How Fantastic Beasts Expands Harry Potter’s World
If there’s a studio complex synonymous with magic, it must be Leavesden. Now going by the full name “Warner Bros. Studios, Leavesden” (WB purchased the space a few years ago) and located about an hour outside of London, Leavesden was the home of all eight Harry Potter films and currently houses a popular tour where fans can see the sets from that beloved series. But production continues on new films at Leavesden, as does the expansion of J.K. Rowling’s Wizarding World, all of which was apparent when I joined a group of journalists to pay a visit to the set of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.
Expanding J.K. Rowling's Wizarding World in a big way, Fantastic Beasts finds British wizard Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) traveling to New York in 1926. The story’s main plotline is kicked into gear when all the creatures Newt carries with him inside his magical briefcase escape, with Newt and his new allies -- including the sisters/witches Tina Goldstein (Katherine Waterston) and Queenie Goldstein (Alison Sudol) and the No-Maj (the American word for Muggle) Jacob Kowalski (Dan Fogler) -- joining forces to try and re-capture them.
First Image of Ghost Rider From Agents of SHIELD Revealed
Ahead of Gabriel Luna's debut as Ghost Rider (aka Robbie Reyes) on Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. in just over a week, ABC has pulled back the curtain on the first official image of Ghost Rider in Season 4.
The image comes courtesy of Yahoo TV and showcases Luna's fiery character standing in front of a flaming 1969 Dodge Charger.
Gabriel Luna as Ghost Rider, via Yahoo! TV
Titanfall Standalone Game Coming to Mobile
Ahead of the release of Titanfall 2 on consoles next month, Respawn has announced Titanfall: Frontline, a standalone game coming to mobile devices.
Titanfall: Frontline is a strategic card battler where players face off against one another "in real time" using familiar elements of the Titanfall series.
Deck-building is an important part of the strategy behind a winning match, and the game features "hundreds of Pilots, Titans and special ability Burn Cards," allowing players to craft a deck to best fit their style of play.
The game was built in collaboration with Respawn and mobile gaming companies Nexon and Particle City.
Particle City co-founder Larry Pacey said his company "worked hand-in-hand with Respawn to weave in card battle strategy and collectibility" with iconic elements from Titanfall such as dropping Titans into battle to "using a combination of Parkour and Rodeo Burn Cards to take a Titan down."
Battlefield 1 Xbox One S Bundles Revealed
Microsoft has unveiled three new Xbox One S bundles to coincide with the release of Battlefield 1.
From today, you can pre-order the 500GB white console which comes with a white controller, a full-game download of Battlefield 1 Standard Edition (or physical copy if ordered from Gamestop), and one month of EA Access.
The white bundle will cost $299 / £249, and be available in the U.S., Canada, Australia, and New Zealand starting October 21, and in Europe starting October 13.
The Division’s Public Test Server Goes Live This Week
Update: The Public Test Server for Tom Clancy's The Division will go live this Thursday, September 22, for the Elite Task Force.
According to a post on The Division's Reddit page, the PTS for v1.4 will go live at 9am CT/12am PT/3am ET. The news was revealed during a recent live stream, during which it was also confirmed that on Monday, September 26, everyone else who owns a copy of the game will be granted access to the Public Test Server.
Those who participate will get a "fresh Level 30" to try out the World Tier level up from GS 0 to 160.
Cancelled Warcraft Point ‘n’ Click Game Leaks
In 1998, Blizzard cancelled Warcraft Adventures: Lord of the Clans, a point 'n' click adventure charting the origins of Horde (and Hearthstone) hero, Thrall. This weekend, it was leaked in its entirety.
Posted by one Reidor on the Scrolls of Lore forums, the leak contains a "full pre-released version with in-game cinematics". Blizzard has not yet commented on the leak, but may well now act to have the file taken down.
Having played a chunk myself, it's remarkably fully-formed - very little about it feels incomplete in its beginning stages - although modern PCs can struggle to run it without the right compatibility settings.
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The Last Guardian Delayed
The Last Guardian has been delayed once again, and will now release on December 6 in the US, December 7 in Europe, and December 9 in the UK and Ireland.
Writing on the PlayStation Blog, President of SCE Worldwide Studios Shuhei Yoshida explained the reasoning for the delay as so:
“A delay is a difficult decision, particularly with this game,” writes Yoshida, “but we have encountered more bugs than anticipated while in the final stages of development.
“To ensure that The Last Guardian delivers on the experience that the game’s creators have envisioned, we need to take the extra time to work on those issues.”
X-Men Director Singer Reportedly Reveals Mr. Sinister in Wolverine 3
You might remember the post-credits scene in X-Men: Apocalypse which teased an appearance from Mister Sinister in an upcoming film, and we now know which movie he'll be in.
According to CinemaBlend, in the audio commentary accompanying the recent digital release of X-Men: Apocalypse, director Bryan Singer and co-writer Simon Kinberg discussed the scene in question.
In the scene, a man in glasses grabs the blood of Weapon X (Wolverine) from a cabinet in the facility at Alkali Lake, and it soon becomes clear that he is a representative of Essex Corp, which is owned by Nathaniel Essex, Mister Sinister himself.
Jurassic World Confirmed as Start of New Trilogy
Jurassic World 2 director, Juan Antonio Bayona has confirmed that last year's Jurassic Park sequel was in fact the start of a new trilogy.
"The whole ‘Jurassic World’ is a trilogy that
Colin Trevorrow has envisioned", Bayona told LRM. "We’re writing the second chapter, and it’s very interesting where he’s leading the story."
The director, who has previously helmed The Impossible and The Orphanage, added:
"I grew up watching Steven Spielberg movies and I love those movies and the legacy, so it’s a question of being truthful to the legacy and at the same time, bringing new stuff that people will appreciate. We are still six months ahead of shooting, and so far, so good. It’s very exciting right now.”