Pokemon World Championships Will Not Feature Pokemon Go Events
The full schedule for the 2016 Pokemon World Championships has been released, along with the announcement that there will be no events centering on Niantic Labs' Pokemon Go in or around the championships.
Additionally, organizers have announced that the Pokemon World Championships will be closed to the general public. Only those with the official badge for invited players and their families will be allowed entry. Those looking to watch coverage of the tournament will have to tune into the event's livestream.
An "unprecedented response from invited players planning to attend" is cited as the reason for closing the tournament's doors to the public.
The 2016 Pokemon World Championships has a combined prize pool of $500,000 in scholarships and travel awards. Check out the full streaming schedule below (all times are PT):
Star Trek: Discovery’s Ship Design Still Evolving
Executive-producer Bryan Fuller (Hannibal) dropped a massive nerd info-dump yesterday at the Television Critics Association press tour, revealing a bunch of new details about his upcoming show, Star Trek: Discovery. You can read all the bullet points that we learned about Trek's return to TV (well, to CBS All Access) right here. But Fuller also delved a bit into the design of the show's new starship, which of course is also called Discovery, and it turns out that the look of the vessel will continue to evolve beyond what was previewed at San Diego Comic-Con last month.
Stand-Alone Han Solo Movie Casting for Young Lando
Lando Calrissian, the man who would go on to lose the Millennium Falcon to Han Solo in a game of cards, will be a character in the upcoming Han Solo movie.
According to a report from The Wrap, casting circles have given the young Lando the code-name "Chance." No other information, such as actors being considered, or even actors expressing interest, was given in the report.
At Star Wars Celebration 2016 in London, Alden Ehrenreich was revealed as the actor who will play Han Solo in the stand-alone movie. It was also revealed the audition process took a grueling 6 months, with actors screentesting in Han's iconic ship, as well as Ehrenreich testing next to Chewbacca.
Xbox One Took the Top-Selling Console Spot for July
Microsoft's Xbox One was the top-selling console for July, unseating Sony's PS4 from its long-held spot at the top.
In a statement from Microsoft ahead of next week's public NPD Group numbers, the company championed its console, saying it's "honored that Xbox One was the best-selling console in the U.S." for the month, and the hours gamers spent on all Xbox consoles across the globe "were up 18 percent" over the same period last year.
The last time Xbox One took the NPD top-spot was in October 2015. The console rode high on the back of sales of Halo 5: Guardians, but from then on, Sony remained at the top of the NPD Group's sales numbers.
The Flash Season 3’s Other Main Villain Revealed
Savitar will be the second main villain of The Flash's third season, The CW announced at the Television Critics' Association press tour.
The villain, who first appeared in DC Comics in 1995, was originally a Cold War pilot in the comics whose plane was struck by lightning, granting him speedster powers. Savitar named himself after the Hindu god Savitr and spent his life studying and enhancing his powers. Among the abilities he learned were to create a null inertia force field around himself and heal any injuries he endures at a dramatically rapid pace.
Savitar gained a group of followers, establishing somewhat of a cult around himself, which sought to sever the ties of the world's speedsters to the Speed Force.
Arrow: No More Regular Flashbacks After Season 5
Arrow: Season 5 will mark the end of flashbacks on the show as we know them, but they will remain a device on the show moving forward into Season 6.
As they work on the show's fifth season, Executive producers Marc Guggenheim and Wendy Mericle told IGN that Season 6 will move on to explore flashbacks from different character perspectives beyond Oliver, and also might feature some flashforwards in time. Guggenheim confirmed during the 2016 summer TV Critics Association press tour that Season 5 will be the last Arrow season to use flashbacks as a regular device.
"Last year, when we sort of realized we're going to go past Season 5, we basically made a collective decision that Season 5 would be the final year of flashbacks," said Guggenheim. "Next year, in Season 6, what we'll end up doing is we'll do some episodes without any sort of flashbacks. We've
The Flash and Supergirl to Do Musical Crossover
The Flash and Supergirl are finally taking advantage of all the musical talents on their shows this TV season.
The executive producers of the two CW series announced at the 2016 summer TV Critics press tour that the shows will intersect in the back half of their respective seasons (Season 2 for Supergirl, and Season 3 for The Flash) for a two-episode musical crossover.
Expect actors like Melissa Benoist and Grant Gustin (both former Glee cast members), plus Jeremy Jordan and Jesse L. Martin to show off their singing talents, to name a few. Greg Berlanti noted that Danielle Panabaker amusingly already asked to excuse herself from singing in this crossover, after singing in The Flash: Season 1. There's also the chance that cast members who are on the other shows could appear in this crossover.
18 New Summer Anime Worth Watching
The summer anime season has almost 40 new series going, but here are some of the best shows that are primed for binging.
This list only includes new anime. While we love Re:Zero to death, spring leftovers, and new seasons for returning anime, they are not eligible for this list.
91 Days follows bootlegger Angelo on his cold and calculated quest for vengeance against the Vanetti, a notorious mafia syndicate that murdered his family. It’s a tense and riveting anime full of betrayal, violence, extortion, and booze, and is definitely one of this summer’s standout shows.
Suicide Squad Director Reveals Why Joker Has Grill
Suicide Squad director David Ayer has shed light on the meaning behind Jared Leto's look as the Joker, detailing the history behind his grill and "damaged" tattoo.
Warning: Potential spoilers for Batman v Superman and Suicide Squad follow.
In an interview with Empire, Ayer noted that while Joker's tattoo is sort of a "personal thing" and not necessarily part of an overarching connection, it originates from when Batman smashes out Joker's teeth and locks him away in Arkham Asylum after discovering that he murdered Robin.
According to Ayer, it's there in Arkham Asylum that he gets the tattoo "damaged," which serves as a message to the Dark Knight that says, "You’ve damaged me. I was so beautiful before and now you’ve destroyed my face." Ayer also noted that this is when the Joker began wearing the grill, which covers his damaged mouth.
Arrow: Season 5 Casts Dolph Lundgren
In Arrow: Season 5, Oliver Queen will be fighting He-Man!
Okay, not quite, but he will be fighting Dolph Lundgren, playing an as yet-unnamed character. The news was revealed at the TCA (Television Critics Association) press tour today, as the Arrow producers explained that Lundgren – known for his roles in Rocky IV, Masters of the Universe, the first Punisher movie and The Expendables series – would be seen in Season 5’s flashbacks, set in Russia, in a villainous role.
Dolph Lundgren (seen here in The Expendables films) will appear in Arrow: Season 5.