Alien and Harry Potter Actor John Hurt Dies
John Hurt, whose acting career spanned five and a half decades, has died. He was 77.
Hurt was featured in three Harry Potter films as wandmaker Garrick Ollivander, and was also known for his roles in Alien, Hellboy, and dozens of other films and television programs. His role in Midnight Express earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor in 1978, and in 1980 he was again nominated for another Oscar, this time for Best Actor, for his role in David Lynch's The Elephant Man.
Hurt's appearances over the years read like a who's-who list of memorable sci-fi and fantasy movies and television shows.
John Hurt as the War Doctor in Doctor Who.
Stranger Things Star Joins Godzilla: King of the Monsters
Millie Bobby Brown, the actress made famous by her role in the Netflix-exclusive series Stranger Things, has joined the cast of Godzilla: King of the Monsters.
News of Brown's casting comes by way of The Hollywood Reporter. Details on the film's story and characters are being kept under wraps for the time being.
Millie Bobby Brown as Eleven in Stranger Things
Godzilla: King of the Monsters will serve as Brown's film debut. In addition to starring as Eleven in Stranger Things, the actress appeared in the television series Intruders, and had single-episode guest roles in Grey's Anatomy and Modern Family.
Trollhunters: Guillermo del Toro on a Possible Season 2
Director Guillermo del Toro is keeping as busy as ever, having launched his newest project, the Netflix series Trollhunters, over the holidays. While Netflix, as always, keeps their exact numbers a secret, they do tout that Trollhunters is on track to become the streaming-services' "most watched kids original ever." Which isn't surprising, considering how well-received the show has been, including in my own review of the first season for IGN.
We chatted with Del Toro over the phone recently and learned more about how the director finally made the jump to animated television. Del Toro also discussed the hard work that went into animating Trollhunters and the impact that Trollhunters star Anton Yelchin's tragic death had on the crew.
X-Men’s Legion Explained
The X-Men universe is finally getting a real shot at live-action TV with Legion, FX’s new series about David Haller, the very powerful, very strange mutant from Marvel Comics’ X-books. While Haller, a.k.a. Legion, isn’t an A-list player in the X-Men world, the show from series creator Noah Hawley promises to take the character to a new level of audience recognition. With the major success of Hawley’s show Fargo, both FX and comics fans surely have high hopes for Legion.
So let’s break down the comic-book history of Legion, his relationship with Professor Xavier, what his powers and abilities are, and more…
David Haller is an extremely powerful “Omega level” mutant. Of course, power runs in his family, as David is the son of Professor Charles Xavier, founder of the X-Men. Created by X-Men savant Chris Claremont and artist Bill Sienkiewicz, Legion is not a traditional superhero character in that he suffers from dissociative identity disorder (also known as multiple personality disorder). Each of his “selves” -- and he has many -- also carries with it a specific set of powers. As such, David can be a potent ally to the X-Men… but also a dangerous and unstable liability.
Cameron Thinks ‘We’ve Moved on Beyond’ Alien Franchise
Aliens director James Cameron has shared his candid thoughts on the Alien franchise and questioned whether there was even a need to continue it when asked about the forthcoming Alien: Covenant, which opens this summer.
"The franchise has kind of wandered all over the map," Cameron told Vulture. "Ridley
did the first film, and he inspired an entire generation of filmmakers and science-fiction fans with that one movie and there have been so many films that stylistically have derived from it, including my own Aliens, which was the legitimate sequel and, I think, the proper heir to his film. I sort of did it as a fanboy. I wanted to honor his film, but also say what I needed to say. After that, I don't take any responsibility."
AJ Styles Talks Royal Rumble, John Cena, and More
On Sunday, January 29th, the Road to WrestleMania officially begins with the Royal Rumble - featuring the likes of Brock Lesnar, Goldberg, The Undertaker and 27 other competitors battling it out for a main event spot at the Grandest Stage of Them All.
Also on tap: In what's sure to be another classic encounter, AJ Styles defends his WWE World Championship against the returning John Cena. Styles notably beat Cena cleanly at SummerSlam last year, but will he replicate that outcome with the belt on the line?
I spoke to Styles about his match with Cena, the now-infamous Royal Rumble poster that had him positioned way in the back, Kurt Angle's Hall of Fame induction, and more.
Days of War Will Feature 100-Player Battle Events
Developer Driven Arts has released WWII multiplayer shooter Days of War on Steam Early Access, announcing the introduction of 100-player battles on the game’s Omaha Beach map.
Driven Arts notes the feature in still in development and is not in the base game yet but the first 100-player battle weekend event will run from February 3 to 5. Further details can be found at the game’s Steam Hub.
“We love tight competitive gameplay more than anyone, but World War II was defined by its massive battles and invasions, and we want to bring that experience to Days of War with 100-player combat,” explained lead designer Lee Snodgrass.
A Complete Guide to For Honor’s Preorder Bonuses
For Honor is coming soon, and it has an axe to grind with you.
For those who are a bit behind, check out our For Honor multiplayer preview, where we learn first-hand just how dangerous the Shugoki warriors can be.
As with most major releases, multiple versions of For Honor will be available when it is released on February 14. Plus, if you're planning on preordering, some retailers offer much more bang (and exclusive goods) for your buck than others. If you're a more casual player, the standard $60 version ($48 with Amazon Prime) will be just fine, but we're here to break down all the various preorder bonuses and exclusives if you want something more.
Opinion: It’s Time for Marvel’s Rebirth
Civil War II is over, which means Marvel Comics is already busy teasing its next big crossover event. That isn't exactly a thrilling prospect considering the generally lackluster quality of Marvel's major event comics in recent years (Secret Wars notwithstanding). But there actually is reason to be optimistic about Secret Empire. For one thing, it's an offshoot of Captain America: Steve Rogers, which has numbered among Marvel's better ongoing series over the past year. But more crucial is the fact that Secret Empire has the potential to address a lot of the storytelling mistakes Marvel has been making lately. It could easily wind up being Marvel's answer to DC Rebirth.
Secret Empire teaser art by John Cassaday. (Marvel Comics)
Batman and the Shadow Meet in April
DC released their full lineup of solicitations for April 2017 this week. The DC Rebirth status quo will take a major elap forward as Batman and The Flash cross over in "The Button," while Batman will also be joining forces with The Sahdow in a new mini-series.
New Series:
- Batman/The Shadow #1
Ending Series:
- Clean Room #18
- Future Quest #12
- Super Powers #6
Observations:
- We're now a pair of red underoos away from having the one, true Superman costume back.
- Having Mike Allred on Doom Patrol helps make up for Silver Surfer's sporadic shipping schedule.