The Mummy Director on Resurrecting Universal’s Monsters
IGN was among a small group of press invited to get a first look at footage from The Mummy, Universal's relaunch of one of its classic monsters franchises and the first in what is hoped to be a new shared universe. Or, more accurately, a new version of what was one of Hollywood's first shared universes. Universal's classic monster movies -- The Mummy, Dracula, Frankenstein, The Bride of Frankenstein, The Wolfman, The Invisible Man, The Creature from the Black Lagoon, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Doctor Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and The Phantom of the Opera -- began as individual films before becoming separate franchises and finally crossover films. Beginning with 2017's The Mummy -- starring Tom Cruise, Sofia Boutella as the title character, and Russell Crowe as Dr. Jekyll -- Universal is aiming to resurrect these iconic creatures and, in some cases dormant, franchises as a Marvel-style shared universe for contemporary audiences. Or, as the studio's slogan for The Mummy declares it, "a new world of gods and monsters."
Star Trek: Discovery Co-Creator Talks Casting Choices
CBS announced in late November that Michelle Yeoh, Doug Jones, and Anthony Rapp had been cast in Star Trek: Discovery, the forthcoming streaming series from CBS All Access.
I recently had the chance to ask Star Trek: Discovery co-creator and executive producer Alex Kurtzman about the casting, which he says they're "very excited" about. (This interview occurred before Bryan Fuller revealed he was no longer involved with the show.)
Star Wars: Will Other Toon Characters Go Live-Action?
With Clone Wars character Saw Gerrera making his live-action debut in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story as played by Forest Whitaker, might other animated characters from Star Wars television series make the transition to live-action in future Star Wars movies?
Not necessarily, according to Lucasfilm president and Star Wars movie producer Kathleen Kennedy. She said during a Rogue One press conference today at Lucasfilm that the movies are designed as stories first rather than launching pads for existing animated small screen characters to be brought to the big screen in live-action.
"You know, that really isn't the approach that we have," said Kennedy. "We don't sit down and start isolating a list of characters and then build stories around those."
Luke Cage Renewed for Season 2
Netflix has renewed Marvel's Luke Cage for a second season.
The popular streaming service made the announcement at Comic-Con Brazil, and news of the renewal has since been relayed via the show's various social media accounts. Check out the announcement teaser for Marvel's Luke Cage: Season 2 below.
Always forward. #LukeCage pic.twitter.com/4pnu52KFKr
— Luke Cage (@LukeCage) December 4, 2016
Knack 2 Tries to Fix the Original’s Shortcomings
The original Knack received some mixed reviews. It was colorful and worked well enough as a showcase for what PS4 was capable of, but it ultimately felt more like a tech demo than a fully fleshed-out game.
Knack 2 is trying to fix that problem. The game openly acknowledges the shortcomings of its predecessor (one character says to Knack, “it’s hard to believe you saved the world. All you know are three punches and a kick”) and has actually added a pretty robust moveset for combat and platforming.
Knack does still have the aforementioned punches and kick, but he’s also learned a few new tricks. He can switch between a small version and large version of himself at any point (which comes in handy for platforming sections) and he has a shield for deflecting incoming projectiles or generally blocking damage. His other abilities include a dash, body slam, multi-punch, jump kick, and a few other basic combat moves.
UK Deals: Win a Copy of Football Manager 2017 or Civilisation VI
Help us get to 2000 likes! Like our page to get the latest deals straight to your news feed and also look out for exclusive codes for our readers.
IGN have teamed up with SCDKey to offer readers a chance to win a copy of either Football Manager 2017 or Sid Meier's Civilization VI. This competition will run until Wednesday December 7th 2016 at 3PM. See Terms and Conditions here.
New Street Fighter World Champion Crowned
Du "NuckleDu" Dang has become Street Fighter World Champion, beating Ricki Ortiz in the all-American final of this year's Capcom Cup.
In addition to the title, NuckleDu receives $250,000 prize money, while Ortiz takes home $60,000. Japanese players Ryota "Kazunoko" Inoue finished in third, and Tatsuya "Haitani" Haitani fourth.
This year's Capcom Cup featured 32 players and took placed across two days at PlayStation Experience in Anaheim, California. It was the first time the tournament had been fought using Street Fighter V.
Netflix’s Sense8 Season 2 and Christmas Special Announced
Netflix has announced the release dates for the Christmas special and second season of Sense8.
Sense8: A Christmas Special is a two-hour event and will make its debut globally on Netflix December 23.
It tells a standalone story about the series' eight main characters, as they learn how to better connect with one another while learning each other's deepest secrets.
Season 2 premieres May 5, 2017. The story picks up right where the first season left off, with the main characters coming together both "physically and mentally," while also running from Whispers.
The Last of Us: Part II Story Details Revealed
Following today's announcement of The Last of Us: Part II at PlayStation Experience 2016, Naughty Dog director and writer Neil Druckmann shared a few details about its story and how it differs from the first game.
During a panel for the highly anticipated sequel at PSX, Druckmann said "Ellie is the star" this time around. He also revealed that Part II takes place several years after the first game, with Ellie now 19 years old.
Druckmann also discussed narrative direction of Part II, noting that while the first title was a story about love, the sequel will serve as a "counter" to that. In fact, the director went so far as to say, "this story is about hate."
Playing as a Bird Is a Great Way to Explore an Open World
Being a bird must be nice. When the sky is literally your limit, there are suddenly a lot fewer obstacles to get in your way, which comes in handy when you want to go on an adventure.
While you’ll control multiple forms in Vane, an upcoming exploration game from studio Friend and Foe Games, flying as a bird is surely the most freeing. In a brief demo at PSX, we soared high overhead above a vast desert and dove deep into caverns burrowed through the sand, all with only a single button press.
The control scheme in Vane is simple -- one button lets you beat your wings to speed up, and another has you lift your wings to slow down. The only other input will let you “caw” at fellow birds, and beyond that you simply control the direction of your flight. Vane will automatically slow you down as you approach the ground, so don’t worry about any beak-over-butt crash landings.