) and if that will be next year.

"Yeah. Well, not 2023, but late 2023," Kennedy said, adding that "we haven't locked anything in".

This is the first new piece of information LucasFilm has given on the Waititi project since it was announced in May 2020, though Waititi was reportedly approached to work on the film in January of that year.

Despite not giving an exact date to appear in cinemas, Kennedy revealing a late 2023 release window is a relatively 'detailed' answer compared to how little we know about the rest of the film.

The movie is still lacking an official title, plot synopsis, or position in the overarching Star Wars universe, though Waititi did say last August that he has a story locked in that matches his signature style.

While last weekend's Star Wars Celebration was a little lacking in film news, we did learn a lot about the new Andor Disney+ series, Jedi: Survivor video game, and confirmation that The Mandalorian Season 3 is coming next year.

For absolutely every piece of new Star Wars news, check out IGN's round-up of everything announced at Star Wars Celebration 2022.

Thumbnail Image by Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer who occasionally remembers to tweet @thelastdinsdale. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.

The Star Wars film from Thor: Ragnarok director Taika Waititi is expected to be released towards the end of 2023.

In an interview with Total Film, LucasFilm president Kathleen Kennedy was asked if the Waititi project will be the next Star Wars film released (it will) and if that will be next year.

"Yeah. Well, not 2023, but late 2023," Kennedy said, adding that "we haven't locked anything in".

This is the first new piece of information LucasFilm has given on the Waititi project since it was announced in May 2020, though Waititi was reportedly approached to work on the film in January of that year.

Despite not giving an exact date to appear in cinemas, Kennedy revealing a late 2023 release window is a relatively 'detailed' answer compared to how little we know about the rest of the film.

The movie is still lacking an official title, plot synopsis, or position in the overarching Star Wars universe, though Waititi did say last August that he has a story locked in that matches his signature style.

While last weekend's Star Wars Celebration was a little lacking in film news, we did learn a lot about the new Andor Disney+ series, Jedi: Survivor video game, and confirmation that The Mandalorian Season 3 is coming next year.

For absolutely every piece of new Star Wars news, check out IGN's round-up of everything announced at Star Wars Celebration 2022.

Thumbnail Image by Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer who occasionally remembers to tweet @thelastdinsdale. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.

Nintendo is shutting down the Pokémon Sound Library later this week, just three months after the service was launched.

As reported by Eurogamer, the Pokémon DP Sound Library - which lets content creators download and legally use sound effects and music from Pokémon Diamond and Pearl - will cease to exist as of May 31.

The move is quite unexpected as Nintendo heavily promoted the Sound Library when it launched in February, even collaborating with Japanese performer and DJ Alan Shirahama to have a single released that solely used Pokémon music.

Though not confirmed to be related, the service was also launched shortly after Nintendo removed several videos from video game music YouTube channel GilvaSunner, prompting its owner to delete the channel completely. The Pokémon Sound Library was therefore seen as a viable, safe, and completely legal way for Nintendo fans to enjoy otherwise hard-to-find music.

No reason for the shutdown was given, with the Sound Library now simply displaying a message that states users can no longer stream or download sounds after 2am PT on May 31.

Users who have already downloaded files from the website can continue to use them as long as that use adheres to the Sound Library's terms and conditions, though it's currently unclear if these will change following the website's closure.

The Sound Library has 149 different tracks and sound effects from the original 2006 versions of Pokémon Diamond and Pearl but doesn't feature any of the updated music from last year's remakes, and fans can continue to download these files until the service closes.

We've contacted The Pokémon Company for comment.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer who occasionally remembers to tweet @thelastdinsdale. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.

Nintendo is shutting down the Pokémon Sound Library later this week, just three months after the service was launched.

As reported by Eurogamer, the Pokémon DP Sound Library - which lets content creators download and legally use sound effects and music from Pokémon Diamond and Pearl - will cease to exist as of May 31.

The move is quite unexpected as Nintendo heavily promoted the Sound Library when it launched in February, even collaborating with Japanese performer and DJ Alan Shirahama to have a single released that solely used Pokémon music.

Though not confirmed to be related, the service was also launched shortly after Nintendo removed several videos from video game music YouTube channel GilvaSunner, prompting its owner to delete the channel completely. The Pokémon Sound Library was therefore seen as a viable, safe, and completely legal way for Nintendo fans to enjoy otherwise hard-to-find music.

No reason for the shutdown was given, with the Sound Library now simply displaying a message that states users can no longer stream or download sounds after 2am PT on May 31.

Users who have already downloaded files from the website can continue to use them as long as that use adheres to the Sound Library's terms and conditions, though it's currently unclear if these will change following the website's closure.

The Sound Library has 149 different tracks and sound effects from the original 2006 versions of Pokémon Diamond and Pearl but doesn't feature any of the updated music from last year's remakes, and fans can continue to download these files until the service closes.

We've contacted The Pokémon Company for comment.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer who occasionally remembers to tweet @thelastdinsdale. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.

The Mandalorian creator Jon Favreau has confirmed that Season 4 of the Star Wars series is already in development, even though the third season won't arrive until 2023.

Speaking to CinemaBlend at Star Wars Celebration, Favreau indicated that he has started writing the scripts for the fourth season of The Mandalorian. The producer was sharing his love for the television format and the growing number of shows that will be coming from the galaxy far, far away when he touched on how those projects are affecting his writing process.

"With television, we're very lucky that we don't have to rush things through into an hour-and-a-half, two hours. We get to tell stories slowly," Favreau said, highlighting the benefits of episodic TV. "So now, as Dave [Filoni]'s doing Ahsoka, it's very much informing the writing that I'm doing for [The Mandalorian] Season 4. It becomes – how should I put it – more precise."

The third season of the popular Star Wars series is slated to be released in February 2023, and it is expected to continue the story of Din Djarin and Grogu following their reunion in The Book of Boba Fett. Favreau explained how the connection between these two series' creates a "very fertile ground for imagination," with many more considerations to factor in.

"When I was writing the first season of Mandalorian, I could do anything, set it anywhere," he admitted. "Now we have to figure out why there are certain Mandalorians who wear helmets, certain ones who don't wear helmets, what's happening on Mandalore, what's Bo-Katan doing at the time? How does she feel about that? Where is the Darksaber?"

Disney unveiled the first footage from The Mandalorian Season 3 at Star Wars Celebration, providing fans with a sizzle reel of sorts that reintroduced a handful of characters we've already met like Emily Swallow's Armorer, Carl Weathers' Greef Karga, Paul Sun-Hyung Lee's Captain Carson Teva, Amy Sedaris' Pelli Moto, and Katee Sackhoff's Bo-Katan Kryze.

There was also lots of other news at Star Wars Celebration about future and forthcoming shows, including the announcement of Star Wars: Skeleton Crew next year and Andor in August, together with a first look at the live-action Disney+ Ahsoka series. IGN also has a list of every upcoming Star Wars movie and show if you're still craving more information.

Adele Ankers-Range is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow her on Twitter.