Aronofsky Wanted Joaquin Phoenix to Play His Batman
Darren Aronofsky had a specific actor in mind for his canned R-rated Batman: Year One movie.
“I always wanted Joaquin Phoenix for Batman,” Aronofsky told Yahoo! Movies while promoting his new movie, mother!.
The filmmaker wanted to do a grittier take on the Caped Crusader and first pitched the idea to Warner Bros. back in 1999. According to Frank Miller, Aronofsky's "vision of Batman was darker than" his own. So much so, Aronofsky even wanted Batman to torture his enemies.
Legendary Character Actor Harry Dean Stanton Dead at 91
Legendary character actor Harry Dean Stanton has passed away at the age of 91. Though Stanton rarely had a starring role, he often made a memorable impact in his career, which spanned over 50 years and over 100 projects.
According to Variety, the actor died Friday from natural causes.
The strikingly thin, frequently intense actor began his career making westerns in the 1950s. However, as time went on he found himself making notable appearances in films such as Alien, Escape from New York, and Repo Man. In an unusual move for him, he also appeared as Molly Ringwald's father in Pretty in Pink.
Undertale Soundtrack Coming to Vinyl in 3-Record Set
To Celebrate Undertale's release in Japan and its 2nd anniversary in the west, Materia Collective and iam8bit have announced vinyl soundtracks which are now available for preorder.
The soundtracks come in two versions: Undertale: Japan Edition and Undertale: Determination. Both sets come with a digital soundtrack that will be emailed upon purchase.
While the Japan edition is not in Japanese, it takes design cues from Mother 3's Super Famicom Box and features two translucent color-incolor vinyls, as well as a bonus word search insert. Preordering this edition will before September 23 JDT will add a 7" Annoying Dog Shrine vinyl, which features exclusive PlayStation tracks.
Why Ubisoft Is Embracing Licensed Game Projects
While many studios today are moving away from licensed games, Ubisoft continues to invest development resources in games based on popular entertainment properties like South Park and James Cameron's Avatar. Speaking to IGN at Gamescom 2017, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot explained why the company is interested in licensed games, despite the stigma that surrounds them.
"What we realized when we started to create worlds is that the quality of the world is very important for the experience," Guillemot told IGN, noting that when they saw Avatar, they were struck by how, like Star Wars, it has a "fantastic world with a philosophy." And so The Division developer Massive Entertainment is now working with Fox Interactive and Cameron's studio Lightstorm Entertainment to make a game that the Avatar director believes will "bring the beauty and danger of Pandora to life."
The Justice League Are ‘Lost’ in DC Rebirth
DC Comics has revealed that a new creative team will be taking over the ongoing Justice League comic in late 2018. Writer Christopher Priest (Deathstroke) and artist Pete Woods (Action Comics) will be coming on board with Justice League #34, as they explore a new conflict created by Batman himself.
The new team's first story arc is titled "Lost," and sees the team deal with a major tragedy caused when a sleep-deprived Batman makes a critical error. That mistake will force the League to reexamine their place in the world and their relationship with humanity. Based on the art DC has shown thus far, it appears the standard Rebirth team roster (Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Aquaman, Cyborg and Green Lanterns Simon Baz and Jessica Cruz) will remain in place.
NVC: Doom & Mario & Xenoblade & Skyrim
Welcooooooome back, Nintendo fans! In episode 373 of our weekly talk show, Nintendo Voice Chat, we share out thoughts on the many announcements Nintendo stuffed into this week's Direct broadcast.
Join Casey DeFreitas, Brian Altano, Zach Ryan, and Peer Schneider, for a discussion about Bethesda's attempt to fill the "shooter gap" on Switch with Doom and Wolfenstein, Xenoblade Chronicles 2, Octopath Traveler, Pokemon, new systems, amiibo, Kirby, Mario Party, Splatoon, and so much more. We also ask the question whether Nintendo has shown too much of Super Mario Odyssey and hear from Casey why you should be playing Monster Hunter Stories on 3DS. It's a packed show, but we also managed to squeeze in another Question Block segment.
IT: 10 Key Differences Between the Book and Movie
Although it’s been widely acknowledged that 2017’s IT captures the tone and spirit of King’s novel, condensing 1100 odd pages into a single cohesive two hour film is no easy feat. While the beginning and end of Andy Muschietti’s film are more or less in step with King’s opus, there have been multiple changes and sacrifices made in order to make it movie-digestible, and these might have significant ramifications in IT: Chapter Two.
Here are ten major differences between the book and the film.
Major spoilers for both IT (2017) and Stephen King’s novel IT below.
The most immediate overhaul in IT (2017) is its time period. The Losers’ Club in Stephen King’s novel first face their fears between 1957 and 1958, where they spend their time going to movie matinees and reading Lil Lulu funnybooks, or building a dam in the Barrens, or pretending to hunt a tiger in an innocent game of make-believe. IT (2017) takes place between 1988 and ‘89, where Batmania ruled Derry and Gremlins posters plaster walls, and the kids are generally just a little more world-weary and relatable - particularly Richie - to modern day audiences. This also means that the ‘adult’ part of the story that we will see in IT: Chapter 2 takes place not in the ‘80s, but in the present day.
Why Ubisoft Ditched Unreal for Its Own Proprietary Tech
Ubisoft has been investing more and more into its own proprietary game engines, and, as a consequence, less and less in external providers like Epic and its popular Unreal Engine. Speaking to IGN at Gamesom 2017, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot explained the reason behind the shift, citing control as a key factor.
When asked why we're seeing an increasing number of games at Ubisoft built using the Snowdrop engine, which not only powers The Division, but also Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle and Massive Entertainment's upcoming Avatar game, Guillemot said, "There are many reasons. The first one is to control your destiny."
How Switch is Fixing Nintendo’s Third-Party Problem
Nintendo’s biggest announcement during its latest Direct didn’t go by unnoticed. Two major current-gen PC and console first-person shooters, Doom and Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus, will be making their way to Nintendo Switch. But they represent much more than a chance to fill out the Switch’s library with a genre unrepresented on the system so far.
The pair of Bethesda games signal Nintendo’s increased willingness to partner and foster relationships with third-parties, and is evidence to the industry, and players, that third-party software can sit alongside Nintendo’s own on the Switch.
What to Expect from Tokyo Game Show 2017
This year’s Tokyo Game Show starts up next week on September 21 and goes through September 24. IGN will be there to cover the news and preview all the biggest games from Sony, Bandai Namco, and more.
Be sure to visit IGN’s Tokyo Game Show 2017 event hub to see all the news and features out of TGS and events leading up to it. Here’s what we expect at this year’s show.
Like past years, Sony is holding a TGS PlayStation press conference before TGS begins. Sony will stream the conference on September 19 at 4 PM JST (12am PT/3am ET/8am UK/5pm AET). Last year Sony revealed the Final Fantasy XV Luna Edition PS4 and Nioh’s release date. We expect to see similar announcements during this year’s conference. PlayStation Experience just a few months away, Sony will likely hold it’s bigger announcements for December.