Report: United Front Games Closed Down
Vancouver-based studio United Front Games, developer of Sleeping Dogs, ModNation Racers and Disney Infinity 3.0's Marvel Battlegrounds, appears to be closing down.
The initial leaks began to surface on Twitter and NeoGAF, where several users were reporting the studio shuttering its doors. This was soon corroborated when Smash + Grab, the studio's current project, was removed from Steam just after a promotional free weekend.
Smash + Grab removed from Steam an hour ago. RIP United Front Games pic.twitter.com/qyYwkjr8O6
Leonardo DiCaprio to Produce Captain Planet Movie
Leonardo DiCaprio's film production company Appian Way is partnering with Paramount to produce the long-awaited film adaptation of Captain Planet.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Jono Matt and Glen Powell are currently in talks to write the script. The studio is reportedly in negotiations to acquire the film rights, and should the deal go through, DiCapprio will produce alongside Powell. Whether or not Powell, who starred in the FOX show Scream Queens, will also have a role in the movie has yet to be revealed.
Captain Planet is a 90s TV series created by Ted Turner, Robert Larkin III and Barbara Pyle
Pokemon: The First Movie Returning to Theaters
This year marks the 20th anniversary of the Pokemon franchise, and to celebrate, the first animated film will return to select theaters across the United States for a limited time.
According to the official Pokemon website, participating Cinemark theaters will be showing Pokemon: The First movie at over 200 locations on Saturday October 29 and Tuesday, November 1.
In addition to the full-length animated feature, which centers around Ash and Pikachu's confrontation with Mewtwo, the short that accompanied the movie's original theatrical release in 1999, Pikachu's Vacation, will be shown as well. Tickets are priced at $5 each and now available for purchase.
How Supergirl’s Superman Was Inspired by Donner, Man of Steel
Supergirl dug deeper into its depiction of Superman in the second episode of Season 2, "The Last Children of Krypton," but there were also some big changes taking place in the series.
Full spoilers for "The Last Children of Krypton" continue below.
Superman, we hardly knew you. After two episodes on Supergirl, Clark Kent had to head back to Metropolis to return to Lois Lane and his job at the Daily Planet. The introduction of Kal-El after a season of build up kicked off what looks to be a strong sophomore season of Supergirl, with the show already showing it fully understands the brighter side of Superman with only two episodes.
Guardians 2: Vin Diesel on ‘Goofy, Adorable’ Baby Groot
Big things have small beginnings, and we'll see that in action with Baby Groot in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.
Voice actor Vin Diesel will return as Groot in the Marvel sequel. But he discussed with Collider recently how it's different playing a character who's transformed, literally, after dying and being reborn in the original Guardians of the Galaxy.
“He couldn’t be more naive as Baby Groot," Diesel said. "I always think of the Groot that we saw on the first Guardians as a college-level Groot, so he’s not fully grown yet, but he’s a man.
"And once he sacrifices himself at the end of the movie, now he has to start all over, so to speak, but we’re gonna see this goofy, adorable, baby Groot thing running around the screen and just learning as he goes.”
Lucasfilm’s Latest Lawsuit
After opening several Star Wars-themed businesses, a man named Michael Brown has been sued by Lucasfilm for infringing on its intellectual property.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, a lawsuit against Brown was filed on Friday for the operation of businesses that include New York Jedi, the Lightsaber Academy and Thrills and Skills. The defendant's services, which can be found at LightsaberAcademy.com, include teaching certifications and classes in "Academic Form, Stage, and/or Dueling."
Lucasfilm cites trademark infringement in its complaint, and has taken the issue to California federal court. The company says it has served Brown with several cease notices, but instead of closing operations, he has since filed a trademark application for "Lightsaber Academy, Inc."
Razer Acquires THX Audio Company
Audio company THX has been acquired by laptop and accessory manufacturer Razer, the two companies announced today.
THX will continue to operate "as a standalone unit," however "joint products" that may come in the future as a result of the partnership are possible, THX CEO Ty Ahmad-Taylor said in a blog post announcing the acquisition.
Ahmad-Taylor wrote at length about his decision to sell THX to Razer after being with the company for only almost a year. He noted that this deal will allow THX to be at the forefront of engineering audio in the virtual reality space. Razer announced an open-source VR development kit at CES 2015.
Batman Rules September Comic Book Sales
Diamond Comics released their sales figures for September 2016, and it's clear that everyone is suffering a major case of Batman Fever right now.
The top three best-selling comics of the month were all Batman books, as Batman #6 topped the charts with an estimated 138,853 copies sold (according to figures from Comichron). That was followed by All-Star Batman #2 and Batman #7. DC's overall sales dominance continued in September, with Civil War II #5 and The Walking Dead #158 being the only two non-DC books to crack the top ten.
Sniper: Ghost Warrior 3 Delayed
Sniper: Ghost Warrior 3 has been delayed from its originally planned January 2017 release and will now be made available on April 4, 2017 for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC, developer CI Games announced.
The reason for the delay is so CI Games can "further polish and optimize" the upcoming first person shooter, which will redefine "the sniping genre as a whole" according to a blog post.
"We’re making an ambitious game and unfortunately still need an extra few months to make sure it will stand up to the expectations of the fans," CEO of CI Games Marek Tymiński said. "This is our biggest project we’ve ever worked on and the entire team is pushing really hard to make the entire experience more polished."
The Batman: Joe Manganiello Reveals Start Date
Filming for Warner Bros.' upcoming Batman solo film, possibly titled The Batman, will begin this coming spring, according to Deathstroke actor Joe Manganiello.
Speaking to Entertainment Tonight (via Batman-News) at Mohegan Sun’s 20th anniversary party, Manganiello told the outlet he's "just getting ready to go shoot Batman in the spring."